Dear Family,
Well, after reading through Warren's post on the blog, Mom's letter, Dad's short letter, Christian's email and JoAnn's email, I'm not left with too much time to write this week. First and foremost, I think that it's most important I express my excitement and gratitude over the miracle our family experienced last Wednesday. Although I am sad I couldn't be with the rest of the family during this experience, I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity that I've had to be a part of it. Most of the people we are surrounded by day to day, as I have come to know on my mission, lack faith. They profess belief, but have no real trust or heartfelt confidence in God. I'm grateful that my family is not that way. The Lord has done a great deal to protect and provide for our family during these last few months. Calvin's delivery is just another part of the long list of the blessings He has given us.
I was touched by Warren's letter and that throughout it, both prayer and Priesthood were involved. I was especially touched by his blessing which got me thinking about the Priesthood and its involvement in the situation. We learn that through the Priesthood, Godly power is manifest (D&C 84:21). And so, I can hardly think of a place where the power of God would be more present than in a place where tender blessings are given by the Priesthood, the process of the creation of life ends, and a spirit son of our Heavenly Father enters mortality. I am grateful for the support and protection God has given our family, and I have reason to hope, that through our faithfulness and according to the will of God, that God's help will continue through the trials that are now starting with JoAnn and Nathan.
Like I said, I'm low on time to write, but so far, Laredo has been great. My new companion is Elder Anderson, from South Jordan, Utah. he's pretty quiet, but we have been getting along pretty well so far. The branches here in Laredo (an English branch and a Spanish branch) are very small. That's all the more reason to work hard and do our part so that can soon change. I fully expect to look back some years from now and find Stakes here in Laredo. So, I'm determined to do my work now to move that process forward. Like I said, I'm low on time to write, so I'll try to get in a little more about all this next week. Here is my new address in Laredo. I'll try to put on some pictures as well.
Elder Roland Wood
1917 S. Milmo Ave., Apt. #8
Laredo, TX 78043
Good luck to everyone and I hope you have a great week! Good luck with the wedding!
Love,
Elder Wood
April 18, 2011
April 4, 2011, (last) email post from Edinburg, TX
Dear Family,
Well, this week was quite an eventful week in the way of news. Ten hour of conference made for an exciting weekend, filled with inspiration and revelation. I'll try to get down some of the parts of conference that I enjoyed the most and a bit of what I learned, after the biggest piece of news for the week. Transfer information is in, and despite my belief that I was gong to stay in Edinburg North, I'm actually getting moved to Laredo, tomorrow. I'll be in the south part of Laredo, (aka the ghetto) in an area called Larga Vista. I wasn't expecting to move, but I will admit I'm thoroughly excited to go to Laredo. I've always heard good things about that area and hopefully I'll be able to find someone there that I was sent to teach. My companion that I'm leaving, Elder Arens, will be training a greenie in this area. This is starting to make a weird pattern, considering that the last two companions I've left have trained. I'm excited to get to Laredo. I'm sure I'll have some good stories to tell soon, as I've already heard quite a few from that area. For example, Elder Figueroa, another Elder that lives with us was there and has a video of him eating chicken feet stew. Hopefully I won't have the same story to tell, but I'm sure I'll get something soon.
This past week we found a couple of new people to teach that I guess I will be handing off to the new missionary when he arrives. One lady we have been teaching, Nora, is a single mom with 7 kids under the age of 10. Needless to say, she is very stressed. The noise in the house often reminds me of growing up with many other little Bedlamites (yay, Elder Holland). She wasn't able to attend Conference this weekend not due to any fault of her own. Hopefully, she'll be able to attend this next week. The investigators that I am really sad to leave behind are Jacob and his wife, Brenda. They are the brother and sister-in-law of Alex's mother-in-law. Jacob has had some really powerful experiences with the Church before, such as witnessing healings by the power of the priesthood and has often felt the spirit that surrounds his sister's family. Jacob does struggle with serious depression and has trouble motivating himself to act for himself. Because of that, he has had trouble deciding to join the church because his wife, Brenda, struggles with a family commitment to the Catholic church. Jacob has trouble doing anything that Brenda doesn't do. However, this last Sunday, Jacob came to Conference and said he is ready to start doing what he wants to do, such as coming to Church and being baptized--even if Brenda doesn't support or follow him. We promised him that what he was doing was the right thing and that if he follows through with it, Brenda will see a change in him and his great example and will soon follow him by making steps into the Church. Sadly, I won't see the end to that story, but I intend to follow up with Elder Arens and whoever takes over for me in this area to find out what happens with Jacob.
Well, I'm starting to get low on time to write, but I guess I can write down a few things that I remember from Conference. I loved Elder Christofferson's talk on "divine chastening". I've heard the story about Elder Brown and the bush before from our mission president, but this time it struck me with a bit more force. I'm planning to make myself a quote wall from Conference on some things that I want to remember and apply while I'm in Laredo. One of them will be, "I am the gardener and I know what I want you to be!" (In my mind that's being said with a dramatic Elder Christofferson voice) as well as some others. I especially liked Elder Oak's talk about desires and actions determining who we become, as well as the role that they play in our priorities and our choices. One talk that I plan to print out and study is the talk Elder Bednar gave on receiving revelation. I thought while he spoke about the investigators that I have had so far in the mission and how some have gone through both processes to gain a witness of the truth of the Church. Some have had lightbulb moments, where direct and specific revelation comes to them, while others have been through a long course of study and learned line upon line, precept upon precept, until they finally realize that the sun has risen, and it's a new day.
Be sure to give my best wishes to Khand at her wedding, and make sure Dad keeps Mom from stressing out too much. Oh, and for Dad as well, I did meet with Gustavo for a little while during this week and we had an altogether positive exchange. Sadly, I will be moving to Laredo and be out of the valley, so I will not be here to take him up on his offer to tour the station. If you can, please express to him my gratitude for the time he took out of his schedule to show me around. He is a very kind and very impressive man, of that I have no doubt.
I hope that everyone has a great week and that Mel and the baby do well also!
Love,
Elder Wood
Well, this week was quite an eventful week in the way of news. Ten hour of conference made for an exciting weekend, filled with inspiration and revelation. I'll try to get down some of the parts of conference that I enjoyed the most and a bit of what I learned, after the biggest piece of news for the week. Transfer information is in, and despite my belief that I was gong to stay in Edinburg North, I'm actually getting moved to Laredo, tomorrow. I'll be in the south part of Laredo, (aka the ghetto) in an area called Larga Vista. I wasn't expecting to move, but I will admit I'm thoroughly excited to go to Laredo. I've always heard good things about that area and hopefully I'll be able to find someone there that I was sent to teach. My companion that I'm leaving, Elder Arens, will be training a greenie in this area. This is starting to make a weird pattern, considering that the last two companions I've left have trained. I'm excited to get to Laredo. I'm sure I'll have some good stories to tell soon, as I've already heard quite a few from that area. For example, Elder Figueroa, another Elder that lives with us was there and has a video of him eating chicken feet stew. Hopefully I won't have the same story to tell, but I'm sure I'll get something soon.
This past week we found a couple of new people to teach that I guess I will be handing off to the new missionary when he arrives. One lady we have been teaching, Nora, is a single mom with 7 kids under the age of 10. Needless to say, she is very stressed. The noise in the house often reminds me of growing up with many other little Bedlamites (yay, Elder Holland). She wasn't able to attend Conference this weekend not due to any fault of her own. Hopefully, she'll be able to attend this next week. The investigators that I am really sad to leave behind are Jacob and his wife, Brenda. They are the brother and sister-in-law of Alex's mother-in-law. Jacob has had some really powerful experiences with the Church before, such as witnessing healings by the power of the priesthood and has often felt the spirit that surrounds his sister's family. Jacob does struggle with serious depression and has trouble motivating himself to act for himself. Because of that, he has had trouble deciding to join the church because his wife, Brenda, struggles with a family commitment to the Catholic church. Jacob has trouble doing anything that Brenda doesn't do. However, this last Sunday, Jacob came to Conference and said he is ready to start doing what he wants to do, such as coming to Church and being baptized--even if Brenda doesn't support or follow him. We promised him that what he was doing was the right thing and that if he follows through with it, Brenda will see a change in him and his great example and will soon follow him by making steps into the Church. Sadly, I won't see the end to that story, but I intend to follow up with Elder Arens and whoever takes over for me in this area to find out what happens with Jacob.
Well, I'm starting to get low on time to write, but I guess I can write down a few things that I remember from Conference. I loved Elder Christofferson's talk on "divine chastening". I've heard the story about Elder Brown and the bush before from our mission president, but this time it struck me with a bit more force. I'm planning to make myself a quote wall from Conference on some things that I want to remember and apply while I'm in Laredo. One of them will be, "I am the gardener and I know what I want you to be!" (In my mind that's being said with a dramatic Elder Christofferson voice) as well as some others. I especially liked Elder Oak's talk about desires and actions determining who we become, as well as the role that they play in our priorities and our choices. One talk that I plan to print out and study is the talk Elder Bednar gave on receiving revelation. I thought while he spoke about the investigators that I have had so far in the mission and how some have gone through both processes to gain a witness of the truth of the Church. Some have had lightbulb moments, where direct and specific revelation comes to them, while others have been through a long course of study and learned line upon line, precept upon precept, until they finally realize that the sun has risen, and it's a new day.
Be sure to give my best wishes to Khand at her wedding, and make sure Dad keeps Mom from stressing out too much. Oh, and for Dad as well, I did meet with Gustavo for a little while during this week and we had an altogether positive exchange. Sadly, I will be moving to Laredo and be out of the valley, so I will not be here to take him up on his offer to tour the station. If you can, please express to him my gratitude for the time he took out of his schedule to show me around. He is a very kind and very impressive man, of that I have no doubt.
I hope that everyone has a great week and that Mel and the baby do well also!
Love,
Elder Wood
April 15, 2011
March 28, 2011, email from Edinburg, TX
Dear Family,
I was happy to hear that Mom had a good time in Provo and Arizona these past two weeks. I'm sure that Christian is enjoying all of the free cinnamon rolls and house cleaning that comes with a visit from Mom. Also, this last Tuesday I got the package that Mom sent me and have already managed to eat all of the food. The CTR ring does fit quite nicely.
In response to Dad's email, I called Gustavo again yesterday, and we should be meeting sometime on Tuesday in the afternoon. I'm supposed to call him tonight to find out the actual time that we can do it.
This past week was a good week though we didn't manage to make any huge strides with anyone in the way of missionary work. We have been pushing to try and get referrals from the members in this area in the hopes of finding some new people to teach. We had some success with this, but we haven't found anyone so far that is on their way and progressing towards baptism.
This week is the last week that we have before we find out about transfers on Saturday. I will most likely be staying in Edinburg, but my companion has been here for a while and will probably be leaving. Transfers are basically the biggest deal in the life of a missionary besides baptisms. Saturdays before transfers are normally a pretty high-energy day with everyone stressing out to find if they're going anywhere or not.
We had quite a large miracle this week with our recent convert Juana Maria. She has been struggling to pay the rent on her trailer lot for while now, and is currently living without electricity or water. During this last week she wasn't going to be able to pay the rent on her lot, and they were going to kick her out unless she paid. She was ready and willing to live out of her car, as she has done before, but for the nine people that live in that trailer it was a bit of a scary situation. So, we brought up her situation in the ward co-ordination meeting that we had, and the ward put itself to work finding a way to help her. The members pooled together here and gathered $300 to pay her rent for this month. She was very thankful and expressed her gratitude for the miracle that she received to the members. She is also determined that once she's back on her feet more, she'll be searching for an opportunity to pay back the miracle that she received and help others in the ward with their problems.
Overall it was a great week filled with missionary work, miracles, zone conference and a lot of fun. I'm sure that next week won't be too different. I hope Mom stays safe as she goes back home and also that everything goes well with Mel and the pregnancy. Thanks for everything! Oh, and be sure to wish Dad a happy birthday for me. All of the other missionaries already know about my amazing, quirky father and the many stories he has given me to tell.
Love,
Elder Wood
I was happy to hear that Mom had a good time in Provo and Arizona these past two weeks. I'm sure that Christian is enjoying all of the free cinnamon rolls and house cleaning that comes with a visit from Mom. Also, this last Tuesday I got the package that Mom sent me and have already managed to eat all of the food. The CTR ring does fit quite nicely.
In response to Dad's email, I called Gustavo again yesterday, and we should be meeting sometime on Tuesday in the afternoon. I'm supposed to call him tonight to find out the actual time that we can do it.
This past week was a good week though we didn't manage to make any huge strides with anyone in the way of missionary work. We have been pushing to try and get referrals from the members in this area in the hopes of finding some new people to teach. We had some success with this, but we haven't found anyone so far that is on their way and progressing towards baptism.
This week is the last week that we have before we find out about transfers on Saturday. I will most likely be staying in Edinburg, but my companion has been here for a while and will probably be leaving. Transfers are basically the biggest deal in the life of a missionary besides baptisms. Saturdays before transfers are normally a pretty high-energy day with everyone stressing out to find if they're going anywhere or not.
We had quite a large miracle this week with our recent convert Juana Maria. She has been struggling to pay the rent on her trailer lot for while now, and is currently living without electricity or water. During this last week she wasn't going to be able to pay the rent on her lot, and they were going to kick her out unless she paid. She was ready and willing to live out of her car, as she has done before, but for the nine people that live in that trailer it was a bit of a scary situation. So, we brought up her situation in the ward co-ordination meeting that we had, and the ward put itself to work finding a way to help her. The members pooled together here and gathered $300 to pay her rent for this month. She was very thankful and expressed her gratitude for the miracle that she received to the members. She is also determined that once she's back on her feet more, she'll be searching for an opportunity to pay back the miracle that she received and help others in the ward with their problems.
Overall it was a great week filled with missionary work, miracles, zone conference and a lot of fun. I'm sure that next week won't be too different. I hope Mom stays safe as she goes back home and also that everything goes well with Mel and the pregnancy. Thanks for everything! Oh, and be sure to wish Dad a happy birthday for me. All of the other missionaries already know about my amazing, quirky father and the many stories he has given me to tell.
Love,
Elder Wood
April 14, 2011
March 21, 2011, email from Edinburg
Dear Family,
Well, these past few days have made up a pretty great week. This week was mostly highlighted by Alex's baptism this last Saturday. I've put in some pictures of her baptism, as well as some pictures from the baptism of Juana Maria, Katy and Jiliana because I'm not sure I ever sent those home. Interestingly enough, I am not sure I ever mentioned that Elder Raynor, my old companion from Donna, is here in Edinburg, too. He is in the Central area, but about a year ago he also served in the North area of Edinburg. When I left from Donna I was leaving him behind and going to his old area here in Edinburg. He gave me the names of some of the people he taught while he was in Edinburg that he thought I should go visit. Alex was actually one of those people that he told me to go visit. He taught her about a year ago, but at that time she wasn't quite ready to accept the Gospel. Now she is fully converted to the Church and is currently trying to decide what temple she wants to go into when she gets married for time and eternity. She left the baptism on Saturday with a picture of the Houston temple which she now keeps in her room to remind her of her goal a year from now.
Looking back on what happened with Alex, the pivotal moment for her was when we got down on our knees with her and prayed to know the truth. As we spent time with her to create an atmosphere where she could feel the Spirit, taught her how to pray and helped her know how to recognize the Spirit, then her conversion came through the Power of the Holy Ghost. She is confident that she knows that this is what God wants for her. I'm truly convinced that on a mission, we convert no one. We can only do our part to help them feel the Spirit, and by the power of the Spirit can they truly become converted.
We haven't had anything else really happen this week in the way of fantastic news, but we continue working and doing our best to help other people make the same steps that Alex just took to follow the Savior. Transfers will becoming up in just a few weeks, but again I suspect that I will be staying in Edinburg a while longer. I don't really expect any changes there, besides maybe a new companion.
I haven't received Mom's package from Arizona yet, but I'm sure it will get here soon. I hope Mark is doing well in Peru and that James is enjoying his time home. I'm sure Mel will continue to do well as the Lord protects her and that soon we will have another wonderful nephew added to the family. Give my congratulations and best wishes to Khand on her marriage. I hope Mom doesn't stress out too much over another reception in the back yard. I hope everyone has a great week!
Love,
Elder Wood
Well, these past few days have made up a pretty great week. This week was mostly highlighted by Alex's baptism this last Saturday. I've put in some pictures of her baptism, as well as some pictures from the baptism of Juana Maria, Katy and Jiliana because I'm not sure I ever sent those home. Interestingly enough, I am not sure I ever mentioned that Elder Raynor, my old companion from Donna, is here in Edinburg, too. He is in the Central area, but about a year ago he also served in the North area of Edinburg. When I left from Donna I was leaving him behind and going to his old area here in Edinburg. He gave me the names of some of the people he taught while he was in Edinburg that he thought I should go visit. Alex was actually one of those people that he told me to go visit. He taught her about a year ago, but at that time she wasn't quite ready to accept the Gospel. Now she is fully converted to the Church and is currently trying to decide what temple she wants to go into when she gets married for time and eternity. She left the baptism on Saturday with a picture of the Houston temple which she now keeps in her room to remind her of her goal a year from now.
Looking back on what happened with Alex, the pivotal moment for her was when we got down on our knees with her and prayed to know the truth. As we spent time with her to create an atmosphere where she could feel the Spirit, taught her how to pray and helped her know how to recognize the Spirit, then her conversion came through the Power of the Holy Ghost. She is confident that she knows that this is what God wants for her. I'm truly convinced that on a mission, we convert no one. We can only do our part to help them feel the Spirit, and by the power of the Spirit can they truly become converted.
We haven't had anything else really happen this week in the way of fantastic news, but we continue working and doing our best to help other people make the same steps that Alex just took to follow the Savior. Transfers will becoming up in just a few weeks, but again I suspect that I will be staying in Edinburg a while longer. I don't really expect any changes there, besides maybe a new companion.
I haven't received Mom's package from Arizona yet, but I'm sure it will get here soon. I hope Mark is doing well in Peru and that James is enjoying his time home. I'm sure Mel will continue to do well as the Lord protects her and that soon we will have another wonderful nephew added to the family. Give my congratulations and best wishes to Khand on her marriage. I hope Mom doesn't stress out too much over another reception in the back yard. I hope everyone has a great week!
Love,
Elder Wood
March 18, 2011
March 14, 2011, email post from Edinburg, TX
Dar Family,
Another week has come and gone here in the mission field, and this one went faster than most it seems like. I'm sure that trend will only continue and before I know it I'll be running out of time here in the field. We haven't had too much in the way of news here in Edinburg, but we do have a few stories to tell that I'll try to get down.
The first story is with Alex. She has been preparing for her baptism this Saturday and is doing very well. This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday and when she showed up to school she was surprised to see so many of her friends going around with crosses on their foreheads. One of her friends during the day asked her, "Why don't you have a cross on your forehead? You're Catholic aren't you?" To which she replied, "Not no more. I'm getting baptized as a Mormon." Needless to say I had quite a smile on my face when she told me the story. Also this past Sunday she had her baptismal interview which went over very well. The Elder who conducted the interview was very impressed because Alex brought her goal of re-activating her inactive husband and getting him to the temple so they can be sealed as a family. She came to church by herself even when the rest of her part member family didn't come because they chose to sleep in during the change to daylight savings time.
Other than that the only great story from this week that I have is that we have been teaching this eight year old girl, Esmer. Her mother is a member, so really she is a child of record baptism, but her Mom wanted us to teach here since she hasn't had the chance to go to church much and learn about God. So, as we've been talking with Esmer she has managed to say some pretty funny things. For example, when explaining what commandments were, we told her they were like God's rules for us. Later in the lesson she told us that she enjoyed following Gods' "commandrules". But, I think her quote that takes the cake is just from yesterday. We were talking with Esmer about prayer and how we can ask God questions and receive answers. When we asked Esmer, "Have you ever asked a question of God when you were praying?," she replied, "I've asked Him how to get skinny." I pretty much lost it and just started laughing, and her Mom who was sitting next to her just followed suit. Oh the world we live in where eight year old girls are asking God how to get skinny!
We found a small hidden neighborhood in our area which is mysteriously populated with a lot of inactive members, so we plan to be working in there a lot during this week. We also found some new investigators in that area. If we get everyone in this three street neighborhood active and baptized we'll have a little Zion on our hands here, soon. I should have pictures and stories from Alex's baptism and confirmation for this next week, which should make for a bit longer letter.
I'm glad that Mel is continuing to do well, that Dot is still growing and I hope everything goes well for mom's trip to AZ. Strangely enough, my companion lives in Mesa as well. Maybe Mom could go visit his parents for a kick. Anyway, I hope that everyone continues to do well and has a great week! Oh, be sure to send me some notes from James' talk if you can. Thanks!
Love,
Elder Roland Wood
Another week has come and gone here in the mission field, and this one went faster than most it seems like. I'm sure that trend will only continue and before I know it I'll be running out of time here in the field. We haven't had too much in the way of news here in Edinburg, but we do have a few stories to tell that I'll try to get down.
The first story is with Alex. She has been preparing for her baptism this Saturday and is doing very well. This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday and when she showed up to school she was surprised to see so many of her friends going around with crosses on their foreheads. One of her friends during the day asked her, "Why don't you have a cross on your forehead? You're Catholic aren't you?" To which she replied, "Not no more. I'm getting baptized as a Mormon." Needless to say I had quite a smile on my face when she told me the story. Also this past Sunday she had her baptismal interview which went over very well. The Elder who conducted the interview was very impressed because Alex brought her goal of re-activating her inactive husband and getting him to the temple so they can be sealed as a family. She came to church by herself even when the rest of her part member family didn't come because they chose to sleep in during the change to daylight savings time.
Other than that the only great story from this week that I have is that we have been teaching this eight year old girl, Esmer. Her mother is a member, so really she is a child of record baptism, but her Mom wanted us to teach here since she hasn't had the chance to go to church much and learn about God. So, as we've been talking with Esmer she has managed to say some pretty funny things. For example, when explaining what commandments were, we told her they were like God's rules for us. Later in the lesson she told us that she enjoyed following Gods' "commandrules". But, I think her quote that takes the cake is just from yesterday. We were talking with Esmer about prayer and how we can ask God questions and receive answers. When we asked Esmer, "Have you ever asked a question of God when you were praying?," she replied, "I've asked Him how to get skinny." I pretty much lost it and just started laughing, and her Mom who was sitting next to her just followed suit. Oh the world we live in where eight year old girls are asking God how to get skinny!
We found a small hidden neighborhood in our area which is mysteriously populated with a lot of inactive members, so we plan to be working in there a lot during this week. We also found some new investigators in that area. If we get everyone in this three street neighborhood active and baptized we'll have a little Zion on our hands here, soon. I should have pictures and stories from Alex's baptism and confirmation for this next week, which should make for a bit longer letter.
I'm glad that Mel is continuing to do well, that Dot is still growing and I hope everything goes well for mom's trip to AZ. Strangely enough, my companion lives in Mesa as well. Maybe Mom could go visit his parents for a kick. Anyway, I hope that everyone continues to do well and has a great week! Oh, be sure to send me some notes from James' talk if you can. Thanks!
Love,
Elder Roland Wood
March 7, 2011, email post from Edinburg, TX
Dear family,
I'm glad to hear that James got home okay from Japan. I'm excited to read whatever notes people take during his talk next week. I wish I could hear him speak Japanese, but I figure it will be a while before I get to hear any of that. I'm sure Marsali is glad to have him home safe and sound. Also, I was happy to receive the news that Paul got into BYU Provo. He'll have a fun time there, I'm sure. He'll be in a great environment to start preparing for his mission.
This last week proved to be a refiner's fire, as far as the mission goes, having lost most of our investigators and only retaining one who continues to progress. She should be getting baptized on the 19th of March, and she seems ready and excited for that day. She missed church this last Sunday due to some extenuating circumstances, but she plans to be there next week, so she should be all ready by the 19th.
We spent most of this week out on some of the longer, more sparsely populated roads in our area, using our bikes a lot (maybe more than I would have liked). But the bikes do prove to be the most efficient way when the houses are a little bit spread out. We had a couple of days with no set appointments whatsoever, so were were able to spend a good chunk of time searching our area for those who are prepared. This past Saturday, we went out in the morning on our bikes and got caught in a pouring rain storm accompanied by lightning and hail. So, we finished the street we were contacting on, returned to our bikes and then started home. We got thoroughly soaked and upon arriving at our house parked the bikes in the garage and the storm ceased and blue skies appeared. It was my first time getting caught out in a storm on the bike, an experience I do not soon hope to repeat. But, all is well and I figure I will go through many more Texas storms.
I hope Mel continues to do well and that the baby does well since he will probably be coming along in these next few weeks. Be sure to tell James "hi" for me and give another congratulations to Paul. I hope everyone has a good week and that Mom has a good experience with her service expo and doesn't overstress too much =) .
Love,
Elder Wood
I'm glad to hear that James got home okay from Japan. I'm excited to read whatever notes people take during his talk next week. I wish I could hear him speak Japanese, but I figure it will be a while before I get to hear any of that. I'm sure Marsali is glad to have him home safe and sound. Also, I was happy to receive the news that Paul got into BYU Provo. He'll have a fun time there, I'm sure. He'll be in a great environment to start preparing for his mission.
This last week proved to be a refiner's fire, as far as the mission goes, having lost most of our investigators and only retaining one who continues to progress. She should be getting baptized on the 19th of March, and she seems ready and excited for that day. She missed church this last Sunday due to some extenuating circumstances, but she plans to be there next week, so she should be all ready by the 19th.
We spent most of this week out on some of the longer, more sparsely populated roads in our area, using our bikes a lot (maybe more than I would have liked). But the bikes do prove to be the most efficient way when the houses are a little bit spread out. We had a couple of days with no set appointments whatsoever, so were were able to spend a good chunk of time searching our area for those who are prepared. This past Saturday, we went out in the morning on our bikes and got caught in a pouring rain storm accompanied by lightning and hail. So, we finished the street we were contacting on, returned to our bikes and then started home. We got thoroughly soaked and upon arriving at our house parked the bikes in the garage and the storm ceased and blue skies appeared. It was my first time getting caught out in a storm on the bike, an experience I do not soon hope to repeat. But, all is well and I figure I will go through many more Texas storms.
I hope Mel continues to do well and that the baby does well since he will probably be coming along in these next few weeks. Be sure to tell James "hi" for me and give another congratulations to Paul. I hope everyone has a good week and that Mom has a good experience with her service expo and doesn't overstress too much =) .
Love,
Elder Wood
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