Serving in Cedar City, UT

Scott has been assigned to serve in Cedar City, UT.  Cedar City is my birthplace, although I do not remember living there.  It has a population of approx. 20, 000.  It is home to Southern Utah University.

Scott's companion is Elder Blackmer.  Elder Blackmer has been serving for 23 months, is from Oregon.  He and Scott are both new to the area.

If you would like to mail a letter or a package the address below is good for at least 5 more weeks.

Elder Scott Wood
629 South Sunset Drive
Cedar City, UT  84720

Missionaries love mail!  Thanks for following the blog.  Until next week...

Scott arrived in St. George

Scott safely arrived at the Mission Home in St. George last Wednesday, Sept. 29.  We had the pleasure of receiving a phone call early that morning from him just before he boarded the airplane for St. George.  It was very good to hear his voice.

We received a letter from the mission president yesterday.  It included a short note from Scott and a photo of him with President and Sister Leonard.  I have had technical difficulties getting that photo and the map of the mission boundaries to upload.  Will work that out this week.

From here forward I will give a weekly commentary and add excepts from his letters home to make it more user friendly to all of you reading the blog, without you having to read through all the correspondence.

Letters home part 2 October 4

yes conference was great!

by the way I'm overtime! (shhhh...)

anyways I hope buddy is feeling better and cali isn't running off anymore. she better be there when I get back!

I hope that manda has a great time at homecoming! have her tell me how things go with MVP poe man.

I'm sorry I'm not there to help with the room. maybe it'll be done when I get home! 

so we're teaching lots of interesting people. it's odd to see the... almost misdirection that are in peoples lives without the gospel. by the end of each day I am missing the feeling of the spirit in homes. It is so enjoyable to be able to walk into a member's home and feel the spirit so strongly. it has given me a new appreciation for the comfort and peace that the spirit brings. also it reminds me how the lord said that the gospel will bring us the greatest peace in this life.

I have to go now though. I'll tell more stories next week.

I love you All!

Love,
Elder Scott Gregory Wood.

Letters home October 4

hey!

I'm sorry I don't have much time today... lots of emails to write. I actually flew to st george. and yeah we left at 4am. I'm serving in cedar city. it's nice out here but dry. it rained today though... that was nice.

that stinks about buddy. is he any better now? I hope it's not broken. the address here is 679 S sunset dr., cedar city, UT 84720. anyone who wants to send packaged or snail mail is welcome.

that's funny that the weather is so warm! usually it's like 40 degrees at night by this time of the year. I'm glad they put roman in. he will be a good teacher. hey does anyone know if I have a plaque?

that's awesome that Jason bore his testimony. I hope things are going better for him. I will write him soon. I left the address at lee's though.

General conference was great! I miss cinnamon roles!

tell dad thanks for having that done and I'm sorry I was lazy before I left. if he sends me the bill I will try and cover some of it.

I hope things go well for you mom! hopefully things will work out for the best and if you get that job you will really enjoy it! I hope so.

oh don't worry, I am sending some funny stuff home on a tape soon. remember you need to get a player that can play a mini cassette at 1.2 cm/s!

I love you all!

Elder Scott Wood

Mom's letter to Scott and his answer

Dear Scott,

We all really enjoyed hearing from you last week.  I posted your email on the blog.  Raeann Webb thought your "bad gas" comments were hilarious.  I know Sister Tillet has read it as well. Savannah got back to me, so I have included her also.

Fall has begun here.  Whole branches of the maple trees by Centennial are turning a deep red color while the rest of the tree remains green.  The moon is looking more like a Halloween moon all of the time.  Safeway has begun selling pumpkins.

I went running last night around 8pm.  Made it through James Place and almost to Yelm Hwy when a dog started chasing me.  Kind of scared me as it was coming pretty fast toward the backs of my legs.  You guessed it.  It was Buddy!  I guess his ankle is healing fine.  He ran that far and all the way back on all 4 legs.  He really limps on it when it rains, but it appears to be healed.

I had to laugh at your companion's name.  I was wondering if his first name is Under or Faber or Glass or Dinner.  He probably gets that a lot, but I found it very funny.  Glad that you like him.  He is a blessing to me, if you like him.

Busy week for me last week.  I was supposed to go to training in Olympia on Wednesday, but there was a "fire drill" project at the Fusion Center I was needed for.  So I went to Seattle on Wednesday and had to drive to Everett on Friday for my training.  This week has proven to be equally busy in different ways. Things with Traci lately have been better.  I do not know what brought that on.  It is a nice change.

George told me that the FBI doesn't do individual sunglasses orders anymore and they just sent one off, so it will be a couple of months before they send another one.  I will keep you posted.

Church was good.  They were talking about Faith in RS and someone said, "Faith is going to work everyday believing that you will be paid later for your work."  A jab at the government of California...but the economic forecast is not good.  Nevertheless the brethren tell us to be of good cheer and have faith.  So I am sure all will be well.

Krystal says Weston said his first full sentence this week.  "I want that."  I told her that is a very important sentence to say.  David has noticed that summer is over.  While he was eating his dinner during the conference call he kept saying, "Grandma Wood, it's dark outside."  Rylee has grown a bunch and is a little chubkins.

We've had pouring rain the past week and then today the afternoon sun came out.  It felt really good.  The days are shorter, but it was nice to see the blue sky.

Really need the contact info for the St. George Mission Home.  When do you leave the MTC?  Will you drive or fly?

Have you had a chance to tell President Smith who you are?  When he called your dad into the bishopric to serve with Bishop Sibbett you were only a few months old.  When he called him to the High Council you were about 2.  He is a wonderful leader, who truly ministers and is direct descendant of Hyrum Smith.  President Hastings was one of his counselors.  I know he will remember that your dad served on his High Council.  He was truly an awesome Stake President and blessed my life many times.

Not much else is going on here.  Pizza night has changed to Monday night and we have successfully had FHE two weeks in a row.  We talk about you every day and pray for you.  We love you very much!

Mom

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hahaha well I'm glad someone got a laugh. I miss home, and the rain and all of you. there are no rows of beautiful trees here that turn pink and red and it makes me sad the the ones on boulevard are no longer there. thanks for working to inclide everyone, I appreciate it. :)

I miss the rain. it rained today for a little bit and it smelled sooo good! I don't think I've even seen the moon for a month though! that's so awesome that buddy's leg had been getting better. It probably aches in the humid cold but hopefully he will be able to regain his use of it.

hahaha I told him you said that and he said his first name is under! :D really it's tyson so he says he owns the tyson chicken company. maybe I could get you spicy chicken for free! we have a good time. I've really began to appreciate it here. the spirit is so strong and I feel closer to the lord than I ever have. I'm coming to realize the importance of the connection of obedience and the spirit. as I've been studying I've come to know so many things that have truly enlightend my understanding. I'm also beginning to understand just how much God truly loves his children and wants them to make the choices that will lead them back to him. as missionaries we are representatives of christ and it is the lords work we do.

that's good that things are going better at work. I pray for you and dad and everyone constantly. I hope things continue to get better. I'm sad that lee and todd don't write though! :( but I'll be patient. that's alright about the sunglasses. hopefully the sun wont be out too much where I go untill after winter. but the glasses I have do not do enough. they barely block the light.

yeah things are not great. we really don't know what's going on in here though... not much news. that's so awesome that weston is starting to form sentences!!! tell lee and krystal I love them. todd and karen too. tell david uncle scott will come visit soon! hopefully he doesn't forget me!

st george number is... I'll get back to you. you should check out dearelder.com they deliver same day messages.

I havn't talked to the president. I havn't even seen him really. if I do I will tell him. that's cool that FHE has started back up. I hope things keep going well! I love you!!

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Letter home

Hi Mom!!

 

Does dad get this too? Hi Dad!!  Things are going well. my companion, elder ware, is awesome and I'm having a pretty good time. I'm super tired and it's way overbooked here. it wouldn't be so bad if we weren't crammed into a tiny classroom all the time but it's ok. I've been learning a lot and the spirit is strong here. we have great teachers and the food is good too! (except it gives you lots of gas!)

 

My back is much better but still hurts every once in a while and spasms sometimes. my neck has been hurting recently but that's nothing new. I havn't had any nausea since thursday and I've been feeling great!

 

Tell steven that's awesome that he's enjoying highschool. I hope he makes lots of good friends and enjoys his classes. tell him to do his homework!! also don't let him get too good at any video games. I don't want him to be able to crush me when I get back! also any growth that exceeds 5'11 is prohibited... I will disown him!

 

wow that's cool that she asked him! what did he say!? I guess I should be appalled that she cheered for capital but really... I could care less. I have friends on both teams. I'm sorry she had a hard start. It's almost over. 9 months goes by in a flash and then she'll be headed for college. tell her I hope she has a great year. try to find 5 things to laugh at each day!

 

well thanks for seting up the blog mom. I will try to let people know and good luck with getting it running smoothly. I will by a memory card when I get to st george and send pics home! I miss jake too but I try to send him a message each week. that's ok about the sunglasses. we cant wear them here anyways. I will make due till you can get them. if I have to get a bike I may not be able to afford them anyways.

 

That sounds like an awesome bishopric!! I'm sure everything will be great. I bet Bishop anderson will be glad to have the extra time in his day again. I miss the mist and the cool rain. (funny I know) it's super dry here

 

I love each of you soo much. tell lee and todd and krystal and karen and manda and steven to email. I don't have time this week but I will try to write each of them soon! I don't think I need anything right now but I will let you know if I do.

 

I'll try to get the number or have the front desk email you.

 

thanks for the letter. I love you mom and dad!! I will talk to you in a week!

 

With Love,

Elder Scott Gregory Wood

Scott heads into the MTC

Elder Scott Wood - Utah St. George Mission 2010-2012

Scott entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on Wednesday September 8, 2010