Monday, February 24, 2014
Hello Everyone,
It has been quite the insane week here in Minnesota! The weather has been absolutely awful. It has been snowing and freezing, and then warm and slushy, and then freezing and eventually snowy again. Our bodies are kind of freaking out a little bit, but all will be well :) On Monday we were able to visit with our investigator and set up a few last appointments and finish teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She is awesome, and is getting really excited for her baptismal date on March 1st.
Tuesday was quite the interesting day. We had our first district meeting this transfer - which was great! Then we went on exchange with the district leader afterwards. He came to Crystal with me, and his companion went to Cedar Lake with my companion. This Elder is from Vernal, Utah and is a very kind and sincere missionary. We had a really great time on our exchange together, despite a few minor setbacks. We went to go tracting, and my companions’ bike was broken. Broken bikes are always a miracle for me though, I much prefer walking! In the evening we had dinner with the Bishop and his wife, and then went joint teaching with him. We visited with a few less-active members in the ward, and then visited with a woman who is a mormon.org referral. She has had a very difficult life, and struggles with smoking and depression. She is searching for a church that she feels comfortable and welcomed in, and referred herself on mormon.org after chatting with the Sister Missionaries online. We talked to her about the restoration, and she readily accepted our teachings! She is awesome :) After going out joint teaching we came home for the much anticipated conference call that we received a mission-wide text about earlier in the day. We were guessing what it was going to be about, mostly surrounding Facebook and iPads. We got on the conference call, and President and Sister Clements announced that they were going home for 3-weeks. President Clements has an important business matter back home, and has counseled with various apostles and they have told him that it would be in his best interest to take a short leave of absence to take care of things back home. Until then, they have called President Ehlert, the first counselor in his mission presidency to be the mission president! Crazy stuff. They left on Wednesday, so President Ehlert is currently our Mission President.
Wednesday was great! We were able to have dinner with our ward mission leader and our investigator who will be baptized March 1. She really enjoyed the extra fellowship, and then we were able to have a lesson with her preparing her for baptism. She asked the ward mission leader to baptize her, and we worked out a few of the baptismal logistics. It was a really great evening, and we were able to begin planning her baptism for this next Saturday!
On Thursday we were able to go to the Prism Food Shelf and do some service. We normally go from 1-5:00 PM, but because it began to blizzard outside they shut down at 3:00. It was insane driving around that day, but we made it work. Well, the members that were driving made it work. Mission vehicles have been grounded this entire week, not that it makes a difference for bike areas, but kind of interesting. A brother from the ward came joint teaching with us, and we were able to visit with an investigator and discuss ancient and modern Prophets! Her kids were much more well behaved this time, and things are really beginning to take off with their family. Her 11 year-old daughter really took an interest during this lesson, and mentioned that she had begun reading the Book of Mormon. She also expressed an interest in music, so we invited them to the Minnesota Mormon Chorale performance on Saturday, March 1st! I love going to MMC performances, so it works out well for all of us :)
Friday was kind of interesting. We had weekly planning, and then we were able to meet with another investigator. We began teaching him about the restoration, and he really enjoyed learning and expressed an interest in attending church on Sunday! We had dinner with ward members, converts of less than a year. They talked to us a lot about their conversion, and their plans to attend the temple this next month! Their non-member daughter and her boyfriend were there as well, so we had a great teaching opportunity. We are having dinner with them next Friday, so maybe we will be able to visit with them again!
Saturday was kind of crazy. In the morning we got phone calls from ALL of our appointments, and they ALL fell through. It was going to be a day of tracting. Our investigator had her baptismal interview in the morning, which she aced, and then we had no plans after that. Then things started to miraculously start working out! A Brother from the ward called us and asked if we could help him with a service project. He had an extra dining room table and chairs from a recent death in the family, and wanted to give it to a family we are teaching because they do not have any furniture. We went over to her home and shoveled their walkway which was covered with about 5 inches of ice and a powdery layer of snow on top. Then when the walkway was clear, we moved the table and chairs into their home. They were SO grateful! It was amazing to see the looks on their faces, and how excited they were to have a little bit of furniture in their home. In the evening we were able to do a teaching evaluation with a brother from the ward. After we taught him about the restoration, we got talking about his less-active sons. I talked a little bit about some experiences I had had with the church, and he seemed to really take comfort in some of my comments. I hope I was able to be of some help! All in all, the day of nothing turned into a solid day of appointments :) It was amazing!
Sunday was miraculous as well. We have 9:00 AM church which is AWFUL, especially to get people that are not members to attend. I despise 9:00 AM church, and I am a member! Somehow, we were able to get 4 investigators to church though :) I was stunned, but grateful. Everything worked out amazing well! After church we were walking back to our apartment, and an African man stopped us in our parking lot and asked us if we were Christians. Then he basically proceeded to refer himself to us, and asked us to come visit him! That NEVER happens. It was truly amazing! After dinner we went with a Brother from the ward, and had an appointment with an investigator. We watched the restoration DVD, and finished covering the message of the restoration. She really felt the spirit, and committed to attend church next Sunday :) Funny story though, she wanted to know how she could listen to the scriptures on her computer, because she is not so great at reading. We went into her computer room and she opened up the internet. Instantly like 30 different tabs opened, and different radio stations and noises went off. Her speakers started blaring Kelly Clarkson's song, "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger." She started closing all of the tabs, and all of the sudden this loud (sorry, kind of inappropriately worded, but there is no other choice) flatulence sound came out of her computer speakers. She apologized, and switched to her flatulence machine internet tab and turned that off as well! Awkward! It was a great lesson none the less, and a great evening :)
[NOTE FROM CAROLYN: I REALLY EDITED THE PARAGRAPH ABOVE!]
This next week I am sure will be great! We have a Zone Training on Friday with President Ehlert, so it will be interesting to see his dynamic as a Mission President. I am kind of sad that we won't have an amazing Sister Clements training, but I am sure Sister Ehlert will do an incredible job. In two weeks we also have a temple trip planned, on March 5th! I have not been to the temple since I was in the MTC, so it will be cool to experience it all over again :) It will be my 3rd time attending the temple, and my 1st time attending the St. Paul Minnesota temple. I have heard it is tiny, but I guess I will see for myself!
Thank you all for your love and support. Your prayers have been a life-saver this winter. Figures that I would come to Minnesota in the coldest and snowiest winter in 30 years! I have never felt such bone-chilling cold in my entire life, but I have almost survived the entire winter :) Thank you for all of your letters and emails, they are always so uplifting to me! I can't wait to tell you how this next week goes, and how our Zone Training with President Ehlert goes as well :) Talk to you soon!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Monday, February 24, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
The Field Is White
Monday, February 17, 2014
Hello Everyone,
It has certainly been an interesting week! On Monday we were able to meet with our investigator with a Brother from the ward. We talked to her about the importance of living the Word of Wisdom, and finished teaching the Plan of Salvation. Ida said that Satan has really been working on her lately, and that she was having the hardest time giving up coffee and cigarettes. We recommitted her to live the Word of Wisdom, and set up a program for her so that she could be successful! We also asked her to text us every morning and report on her day and how she was doing with the Word of Wisdom. It was truly an amazing lesson, and she made some great progress!
On Tuesday, she did not text us. We were pretty sure that she had broken the Word of Wisdom, and that she felt guilty and didn't want to tell us. We had a lesson scheduled with her on Tuesday evening, so we weren't exactly sure how everything was going to work. Tuesday night a Brother from the ward came joint teaching with us. We met with her, and she told us how excited she was to tell us that she was living the Word of Wisdom, and that she wanted to tell us in person rather than over a text. She sure got us! We then had a really great lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ including faith, repentance, baptism, and enduring to the end. She is going to be baptized on March 1st, and as of right now she is keeping all of her commitments and should be solid!
On Wednesday we went joint teaching with another Brother from the ward. We had an evening booked solid with appointments, and one by one they ALL fell through. This was a great opportunity to catch up on visiting with less-active members in the area though, so it ended up being a great evening! Everything happens for a reason.
On Thursday we had our Zone Conference. We drove to Brooklyn Centre with Elder and Sister Mathis, the most amazing senior missionary couple on the planet! They actually used to be the Clement's neighbors before their mission, so it is kind of cool that they ended up serving in the MMM. They are the best though! In our Zone Conference we learned about repentance from President Clements and discussed some talks that we had studied previous to the conference. Sister Clements talked to us about self-confidence, and how we can overcome the negative thoughts and lies that we store up in our minds about ourselves, and move forward with faith. Both were really great training, and helped me with a lot of questions and things that I had been struggling with. We were also able to hear from President Ehlert, a member of our mission presidency. He talked to us a lot about working with members which so far has been one of the themes of my mission, so it was great to receive further training! President Ehlert is also conducting a study for his business or something, and has my district wearing a device called a FitBit. Pretty much it is a fairly sophisticated pedometer, and tracks all of our steps and everything each day. It is synced up with their computers, so they can track all of us. Kind of creepy ;) At our Zone Conference we also received what President Clements refers to as "stylish green vests" for biking in the evening hours. Not cool. We have HIDEOUS reflective crossing guard vests that we have to wear when we go biking at night time. Luckily we have joint teachers most evenings, so this will just be a greater inspiration to me to avoid biking at night! We also got a new phone, which was a great surprise because we had not ordered one :) I love new phones! Don't get me wrong though, it is still a brick. (It reminds me of the cheap sliding phone that Aimee had when she first got a cell phone.)
On Thursday evening we were able to meet with a woman who lives in really humble circumstances in North Minneapolis. She has 6 kids, which must be difficult for a single mother! We walked into their home, and the living room did not have anything in it, not even a light. She walked to another room and grabbed a lamp to plug in, and we sat down on their bare wood floor. They did not have money for furniture, and most of their home is unfurnished. They mostly just have their kitchen, and the mattresses they sleep on. This woman grew up in the church, and remembers the girls camp outings she went on very fondly! She wants to become more active in the church, and she wants her kids to get baptized. The only problem is that the church is in Crystal, and they do not have any form of transportation. We assured her that we would make it work out for all of them though!
Friday was Valentines Day. Not a very good day for a missionary. No one is home, and they were all out on dates in the evening. Not much happened.
Saturday we were able to attend a baptism in the Medicine Lake Ward with our investigator! She had a really great experience, and is even more excited for her own baptism. She truly is amazing, and the whole time we were there she was telling people that this was the true church, and was telling them that she was going to be baptized soon as well! After the baptism we were able to meet with another of our investigators. African people here are so very humble and kind. They love to learn about Jesus Christ, they just aren't the best at keeping a schedule haha! They run on African time ;) He is great though, and we were able to have a really nice lesson with him on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
On Saturday evening we were able to meet with a woman. She has some very serious health problems, and has 5 small strokes in the past year. Attending church is quite difficult for her to say the least! She plans to get back to church in the summer though when the chances of slipping and falling are much smaller. She has a really difficult time walking, and has to use a cane or a walker. She has a CRAZY cat though. Her cat is afraid of people, which is TOTALLY okay in my book! For the first little while the cat was hiding from us, but then it decided to make its presence known. Her cat hisses and growls at other people, but especially missionaries! I guess many years ago missionaries babysat her cat while they were on vacation, and the cat was pretty much tortured by one of the missionaries. Basically I was scared for my life! I have never seen a cat open its mouth so wide and hiss at me before! I thought it was going to tear us to bits, and then she told us that it was okay, her cat doesn't bite very hard. I was quite anxious to get out of there! It was nice visiting with her, and luckily none of us were attacked by this crazy cat :)
Sunday was great, we were able to attend ward council in the morning and then both investigators came to church! A girl from the ward even invited her non-member friend to attend church as well. It was really great!
Sunday evening we were out tracting and met a really nice family who invited us into their home out of the cold. NO ONE does that, so it was quite amazing! We met a man who has been looking for a church, and asked us to teach him about our church. It was a really great opportunity for us to talk about the restoration of our church, and he was excited to learn about and read the Book of Mormon! Great things are in the works :)
As of February 15th, I have officially been out for 9 months! Kind of crazy if you think about it. Thank you all so much for all of your love and support! I couldn't have done it without you :) I have so many amazing friends and family members! I hope you all have an amazing President's Day, and a great week :)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Hello Everyone,
It has certainly been an interesting week! On Monday we were able to meet with our investigator with a Brother from the ward. We talked to her about the importance of living the Word of Wisdom, and finished teaching the Plan of Salvation. Ida said that Satan has really been working on her lately, and that she was having the hardest time giving up coffee and cigarettes. We recommitted her to live the Word of Wisdom, and set up a program for her so that she could be successful! We also asked her to text us every morning and report on her day and how she was doing with the Word of Wisdom. It was truly an amazing lesson, and she made some great progress!
On Tuesday, she did not text us. We were pretty sure that she had broken the Word of Wisdom, and that she felt guilty and didn't want to tell us. We had a lesson scheduled with her on Tuesday evening, so we weren't exactly sure how everything was going to work. Tuesday night a Brother from the ward came joint teaching with us. We met with her, and she told us how excited she was to tell us that she was living the Word of Wisdom, and that she wanted to tell us in person rather than over a text. She sure got us! We then had a really great lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ including faith, repentance, baptism, and enduring to the end. She is going to be baptized on March 1st, and as of right now she is keeping all of her commitments and should be solid!
On Wednesday we went joint teaching with another Brother from the ward. We had an evening booked solid with appointments, and one by one they ALL fell through. This was a great opportunity to catch up on visiting with less-active members in the area though, so it ended up being a great evening! Everything happens for a reason.
On Thursday we had our Zone Conference. We drove to Brooklyn Centre with Elder and Sister Mathis, the most amazing senior missionary couple on the planet! They actually used to be the Clement's neighbors before their mission, so it is kind of cool that they ended up serving in the MMM. They are the best though! In our Zone Conference we learned about repentance from President Clements and discussed some talks that we had studied previous to the conference. Sister Clements talked to us about self-confidence, and how we can overcome the negative thoughts and lies that we store up in our minds about ourselves, and move forward with faith. Both were really great training, and helped me with a lot of questions and things that I had been struggling with. We were also able to hear from President Ehlert, a member of our mission presidency. He talked to us a lot about working with members which so far has been one of the themes of my mission, so it was great to receive further training! President Ehlert is also conducting a study for his business or something, and has my district wearing a device called a FitBit. Pretty much it is a fairly sophisticated pedometer, and tracks all of our steps and everything each day. It is synced up with their computers, so they can track all of us. Kind of creepy ;) At our Zone Conference we also received what President Clements refers to as "stylish green vests" for biking in the evening hours. Not cool. We have HIDEOUS reflective crossing guard vests that we have to wear when we go biking at night time. Luckily we have joint teachers most evenings, so this will just be a greater inspiration to me to avoid biking at night! We also got a new phone, which was a great surprise because we had not ordered one :) I love new phones! Don't get me wrong though, it is still a brick. (It reminds me of the cheap sliding phone that Aimee had when she first got a cell phone.)
On Thursday evening we were able to meet with a woman who lives in really humble circumstances in North Minneapolis. She has 6 kids, which must be difficult for a single mother! We walked into their home, and the living room did not have anything in it, not even a light. She walked to another room and grabbed a lamp to plug in, and we sat down on their bare wood floor. They did not have money for furniture, and most of their home is unfurnished. They mostly just have their kitchen, and the mattresses they sleep on. This woman grew up in the church, and remembers the girls camp outings she went on very fondly! She wants to become more active in the church, and she wants her kids to get baptized. The only problem is that the church is in Crystal, and they do not have any form of transportation. We assured her that we would make it work out for all of them though!
Friday was Valentines Day. Not a very good day for a missionary. No one is home, and they were all out on dates in the evening. Not much happened.
Saturday we were able to attend a baptism in the Medicine Lake Ward with our investigator! She had a really great experience, and is even more excited for her own baptism. She truly is amazing, and the whole time we were there she was telling people that this was the true church, and was telling them that she was going to be baptized soon as well! After the baptism we were able to meet with another of our investigators. African people here are so very humble and kind. They love to learn about Jesus Christ, they just aren't the best at keeping a schedule haha! They run on African time ;) He is great though, and we were able to have a really nice lesson with him on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
On Saturday evening we were able to meet with a woman. She has some very serious health problems, and has 5 small strokes in the past year. Attending church is quite difficult for her to say the least! She plans to get back to church in the summer though when the chances of slipping and falling are much smaller. She has a really difficult time walking, and has to use a cane or a walker. She has a CRAZY cat though. Her cat is afraid of people, which is TOTALLY okay in my book! For the first little while the cat was hiding from us, but then it decided to make its presence known. Her cat hisses and growls at other people, but especially missionaries! I guess many years ago missionaries babysat her cat while they were on vacation, and the cat was pretty much tortured by one of the missionaries. Basically I was scared for my life! I have never seen a cat open its mouth so wide and hiss at me before! I thought it was going to tear us to bits, and then she told us that it was okay, her cat doesn't bite very hard. I was quite anxious to get out of there! It was nice visiting with her, and luckily none of us were attacked by this crazy cat :)
Sunday was great, we were able to attend ward council in the morning and then both investigators came to church! A girl from the ward even invited her non-member friend to attend church as well. It was really great!
Sunday evening we were out tracting and met a really nice family who invited us into their home out of the cold. NO ONE does that, so it was quite amazing! We met a man who has been looking for a church, and asked us to teach him about our church. It was a really great opportunity for us to talk about the restoration of our church, and he was excited to learn about and read the Book of Mormon! Great things are in the works :)
As of February 15th, I have officially been out for 9 months! Kind of crazy if you think about it. Thank you all so much for all of your love and support! I couldn't have done it without you :) I have so many amazing friends and family members! I hope you all have an amazing President's Day, and a great week :)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Monday, February 10, 2014
So Hard To Say Goodbye
Monday, February 10, 2014
Hello Everyone,
This week has definitely been an adventure, and an adjustment. It was hard to leave Elk River, but I was amazed at how many relationships I had built with investigators and ward members in the area. It also makes it harder to leave, because you have SO MANY people to go visit and stop by in the few days you have left in the area. Unfortunately you are never fully able to hit everyone on your list, but I did pretty good at visiting with most of the people! Packing is always a struggle, but it worked out :) My stuff has kind of expanded, especially since I had to pack my buddy Richard to bring him with me haha! Unfortunately the members we lived with were not particularly fond of that idea, and my baggage was downsized. No dog for me :(
Transfers were kind of stressful. The member that picked us up didn't have a bike rack on his car, so we had a last minute dash to borrow a bike rack from another member. It all worked out though! My bike has been ridden probably a total of 4 times, so it was pretty dusty. Transfer meeting went well, and then I met my new companion from Malad, Idaho. We found out that we came out together, but he was obviously in a different district in the MTC than I was. He is SUPER smart, and wants to go into computer science of some sort. He is also really clean and organized like I am! We get along pretty well, and share the same dislike of biking. In the Crystal, Minnesota area we cover the cities of Golden Valley, New Hope, Crystal, Robbinsdale, and North Minneapolis, the ghetto. The area is not that big, but it is a bike area which makes it a little more challenging. So far I like it though!
The members here have been really good at joint teaching with us in the evenings, which means NO BIKING :) My first night in Crystal I met one of our AMAZING investigators. She is African America, and is incredibly kind and humble. She loves learning about the gospel, and has chosen to meet with us on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and then Church on Sunday. It is SO great :) In our last lesson with her, she committed to March 1st as a baptismal date! She had a date much later in March, but she chose to move her date up, which is crazy awesome.
On Thursday we were able to do a few hours of service at this place called Prism, which is a food pantry. It looked just like a grocery store, and people were able to shop around and pick up groceries for their families for free! It was way cool. We mostly sorted through donations, and stocked shelves. I felt like I worked at Macey's Grocery Store for a couple hours, it was kind of fun :) We go to Prism every Thursday, so I am excited for a transfer chalk full of service opportunities! Unfortunately next week we have Zone Conference on Thursday, but we will be able to do it again in two weeks :)
I had my first biking experience on Saturday, which was... an experience. I am completely paranoid about biking in the winter, but I didn't die. I am definitely going to be using all of my winter gear these next couple of months though, and I need to pick up a few other things. Luckily the winter will soon be coming to an end... hopefully! Last winter here ended in May, but that apparently never happens. Hopefully it will be over in February, but apparently it usually finishes up around March and April. My companions’ bike broke on Saturday though, so I have biked a total of 1 time! I think he is fixing it today, so that number will soon increase. We have been doing a lot of walking out in the cold, WAY different than a car area. Also, when you are completely frozen, you don't have a car to go warm up in, so you have to go all the way back to the apartment. Kind of lame. Car areas all the way!
We have a lot of African American and Liberian people in this area, which is WAY different than all of my other areas. Black people here are so kind, and are super open to learning about the gospel. It has been great learning more about them, and getting to know them all. It should be a good transfer :)
The Crystal ward is really great, and I think I am really going to like this area, minus the whole biking part. This will also be my first area that is in a temple zone, so that should be fun! I haven't been to the temple in about 9 months so I have some make-up work to do. Which brings me to my next point, on February 15th this next week I will have been out for 9 months. Holy cow! I am starting to get old, in a few months I will have been out for a year, 1/2 of my mission. Crazy times ahead!
Thank you all for you love and support. You are all so amazing, and have helped me so much, and your prayers and support are definitely helping me in this new bike area. Hopefully I don't slip and die, or break something. I love hearing from you all, and hope you are all doing well. Have a great Valentines Day!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Hello Everyone,
This week has definitely been an adventure, and an adjustment. It was hard to leave Elk River, but I was amazed at how many relationships I had built with investigators and ward members in the area. It also makes it harder to leave, because you have SO MANY people to go visit and stop by in the few days you have left in the area. Unfortunately you are never fully able to hit everyone on your list, but I did pretty good at visiting with most of the people! Packing is always a struggle, but it worked out :) My stuff has kind of expanded, especially since I had to pack my buddy Richard to bring him with me haha! Unfortunately the members we lived with were not particularly fond of that idea, and my baggage was downsized. No dog for me :(
Transfers were kind of stressful. The member that picked us up didn't have a bike rack on his car, so we had a last minute dash to borrow a bike rack from another member. It all worked out though! My bike has been ridden probably a total of 4 times, so it was pretty dusty. Transfer meeting went well, and then I met my new companion from Malad, Idaho. We found out that we came out together, but he was obviously in a different district in the MTC than I was. He is SUPER smart, and wants to go into computer science of some sort. He is also really clean and organized like I am! We get along pretty well, and share the same dislike of biking. In the Crystal, Minnesota area we cover the cities of Golden Valley, New Hope, Crystal, Robbinsdale, and North Minneapolis, the ghetto. The area is not that big, but it is a bike area which makes it a little more challenging. So far I like it though!
The members here have been really good at joint teaching with us in the evenings, which means NO BIKING :) My first night in Crystal I met one of our AMAZING investigators. She is African America, and is incredibly kind and humble. She loves learning about the gospel, and has chosen to meet with us on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and then Church on Sunday. It is SO great :) In our last lesson with her, she committed to March 1st as a baptismal date! She had a date much later in March, but she chose to move her date up, which is crazy awesome.
On Thursday we were able to do a few hours of service at this place called Prism, which is a food pantry. It looked just like a grocery store, and people were able to shop around and pick up groceries for their families for free! It was way cool. We mostly sorted through donations, and stocked shelves. I felt like I worked at Macey's Grocery Store for a couple hours, it was kind of fun :) We go to Prism every Thursday, so I am excited for a transfer chalk full of service opportunities! Unfortunately next week we have Zone Conference on Thursday, but we will be able to do it again in two weeks :)
I had my first biking experience on Saturday, which was... an experience. I am completely paranoid about biking in the winter, but I didn't die. I am definitely going to be using all of my winter gear these next couple of months though, and I need to pick up a few other things. Luckily the winter will soon be coming to an end... hopefully! Last winter here ended in May, but that apparently never happens. Hopefully it will be over in February, but apparently it usually finishes up around March and April. My companions’ bike broke on Saturday though, so I have biked a total of 1 time! I think he is fixing it today, so that number will soon increase. We have been doing a lot of walking out in the cold, WAY different than a car area. Also, when you are completely frozen, you don't have a car to go warm up in, so you have to go all the way back to the apartment. Kind of lame. Car areas all the way!
We have a lot of African American and Liberian people in this area, which is WAY different than all of my other areas. Black people here are so kind, and are super open to learning about the gospel. It has been great learning more about them, and getting to know them all. It should be a good transfer :)
The Crystal ward is really great, and I think I am really going to like this area, minus the whole biking part. This will also be my first area that is in a temple zone, so that should be fun! I haven't been to the temple in about 9 months so I have some make-up work to do. Which brings me to my next point, on February 15th this next week I will have been out for 9 months. Holy cow! I am starting to get old, in a few months I will have been out for a year, 1/2 of my mission. Crazy times ahead!
Thank you all for you love and support. You are all so amazing, and have helped me so much, and your prayers and support are definitely helping me in this new bike area. Hopefully I don't slip and die, or break something. I love hearing from you all, and hope you are all doing well. Have a great Valentines Day!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Monday, February 3, 2014
Me? Transferred?
Monday, February 3, 2014
Hello Everyone,
This week has been one for the record books! On Tuesday we met with an investigator with two members from the ward. We began teaching her the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and she seemed to really enjoy it. We talked about Faith and Repentance, and she bore such powerful testimony of both principles of the gospel.
On Wednesday we had our Zone Conference in St. Cloud, Minnesota. We hitched a ride with the Buffalo, Minnesota Elders to save on our miles. As we merged on to the freeway, the car hit a patch of black ice, and we swerved out of control. We slid for about 30 seconds, flipping into oncoming traffic and that back the other direction, and then finally we slammed into a light post at the side of the freeway. It was truly a miracle that we did not slide into the middle of the freeway and get hit by all of the oncoming traffic. Because of that miracle, none of us died or were injured, just a little frazzled. The car on the other hand needed to be towed away and repaired. Needless to say we were NOT going to be on time for the Zone Conference. A member watched the accident happen, and drove back to help out. President and Sister Clements later passed by the accident and called to check up on everything on their way to the conference. The car was towed away and we were driven to our car, and then we hopped back on to the freeway and took off for our zone conference. We ended up being only about an hour late, and we didn't miss any of President and Sister Clements trainings! Sister Clements talked to us about scattering sunshine, and spreading the happiness and joy that we have with others. She is such a remarkable woman. Every time we are able to hear from her, I am so filled with love for others and an indescribable happiness from her kindness and example. Later we were able to hear from President Clements. We talked about goal setting and prayer. We studied talks on prayer before the zone conference, and he was able to answer a lot of our personal questions on the topic of prayer. It was great! I always love being able to visit with President and Sister Clements and to be able to attend our Zone Conferences once a month :) At the end of our trainings, we sung the hymn "Israel, Israel God Is Calling" and I was overcome with the spirit as we sung one of the last verses. It talks about Celestial Spirits coming to help us, and I felt impressed once again that Wayne was here helping me along. Needless to say I wasn't really able to sing the last verse, but I did keep my composure!
On Thursday our cars were grounded because of a snow storm. I took this opportunity to deep clean our apartment, and to organize a bunch of our things! Our Zone Leaders called us earlier on in the day and went through our Zone Comment Sheets, and we leaned that our Area Book needed a little work. This was the perfect time to update and improve everything, so it worked out perfectly :) Later we were able to visit with an investigator and a Brother from the ward. She had some questions about her friend who passed away, and we were able to help her with some thoughts and things that were bothering her. It was a really great teaching opportunity, and you could see a physical change within her when her questions were answered!
On Saturday we went to Big Lake, Minnesota. While we were out tracting, we came across a man who was smoking weed, and had a pornographic t-shirt of a naked woman on. He said that he was religious (Jehovah's Witness), but that we could come visit with him later. He had to go to work. Hopefully he changed his outfit before he left, but who knows! Also, he probably shouldn't be driving after smoking weed, but whatever. He is in a place where we can really help him to improve his life, so maybe it was inspired that we came across him! Later we visited with a part member family, and they offered to feed us dinner. We went out tracting while they picked up the supplies, and then I helped them prepare part of the dinner and we had surf & turf California burritos. I just sucked it up and ate the shrimp-- the guacamole and the steak covered it up anyways! They are such a great family, I hope one day soon they will realize that this is the true church.
Sunday was the Super Bowl. After church we went out tracting, which was CLEARLY a bad idea. One woman answered the door and said "It's Sunday and it's the Super Bowl, WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?!?". Another woman we found popped up on pain killers because of a foot surgery, and she used the F word after each word in her sentences. I have realized though that the F word is just another word in the vocabulary for many people. Children even use it! Because of the Super Bowl our dinner was moved up an hour so that we would be out of their home before 5:00 when the game began. We went and did some stop bys, and ended up visiting with a member family. They had the Super Bowl on, but weren't super interested in it. They are Denver Bronco's fans, and didn't appreciate the whooping they were receiving from the Seattle Sea Hawks. We came around the time of the half-time show though, so it was SUPER difficult not to watch Bruno Mars, but it all worked out. I can watch two half-time shows when I get home and all of the commercials :) This family is having a rather difficult time with the passing of their son, but this Sister is definitely the stronger of the two. Their granddaughter is now living with her Mom, and has no current baptismal plans. Hopefully things will be able to work out in the near future. They are a great family!
Today we received our transfer emails, and I found out that I am being transferred to Crystal, Minnesota. I am sad to be leaving such a great ward, and all those who I have become really close with here, but I am excited for what this new area has in store for me. I know that God has a plan, I just don't always understand it in the moment ;) Everything will all work out though!
Thank you all for your love and support! I am so grateful for everything you have all done for me while I have been out on my mission, and for all of your kind emails and letters. They mean more to me than you will ever know! I hope you all have an amazing week :)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Hello Everyone,
This week has been one for the record books! On Tuesday we met with an investigator with two members from the ward. We began teaching her the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and she seemed to really enjoy it. We talked about Faith and Repentance, and she bore such powerful testimony of both principles of the gospel.
On Wednesday we had our Zone Conference in St. Cloud, Minnesota. We hitched a ride with the Buffalo, Minnesota Elders to save on our miles. As we merged on to the freeway, the car hit a patch of black ice, and we swerved out of control. We slid for about 30 seconds, flipping into oncoming traffic and that back the other direction, and then finally we slammed into a light post at the side of the freeway. It was truly a miracle that we did not slide into the middle of the freeway and get hit by all of the oncoming traffic. Because of that miracle, none of us died or were injured, just a little frazzled. The car on the other hand needed to be towed away and repaired. Needless to say we were NOT going to be on time for the Zone Conference. A member watched the accident happen, and drove back to help out. President and Sister Clements later passed by the accident and called to check up on everything on their way to the conference. The car was towed away and we were driven to our car, and then we hopped back on to the freeway and took off for our zone conference. We ended up being only about an hour late, and we didn't miss any of President and Sister Clements trainings! Sister Clements talked to us about scattering sunshine, and spreading the happiness and joy that we have with others. She is such a remarkable woman. Every time we are able to hear from her, I am so filled with love for others and an indescribable happiness from her kindness and example. Later we were able to hear from President Clements. We talked about goal setting and prayer. We studied talks on prayer before the zone conference, and he was able to answer a lot of our personal questions on the topic of prayer. It was great! I always love being able to visit with President and Sister Clements and to be able to attend our Zone Conferences once a month :) At the end of our trainings, we sung the hymn "Israel, Israel God Is Calling" and I was overcome with the spirit as we sung one of the last verses. It talks about Celestial Spirits coming to help us, and I felt impressed once again that Wayne was here helping me along. Needless to say I wasn't really able to sing the last verse, but I did keep my composure!
On Thursday our cars were grounded because of a snow storm. I took this opportunity to deep clean our apartment, and to organize a bunch of our things! Our Zone Leaders called us earlier on in the day and went through our Zone Comment Sheets, and we leaned that our Area Book needed a little work. This was the perfect time to update and improve everything, so it worked out perfectly :) Later we were able to visit with an investigator and a Brother from the ward. She had some questions about her friend who passed away, and we were able to help her with some thoughts and things that were bothering her. It was a really great teaching opportunity, and you could see a physical change within her when her questions were answered!
On Saturday we went to Big Lake, Minnesota. While we were out tracting, we came across a man who was smoking weed, and had a pornographic t-shirt of a naked woman on. He said that he was religious (Jehovah's Witness), but that we could come visit with him later. He had to go to work. Hopefully he changed his outfit before he left, but who knows! Also, he probably shouldn't be driving after smoking weed, but whatever. He is in a place where we can really help him to improve his life, so maybe it was inspired that we came across him! Later we visited with a part member family, and they offered to feed us dinner. We went out tracting while they picked up the supplies, and then I helped them prepare part of the dinner and we had surf & turf California burritos. I just sucked it up and ate the shrimp-- the guacamole and the steak covered it up anyways! They are such a great family, I hope one day soon they will realize that this is the true church.
Sunday was the Super Bowl. After church we went out tracting, which was CLEARLY a bad idea. One woman answered the door and said "It's Sunday and it's the Super Bowl, WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?!?". Another woman we found popped up on pain killers because of a foot surgery, and she used the F word after each word in her sentences. I have realized though that the F word is just another word in the vocabulary for many people. Children even use it! Because of the Super Bowl our dinner was moved up an hour so that we would be out of their home before 5:00 when the game began. We went and did some stop bys, and ended up visiting with a member family. They had the Super Bowl on, but weren't super interested in it. They are Denver Bronco's fans, and didn't appreciate the whooping they were receiving from the Seattle Sea Hawks. We came around the time of the half-time show though, so it was SUPER difficult not to watch Bruno Mars, but it all worked out. I can watch two half-time shows when I get home and all of the commercials :) This family is having a rather difficult time with the passing of their son, but this Sister is definitely the stronger of the two. Their granddaughter is now living with her Mom, and has no current baptismal plans. Hopefully things will be able to work out in the near future. They are a great family!
Today we received our transfer emails, and I found out that I am being transferred to Crystal, Minnesota. I am sad to be leaving such a great ward, and all those who I have become really close with here, but I am excited for what this new area has in store for me. I know that God has a plan, I just don't always understand it in the moment ;) Everything will all work out though!
Thank you all for your love and support! I am so grateful for everything you have all done for me while I have been out on my mission, and for all of your kind emails and letters. They mean more to me than you will ever know! I hope you all have an amazing week :)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
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