Pouring Blessings And Rain!

Brock says the weather has turned cold and rainy in Oregon, but as the rain comes down so do the blessings.  He and his companion Elder Johnson have 15 investigators now, including the Vaughn family, a family of seven:

As for the Vaughn family we have been helping them with some repairs to the house, so it's been a busy week! We have been painting, replacing doors, door frames and several other projects.  We have several more investigators!  I think our quota doubled.  We set three more baptismal dates this week so its been busy. We pushed back the Vaughn's baptism to November 6th because of Halloween and one of the kids was out of town so we want the family to be baptized together.  For November 6th we have 12 baptisms scheduled!  We'll see how it works out! 

This week nothing really wierd or exciting has happened. Winter has set in! It rains all the time and it's like buckets of water! I hate it! But, oh well.

We hung out at the bishop's house last night for an hour.   It was fun!  We just talked and read scriptures, so it was a little different.  That's another definition of fun out here!  Hah hah!

As for Reeser Stadium, we played inside their (Oregon State) practice facility and next time the football players will bring some corners to challenge me!  They were really impressed with my routes and hands! This kid who plays linebacker was like,  "Dang, kid! Come play for us!"  Haha! I just laughed. 

I hope all is well back home and that you stay safe and continue to choose the right!


I love you big guy (dad)! I will see you soon! Stay safe and stress free!


Love,
Your only boy! :)

This Is What It's All About

Elder Bird had the honor of baptizing Misti Jones on October 2, 2010.
Click on any photo to see web album.

Misti Jones' little boy, Indiana Harrison Ford Jones.

The Jones throw a Superman birthday party for Elder Bird, September 29, 2010

Sweater weather and the Oregon rain!

Yeah, it's been a bit chilly here, but I haven't had time to think about it much! We have been really busy and its been nuts.
We committed 12 people to baptism this last week and they are gonna be baptized on the 30th! One of them is a huge family of 7 and they are all excited to be baptized! I am really stoked! We also had 15 investigators at church. So it was way cool.  So that was, "Oh yeah baby!" We be doin' work!
Our baptism did go through this Saturday. It was very spiritual and the family and the ward were really excited about it, especially his family. They have been waiting so long for him to get baptized. They loved it! Other than that we have been just really been busy with appointments.

Brock on a rail bridge that spans the Willamette River.

I got a flat tire on Thursday so i had to walk my bike to the shop and pay 5 bucks for a new tire. We have met alot of crazy people. I can't help but laugh at some of the people these days! Ha ha! It's so funny what people say sometimes.

The zone at Newport Beach for P-day!

The Vaughn family, the family of 7 we're teaching, started an egg fight in their house! They are crazy. It was so funny! They were just throwing eggs everywhere. I have it on camera! And Alex the 5 year old was running around naked falling over the egg yokes and was covered in egg shells. Then he went in the bathroom and started smashing tomatoes on the ground. He is crazy. The house is outta control! Haha! We're eating there tonight and teaching a lesson :) so hopefully no eggs will interfer with the lesson. Hahah!





A moment of inspiration along the Oregon coast.

We're going to Lincoln City next P-day for the big Nike outlet! Everything there is like 70 percent off so I am way stoked to see what all the jazz is about in Lincoln City! Today we are playing football inside of Reser Stadium (Oregon State University) so that will be a blast!
I hope all is well. And yes people in Oregon are going crazy because Oregon is ranked number one now. Haha! Love you and hope you have a great week! :)

Lost In The Work

     These are times when the words "A Marvelous Work And A Wonder" come to mind.  Brock is having an amazing experience in Corvallis.  So many people are touching his life, and no doubt the Lord is touching their lives with the message of the Gospel.  It's exciting to see Elder Bird "lost in the work" as his testimony grows and as his love grows for the members and investigators in his area. 
     By the way, Brock is sending photos from his recent baptism, zone activities, a visit from Elder David A. Bednar, and the beautiful Oregon landscape.  We'll post those photos soon.  In the meantime, here's a slideshow from his days in the MTC and his letter from October 11, 2010:

                               

Hey everyone! It's nuts! I am already done with my first transfer, only 16 more to go! Time flies by! This week has been everything from really busy, to slow, to rainy, to cold, to whatever! Ha ha!

We have a baptism this week on the 16th, 4 more on the 30th, and 2 the following weekend! So we stay pretty busy! We found a family of 8 this week. So crazy! They were praying for Heavenly Father's help and before you knew it, we were on their doorstep! :) Feels great! We will commit them to baptism tonight! We are going over there for dinner, so it will be fun! Her husband knows a lot of people, one of them being the Chargers GM! he said he is gonna get me an autographed helmet, and an autographed Antonio Gates jersey. He said if he wasn't able to get one before I left I could have his because he has a room full of autographed NFL gear! Soooo sick!

We also have been meeting with a lot of part member families. We're baptizing one this weekend! I am so happy for the family. They have been waiting forever for this! His name is Jordan Tranthum! Way cool kid. My goal before I leave this area is to baptize all the part members. It's interesting to see all these members come up to us and say how grateful they are because of the progress we have made with their family members. Well, I am still the same crazy kid, I have fun and goof off, but when it comes down to teaching and preaching the Gospel I mean buisness! Ha ha!

Catheline Reynold's huband is Seventh Day Adventist. They just got married and we have been working with him. We have taught him all the lessons but I was very blunt with him about keeping his commitments. He said he wouldn't come to church, but after I talked to him for awhile the whole conversation turned around and he was willing to come to church afterall! Catheline told me she knows God sent us to her husband for a reason, no one else could get through. It totally made my week!

A Baptism And An Apostle

     Brock is now in the thick of missionary work in Oregon! He just had his first baptism and it happened to be on conference weekend between sessions.
     "So I was all dressed in white. That was a really cool experience. I enjoyed it!" The new member's name is Misti Jones. Brock and his companion Elder Johnson had a wonderful experience getting to know her and teacher her about the Gospel:
     "On Saturday we went over to Misti's for dinner. They had a surprise party for me. (Brock's birthday was Sept. 29th) Her 5-year-old son gave me a present. Sooooo nice of them! They got me a Superman cake, a Superman t-shirt, and a Superman themed party because he calls me Superman. So that was really fun! Misti said that was the least she could do because we have done so much for her and her family.She is really stoked for her baptism!"  Watch for pictures from the baptism.  They will be posted soon!
     The work seems to be going really well in Corvallis.
     "We also committed three more people to baptism this week, one being Jordan Tranthum. He is 18 and his family is all converts but him. So I got the prompting to give him a call! So we did and set up a time, and now he is already sending out his invitations for his baptism! It's on October 16th, along with a girl named Teddy who is 16. We're also teaching Toni Reynolds who was a 7th Day Adventist. He is a really cool guy. He just married his wife. She is a member so he decided to take the discussions because it is important to her. We have worked with him and he is excited to get baptized now! We have a lot of investigators!"

     Brock had a special experience last month when Elder David A. Bednar stopped in for a mission conference.

Brock's zone posing with Elder Bednar.  Elder Bird is way in the back row.

     "Man he is so smart. He is just like a normal guy but every question that was asked he answered in a way that blew my mind. The things he taught us were incredible. He said our gathering wasn't a meeting or a conference, but it was a revelatory session where the Spirit would speak to us personally and reveal things that can help better us. It was so true!"
     Even P-days are good!
     "This week in Oregon has been great! We went to Newport Beach for P-day. Man, it was a blast! We played football and soccer on the beach with the whole zone."
     "We have had a lot of good work going on. We have been working hard. We just started a new program called "Collect the Elect." We went around to every house in every ward and basically sought out referrals. Just from the young women alone we got 145. Altogether we are close to 200 referrals, so we're definitely happy we don't have to spend all our time tracting. We have been promised for every 5 referrals we should have one baptism. So we have tons of work to do!"
     "This week I went on exchanges with a Spanish speaking Elder named Klienfelter from Arizona. It was really fun. We met a lot of people on the OSU campus. I got the chance to brush up on some Spanish and even helped teach a lesson in Spanish, so that was pretty neat. I enjoyed it. We actually committed one of his investigators to baptism! He is a really chill missionary...he's my district leader."
     "This last week I have really focused on the Preach My Gospel and how to better myself as a missionary. I spent a lot of time reading the scriptures, praying, pondering and trying to listen to the words of the Holy Ghost. It has built me up and my faith has grown. I read Ether 12 and studied it for hours. Take a look at it. It's my favorite chapter."

Collect The Elect!

From September 20, 2010

This week in Oregon has been great! We went to Newport Beach for P-day, man was it a blast!


Brock's zone at Newport Beach, OR.

 We have had alot of good work going on! We have been working hard!  We just started a new program called "Collect the Elect!"  We went around to every house in every ward and sought out referrals! Just from young women we received 145! Altogether we are close to 200 referrals. So we definitely are happy we don't have to spend our time tracting!  We can focus our efforts on our referrals!  We have been promised for every 5 referrals we should have one baptism!  So we have tons of work to do!

Another view of  Newport Beach.

This week I went on exchanges with a Spanish elder named Elder Klienfelter from Arizona.  It was really fun! We met alot of people on the OSU campus! I got the chance to brush up on some Spanish and even taught a lesson in Spanish a few times so that was pretty neat!  I enjoyed it!  We  committed one of his investigators to baptism! :) He is a really chill missionary. He actually was a firefighter before he came out on his mission and he has been out 9 months! He is my district leader.
     This week Elder Johnson and I committed a few of our investigators to be baptized next weekend so I am really stoked for that!  This last week I have really focused on the Preach My Gospel and how to better myself as a missionary.  I spent alot of time reading the scriptures and praying,  pondering and listening to the words of the Holy Ghost.  It has built me up so much stronger and my faith has grown for I know my life is in God's hands and I need to exercise my calling to its full potential! Yes sometimes it's hard out here but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!  The Spirit has comforted me in ways that are indescribable.  I am so thankful for your love and support back home! I really am!  I bless you guys with the Spirit that will assure you I am doing a great job.
     I read Ether12 last night and studied it for hours. It definitely changed my mission, especially verse 27!  Take a look at it, my favorite chapter!  I love you all.


LOVE, your Elder Bird! :)

Corvallis is Pretty Cool!

     Brock hit the ground running when he touched down in Oregon on August 24th.  We have some catching up and back tracking to do to get the blog up to date.  Here's Brock's first letter from Corvallis:

August 30, 2010

     Corvallis is pretty cool so far.  I enjoy it!  Meeting people and talking to them is great!  They are interesting to listen to.  One guy thought we got magic underwear in the temple.  When we are in the temple, he thought, they could make us fly!!  I laughed very hard when he said that.  No joke.  People here are sooooo weird!  But it's fun.

     We have meals with the members every night.  They love missionaries!  And the members out here are so nice.  All of them are!  My companion is way tight from Missouri.  This week we got 7 new investigators!  We committed three of them to baptism this week as well as a bunch of others.  We had a baptism last Saturday!  Her name is Jessica Periman.  Her whole family now wants to be baptized!  

Elder Bird with Jessica Periman and Brock's companion Elder Johnson.  Jessica was baptized the Saturday after Brock arrived in Oregon.  He confirmed Jessica!

     Our schedule so far, if things go as planned, we will have 3 baptisms every weekend this transfer!  It's really awesome!
     Sundays are the best.  I  actually gave a talk on Sunday and confirmed Jess.  It was cool!  We cover two wards so we go to church for 6 hours!
     Um, I got a bike when I got here.  It's sweet!  Black and red GIANT!  We drive 5 days out of the week!

     Brock was part of a large group of new missionaries to the Oregon Eugene Mission!  This is a snapshot of the greenies soon after they arrived and met with President and Sister MacDonald.  See if you can pick out Brock in the group.

Brock with his new group of greenies.  He's in the back row, fifth Elder from L-R.