Week 73 (Bakersfield 2nd)

The major updates this week seem to be on the vagaries of transportation. Elder Wood and Elder Karren were on foot at the start of the week, but now have replacement bicycles. Unfortunately, the new bikes have "even more problems than the last ones". I think Elder Wood is mechanically minded enough that he cares about things that I wouldn't even notice, like the condition of the pedals and derailleurs. But apparently also the handlebars are fixed in a position that's too low, and the seat is uncomfortable, so that's been hard for him. And in a final blow, they aren't able to find any rechargeable lights, so they aren't able to ride at night.

Thus, for the week they spend a lot of time walking, a little time riding, and didn't get the chance to have too many appointments. It felt like a slow week, but hopefully things will improve soon! If nothing else, I told him he's learning to cope with opposition.

They did spend some time this week online cleaning up addresses for referrals that they received. Apparently often it's pretty obvious to figure out what the correct address should be for one that reports invalid (maybe it just needs a space between words or something). And for one, that was on California Street, but with a number that doesn't exist in Bakersfield, no city noted, and a Pennsylvania phone number, he was able to forward the referral on to missionaries in Pennsylvania instead that will hopefully be able to locate the address.

I got to hear a couple stories, including their quest to find an available pickleball court for their activity today. Apparently pickleball is truly popular everywhere, including with missionaries! And his photo of a hawk sitting on a light pole was after they were sitting in a local park enjoying some companion study, when all of a sudden a squirrel pops up and chirps to warn others, and suddenly a hawk swooped down! It didn't get any squirrels that time, and landed on the light post, when he took his nice photo.

A fun Easter display at their local Wal-Mart

An interesting tree. He says it looks like a mushroom, I voted for a spear of broccoli

Bird photo #1: The hawk on the light post

Bird photo #2: A posing parrot

Bird photo #3: A bird that found itself a snack

Week 72 (Bakersfield 2nd)

Pity your poor elders of the Bakersfield 2nd area, who are back on foot again. Elder Wood says it is not his fault, because when their bikes were stolen, he was out of the area on exchanges with another missionary. This was on Thursday evening, and his companion and the exchanging missionary had left them locked to a sign post. But apparently the thieves lifted the bikes and the lock up and over the top of the sign, leaving only a lone unwanted bike helmet attached to the post. It sounds like they will probably be sent new bikes sometime soon, but for now they just keep walking everywhere.

Thanks in decent part to the walking, not a lot happened this week. Church was nice, and they talked to some of their friends, but no major progress. Lupe continues to improve healthwise, and they've talked to her on the phone, but they would love to see her at church sometime - it sounds like she isn't quite ready yet.

They were able to get some errands done today, their Preparation Day, since the other missionaries in their district gave them a ride. They went to the dry cleaner to get a suit and some ties cleaned. They got some groceries. And they had an activity with the district, which was some indoor games including spike ball, gator ball (I don't quite understand what that one is), and the tabletop game Secret Combinations. And that is about all the happenings for the week!

The district during last week's outdoor activity

This poor tree was hit by a car. Elder Wood thought it was nice that someone had put a band-aid on it to help it heal, but "it doesn't look quite big enough"

Bird photo #1: A robin

Bird photo #2: Maybe a hawk

Bird photo #3: "Where else but Bakersfield can you find parrots in the wild?"

Week 71 (Bakersfield 2nd)

Another two-week jump, which catches us up to this past week. There were transfers two weeks ago (during week 70 of the mission), and as expected, Elder Wood stayed in Bakersfield 2nd with a new companion. Elder Petersen ended up being transferred to Plum Canyon, the area that Elder Wood left a few months ago! Elder Wood's new companion is Elder Karren, who hails from Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Their friend Lupe is home from the hospital, which is great news! They were able to visit with her a week or so ago and share a scripture. She's doing okay healthwise, but hasn't been able to make it back to church yet. Hopefully sometime soon. Their other friend Isiah continues to meet with them and ask good questions. They've had great lessons, and are hoping he will get a chance to attend church soon, but thus far his work schedule has conflicted.

This week in general was a good one for appointments and lessons, so Elder Wood felt that they were pretty productive, even given that being a bike area slows them down a little bit since it takes longer to get everywhere. During their Preparation Day activities, they've mostly been indoors for the past few months, but this week were able to play Ultimate Frisbee outdoors. It apparently went well, although the grass was a bit wet and slippery (due to sprinklers or dew, it hasn't really rained there much).

More photos of people than of birds this week, which is nice and unusual! It helps that the Mission President and his wife post photos on a Facebook group that let us look for our elders and enjoy finding them in the group photos!

A photo of the elders during transfers. Elder Wood is the "tall" one right in the center; he said another missionary decided to lift him up for the picture.

The Zone Conference held this past week

Lunch at Zone Conference. Elder Wood had just taken a bite of his ice cream bar.

New district photo. Elder Wood's new companion, Elder Karren, is in the middle with a blue suit and reddish hair 

Bird photo #1 - Ducks

Bird photo #2 - A white pigeon, maybe?

Week 69 (Bakersfield 2nd)

A couple catch-up posts coming since your friendly neighborhood blog poster was out of town with minimal internet and couldn't make these updates.

There isn't a lot to report from weeks 68 & 69. Elder Wood was sick for a few days, nothing major, but tiredness meant he didn't get a lot done, especially since they have to ride bikes everywhere. They did have a good visit with their friend Isaiah, who brought a friend to their study session, and also asked some good questions.

Other than that quick report, I didn't get a lot this week, but there were some nice pictures uploaded, mainly of birds, but some with people in them as well. Transfers are coming up in the next week, and Elder Wood was pretty sure that he'd be staying and Elder Petersen heading somewhere else.

A photo of the district before transfers could made any changes

Bird photo #1 - A bird with interesting feathers

Bird photo #2 - Maybe a hummingbird given its long bill?

Bird photo #3 - With a bright red cap, possibly a woodpecker.