Week 42 (Plum Canyon)

It sounds like Plum Canyon is a little bit less happening in terms of missionary progress than other areas of the Bakersfield Mission. But Elder Wood and Elder Dunaway hung in there. He reports that they did a good amount of door knocking this week, and they did have one woman who was interested in having them come back. They also have a couple folks (one person, one family) that they're teaching but weren't able to meet with this week.

Elder Wood reports that the ward is friendly and good to the missionaries. They are invited over for dinner basically every Saturday and Sunday. He's started to meet more people in the ward, although since it's large he feels like there are many he still doesn't know. He also said there are several families where some of the family are members of the church and some aren't, and many of them are happy to have the missionaries come over and visit and talk with them.

For their preparation day this week, his district of missionaries played board games, which is always one of Elder Wood's favorite activities. I'm guessing they were also pretty happy to do an indoor activity, given that it's been more than 100 degrees every day this week.

I asked about the mission's rules for driving, since I know they are pretty concerned about keeping everyone safe. As is the case in just about every mission, if you are reversing the car, the non-driver has to be out of the car physically looking to make sure they don't hit anything. (Not a bad idea, given a minor incident yours truly experienced in a rental car recently.) Additionally, in this mission U-turns are forbidden; apparently on a relatively narrow urban road you are in danger of hitting a mailbox or the like when you turn. Elder Wood reports that it's pretty funny the lengths they will go to so they can park the car somewhere where no U-turns or reversing are required when they drive away.

Pretty light on photos this week, so it's mostly birds!

A fun house they walked past with a putting green on the front lawn

Bird photo - it kind of stands out against the bright blue sky

One more bird photo

Week 41 (Plum Canyon)

After last week's long update, there wasn't a lot of news this week. They had a lot of lessons with various current members of the Plum Canyon ward. Elder Wood reports that it's quite a large ward with a lot of people - so quite a contrast from the small branch in Lone Pine! He's still working to meet and get to know all of the different people in the ward. They were able to go to a baptism, for an eight-year-old member of the ward, so that was a fun event for the missionaries.

They did have a zone conference this weekend, which is always a spiritual and inspirational experience. I like them, too, because their wonderful mission leaders always post photos for us on the parent Facebook page. I also got a text with a photo of him taken by a kind member of the ward. (Fun fact, if you ever come across some missionaries, ask them whether you can take their picture and send it to their mom - their mom will appreciate it!)

There wasn't a lot to report for his Preparation Day today. They spent some time playing board games with their apartment of four, which Elder Wood is always a fan of. I asked whether missionaries are allowed to go to Magic Mountain (the roller coaster park which is right there in Santa Clarita) but apparently not. I'm sure we'll have to put it on our list to take him there in a couple years when we come back to his mission for a visit.

Lots of people photos this week and relatively few bird ones - very different!

A group of missionaries - definitely includes his district, but a little bigger than that. I'll have to ask about who they all are.

Elder Dunaway and Elder Wood, courtesy of a kind member of their ward

Just got this one uploaded from a couple weeks ago - the baptismal font in the Lone Pine chapel is actually set into the stage!

A table of missionaries, taken at Zone Conference

The entire zone - Elder Wood is standing in the back row, right in the center

Bird photo of the week

Week 40 (Plum Canyon)

Welcome to transfers week! As happens every 6 weeks in the mission, the President assigns many of the missionaries to different areas. After having been in Lone Pine for 3 transfers (18 weeks), it was Elder Wood's turn to move somewhere else. He is now serving in the Plum Canyon ward, which is in Santa Clarita. This is basically the southernmost part of the mission, and he's pretty happy with the assignment, since, while not as high as Lone Pine, it is up on the foothills and therefore not as warm in the summertime. While Bakersfield is forecast to hit 114 degrees (!) this week, Santa Clarita will "only" get to 104.

His new companion, Elder Dunaway, only has 2 transfers remaining in his mission before he returns home, so Elder Wood thinks it's pretty likely he'll be in Santa Clarita for those two transfers plus at least one more to provide some continuity. But time will tell! He says that the new ward is huge, a big contrast to the tiny branch in Lone Pine. So there are more people to interact with, but a much smaller area, since it's much more densely populated there. In fact it was a bike area of the mission up until recently, so he was very happy that they now have a car there, both due to the high heat and because there are apparently a whole lot of very steep hills! Elder Wood is the designated driver again for this transfer, which always makes him happy because then he's not the one who is navigator and phone-answerer.

The new missionary district is also larger - the last area in Lone Pine, there were only 4 missionaries total in the district. This time there are 8, made up of 3 companionships of elders and 1 of sister missionaries. He was happy to see an old friend again; his companion back in Mojave, Elder Erickson, is also in the district. Their apartment is a quad, with 4 total missionaries living there, and it has the great luxury of containing a dishwasher! (Neither of his previous mission apartments have had one.) It sounds like at least a couple of the others living there also like playing board games, so he should have some board game time to enjoy on future preparation days when they can play.

This is a long entry with all the transfer news, so I'll just do a quick mission news summary. In the few days he had in Lone Pine before the transfer, they were able to have several lessons with people, but no major updates on any of them. On Independence Day, they were able to attend and help at a community BBQ in the small town of Independence (the day is named for them, of course they have to have a big celebration!) They didn't stay out to see fireworks, though, since they had to be at home by 7 PM - ie before any fireworks and accompanying parties started, leading to potential alcohol and drunk driving - they want to be sure the missionaries are safe on the road! Instead all of the missionaries had the exciting assignment of getting their bathrooms clean.

Plum Canyon is a new and exciting place for him to be - I'm looking forward to hearing more about the work there next week!

Elder Wood and his previous companion, Elder Wright, saying farewell during the transfer exchanges

Can you spot Elder Wood in this photo of elders at the transfer shared by the Mission President? (Spoiler alert, no, you can't because he said they'd already left before it was taken.)

Bird photo: Probably a flying raptor?

Another bird photo: Some crows feasting on fruit from a tree

Week 39 (Lone Pine)

Elder Wood had some good lessons with some of their friends this week. A few fell through, but they were able to meet with Sue again. She is a little nervous about going to church for the first time, but they're hoping to give her a tour of the (empty) building. Then she'll know more what to expect if she comes, and hopefully be less nervous. They also met with their friend Michael, who has been reading the Book of Mormon regularly and is happy to talk with them. They didn't connect with Isaiah (met last week) but hope to meet with him again soon.

The elders continue to do a fair amount of driving has they do their service and meet with the other missionaries in Bishop, have Zone meetings in Ridgecrest, and visit with members and friends outside of Lone Pine itself. This week a member also took them up to the Whitney Portal campground for lunch, where they had some beautiful views out over the valley.

This will be a busy week, with the 4th of July celebrations tomorrow. They'll help out with some of the daytime events in nearby Independence (the biggest Independence Day celebration around!), but have to be home by 6 PM to avoid any potential safety issues caused by all the celebrating. I got to enjoy (virtually) hanging out with Elder Wood and Elder Wright as they stopped at an ice cream shop for an afternoon treat during our video chat this afternoon. They made me want to try some ice cream myself!

This week will be transfers week in the California Bakersfield mission. Elder Wood thinks he is fairly likely to be transferred, since he'll have completed 3 transfers (4.5 months) in the Lone Pine area. It's remote enough that the mission president doesn't generally leave anyone out there for too long. But you never know; he will find out on Wednesday what's next for him, with transfers happening on Friday.

Showing off his red-stained teeth after snacking on cherries

The view from the campground at Whitney Portal

Bird photo: Some ducks

One more bird photo of an unidentified bird