Tacos And Trials, All In The Life Of A Missionary!



Elder Bird's bike.  Luckily they have a car
when the cold coastal rains hit!

      We told Brock about the non-stop snow and cold in Utah, but he just might have us beat, since it's hard for him to stay dry living not far from the Oregon coast!  We also had to break the news about the outcome of the BYU-Utah football game.   

     Well, I have heard all about the BYU game and the weather in Utah!  Man, I wish i was able to go snowboarding! Dang! That sounds like some good serious stuff.  As for here,  the weather isn't too bad right now.  I am in a t-shirt and shorts, but when the humidity hits that air and wetness goes straight to your bones! Geeze!


     This week was kind of a slow one, but we still found some cool people.  We're teaching a guy named George who is really smart.  He has alot of knowledge from the bible but doesn't have strong faith to go with it.  He is having us over for dinner with his family so it will be interesting.  He has a problem with his brain, like he has permanent migraines.  He has a medical card to smoke weed so we will see how it plays out. Hahaha!


     The Vaughns did not get baptized.   Te kids are completely ready for it but Iguess the mom isn't so the bishop wants to hold off and wait a few weeks.  If she ends up not doing what she needs to do we will just baptize the rest of the kids without her. That's definitely not what we want to do!

     Tuesday night we went on exchanges with the zone leaders.  Within the first 5 minutes of our exchange I am driving in the car with Elder Ottesen.  He decides to slam on the brake while I have my Taco Bell in my hands.  Boom!  There goes all my food and drink all over the car!  So,  I am like ok, whatever!  Then we get to the institute building to teach a lesson to a kid named Nate!  I step out of the car quickly because we're in a hurry.  To my surprise I find myself in a 2 foot deep puddle of water! Yeahhhhhhh!  I was soaked!  So I go inside to the building and sit down for the lesson.  When I stand up and Elder Ottesen starts laughing!  Why?  Well, I am covered head to toe in dog hair! Where it came from,  no clue! Then I had probably thee worst sleep ever that night due to the mattress! Hahah! That's the life of a missionary!


     We helped Misti Jones set up her Christmas lights on Saturday morning and we taught the Prestons on Saturday too!  We also picked up 10 new investigators tracting and OYMing so we will see where those lead! 


     Elder Lindsay is really cool and we work really well with each other!  So it's all good!


     I love you so much!
    Love,  Elder Bird! :)

A New Companion, New Investigator, And Ridin' The River!

     Hey Dad!  Things have been going alright. 



Elder Bird makes Christmas cookies with "Indy" Jones and
his new companion Elder Lindsay  from Logan.

   My new comp is Elder Lindsay from Logan, Utah!  He just hit his year mark on the 18th of this month.  He is a really cool kid!  I am glad he is here since I am kind of in charge and more familiar with the area.  We are never done working.  I just want to keep finding people so I am not stuck inside studying or out in the rain because it's cold!



     As for this week, we found a new investigator!  Her name is Caley, is 16 years-old and just had a baby a month ago.  She was a referral from a member. We taught her a couple times this week and she is scheduled to get baptized on December 4th!  I was pretty excited about that!  The Vaughns are still scheduled for baptism this weekend.  Hopefully it works out and iIam sure it will! :) We're going to be over there everyday this week to help them prepare, so it will be good for them!


     On Thanksgiving we have alot to do!  Three turkey bowls, we go to the bishop's house for dinner, and then make the rounds to all the families who want us to stop by.  Haha!


     That's nuts about all the snow in Utah.   I think I would rather serve in the snow than in rain!  In the rain you just get wet.  At least with snow you can stay dry! :)

     I hope you guys have an awesome Thanksgiving!  It's weird it's already Thankgiving.  Time flies!
I love you, wish you the best.  

     Love,
    Your only son! :) Brock

     We thought we'd share a video Brock sent a couple weeks ago when the weather in Albany-Corvallis was nicer.  Some folks might try to walk on water.  Elder Bird and Elder Johnson put a spin on that by riding their bikes across the Willamette River.

               

Don't Go, Elder Bird

     When Brock looks back on his mission years from now, this little guy will undoubtedly remain in his heart.  This video shows 5-year-old "Indy" who always loves to see the missionaries at his house while his mom was being taught the Gospel.



                                
Don't Go, Elder Bird from Ron Bird on Vimeo.

Baptisms, Fires, Transfers and Parades!

     As for us getting to the temple, well..... it didn't work out! We had way too much to do and not enough time!  Anyways! Hmmm... 

     Well,  this week we got transfer calls and yes I am getting a new comp! His name is Elder Lindsay, I think.  He will be here tomorrow night.


Elder Johnson and Elder Bird say goodbye after three months in Albany and Corvallis.


     We basically had an alright week!  We started out really slow, and towards the weekend things picked up.  We are teaching a new family of eight or nine, the Prestons.  They are really cool people, so I will let you know how that goes!

     Our baptism (Sat. Nov. 13, 2010) was awesome!   The Vaughns really need it in their life.  We baptized the little kids on Saturday:  Angel, Venessa, and Ricky ages 10, 9, and 12.  The rest of the family is getting baptized here in a few weeks.  It's too bad we had to push back some of the baptisms but they just wanted a little more time.  But it happens, and after they saw their kids get baptized they want to push the date up now but I think we're sticking with Thanksgiving weekend.  Wow!  It's almost Thanksgiving and the year will be 2011 in 6 weeks! Wow! Wow!  Time goes by way fast!

     This week we met alot of people, really too many to even talk about. We were in the Veterans Day parade.  It is the biggest Veterans Day parade on the west side of the Mississippi.  We basically walked all of downtown Albany, handing out B.O.M's,  talking to people. and handing out more cards and pamphlets than I will probably see the rest of my mission!  Hah!  It was a cool, fun experience!


    

Parading the streets of Albany!

     Also this week we started teaching a girl named Jessica Valentino.  She is 16 and is so ready to be baptized, so hopefully that will happen next month.  We met another kid named Josh, who came up to us and asked us why baptism is so important and why we have to be baptized,  He is way smart too! Haha! He said, "I know Jesus was baptized, and he was perfect so that means we really need to be baptized."  I was like, "Dude you're sick!"  So we set a date with him. He just got back from Iraq and said he really didn't believe in God but he just started reading and praying.  He told us, "And now you guys are walking around here so I felt like I needed to ask you these questions." It's so cool to see how the Lord works.  People just have to open themselves up and let Him work.  That was pretty nuts but I am not surprised. I see so many crazy things and its so cool to witness people change their lives for the better!

Missionary work on the other side of the tracks in Albany!

     Last night while I was writing letters,  I heard some big bangs and people yelling, along with sirens all over, so I just ignored it for awhile, thinking it was another gang fight, until I heard a huge bang! I got up and walked outside to see what it was.  To my surprise the buildings across the street were completely engulfed in flames! I have never seen a fire that big!  We put on our clothes and ran over to get pictures.  The flames were like 30 to 40 feet high.  We video taped it and took pictures!  (We'll post those shots later.)

Not sure if the green babies are investigators or new companions.  We'll get the story on that later.

     That's my week in a nut shell!  I love you guys and I hope you are enjoying your time in a warm comfortable work environment.  The only warmth I get in the rain is the Spirit! Hahaha! jk!

    Love,
    Your baby boy Brock!

No Greater Gift Than A Hug

     Last month Elder Bird baptized Misti Jones.  Her little 5-year-old boy Ethan and Brock developed a special bond during the discussions.  Here's a sweet video of the day the Jones threw a birthday party for Elder Bird.  Ethan not only gave him a present, but also a gift that will last a lifetime. 

               
Give Me A Hug! from Ron Bird on Vimeo.

The Whole Nine Yards

No secret.  Brock loves football, which he so willingly gave up to serve the Lord.  He's been greatly blessed for it. 
     But even while on his mission he gets a little taste of the game.  The district gets together for some P-day ball at Oregon State University.  Brock also had the opportunity to run routes with some of the college players.   

     This week it's been pretty slow, but on another note, the Vaughns are getting baptized this upcoming Saturday because we did not realize that stake conference was this week so we pushed it back.
    
     The really exciting news, Chris Vaughn's best friend plays for the Chargers and they surprised me this week with an autographed Antonio Gates jersey! Soooo sick!  He is also getting me an autographed helmet, football, more jerseys, and pictures of players! So tight!

     We found another family of 9 we're teaching now! They are the Petersons.  We will extend a commitment to baptism this week. Nuts!  And they are pretty solid! So I like that!


     As for this upcoming week we're going to the temple this Friday, so that will be cool! It will be good for me to get in there and pray! I am really excited to see the temple.  It's really beautiful from what I hear.
 
     I am looking forward to the baptism this weekend with the Vaughns and Ricky Garcia! That's our focus is along with 4 other investigators.


     I love you so much and I thank you for the example you are to me!

    Love,
    Your little boy!


P.S.   Tell Abbie good luck at try-outs! Tear it up!

Keepin' The Faith

      Elder Bird says the work is hard and it's a trial of faith sometimes, but he and his companion have been blessed with some wonderful people to teach.

     He especially enjoys getting together with other missionaries in the Corvallis Zone. He says their conferences energize his spirit.  As you can tell they make a great team as they have become one of the most productive zones in the Oregon Eugene Mission.

     As for this week, it's been kinda slow.  I don't know why, but it's still fun!  We're going to the temple this weekend and it will be a good time for me to pray and ponder! :)  I need it!

     The Vaughns (family of 7) are getting baptized this weekend!  It will be great and I am stoked for it! I can hardly wait!  We had to push it back because we forgot that stake conference would interfere, but it's all good.   There's no problem pushing it back and it will go down this weekend along with Ricky Garcia's baptism.  I really look forward to it!

     We found another family of 8, the Petersens.  They are really cool!  We found them on Tuesday night tracting and we have been teaching them.  We're going to extend a commitment to them this week and 4 other people!  It's really neat to feel the Spirit in the first lesson when we recite Joseph Smith's first vision.   It is really neat.

     As for things going on here, the weather hasn't been too bad.  It's probably going to start to get cold and rainy here shortly, but it is what it is.  Just gotta keep pushin' forward! :)

     For Thanksgiving we will be at the bishop's house.  He is really cool and it will be fun.  We will have a turkey bowl, so I am stoked about that!  

    I love you!  Hope you have a great week and everything goes well for you.  I love you so very much and am thankful for everything you do for me.  You're awesome and the best mom ever!  You're in my heart always.

Love,
Elder Bird

Life Of A Missionary

This week has been a lot of work! Here is a run through:

Hitting the streets of Albany and Corvallis.

Tuesday we had missionary training with the president then I went up to Corvallis on exchanges where I got to teach and talk to some college folks. That was nice to kind of be back in the real world! Haha!


We taught an institute class Wednesday morning up in Corvallis. That was cool! Wednesday night we got back and Elder Johnson and I went on splits with some ward members. 


Thursday we had zone conference from 8-430. The Spirit was way strong and I learned a lot and felt it was an amazing experience.  After that, we taught some investigators and did some service. 

Typical Oregon scenery.  The Willamette River.

Friday night we did another exchange.  I went with the Spanish elders and taught some lessons in Spanish.  A guy in the apartment next to the Spanish missionaries got in a fight with his sister! Soooo funny! They were punchng each other at three in the morning! They are like 30! Hahah!


Saturday we were up in Corvallis and taught some lessons.  We went to the singles ward dance to say hi to our investigators. 





Elder Johnson waiting for a train?

Sunday was church most of the day and then to the Burtons, a family in the ward, to have dinner.




Elders Bird and Johnson hope to seal the deal with the Vaughns!





So we have been busy. The Vaughns are doing great! They're getting baptized this weekend.  We have a few things to work out, so I hope it goes through!






Elder Bird and Elder Johnson on break at Newport Beach

I talked with President (President MacDonald) a little this week.  He is impressed with everything we have accomplished.  We've been blessed with 2 baptisms this first transfer.  We just keep working hard!

 I love you! Hope all is well. I  think about you and pray for you constantly. Keep me up to date on things. Have a great week and stay safe.


Love,
Brock

Happy Birthday And Halloween From Arrrrregon!!

Happy Halloween Mom

Brock had a member send this pic to Mom.  It's a double holiday for Jannae, since her birthday is on Halloween.

I just wanted to say happy birthday and to tell you how much I love you.  You are the greatest mom ever.  You are truly one of the greatest blessings God has given me!  I thank him everyday for the love and support you give me.

We're not sure where Elder Bird found this little monster, but it's a trick Mom really didn't need to see!

I can assure you I have no tricks, just treats, treats of love for your birthday.  You mean the world to me mom.  You are always in my heart!