September 12, 2011, Email from Laredo, TX

Dear Family,

Before I forget, yes, I did receive the driver's license :)

I will admit that this week was a great week, minus one horrible disappointment. On Saturday there was the game between BYU and UT, and although I'm a fan for both teams, I was rooting BYU. We found out Saturday night that BYU lost after being up from the beginning of the match, and that they lost by 1. I had my BYU tie that Mom had sent me prepped for church the next day and I was ready to do a little gloating over some of the youth that are Longhorns fans. But, we were beaten and I wasn't afforded that opportunity, which in reality was probably a good thing. Anyways, I expect that game will probably come up this week as we're out knocking on doors and such.

Well, we had a pretty fun week here in Laredo. It got hot again, but the temperature did stay down lower that it has been over the past couple weeks. Fall is starting to roll in and we should be hitting some of the gorgeous weather soon. Later in the month is when the winter Texans start to arrive, so I wonder how many of them we'll see here in Laredo. In Donna, when I first came into the mission, there were trailer parks just full of older people. I haven't seen too many areas like that here in Laredo, but you never know. All of the sudden an empty field just becomes a giant trailer park with hundreds of people between 60-80 living there.

One of the Elders in my apartment is an avid picture taker, and I've been stealing copies of a lot of the stuff he has taken, but unfortunately the computers at this library are all just run off of one big server. There are no USB ports, so I'll have to send them later.

We had a pretty fun weekend. Another Elder that lives with us had his birthday yesterday, so a couple of the member families threw a Carne Asada for the both of us. It was pretty cool and had some great food as well. There are some families in our area that are very strong in the church and are doing a great job spreading the gospel. They are being great fellowshippers to our investigators. It's cool when you get to see people make some real friendships in the gospel and have a true friend they can go to with their questions.

Thanks for sending the birthday package, I can't wait to get it! The new camera will be put to some good use here in the coming days. The branches here are having a party on the 16th for Mexican Independence Day, and hopefully I'll get some good pictures of the festivities.

We have three investigators right now that are doing really well. Two of them were both very active in different Christian churchs. Since they attended our church and have felt the Spirit there, they've both made the decision that this is the church they want to attend and be a part of. Both of them have just a few fears over the commitment to baptism, but since they've had a witness from the Spirit of the truth of this work, I'm sure that soon they will be making that step. The other girl just came to church for the first time this last week and really seems to be loving the gospel. She's 18 and has a one year old son, and is caught in a hard time right now since she and her husband are getting separated. But the gospel is there to help her and it seems like she has some real desires to follow the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Elder Stewart is doing very well. He's coming up on his 5th week here in the mission field and is adjusting pretty quickly. His Spanish is still funny to listen to and he's had some moments that made some big laughs, but he is moving along and will get there soon =).

I checked the family blog and I will admit that I'm a fan of the pictures of Riggins. Whoever picked out his clothes has some good taste.

Anyway, thanks so much for the birthday wishes and everything, I'll let you know how everything goes next week. Oh, and I'm going to write them a letter, but also just say 'thanks' for me to the Simmons family, they sent me a package with cookies for my birthday. Needless to say we all enjoyed eating them.

Love you! Keep me updated!

Elder Wood

September 6, 2011; Email post from Laredo, TX

Dear Family,

Well, I just have to start off by saying that today is the most beautiful day we've had in South Texas in about four to five months! A cold front rolled in and the temperature dropped drastically overnight. Yesterday was about 105 (not counting the effects of being on a bike) and today it is hovering at about 80 - 85. We woke up this morning and just about shouted for joy when we opened the door. The rest of the week is supposed to stay like this, and it should be cooling off soon for the Fall.

This last week went pretty well. September has started and will shortly be coming to a close. We found quite a few people this last week who seemed very interested in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One is the father of a part member family who has stayed away from baptism for a long time because of what his family thinks about Mormons. The other is a single mother of a one year old. We found her by knocking on doors. Interestingly, the father of the part member family is a little more excited now because he has a sister that got baptized after marrying a member in Mexico. That has helped to remove a lot of his fear about baptism because now he won't be the only member in his very Catholic family.

My companion and I are doing well. I don't know if I've mentioned this in the past, but my companion, Elder Stewart, has quite a talent for drawing. He draws in most of the free time he has and really produces some amazing stuff. I'll try to send some pictures home of some of his drawings as they are really quite amazing. As a greenie, he's had some funny moments. He took too big a drink of water in front of a member and his non-member girlfriend and swallowed it down the wrong "tube" only to look like he was throwing up violently on the side of the curb. I'm not gonna lie, that was a pretty funny first-impression moment. He' had a couple of baptismal invitations that were a little scattered as well, but he's getting better every day and is really doing a great job.

Now on to the matter of next week. BIRTHDAY! I really can't believe that this is going to be my last birthday in the mission field, but I guess the time is moving by really fast. I've thought about what I might want for my birthday and only a few things come to mind. The first is a vial for consecrated oil (one of the solid steel ones). I managed to lose mine a while ago and have been mostly relying on my companion, which probably isn't a good idea. Second, would be to receive a new camera. I managed to lose the charger for my old camera. In addition, my camera seemed to only take blurry pictures, anyway. I'd like to have something that isn't too fancy, but one that will take some good, solid pictures. I've managed to not take very many pictures the first year of my mission, and I'm hoping I can correct that in the coming months. Other than those things, I don't have any really big preferences on presents. Money for souvenirs is always nice =). In response to Mom's email, 32/32 is probably still good on pants size. If you get any, just make sure they don't have pleats in the front. I'm not a huge fan of pleats.

I hope Riggins is doing well and that Rose-Ellen's pregnancy is coming along fine. Keep me updated on the family and all!

Love,

Elder Wood

Email from Laredo, TX, August 29, 2011

Dear Family,

Another week has come and gone in the mission field. It seems like every day they come a little faster. I've come to realize that the mission seems extremely short when you think about it in terms of the weeks that you have left. Elder Stewart and I are doing very well. His Spanish is starting to develop, but he's still got a bit of a way to go. Probably part of that is my fault for not speaking it with him as much as I should have. We've set some goals for the coming week that should help us fix that problem.

I've come to learn that my new area (further north in Laredo) doesn't speak nearly as much Spanish as did my old area in the south. It's kind of a bummer just because it makes it harder to make yourself to speak Spanish. I have the Spanish/English switch in my brain, and depending on what language people are speaking to me or the language in the atmosphere, the switch goes one way or the other. I'm finding myself having to consciously change it, rather than having the people doing it for me. But, that's all right. I just need to learn to discipline myself more.

We have a couple of cool investigators that we are teaching right now. We found a young girl about a week ago who didn't believe in God at all. Because of the presence of the Spirit when we spoke with her, she now believes, is praying and is reading the Book of Mormon regularly. She's had a change in her countenance as well. I remember the first time we met her she seemed kind of sad and depressed, weighed down, you could say. But n ow, whenever we visit her, she's got a smile on her face and seems to be much more happy.

We struggled this last week in a few respects, but we saw some other parts of our area see some great progress. I'm excited for the week that is coming however, because I know that we're going to see miracles happen as we put in our part of the work. It's about time for me to get going, though, but I'm grateful for the pictures and everything Mom sent. It was good to see some updated pictures of the whole family.

On a last note, my thighs are getting ripped from this bike area. I will admit I'm a fan of racing the cars off of the stop signs around the streets now. They always give me weird looks when I keep up with them for a good little bit. Tell Mom not to worry, cause I can already tell she's thinking about asking me if I wear my helmet. Yes, Mom, I wear the helmet =). I hope everybody has a great week, and I hope that Riggins is having a nice welcome home.

Love,

Elder Wood

August 15, 2011, email post from NEW ADDRESS in Laredo

Dear Family,

Well, this week was the first week of a new experience for me. The new missionary from the MTC arrived, Elder Stewart, from Ogden, Utah. It's interesting going into an area blind with a new missionary. You both walk in just kind of wide eyed and excited, without any real idea of what to do. I'm also in a bike area for the first time in my mission, which makes for an interesting experience as well. Working on bikes is a bit of a different approach than working in a car, but both are pretty great. Our area is also pretty big for a bike area, which is gonna make sure that my legs get pretty buff.

I don't think I've ever had a night of eight hours of sleep that has felt so short before. The biking and the sun manage to take a lot out of you, which has its ups and downs. You can eat just about as much as you want without getting full, since you body is just looking for calories wherever it can get them, and you can fall asleep at night in about a minute. Only problem is it feels like you wake up a minute later, only to realize 8 hours have past. Overall I'm really enjoying the area though, and it seems like it has a lot of potential. We've had a couple of cool experiences where we've found some great people who seem like they could really progress. For example, we walked down this one street and didn't knock any doors, but both felt impressed to knock a specific one. We found a lady who had been taught by elders two years ago, but they had lost track of her when the area got changed from an Elde'rs area to a Sister's area. We should be teaching her tonight and hopefully she'll be ready to start progressing to baptism.

Speaking of sister missionaries, Amy is on a mission?? That's awesome! James just got home and now Amy is going out huh. Taiwan will be an interesting mission I'm sure. Too bad she and James will be speaking different languages. Where is James at right now? Is he going back to school later this month or is he already off somewhere else?

My new address is...

Elder Roland Wood

4420 Loring #9

Laredo, TX, 78040

As far as birthday packages go... I have no idea. I'll think about it this week and hopefully get back to you next week. I don't need any more white shirts. All of mine have lasted so far, and are doing pretty well. A new belt could also be sent, but mine is still good so far. I'll be praying for JoAnn this week, and I hope everything will go well for her until her c-section date.

I hope everybody has a great week and things go well/get better.

Love,

Elder Wood

August 8, 2001, email from Laredo TX

Dear Family,

Well, this has been a very exciting week. We found another small family that has a baptismal date and came to church this week. Carolina and her four kids seem like they could make a lot of progress over the next couple weeks. I have faith that they will be able to prepare for their goal of being baptized on the 28th of August. The mission hit over 100 baptisms in June and July, which is quite the feat. I remember I was here when the mission hit over 100 baptisms for the first time in history a few months back. Now we're on our way to doing it consistently. I'm sure it is due to the blessings and tender mercies of the Lord. I'm excited for the people that we are working with right now. I know that with some good spiritual nourishment and a lot of love, soon they'll be ready to make a covenant with their Heavenly Father. Unfortunately, I won't be here to see that progression. I'm being transferred tomorrow to a new area. The new area is still in Laredo, but I'll be moving further up north. In fact, the area is going from a Sister's area to an Elder's area, so I'll be going in with my new companion who's coming straight from the MTC! I'm not sure if it will be a bike area or not yet, but all signs seem to point to yes.

I'm very excited for this new opportunity. I know it's going to be a lot of work, require a good bit of sacrifice and probably test my faith. During the process I'm sure we'll become stronger missionaries and find a good bit of success. I'll be attending a new chapel. The building in the north and we will probably only be covering one ward. Having only three hours of church on Sunday instead of six (because of both an English and Spanish branch) is going to be a weird experience from the rest of my mission. I'm not sure of what my new address will be, because where we are living is not really certain yet. I might be moving in with two other elders and living out of my area or the mission might just find a new apartment. We'll see. I'm excited to be staying in Laredo though, this really is a great place.

I'm sad to be leaving my companion Elder Piena, after only one transfer. He is a great missionary and we had a lot of fun together. I'm sure he'll do good work here in Larga Vista though and do all he can to help the people here.

I was happy to hear that the service for Calvin went well. I hope everybody had a chance to reflect a little on their covenants and just how important they are. If you haven't read the talk, "The Power of Covenants" by D. Todd Christofferson, I would suggest it. It's very powerful and helps put the importance of obedience into perspective.

Happy birthday to those that had theirs in August. I think I'm a little late for Christian, but I'm sure he can forgive me. Hopefully Ben and Nathan can have a good birthday as well, and anybody else I forgot (which I probably did).

To answer Mom's question, all of my clothes still fit fine. I walked through one pair of my shoes, but I still have one good pair and a pair of Sunday shoes. (Not to mention my boots as well if worse comes to worst.) I've been thinking about getting some contacts though, as my glasses get kind of annoying, especially when I sweat a lot. If I go to a bike area, that's pretty much going to be a given.

I hope baby Riggins does well this week, and I know the Lord is there helping everything move along. Please give my regards to Petrine Squires as well, I'm sure she must be having a hard time. It's always hard to see something tragic happen to someone who has spent so much time sacrificing on your (and many other's) behalf.

I'll be writing you from the new area next week!

Love,

Elder Wood

August 1, 2011, email post from Laredo, TX

Dear Family,

I am grateful for the Gospel. Few people have what we have. I am eternally thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who cares for us and who set forth the great plan of happiness. One of my favorite quotes from Preach My Gospel has always been, "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." I can't imagine the difficulty of a challenge like this, but I do know that God has all power in heaven and earth, and if we ask Him, He can give us the strength to overcome whatever trial we may face. Jesus Christ suffered all things. He went beneath all things, so that he could lift us up, together with those we love, back into the presence of the Father.

I'm grateful to know that heaven is a real place. And I'm thankful that I know that there are people there waiting for me. I wasn't able to meet Calvin before he moved on to the next world, but I know that I will meet him someday. The blessings of the Gospel are eternal, of that I'm sure. The Lord has promised an eternal family, and he can never take away that blessing. We can only take it away from ourselves. I know that Calvin will be the son of Warren and Mel Wood eternally, and that they will always be his parents. And one day, very soon in the perspective of eternity, they will be reunited, never to be apart again. I didn't always know that, but I'm glad that I do.

The kids of the family that we have been teaching got baptized yesterday. The mom still needs to attend church. She works on Sundays and the dad doesn't seem too interested, but the kids are great and were very excited. They have a good group of friends in high school that are members of the church as well. They should be set to stay active. We're going to be working more with the mom over the coming weeks in order to help her find a way not to work in order to attend church with her kids and get baptized. I hope that soon this family will be able to take part in all the blessings of the Gospel. I've come to learn that everyone needs it now whether they realize it or not, because when the day comes when they have trials or tragedies they will need the comfort that can only come through the Gospel and the atonement of Jesus Christ.

I'll be finding out this week if I'm staying in Laredo or going to a different place. I would imagine I'll be staying here but you never know. A large portion of the mission leadership will be changing and a lot of people will be training. We'll see what will happen. I suspect I'll stick here with Elder Piena for at least another transfer.

Know I love you and that God loves you too. Families are eternal. I know it and so do you.

Love,

Elder Wood

June 27, 2011, email post from Laredo

Dear Family,

Well, a few changes are going to be happening over the next few days. My companion, Elder Anderson, will be leaving the area and I will be receiving a new companion. My new companion will be Elder Piena. He's Hawaiian, but from what I understand comes from Henderson, Nevada, next to Las Vegas. I've never met him before, but everyone who knows him tells me that he is a great missionary. I'm excited for the chance to have a new companion. It's always an exciting experience, and there's always a lot to learn from another person. Every companionship in our district here in Laredo is going through a change, which should make for an interesting experience. In all of Laredo there are a lot of changes going on as well. President Trayner is sending a large group of some of the best Elders in the mission here to Laredo. He put in a request to the First Presidency a few months ago to add Eagle Pass to the Laredo District in order to make it into a Stake. From what I understand, he has the permission to do so and is just working out some of the things that need to be done beforehand. It's seems like he's putting quite a force into Laredo to help push it through this change and keep it growing.

Anyway, I don't have too many stories from this week. Hopefully, I'll have some good ones to report soon with Elder Pinea. I'm glad Natalie survived the encounter with the St. Bernard. Most of the time when I see big dogs like St. Bernards or German Shepards on the other side of a fence I don't bother trying to fight them by going in the yard.

Congratulations to Rose-Ellen on the the new kid on the way. That will be another niece/nephew born before I get back home. I hope JoAnn can get some more rest and improve a little bit over the coming weeks. Points to Mom on finding Dad's car, too.

Love,

Elder Wood