Stephanie's Baptism

     It's always exciting to hear about a baptism.  Elder Bird and Elder Cooper baptized Stephanie this last week.  Here are some excerpts from Brock's last letter:
     We went and contacted some of the people who were potential investigators and some formers, to see if they were still interested in learning.  We did pick up a few people so that was really cool! But we will see how solid they are in this coming week.  We taught the Athertons as well as Stephanie, who got baptized this week.  We read with them and  planned Stephanie's baptismal program and went over a few things. We then headed over to Wylie's who got baptized the week before. Love that kid.  We talked with him and taught him and his family the restoration again.  It was a pretty busy day!

     So Wednesday was a pretty busy day too!  We did some finding in the morning and then we had a lesson with Emilio Melendez and made Pinewood Derby cars.  We didn't get too far in those few hours. It took us  three days to do it, not to mention I made mine from scratch!  when we were done there we had a lesson with Stephanie and read from the Book of Mormon.  She has really gained a testimony of it. She told us at first she started reading it as a text book, but as she kept reading she started to pay attention to how she felt.  The Spirit testified to her of the truth.  It was way cool to hear that from her!  Her family has come along way and now her step daughter has a date for the 24th of March!

    Thursday we had combined district meeting which went really well.  Elder Cooper and I taught it.  It went really well and the zone was excited!

    We had Stephanie's baptismal interview at the church on Friday.  We had weekly planning along with getting the baptismal program squared away.  We were lucky to be able to sqeeze in an appointment with Emilio. We taught him the Plan of  Salvation, and put the wheels on our cars for the ward party the next day.

Elder Cooper and Elder Bird with Stephanie on her baptism day.  (Friday, February 17, 2012)

     We headed to Roseburg, because Winston doesn't have a font, so we did it at the stake center! :)  Stephanies baptism was really good and went super well with a wonderful, spiritual atmosphere.  Afterwards we went to the Reed house for kind of a little after baptism party. It was fun, and we got to talk to a few part member families and we're going to start teaching the Van Acker family.  We're really excited about that! :)

     Saturday we had transfer calls, so we had to do that all morning and afternoon, plan where everyone was going and how they would get there!  Later in the day we had the ward party where we raced our Pinewood Derby cars haha!  Elder Cooper and I were the judges and our cars did very well!  
     Sunday we had church, and a lesson with the Beburgers, a partmember family that is being taught by the sister missionaries. President gave us a special assignment to teach him and set a date. We did so!  He will be baptized June 2nd, kind of a long time,  but he wants his son to do it and he is in Alaska fishing for work and won't be back until then which gives him time to read the Book of Mormon and be a little more prepared!  After that we had a lesson with the Athertons and taught Memory their daughter about the Book of Mormon. 

Wylie's Baptism

     It's exciting to see how well the work is going in Oregon.  Elder Bird and Elder Cooper just had two baptisms and they are teaching several people!

     We had a lesson with the Mackey family! They are doing great, just still reading with them and helping them progress at there own pace.  Usually for families it takes awhile, but in due time with patience and helping them the best we can they will do what's best for them.  They have 5 little kids and I don't know what it is about me, but every kid tends to think I am a jungle gym!  Haha! After that we had Wylie's baptismal interview which went really well.

Elder Cooper and Elder Bird with Wylie on his baptism day.  (Feb. 11, 2012)

     Saturday we had Wylie's baptism, it was great!  Wylie is a champ.  It was awesome. The whole family was there and they were so happy to see him get baptized!
     Our zone is only a one district zone and is doing the best in the mission right now.  Every companionship has people with baptism dates, 16 dates for our zone!  We are really excited and President is super thrilled with our work efforts!

The Miracle of Prayer!

Here's a shot with Brock and a couple of the elders in his zone while he was still in Bend.  We're still waiting for pictures
from his new area in Winston.  Elder Bird is great at putting his arms around elders to let them know he loves being around them. 

     Here's a quick update from Brock as he keeps the pace in Winston with Elder Cooper.  We're amazed and excited that the work continues without skipping a beat:
    
     "Elder Cooper and I are tearing it up in Winston. I enjoy meeting people and seeing how different they are. For the most part people are pretty nice here and we have some great conversations."

      "We had a lesson with Stephanie. She is doing really well and is excited for her baptism! We have grown really close with that family. They have had their struggles but they are so happy when we come over. Honestly it's just such a blessing to really see the difference the Lord makes in people's lives. After that, we went to the Wylies house to teach their son. He is such a remarkable kid! Only 12 and has autism, but he's very bright. It's so cool to see how he interacts with us. He is an awesome kid!"

    It looks like Elder Bird and Elder Cooper are teaching quite a few people who are getting close to baptism. Here's another experience:
    
  "We had a lesson with Marie and she is doing great. We read and talked about the importance of prayer and how much we need it in our lives! We all knelt and she prayed. It was so awesome to see her pray for the first time. She just looked so happy and peaceful! :)"
"Things are going really well. Elder Cooper and I are working hard and having fun! My testimony is growing so much!"

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!

Christmas Message From Brock!

We enjoyed our phone call from Brock on Christmas day.  He loves the work and the people in Bend.  He and Elder Lyon will start the new year off with a baptism on January 1st!  It's amazing to see how much he's grown as a man and as a missionary.


Elder Bird and the Bend District pose for a Christmas card photo
taken in the mountains near Bend.

Here's another view from their "photo shoot."  Notice the nice
"ride."  Elder Lyon and Brock drive this truck as zone leaders to
get them around in the higher elevations.  You can see the beautiful
landscape which Brock gets to wake up to every morning!

     Brock sent us a Christmas card with a challenge for our family.  It could really be a goal for all us a members of the church this holiday season:
     I hope all is well!  I love you all and wish you the best of the holiday season.  You guys are a blessing and I am so grateful for all that each of you do!
     My challenge this Christmas season comes from 3Nephi 12:14-16, the first thing that Christ taught to the Nephites when he appeared in America.
     Our testimony is a gift.  It comes from the Spirit.  My challenge to you all is to bare your testimony to a non-member this holiday season.  That is the greatest gift you can give.  If you have faith, then you have no fear.  Faith and fear cannot co-exist!  :)  There will be blessings that come from this challenge.  So pray and be led by the Spirit to that person who will hear your testimony. 
     I love you and I'm so grateful for you all.
     Merry Christmas,
    Love, Brock