A New Four-Legged Companion!

Elder Bird with another new companion in Winston.  Tiger is a baby pitbull who hangs out with Brock and Elder Cooper
in their backyard.

     Hey, we have a new dog to add to the family. Haha! Her name is Tiger and lives in our backyard. She's an abandoned baby pitbull that is the cutest thing ever. It just wandered into our backyard and has been there for awhile. She takes off but always comes back. Haha! Kinda funny! Some members are adopting her!



    Brock's first days in Winston were a little tough.  He says he had a really bad cold but he seems to be back to normal now.
    
Things got a lot better now that I got rid of that cold.  It's good to be back to my old self and be out and working hard! Getting stuff done! DOIN' WORK! :)  We went out in the rain to tract.  This week was pouring rain!. It literally rained for 46 hours straight!  Haha, got to love Oregon!

     We taught Stephanie Atherton, which went really well.  We set a date for her to be baptized on February 4th and she is super thrilled about it.  We  answered a few of her questions and set a few things up and then headed to Wiley's house. He is really cool.  12 years old and super thrilled about getting baptized! He is thee most amazing kid! He has a minor case of autism so his parents waited a little longer for him to decide to get baptized, but I love teaching him.  You can just see the Light of Christ beaming from him! :)



    Elder Cooper and I had a lesson with the Mackey family.  Really cool family.  They had been homeless for awhile but now they're back on their feet looking for answers and guidance in their lives.  We have had some pretty good lessons with them and they totally have enjoyed reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church.  They say they have noticed a huge difference in their life as they have done so.

   We stopped at Taco Time and grabbed some free food from Brother Bechinhower!  He is soooo cool. I love that guy.  Later we had to do some finding and contact different people. then we had to drive all the way to Sutherline to do a baptismal interview which went really well and was fun to do! :) To see these people so excited to get baptized just makes the work totally worth it! :)


    We came in contact with Brandon, a really cool kid who looks like Sean White, so we got to know him and talked about the Gospel. His parents just got baptized a year ago and he has been coming to church with them and has loved it.  He is 15 and just told us he is ready so we set a date for him to be baptized on the 28th! :)  We're really excited for him!

     Brock sent more pictures from his time in Bend.  Here are a couple we wanted to share.




Elder Bird and Elder Lyon with Brother Marsh and Michael, who was baptized
not long before Brock left Bend.



Elder Bird calls these elders the "Bend Crew." 

 I love you hope all is well! :)

Be safe,
Brock 

Brock Transferred to Winston!

Brock got the word that he would be transferred to Winston, a small town near Roseburg in Southwestern Oregon. He will serve as a zone leader alongside his new companion Elder Forrest Cooper from Layton, Utah:
     So, getting transferred to be a zone leader in Roseburg and will be serving in Winston with Elder Cooper who has been out 6 months!   I leave Wednesday!

Winston, with a population between 2,000-3,000 people
is next to Roseburg.  It is in a beautiful area with
magnificent water features and not all that far from the coast.

While Brock says he's looking forward to serving with Elder Cooper, it was hard to leave Bend where he became close to the ward members and the people he taught and baptized.
     Sunday was a bittersweet day.  It was fast and testimony meeting and the whole ward pretty much got up and shared their testimonies.

Elders Lyon and Bird with Thomas and Romey Baker on their baptism day on Thanksgiving weekend.
Just one of the many wonderful memories in Bend.

     They thanked Elder Lyon and me for all we've done for the ward and their families.  It was super emotional and super spiritual!  The Bishop cried when I told him I was leaving.  But it was a good Sunday because we had had a baptism!!!  A lot of people came!  I am very grateful to have served in this ward and area. I have learned so much and truly have experienced my own real growth in the process. The baptism was awesome!

Bend was also a great place for P-day activities.  How about snow shoeing?  Brock loved it!

      We look forward to hearing about more incredible experiences from Brock's new assignment in Winston-Roseburg!

Jelly Fish, Santa Imposter, And Dinner Surprise!

     The hoilidays are over, but you gotta see this!  Guess who?

Yes, this is Elder Bird filling in for Santa.  He helped deliver presents to boys and girls in
one of the Bend wards.

     The work continues to go forth in Bend.  Brock and his companion have been blessed and are preparing for yet another wonderful baptism.
     We had a lesson with Micheal Masters who is getting baptized this weekend! He is a really cool chill guy.  We have taught him all the lessons and now we're just answering his questions. He has had some concerns but everything is going smoothly and he really is loving church! :)
     Speaking of teaching, as zone leader Brock has the opportunity to work with and teach district leaders and other missionaries in his zone on a weekly basis.  Here he is at a recent zone leaders' conference.



Elder Bird with his companion Elder Lyon and President Young.  In this shot, Brock just finished instructing a group of
elders on "real growth."
    

      As a missionary, there are a wealth of stories to be told.  Brock shared a couple of them.  Here's one while on a "split" with one of the district leaders:
     We had a lesson with Marc Miller, a recent convert to the church! Really cool guy. There daughter is super cute, about 3-year-s old.  I taught her the jelly fish handshake and she always comes up to me and says, "Jelly fish!"  And we do the hand shake, haha! :)
     Another story, but this one is downright awkward:
     We had dinner with this family. It was the most awkward dinner of my life! Everyone was quiet, the food was... well,  I don't even know what it was! But their daughters we just staring at us. We would look up and they would look away!  Then the 14-year-old daughter apparently thought the dog was under the counter, but nope, it was my feet.  She kept trying to message them with her foot, and I was like, "Ummm.... that's not the dog, that's my feet.  She was super embarrassed, but it's all okay!  Hah!
     Finally,  we never knew Brock was a composer, choreographer and dancer. 

Elder Bird on the right cloaked in a "Holy Bible" and a cast of Elders perform for President and Sister Young at a
recent zone conference.  We're not sure if "We're Elders and We Know It" will hit Broadway anytime soon!