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