The Haywards Missionary Adventures

10/28/2019 Sell your soul to who? Well another week is gone, which is very sad. This past week was fun but also super hard. I heard this story about people selling their souls to the Devil, and I started thinking and turning the wheels in my head. I figured that in life Satan does want you to sell your soul to him, it makes a lot more sense about the Plan of Happiness now. God doesn't want us to sell our soul, he wants us to just submit to his will and he is letting us make mistakes. With Satan we can't make mistakes, if that was the case, life would be boring. I really think it is interesting because you must realize that Heavenly Father is our literal Father in Heaven. He wants us to succeed, He wants to see us graduate from life, and when he sees that we are dropping out of "school" he is very disappointed. Yes DISAPPOINTED. Don't sell your soul to the Devil it is way harder to get it back, because Satan inflates the price.  We can keep our soul with the L...

Hello Everyone, I want to let you know that I am having a blast. I am enjoying every single moment that I am having out here. I want to share my thoughts about missionaries, I am still in Woodward as you all know and in Woodward there is only me and my companion for missionaries. I have been praying that there would be more missionaries around me. I HAVE BEEN BLIND. We are all missionaries you do not need to have a badge to be a missionary. When we are baptized, we are still invited to follow Christ's example, even before we are baptized, we are invited to follow his example. Jesus Christ the best missionary there was did not have a badge. Member Missionaries DO A LOT. We are the ALL the Lord's servants, and there are times where the full-time missionaries cannot be there but the help that you Member missionaries bring is so helpful to the gathering of Israel. My companion and I have recently set two more baptisms for kids ages 10 and 11. They are both so excited to be baptiz...

Hello everyone, this week has been very ghost town. Not many people here because the oil field has gone down. A lot of the people we were teaching have now left. But we have two little kids that will be getting baptized soon. I am very excited and happy for them. I love you all. I want to share what has been on my mind lately. The Book of Mormon, I want to share the power of the Book of Mormon. The power is life changing it is very powerful, please read it. I started the Book of Mormon over just a couple days ago my goal is to have it done by the 20th of November. I have already learned so much from it, the understanding that comes from it is indescribable. The biggest thing is your testimony grows. The scriptures are really a powerful tool. They should be used for power. I just know that God does love us he cares for us and wants us to succeed but sometimes you need to fall to succeed. It is very true, sometimes even the best people fall. If we fall don't give up, keep reading kee...

Do a little more... 9/30/2019 Hello everyone, I love you all!!! This one is going to be short. I had another baptism yesterday, Woodward is Booming. 😂 I have enjoyed every minute of it here, I recently have hit 3 months, so I want to let you all know my testimony. I know that Heavenly Father loves you and me, I know that I am teaching the True and Everlasting Gospel. I know that this Church is true, I know that Heavenly Father wants to hear from us, I also know that He would not give us anything more then we can handle, I know that President Russell M. Nelson is our Prophet today and that he was called of God. I know that Joseph Smith was and is still a Prophet of God, I have studied and thought about all of these things and I know them to be true and much more, I know for sure though that Jesus Christ has gone through the Ultimate pain so that we don't have to. All these things prove the first thing that I know and that is God loves us. Please know that and if you don't k...

9/9/2019   On an Island...   Alright I have almost spent 3 months out here in Woodward Oklahoma, it is definitely feeling like I am all alone with my Companion on this super tiny island secluded from all of the other missionaries. We call this are banishment. I have loved it though it has been so much fun and everyone here is getting excited about something. We have about 12 people who we are teaching right now, and 2 of those 12 are getting baptized. I know this is not a number thing for success but I would like to share our numbers with you all. ACTUAL:GOAL, Baptism 0:0 Baptism Date 2:2 @sacrament 6:9 New Friends 3:4. I just want to show you guys just how much Woodward is growing when I first got to Woodward it was flat zeros across the board. I am not saying that things have started happening because I am here, but I am saying is that God has prepared so many people, and they are coming to us. I am so excited that I get to witness Heavenly Fathers work move forward in...

I will get to the subject line a little bit later but right now I would like to share 8 things I have learned so far, some have been repeated from last time. 1. "I am weak!" This is not a negative statement, nor is it saying that I am Physically weak Either but it is Positive, I have learned that by relying on Jesus Christ or others is OK. It is fine if we as humans are incapable of doing things alone life was never meant to be done alone. It is OK to be weak. 2. They are not rejecting me but they are rejecting the gospel. I have come to find out that when people act negatively around the missionaries they are not rejecting us but they are rejecting the Gospel and Jesus Christ. 3.I am a very compassionate person, and when I see people down or sad I tend to be a little sad as well. I have learned that one of my talents is being compassionate to others and wanting people to be happy. 4. The Spirit is stronger when preparation has happened. I have learned that when planning ...

First thing is first, the Tiny Miracle, you know that random caller I talked about last week? well we went over to visit him and he told us that he was ready to be Baptized!!! We discussed about a date, and he said well next Saturday, we were kind of shocked, but we talked him out of it, and we moved it to the 7 of September!!! I am so pumped; he is so ready as well and he knows so much. We also made a lot of amazing contacts this week. Sadness… transfers are happening this week and we were waiting for the call to know who was getting transferred, we got a call close to midnight and the fun has begun as we were listening to who was going where and who was staying, they finally got to Woodward and they said "Elder Hayward you are staying! Elder McWilliams you are going to Ardmore." after they said that I was like no! I was able to create a great relationship with him and now I have to say goodbye. Why do I have to be put through this torture? So now I must take over my firs...

This past week has been insane. My companion and I have seen really weird miracles, one of which we were walking in the park trying to OYM people in the middle of the day in 106 degrees and it only felt like 110 degrees. (so not to hot.) We were doing OYM's and then all of a sudden we receive this call. I answered it very sheepishly, and said, "Hello it is the Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." He then proceeded to tell us he wanted to come back to church and that he didn't really know how messed up his church was and he liked the way he felt when he came to our church. So we proceeded to tell him when church started how long it was and where it was at. He told us that he would see us Sunday. After the call I looked at Elder McWilliams and told him that we just had someone who told us he was going to church. He didn't believe me. Well Sunday rolls around and guess who shows up? THE RANDOM CALLER!!! I was so happy to see him and final...

Yesterday I had the wonderful privilege to give a talk, my topic was on Pride vs. Humility. Some of the things that I shared was of an experience I had a couple years ago when my family went to Idaho for Christmas and we went to one of our Uncles Ward. There was a musical number and I remember telling my sister that the musical number was "Awful." I specifically remember my sister telling me that it does not matter how they sound all that matters are that the spirit is there. the spirit will bring the beauty. I felt very put in my place because I did not listen to the spirit and that is what you do at church, but from that point on I decided I was going to change my attitude and I have. Another thing that I shared with them was that while I was studying I had this realization, that our life is like writing a big concert piece, getting ready to Perform for the end, but there is one thing that there is always a word or a phrase that describes how you should play or sing the mus...

This week has been crazy I have enjoyed it a lot. The one thing I have learned is that there is not much going on in Woodward, because there aren't that many people. It was really funny I wish I got a picture but me and my companion were teaching a cow, because we were having a rough day, I invited the Cow to be baptized and I think he said yes, but all we heard was MOOOO!!! Other than that, we have been teaching, a lot of people. We went and visited someone last night and they are an amazing couple, they are very willing to listen but currently they are not wanting to be converted but it might change. The wife is going deaf and she is learning sign language and it just made me happy because I have found someone who knows sign language. YAY! Buffy has been reading the Book of Mormon and has had a lot of questions and she asked them and it was so cool because she appreciated that someone answered her question she was telling us that people haven't answered her question so it ...

This week has been crazy up and down up and down. First My companion and I have been getting along better. I have learned it is better to look on the bright side rather than the negative side. We taught this guy named Michael and he is really cool this is the first lesson we taught him, one of the funniest things he said though was "I would rather be on my boat fishing thinking about God, than at Church thinking about being on my boat fishing." Hopefully his opinion changes but he is cool and only 29, FINALLY A YOUNG GUY!!!!! Other than that, I have already made my first trip to the doctor’s office. It was fun I am alright but hopefully we can figure out what is wrong. I went on two exchanges this week. Both were so much fun. It was cool to take control for a day. Yesterday our branch President said he would like us to pray for who we can help, I thought that was amazing, this branch is only a couple people away from getting a new building. So, this is huge for this branc...

Hi Y'all, this week has been super crazy, I was unable to E-mail last week but I am in Oklahoma now, and it has been amazing. My trainer is Elder McWilliams and he is amazing I have learned so much from him in only a week, he goes home soon and I have a feeling he is a little trunky. We are teaching a friend named Buffy she is super awesome and already has a strong testimony I can't believe how strong her testimony is. Yesterday Buffy called us and said she wanted to talk, so we went over to talk to her. She told us about this friend she has in Chicago that is going through a rough patch right now and needs someone she can trust. So elder McWilliams and I are going to try and find a way to contact the Bishop over there to send a referral and help to Buffy's friend. It is an amazing feeling when someone who is not a member trusts us, and knows we are good people. Buffy also has this Bird who sings and talks its pretty cool. The bird was performing for us and even dancing I...

Brandon...  I can't believe that Brandon will be home July 24th!! I wanted to post updates every week on Brandon's adventures the issue that arrived was Brandon's letter's didn't have a lot of information or pictures. I can tell you that he had a lot of ups and down's in the two year's he's been out. He has also seen a lot of growth in confidence as well as spiritually. He has struggled with learning and speaking Spanish but can hold a conversation and his confidence is growing in that area. Brandon has also gain a small Spanish accent when he speaks certain words in English. I love it! I can't wait to put my arm's around him and welcome him home. Brandon will be speaking in our Ward on July 28th (let me know if you want to come and need an address) We will also be having a get together at our home that evening so please let me know if you need an address. Cody... Cody went into the MTC on June 26th. Here's how thing's have been ...