Finale

Elder Wood (now just Jared again) is home! His last week as a missionary he enjoyed saying farewell to the Brimhall ward. On Thursday after transfers, he and the other missionaries heading home were able to have lunch together, participate in some "deorientation" talks, and have dinner with President and Sister Burton. Then on Friday morning, President Burton made them breakfast - he said it was the best member meal he had the entire two years!

His homeward itinerary on Friday took a little while, routing from Bakersfield to Denver and then home to Portland, but his flights were all on time, and we were excited to meet him at the airport! We met our Stake President at the church building on the way home, and he released Elder Wood from his service as a full-time missionary. Then we returned home, where our dog Inka most definitely remembered him and was likewise excited to see him again!

Thanks for following along the past two years. I asked Jared whether it felt like it went by slowly or quickly, and he said he thought quickly. We're looking forward to seeing where the next years take him!

Welcome home!

You have to take a picture with Mom

The departing missionaries with Elder and Sister Burton

Farewell at the airport

Inka says hello!

Week 105 (Brimhall)

Elder Wood has finished his final Preparation Day in the mission, final Sunday, final church meetings, and all sorts of final milestones. But he still has a few more days and is looking forward to his last times of being a full-time missionary.

This past week they only had one lesson, with Ryder (the recently baptized 9-year-old). But Elder Wood said it was a great lesson, and that sometimes people have to go at their own pace, so it's okay that others of their friends have cancelled or otherwise not prioritized lessons. The missionary's job is to be available and to testify. They did have a nice little experience when they were out one evening and a few teenagers stopped them to ask why they were so dressed up. The missionaries were able to share a short scripture message and give them some pass-along cards. And who knows what will come from the encounter? He said they seemed genuinely curious, not just being obnoxious teenagers.

The past few days have been good ones in the life of a missionary. On Thursday, the missionaries who are going home this transfer were able to visit the Los Angeles temple for an endowment session. Elder Wood says it was a great experience, and he was happy to be able to go again after being at the Fresno Temple in August. Then this weekend they had, as he puts it, two and a half member meals. That meant they had lunch at a member's house on Saturday and on Sunday, and then on Sunday night they had the Costco lasagna that they were given on Saturday.

And, of course, Saturday and Sunday were General Conference. He reports that it was awesome! They made cinnamon rolls to have for breakfast, and had snacks during the conference sessions. He said that it was awesome and that he loved it! I asked him which talk was his favorite, and he chose Elder Patrick Kearon's talk, "Welcome to the Church of Joy".

For today's Preparation Day, the district went bowling and then had lunch at In-N-Out Burger. Now there are 2.5 more full missionary days. Then on Thursday morning they'll meet everyone else for transfers, but the missionaries returning home don't meet a new companion and go to a new area. Instead, they'll have lunch together, have what Elder Wood called a "deorientation meeting", and enjoy dinner with President and Sister Burton at their house. Friday they will all head to the airport - he said at least per the missionaries he's talked to, they may all be on the same flight to Denver, and then spread out from there. Elder Wood's family is excited to see him in Portland!

At the Los Angeles temple

District Council meeting, with the two Zone Leaders in attendance

At In-N-Out Burger for a district lunch

Bird photo - in the tree at the temple

Bird photo - in the sky over the temple

Of course Moroni has a bird hanging out with him

Week 104 (Brimhall)

With General Conference coming up next weekend, Elder Wood has now attended his last church meetings as a missionary. Such a strange thought! They had a good Sunday, since their friend Ryder was baptized! They were happy to get to attend and see him make covenants with the Lord. Although the event wasn't without minor hiccups - the missionaries were responsible for printing the programs for the baptism, and as soon as they had done that they got a text requesting a change to them (and they also noticed a typo) so they had to print them again. They were pleased that the turnout was great - there were probably 60 or more people in attendance.

There was no real update this week on any of their other friends beyond Ryder. They unfortunately had some cancellations and ended up with no real appointments. But they still did their best to work to find contacts and meet with people. One weekend day they went from having no meal appointments to having both lunch and dinner, which they much appreciated.

This week they had interviews with the mission president, and Elder Wood thinks it's likely that the Brimhall area will be "pinkwashed". That means that both of the current elders will leave, and the two new missionaries will be sisters. Elder Wood says they will probably be ASL missionaries, and also that there are some single and younger women that the elders have a hard time teaching that sister missionaries could connect well with. Of course, Elder Wood knows his plans this next transfer - he'll be coming home! He's looking forward to his outgoing temple trip, which will be coming up this Thursday. He isn't positive, but believes they'll get to visit the Los Angeles temple. There is 1 sister missionary and 8 elders who are going home this transfer, so they'll all get to enjoy the temple trip together.

Only one more missionary phone call, next Monday, for us to look forward to!

District meeting this week

I looked and looked for a bird in this picture, but it turns out it's just a house Elder Wood thought I'd like (which I do! it's a nice shade of green)

Birds on some electrical wires

A robin (?) on a lawn

Week 103 (Brimhall)

The best news of the week is that Elder Wood remained healthy and is completely recovered from being sick last week. It's nice to know he's feeling better!

This week the missionaries are looking forward to Ryder's baptism on Sunday. Ryder is 9 or 10 and should have gotten baptized when he was 8, but Elder Wood has enjoyed the chance to get to know him and talk to him.

Not a lot of other news related to their friends; Denise had to cancel their appointment this week, and the two brothers they'd talked to a little they need to track down again and try to get an appointment. But Elder Wood was happy that Robin, a recently baptized member, was at church this week. She was apparently baptized just a little while before Elder Wood was transferred to the ward, so the missionaries are happy to see her making progress. She was also able to go to dinner with them at a ward member's home so they could talk to her a little more.

I asked Elder Wood about meals with ward members, and he said they do get dinner most weekends, which he much appreciates. He laughed a little telling me they recently had the shortest dinner appointment of his whole mission. The member family wasn't very talkative, and they ate, shared a short message, and were out the door in about 30 minutes. Hopefully in the future Elder Wood will be talkative when he hosts missionaries at his house for dinner!

Their district at district council meeting

A bird photo - he said this was the first raven he'd seen in a while

Another bird photo - he said it's amazing how many more birds you see when you actually leave the house

Week 102 (Brimhall)

A bit of a short update this week, with few pictures, since poor Elder Wood ended up being sick almost all week. He says it was two different things - first a headache/sore throat illness, and then halfway through the week, his symptoms changed and he was positive for Covid. Thankfully, he's feeling much better now and looking forward to a more active week to come.

They did get a chance to meet with their new friend, Denise, on Monday before he started feeling sick. He says she asked great questions and looks forward to meeting with them again. They had to cancel their appointment with the teenaged brothers that they met recently, but hope to meet with them again soon. And, on an exciting note, their friend Ryder has set a baptismal date and plans to be baptized in a couple weeks on September 29. Elder Wood was happy he'll still be in Brimhall to attend.

Elder Wood and Elder Culbertson were able to do some service recently for some older people in the ward. They swept a driveway (apparently Bakersfield driveways get very dirty), watered plants, and also reset a tripped GFCI located in an awkward place that the couple couldn't reach. Serving others is great!

One photo this week of their combined district council meeting (ie everyone in their zone). This is the newly created Bakersfield West Zone. Sadly, no bird photos this week since Elder Wood said most of it was spent in their apartment staring at the walls while he was sick.

Combined District Council

Week 101 (Brimhall)

Elder Wood and Elder Culbertson are no longer in the California Bakersfield Zone. They are still in Brimhall, but with the organization of a new stake, the zone has followed suit and now they are part of the California Bakersfield West Zone. Such a difference! Actually, the main one is that Elder Wood is a little sad that the bishop of the Brimhall Ward is now a member of the new Stake Presidency, and thus a new bishop will need to be called. Elder Wood really liked working with this bishop, so he'll miss him.

The claim to fame this week is that the missionaries visited 5 different chapels, including all 3 Bakersfield stake centers, this week. It sounds like there were various reasons, including the Stake conference that reorganized the stake, zone conference, mission president interviews, and so on. But he was pretty tickled that they visited so many different buildings. As part of this week's zone conference, Elder Wood shared his farewell testimony; apparently that's a tradition for missionaries in their last transfer before going home. It's hard to believe he has 0 more zone conferences in the mission!

Missionary work is moving along this week. They met 2 teenaged brothers who are interested in their message, or at least claim to be, and look forward to meeting with them again. They also had an appointment scheduled this evening with Denise, someone they found while knocking doors. She had been out of town since they first met her, so Elder Wood was excited to get to have a lesson with her.

Elder Wood found his street!

Zone Conference (combined with all Bakersfield zones). Elder Wood is top row, 10th from the left

Candid lunch photo from Zone Conference

A combined district conference; I think this is basically their zone.

Bird photo #1: A nice view of this hawk

Bird photo #2: Lots of hummingbirds at the feeder

Week 100 (Brimhall)

A bit of a catchup after missing last week while I was out of town, but according to Elder Wood not a lot has changed, and it's been hot so he hasn't seen many birds. We've reached triple digits - week #100! This week was also the last transfer of Elder Wood's mission. He is still in the Brimhall area, but since his previous companion, Elder Smith, finished his mission and returned home, he has a new companion, Elder Culbertson.

Last week there was a leadership conference, and the missionaries all got to meet together with an apostle, Elder Gary E. Stevenson. Elder Wood says it was a wonderful and inspirational meeting. Then, this coming week apparently the Bakersfield stakes are being reorganized, so they will have another church leader come to help with that, although he wasn't sure who yet.

In terms of mission news, they've enjoyed having Karen (the recently baptized new member) coming to church, and they've had a few other visitors as well. One member of the ward brought a friend that is interested in talking to the missionaries. They've also continued to meet with Ryder, the boy who is interested in being baptized, and think he may actually choose a baptism date soon (after confirming when his grandparents will be in town).

That's about all the news I got this week, since we were out of the country and I wasn't taking notes. But for the rest of the mission I'll be more timely and up to date!

Elder Smith, Elder Wood, and a family in the Brimhall Ward

The entire mission together at the leadership meetings with Elder Stevenson. (Elder Wood is second row from the top, third from the left.)

A bird on a roof

A bird in the sky