The Work Goes On, One Arm And All!



Brock isn't in this photo, but this is a cool shot of the Salem
Zone missionaries with OEM (Oregon Eugene Mission) carved
in the sandy beach.  Brock happens to be in the Klamath Falls zone, the most
remote zone in the mission, so he's nowhere near any beach, at least for now.


     I went to the doctor's and got my stitches taken out.  That was a relief due to them snagging on my shirt every second of my life! Haha!  But now that is not a factor.

     We went out and worked the usual standing on the street talking to people.  We did have a few appointments but they all managed to fall through! ( I hate it when that happens!)  It's been like 75 -80 all week so it definitely makes things nice!  Wednesday we hung out with the 5th Ward, got our phone fixed and then just went and visited a ton of people.  I came back and iced my shoulder and took my meds and just passed out!  For some reason I must have slept on it wrong and it just destroyed it! Haha!  That wasn't very pleasant, let me tell you! :)

     Thursday, as you know, we had interviews with the president. He told me 50/50 that I will be transferred, but more on the side of getting transferred.  I might have to stay here for my shoulder. After interviews we went on splits with the elders in our ward!  I went with Brother Phair and Elder Roberts went with Brother Bassard.  We visted a lot of people.  One family we're teaching is the Fegosos.  They are doing alright but they keep promising us they will come to church but they never do.  They are super funny though about the excuses they make.  Hah!  We'll keep working with them.

     We also saw the Zumwolt family.  They actually showed up to church this Sunday and loved it! He is a really cool guy.  He was in the Air Force and they have two young kids. The dad, Josh is a member. His wife is not.  He just wants to go back to church and see if it can help their family, which we know it will.  

      Yet another family is the Rohabackers.  They are a less active family but since we have been teaching them they have come to church and are very active now! They do love church it really has helped them with their struggles.  They are in a lot better shape than when we found them! :)



     Saturday we taught the Dockeries.  They are going through a tough time right now.  Bill's sister just went to jail and his wife's best friend is now in the hospital so we just pretty much told them if they need anything to give us a call and that we would be there!

     Later we went and retaught the Fergosos The Restoration and just talked about baptism.  They set their baptism date for the 28th of June!  It will be cool and and an awesome experience for them!


     Saturday night we ate at the Browns.  He makes the best food I kid you not! He really does! I hope to be as good as him one day! :) Haha !  Then we had correlation with our ward mission leader Brother Phillips! Sunday we were at church and had dinner with the Potters.  They are a really cute family. Their daughter and son are like 5 and 4 and they are just super cute and sooo talkative! :)

Love,
Elder Bird

The One Armed Elder!

     Elder Bird is now in a sling following his shoulder surgery.  He's down to just one arm for at least a month.  Here's what he had to say about it in his last email:

Brock with President and Sister Macdonald.  Their mission comes
to an end in July.  Sister Macdonald has kept tabs on Brock's
recovery and the President will have dinner with Elder Bird on
May 18th.  (2011)

     Shoulder is doing the best it can for right now, I guess.   Just icing and doing my part.  As for missionary work this last week I haven't been able to do much.   I got dropped off at a member's house to basically sleep and recover the first couple of days, while Elder Roberts went out and did the work!  Our investigators have been coming along, some quicker than others.  The Fergosos (family) did not make it to church this last week so I was  kind of  bumbed.



     I will be sure to send an SD card with photos soon!  (Yeah.  We'd like to see some "sling shots" of Brock.)
     Love,
     Elder Bird!

Brock Has Surgery. So Far, So Good.

     Brock had surgery on his hurt shoulder on Tuesday, May 10th (2011).  According to Sister Macdonald the surgery went extremely well and Brock was sent "home" to his apartment with his companion Elder Roberts.  Several hours after the operation Elder Roberts reported that Brock was still "loopy" from the anesthesia.  Sister Macdonald will give Brock permission to call us once he's feeling better.  He should be in a sling for 4 to 5 weeks and undergo physical therapy for 12 weeks or more.

Brock and Mom moments before entering the MTC.

      Meanwhile it was great to talk with Brock on Mother's Day.  He was able to talk for a few minutes with each member of the family which included his sisters Jaron and Abbie, brother-in-law Matt, Grandma Bryson, and mom and dad.  He says everything is going fine, although he says there are ups and downs to missionary life.  The following day (P-Day) he told us in an email, "THANKS FOR TALKING TO ME YESTERDAY!  IT WAS AWESOME!"  Brock said P-Day was crazy because he was running around trying to get things done while he still had two arms! In a day or two he will pick up where he left off.  He says they have six people with baptism dates, so he's excited about that.

Baptism Bucket Brigade

Elder Bird and his companion Elder Roberts had a baptism this last weekend.

Elder Robers and Elder Bird outside their apartment complex.

 Getting the font filled took a little more work than expected and was somewhat like what you might find in a foreign country:
     So Cole's bapstism did go through! :) It was a good and funny one, that's for sure!  To start the day, we went to the bowling alley to watch Austin Fergoso, Marcus' son, from the family we met at Wallmart, receive his awards.  It was really cool!  Then we came back, ate lunch and headed out to visit some people.  Around 3 we went to the Fergoso's for a lesson, then to the Zumolts,  a part member family we're teaching.  At 6 we went to fill the font and then headed to dinner.  But the problem was we didn't have the right keys for the church or the font! So we had to call the bishop of the 3rd Ward to get the right set.  Keep in mind it takes about an hour to fill a font!  Haha!  Finally we got the right set around 6:30, and it's suppose to start at 7! haha!  Oh boys! We started using trash cans, pitchers, buckets, anything we could to fill the font quicker.  Haha! Pretty funny to see if you were there.  We all frantically running around with anything we could find filled with water!  Even to our surprise, the font was full by 7:15.   We finished on time!  All in all, it will be one to remember!! (Cole was not only baptized last week but he also got married.  Congratulations to him!)

  I'm glad you guys had a good week and Easter!  I missed you but hope all is good!  Here's my week:
Tuesday we taught people and did some finding.  We did manage to find a family at Wallmart, as I mentioned earier.   They are getting baptized now!  So cool!  The mom's name is Marci, a really sweet lady.  She invited us over for dinner on Thursday, but before we get into that, she also has a son named Austin who ireally cool.  He is 15,  a little bit nerdy, but I love the kid!  He was so excited for us to come over and hang out with him.  He was like, "Yes, I finally have some friends. I kind of felt bad for him because he is a really cool kid!  Just no one gives him a chance.  They also have a daughter named Aries who is autistic and super cute.  She is in love with Elder Roberts.  She is always hiding form him and playing peek-a-boo! :) Haha!  The dad Steve is way cool.  He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do! I talked with him a bit about fighting and things like that.


     Wednesday we taught a lot of lessons.  We visited the Dockeries are a part member family. We invited Bill the husband who isn't a member to be baptized this week! So it will be interesting.


     Thursday we met up with Brother Phair and Brother Hansen for splits.  Both are really cool guys! Brother Hansen and I went out and visited the Rohabackers, a family we reactivated.  We also went to see the two Daniels.  They are doing well.  They have a few things to work through before baptism, but it's all good.  After those few visits we went to Cole's to go over the baptismal questions with him.


     Friday we had district meeting but it didn't start on time because the zone leaders lost the keys! Haha!  We had to got to our church so we kinda hurried and the meeting didn't start 'til 12 so we got out late like 2 and had lunch and hung out with the missionaries in the district.  That evening the zone leader and I did Cole's interview!   After he passed with flying colors we planned his baptism!

     On Easter we went to church, did some finding, and came home and put a pizza in the oven.  Good stuff, but that's my week.


Love you dad! Stay safe!
Brock

Two Bird Family Missionaries

     For a couple of weeks in April, the Birds had two missionaries in the field.

Jannae with one of her little patients in Nakuru, Kenya.

  Brock in Oregon, and Jannae in Kenya!  She spent 10 days in Nakuru with an international medical team representing Operation Smile.  They treated burns, performed surgeries and changed dozens of lives.  We kept Brock updated on his mom's trip halfway around the world.  Brock says he's happy his mom is now home safe and enjoyed hearing about her experiences.  Jannae heads off on an LDS humanitarian mission for the month of August to Costa Rica and Haiti.
     In the meantime, here's what's happening with Elder Bird:

     On Wednesday we talked to these crazy drunk guys.   They couldn't even walk, let alone stand! Pretty funny!  We did not have any appointments that day so it was a day of finding.  It was good.  We did have an appointment with the bishop to plan and discuss our "Invitation Sunday.  So we went through the ward list and set up appointments with less actives, part members and investigators.:)


     Thursday was busy.  We had lessons all day and then went on splits with the bishopric.  Pretty intense.  I went out with Bishop Anderson.  Everyone in the bishopric is like way old.  Kinda funny, haha!


     Friday we taught a lot of members, less actives, part members, and investigators. We taught Cole.  He is stoked he get married Wednesday and baptized on Saturday! He is a funny guy, but I gotta love him!  He is doing really well.   thursday night

    This week I had an exchange with Elder Puertas.   Really cool kid from Provo,.  He's been out more than a year and is our zone leader.  We had a lesson with Diana, a recent convert.  It was kind of funny.  Her dog wet all over her and she had to leave!

    O conducted a district meeting this week.  Everyone enjoyed it. We all went to A&W afterwards.  Then we had a meeting with a less active,recent convert named Sister Erickson.  We talked to her and she came to church on Sunday and was very grateful that we are her new missionaries!

     Saturday we had another busy day but I loved it!  After all the splits that day and night we delivered gift baskets for Easter.  We had a little party and played some basketball with some members!


     We went to church on sSunday and just took a bit of a break while I correlated with ward mission leaders, missionaries, and AP's with our numbers for the week! :)   We taught 29 lessons with a member present.  It was intense!


Love you!
Your son Elder Bird! :)

Happy Easter Letter!

     Brock is doing very well in Klamath Falls and loving the work. He might have shoulder surgery soon so we'll let you know how that goes. Here's a portion of a handwritten letter he sent us for Easter:

Brock sent this little Easter package to us including a couple
of bunnies, one stuffed, one chocolate.  He says, "Sorry! Only
had money for one bunny.  So share!  Besides, it's the thought
that counts!"

     Hey guys! Just wanted to say I love you and Happy Easter! I miss you very much. We have a baptism this weekend (April 23rd) and we're very stoked for it. Cole is getting baptized and married the same week. Awesome!


     We also picked up a family at Walmart yesterday. We're having dinner with them tomorrow! Very spiritual experience on how we ran into them there.


     I love the Lord and love the people we find and teach. They are amazing people and they all deserve the Gospel in their lives. That's why I do this! It's for them, not for me. I have some awesome guys (elders) to hang with down here as we serve the Lord.


I love you guys so much and wish you all the best.


Love,


Your son and brother, Elder Bird.

A Minor Medical Miracle?!

     We got some good news this week from Klamath Falls.  Brock's shoulder is doing much better after many prayers and a blessing or two.  It looks like he will put off surgery for now, but at some point he'll need it, hopefully after he completes his mission.   We'll keep you updated.  In the meantime, it's been busy on the missionary front:


Families are forever!  We wanted to share this photo from his last area in Corvallis-Albany. 
Before he headed to Klamath Falls, he said goodbye to the Vaughns, a family he baptized earlier this year.

     This week has been a blur!  We taught all of our investigators:  Cole, Pauleen, Morgan, and the two Daniels. Unfortunately, Pauleen dropped us!  I totally saw it coming and wish I could have done more, but I guess it's a lesson Heavenly Father wanted me to learn!  I need to be more on top of things!  We'll still talk to her and we'll try to resolve her concerns. 

     President came to town this week and man it made things crazy.  I was doing all my normal missionary work plus the district business.  I had l15 meetings...with every bishop to discuss how the missionaries in their wards are doing.  Then I reported to president and the stake president.  It was nuts!


     Wednesday we spent most of the day finding people in the5th ward because they haven't had much success.  We picked up a few new investigators and that was good!  We went in early for the night to plan for president, the ZL's and the AP's for the following day.  So that was a lot of work! 


     Thursday we had president's training on how to teach people, not lessons.  I definately learned a few things over again that I could improve on.  That evening we went on splits and my comp Elder Roberts was very blessed because he picked up the Zumolt family.  I have not met them yet but it will be cool.  They are a part member family and are very interested and excited.  We have an appointment with them tomorrow so that will be good!


     Saturday we helped the Alston family move.  They were living in the 5th ward but are now moving into our ward so we helped them in the morning before it got to hot.  Later, we found a few new people to teach but not too promising.  We visited with Jean Erickson, a recent convert,  then headed to the Lamrecks house for a lesson.  They are struggling so we tried our best to help them out.  Just told them how coming to church, reading and praying are the small and simple things that can help so much!


     We had a great visit at the Phillips' house where we had dinner and correlated the ward's missionary work.  Sunday was a little busy and crazy!  We had extra meetings and all the good stuff!  At the Richards, we had this chicken that was to die for along with rice and a vegetable bowl that was ogh soooo amazing!  Then dessert.  We had cooked pineapple with ice cream!  Oh boy!


     I am so glad mom is doing well in Africa!  I miss her a lot!  Thanks for the updates.  Hope your week will be a good one!  I love you and hope all is well!


Love, your son.


Elder Bird!