Week 84 (Kern Valley)

The missionary work moved along slowly this week. None of their friends was able to meet with them or come to church. Never fun for the missionaries, but Elder Wood says they understand people have priorities, and their teaching moves at the pace that their friends dictate. The elders do have a meeting with the family they've been working with scheduled this week, since the family was too busy last week with other things. He is looking forward to meeting with them again!

But even with slow progress, Elder Wood is enjoying his time in Kern Valley, and he's happy to be there. Especially when the temperature in their area is in the 80s, and Bakersfield proper will approach 100 degrees this week! They were able to enjoy a hike on Monday morning for their Preparation Day activity, which would have been a lot less fun in warmer weather. Ruby the dog went with them (she loves hiking!) as they hiked by the lake, and went halfway to Lake Isabella peak. Apparently there are quite a few old mine shafts around the area. They're closed off now to humans, and protected since a lot of them now harbor bats.

We talked a little bit about board games today, one of Elder Wood's favorite pastimes, and about a few of them he's excited to play with his family once he's home this fall. He also said he's been working on his BYU application essays, in the hopes that he may be admitted there to attend after his mission. They do often admit returning missionaries, but not always, so all he can do is apply and find out!

Mostly bird photos this week, per usual, but he did get some nice bird pictures!

Their truck parked by the lake. Apparently missionaries in the mountain areas have a truck in case they need to deal with weather/poor road conditions.

A nice photo of a woodpecker at someone's bird feeder.

A bird way up at the top of a tree

Week 83 (Kern Valley)

A fairly short update this week, since we didn't have too long to talk and I wasn't able to take notes. But the missionaries are doing well in Kern Valley. More of their appointments happened this week, without cancellations, and they feel that the family they've been teaching is really starting to absorb their messages. Elder Wood says he really believes they will decide to come to church some Sunday soon.

The elders also had a great experience when a member of the ward, who hasn't attended for a long time, saw one of their cards and decided that it was time for him to come back to church. This member, Chris, has had a hard time with his fiancee dying recently, and other things, but he felt that he needed to come, and he was there at church on Sunday. He even participated in the Sunday school lesson, so hopefully he really is ready to return!

Preparation Day was quiet since they stayed in Kern Valley instead of meeting with their district elsewhere. Elder Wood enjoyed the fact that they were able to play a few games of Clank together, which is one of his favorites. So it sounds like they enjoyed their quiet time, and they'll leave the valley tomorrow to go to Bakersfield for the day for their District Council meeting and some grocery shopping.

Only bird pictures this week, and not many of them, but at least there are a couple for you to enjoy!

Bird photo #1

Bird photo #2

Week 82 (Kern Valley)

The theme of this week was cancellation, since unfortunately many of their appointments had to cancel for various reasons. They had cancellations from the family with children they've been teaching, Patricia (the one moving soon), and Deanne (a recent contact). But the elders are looking forward to trying again and reconnecting this week! One positive experience was that an inactive member of the ward invited them over and bought them pizza for dinner, so they enjoyed eating with him and sharing a message.

The noteworthy experience of the week was that the elders called 911. They'd just finished meeting with a man who was referred to them, and as they drove away he texted the missionaries saying that he was having suicidal thoughts. They quickly called 911, and were connected to the sheriff's office, who sent someone to meet with and help him. Elder Wood says they didn't get any information about how that interaction went, but they hope that they'll be able to meet with the man more and teach some more about the gospel and its principles of happiness.

Today was Preparation Day, and they drove to Tehachapi, where they played various sports games, got lunch, and went grocery shopping. They'll spend the night there tonight, and have district council tomorrow before returning back to Kern Valley. Apparently an appointment they had planned fell through, so they were going to do some door to door contacting later today.

That is all the mission news that I got, and then we have, of course, a number of bird photos to choose from plus a few others.

A combined district council meeting, with all districts from their Bakersfield East Zone

Elder Wood enjoyed watching this helicopter swapping out telephone poles

Bird photo #1: A woodpecker

Bird photo #2: Not sure what type of bird this one is

Not a bird - they found a frog friend

Week 81 (Kern Valley)

To get the transfer news out of the way - nothing happened. All 3 of the elders in Kern Valley are staying there for another transfer. Elder Wood is happy to be there, he's enjoying the people and the work, although he complains a little about how far away it is from everything else - at least an hour's drive, and usually they have to spend the night at another apartment since it's too far to drive back. Today, for example, they had driven to Tehachapi to meet the rest of the district for their Preparation Day activity, they were going to spend the night there, and then tomorrow will drive to Bakersfield for another meeting and grocery shopping, and then drive back to their apartment. Lots of driving!

He was pretty happy with the progression of various people that they are teaching. The family with children that they met last week hasn't been able to make it to church yet, but they still meet with them often. Someone else that they contacted recently is also continuing to meet with them. She had met with the missionaries previously, but not for a while, and is quite interested to continue talking and learning more. A third friend, Patricia, is meeting with the missionaries regularly, but hasn't been able to come to church yet due to various appointments. She is moving relatively soon, though, to a place that is closer to the church building, so they have hope she'll make it to church soon!

The weather in Kern Valley (and elsewhere in California) is starting to warm up; Elder Wood says they're "getting out of coat season", although it does go up and down throughout a given week, so it's not quite fully spring yet. Kern Valley is also about 10 degrees cooler than Bakersfield, which he thinks he'll appreciate once it starts warming up for good.

Apparently this is the entrance to an old Christmas tree farm, which burned down, so this is all that's left

Bird photo #1: Ducks

Bird photo #2: A crow

I forgot to ask what this is, so you'll have to make up your own caption

Week 80 (Kern Valley)

The missionary news for this week is good but not especially detailed. They are finding lots of people who are interested in being taught, which is great news. But nobody who has progressed especially far. They had several friends who had said they would try to come to church this week, but unfortunately none were able to make it. Elder Wood is most excited about a family with 5 or so kids. The mother is divorced but was baptized a member of the church as a child, and her boyfriend is a member of the church, so she is interested in returning and introducing her children to the gospel. Hopefully she will succeed in becoming more active!

This week has transfers coming up. As is usual, the transfers are on Thursday and they'll find out their updated assignments on Tuesday. Elder Wood expects that the three of them in his area will likely all just stay put, so there may not be much by way of transfer news or excitement. But it's never for sure until you actually see the transfer board, he says!

For Pday this week they went on another hike with Ruby the friendly dog. Elder Wood said it was good to be outdoors and enjoying the nice weather. Unlike last week, where their hike led them to some pretty meadows and views, this week it was mostly along an old fire road (I think he said?) without a real destination at the end. They didn't meet up with the rest of the district since they will be going to Bakersfield tomorrow for district council meeting (?- I've forgotten now exactly what) and can't go that far two days in a row.

This week it really was all about birds in terms of pictures. He was able to get a picture of a red-winged blackbird, which isn't one he's seen a lot of. And even his non living bird picture is of the Lego set that Grandma & Aunt Kellyn sent him for birthday which is, of course, a bird!

The lego bird

A nice closeup of a duck

A woodpecker

Lots of birds, but the red-winged blackbird stands out

Week 79 (Kern Valley)

Elder Wood celebrated a birthday this week! He's 21 years old, and a kind member family got a cake and invited the elders over to celebrate. He reports that he doesn't really feel any older.

The elders kept themselves busy this week meeting with people and looking for new friends to teach. They did find someone he described as promising, who  met with missionaries in the past, but hasn't connected with them for a long while. This time she is interested, although she's busy enough that they weren't able to make another appointment for a couple of weeks. They also had one friend who agreed to watch some of General Conference, which took place over Saturday and Sunday.

During General Conference, the missionaries spent a lot of time at the church watching the various sessions. They apparently are not supposed to watch with members of the ward, so the 3 of them got to watch at the church together. Elder Wood shared the candy from his Easter package from his grandparents, and he says he really enjoyed General Conference. He didn't have a favorite talk, or at least wanted a chance to read through them again before choosing a favorite. But he liked the jokes that both President Holland and Elder Renlund told! He also said that he liked the sentiment (I'm not totally sure whether it was just said in this conference or something from a previous one) that the church and the gospel are happy to accept all truth; anything that is true is part of our religion.

Today for their Preparation Day activity, the 3 elders in Kern Valley went for a hike. They were also able to borrow a dog (named Ruby) from a member of the ward, and said that she enjoyed the exercise. Elder Wood didn't appreciate all the uphill parts of the hike, but as long as you end up where you started, at least the uphill and downhill elevation changes have to be the same!

Elder Wood with his birthday cake

I thought there might be more of a story to this photo, but apparently they just came across a tank in a local park

Missionaries (and Ruby!) during their hike

A pretty stream that they hiked to

Bird photo #1: A red-tailed hawk

Bird photo #2: Two birds on a telephone wire

One more animal photo; a snake they saw on their hike

A puzzle they worked on in their apartment - he didn't like the irregular piece shapes

Week 78 (Kern Valley)

Happy Easter! Elder Wood wanted to share a message with everyone of 3 Nephi 11:10-11 (actually verses 1 to 17 are worth reading but he said since that's long, that 10 and 11 are the most important): "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning."

The missionaries had several nice visits this week. They visited one person who is a good friend of a current church member, and had a good conversation with her; she seemed quite interested in learning more. They also stopped by an address they had and the man there said he is interested in learning more but didn't have time right then - he is a firefighter with an ever-changing schedule, so he says he'll give them a call when he has time to meet - Elder Wood is interested to find out whether he does! Another nice visit was with a partial member family, and when they found out that it's Elder Wood's birthday this coming week, they invited the missionaries to come back for a birthday dinner!

Elder Wood said that they enjoyed celebrating Easter, at church and afterward. A family in the ward invited them over for Easter dinner, which sounds like a fairly standard roast and potatoes and vegetables. But, the past part was the dessert, which was chocolate-covered strawberries, and they had actually tempered the chocolate; he claims that made them much more delicious! He also enjoyed receiving a combined Easter & birthday package from his grandparents, which included lots of candy that he's excited to share with the other elders as they watch General Conference this coming weekend.

For their Preparation Day today, the elders decided to stay put in the Kern Valley, since the drive to and from either of the other cities that their district members are in (Bakersfield and Tehachapi) takes over an hour and uses a large part of their day. Plus, the will be going to Bakersfield tomorrow for District Council meeting, as well as some grocery shopping (since the stores there are cheaper and have more selection than the ones way up in Kern Valley).

Hopefully you like seeing bird pictures, since that's all I got this week - enjoy!

Pretty scenery, but actually a bird photo if you look closely at the power lines

Technically a bird photo - a rooster that they were dropping off to one of the members of their ward

Ducks with some pretty lighting on the water

A soaring raptor

A nice closeup of a crow

Week 77 (Kern Valley)

Elder Wood and his companions continued to get to know there area and the people in it this week. He says that they've found a couple new people to teach. One is a single woman, although there is a bit of confusion because her daughter lives with her and has the same name, but isn't interested in meeting with them. Eventually they realized it was the mother who had reached out to them via text, not the daughter! They are also hoping that they'll be able to start teaching a family that they found soon.

He shared a nice moment from the week, when they knocked on someone's door and asked whether they could share a quick scripture with her. They shared John 14:27: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." She told them that she appreciated their message and that it "made her day" - always a nice thing to do!

For their Preparation Day today they drove the hour or so to Tehachapi, where they met with the rest of the district for an activity. It sounds like they played some games at the church, including chair soccer. Elder Wood got hit with the soccer ball and said he broke his glasses but fixed them (I think an arm was bent out of shape?) Otherwise no injuries. Their current district consists of 10 missionaries: One companionship with two sister missionaries, and then 3 that have elders, but two of those (including the Kern Valley one) have trios. When I talked to him they were driving and eventually arrived at a member's house where one of his companions was going to get a haircut.

I spent a minute asking about their plans for Easter, which turns out to be not much at this point. But they do have an invitation for dinner, so they'll get to enjoy a nice Easter dinner. Church will only be an hour that day, and hopefully will be a wonderful service. This week was also Zone Conference, meaning some nice pictures from the kind mission leaders, although I didn't remember to ask for any details.

Their table at Zone Conference

Everyone at Zone Conference - Elder Wood is on the far left, second one in

A nice view of Lake Isabella

Bird photo #1: Do you see the woodpecker?

Bird photo #2: A blue bird

One more wildlife photo - they saw some deer near the lake

A fancy stretch Hummer that they spotted

Week 76 (Kern Valley)

Welcome to the Kern Valley Ward! Or at least, Elder Wood was welcomed there this past week. I had to look up where it is, but basically the ward surrounds Lake Isabella, about an hour northeast of Bakersfield. There is also a Kern Valley Airport north of the lake, but the church building, their apartment, and where people live seems to be mainly south of the lake. Also, the lake attracts birds, which is of course a plus.

Elder Wood reports that not a lot happened during the beginning of the week, as he finished up his time in Bakersfield this transfer. A couple appointments that they had apparently fell through. Then, on Thursday everyone meets in Bakersfield for transfers. Elder Wood is now in a trio, so there are 3 missionaries in their companionship. It sounds like both of the other two, Elder Allen and Elder Eggbert, were in the area previously with a different third companion. And they do have a car, which he appreciates, although he's currently neither the driver nor the copilot, so he says he is just useless in the back seat.

He says that the ward itself was a little bigger than he expected. It's not large, but they actually have a Primary! With I think he said six kids in it. He's still meeting people and getting used to the area, but he said they were able to do a lot of service, including some work at a food bank. He also told me about the greenhouse that they helped a member of the ward build. It was interesting to hear about it from him and then, a few hours later, got a text from that member who shared photos of the greenhouse and the missionaries. That was fun! She also mentioned that Elder Wood was the one who read and figured out the directions, which were very hard to understand - sounds like him!

There is a grocery store there in the area, but it's pretty small, so apparently they are able to go back down to Bakersfield every week or two to stock up at Walmart. I look forward to hearing more about how the area works and how the teaching is going there next week, after he gets his bearings a little more.

Elder Wood, Elder Eggbert, and Elder Allen

Working on the greenhouse

More greenhouse pictures

The elders in front of the finished greenhouse

Bird photo: Seagulls!

Another bird photo: A robin

Week 75 (Bakersfield 2nd)

Elder Wood had a great week this week! From a blogging perspective, I was happy that there were lots of pictures to choose from. But more importantly, from a missionary perspective, they had some really great experiences. This will likely be Elder Wood's final few days in this area (transfers are coming up on Thursday, and they know his current companion will be training someone new, likely in Bakersfield 2nd) so he's happy to head out with some great memories.

On Thursday they had a temple trip - they get to visit a temple about every 6 months, since there is none in their actual mission. Last time he was in the southern-most parts of the mission and went to the Los Angeles temple. Now, since he's more north, he got to experience the Fresno temple. He said it was great; a lot smaller than Los Angeles, but pretty. And there's TC, the Temple Cat, that he thought was quite cool. He doesn't know the full story, but it actually has a collar and air tags that say it belongs there, and it's often quite friendly. He also said their temple session was a wonderful experience, so he's glad that he was able to be there.

In their next bit of exciting news, their 9-year-old friend AJ was baptized this week! They've been working with her for several months, so it was wonderful for her to be ready and for them to be there to support her. He was happy to have that experience. We also commented on how this was the second baptism in one of his area; the other being CJ back in Lone Pine, and why are all of the people that get baptized females that go by a two letter abbreviation ending in J? Who knows! But kind of a fun coincidence.

Final fun news was that their friend Isaiah, who has been more interested in a factual/curious sort of way, agreed to go to a baptism with them. He wasn't able to attend AJ's, but there was a baptism in a nearby Young Single Adult ward that Elder Wood and Elder Karren attended with Isaiah, and they said it seemed to be a really good experience for him. They have an appointment scheduled with him tomorrow and are looking forward to hearing more about how he felt about it.

That was about all the news, other than dealing with a little bit of rain while they were biking. So I'm sure he'll be happy to be transferred somewhere that almost certainly will be in a car again (the mission has few bike areas). We'll find out where next week!

Elder Wood at the Fresno Temple

The group of missionaries visiting the Fresno Temple

A pretty shot of the entire temple and grounds

TC, the Temple Cat, who apparently was not feeling super photogenic that day

A close-up of TC's collar and ID tag

Bird photo #1: Apparently this is a Muscovy Duck. It's a bit ugly :-)

Bird photo #2: A blue jay of some sort