Week 12 (Rosamond)

Merry Christmas! We got to talk to Elder Wood on Christmas day for a short time, and then again today for his Preparation Day. I didn't talk to him as long this week since he was talking to siblings and other relatives in California, so I don't have as many updates to share this week.

He did confirm that they continued their finding streak, with two people found this week. And on Christmas Day they were invited to a very nice dinner with a family in their ward. He said he enjoyed it. He also was able to open the presents that we and others sent. Mostly he got a few ties (one of the few ways a missionary can wear color!), and my parents sent him a nice bird calendar.

Spiritual thought this week is to remember the true meaning of Christmas and to be grateful for our Savior's birth!

Merry Christmas! I asked him to take a photo with a tree when he went to dinner.

His district getting together in the kitchen at the church

District silliness

I'm sure there's a story behind this one but I didn't hear it. He did tell us about the cool NASA hat someone gifted them.

Bird photo of the week: Looks like he found a blue heron!

Impressive shot of a cat stalking a couple birds

Week 11 (Rosamond)

Elder Wood enjoyed the chance to talk to his siblings today when he called on his Preparation Day. He and Gabriella especially had some good conversation. He let us know that their weeks of finding continue with one new person to teach identified this week. He also shared some mission stories with us.

Recently, he and his companion had connected with a member of the church who hadn't been attending. They'd texted with him, and when they found themselves near his house, they decided to drop by. The gate was open, so they went up and knocked on the door, but got no answer. Eventually they knocked again, the door swung open, and they were just about clobbered by a baton! He says that the angels must have held up the mans' arm, because apparently the only person who had previously knocked was a homeless person that tried to rob him. Thus he was suspicious of anyone coming and had been ready to defend himself. They have apparently decided that going forward, they'll text him before knocking on the door!

His other story was a sad one; they had an appointment to meet with a family, and then when they arrived at the trailer park where they lived, the address they were looking for was a burned out mess! Apparently, the trailer had caught fire just a little while ago; Elder Wood and Elder Grunig remembered that they'd passed a fire engine on their way in. So unfortunately, the family is now looking for a new place to live.

Spiritual thought: If you do not have a personal witness of the Book of Mormon, I plead with you to study it. As you study, ask God if this book, if this record of the ancient Americas, is His word, or if it's just some fairy tale. Where the world is going, assumptions aren't enough. You can't just assume the Book of Mormon is true. You need to know that it is true.

A district council meeting

Zone Conference this week with the Mission President. Elder Wood is in the front row of standing elders, seventh in from the right side.

They have a small Christmas tree in their apartment. He reports it now has more presents under it.

A bird photo

My favorite bird photo this week - looks dangerous!

Fun making and decorating pancakes

Week 10 (Rosamond)

Elder Wood said that they continue to have success with finding new people to teach and have appointments with. This was week number 7, and they extended their streak of at least 1 person per week. They were well over this week, with 7 new people; 5 of them a family with several kids. It sounds like they haven't had anyone decide to attend church with them yet, but they have had multiple appointments with some people and are enjoying their conversations.

He also enjoyed a good conversation with a local pastor who is interested in learning a little to help find common ground between the churches. It's a refreshing change from those who don't want to talk at all. Elder Wood has also discovered, during some of their phone contacting experience, a major dislike for generic mailbox full messages - not only did the person not create a message, they obviously aren't checking them, either!

They had some excitement today with snow falling from the sky! Not that it stuck anywhere, but actual snowflakes were seen! In general it's not exceedingly cold as far as temperature, but it's very windy, which can cut right through you and make it feel much colder than it is.

The exciting news for me is that Elder Wood bought a small tripod this week for his phone. He apparently has the best camera in their district, so he was nominated to take any group photos. That means I also get to see them; I'm enjoying seeing more pictures of people lately (although still plenty of birds, too!)

Spiritual thought: There is a reason we call the Book of Mormon the "keystone of our religion." The Book of Mormon's truthfulness tells us that Jesus Christ is truly our Savior and Redeemer. That Joseph Smith was truly His prophet. And that this church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is the kingdom of heaven established on the earth.

Elder Wood at Boom Chicken, in his opinion the best restaurant in the district

Elder Grunig with some ducks

The district after their P-Day district activity involving various games

This boat in the middle of the desert is apparently a missionary landmark

You can barely see the flecks of snowflake - this was on the inside of his car door, about the only place it stuck for even a few seconds

Bird photo of the week

Week 9 (Rosamond)

Transfers are scheduled in the Bakersfield mission this week. As pretty much expected, though, Elder Wood and his companion, Elder Grunig, are staying together in the Rosamond ward. That is pretty standard practice, that a new missionary is trained by an older one for two transfers (12 weeks) in a row. Elder Grunig is finishing his mission and heading home after these 6 weeks are up, so Elder Wood thinks it's pretty likely he will stay in Rosamond, with a new companion, for that transfer, to provide some continuity.

Apparently the transfer also lets them know who is the designated driver of the companionship for the transfer. This time is Elder Grunig, same as last time. Elder Wood has driven a couple times when they do exchanges with other companionships, when he stays with the car and knows the district better than the temporary exchange companion.

A fun fact Elder Wood shared with me this week is that he is 6 for 6 in weeks in his mission where they have found someone new to teach. Apparently that can be somewhat difficult to do; finding someone new willing to engage with them in conversation and make a repeat appointment. He's hoping he'll be able to extend his streak in weeks to come.

Spiritual thought for the week: The first major step to becoming converted is gaining a personal witness of the Book of Mormon. Don't just take my word for it though. As Preach My Gospel says: "Reading, pondering, and praying about the Book of Mormon are critical for an enduring conversion."

Elder Grunig and Elder Wood enjoying a pizza dinner

Elder Wood liked the clouds in this photo; I think the landscape is also pretty interesting

An interesting rock that Elder Wood apparently purchased at a street fair

Weekly bird photo: Ducks

One more bird photo: On a telephone wire

Week 8 (Rosamond)

 This week was Thanksgiving. Elder Wood and his companion were invited to two different Thanksgiving dinners; he reports that the second was much better than the first. They were also given a Costco pumpkin pie, so have been enjoying that.

Elder Wood and his companion were both sick this week. He says he was knocked out for a full day recuperating but is now fully recovered other than a mild cough. He also claims it wasn't Covid, although I don't think either of them ever took a test.

Spiritual thought for the week: Converting to Jesus Christ is a process. You don't wake up one day converted because you finally went to church 1000 times. You don't finish reading the Book of Mormon for the 100th time and suddenly become like Jesus. It's something we slowly work towards.

This is the only photo I received this week - it has birds!

Week 7 (Rosamond)

Elder Wood was able to help out with a few blessings this week, including some of comfort and healing, as well as dedicating a home. He says he's participated in most Priesthood ordinances now and is looking forward to being part of a baby blessing in a few weeks in the Rosamond ward. He hasn't yet dedicated a grave, and hopes that opportunity is a long way off!

This week he was asked to give a talk at church about becoming more Christ-like. He was kind enough to send me a copy, so I'll use some of that as a spiritual thought for the week.

How can we improve our spirituality and become more Christ-like? As one who still has much to learn, I can only give the most basic of directions. Study the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of Christ's gospel. It is the keystone of our religion.

He's not great at taking pictures of himself, so I had to screenshot this one during our video chat today.

A beautiful sunset (which also happened to have birds)

A house and tree that he thought looked interesting

Bird photo of the week: Ignore the pink fake hummingbird, but he managed to capture a real one perched behind it

Week 6 (Rosamond)

The work continues in the Rosamond Ward, which we discovered is large in terms of geographical area but small in terms of membership and attendance. The missionaries had a pretty slow week, where they had 16 appointments scheduled, but only 1 that actually came through. They'll keep working at it!

A district meeting with President and Sister Burton. Elder Wood is back row, 2nd from left, with Elder Grunig next to him, 3rd from left.

His new gloves arrived - just in time to keep his hands from freezing!

My favorite bird photo of the week

One more bird photo - I believe a heron?

Week 5 (Rosamond)

Elder Wood reports that all is well and he is settling into his mission and area there in Mojave / Rosamond / California City. It is apparently very windy there a lot of the time, so he's been wearing his trench coat, which works well as a windbreaker. He also asked us to order some gloves for him to help keep his hands warm during the low morning temperatures.

On a spiritual note, he volunteered to play the piano at a district meeting, and recommends that prospective missionaries (ie his brother Ben) work on their piano skills since you never know when they'll be needed. And to all of us, he says he's found that there's a lack of understanding among the members of the importance of the Sacrament - so we should all do some further study on it.

Not many photos this week - so here's one of ducks at the Cal City park

Another bird photo

Apparently Elder Grunig collects coins that he finds and has made about $50 so far on his mission

EWCZ = Elder Wood Creative Zone; this was a sketch made after some confusion that the word Plan looked like Flan

Week 4 (Rosamond)

 Elder Wood has officially arrived in the mission field and has met his new companion and started the work. They are assigned to the Rosamond ward, although they live and meet in nearby Mojave, California. It sounds like they get some daily exercise running to a nearby park (he says 0.8 miles total there and back), and on Monday, their Preparation Day, played some Ultimate Frisbee.

His spiritual thought for the week is 1 Nephi 15:9: "And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us." He notes that they are waiting for the Lord to give them revelation, but are unsuccessful. Instead, we must seek revelation. The Lord loves effort.

Meeting his companion, Elder Joshua Grunig, for the first time

President and Sister Burton, along with all the new missionaries for the current transfer

A sign for California City, a city that is part of his area

Elder Wood & Elder Grunig in front of the Cal City sign

A Jenga block creation

A very pretty sunset

A house they passed that's definitely ready for Halloween!

Bird photo: He is a fan of corvids

One more bird photo. His camera does quite an impressive job with its zoom.

Week 3 (MTC)

 No direct message this week, but Elder Wood has now finished his time in the Missionary Training Center and is in California! His flight left Salt Lake City early Monday morning for Phoenix, where he had a layover and then on to the (very small) Bakersfield airport. He told us later it was so dinky that it only had a single baggage claim. We got a quick text with the photo of him and his mission leaders, confirming that he arrived safely.

Photos from his last week in the MTC and his travel to and arrival in Bakersfield.

With his mission leaders, President Blair and Sister Vicky Burton

A photo from a kind soul at the airport. Elder Wood second from left; not familiar with any of the other missionaries

Saying farewell to MTC friends: Elders Lunt, Hersel, Wood, and Clove

A view of their room; he appreciated the free-standing ladder

View over BYU and Provo, with snow on the mountains

The MTC grounds with lots of trees lit up

Bird photo of the week