October 7, 2013
Hello Everyone,
This week has been very unique. Because of transfers, on P-Day my companion had to pack up all of his things, and prepare for transfers on Wednesday. It was really difficult; because we were expecting and planning on a third transfer together. We had already made plans and everything for the week ahead of us. I was not ready to say goodbye. I absolutely loved serving with him. We went to a really great pizza place for dinner, and then began making our good bye rounds. It was hard going around saying goodbye, even though I am not even the one leaving.
On Tuesday we helped a family move out of their home, and then went to Tomah, Wisconsin and made our good bye rounds there. We were able to see a couple of people in the morning. We have not seen our teenage investigator in like a month, so this was a great opportunity for us to see her again and re-establish contact. We then met with a couple of families. One family took us out to dinner at Perkins, and had us over to their home later for ice cream. We went to another families home, and they surprised us with ice cream as well! We were going to be sick, but it was really touching how much the members care about missionaries. Our teenage investigator and her boyfriend were able to join us at one of the family’s homes as well, so it was a great evening! We finished off the night with one last family, and then returned to the apartment. My companion and I transferred his things into the car, and prepared for the day ahead of us. We signed each other’s testimony journals, and talked for a while. I am going to miss my companion.
On Wednesday we had transfers, so we woke up at 5:00 AM and got ready and drove to Rochester, Minnesota. We loaded up the transfer van, and said our final goodbyes. It was a rough morning, so I began drinking diet coke promptly at about 8:00 AM when we arrived in Rochester. There is a gas station called Kwik Trip here that has 44 oz. fountain drinks, so it is the closest thing I have to sonic right now ;) They apparently only have Sonic in the big cities in Minnesota. I then went with the zone leaders for the morning and took care of some missionary business. We had some maintenance work done on our car, and had our key fob reprogrammed. We cleaned out a missionary car for the new group coming in, and then we drove over to the church to meet everyone that was getting to Rochester. This is when I met my new companion. He is from Utah and has been out on his mission for 7 months. We then drove back to Sparta, Wisconsin, which was an adventure for sure! For those of you that know me well, you know that I have absolutely zero sense of direction. All of my former companions thus far have had a GPS though, so this has not been a problem. My new companion did not have a GPS however, so it was a journey for sure! Eventually we found our way, and we really didn't even get lost, we just took a very different route. We stopped in La Crosse for a late lunch/early dinner, and then made our way to Sparta. Phew! We moved all of my companions’ stuff into the apartment, and went to go teach our 10-year-old investigator the Gospel of Jesus Christ lesson. We reset his baptismal date, and he is set for baptism on October 27th. Hopefully this time everything will work out!
On Friday we had weekly planning, which was interesting. It is always difficult to weekly plan when someone is new in an area, so pretty much I was on my own. It took forever, but eventually I did it. Hopefully this next week will work out nicely, and we will have an enjoyable and productive week! We then met with some families in the evening. It is different starting fresh, but with time things will work out. This is only my second time taking over an area, so we will have to see how it goes.
On Saturday and Sunday we had general conference, so missionary work wise there was not a whole lot accomplished. I really enjoyed conference though. This is the first time I have ever sat through the entire general conference though, so it was interesting. I felt like we needed big overstuffed recliners, but the fold out chairs at the church had to work. 10 hours is a long time to be sitting in those chairs, but the talks were really great! My favorite talks from conference were Jeffrey R. Holland's talk on Saturday Afternoon, Bonnie L. Oscarson's talk on Sunday Morning, Thomas S. Monson's talk on Sunday Morning, and Russell M. Nelson's talk on Sunday Evening. I had a lot of my questions answered, and was really strengthened by the messages that were shared this conference.
Things are going well here, and I am excited to see what this transfer has to bring. I love and miss you all, and hope you have an enjoyable week! Thank you so much for the prayers you have said on my behalf, and for all of your kind emails and letters. Your kind words are so helpful in motivating me, and encouraging me to do better! I am so very grateful for all of the amazing friends and family that I have. Have a great week!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
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