Many good people

Hello Everyone,

Happy Discovery Day! This week has been crazy, but it is behind us now. On Monday after P-Day we had a ton of rain and thunder storms, so not a whole lot got done. There was some pretty severe flooding all over the mission.

On Tuesday we had our District Meeting, and in the evening we went joint teaching with the Bishop. We contacted a mormon.org referral we received, and while we were talking to him, a Native-American woman came out and waited for us to finish talking with him. When we had set up a return appointment, we went over and talked to this woman. She told us that for a few weeks now she has been praying that God would lead members of the Church to her. She is an inactive member with no means of communication (i.e. cell phone, computer, etc...). She knew that the chance of us running into her was very small, but that God would provide a way. Low and behold, we just so happened to be lead right next door to her home! Bishop talked with her for a while, and got her membership information so that we can request her records. She wants to come to Church, and meet with the Bishop. Afterwards we had a great lesson with an investigator family on goal setting and progression. They set a goal to come to Church each week, starting with this week. It was a pretty great day!

On Wednesday we went over to do some service for a family in the ward. While we were there, the Sister offered to cut my hair because it was getting kind of long. I felt bad turning down her offer, so I went through with it. WHY DO I MAKE THIS MISTAKE EVERY TIME! It was quite the experience. It was pretty interesting looking when she finished, but I knew that I would be able to salvage my hair for the most part. My aunt is amazing, and after having her cut my hair for a few years I have picked up a few things from watching her (not that I would ever elect to cut my own hair). When we returned home, I went to the bathroom with my comb and a pair of scissors and I fixed up my hair. It actually looks pretty good, but it is a lot shorter than I wanted it to be. Luckily my hair grows quickly :) In the evening we went joint teaching, and had a lesson with an investigator. We talked about the Plan of Salvation, and he shared some of his beliefs with us and unique views on religion. There is a lot of work to do there, but he is starting to get the point of all of our doctrine!

Thursday was crazy! We went to PRISM for the first time in a long time, which was pretty good. We went back to our apartment afterwards, and I realized that my jacket which had our keys to everything in the pocket was at PRISM. A ward member picked us up for dinner and joint teaching, and I decided to take a shot in the dark and try stopping by PRISM. They were closed, so the chances of anyone being there were very limited. We got there and all of the lights were turned off in the building, except for one. I knocked on the door, and sure enough someone came to the door! It was a miracle. I got my jacket and our keys back :) Later, we went out joint teaching and had a great lesson with an investigator family. We planned on watching the Restoration DVD with them, but their DVD player was broken, so we had the kids act it out instead! It was way fun, and the kids loved acting out the entire lesson. Afterwards we stopped by a less active member, and our joint teacher really connected with them. One is a carpenter, and the other renovates and builds additions on homes. It was really cool! The member also asked us to come over on Saturday to help out with a few things. It was a great day!

On Friday we had Weekly Planning, and a new maintenance manager came and worked on our apartment. He asked about what we do as missionaries, and so we taught him the restoration! Kind of crazy how many random teaching opportunities we have had lately. In the evening we went over and met with an investigator couple. They mentioned to us that last Sunday they attended their Catholic Church, and although they don't really like their Church, they feel like that is where they need to be. We were kind of baffled, but testified that if they read the Book of Mormon and pray about it that God would tell them that this is His true Church. They agreed, and said that we could still come visit with them occasionally, but that they feel like they already know which Church to go to. Maybe in time they will reconsider.

On Saturday I had a dermatologist appointment in St. Louis Park where I found out that the steroids that the Dr. had prescribed me had caused the increased inflammation on my skin. They prescribed me a couple things to clear up the damage that had been done, and an ointment that will fix the problem. Apparently the weird spots that I have are trapped dead skin cells, and I just needed a particular ointment to clear them up. Nothing big :) Afterwards we went over to the less active members for some service. When we arrived, we found out that their car radiator went out the night before, their sub pump broke and their basement flooded, and he had a crazy day scheduled, so they were in more need of help now than they had originally anticipated. We took vacuums and vacuumed up the water out of their sub pump and dumped it in their washing room sink, and helped transfer their leaves to suitable bags. They had put their leaves in trash bags, but in Minnesota they have particular bags and trash cans for yard waste and leaves and they will not pick it up if you try to dispose of it like trash. Kind of weird. In the evening we went joint teaching. We received a mormon.org referral for a woman, and we had set up an appointment for the evening. We taught her the restoration, and she committed to baptism, to read the Book of Mormon, and to come to Church! It was an amazing lesson. Afterwards we visited with an investigator family briefly and confirmed that they were coming to Church on Sunday, and then we had a lesson with another investigator to finish off the evening. It was a great day :)

Sunday came and we had Ward Council at 7:00 AM. That means I had to wake up at 5:30 AM instead of 6:30 AM. Yuck! After Ward Council we went all over the place picking people up for Church. We went to pick up an investigator with a man who is in the Bishopric now from the old ward. We were talking and I found out that one of our investigators is his sister! Small world! We arrived at our investigator’s house, and she had slept in and said that she wasn't going to be able to make it. We made a bunch of calls, and everyone who had been planning on coming to Church was bailing. The only people left were one family, but they didn't end up coming either. Kind of frustrating! We arrived at Church, and someone in the High Council introduced us to a man who had just moved in to the area, and saw our Church so he decided to come. He looked up the times online, and showed up. Crazy! I think the biggest thing that I continue to learn on my mission is that the Lord can do His own work. We did everything we could to get people to Church, and none of the people we had been working with came. This man saw our Church and decided to come on his own, without anything we did to help him. That is so cool to me! Frustrating that none of our investigators came, but still cool :) We taught him the restoration, and set up a return appointment for next week. In the evening we went joint teaching. We met with a couple who just moved into the ward. She is a member, and her husband is interested in taking the discussions. They weren't able to meet with us right then, but we set up an appointment for Monday evening. Afterwards my companion began to get really sick, so we had to turn in early.

Overall everything worked out for the best :) Another great week in Minnesota! Thank you all so much for all of your love and support. You are the best!

Best Wishes,

Elder Kyle William Andrews