Week 64 (Bakersfield 2nd)

Merry Christmas from Elder Wood! We were able to chat with him for a couple of hours today, since it was both Preparation Day and Christmas. He enjoyed opening gifts this morning. Thanks to his grandparents, who got him a bird identification field guide - he's already been identifying some of the ones he took pictures of.

They had a good week and enjoyed attending church on Christmas Eve. Elder Wood said he's also looking forward to church next week, when they will have a Sacrament Meeting of music only, with various songs by the choir, small groups, and the congregation. I had hoped they might have some meals scheduled for Christmas Day, but they hadn't yet - although didn't sound too worried about it, and I guess it worked out for them on Thanksgiving, they didn't go hungry!

They were able to meet and talk with some of their friends this week. The two who were hoping to get baptized this coming week have been pushed out, but he still thinks they will be able to do so soon. Lupe had missed some church due to her time in the hospital but was there this week and should have a new baptism date soon. Their other friend who is preparing for baptism has been moving this week, but they've confirmed her new apartment number and look forward to spending more time teaching her once she's settled in.

I was hoping to get a Christmas picture with one of the several (small) trees they have in their apartment, but it hasn't come through yet - hopefully I'll have it next week for a post-Christmas treat! In the meantime, I did get several photos with actual people in them this week, so we'll have to make do with that for now.

Lunch at their Zone Conference this week - Elder Peterson & Elder Wood, plus Elder Livingstone, who was in a quad apartment with him recently

Everyone at Zone Conference - I'll let you see whether you can spot Elder Wood!

The district during some Preparation Day activities at the church last week

Birds in a tree

Another bird photo - they had one get into their church building and perch on the basketball hoop (they helped it escape)

He hadn't seen a bird all day, so he had to take a picture of this nice cat instead

Week 63 (Bakersfield 2nd)

This week was transfers in the mission. And what an exciting one it was - absolutely nothing changed for Elder Wood! (Okay, that was my sarcasm, sorry.) But he's still in the same area, with the same companion. He'd expected that, and is happy with it - they are getting along well and finding a bunch of people to talk to.

They still have their two baptisms pending. He thinks that Lupe will still be able to get baptized on December 30, as planned, although her short hospital stay means she's recovering a little, so it is possible they will need to postpone. The other person, Charlene, has been hard to connect with recently since her phone number was changed/cancelled - so they are working on re-establishing consistent contact with her. There's always something to keep them on their toes.

They are enjoying working with one of their newer friends named Daniel. They really appreciate the fact that he has sincere interest, is open and willing to listen, but also readily asks questions when there's something he doesn't understand (apparently some others just give a blank stare). They also really got a kick out of their meeting with a man that wanted to talk to them. He apparently joined the church more than 20 years ago, but doesn't attend, and has some very interesting beliefs. So their meeting will be a single one, since it didn't seem that it would be productive to meet with him again, when he's just trying to convince them that the church doesn't realize what he knows.

When we talked to Elder Wood today, they had recently finished their Preparation Day activity with their district, which mainly consisted of some indoor games at the church building. Elder Wood and Elder Peterson then headed to the nearby Raising Cane's restaurant - one that we'd sent him some gift cards to as an early Christmas present. Missionaries are always happy to have food! He also confirmed that the package we'd sent to him with Christmas gifts, plus a few new white shirts (his pens leaked on some of the ones he had) arrived safely, so he's all set for Christmas!

Few pictures this week, so enjoy the birds!

Three birds in a tree (they're a lot easier to spot when the leaves are gone!)

A nice closeup of a dove

Week 62 (Bakersfield 2nd)

Elder Wood and Elder Peterson are pretty happy this week; they have another friend who would like to be baptized. Charlene just moved to the area, and had been meeting with some missionaries in her previous location. She has now bought a house and is more stable and is ready to be baptized. Like Lupe, she wants to be baptized on December 30, and the elders are more than happy to figure out the logistics behind making them both happen on the same day.

In harder news, Lupe was in the hospital after having a small stroke. But, it sounds like she is doing better, and appreciated getting a priesthood blessing from the missionaries. They are wishing her a speedy recovery, and it sounds like she is well on her way.

Elder Wood would like to say thanks to those of you who have sent him a Christmas card in the mail. He says he has really enjoyed receiving them. He also has them up on their refrigerator, and says he plans to continue the tradition seen elsewhere of leaving them when he transfers away, so future missionaries in the apartment can enjoy Christmas wishes from people they've never met. Transfers are actually coming up this week (a shortened transfer period so everyone can get settled into a new location before Christmas). However, Elder Wood and Elder Peterson think it is likely that they will both remain in their current location, so he doesn't think he will need to move anytime soon.

For their Preparation Day activity today, the district enjoyed playing a game of Secret Combinations, a social deduction game where the players try to determine who is a Nephite and who is a Lamanite. This week they even brought props along that they'd found in their apartments - in the picture below you can see Elder Wood wearing the glasses/crown that belong to the player with the role of the King. He reports that a great time was had by all!

Spiritual thought of the week: "When you pay your tithing, you can know it's going to furthering the work of the Lord. I know that every time I come to church or go to the temple, I can say that I help keep them maintained and help build even more of them. God also promises in Malachi (3:10) that He will give us a blessing greater than we have room to receive. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a pretty great blessing to me."

The district after a game of Secret Combinations

A bird photo, maybe a heron?

Another bird photo: The chickens in the street amused him

Week 61 (Bakersfield 2nd)

Elder Wood was excited to share this week that their friend Lupe has decided to be baptized. It sounds like it will be either the 23rd or 30th of this month, depending upon when her family can be there. The elders also had another friend tell them he wanted to take them out for a pizza dinner out of the blue. And missionaries never turn down pizza!

This week Elder Wood's companionship had exchanges with the district leaders, so we spent some time with Elder Wolfenstein. While they were out and about, they found a couple who are interested in choosing a church, and apparently they are especially interested in a church that values and supports family history. They told them that they can help with that interest, so they are hoping to meet with them again soon to answer more questions.

When Elder Wood called today, they were shopping at Walmart for groceries. Among the items on their list were all of the ingredients for a tater tot casserole, which was apparently their plan for dinner in the next day or two. After checking out, they headed out for their Preparation Day activity. This week they were going to a disc golf course to meet with others from the district and play there. Elder Wood has never tried disc golf before, but he was pretty confident that "I can throw a Frisbee" - we're looking forward to hearing more from him next week about how it went.

There is apparently some sort of issue between the church phones and Google Photos, because there were no pictures automatically updated all week. Elder Wood says that it will hopefully be fixed soon, but for this week you get to see the photos that he carefully curated for you. One of him that we've been asking for (we need a picture of him for the Christmas card..) and his two favorite bird photos of the week, which are both fairly unique.

Spiritual thought of the week: "God commands us to follow the prophet. Why? Because God knows we aren't always going to be spiritually in tune. As such, it is very helpful for us to have a reliable source of inspiration to fall back on. By listening to the prophet, we can keep ourselves grounded in the gospel."

Elder Wood in his apartment

First bird photo

Second bird photo

Week 60 (Bakersfield 2nd)

This week was a somewhat shorter conversation due to Elder Wood's family having car trouble. Or, more accurately, tire troubles. We talked for a little bit in the midst of Les Schwab visits and tire replacements. Elder Wood shared that he's only had one flat tire so far in his mission, which we seemed to think was a nice accomplishment. The flat happened back in his first area, Rosamond.

For their Preparation Day this week the missionaries had some fun with a game called "Throw, Throw, Burrito" at the church, and of course spent some quality time grocery shopping. Elder Wood says he managed to get lost in the local WalMart - apparently it's set up strangely? We're glad he managed to find himself again!

This week was actually a really nice one for visits with their friends. They had a nice lesson with a family who are partially members of the church, and then both of them came to church this past Sunday. They also met with a referral lesson, Charles, this weekend. He apparently has had some experience with the church before and let them know that he is pretty much ready to be baptized and join the church. They hope he's right and that he'll be ready to make and keep covenants soon.

We left off talking as the missionaries headed to In-N-Out Burger for lunch. Apparently a kind member gives them gift cards occasionally (missionaries love gift cards). And the missionaries are always happy to enjoy a drive-through!

Spiritual thought of the week: "The second great commandment is to love others. God wants us all to be happy, and that usually involves us loving each other. As we love and serve others, we not only strengthen those that we serve, but we also strengthen our own testimony. This commandment also ties into coming to church. Although we come to church to strengthen our own testimony, we also come to church to strengthen and serve others."

Missionaries from the district meeting at the church building

A nice photo of a blue bird

Another blue bird (taken on a different day)

Week 59 (Bakersfield 2nd)

Elder Wood is really enjoying their work in the Bakersfield 2nd ward so far. He says that he really likes the bishop, and that they've had great discussions with him. For example, recently they discussed the differences between laws and principles. (Elder Wood loves deep thought discussions).

They have several friends that they're meeting with and teaching. He says that one, Lupe, is really close to deciding to get baptized. They had a great discussion this week with her about the Sabbath day, and he is definitely interested in baptism but hasn't quite set a date yet. Another is a couple, Ashley and Justin, who are moving more slowly but that he also really enjoys meeting with. He says it's great to let them move at their own pace, and he's happy to answer questions for them.

I asked whether they have plans for Thanksgiving dinner, and it sounds like no, nothing officially scheduled yet. But they aren't worried, because there are several families that would be willing to host them, even if they just dropped by last minute, so "we have some options."

Elder Wood was happy this week to play a board game for their P-Day activity. They had 9 people there total (including a visit from the Assistants to the mission president), and played a game called "Secret Combinations" - for those who know how social deduction games work, it is apparently basically that, but themed that you're trying to determine who sides with the Nephites or the Lamanites. He said it was a bit hard to play logically with the large number of people and all the chaos that apparently causes, but that everyone had fun.

Spiritual thought for the week: "When Christ was asked to rank the commandments, he called the greatest commandment to love God. Why does God command this of us? Christ is saying that whatever we value, or love, most is where we will keep our focus. As such, a love of God will help us to keep ourselves focused on being more righteous, focused on the principles of eternal life."

Zone Conference this week - Elder Wood is sitting across from Elder Peterson at lunch.

Group photo at Zone Conference - Elder Wood is middle row, fifth from the right side

Bird photo - A woodpecker

One more bird photo

Week 58 (Bakersfield 2nd)

Transfers this week! And Elder Wood is correct, he was indeed moved this time around. His previous companion, Elder Krumbah, stayed in Plum Canyon to hold down the fort with a new companion. Elder Wood is now in the heart of the mission, the Bakersfield 2nd Ward. He says fun fact, since their area includes the geographical center of Bakersfield, when they get a referral for someone who lives in Bakersfield but has an unknown address, it defaults to them, because they're in the middle!

His new companion, Elder Petersen, has been in the ward for at least a couple transfers, but he's a pretty new missionary; it's only been a few months since he left the MTC. Elder Wood already likes him - Elder Petersen was assigned as the driver by default (since he's been in the area longer) but prefers not to drive, so they're planning to switch that up. And he likes board games, so they already have that in common, too!

Elder Wood reports that the area is great so far, but he "feels a little bit lied to, since I've seen neither bakers nor fields since I've been here" :-) There are 4 missionaries (two companionships) assigned to the same ward, but there is still plenty of work to do. Unlike Plum Canyon, where they mostly met with current members of the ward, they have friends here who are not (yet) members that they can meet with and teach. Everyone is friendly, the ward is a good size, and he's enjoying getting to know everyone.

His new district has 8 missionaries in it. 4 are elders (the 4 that cover the Bakersfield 2nd Ward), and 4 are sister missionaries. Today they enjoyed playing some ball games at the local church building, including one called "Three Hit Kill" which I have never heard of, but is apparently a sort of volleyball / dodgeball hybrid.

Spiritual thought for the week: "Doctrine and Covenants, section 87, tell us 'Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved'. It is important for us to put ourselves in places that are holy and to recognize that the end can come quickly"

A still shot from a video he made for Facebook

Transfers - bidding farewell to Elder Krumbah; his new companion Elder Petersen is in the background

His favorite birds of the week - Bakersfield has flocks of wild parrots!

Another bird photo - a nice shot of a woodpecker

One more bird photo, although we don't know what this one is

Week 57 (Plum Canyon)

This may be the last entry from Plum Canyon - transfers are coming up this week, and since Elder Wood has been here for 3 transfers (aka 12 weeks or 3 months) he thinks it's fairly likely he'll be going somewhere else. But we'll find out next time!

There were a fair number of technical difficulties today; for some reason the elders' phones weren't getting good service so we had to hang up/call again/listen to garbled static several times. So this call was a little shorter than normal. It sounds like the days and weeks are blending together, though, so we didn't miss much.

The highlight of the week was a wedding that they attended on Saturday. A member of the Plum Canyon ward, who has recently started coming back to church, married someone from another ward. She was married by their local bishop in their church building, and Elder Wood and Elder Krumbah got to help with setup and cleanup. They were also asked to decorate one of the cakes (it sounds like there were three), but they agreed that this "was probably a mistake" :-) Apparently it went badly; I asked for photos and Elder Krumbah did have one but Elder Wood hasn't sent it to me. Maybe next week!

Other than the wedding, the quick hits I got this week were: They are continuing their weekly scripture study night and have had about 7 people attend each of the 3 weeks. He got to pet German Shepherds this week! (Strays apparently, but they looked friendly...) And for their district activity today they played 9-square at the church gym, and later Elder Wood and another elder in his apartment (Elder Brady, I think I heard) enjoyed playing a game of Scythe, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

A final note that sometimes I have pictures to choose from, but for your viewing pleasure below, literally the only pictures I received this week. Enjoy! And here's your spiritual thought for the week: "All of the commandments help us to be more receptive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. As missionaries we often emphasize three things: keeping the sabbath, studying scriptures, and praying. Shortened to CPR for Church Pray Read, they're the most efficient way to quickly build and maintain our testimonies. Not doing CPR causes our testimonies to wither."

Petting German Shepherds

Petting German Shepherds part 2 ("I am looking away but you can see the dogs better")

A photo of their scripture study night

Bird photo #1

Bird photo #2

Week 56 (Plum Canyon)

Elder Wood reports another fairly quiet week in the Plum Canyon ward. He said the highlight of the week was when they were going to In-N-Out for a quick meal, and the person ahead of them in the drive-through line paid for their entire meal. As they drove out, he waved and gave them a peace sign. It's nice to hear about people doing nice things for the missionaries!

For their district meeting this week, they were joined by the APs (Assistants to the President) so their group photo was a little larger than it normally would be. I heard about how they continue to meet with and teach members. and teach lessons to those that are interested. The weather there in southern California is finally starting to cool down a little. It's still close to 80 degrees most days, but at least it isn't 90 or 100!

I asked how often they get meals with members of the ward. They can eat dinner with them on Saturdays or Sundays, but on other days only if there's someone that isn't already a ward member there for them to meet and talk to. This week they did have a member of the ward invite them over on Tuesday, because his dad was there, who isn't a member. This weekend they had one kind woman invite them over on Sunday, but he says it wasn't their best meal. She has her aged uncle living with them, and therefore the food needs to be quite soft, and also with no added salt, so Elder Wood reports it as not so flavorful. They did have a nice meal on Saturday, though, including a delicious meatloaf and potatoes, so he said overall he appreciated the weekend meals.

Spiritual thought of the week: "We are commanded to come to church on the Sabbath. Why? Most importantly, at church we can receive the sacrament, helping us to remember Christ and keep the most important things prominent in our lives. But why can't we just worship God at home? We come because at church, we have an organization where we can easily help, strengthen,  serve one another. Church is an opportunity to love and serve one another"

The district together, with the APs on the far right

The yard of one of their friends, who really gets into the Halloween spirit!

Bird photo: A nice clear one of a bird in the grass

Another bird photo: A raptor soaring overhead

Week 55 (Plum Canyon)

This week had the fun of preparing for and attending the Plum Canyon Ward Halloween party! The missionaries did their part by helping to hand out invitations to those that they met. Elder Wood says that he enjoyed the party, which included a chili cook-off (ie dinner!) and a Trunk or Treat activity for the kids. He especially enjoyed seeing everyone's costumes, since on Halloween itself the missionaries return home early and don't answer the door to avoid getting themselves into trouble. He says his favorite costumes are the inflatables, and he really liked one that was an Among Us inflatable.

The missionaries continue to teach and share the gospel with everyone that is interested. They have especially spent time with some of the newer members of the ward, and the 7-year-olds that are preparing for their baptisms. They also started this week with a scripture study night, a session that will be weekly at a ward member's home where they can discuss scriptures together. The first one was attended only by ward members, but they were encouraged to bring a friend along next time. It sounds like they are, at least to start, focusing on the Come Follow Me reading, which is getting towards the end of the New Testament now.

For their Preparation Day this week, the missionaries met at the church building and carved some pumpkins. It was BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) and they had bought some pumpkin carving tools at WalMart to share. Elder Wood shared a picture of his - I told him that he should show some of the others as well, but at least thus far I only got his. It is definitely cute, though!

A carved and lighted Halloween pumpkin

A funny sign they saw while out and about. No, they didn't call because "we weren't missing a chicken"

Bird photo #1: In the grass

Bird photo #2: On a fence

Week 54 (Plum Canyon)

It sounds like the weeks are starting to blend together for Elder Wood in Plum Canyon. He's been there for 2.5 transfers now (15 weeks) so think it's likely that the next transfer period (3 weeks from now) he will go elsewhere in the mission. But only time will tell. And for now, he's focused on the good people in Plum Canyon.

They continued to have a good number of meetings and messages and lessons with the members of the Plum Canyon ward. They also had a few lessons with families where one spouse or the other is not a member, so they can teach them more about the gospel. Their record this week was 5 lessons in a single day! Saturday ended up as a busy day this past week, too. Their district leadership had been sick earlier in the week, so they moved their district council meeting to Saturday. And, they had lessons scheduled that day. And, they were also invited to the birthday party of a child in the ward for that day. Elder Wood wasn't totally sure why they were invited (he also wasn't sure how old the child was, his only estimate was "under 10 years old"). But, they enjoyed the party and he said they connected with another member of the ward there and set up a lesson with them, so it was time well spent.

I believe it was that same Saturday evening, but it might have been another night this past week, that they had a ward activity which was a BBQ and included a "cookoff" competition. The chefs BBQed and attendees compared and voted for the tri-tip vs. the ribs vs. the chicken. The ribs were declared the winner, and Elder Wood said that was the right choice!

Elder Wood was complaining a little today about how hot it remains there in Santa Clarita. I was telling him it was in the 70's and raining here, and he said he'd much rather have that than the 95 degrees and hot they have there. They did their district activity today indoors to avoid the heat, meeting at the church to play some basketball and other indoor sports.

That's about all the news of the week, and I'll apologize in advance since I got nothing but bird photos this week, and not many of those to boot. So enjoy the three best ones!

Spiritual thought of the week: "We are commanded to keep the Sabbath Day holy. Why? Because by setting aside an entire day for the things of God, we're able to more easily make the time to strengthen our spirits. Additionally, God knows that humans need rest. As such, he has ordained that we should all rest at least one day a week."

Bird photo #1: Pretty yellow markings in the grass

Bird photo #2: Mostly brown on a park bench

Bird photo #3: Raven/crow at the top of the tree, and a smaller brownish bird in the center of the photo

Week 53 (Plum Canyon)

Another week completed in the California Bakersfield Mission! I did check today with him about his official release/return home date, and due to some changes in the transfer schedule, he's actually not quite less than a year to go yet. His expected return date is 1 year, 2 days from now, on October 11. Have you marked your calendar yet? Mine is!

Luckily for me they had zone conferences this weekend, which means his mission leaders post photos to the family Facebook page, and I get to see actual pictures of missionaries instead of birds! I asked what Zone Conference was like, and he told me it's basically like Stake Conference, except for missionaries, and there's always lunch afterward. In the closeup of Elder Wood's table, you'll see him holding out a squashed water bottle. I asked him what the point of that was, and he says he's "following the prophet!" Apparently I don't pay enough attention at General Conference, but this was indeed mentioned in a talk last April (search for "water bottle" in the talk  at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/04/16haynie)

Mission work lately continues to be mainly meeting with and teach members of the ward, but he says that their goal is to encourage the ward members to meet new people and provide referrals to the missionaries, and that their efforts are moving things in the right direction. Good to hear! He says their most inspirational story of the week was what happened after one of their meetings was cancelled last minute. They pondered on what they should do next and, while looking at the map of their area, felt inspired to drive to the very northernmost part of their area, which is near Castaic Lake (and only about a 20 minute drive; the area isn't all that big). Upon arriving, they found that there were a few widely scattered houses around and knocked on some doors. The third house they tried had someone who not only answered the door, but was also somewhat interested in talking to them. So they will hopefully get an opportunity to return, and he may also have some service opportunities for them. (Missionaries are always happy for service opportunities!)

I'll finish with a spiritual thought from the week from one of his talks: "We are commanded to study the Scriptures. Why? God wants us to grow in our knowledge of eternal principles. The scriptures are like the textbooks for the class we're all enrolled in—Eternal Life 101. God wants us to grow in wisdom and in knowledge, and the scriptures are an excellent source for both."

Everyone at Zone Conference. Elder Wood is standing in the back row, second from right.

Their lunch table at Zone Conference, including the smashed water bottle.

They stopped at McDonald's for Pokemon/Pikachu Happy Meals.

Bird photo: Crow atop a tree.

Another bird photo: I spotted 3 birds here in the grass.

Final bird: Zoomed in one of the three in the grass.

Week 52 (Plum Canyon)

I think week 52 officially marks the halfway point, especially since Elder Wood entered the MTC on 3 October 2022, also known as basically one year ago. Time both flies and crawls, depending upon the way you think about it!

Things continue to be pretty uneventful in Plum Canyon. Not that they aren't doing good work, but the weeks tend to mostly blend into one another. The most exciting thing that happened this week: They were doing their companion study at a park, and someone approached to talk to them (this happens sometimes, thus why they'll study in public places, to invite conversation.) Instead of having questions for the missionaries, though, this man wanted to testify to them about his conversion to an evangelical church and his experience in being born again. Elder Wood said they mostly agreed with a lot of what he said, and that he was very nice. But he didn't have any interest in hearing more about the gospel they would be happy to share with him. Overall, though, a new and different type of encounter to spice up the week!

In general, Elder Wood and Elder Krumbah have been spending a lot of time having lessons with the members of the Plum Canyon ward. They did have one lesson with a member who doesn't attend very often, so that was fun for them. They also watched General Conference this week at the church building. For the first session on Saturday morning, they realized they didn't have the correct cable to connect their phone (streaming the broadcast) to the television, so had to watch huddled around a phone. After the first session, they ran to the store to buy a cable and enjoyed the remaining sessions on the television.

This was a transfer week in the mission, but it isn't at the top of the blog because not a whole lot changed. Elder Wood and Elder Krumbah are staying together in Plum Canyon. Elder Wood is still the designated driver. They did get a new elder in their apartment, since the other companionship had a change. The new elder is fresh out of the MTC and says he likes board games, so that is apparently the beginning of a fast friendship.

In addition to being a minimal news week, this is also a minimal photo week. I got exactly two, shared below. I chastised Elder Wood when I talked to him on the phone about slacking off, but he says the birds (and thus the pictures) have their own schedules. So we make do with what we get.

Bird photo: A bird in flight

Another bird photo: He's there, blending into the tree, if you look closely enough