letter #2 from texas

"....President Sagers is super nice and somewhat stern. He has a "rub some dirt in it" attitude, which I like. Also he is supposedly in the PRC Hall of Fame. That was what I was told. I love him and respect him and I trust his council and that it comes from the Lord.

Elder To'a is from Palo Alto California or I think it is Newman. I don't know for sure. He grew up in Tonga till he was about 14. He speaks 5 lanuages and is the best companion in the Fort Worth Mission. Elder To'a is very persistent and loves the work of the Lord. He has taught me a lot by example. I hope that I can become like him. All of the hispanics here think that he is Mexican becuase he speaks really good Spanish. The language is a barrier right now, at least that is how I feel. We talk to a lot of people in English and it is difficult to switch from English to Spanish. I am working on it and hopefully I can become somewhat fluent by March. Supposedly I am going to be training a new missionary in March. The idea of doing that scares and humbles me. I have a lot to work on. Language, contacting, teaching, and a whole bunch of other things. I know that the Lord will help me with this.

We are really growing our teaching pool here in Killeen. We have a baptism on the 28th of this month and hopefully two others will be getting baptized that day. Arturo, is the one getting baptized that day. He has been investigating the church for 14 years and has gone through a lot of missionaries. He used to be in the Army, however he dropped out and is now headed back to school. His wife and kids are members. Then we have two investigators who will hopefully be baptized that day too. Nimsi and Yasaret. Their mother is waiting on divorce papers and then she says that she wants to be baptized. They were taught in Arkansas before they moved here and are a sweet family. Leticia is the name of the mother and she is from Mexico and talks lightning fast. I hardly understand anything when we have lessons with her. Then we have a couple who are waiting on divorce papers from Mexico. The father married someone down there and then moved here and had kids here with another woman. Tracking down people in Mexico is very hard because that seems to be a problem that a lot fo investigators have. Matt could tell you, he has been there and seen the workings of that country.

Each week we get about 20 new investigators. Now we are trying to get back to them all as well as visit the less-actives and rececent converts. I am hoping that I am getting better at teaching the first lesson. That is somehthing that we teach a lot like 30 or 40 times a week. We have a really hard time getting people to come to church because it is 40 miles away. We hope to start the branch here in Killeen soon so investigators won't have to drive so far. I think that we can really start a ward here with all of the hispanics there are. We just need to contact more and get them baptized and coming to church. Apparently Salt Lake is keeping an eye on the work that Elder To'a and I are doing. Elder To'a shows me videos from the other places that he has served. In the videos he is recording the hispanic parties that they have at the church for new years, christmas, ect. I really want to go to one they look like a riot. Hispanics are so lively and friendly, for the most part. The members are super nice and keep us well fed. And I think that a lot of white members have helped supply our appartment with supplies such as dishes, pots, pans, microwave, ect. I don't recall interacting with the missionaries much at home so this is a new experience.

The work is calling and I am out of time. I want you all to know that this Church is true. That Joseph Smith was called of God to restore the church of Jesus Christ to the earth once more. We have evidence of this, the Book of Mormon. I know that it is true and you can too. All you have to do is ask God. Jesus is our Savior and only through him can we return to live in the presence of God. I am so glad to be sharing the message of the restored gospel with people here in Texas. I know that this is where I am supposed to be. I love you all. Thanks for your prayers and support. I will see you soon and talk to you sooner."

Love,

Elder Wood III

letter #1 from the field

We got to DFW and went to Pres. Sagers house. Here is where I should have asked if I could call. However, I got co-dependant because he gave us the buck up and suck it up talk pertaining to when we were in the field. He is really a nice guy. He did rodeo so that is where part of the buck up comes from, I think. At his house we had a delicious lunch with some amazing brisket. I was in heaven seeing as it was the first real food we have had in a while. Then we went to the church and learned some stuff and did interviews with Pres. Sagers. Then we went to the AP's apartment and spent the night there. Then we had more meeting where we learned about safety in cars and on bikes. Then we meet our new companions. My new companion is E To'a. He is a tongan samoan from California. He is awesome and I wish that I could tell you everything that I want to however I don't have much time. I will say that he has taught me a ton since I have been with him. He and I are opening the new area of Killeen, Texas. There are a fair amount of spanish people here and Pres. Sagers wants us to establish a branch here. When we got to our apartment there was no food, pots, pans, silverware, dishware, ect. so E. To'a and I decided to open the area with a fast. Since then we have been slowly acruing things to use and eat. The work is very exciting here. Elder To'a and I talk with everyone that we can black, white, hispanic, it doesn't matter. And it is starting to pay off as we see our teaching pool grow. I hope that it will prodice fruit because I have been told that Elder Cook is coming down here to dedicate this area for mission work.

It has been raining all morning and day here. Their drain system is terrible so the streets have a lot of water on them it is fun. I got your package that you sent. Thank you so much! I love hearing from all y'all. The spanish is coming. I gave a talk in church yesterday and many people comment on my spanish. Hopefully I will be fluent by the time that I call. And I have heard that skype is for the international elders and I will keep you updated on that as well. I don't have much time. I love you all. I am super sad that we didn't get to talk. However I realize that it has helped me focus a lot more. I know this gospel is true and this is where I am supposed to be. Talk to you soon. Have a blessed week.

Love,Elder Wood III

an overdue update

Here's a little update of our buck-a-roo! I'll write more once I get home and have the letters by me so I remember things.

He's loving the MTC

The language is coming along better than expected

He and his companion are in the process of becoming the Zone Leaders for their district in the MTC

He has finally said we can stop sending packages.

Each letter he sends sounds positive

He loves teaching the investigators in Spanish

He says he'd love to get any letters

"i'm still alive. thank heavens"

we got our first email! here's a clip from it:

My companion is Elder Dekker from Aniheim (sp). He is a lurp. He is also a dibetic so that always makes things interesting. Two other elders are in our room, Elder Atack who is from Oregon and Elder Keller from Cedar City. Everyone else in the room left a girl behind. It has been interesting to watch how they all handle that and how some have done better than others. Two other companionships in our district are going to Fort Worth. Others are going to Chile, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. The other elders in our district have been late to things so far and don't sit by us at lunch. I think that there is only one or two of them who are leading them astray. However this makes me very sad because they know what they should be doing and some don't stand up for themselves. The spanish is coming along. It is amazing how I still remember some of the things that I have learned. The second day was super long, probably because all we do is sit and on Thursday I thought a lot about you guys and what you were doing. Thankfully they already have us teaching an imaginary investigator. That has helped cheer me up and focus as well. The downside to being here is that all we do is sit, all day long. We finally got gym for the first time on Friday and I took advange by doing some cardio work. Little did I realize that I would hurt so much today. The food is ok, not as good as moms. They do have a make your own wrap line that I do like a lot. We eat luch at 11:30 and dinner at 4:30 so needless to say by bedtiume I am hungry. They serve milk and chocolate milk at everymeal and I think that if I want to stay slim I will need to lay off those here soon. The power was out this morning and for lunch so the foood has been sub-par lately. It is amazing to compare how productive I am here to what I was getting done at home. The first night I hardly slept, I have been sleeping well since then. And daylight savings should help that out as well. I have seen a few people here that I know: Keyan Norman, Tyler Loong, Nate Prusse, and others who you don't know. I love this gospel and get so much joy in sharing it in my broken spanish. There is no place that I would rather be.

every journey...

day #1 - one step. the beginning of the journey.

today we took seth to the mtc

so sweet and so sad to see him go

on our way we stopped at coneys in american fork for pistachio custard

made one last shopping trip in target

drove to the provo temple parking lot for some last minute pictures

then took him to the curb where we were instantly surrounded by dozens of eager elders sitting there ready to take the new missionaries inside

he looked great.

we'll miss him. even so, we all know that he's going to be one of the best missionaries texas has ever seen