Being In the World...But Not Of The World

September 23, 2013

Hello Everyone,

This has been an interesting week to say the least. To start, we had a district P-Day last Monday. We met in Onalaska, Wisconsin and played basketball, Frisbee, ate at B.A. Burrito, and the Elders in Winona, Minnesota brought Bacon Maple Bars from Bloedows, a doughnut shop. It was pretty crazy! That evening, we were able to teach a couple, and we talked about the importance of prayer. In all the prayers we have heard the man give, he thanks God for the things he has, but never asks any questions. We talked about asking questions, and having meaningful prayers. Not that being grateful is a bad thing ;) It was a really great lesson, and we are going back to visit them tonight!

On Thursday, we were planning on visiting a recent convert, and she informed us that her foster mom was coming over to help her clean. We asked if we could bring a member and help them, and she accepted. We have this thing called the rule of three, where we need three members of the same gender to be present in order to go inside the home of someone of the opposite gender. A younger member in the branch offered to come help us out! We organized a little bit and got to know the recent converts foster mom a little bit better. At the end of our cleaning trip, we were able to sit down with the foster mom, and teach her the restoration. It was great! She is very interested in religion, and knows a lot of history about the Bible, a lot about Hebrew and the Jewish religion, and she even knew quite a bit about our religion. Everything we taught her made sense, and she connected it with what she already knew. At the end of the lesson though, she told the recent convert that she would not come to church until the recent convert got her HSED (High School Equivalent Diploma I believe). They made a goal to complete it before the winter solstice, but we are hoping that her foster mom will come to know that it is true, and come to church anyways. We will see!

On Friday, our day was all over the place! We had a full schedule, and during our studies in the morning we received a call from the Sisters in La Crosse. An investigator is going to be baptized, but he would only agree on one date, September 29th. In order for that to work out, he had to be interviewed that same day. We scrapped our schedule, and drove to La Crosse. It was cool seeing the difference in this investigator from when I was able to teach him, and where he is at now! After the interview, we did a few stop bys in the area. I was able to visit with one of the great families again! We talked about family home evening, and how they can come closer together as a family. The man has applied for his green card now, so he is just waiting for it to come in. Waiting games are the best ;)

This week we were able to do a little bit of service for a local family. Their garage was cluttered, so we helped them move everything out, throw a bunch of stuff away, and then put it back in the garage in an organized fashion. I absolutely hate creepy crawlies... spiders especially, but it worked out! Their garage is unfinished, so there is no floor. It was just dirt and rocks. They plan to lay concrete down before the winter though, so things will get better in their garage :)

On Sunday a family in the branch gave really great talks on living in the world, but not of the world. I struggle with this concept. I absolutely love the world sometimes, but there is never enough money to entertain that passion. This talk was really helpful for me. I learned about how I can tame this passion, and become a better person in the process. No one is completely free of the world, which was comforting as well. I just want it all sometimes, and I want it right then. Something to work on I guess! On Sunday we also found out that the Utes won! It was definitely a highlight of church haha ;)

Thank you all so much for your love and support! This week has had its fair share of highs and lows, but your prayers and kind words of encouragement help me to get through those not so great times. I love and miss you all, and wish you all the very best! Thank you for your kindness, prayers, and letters. Talk to you soon!

Love,

Elder Kyle William Andrews