Week 88 (Brimhall)

Elder Wood says hello from the Brimhall Ward! He was transferred there this past week. It is in the Bakersfield Stake, which means he is right back in the heart of Bakersfield. Sadly for him, that also means back in the heat of summer. But he says he's getting used to it, and didn't really complain about the heat at all, so good for him! And I suppose it's the right attitude, since he thinks most likely this is where he'll finish out the last 3 transfers of his mission.

As far as his living situation, his apartment is right next to the mission home, and about 3 miles north of the site they've announced for the Bakersfield temple. (The temple site is in the ward just to the south.) It sounds like the temple is currently facing some community concerns before it can get started, so the local leaders are working to try to understand and help to resolve those. Elder Wood says he thinks the neighbors just don't understand yet what great things a temple does for nearby property values.

His new apartment is shared with another set of missionaries, so there are four of them there. His new district consists of those four, plus another two elders for a total of six. The new area is technically a bike area again, but the other elders in their apartment are kind, so they share the car, meaning he only has to ride his bike in the heat for half the week.

As far as missionary work, Elder Wood has only been in the area for a few days, so he doesn't know much yet, but he's looking forward to getting to know the area and the people. The ward he's serving in is a good size, so there are lots of people to meet. It's in a much nicer part of Bakersfield than he was in before, with lots of big houses.

Picture-wise, I was happy that the mission leaders posted photos from transfers on Facebook, so I was able to get three different pictures of him on transfer day. I'll post all of them to make up for last week's dearth of photos.

Transfers - Elder Wood far left

Transfers - Elder Wood 3rd from left in this one

Bigger group at transfers - Elder Wood is on the far right of the front row

Bird photo #1 - An osprey nest with a chick peeking out

Bird photo #2 - Probably the parent osprey

Bird photo #3 - Not sure whether the same bird, but a nice shot of a raptor framed by the wires

Bird photo #4 - Rocky, a cockatoo that he met when they were visiting a ward member at his job

Week 87 (Kern Valley)

First off, an apology because there are exactly 0 pictures this week. I asked Elder Wood during our call whether maybe he'd just forgotten to connect to Wifi and upload them but he said no, he just hasn't taken any. Not even a single bird!

This week not much happened, partially because both of Elder Wood's companions were sick for a few days, so they were confined at home waiting for them to recover. He said that he did manage to stay healthy himself, which he attributes to his year at college where he didn't keep his environment spotless and thus built his immune system. Maybe! He did not have such good luck with his foot, since while they were doing some cleaning and moving of furniture, he managed to drop his portion of the bedframe directly on his bare foot and big toe. Ouch! He says he thinks it'll be okay, he's just limping a little right now. Hopefully he's right, and it'll heal quickly.

In missionary news, they did receive two referrals this week, which they were able to contact via text. One of them shows some promise and they hope to have an appointment to meet him soon and have a lesson. The other apparently is in a rough spot and is hoping the missionaries can give him money. While that isn't going to happen, Elder Wood did say they will connect him to their ward, which may be able to help out in small ways.

The other event of the week was that they were able to attend a fundraiser. The ward held a spaghetti dinner and silent auction to raise money for youth programs and camps. The members refused to let the missionaries pay, so they waived the suggested donation for their dinner. One member even gave them some money to use to bid on auction items. They ended up taking some chocolate-covered strawberries and a chocolate cake home with them to enjoy.

That was about it for this week. Transfers are this coming week, so Elder Wood should find out on Tuesday the transfer news for Thursday. He suspects that he and Elder Allen will be transferred elsewhere, since Elder Egbert is going to be training a new missionary. But perhaps he's wrong - tune in next week to find out!

Week 86 (Kern Valley)

Some good missionary work and service were accomplished this week in the Kern Valley area. Elder Wood reports that they have been spending some time connecting with inactive members of the ward who don't attend very often. One of them has committed to coming next week, now that another member has promised to give them a ride to church.

This week the elders also did some service for their friend Deanne. She had a booking made for her AirBnb listing, so they volunteered to do some yard work for her to get it into shape for the upcoming guests. Elder Wood and his companions have also volunteered to spend some time each week at the church's local Family History center. Spending time there working on their own family history helps out the volunteers who staff the center, since it's wonderful for them to have more attendees. Elder Wood says that he's found that most of his personal family history is already recorded fairly far back, but he can always help with indexing new names and records for others to view and connect with.

In activities today, the missionaries enjoyed a pancake breakfast put on by the ward. Elder Wood reports that the pancakes were fine, although he thinks he could have done better (but for a small number of pancakes, not the 100+ that needed to be made and cooked for the ward breakfast). He was also happy that one of the ward members brought a friend to the breakfast, and that friend seems interested in talking with the missionaries and possibly meeting up with them sometime soon for gospel learning and questions. The elders stayed in their own area today, with no drive elsewhere, but they are going to Techachapi tomorrow for district council and exchanges with the district leader there. It sounds like they generally leave their area, whether for Preparation Day, councils, or activities, about once each week.

Working on the yard for their friend and her AirBnb

Bird photo #1: A corvid

Bird photo #2: A rooftop bird

Week 85 (Kern Valley)

As Elder Wood put it in our chat today, "Some weeks are slow weeks and that's okay." He and his companions are doing their best to connect with and teach people, and they rejoice when someone is ready to learn more.

The missionaries didn't have a lot by way of lesson this past week, but they did work and continue to work on connecting with some of the people that were referred to them. Their friend Deanne had to cancel an appointment with them because she's busy getting the Air BnB that she rents out fixed up. So, the missionaries told her they would gladly help her with doing that fixing up, and they have a time scheduled to meet her there and help out next week. Hopefully she'll be open to hearing a message from them while they're helping, but if not, they're happy to have service to do that can help her out!

The mother of the family that they've been working with unexpectedly had to have surgery this past week, so they haven't met with them but are praying that she'll recover well and quickly. It sounds like she's doing fine so far, which is great news.

This week the missionaries spent a lot of time driving around. They went to Bakersfield for a Zone Conference (which happily for me gets some pictures posted to the mission's parent Facebook page), and today visited Tehachapi for some shopping and Preparation Day with the rest of their district.

That was all the news for this week, but Elder Wood says he's doing great and feeling well and is excited about the work and service that he's doing.

Elder Wood's table at the Zone Conference lunch

The group photo from the multi-zone Conference. Elder Wood is back row, 5th from the right. 

Bird photo #1: A blue bird

Bird photo #2: An unidentified brown bird

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