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. |
No comments:
Post a Comment