Pancake Master

Hey Hey Hey again!!!

So, this week has been great!  Different from the last few weeks because all the people around me changed, but it is still great and I am loving the new people!  They are really all really cool and we get along well.  I miss Elder McCleary because he and I were friends from the MTC together, and Elder Kester was super fun and easy going.  But the new Elders are great too.  One of them is brand new to Indonesia, and just came with the group that just got here.  His name is Elder Hobbs and he is from New Zealand.  He is awesome and totally willing to work hard!  Then there is his comp Elder Hendro, who is cool and has actually already served in Solo, just a different area.  Then there is my companion, Elder Ajidharma.  He goes home on Wednesday, which is weird...we were companions for less than a week.  But I guess that is just how it works out.  Which is too bad because he is a stud and a great teacher and really friendly and outgoing.  And he has been really good to kind of sit back and let me try to figure things out for myself and learn how to lead an area, and help me when I need help.  So that is good.  I guess what will happen Wednesday, though, is that I will be put in a threesome with the other two Elders in the house and we will cover both areas together for several weeks.  So that will be good and hopefully will keep us super busy!

So, we are just coming to the end of our P-day now as I am writing this.  We got up and cleaned the house this morning, and then all 10 of the missionaries in Solo met at the church and I cooked pancakes for them all.  It was a lot of fun and they turned out really well, actually!  Everyone really liked them and called me the pancake master...haha.  Then we just kind of chilled at the church for a while and watched Mormon Messages and stuff.  Now we are emailing.  Oh, but I have to tell you something.  So while we were at the church today, the Stake President showed up and asked to talk to me in his office. I asked if anyone else should come, like my comp..., and he said just me.  Whoa, I was a little scared, like "what did I do wrong...are we not supposed to cook here or something, or is there something else...?"  But, what it was is he asked me to translate for a meeting tomorrow.  I guess there is a speaker coming from BYU or something to speak to I'm not sure who about seminary and stuff, and he wants me to translate.  From 9 AM to 3 PM!  I feel like I am not even fluent yet.  But apparently my bahasa is good enough that he thinks I am from just talking to him. I told him I am willing to try, but that I may need some help. He said that is fine, so I asked Elder Giolas who has been here for a year to help me.  So, He and I will be translating from English to Indonesian for 6 hours or so tomorrow!  Holy cow I will be tired and dizzy from all the thinking that will take!  So, pray for the gift of tongues for me tonight if you can!!! I will need all the help I can get! But, I think it should go OK, especially with Elder Giolas there too.

So, like I said this week has been good.  Some big changes and opportunities, though!

Last Monday was a chill P-day and I bought my first Batik shirt.  Its pretty cool looking, but I don't have any pictures in it yet.  

On Tuesday, we met with some members and ate with members and investigators a few last times before Elder Kester left, so he could say his goodbyes and introduce me to people.  And we had a lesson and English class, so that was good.  

On Wednesday, we said goodbyes at 5AM!  Then I went to the other Elders' house and was on splits with them for the day, and went to a few of their investigators.  Then Elder Ajidharma got here , we went and visited an investigator in the hospital and talked with him for a while and gave him a lesson on comfort and stuff.  It is sad, he has no family or friends close by to visit him, so we are trying to start visiting him to help comfort him.  After that, we came home because it was getting later and we had to wait and be home for the 2 other new elders to get here. 

Thursday we had our two hours of service at the park.  Then we visited that investigator at the hospital again.  Then we did weekly planning and study.  Our investigator cancelled, and we needed to get groceries for the new elders, so we went to the store that night after proselyting.  

Friday:  Friday we had a lot of meetings like DDM and stuff that took a long time, so we didn't get too much other stuff done.  But the meetings were good and helpful, and we still got in a lesson and English class, so that was good.

Saturday: Here we go.  So today was an adventure.  And a cause of much stress for me!  So, Elder Ajidharma and Elder Hendro were on splits today, which meant that I was with Elder Hobbs, the brand new Elder that doesn't know much yet, like I was a few months ago and still feel like.  So, I was leading completely!  And the problem was, I couldn't get anyone--investigators or inactive members--to answer their phones or to make an appointment.  So, I had to start figuring out what we were going to do.  So, I picked an area on the map and found the names and addresses of all the members that I could that lived in that area.  I didn't know if they were active or not, so we planned a lesson for both and headed out hoping for the best!  We had 6 names to go visit.  We couldn't find the addresses of several, despite our best efforts.  Finally we were able to find one.  I didn't recognize the guy, and after talking to him for a few minutes, I could tell he was very inactive.  He didn't remember hardly anything about the Restoration or the Gospel. So, I taught him the Restoration from the beginning, rather briefly.  Then we discussed his baptism, the feelings he had felt, the covenants he had made, and why Sacrament Meeting is important going along with those covenants.  Then I invited Elder Hobbs to bear his testimony about Sacrament meeting and baptismal covenants, because he had been pretty quiet the whole lesson.  He was great, and totally tried his best.  But, the funniest part was, he started trying to give the guy the baptismal commitment!  He was about half=way through or so before I realized what he was doing and leaned over and told him that the guy is already a member.  We all had a good laugh about it and he took it like a champ!  But we did get the guy to commit to coming to church on Sunday. Too bad he didn't actually come.  But, I felt that the lesson went well, and now I have someone else I can add to the teaching pool.  

Then we found our way to another members' home.  This time she was active.  As we were about to share a brief message, about 10 neighborhood kids showed up with her son.  She invited them all in to "learn with the Elders."  So, that was kind of cool--I taught the Restoration very simply and focusing on God is our Loving Heavenly Father and HOw to follow Jesus Christ to 10 twelve year olds of all different religions.  So that was pretty cool!

After that we were out of addresses and still had several hours left in the day.  So we just started talking to everyone we passed on the street.  Then we went to the mall to proselyte, because oddly enough, that is one of the more effective places to proselyte here.  And I helped (and sort of made) Elder Hobbs go out of his comfort zone and make his very first personal contact in Indonesia!  So that was cool to help and watch him progress and grow!  That pretty much finished our day.  But, that day I gave out 7 passalong cards, which I think is a personal record for me.  So, for how stressed I was, it actually turned out to be a pretty successful and productive day!  And I was definitely blessed, because I was able to do things like finding addresses that I have never done before.  And I understood more in our lessons from what people say than I ever have before, too!  So that was cool!  And It was awesome to really be able to see how much I have learned and progressed in the last less-than-3-months.  And I found out that I can do things that I didn't think it was possible for me to do!

Sunday was good, too.  We went to both church meetings--so 5 hours of church, and then to a baptismal service at the other building in Solo (there are 4 wards here!)  The baptismal service was great, and our Investigator attended that and came to all of church--and brought her 2 daughters!  So that was awesome!  We are actually planning on giving her the baptismal commitment this week, so it was great that she came and liked it!  After that, though, all of our other appointments cancelled and we couldn't make anymore, despite our best efforts.  And it is weird to go proselyte at the mall on Sunday...SO we stayed home and marked up the map with all the members and investigators and updated our ward lists and area book so that we could be more productive in the future.  So that was good!

That is so fun that you were able to meet with Elder Putra and have that relationship!  His family, especially his mom, was so excited about it and told me thank you so many times!  So I think you made her week!  And it was fun for me to hear about it too!  They really are awesome people, and I feel like they are my second family here in Solo!

Oh, and as I am finishing this, I just opened my email from President Donald.  I was feeling so good about things and they have been going well lately...until I read his email.  And now I am super nervous and stressed.  He is making me a trainer come October!  I don't know if I am ready yet!  But I guess I'd better be!  Holy Cow, though, reading that stressed me out a little bit.  Leading one day was hard enough, but doing it for 3 months!  Whoa!  I just don't know.. But I guess it is flattering that he trusts me that much, and I better be ready, because ready or not, here it comes!  So, I guess that is what you could pray for me for...to be ready and prepared to be a trainer already!

Well, enough about that!  I am glad to hear that you are all doing well.   And glad that you have had a pretty good week it sounds like.  Good luck on remodeling the house and stuff!  And too bad the Cougs lost.  I guess its a good thing I'm half way around the world so I didn't have to suffer through watching that happen again!

I love you all and I love hearing from you each week!  It is one of the best parts!  Well, I gotta go, but until next time!  

Love Elder Wood

'Gimana Kabar'nya!?

HEY HEY HEY!!!

'Gimana Kabar'nya!?  (Hows it going!?)

Things here have been going really well!  This week has been a lot of fun again!  And a lot of good hard work!  

Monday--We went to do Monster Burger, but the place doesn't do it anymore! Bummer!  We were so excited for it!  But, since it was no more, we went to a different place and got huge plates of fried rice and ate that instead.  Not nearly as American, but still super good!  Then we watched the RM for a bit. After that we had dinner and family night at our Elders' Quorum President's house.  It was a lot of fun! Family nights here are becoming my favorite meetings because there is always a great spirit and special bond that I can feel, and it feels like I truly belong!

Tuesday we spent most of the day riding around and waiting to get my companion's bike fixed.  So, that was kind of a bummer to have to spend so much time on that and not on missionary work.  But, it was also fun because we were at bike shops, and I like those places.  While we were at one, and I got talking to one of the guys about biking, because we both really like mountain biking.  He ended up inviting me and Elder Kester to go downhill mountain biking around here with them sometime, but they said that our bikes were too bad, so we could borrow their downhill bikes!  It sounded like so much fun, but was a test of my faith and willingness to follow the rules, because we are not allowed to do that because it is dangerous.  But it sounded like fun!  At least I now have good enough language to make friends and get invited to do cool things!  After that, we had a lesson with a new member, then English class, and then the traditional Pak Jon's for dinner!

Wednesday we got a haircut, then rode about an hour and a half out to a new members house to teach his mom and cousin who are not yet members, so that was awesome!  Then we came home and it was already getting late.  So we went to teach another inactive member who we had made an appointment with.  But, he had forgotten or ignored us and wasn't home.  That was frustrating, but hey, it happens!  So we went home and did some good planning for the next day!

Thursday--We had service picking up trash at the park in the morning.  We drank some pretty terrible tasting traditional health drinks that some lady was selling.  They are supposed to make you all healthy with natural ingredients and stuff.  I don't know if they did.  But if you judge it by bitter root taste that is pretty terrible and so bad that it has to be chased by a sweet sugarcane juice, then it has to have some health benefit.  Then we went and ate a huge lunch for 50 cents.  Then we came home, got ready, did our study, then 4 hours of weekly planning.  We have a lot to go over and spend a lot of time going through the area book to find people to teach and figure out what they need.  And we get distracted every once in a while!  but it was good and we had fun!  Then we went to teach an old investigator.  He wasn't home, but his dad was, and he let us teach him.  So we got the first lesson in and taught him the restoration, and he was interested and willing to meet again, so that was awesome!  After that, the day was over and we planned and went to bed!

Friday was Zone Training Meeting in Jogja.  It was fun to go back to my last city, but sadly I didn't see any members there.  ZTM was good, and we talked about planning and working.  President gave us the challenge for each companionship to get 20 lessons a week.  THat doesn't sound like a lot, I know, but we have been really working hard and struggling to get even 10 per week!  So, we are going to really have to figure out how to use our time better and get more lessons in, while still keeping them meaningful lessons that will actually help the people we are teaching!  After ZTM we missed our train home, so we went and did some shopping on Malioboro while we waited for the next train two hours later.  We didn't really  do much shopping, though, but we went to McDonald's and all got a Big Mac meal and Frosty!  SO GOOD!  And my first American meal in like 3 months!  Then we came home and it was past bedtime, so it was straight home and to bed after planning.

Saturday--Today was awesome!  Long, but awesome!  And frustrating at one short point.  We left the house at 9 and rode to our new investigators house--Anastasia.  She lives like 50 kilometers away.  We stopped at the bishop's house to ask directions at like the 15 kilo mark, and he said it was too far to ride, so he gave us a ride in his car.  We had a good lesson and the Bishop's wife helped a ton!  The investigators daughter and husband were there, too, which was great!  Then we went back to the bishop's house.  Then we rode our bikes in the opposite direction about 35 or 40 kilometers to another new investigators house for a first meeting.  This is the guy from Klaten that I contacted on the bus like a month or so ago.  It took about 3 hours to get there all uphill, and we were tired.  And it was 7:00.  They were super nice and fed us and we taught them the Restoration, too.  They took it well and liked it.,  Afterwards, I invited them to church tomorrow.  This is where it gets frustrating.  When I invited them, the dad straight up said that they didn't want to come to church, but want us to keep coming back there.  It is so frustrating to put in all that effort to go that far, and have them not want to put any effort back in return!  And now I am trying to decide if it is worth going back out there again and see if we can help them know truth.  It is a long ride and takes at least half a day or more, and I don't want to waste my time or their time.  I will have to think and pray and talk to my comp about it.  After that, the ride home was much quicker because it was all downhill.  But it was still an hour and a half or more, and we were a little late getting home.  But, it was nice to get some good exercise and bike riding in!  

Sunday--Church was good.  We had 3 investigators come--Sister Anastasia and her daughter, and another younger investigator.  So that was awesome!  After church we taught the younger investigator all 3 lessons!  Just shortened versions.    Then we went to members houses for food, then we had a family night thing with our Ward Mission Leader.  Like half the ward was there!  It was a party.  We ate and then taught a lesson about member missionary work.  That was good!  Then we went home.  

Today--This morning was awesome!  We cleaned the house.  Then Elder McCleary and I made our pancakes!  They were so delicious!  We made a bunch of pancakes and scrambled some eggs, and I even found some maple syrup at the store, so they were delicious!  Such a good morning!  Then we came here to the church, I opened my package, and we are emailing!

Well, this week was pretty awesome!  But, I forgot one thing.  On Saturday morning we got the call from the AP's.  Everyone in our house is transferring to different zones, except me.  I am the only Elder in my house that is staying.  So I will have to lead the area a little bit.  I am scared to death because I barely know the area, if at all!  But I am also excited for the opportunity because it will force me to learn how to do things and help me grow!   But I will miss being with Elder McCLeary and Kester because we have a lot of fun together!

I got the package today and just barely opened it!  It is so awesome!  Thank you so much for everything!  I haven't been able to read the letters yet, but I have glanced over them a little bit!  Thank you so much!  Haha we were totally laughing at the little games and stuff!  Things I never would have played with before, but that seem so fun and entertaining to me now, and that will be fun to play with with the little kids of our investigators!  Oh, and that Nike "Many are Called but Few Are Chosen" shirt is awesome!  I love it!  I saw it and thought it had to be from the BYU Bookstore or something, but then I saw Nike and read the Email that it is from Footlocker!  That is so cool--Mormons are getting out there if Nike is quoting D&C now!  But it is an awesome quote, and I can't wait to wear it around!  The snacks and treats are amazing!  Oh, and the Crystal light, I didn't even ask for, but the other day was thinking how good those would be, because here it is either plain water or water with at least 2 tablespoons of sugar or more for flavoring.  I am going to get diabetes if I am not careful!  So those will be awesome!!!  And the pictures are awesome!  It is so good to see you all again, and things that are going on...and the little Elder Wood action  figure out and about!  And the new car is pretty sweet!  Spoiled mom!  I kinda miss the mountains, but Indonesia is its own kind of beautiful, and we have seen some pretty spectacular scenery here as well!  And the letters and other peoples' blogs--I haven't had a chance to read yet, but I am super excited to!  So thank you for everything!  You guys are awesome!

So, it sounds like you have been having some fun this week...at least mom and dad have!  That lake Powell trip sounds like a blast!  Bummer about the bad weather, but that sounds pretty amazing and cool, too, to see the waterfalls and stuff!  Thanks for the pictures, those are so cool to see that waterfall right behind the boat!  

Sabrina and Eliza, sorry you didn't get to go!  But hey, school is important!  haha!  And Sabrina, congrats on doing so well in tennis this year!  That is so awesome that you and Allie are doing so well together and are undefeated in region!  Keep up the good work!  I’m bummed I can't watch you play at all!  Eliza--glad things are going well for you too!  Keep enjoying school and making your music videos and stuff!  I want to watch some in 2 years!  

Well, I have to go now.  But I am glad to hear you are doing well and having fun!  I love you all so much!  And thanks again for the package!

Love Elder Wood

Growing Patience

Hey Hey Hey!!!

Well this week has been pretty good...interesting as to why, because there are several things that I feel like I normally shouldn't be happy about, but that for some reason I have found so much joy in.  Missions are weird, and so are the feelings and emotions of missionaries, at least for me and my comp this week.  I will elaborate more later.

So, this week started off amazingly.  Last P-Day was fun and relaxing.  Just some emailing and watching the Work and the Glory and stuff.  That night we had family night scheduled with our bishop and the Sisters.  Our bishop lives about 45 minutes away.  It is a good ride out to his house, but it was a really pleasant evening, so it was a nice ride!  Then we got to the bishop's house.  I have to clear things up a little bit first.  Our bishop is EXCEPTIONALLY wealthy for Indonesian standards, and really wealthy for even Western standards.  He owns several car dealerships here.  His house is huge and really nice.  We got there about 6:00.  It was my comp and me, the Sisters, one of our new members who is 18 years old, another new member family, and the Bishop and his family.  We started out just talking and getting to know each other since I am still pretty new.  Then we had family night.  I used dad's quarter story and we talked a little about having positive attitudes and looking for positives in life.  Then we played a game.  I don't know quite why, but that night was one of, if not the happiest night I have yet had in Indonesia.  The Bishop and his family are awesome!  They are so strong in the gospel, and they are so nice and caring and loving!  And having new members there was a ton of fun and totally awesome too!  I honestly felt like I was part of the family and that they would do anything they could to help me if I needed it, and I felt truly loved and accepted by them.  I have felt that by a lot of people here, but that night was just exceptional, and the whole having fun all together was great too!  Then after the lesson and games part, we had an awesome dinner that was delicious, and I spent some more time talking to the Bishop.  We have a lot in common, which is fun!  He is a mountain biker, a dirt biker, he has a sweet jeep and goes off-roading, and he drives a BMW haha!  He and I hit it off really well talking about all those things and it was fun to have someone to talk to about so many of my hobbies!  He is really cool!  Then I got talking to his wife, who is so nice!  She loved looking at all the family pictures and the photo book!  Oh, I also found out that they have a son that is serving a mission in Salt Lake right now!  So, I got his information because I thought it might be fun for both you and him if you guys contacted him and took him out to dinner some night if you had time, or even invited him to a big family dinner at Grandma's house if he wanted to or could come.  His parents were so excited at the idea, and it might be fun to have a connection.  They could be like my temporary parents and you could be his temporary parents--like son-swap around the world!  

So, his name is Elder _____.  right now he is serving in the Cannon Stake in Liberty, Utah.  I can't remember where that is, but maybe you guys could take him to dinner somewhere in his area if it isn't too far or if you have time.  I know how much we love getting taken out for food, and I'm sure he would love it too, especially with the family connection!  So, to help you find him, his phone number is 801-___-____.  Just text or call him and see what would work out, and let me know how it goes!

So yeah, that was family night, and it was a ton of fun.  Then we went home for the night.

On Tuesday, we went to one appointment but he wasn't home.  So then we rode out to an appointment that was pretty far away, and had to try to find the house.  After about an hour and a half of looking, asking directions, and calling the guy, we finally found his house.  Only, he wasn't home, and he never told us that when we were on the phone with him.  But now we know where his house is, and we made an appointment with his wife to come back next week.  We went and taught our new member, then we had English class which is always fun and chill.  After English Class, all the Solo missionaries, a few members and investigators from English class went to a pizza chain called Papa Ron's (we think it is maybe the international version of Papa Jon's) for buy one get one free night.  It was so good.  Every companionship bought a pizza, so we each had our own full pizza.  It was soooo good, and actually tasted like American pizza, so that was fun, and will probably become a monthly tradition!  2 large pizzas with lots of toppings for $9.  Cheap by American standards, but super expensive on our budgets, but good and worth it every once in a while!

Wednesday was pretty slow.  We had a goal for 5 lessons that day, but after riding to many of their houses, none of them were home, which was a bummer.  It gets frustrating, but at least we are trying and we made a few contacts along the way, which is good.  Oh, and we found out that we would be moving the next day.  Not much forewarning, but that's how things tend to work here.  It keeps us on our toes and is kinda fun because we never really know what is coming!

Thursday:  We went and did our weekly service picking up trash at a park for 2 hours in the morning, then we came home and began moving.  We were moving literally to the house right next door, so it wasn't too difficult.  It took about 3 hours to get all the stuff out of our old house and into the new house, but then a lot longer to get it all organized and figure out how it is going to work.  The new house is much smaller and is just barely big enough to fit all our stuff and make it work.  So it is cozy, but it works. And we will all get closer together!  So, we spent the rest of that day getting the house organized and put together.  Oh, and we McGyvered (I think I spelled that wrong) a few things to make it work.  Like the counter is too small for our dish drying rack, so we put some nails into the wall and hung it from the wall.  It's kinda sketchy, but it hasn't fallen yet haha!  It was pretty fun and we were proud of ourselves for figuring out the things we could do to make it work!  It was a fun project day, and we kept feeling like "Home Improvement."  I was hearkening back to my 5 year old days of watching whatever show that was haha!  And we were jamming to Disney and Church music the whole time!  

Then that night, we got invited to go to a wedding!  It was really fun!  It was a huge Pakistani style wedding with a lot of good free food--they even had ice cream!  And we got ourselves known and made some good contacts in the Muslim community, all while having a fun time!  A great night!  And because we are white, we got invited to the VIP section and I sat next to the head religious leader who was super nice and cool to talk to!  I got some pictures with him too, that you will have to see!  I will try to send them!

Friday we had District meeting, we spent some time fixing up the house and going to the store with the mission couple to get some things we needed, and that's where the picture I forwarded you came from.  Then we did some planning,  had a lesson, taught English, ate dinner, then it was night time.

Saturday we spent more time in the morning with the mission couple fixing up the house.  Then we went to the church and taught a new investigator for the first time.  She took the lesson really well, and it was good!  I think she could be a really good investigator, and that the gospel could really help and bless her life!  So I am excited to hopefully meet with her again!  But we were bummed because she didn't show up for church on Sunday :(  We spent a few hours trying to find another investigator's house that was far away, but we could never find it or get ahold of the person, so that was a bummer! That night we had futsol scheduled with all the missionaries, several investigators, and members.  My comp and I had an appointment as well, so we were only able to go for about 30 minutes of futsol before we had to come home, shower and change.  As we were about to walk out the door and go to our appointment, he called and said that he was still out of town and would not be able to meet that night.  He is an inactive member.  But, he did promise that he would come to church the next day with his family, and that we could meet with him after church.  This is where those weird feelings I was talking about earlier come in.  I was surprisingly not at all bummed or mad that we left futsol early, got ready to go, and then he cancelled and it was all for nothing that night.  Both my companion and I were so happy that he promised to come to church the next day!  And we felt like leaving futsol for an appointment was a test of our faith that we passed!  So, our night that night was kinda ruined was still a success!  I don't know if that makes any sense, but I know my emotions were much different  than they normally would have been.  I'm growing!

Sunday was good!  The member from yesterday came to church came with his family which was awesome!  Then we went and taught them after church and it was awesome.  He is super cool and seems like he wants to come back to activity!  Sadly, after that, the rest of our appointments cancelled, so we went and tried to contact other inactive members or investigators.  We were only able to contact one, but they weren't super interested.  But we tried, and again made a few new contacts.

This morning we cleaned the house, and are emailing.  I transferred all my pics to a microSD card, so I will get that in the mail the next few days to you!  Later, we are going to try Monster Burger--it is a huge burger that is apparently about the size of your head or bigger, and if you eat it in under 15 minutes it is free!  If not it is 90,000 rupia.  NO missionary has conquered it yet, but we are going to try.  Plus it is just a giant cheeseburger, so it is good either way!  Well, that is about it for this week!

I love hearing from you!  I will try to write some more personal letters later!  But thanks for the pancake recipe, the advice, pictures, everything!  You guys are awesome!  I love you so much!  Oh, and if you could send me Nick Smith's email, that would be great!  Love you!

Love Elder Wood!

First week in Solo

Hey Hey!!!

Well, it sounds like my last few letters must have been pretty negative, because all of you have told me to be more positive.  Sorry about that, I will be sure to put in the awesome experiences more, because the mission really is awesome!  Yeah, I won't lie, it is hard and frustrating at times, but it really is an amazing experience and a blessing, and I really do love it.  And, about the hard experiences, I heard a good analogy the other day.  It is like making gold.  To make gold, they burn the impurities off, and the more it is burned, the more pure it becomes.  So that is the good thing about all these experiences, is that they help make us become better, and I know that I can start to see improvements and see myself growing!

So, this week.  This week has been a ton of fun!  I love the new house I am living in and the Elders that I am living with!  We have so much fun together and get along really well, and it is awesome!  Study, planning, exercise, it is all so much fun now because we do it together and laugh and make jokes and all sorts of stuff!  Oh, and I think the 4 or 5 Disney songs I have have been played at least 100 times or more this week!  Haha who would have thought that Disney and church music would be so entertaining, but we love it, and it is on constantly in the mornings and evenings at the house!  We are all working on memorizing "Lets get down to business" from Mulan right now, which is pretty funny!

So, this week has also been pretty funny with eating situation.  We were all pretty poor because it was the end of the month and we were pretty much all out of our monthly budget because of zone trips, transfers, bike repairs, and other expenses on top of normal monthly expenses.  So, we ended up living a whole week on about 5 dollars or so, and made it through.  We luckily had a few groceries in the fridge.  So, we did a lot of white rice or fried rice, and there is a restaurant by the church where we can get a plate and stack it with as much rice and vegetables as we want for only about fifty cents, so we ate there a lot!  Food here is so cheap, and now McDonalds seems ridiculously expensive!  But the food here is so good, too!

So, we had some funny crazy turn of events with our housing situation that we have not yet really figured out completely.  But our landlord came over the other day and told us that we need to move next door so that they can renovate our house.  But the house next door is much smaller and we are not sure if we can fit all our stuff in it and make it work.  Plus we have some trust issues with the landlord because one of his 3 houses gets robbed every 2 months, and ours got robbed about 3 months ago I guess.  Plus stories between the landlord and the contractor finishing the house next door don't match up, and its just all weird.  So, because my comp is the District leader, we have had to spend some time trying to figure out what to do--if we can cancel the contract and move, and if so, to where.  But we don't really know yet, but it has been fun and interesting, and confusing, to try and figure it all out!

As far as investigators and stuff go here.  They had a baptism just a week or two before I got here, which is awesome!  But, now we don't have any progressing investigators.  So, we have been working through the former investigators list in the area book, but are almost completely finished with it, so we are running out of people to contact and to teach, so I think this week will likely involve a lot of finding efforts and stuff, because we don't really have anyone to teach right now.  So that will be good.  Finding here is pretty hard, but it can also be fun because you often meet some pretty funny people.  Like the other night we were proselyting at the mall while waiting for the other elders to meet us there to go grocery shopping on Saturday when we finally got our money and stopped being so poor haha, some guy walked up to us.  He knew we were Mormon missionaries, and wanted to talk about church stuff.  Except he didn't really want to hear our message.  Haha,  he was so funny because he was so excited to share what he believed.  The only problem was how lost he was.  But, it was one of those cases where, and I am going to butcher this quote, so sorry in advance, "they are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it."  He was convinced that the Holy Ghost is a she and that it is the heavenly mother.  The interesting thing, is that we got the same question in a lesson the very next day from an inactive member about who Heavenly Mother is.  So, that may be something we need to figure out an answer for, because I know the answer, but I don't know if there is any doctrine or scriptures to support it anywhere, so if you have any help that would be awesome!  But we were able to get this guy's information, so hopefully he can become an investigator!  

Haha so it is pretty funny.  In my new ward, our bishop is apparently absolutely loaded!  he is a car dealer, and owns several car dealerships.  But he is awesome and takes great care of the missionaries from what I hear!  But, the funny part is he looks like a car dealer too!  Hard to explain, but it just is that way.  And we are going to his house tonight to do Family NIght, so that should be a lot of fun, because his family is awesome too!

SO, things here are a lot of fun, and they were a lot of fun in Jogja, too.  It is a little bit hard to leave behind all my friends, contacts, and investigators in Jogja and come here and start over, but it is also a great opportunity!  Everyone is really nice, and it is a great chance to practice my language and my introduction skills.  And it helps me force myself to be social and not shy, because nobody here likes shy, quiet missionaries, and I want the members and people to like me so that I can get help and referrals from them, because that is the best way to be successful missionaries--working through the members!

Well, I think that's most of it for this week, and I can't wait for next week!  We already have a few appointments with some investigators scheduled, which is awesome!  Oh, And I have a cool experience to share.  So there is a guy that was a progressing investigator a few months ago, before Elder Kester even got here.  But they have not been able to make contact or get an appointment with him, despite trying for over 2 months now.  His phone has not been working and his address is not in the area book.  But, the other night, we were proselyting at the mall again, and we were also doing a little shopping for some supplies we needed for our work, this guy walks up to us and asks if we are the friends of an Elder that lived here about 3 months ago or so.  We told him we were.  Well, it turns out it is this guy that we have been trying to contact and meet with for over 2 months without success.  He found us at a store in the mall!  It was a little (or biggish) miracle, and is so cool!  And now we have his full information and an appointment to go and teach him again next week!  So AWESOME!

Well, now that is most of it for this week!  I guess now I will try to answer your questions/requests.

What I love about my mission:  How much I personally have grown--my testimony, knowledge, and most importantly my own conversion.  I also love the food here, the people, and seeing others begin to have a desire to change their lives and come closer to Christ.  The part about loving my personal growth, though, I don't so much love the physical growth--for a while I got up to nearly 170 pounds, but now I am eating better and exercising more, so I am back down a long ways haha!

Some quirky experiences:  The guy at the mall the other day telling us his beliefs was definitely pretty funny, and the way he was telling us it made it hard not to laugh.

The enjoyment we get out of Disney songs and other church youth songs is pretty funny when we look back at ourselves.  Its always like, "man, 5 months ago I hated this music and never would have listened to it.  Now I can't get enough of it!"

We were running at a stadium last P-Day and my magnet badge fell off, and I couldn't find it.  Some kids yelled "Elder Wood" at us, so we chased them, but they denied having it.  So, now I no longer have a magnet tag for P-days :(

We have the whole housing situation that, while stressful, is also a little entertaining just because of how ridiculous the whole situation is.

And I got measured for having a suit custom made.  Oh, to have a suit custom made cost about $30 here for the tailoring, and about $30 more or so for the fabric, depending on what kind of fabric you get.  So, dad, if you want a custom made suit, tell me what color and have yourself measured (in centimeters if possible) and I can get you a custom suit for probably like $70.  I think I might have one made if that is OK.  Let me know what you think, I will wait to here what you have to say before I get it made.

Also, mom, we have been kind of craving pancakes this week because we found some maple syrup at the store.  So I was wondering if you could find a simple pancake from scratch recipe and email it to me.  Preferably one that uses the least ingredients and the cheapest ingredients possible--we are on a tight budget haha.  Thanks!

Oh, I was also wondering if you could send a picture of me wake boarding in the suit before I left.  Email is fine for that.  Thanks!

Well, that's about it for now!  Thanks for sending the package!  I am so excited to get it!  I love you guys so much!

Love Elder Wood

P.S. we are emailing from the church and are not allowed to send pics from here.  But, I finally bought a micro sd card, so I will transfer all my pictures from this far (about 5 gigs or so) onto it and send it home in the next week or 2!  Then you can go through and look at all my pictures!

Gone to Solo!

Hey Hey!!!

Hope things are still going well for you guys at home, sounds like they are!

Well, I am actually writing to you this week from Solo!  Yeah, I got my first transfer yesterday and moved from Jogja to Solo Barat area in the Solo 2 ward.  Crazy!!!  I didn't even have 2 full months in Jogja, so it seems like it was a super short area and quick transfer!  Well, I'll tell you more about that later.

I'm glad that you are all doing well!  Bummer school starts tomorrow (or today depending on when you read this)!  But, school is also fun sometimes in a twisted sort of way!  

Sabrina, congrats on doing so well in the Ogden Invitational!  That is so cool!  I wish I could see you play this year!  Take some pics and video so I can watch a little later!  But more importantly, congratulations on your patriarchal blessing!  That is so awesome, and I promise you that it will be a source of guidance and strength in your life.  Whenever I am feeling lost or confused or even discouraged, and many other times too, that is one of the first things I turn to and read.  It truly is like personal scripture just for you!

Fun for the dogs to get their hair cut!  Everyone always loves looking at their pictures and thinks they are pretty funny looking.  But, I have to confess, and maybe don't tell them, but I did try dog a few weeks ago... :(   It wasn't very good, though, and I felt pretty weird the whole time I was eating it because I kept thinking about Rufus and Duke...so I don't know if I will be eating it again anytime soon.

So, this week has been another emotional roller coaster with transfers and all.  It started out pretty normal, with P Day like I told you last week.  Tuesday was another normal day.  Tried to make some appointments, but had several cancellations and no-shows.

Wednesday we went out to Klaten (a 2 hour+ bus ride) to visit a new member family and to teach their grandpa with the Sisters.  We were supposed to also go contact one of their friends, but instead they took us to a parade.  After that, we came home and followed the other sisters to their appointment because they wanted us to meet and take over teaching a member named Bro. Jerry.  He is one of the pioneer members in Indonesia, and actually helped with the first translation of the Book of Mormon into Indonesian.  But, sadly now he is inactive.  It is sad to see someone so knowledgeable and at one point so strong in the gospel to be inactive now.  But he was really nice, and we are hopeful that getting the missionaries and members to start visiting him can help him return to activity!

Thursday was pretty good!  The last few days and weeks we have been having a lot of flaky appointments and have not seen a lot of success in our teaching or finding new investigators.  So, that morning I prayed really hard for success in having our appointments follow through, knowing what to teach, and to find new people to teach.  That day, we  had a few lessons, had the opportunity to go to the hospital and hep give a sick member a Priesthood blessing, which is aways an awesome experience! Then one of our new investigators cancelled/no-showed, and another investigator family didn't come to English class or their lesson afterward, either.  That was a little bit of a bummer after my prayer, but I knew I needed to be patient and trust in the Lord.  Because the next day was Elder Wiradi's birthday, all the missionaries and the mission couple went to a good Italian restaurant for dinner to celebrate after English class.  While there, we got a phone call from Sister Maria, who we haven't been able to make an appointment with for the last 4 weeks or so because she has been so busy.  She was at the church and wanted to pick us up and take us to dinner.  Sadly, we had just ordered and were too far away to make it back quickly.  Then, about 15 minutes later, the phone rang again.  There was a whole family at the church that had just moved to Jogja from I think Bogor.  They showed up to the church and told a member who was there that they had heard about our church and wanted to learn more about it right then and there!  Again, sadly we weren't there or able to later that night because it was already getting too late!  But, we got their contact information to visit them later.  But, I truly saw that my prayer was answered that evening!  It was so fast, too, and I was so excited to have the possibility to teach so many of our inactive members, investigators and so many potential new investigators as well!

Friday morning came.  It was Elder Wiradi's birthday, so we joked and had some fun in the morning. Then, during comp study the phone rang.  It was the AP's.  We weren't sure why they were calling, because they usually don't ever call in the mornings.  But, my comp answered and after a few minutes, was quite anxious, walking around and sounding frustrated with the AP's .  Obviously something big was happening, and I eventually gathered that he was being transferred.  My feelings were weird, because several weeks ago, I just kept thinking to myself "you can make it to transfers. just make it to transfers." But, when I found out he was being transferred, I was actually really kinda sad.  Then he handed the phone to me, and the AP's told me that he was transferring to Bekasi.  Then, they said, "Oh, and by the way, you are going to Solo.  You leave Sunday afternoon."  There was a little more than that, but not a whole lot.  At that point, I was initially devastated.  

Now, this is going to sound weird, but I also think the transfers thing was an answer to my prayers, but not in the way you will be thinking after reading my emails from several weeks ago.  I have also been praying a lot lately for love and charity towards my comp and those I serve among--investigators and ward members.  I knew I liked all of them, but I didn't really know how much.  It wasn't until I heard that I was transferring that I really realized how much I loved all of them, my comp included, because of how sad I was to be leaving all of them!  And I was also really sad to be leaving just after my prayer had been answered the night before and we had so much opportunity for so much success and so many investigators and potential investigators to work with.  So, that was a somber morning!

After study, we had district meeting.  We kept our transfer under cover until the very end, and everyone was so surprised and sad that we were leaving!  But, it ended well because we had some delicious cake because of birthday boy and went to lunch as a district as well!  Then we spent some time waiting for appointments, printing a few pictures and visiting members and people we are close to and meet with regularly to say goodbye in the evening. 

Saturday morning, I started updating the Area Book and making a list of progressing investigators, investigators, potential investigators, and inactive members so that the new elders that would be whitewashing the area could have good information to get started right away!  It was then that, although I was so sad that I wouldn't directly see the blessings and benefits of the answer to my prayer the other night, it was still important and a blessing to me, because I was able to leave the new Elders a good list of lots of things to do as soon as they get here so that they don't have to waste too much time right away trying to find people to teach.  They can jump right into teaching hopefully effective appointments!   Later that day we met with one of our progressing investigators who is one who regularly no-shows.  He actually showed up to this appointment, and we had a good lesson and got him excited to continue meeting with the new elders!  And he has a goal to prepare for baptism by the end of September!

Sunday was good, but also sad!  Melly, the investigator I talked about from Saturday, came to church for the first time since I have been here, which was awesome!  He really is trying now! and that is so exciting!  And Sister Maria came for the second time since I have been here and brought her niece! That was great!  We got to bear testimony in Sacrament Meeting since we are leaving, and that is always nerve-racking, especially in Indonesian!  But, I think it went OK, I hope!  After church, we had to say our last goodbyes to so many wonderful members that have been so good and loving to us!  We took so many pictures with people (I'll try to send a few)!  Then, Sister Maria took us to lunch.  She is so sweet, and calls us her children and herself our mother.  So, I have a mother in Indonesia now, too.   And she said she is going to come visit me in Solo so that she can bring me a painting and some treats! Haha she is awesome.  Crazy, but so loving and sweet!  Afterwards, we went home, finished packing, and the Barnards (mission couple) drove me to the train station, I got on a train, and an hour later at about 7 was in Solo.  I am now living with Elder McCleary, Elder Lopis, and I am companions with Elder Kester!  I am comps with a white guy!  Crazy!  But they are all really cool and fun to live with, and Elder Kester seems awesome and like a hard worker, so I think I will be really happy here!  I am so excited!

So this morning we got up and went to a stadium to run around it a little and do some exercise and chill. Holy cow I am out of shape!  Running is sooooo hard now!  It will take a lot of work to get ready for an Ironman again!  But, that's not my focus now.  So I will stay healthy and then get in top shape again later.  But it is a lot of fun here and I love my new district!  

Well, that's about it for now!  I love you all and can't wait to hear from you!

Oh, and for the package, maybe a few Swedish Fish, a few JellyBellies, and a little bit of licorice (just small on each of these--they are requests from roommates).  And then for me, some granola bars or something like that--there are no granola bars over here.  And whatever else you have is great!  Oh, and letters!  Those are really the best part.  And maybe some pictures of stuff that has been going on--the new car, Lake Powell, tennis, whatever! But pictures are awesome, so most important are letters and pictures, and the other stuff if there is space or weight left!  

THANKS!!! You're the best!  I Love You!

Love, Elder Wood

Bien Semana

Hola!

It is actually pretty funny that you used Spanish in your email today, because for P-Day today we actually cooked Mexican food!  We started the morning playing futsol with 4 missionaries from our ward that returned home this week, all who served in Indonesia.  It is weird seeing them come home, because I saw many of them last month at zone conference just a few hours away by bus!  But it is fun to have some RMs in the ward to hang with!  So, we played futsol for 2 hours, then went to the church and started cooking.  We made tortillas from scratch - taco meat, chicken fajita meat and veggies, and I made pico de gallo (good thing I learned a little from you before I left, mom!)  But we didn't have jalapenos to use, so we had to use cabes.  It actually ended up tasting normal and was really good!  Oh, and we also made mexican rice!  The whole meal turned out really well, and was soooo delicious!  It was good to taste some familiar food that is different from everything I have been eating the last long time!  After we ate and cleaned up, we went home and showered from futsol, then all the missionaries in the district and the newly-returned missionaries, now "brothers," went to a members home and had family home evening.  It was a lot of fun! And after that we came here.

Well, that's today.  It has been a lot of fun!  The rest of the week has been good, but still hard to do much work because it's still the holidays here.  August is like a never-ending party, I swear!  But I think it starts settling down soon...I hope!

So, the last week...  We spent almost all day Tuesday trying to figure out how to get an Elder back to Jakarta so that he could go home because his mission was over.  But, the AP's had forgotten to buy him a plane ticket and all the planes, trains, and buses were completely full for Wednesday because everyone is traveling or returning home from the holidays.  So, after trying all day to make things work, it just didn't happen.  He was pretty sad because he didn't get to go home with his group and had to spend Wednesday in Jogja on splits with us.  He finally was able to fly home on Thursday. 

Wednesday was pretty good.  We had three lessons, which is a pretty good day here.  But, I think it could be better, so I am trying to figure out how to get more appointments and more contacts and investigators!

Thursday was slowish.  We spent some time in the morning getting the other elder on his flight, then we had to get 3 bikes to the church with only 2 people!  I rode my bike with one hand and pulled the other bike with the other hand.  It was a pain, but we got it the half-hour ride there without any problems.  Then we had weekly planning at the church.  We had an appointment with a new contact, but he didn't show up until an hour and a half late, and then we were supposed to be in English class. We were able to teach him first, and then we took him to the end of English class with us.  After that we were supposed to have another appointment, but unfortunately he cancelled.  

Friday we had district meeting and some planning and stuff.  We couldn't get any appointments, but we talked and created relationships with some members that were at the church.  That night, we had a lesson with an inactive member, and tried to go to the house of one of our investigators to try to schedule an appointment with him because his phone is broken.  He wasn't home, but we talked to his kids a little and invited them to the party at the church Saturday morning.

Saturday was Indonesia's Independence day, so there was a big get-together party at the church that was great!  We played games for a while, then ate, and then cleaned the church together.  It was a lot of fun!  And we had an investigator come, which was awesome!  He is about 26, and a little awkward to talk to.  I was a little bit frustrated because I couldn't get anyone to really make an effort to fellowship him because he is not the easiest to talk to.  So I  spent the whole time I was there talking to him and making him feel comfortable.  I was fine with that, but it is not effective because when I leave he will have no reason to keep coming back.  I want him to have a friend or two in the church because he has made a goal to prepare for baptism by the end of next month.  It is really important to get him fellowshipped, and I can't do it alone, so I will bring it up in our meeting with the Ward Mission Leader.  After the party, the missionaries all cleaned the baptismal font for several hours to get it ready for the baptisms on Sunday!

Then, we had an appointment with that investigator who had come to the party, but he lost track of time and forgot, and never came.  That was frustrating because we spent several hours waiting for him, and he said he was coming when we called, but still never showed up.  So we went and proselyted.  We met a fun young family and talked and played with them for a while at the town square.  I tried to share a little about the gospel and eternal families, but they were Muslim and not very interested.  But hey, hopefully we planted a seed!

Sunday was awesome.  We went to church which was great, and I learned a lot personally!  And after church was the baptismal service!  There were 3 baptisms--2 investigators of the sisters and the son of  one of the members!  Sadly, our missing 14 year old investigator was not there, but we have found out that he is safe!  He is back with his father, and is living within the grounds of the Kraton--the sultan palace in Jogja.  We're not really sure why--if his dad has royal blood or what.  But that is where he is.  We are not yet sure when he will return home to live with his mom, but we are excited to finish teaching him and preparing him so we can set another baptismal date.  Hopefully soon!  At least he is safe!  After church, we took the Sacrament to some members who could not come because they are stuck at home.  That is always nice!  After that, it was about 6 and my comp was feeling pretty sick, so we went home for the evening.  

Well, that's the rundown of the week.  I think, or hope, that this week will be even more productive.  I'm fairly sure it will be, and we already have several appointments made with new investigators, which I'm really excited about!

Glad things at home are going well!  Don't be lazy, though!  You can do the St George Marathon!  Just go slow and steady!  Haha jk, its up to you!  Oh, by the way, I got the package from Lisa this week!  They are so awesome, and please tell them thank you from me.  I have written them a letter to, but that will take a while!  It was like Christmas to get a package, and we all opened it together!  If you send one, send it US mail.  Don't use FedEx or UPS I have heard from everyone.  But yeah, that's about it for now.  Sorry, I gotta go

I love you all so much!

Love Elder Wood!

Friends at last!

Hey everyone!!!

Sorry for being late getting to email.  Yesterday we had a zone trip to Prambanan (an ancient Bhuddist temple) that took a little longer than planned, and then some other problems with trying to get missionaries home or transferred, so we didn't have much time to email last night.  But the trip was super fun and everything ended up working out well!

So, I will start off with a HUGE positive.  My companion and I are friends now!!!  Holy cow, how great this is!  We talk and tell stories and laugh and work together.  We (usually) do daily planning and companionship study and stuff now, too!  It is so great and I am so glad that my prayers have finally been answered!  Things are so much better!  Still not perfect, and we still waste more time than I would like, but I think that slowly and surely we can start to improve that and begin to fill our time with meaningful work while maintaining a good relationship!  I just am worried about how hard to push--about what is the right balance to work hard and feel effective while still being able to maintain a positive relationship.  But it is getting better.

This week has been really frustrating as far as the work goes, though.  It is Lebaran and Idul Fitri this week--the end of the Muslim Fasting month and I think some of the biggest if not the very biggest holidays in all of Indonesia.  Literally, it is so big that everything has been shut down since last Wednesday or Thursday, and is still just starting to open back up.  It is traditional for everyone to travel to wherever in Indonesia their family is and meet with them for a few days.  So, everyone is either out of town or busy with family stuff and can't meet, or only wants us to come eat but is not interested in hearing a gospel message at the time. So making appointments and teaching lessons has been really hard this week.  And contacting is hard, too, for a few reasons.  One, my comp hates contacting, and I still struggle with it, and it is something that I have to be careful with suggesting because I don't want it to ruin our relationship.  And two, the town squares and places we usually go to to contact are full of parades and Muslim holiday celebrations, and we have to be careful and respectful, and I don't feel great about trying to contact them at their own religious celebrations and events.  So, for these reasons, the week has been frustratingly slow, but because the holidays are over now and people are beginning to return home, hopefully this week will pick back up and we can do some good work!

And we have another frustrating and scary situation going on as well.  Our 14 year old boy investigator has a date to be baptized this Sunday.  His mom and dad are divorced and he lives with his mom and step-dad.  His mom is a member.  His real dad is not, and is apparently not a very great guy.  So, for the holidays, his dad came and picked him up and took him to his house for a few days.  But, the kid hates his dad, so a few days ago he and his friend ran away in the middle of the night.  But, he has not yet returned home to either parents' house, and we don't know where he is.  So that is quite scary.  I am not quite sure on all of the details of the situation because the language to discuss that sort of stuff is still way over my head.  But we are not sure when he is coming home, and it does not look like he will be able to be ready in time to be baptized this Sunday at this point, which is a bummer, too.  I am mostly worried about his safety, though, but I think it must be ok because nobody else seems too extremely concerned about that at this point, so I think there are still some situations that are going on that I just am not clear on yet, but I guess, or hope and pray, that he is safe!

Oh, this week we met with an apparently world famous artist!  That inactive sister that I told you about earlier invited us over to her friend's house to meet, and when we got there it was an art studio.  We talked with the people, but they were not interested in hearing our message and are Muslim, so we cannot teach or even try unless they want to learn.  But they were still really nice and fed us, and we took pictures with this artist.  His artist name is Gono--sorry, I forgot his real name, but you will have to look him up and tell me what you find out about him if you can!  We felt pretty cool about it!

Oh, there was another funny, but inconvenient event that happened this week.  On Thursday morning--the very beginning of Lebaran when all shops and most restaurants have already closed--the back tire on my bike popped.  The sidewall is a little torn, so it is not a quick easy fix either because it needs a whole new tire.  The only problem is that because of Lebaran, literally every single bike shop in Jogja is closed!  So there was no way to get it fixed.  So, all of Thursday, Friday, and much of Saturday, we had two Elders on one bike.  So, the first time we tried it, Elder Wiradi sat side-saddle on the down-tube of the bike and I kind of straddled him and pedaled and steered.  But that was a pain, and my legs were were rubbing raw.  So, we figured out that having him sit on the handlebars worked best.  So, for two full days I rode with him on the handlebars, with my chin resting on his shoulder so I could see where we were going.  It was pretty funny to see all the looks people were giving us and we got a lot of laughs!  And we laughed at ourselves a lot too.  It was a good workout, though, which I could use! The food here is so good and I eat too much!  But, it really got tiring, because we live about a half hour ride from the church, and we have to go there pretty much every day, and our appointments spread from there.  So it was a lot of biking with him on the bars.  It was a pain for both of us--I got tired and he got numb-bum.  But it was funny.  Finally on Saturday morning, we were both so tired of it that we hitch-hiked in the back of an empty pickup truck for a little ways with the bike.  And we finally found a member with an extra bike that we could borrow.  So, it is much better now.  And hopefully tomorrow morning we can get my bike in to get fixed.  Man, I need to stop breaking things!

Well, that's mostly it for this week!   A great improvement in some areas, but still a lot of work and improvement to go!  But hey, that is what this life is all about--constantly growing and getting better. And I apologize, my camera battery died, and so it is charging today, and I forgot to pull the memory card out to send pictures home.  My bad!  But, I just filled the first 4 gig card, so I am going to buy a microSD and copy the pics onto that and send it home in a letter hopefully in the next few days or weeks.  Then you can have all the pics from the first 3 months or so!

On the package from Scott and Lisa--it has not yet come, but apparently that is normal.  It just always depends as far as how long packages take.  I have heard it can be anywhere from 2 weeks at the very fastest to up to 3 or 4 months.  It just depends.  But, from what I have heard from everyone, the US postal Service is by far the cheapest and best way to send packages here.  And I will let you know when the one comes from Scott and Lisa--I am so excited to see what is in it.  So if you know, don't tell me.  It is a good surprise that I am excited for!  And please tell them thank you so much for it from me!

And I'm glad that Lake Powell was fun!  THough bummer that it had some problems and whatnot--seems about like par for the course, though!

So, since I can't send pictures right now, I'll try to answer your questions.

I rarely cook my own meals other than breakfast.  For breakfast I usually do instant oatmeal with some powdered strawberry flavoring, and sometimes I cook scrambled eggs with sauteed onion and green pepper if I'm feeling fancy!  But for pretty much every other meal we eat out--for several reasons.  1. Our house is so far from anywhere we work that it is a pain to go home, cook and eat, and then ride back. 2.  It is far more expensive to cook than to eat out.  Lets put it this way--a $6 meal at KFC is by far the most expensive thing I have bought since here.  Usually I eat lunch and dinner for about $1.60 ish, and that is a filling meal of white rice, a piece of fried chicken, a fried egg, and two tempe squares. So here, McDonalds or western fast food is a ridiculously expensive delicacy.  And when we only have about $125-$150 to live on a month, including bills, we have to budget carefully and eat cheap.  Good thing street food is so cheap and good here!

I do my own laundry at the house--we have a little washing machine that does a pretty good job.

No, we do not have air conditioning in this house.  So, it is pretty hot.  But, we have a stand fan that we leave blowing on us all night.

It has only rained once or twice since I got here.  It is the dry season right now.

The shoes are great

Showering is interesting, as is going to the bathroom.  So, there is no water pressure here, at least in most houses, ours included.  So there is no pressurized normal shower.  There is a big bucket that drip fills in the bathroom with cold water--we don't have hot water either--and a smaller bucket that you fill and dump on yourself to clean. It feels good sometimes, but other times it is pretty cold!

Going to the bathroom.  Well, the sewers here can't handle toilet paper.  So for the solution, you dump a bucket of water down your backside, and, if there is anything left to take care of.....let's just say it is incredibly impolite to use your left hand to do much of anything here!  And there is no flushing mechanism on the toilet either, so you just use the bucket and dump water down the bowl until it is all clear!  Kind of gross, but you get used to it.  Sort of.  Ok, not really, but it is what it is.

Well, I am out of time right now, but I will write again next week!  And I will try to include some pictures!

I love you so much, and love your letters and emails!

You are awesome!!!

PS--Sabrina, good luck with your Patriarchal Blessing--that is so cool and it will be such a great blessing in your life!  I love reading mine!

Love you all!

Love Elder Jacob Thomas Wood