Dear Family,
We had another bit of a hard week here in Laredo, but overall I'd say things are going pretty well. Even if we're not having the most success, I do feel like I'm growing a lot as a missionary in this area. I've learned a lot about how to be motivated for missionary work and I have quite a few things I'm working on improving. So far, this area has turned into a bit of a refiner's fire for me, though I've only been here six weeks. We didn't really have any success this last transfer, but I feel like I've at least learned a few lessons that I'm excited to apply over the coming weeks that will hopefully help change the trends we've had.
One of the Elders I live with (Ed note: He's in an apartment with several teams of Elders), Elder Wilde, will be going home to Idaho Falls at the end of these six weeks. He's our District Leader here in the South of Laredo and a great Elder. It'll be interesting to see him on his way home. I have little doubt that he'll be working hard to the end. In fact, the District I was with this last transfer won't be changing at all. All three of the companionships here will be staying the same, something that none of us were expecting very much. However, as tradition dictates, we went out for a quick bite to eat after district meeting to end the transfer. We went to "Laredo Sushi" which was pretty fun. The first thing that I noticed was that every other time I've had sushi, it's been a small roll about an inch or an inch and a half in diameter. The sushi at this place was probably about 3 or 4 inches in diameter and about 8 inches of so long. Basically it was about the size of a burrito from Chipotle if you can think of that. It was pretty delicious and cheap, which was even better.
Other than that, the only story I probably have from this week happened while we were out tracting. We were walking down a street knocking some doors when we saw a family of four sitting out on their porch on the other side of the street. So we started crossing the street to go talk to them when the dad saw us. He tapped his wife on the shoulder, and all four of the, 8 and 10 year old daughters included, ran inside the house, closed and locked the door behind them. At this point, my companion and I are standing in the middle of the street just awestruck that they could disappear so fast. Anyway, we went down the street some more and ended up coming back up. So, the father saw us again and tapped his wife and they ran inside, closing the door after them and locking it. However, the 8 and 10 year old girls were getting something out of the car and were locked outside by their parents with the two terrifying Mormons coming down the street. We just smiled, laughed and waved at the girls, continuing on our way. I don't think I've seen anyone run away that fast from missionaries before. It was pretty funny.
Well, I'm out of time for today, but I hope everyone has a great week. I'll write again, soon.
Love,
Elder Wood
May 23, 2011
May 9, 2011, email from Laredo, TX
Dear Family,
Well, emails after phone calls are always a little bit dry, but I think I can come up with a few things to put down.
This week was a little bit slow. We had trouble finding new people to teach this week and were on pretty much a dry pool from the week before. We didn't get to spend too much time teaching, and our time spent finding didn't yield too much fruit. So, not too much of a productive week, but I have high hopes for the week coming. The colleges here got out this last week, and that means that a large portion of the student body has a little bit more free time on their hands. We have a few "formers" that were going to school that have invited us over again now that their schedules are more permitting. So hopefully we'll be able to see some results from that soon.
One thing I realized on the the phone with Mom is that I'm definitely getting into the habit of speaking Tex-Mex. Multiple times on the phone I wanted to say something in Spanish because it was the easiest way to express it, but caught myself having to think and change to English sometimes. I'm sure it's even harder for the missionaries that are in 100% Spanish speaking missions, but it was still a funny experience.
I'm also equally astonished at the fact that Elder Johnson called Mom for Mother's Day. I'm sure that must have been a conversation that Mom wasn't expecting. But, our families are good enough friends that I'm sure it wasn't too weird, overall. I hope he's doing well in Peru, and that everything is going well for him down there. (Ed. note: Mark couldn't get anyone to answer the phone at the Johnson household, so he called us. I could tell him that Rene was on a ten day trip to Guatemala. He went as an assistant for her father Father who is a dentist. They are on a humanitarian effort to improve the dental work in those preparing for missions and members and non-members needing free dental work. Jeff was also traveling. Mark ended up getting permission to call on Monday for his Mother's Day call from Peru so he could talk with family. We had a short, fun chat with Mark.)
Well, I'm not sure really what other stories there are to tell, other than the fact that I saw the pictures of Natalie on the blog which are pretty hilarious.
I hope that everyone had a great Mother's day, especially the new mothers in the family, and that everyone has a good week coming up. Next week I should have some more stories to tell since I won't have exhausted them the night before with Mom over the phone.
Love,
Elder Wood
Well, emails after phone calls are always a little bit dry, but I think I can come up with a few things to put down.
This week was a little bit slow. We had trouble finding new people to teach this week and were on pretty much a dry pool from the week before. We didn't get to spend too much time teaching, and our time spent finding didn't yield too much fruit. So, not too much of a productive week, but I have high hopes for the week coming. The colleges here got out this last week, and that means that a large portion of the student body has a little bit more free time on their hands. We have a few "formers" that were going to school that have invited us over again now that their schedules are more permitting. So hopefully we'll be able to see some results from that soon.
One thing I realized on the the phone with Mom is that I'm definitely getting into the habit of speaking Tex-Mex. Multiple times on the phone I wanted to say something in Spanish because it was the easiest way to express it, but caught myself having to think and change to English sometimes. I'm sure it's even harder for the missionaries that are in 100% Spanish speaking missions, but it was still a funny experience.
I'm also equally astonished at the fact that Elder Johnson called Mom for Mother's Day. I'm sure that must have been a conversation that Mom wasn't expecting. But, our families are good enough friends that I'm sure it wasn't too weird, overall. I hope he's doing well in Peru, and that everything is going well for him down there. (Ed. note: Mark couldn't get anyone to answer the phone at the Johnson household, so he called us. I could tell him that Rene was on a ten day trip to Guatemala. He went as an assistant for her father Father who is a dentist. They are on a humanitarian effort to improve the dental work in those preparing for missions and members and non-members needing free dental work. Jeff was also traveling. Mark ended up getting permission to call on Monday for his Mother's Day call from Peru so he could talk with family. We had a short, fun chat with Mark.)
Well, I'm not sure really what other stories there are to tell, other than the fact that I saw the pictures of Natalie on the blog which are pretty hilarious.
I hope that everyone had a great Mother's day, especially the new mothers in the family, and that everyone has a good week coming up. Next week I should have some more stories to tell since I won't have exhausted them the night before with Mom over the phone.
Love,
Elder Wood
May 2, 2011, email from Laredo, TX
Dear Family,
Well, this week I don't have too much to write about. All I know is that this week was pretty much a blur. We spent a lot of the week trying to find new people to teach, with limited success. We taught a lot of first lessons with people, but had a hard time finding them home for the next appointment. The area I have been in has been in a long rut with church attendance, but we managed to break that this last week and at least have someone attend. So hopefully, this week we can continue that trend and keep improving.
As far as the call for Mother's day goes, I'll probably call on Sunday night, but on Sunday morning or afternoon I'll probably call just to get the timing down. I'm not sure I have Christian's number, but I guess if I call Dad first in VA I can probably get it from him.
In defense of my pancho, Mom, it's more like a Mexican sweater than an actual pancho. It's got sleeves and a hood and fairly tame colors but in a cool pattern. I can actually see it coming more into use than you'd think. I should be sending a box of stuff home, soon. I'm starting to collect random trinkets from the mission that are taking up a bit of space. I'm going to try and ship some of those off to Christian's house if he would be willing to throw them under the stairs for me.
Laredo has been pretty hot this pat week. We've been hitting temperatures of about 110 degrees, without any wind. So, basically, everything outside here just turns into an oven. I've been tempted to crack an egg on the asphalt of the street, just to see if I could really cook it. Today is actually quite cold though. A cold front rolled in from up North or something because it's all cloudy and the temperature probably dropped a good 20-30 degrees or so. That seems to be something consistent here in South Texas. For a few weeks it will be super hot, and all of the sudden one day a cold front comes in and it's cloudy and cold. It normally clears up in a day or two, but it's always a shock when you open the door and freeze without expecting it.
I'll be sure to remember some more stories this week for the call on Mother's day. I was glad to see the pictures of Calvin. He's quite a cute little nino. I hope everybody has a great week and I'll get to talk to some of you, soon.
Love,
Elder Wood
Well, this week I don't have too much to write about. All I know is that this week was pretty much a blur. We spent a lot of the week trying to find new people to teach, with limited success. We taught a lot of first lessons with people, but had a hard time finding them home for the next appointment. The area I have been in has been in a long rut with church attendance, but we managed to break that this last week and at least have someone attend. So hopefully, this week we can continue that trend and keep improving.
As far as the call for Mother's day goes, I'll probably call on Sunday night, but on Sunday morning or afternoon I'll probably call just to get the timing down. I'm not sure I have Christian's number, but I guess if I call Dad first in VA I can probably get it from him.
In defense of my pancho, Mom, it's more like a Mexican sweater than an actual pancho. It's got sleeves and a hood and fairly tame colors but in a cool pattern. I can actually see it coming more into use than you'd think. I should be sending a box of stuff home, soon. I'm starting to collect random trinkets from the mission that are taking up a bit of space. I'm going to try and ship some of those off to Christian's house if he would be willing to throw them under the stairs for me.
Laredo has been pretty hot this pat week. We've been hitting temperatures of about 110 degrees, without any wind. So, basically, everything outside here just turns into an oven. I've been tempted to crack an egg on the asphalt of the street, just to see if I could really cook it. Today is actually quite cold though. A cold front rolled in from up North or something because it's all cloudy and the temperature probably dropped a good 20-30 degrees or so. That seems to be something consistent here in South Texas. For a few weeks it will be super hot, and all of the sudden one day a cold front comes in and it's cloudy and cold. It normally clears up in a day or two, but it's always a shock when you open the door and freeze without expecting it.
I'll be sure to remember some more stories this week for the call on Mother's day. I was glad to see the pictures of Calvin. He's quite a cute little nino. I hope everybody has a great week and I'll get to talk to some of you, soon.
Love,
Elder Wood
April 27, 2011
Mon., Apr. 25, 2011, 3:32 p.m., email post from Laredo, TX
Dear Family,
This past week has been another bit of a small struggle with investigators here in Laredo. Overall, everything is stilling going along well. We managed to find a few new investigators that have some promise, so hopefully we'll have the blessing of being able to work with them more as the weeks go on.
I was very excited to receive Mom's Easter package. It was very much appreciated. There is an Elder Wilde that lives in the same apartment as I and my companion. He was amazed at the package that I was sent. He is just a short two months from finishing his mission and going home. He is the oldest in his family. He marveled that my Mom had the sense to send me new socks, shoelaces, conference talks printed out, along with a bit of candy and pictures from home. I attribute it to the fact that I'm the sixth missionary Mom has sent out, so she knows what missionaries need and enjoy, while perhaps his parents are still trying to figure it out on their first try =).
Easter was an interesting day. We didn't get any invitations to go to a barbecue and fiesta at a member's house like some of the other missionaries did. However, we did get the chance to watch the broadcast at the church about the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was played in Spanish done by all Hispanic actors and all, which made it a pretty cool experience. I've never seen a play in Espanol until now, so that was pretty interesting.
After the play we went out and tried knocking doors for a while, thinking that maybe on a day centered around Christ's resurrection, that people might be a little bit more open to hear a message about God. However, I think that idea wasn't too sound because out of the doors we knocked on, nine of ten were outside making carne asada with all of their cousins and were too busy to sit down with us. The other one of ten was over at their cousin's home making carne asada and wasn't at home. So we scrapped the idea of tracting and decided to swing by and visit a few of the investigators we'd found earlier in the week. We ended up finding one of them who had been called into work that day who got back late enough that his family was already at their ranch an hour away and it was too late for him to go over and join the party. So we were able to have a lesson with him and that was pretty good. It was nice to help someone focus themselves a little bit more on God.
Today we went into the business district of Laredo and found a couple of cool stores that had some neat, cheap things to buy. I got a Mexican blanket, a poncho and a smaller set of horns. That store did have some pretty neat other things though, so if anyone wants a Mexican purse, ponchos, blankets, dresses or things of that sort, you can just shoot me an email and I'll see what I can get. We'll probably be running up there again later on, so I'll try to think of some gifts to buy for the family.
The work is going well and we're putting in a lot of effort. Unfortunately, we didn't get any investigators to church on Easter which was kind of a bummer. I'm sure the success will be coming soon as long as we endure the trial well and continue working for the glory of the Lord.
I hope everyone had a great Easter experience and had at least a little bit of time to reflect on exactly what Jesus Christ did for them. There was no event more important than the event that we remember on Easter Day, becuse it marks the day we remember when death was conquered and we were given the opportunity to return to the presence of God. If anybody didn't get a chance to reflect on that, I'd encourage them to take a little bit of time over the next few days to do so. I can promise it will strengthen your faith and help you to feel the Spirit of the Lord more abundantly. I hope everyone has a relaxing week after all of the events going on and gets to rest from their labors, at least a little bit.
Love,
Elder Wood
This past week has been another bit of a small struggle with investigators here in Laredo. Overall, everything is stilling going along well. We managed to find a few new investigators that have some promise, so hopefully we'll have the blessing of being able to work with them more as the weeks go on.
I was very excited to receive Mom's Easter package. It was very much appreciated. There is an Elder Wilde that lives in the same apartment as I and my companion. He was amazed at the package that I was sent. He is just a short two months from finishing his mission and going home. He is the oldest in his family. He marveled that my Mom had the sense to send me new socks, shoelaces, conference talks printed out, along with a bit of candy and pictures from home. I attribute it to the fact that I'm the sixth missionary Mom has sent out, so she knows what missionaries need and enjoy, while perhaps his parents are still trying to figure it out on their first try =).
Easter was an interesting day. We didn't get any invitations to go to a barbecue and fiesta at a member's house like some of the other missionaries did. However, we did get the chance to watch the broadcast at the church about the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was played in Spanish done by all Hispanic actors and all, which made it a pretty cool experience. I've never seen a play in Espanol until now, so that was pretty interesting.
After the play we went out and tried knocking doors for a while, thinking that maybe on a day centered around Christ's resurrection, that people might be a little bit more open to hear a message about God. However, I think that idea wasn't too sound because out of the doors we knocked on, nine of ten were outside making carne asada with all of their cousins and were too busy to sit down with us. The other one of ten was over at their cousin's home making carne asada and wasn't at home. So we scrapped the idea of tracting and decided to swing by and visit a few of the investigators we'd found earlier in the week. We ended up finding one of them who had been called into work that day who got back late enough that his family was already at their ranch an hour away and it was too late for him to go over and join the party. So we were able to have a lesson with him and that was pretty good. It was nice to help someone focus themselves a little bit more on God.
Today we went into the business district of Laredo and found a couple of cool stores that had some neat, cheap things to buy. I got a Mexican blanket, a poncho and a smaller set of horns. That store did have some pretty neat other things though, so if anyone wants a Mexican purse, ponchos, blankets, dresses or things of that sort, you can just shoot me an email and I'll see what I can get. We'll probably be running up there again later on, so I'll try to think of some gifts to buy for the family.
The work is going well and we're putting in a lot of effort. Unfortunately, we didn't get any investigators to church on Easter which was kind of a bummer. I'm sure the success will be coming soon as long as we endure the trial well and continue working for the glory of the Lord.
I hope everyone had a great Easter experience and had at least a little bit of time to reflect on exactly what Jesus Christ did for them. There was no event more important than the event that we remember on Easter Day, becuse it marks the day we remember when death was conquered and we were given the opportunity to return to the presence of God. If anybody didn't get a chance to reflect on that, I'd encourage them to take a little bit of time over the next few days to do so. I can promise it will strengthen your faith and help you to feel the Spirit of the Lord more abundantly. I hope everyone has a relaxing week after all of the events going on and gets to rest from their labors, at least a little bit.
Love,
Elder Wood
Mon, Apr. 18, 2011, email post from Laredo, TX
Dear Family,
This last week in Laredo has been an interesting week, filled with a few adventures. Overall, nothing crazy has happened. Something that I learned over the past two weeks I've been here in Laredo is that the people that drive in Laredo are the worst drivers, seconded only by the drivers from outside the Edinburg city limits. I guess that's what happens when nobody is legal and doesn't go through drivers ed or anything. We haven't had really any close calls or serious crashes, but the number of times I've seen people run red lights, pull out too far and cut in front of other drivers is just a little too high. Nonetheless, Mom shouldn't worry because we're driving defensively and so forth and haven't had any problems so far.
This past week has been kind of rough because we spent a lot of our time with investigators that are not progressing. I figured that it might be a problem when I came into the area and learned they had been teaching people for six or more weeks who had never come to church. Spending our time with people that are willing to listen to us but are not willing to act and begin their repentance process seems to be a concern in this area. I hope that soon we can overcome it. It is difficult because my companion loves these people so much and really wants to help them as best he can, but at some point we have to decide which is a better use of the Lord's time. I brought this concern up with President Trayner when we had interviews this week, and he confirmed to me what I thought we needed to do. He said that one way Satan can slow us down is by having us teach people that are not willing to take the actions they need to bring themselves closer to Christ and make progress. We could be doing something ultimately more effective. He encouraged me to have a lesson with these investigators telling them that we couldn't come by anymore until they were willing to keep their compromisos (commitments). I felt that this is something we should have done a while ago, but I brought it up with my companion and we had a good talk about it last night. He is still unsure about what he wants to do, but hopefully soon we can work past this concern.
Everything else has been going well here in Laredo. There is a Spanish branch and a small English branch as well. The English branch has been struggling in terms of active members for a while now. Just this past week we had an amazing meeting with the Branch President where he gave us a large number of less-active members that he wanted us to go and invite back to church. We had a lot of success this last week with a good seven or so less-active members coming back to church at the invitation of all the missionaries. For just having two days to go and visit them and invite them to church, that was an amazing number of returning members. Hopefully, they will continue to come and help strengthen the branches here.
Today during P-day we're headed off to a store to try and buy some longhorn bull horns. Apparently, they are amazingly cheap and you can get a set of six foot horns bought and shipped to Utah for $50 - $60. So, if Christian has a large package show up to his house in the next few weeks, just throw it under the stairs for me, please =).
I'm excited to be here in Laredo and I'm certain that soon, we will find someone who really wants to progress towards being baptized. As of right now, our investigators are either in the early stages or are yet to be found.
I got the pictures from Khand's wedding. It looks like it was a great occasion and that they managed to overcome the weather difficulties, too.
Also, congratulations to Nathan and JoAnn on finding out that they are having a baby boy. That's awesome! However, I must admit that I'm not a huge fan of the name, Riggins. I have little say in the matter, though, so I'll just stick with "congratulations"!
I hope everybody has a great week. I'll write again, soon.
Love,
Elder Wood
This last week in Laredo has been an interesting week, filled with a few adventures. Overall, nothing crazy has happened. Something that I learned over the past two weeks I've been here in Laredo is that the people that drive in Laredo are the worst drivers, seconded only by the drivers from outside the Edinburg city limits. I guess that's what happens when nobody is legal and doesn't go through drivers ed or anything. We haven't had really any close calls or serious crashes, but the number of times I've seen people run red lights, pull out too far and cut in front of other drivers is just a little too high. Nonetheless, Mom shouldn't worry because we're driving defensively and so forth and haven't had any problems so far.
This past week has been kind of rough because we spent a lot of our time with investigators that are not progressing. I figured that it might be a problem when I came into the area and learned they had been teaching people for six or more weeks who had never come to church. Spending our time with people that are willing to listen to us but are not willing to act and begin their repentance process seems to be a concern in this area. I hope that soon we can overcome it. It is difficult because my companion loves these people so much and really wants to help them as best he can, but at some point we have to decide which is a better use of the Lord's time. I brought this concern up with President Trayner when we had interviews this week, and he confirmed to me what I thought we needed to do. He said that one way Satan can slow us down is by having us teach people that are not willing to take the actions they need to bring themselves closer to Christ and make progress. We could be doing something ultimately more effective. He encouraged me to have a lesson with these investigators telling them that we couldn't come by anymore until they were willing to keep their compromisos (commitments). I felt that this is something we should have done a while ago, but I brought it up with my companion and we had a good talk about it last night. He is still unsure about what he wants to do, but hopefully soon we can work past this concern.
Everything else has been going well here in Laredo. There is a Spanish branch and a small English branch as well. The English branch has been struggling in terms of active members for a while now. Just this past week we had an amazing meeting with the Branch President where he gave us a large number of less-active members that he wanted us to go and invite back to church. We had a lot of success this last week with a good seven or so less-active members coming back to church at the invitation of all the missionaries. For just having two days to go and visit them and invite them to church, that was an amazing number of returning members. Hopefully, they will continue to come and help strengthen the branches here.
Today during P-day we're headed off to a store to try and buy some longhorn bull horns. Apparently, they are amazingly cheap and you can get a set of six foot horns bought and shipped to Utah for $50 - $60. So, if Christian has a large package show up to his house in the next few weeks, just throw it under the stairs for me, please =).
I'm excited to be here in Laredo and I'm certain that soon, we will find someone who really wants to progress towards being baptized. As of right now, our investigators are either in the early stages or are yet to be found.
I got the pictures from Khand's wedding. It looks like it was a great occasion and that they managed to overcome the weather difficulties, too.
Also, congratulations to Nathan and JoAnn on finding out that they are having a baby boy. That's awesome! However, I must admit that I'm not a huge fan of the name, Riggins. I have little say in the matter, though, so I'll just stick with "congratulations"!
I hope everybody has a great week. I'll write again, soon.
Love,
Elder Wood
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