Hello Everyone,
This week has been absolutely incredible! On Monday we got our transfer email, and my companion got transferred. Most of our P-Day consisted of him packing up and getting ready to go. In the evening we had dinner with a family, and then husband took us to the Viking's Training Facilities for a tour. It was super cool! It reminded me of when Brother Holmoe took us on a tour of the BYU football training facilities! We were allowed to take pictures, but I can't really send them home or put them on Facebook... but I will have to show you all some sweet pictures when I get home :) I got a shot of the outside to send home though haha!
On Tuesday we mostly went around saying goodbye to people. We had a lesson with a family where we shared the new video, "Because He Lives". Then we visited with an investigator and shared a Bible Video called "John The Beloved's Witness." In the evening we visited with a family and participated in their Holy Week Family Home Evening. They went through all of the things that Christ did this week concluding in his death and resurrection. It was a super fun lesson :) Then we shared with them the new "Because He Lives" video, and they loved it!
On Wednesday, April Fools Day, we had our transfer meeting. It it always fun to be able to get together as a big group of missionaries and see all of your friends all over the mission! I found my new companion and we headed back to our area. My new companion is from San Diego, California. He has been on his mission for about 7 1/2 months now, and has served in two areas. He is a good kid! I really like serving with him. He just killed his last companion, so apparently he is going on a killing spree haha ;) For those of you that are not familiar with this terminology, killing your companion means that you are their last companion before they go home. My companion unpacked his belongings and got settled in the apartment, and then we went to work! Miracles followed. We stopped by a few people and then went finding around the area. We call it 10x10ing. Basically it just means that you go knocking the street of the person you stopped by. As we did that, a sweet elderly woman answered the door and invited us in. Apparently they have visited with missionaries in the past, and love learning about the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have no intentions of joining our Church, but they love to learn. We talked to them a little bit about Easter and shared the video "Because He Lives." They are definitely talkers, but they loved discussing Easter and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They asked a lot of really great questions as well! We also invited them to General Conference this weekend, so we shall see what happens. Later we did a little more finding. We found three new investigators! We have return appointments with them all. It was an AMAZING day, let me tell ya! I am so glad that I have a companion who wants to work hard with me and get things done. In the evening we had a lesson with a family to finish off the day. Their home teacher had just visited with them and discussed the topic of apostasy with them. They had a few questions for us, and so we were able to teach them about the restoration. At the end of our lesson we invited our investigator to be baptized on April 18th, and he accepted! Good things are in the works :)
On Thursday we did our weekly service at the library. My companion cut out some things, and I was at the dye cut machine cutting out Easter eggs and red barns. It was awesome! As we were working, I was able to talk with and get to know one of the employees at the library. Later, she started asking a few questions about our Church. "Do you celebrate Easter? Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" etc... Classic questions! We were able to talk about Easter, Jesus Christ, Prophets, the works! I shared a "Because He Lives" mormon.org card with her, and she said that she would look up the video. She said that she has seen our Church's commercials on TV before, and that she absolutely loved them! Later I had an accountability call with the Sisters that went really well. One Sister stayed in the area, and got a new companion. The new companion had a bone splint in her knee and so she has to walk on crutches for the time being. They are waiting to find out if she needs surgery. We talked a little bit about creative finding ideas for cripples haha ;) It was a really good call though! Afterward we did our Weekly Planning and got things done. It was awesome! Later we stopped by two people that the Bishop has identified that we should reach out to. One is in Mexico with his wife, but we were able to talk with his non-member daughter at the door for a while and share a "Because He Lives" mormon.org card with her. The other answered the door, but they were in the middle of dinner, and he did not appear to be very interested. We have been trying to get in contact with him for a while now, so it was good to at least be able to see him and assess his situation. Now we can return and report :) To finish off the day, we had a lesson with a family. We shared the "Because He Lives" video with them and talked about Easter and General Conference. The Sister is not a big fan of "TV Church" but as we talked about it more with them, they opened up and agreed to give it a try! One of their missionaries from when they were in New York is visiting with them right now. Hopefully she will continue to be a good influence on them! Good things are happening here in the Ward!
On Friday, Good Friday (Passover Begins at Sundown), we went to the library and researched some new videos on mormon.org. Then we had accountability with the Zone Leaders, and then gossip hour with the Sister Training Leaders. All good things, all good things :) Later in the afternoon we went over to the the Senior Center, and played Yahtzee with the residents there. Not my day for Yahtzee haha, but it was really fun. We definitely work with quite a few characters! Afterward we went to go get our oil changed, which took FOREVER! Plus, the Church uses national accounts for most things, and the Goodyear that we went to was not really sure how to process a national account so that added some extra time as well. In the evening we visited with a sister and shared the video "Legacy" with her and talked a little bit about some Church history and helped to prepare her for General Conference.
On Holy Saturday, we basically just had General Conference all day haha! Here are a few of the highlights :) In the Saturday morning session I really enjoyed Sister Linda K. Burton's talk on marriage, which is kind of ironic. I have always had a goal that I am not even going to think about marriage and children and families until I am graduated, employed, experienced, etc... This topic was addressed many times during General Conference. Oddly enough, one of my questions going into General Conference was concerning what my goals should be when I return home from my mission. Apparently I need to add dating and marriage to my list of goals. Weird. I am nowhere near old enough to get married haha! I also liked Elder Dallin H. Oaks talk on the Parable of the Sower. In the afternoon I really enjoyed Elder WIlford W. Anderson's talk on the gospel dance where we not only need to learn the dance steps (gospel), but hear the music (the Spirit) as well. It reminded me of when I was on a ballroom team in high school. We would often rehearse without the music. It was rather difficult at times, and kind of awkward. I much preferred dancing to the music! I also really liked Elder David A. Bednar's talk on Godly fear. I have always somewhat questioned the topic of Godly fear. I didn't know why a loving Heavenly Father would want you to fear Him. His talk provided great insight for me! In the evening we attended the Priesthood Session of General Conference. I really enjoyed Elder M. Russell Ballard's talk. He gave a "one-on-one" Priesthood interview and asked a series of questions. He also talked about RM's. He reminded us that RM does not stand for Retired Mormon ;) He also told us to date and get married. Good grief! I also enjoyed Elder Larry M. Gibson's talk about materialism. I think my favorite talk though was by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf about Potemkin's Village. I think I have always been one to put on a show for other people. I have always been a perfectionist. He reminded us that while it is not completely a bad thing, we must not mask reality.
On Easter Sunday, we watched more General Conference haha ;) In the morning session I really enjoyed Elder Brent H. Nielsen's talk on the Prodigal Son. I feel in many different ways that I can relate to several different characters in that parable. I also liked Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk on the Atonement and the Plan of Salvation. He always gives great talks! And then I liked Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk on grace. It reminded me of Brad Wilcox's talk, "His Grace Is Sufficient." In the afternoon session I really liked Elder Kevin W. Pearson's talk on Lehi's dream. He had a lot of really great points in his talk. I also enjoyed Elder Russell M. Nelson's talk on keeping the Sabbath day holy. In the evening we had a lesson with a family. We discussed General Conference with them and some of their favorite talks, and shared a few mission stories with them. It was great!
All in all, it was a super great week :) Things are going really well. Thank you all for all of your love and support. I hope you had a great Easter weekend! Talk to you soon :)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Showing posts with label General Conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General Conference. Show all posts
Monday, April 6, 2015
Monday, October 6, 2014
General Conference
Hello Everyone,
It has been another crazy week here in Minnesota, but things are going great! On Monday we had our P-Day, and we went to Cabellas with the other Elders. Two of them have not been through a Minnesota winter yet, and so they were starting to get all of their winter supplies. The other elder and I both served in the area, so it was fun to go back there to go shopping at Cabellas. I didn't realize how relatively close it is in relation to our ward! We are only like 20-30 minutes away. Kind of fun! In the evening we went and visited with a less active member and invited him to watch General Conference. It was a pretty good meeting! Then Dancing With The Stars came on, so it was time for us to leave. I think it is funny that he is so into Dancing With The Stars, I love that show as well, but I would have never guessed that he would be a fan! Afterwards we visited with a member, and watched a movie with him called "Easter Dream". It is a story about a boy that lost his father, and he develops a greater testimony in the atonement. It is a really touching movie!
On Tuesday we had District Meeting. We talked a lot about working with Stake and Ward Leaders. After District Meeting, I went on exchange with an elder from Three Forks, Montana. He and I have been serving in the same District for a while now, probably about 6 months or so, but it wasn't until these last couple of months that we really have developed a great relationship! It was an awesome exchange though. We stayed in my area, and our greenies went to their area. We had a lesson with new member on the Book of Mormon and Prayer. He mentioned that he has had a hard time getting back into the swing of things since his trip to England. We talked to him about the importance of reading and praying, and that that is how he is going to get the answers to his questions. I think we made a lot of progress in that lesson! Afterwards we went over to go see an investigator. At first when we saw him he was kind of angry, and told us to go away. We went and knocked on probably 1 or 2 doors, and then he gave us a call. He apologized for being rude, and asked us if we could come back. We went on a walk with him and he vented to us. He has been having a really tough week! He is living in his daughters home with her husband and children. Her husband is not a big fan of him living there, and so he is making life rather difficult for him. He wants to move out, but he needs to have a stable job first. We talked to him about prayer and Church attendance and that if he will ask God, He will answer his prayers. We also talked to him about the upcoming General Conference, and he said that he would really like to attend that. It was cool to see the change that took place in him as we walked and talked with him! In the evening we went and visited with a member. He is still in a rehabilitation center. My heart really goes out to those people. He is in a hospital bed, and is not allowed to put weight on his legs yet. He reads and watches TV all day, and rarely does anyone come and visit him. He does, however, receive phone calls from his family members, so that is good! We talked to him about General Conference, and he said that he would like us to bring him some talks to read after General Conference. To finish off the evening we had a lesson with an investigator. We taught him the Law of Chastity, and he committed to live it! It was a jam packed day :)
On Wednesday we exchanged back, and my companion and I filled up the baptismal font for a baptism in a different ward. Afterwards we went and did some mormon.org time at the library. For the rest of the day we went out finding and preparing for General Conference. Unfortunately, nothing much happened.
On Thursday our District went to the 10:00 session at the St. Paul Minnesota Temple! It was awesome. I have not been to the temple in a few months, so it was really great to be able to go again! Unfortunately they did not play the newest video that I have not seen. Maybe next time! We went to the temple with a member. He is awesome! After going to the temple he took us to a really cool pizza place called Punch Pizza. I think it is original to Minnesota, but it was SUPER good :) I will have to open up a franchise in Utah when I get home, and then I will have to open up a Cafe Rio here in Minnesota! Pretty sure they both will be a huge hit :) In the evening we went joint teaching, but we kind of had a rough evening. We stopped by a bunch of mormon.org referrals that we received, but we found out that we had a lot of fake addresses. Not good! At least we made some headway on our list though ;) I have no clue why someone would waste their time creating a fake mormon.org referral though. Silly people!
On Friday we had Weekly Planning, which is always great! After Weekly Planning we went out and did some finding. While we were out, a member of the ward gave us a call and invited us to a Memorial Service that evening. I guess a member’s Mom passed away two weeks ago, and they were having a Memorial Service here in Minnesota. It was kind of a last minute ordeal, but it came together! It has been a while since I have been to a funeral, and I forgot about the overwhelming smell of flowers. Instantly I was reminded about past funerals and other things, not fun. We did have a really good experience though! Last minute they asked me to say the closing prayer, so that was interesting. We met a woman afterwards eho was fascinated by our Church. We were able to teach her a little bit about the restoration and the Plan of Salvation, but she did not want to take and pamphlets or anything from us. Gotta love when that happens! It was a good teaching opportunity though.
On Saturday we began the big General Conference weekend. I had a lot of talks on Saturday that I really enjoyed. I really liked D. Todd Christofferson's talk. It reminded me of a talk of his that I read a while ago called "Justification and Sanctification." I also really enjoyed Jorg Klebingat's talk on spiritual self-confidence. It was cool to put everything in perspective and to see what I can improve! I liked Quentin L. Cook's talk, it actually really reminded me of President Clements. He talked a lot about the importance of all of our decisions. I need to be a little bit better at prioritizing my decisions! And then in Priesthood Session I really liked President Uchtdorf's talk about introspection and asking ourselves the question, "Lord, Is It I?".
Sunday General Conference was really good as well. There were three talks in particular that stood out to me. The first was Russell M. Nelson's talk on sustaining Church Officers. I have never really thought about what a big deal it is to sustain someone! I also really enjoyed Carlos A. Godoy's talk on making decisions based on our Patriarchal Blessings! It was funny to hear him speaking in Portuguese. When he came to our mission I thought his English was really good! At least his translator was pretty good during General Conference. The guy who spoke in Cantonese had an AWFUL translator. His voice was super boring and just about put me to sleep. Elder Godoy's translator at least had some inflection! And then the last talk that I really liked was David A. Bednar's talk. It really put into perspective why missionary work is so important to our Church. He so eloquently broke everything down, and I think it will be a great resource to share with non-members and members alike! It was a great weekend of General Conference though :) In the evening we went out joint teaching. We were able to have a really good lesson with an investigator on the Law of Tithing, the Law of the Fast, and Donating Fast Offerings. He was really interested in all of those different elements, and committed to live them after his baptism. We switched up his baptismal date to October 25th, because he he just needs a little bit more time to soak everything in and to get a little bit more fellow-shipping from the ward members. It was a super good day though!
Thank you all for all of your love and support :) You are the best! Today we have a Zone P-Day at Andrews Park, so that should be super fun :) That is also why I am super rushed with emailing today, but it will all work out! Don't know why I added that on my email. BLAH!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
It has been another crazy week here in Minnesota, but things are going great! On Monday we had our P-Day, and we went to Cabellas with the other Elders. Two of them have not been through a Minnesota winter yet, and so they were starting to get all of their winter supplies. The other elder and I both served in the area, so it was fun to go back there to go shopping at Cabellas. I didn't realize how relatively close it is in relation to our ward! We are only like 20-30 minutes away. Kind of fun! In the evening we went and visited with a less active member and invited him to watch General Conference. It was a pretty good meeting! Then Dancing With The Stars came on, so it was time for us to leave. I think it is funny that he is so into Dancing With The Stars, I love that show as well, but I would have never guessed that he would be a fan! Afterwards we visited with a member, and watched a movie with him called "Easter Dream". It is a story about a boy that lost his father, and he develops a greater testimony in the atonement. It is a really touching movie!
On Tuesday we had District Meeting. We talked a lot about working with Stake and Ward Leaders. After District Meeting, I went on exchange with an elder from Three Forks, Montana. He and I have been serving in the same District for a while now, probably about 6 months or so, but it wasn't until these last couple of months that we really have developed a great relationship! It was an awesome exchange though. We stayed in my area, and our greenies went to their area. We had a lesson with new member on the Book of Mormon and Prayer. He mentioned that he has had a hard time getting back into the swing of things since his trip to England. We talked to him about the importance of reading and praying, and that that is how he is going to get the answers to his questions. I think we made a lot of progress in that lesson! Afterwards we went over to go see an investigator. At first when we saw him he was kind of angry, and told us to go away. We went and knocked on probably 1 or 2 doors, and then he gave us a call. He apologized for being rude, and asked us if we could come back. We went on a walk with him and he vented to us. He has been having a really tough week! He is living in his daughters home with her husband and children. Her husband is not a big fan of him living there, and so he is making life rather difficult for him. He wants to move out, but he needs to have a stable job first. We talked to him about prayer and Church attendance and that if he will ask God, He will answer his prayers. We also talked to him about the upcoming General Conference, and he said that he would really like to attend that. It was cool to see the change that took place in him as we walked and talked with him! In the evening we went and visited with a member. He is still in a rehabilitation center. My heart really goes out to those people. He is in a hospital bed, and is not allowed to put weight on his legs yet. He reads and watches TV all day, and rarely does anyone come and visit him. He does, however, receive phone calls from his family members, so that is good! We talked to him about General Conference, and he said that he would like us to bring him some talks to read after General Conference. To finish off the evening we had a lesson with an investigator. We taught him the Law of Chastity, and he committed to live it! It was a jam packed day :)
On Wednesday we exchanged back, and my companion and I filled up the baptismal font for a baptism in a different ward. Afterwards we went and did some mormon.org time at the library. For the rest of the day we went out finding and preparing for General Conference. Unfortunately, nothing much happened.
On Thursday our District went to the 10:00 session at the St. Paul Minnesota Temple! It was awesome. I have not been to the temple in a few months, so it was really great to be able to go again! Unfortunately they did not play the newest video that I have not seen. Maybe next time! We went to the temple with a member. He is awesome! After going to the temple he took us to a really cool pizza place called Punch Pizza. I think it is original to Minnesota, but it was SUPER good :) I will have to open up a franchise in Utah when I get home, and then I will have to open up a Cafe Rio here in Minnesota! Pretty sure they both will be a huge hit :) In the evening we went joint teaching, but we kind of had a rough evening. We stopped by a bunch of mormon.org referrals that we received, but we found out that we had a lot of fake addresses. Not good! At least we made some headway on our list though ;) I have no clue why someone would waste their time creating a fake mormon.org referral though. Silly people!
On Friday we had Weekly Planning, which is always great! After Weekly Planning we went out and did some finding. While we were out, a member of the ward gave us a call and invited us to a Memorial Service that evening. I guess a member’s Mom passed away two weeks ago, and they were having a Memorial Service here in Minnesota. It was kind of a last minute ordeal, but it came together! It has been a while since I have been to a funeral, and I forgot about the overwhelming smell of flowers. Instantly I was reminded about past funerals and other things, not fun. We did have a really good experience though! Last minute they asked me to say the closing prayer, so that was interesting. We met a woman afterwards eho was fascinated by our Church. We were able to teach her a little bit about the restoration and the Plan of Salvation, but she did not want to take and pamphlets or anything from us. Gotta love when that happens! It was a good teaching opportunity though.
On Saturday we began the big General Conference weekend. I had a lot of talks on Saturday that I really enjoyed. I really liked D. Todd Christofferson's talk. It reminded me of a talk of his that I read a while ago called "Justification and Sanctification." I also really enjoyed Jorg Klebingat's talk on spiritual self-confidence. It was cool to put everything in perspective and to see what I can improve! I liked Quentin L. Cook's talk, it actually really reminded me of President Clements. He talked a lot about the importance of all of our decisions. I need to be a little bit better at prioritizing my decisions! And then in Priesthood Session I really liked President Uchtdorf's talk about introspection and asking ourselves the question, "Lord, Is It I?".
Sunday General Conference was really good as well. There were three talks in particular that stood out to me. The first was Russell M. Nelson's talk on sustaining Church Officers. I have never really thought about what a big deal it is to sustain someone! I also really enjoyed Carlos A. Godoy's talk on making decisions based on our Patriarchal Blessings! It was funny to hear him speaking in Portuguese. When he came to our mission I thought his English was really good! At least his translator was pretty good during General Conference. The guy who spoke in Cantonese had an AWFUL translator. His voice was super boring and just about put me to sleep. Elder Godoy's translator at least had some inflection! And then the last talk that I really liked was David A. Bednar's talk. It really put into perspective why missionary work is so important to our Church. He so eloquently broke everything down, and I think it will be a great resource to share with non-members and members alike! It was a great weekend of General Conference though :) In the evening we went out joint teaching. We were able to have a really good lesson with an investigator on the Law of Tithing, the Law of the Fast, and Donating Fast Offerings. He was really interested in all of those different elements, and committed to live them after his baptism. We switched up his baptismal date to October 25th, because he he just needs a little bit more time to soak everything in and to get a little bit more fellow-shipping from the ward members. It was a super good day though!
Thank you all for all of your love and support :) You are the best! Today we have a Zone P-Day at Andrews Park, so that should be super fun :) That is also why I am super rushed with emailing today, but it will all work out! Don't know why I added that on my email. BLAH!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Monday, October 7, 2013
A Week Of Good Bye's, Hello's & Feasting On The Words Of Christ
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
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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