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
Monday, February 17, 2014
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
Monday, January 27, 2014
The Frozen Chosen
Monday, January 27, 2014
Hello Everyone,
This week has been quite eventful! On Monday after all of our P-Day activities, we went to visit with a less-active family in Elk River. The sister is becoming much more active, and her granddaughter is progressing amazingly well towards baptism. The granddaughter was at her Mom's house on Monday though, and her dad was downstairs. On Tuesday morning we got a call informing us that he had passed away Monday evening, and that it was of a very sensitive nature, he had taken his own life. They also asked us not to visit with them until after the memorial service on Monday (today). This will be devastating for their family, my heart really goes out to them at this time.
On Tuesday I went on exchange with an Elder from Logan, Utah. We had some really great experiences like teaching an investigator the restoration and committing her to a baptismal date of February 28th, and running into a former investigator and talking to him about the Book of Mormon! Wednesday morning we exchanged back with our companions, on a SUPER cold and windy day. On the way over to the church, the wind pushed our car into a ditch! Luckily we didn't go very far into the snow, but it was FREAKING cold outside and the wind was blowing at 20 MPH. It was not a fun experience! Luckily a truck came and saw us struggling to get our car out of the ditch, so he came and pulled our car out with a tow strap. I was so grateful that someone came to help us, but that is part of the Minnesota Nice thing they have going on here! I'm sure he got a few chuckles out of it. People here get stuck in ditches all the time though. They either slide on ice, the wind blows them, or a combination of the two. Not cool!
On Wednesday, we went tracting in the cold windy weather. I was wearing a whole bunch of layers, and had a hat and a face mask on, so I looked like a creeper. Not exactly the first impression you usually go for, but it was dang cold! We were able to teach a few lessons, but weren't able to see a whole lot of success. Believe it or not, people here don't actually enjoy being in the cold ;)
On Friday we were invited over to a member family’s for dinner, one of my favorite families here! When we got into their house, I instantly recognized this brothers Frye boots. We are so alike! He was telling us about their Mall of America adventure a few days previous. I can't wait to be able to go to the Mall of America sometime after my mission! They made crepes, which was a first for my companion. He is very interesting with food. He does NOT eat vegetables or dessert. I guess in a way it kind of equals out in the end.
On Saturday we stopped in to visit with an investigator after moving a family into their home. She talked with us about a recent incident with her daughter, and that she was back in the hospital for depression. We talked about some possible activities that we might be able to do with them when she gets home, and the mom seemed to really like that! Hopefully we will be able to really help this family.
On Sunday an investigator came to church, as did the Sister who’s son passed away. It was great to have them at church! This sister is going through a really tough time with the death of her son, and asked if we could come over later that evening. When we were at their home she seemed to be doing a lot better, although a death in the family is never easy. We reassured her that we would be at the memorial service on Monday, and she seemed to like that. Hopefully all will be well with their family.
This week has been interesting with our current miles situation. The church gives us a gas card, but they limit the amount of miles we can use each month. Because our Zone Conference was moved to the 29th of January, we need at least 80 miles to get to St. Cloud and back with 3 days left in the month. Yikes! We have been walking a TON, and getting rides with members because we are pretty much out of miles. Not good! Walking is pretty awful in the winter. Next month is right around the corner though, so that is good :)
I am so grateful for all of your love and support. Your letters and emails are always so filled with love, and I really enjoy hearing from you all :) I hope you all have an amazing week, and that you are all staying warm! Somehow God thought it would be funny to send me to Minnesota during one of the coldest winters in 20 years. Frozen chosen is an understatement. Talk to you soon :)
Love,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Hello Everyone,
This week has been quite eventful! On Monday after all of our P-Day activities, we went to visit with a less-active family in Elk River. The sister is becoming much more active, and her granddaughter is progressing amazingly well towards baptism. The granddaughter was at her Mom's house on Monday though, and her dad was downstairs. On Tuesday morning we got a call informing us that he had passed away Monday evening, and that it was of a very sensitive nature, he had taken his own life. They also asked us not to visit with them until after the memorial service on Monday (today). This will be devastating for their family, my heart really goes out to them at this time.
On Tuesday I went on exchange with an Elder from Logan, Utah. We had some really great experiences like teaching an investigator the restoration and committing her to a baptismal date of February 28th, and running into a former investigator and talking to him about the Book of Mormon! Wednesday morning we exchanged back with our companions, on a SUPER cold and windy day. On the way over to the church, the wind pushed our car into a ditch! Luckily we didn't go very far into the snow, but it was FREAKING cold outside and the wind was blowing at 20 MPH. It was not a fun experience! Luckily a truck came and saw us struggling to get our car out of the ditch, so he came and pulled our car out with a tow strap. I was so grateful that someone came to help us, but that is part of the Minnesota Nice thing they have going on here! I'm sure he got a few chuckles out of it. People here get stuck in ditches all the time though. They either slide on ice, the wind blows them, or a combination of the two. Not cool!
On Wednesday, we went tracting in the cold windy weather. I was wearing a whole bunch of layers, and had a hat and a face mask on, so I looked like a creeper. Not exactly the first impression you usually go for, but it was dang cold! We were able to teach a few lessons, but weren't able to see a whole lot of success. Believe it or not, people here don't actually enjoy being in the cold ;)
On Friday we were invited over to a member family’s for dinner, one of my favorite families here! When we got into their house, I instantly recognized this brothers Frye boots. We are so alike! He was telling us about their Mall of America adventure a few days previous. I can't wait to be able to go to the Mall of America sometime after my mission! They made crepes, which was a first for my companion. He is very interesting with food. He does NOT eat vegetables or dessert. I guess in a way it kind of equals out in the end.
On Saturday we stopped in to visit with an investigator after moving a family into their home. She talked with us about a recent incident with her daughter, and that she was back in the hospital for depression. We talked about some possible activities that we might be able to do with them when she gets home, and the mom seemed to really like that! Hopefully we will be able to really help this family.
On Sunday an investigator came to church, as did the Sister who’s son passed away. It was great to have them at church! This sister is going through a really tough time with the death of her son, and asked if we could come over later that evening. When we were at their home she seemed to be doing a lot better, although a death in the family is never easy. We reassured her that we would be at the memorial service on Monday, and she seemed to like that. Hopefully all will be well with their family.
This week has been interesting with our current miles situation. The church gives us a gas card, but they limit the amount of miles we can use each month. Because our Zone Conference was moved to the 29th of January, we need at least 80 miles to get to St. Cloud and back with 3 days left in the month. Yikes! We have been walking a TON, and getting rides with members because we are pretty much out of miles. Not good! Walking is pretty awful in the winter. Next month is right around the corner though, so that is good :)
I am so grateful for all of your love and support. Your letters and emails are always so filled with love, and I really enjoy hearing from you all :) I hope you all have an amazing week, and that you are all staying warm! Somehow God thought it would be funny to send me to Minnesota during one of the coldest winters in 20 years. Frozen chosen is an understatement. Talk to you soon :)
Love,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Monday, January 20, 2014
Shoveling Ice and Frozen Pipes
Monday, January 20, 2014
Hello Everyone,
This week we had some really great experiences! On Monday, we had a district P-Day in Princeton, Minnesota. We played a card game called Munchkins, and Stategem or something like that. It was fun :) We also realized that we were going to be seeing everyone together the next day for our Zone Conference, so it was going to be a really fun week!
On Tuesday it snowed a lot, and our Zone Conference was cancelled. Our whole day had been dedicated to our Zone Conference, so we basically had no plans. We went around shoveling snow for people that don't pay for their driveways to be plowed (which are very few), and then I felt inspired to go and shovel snow for one of our investigators, who lives not too far from us. We began to chip away at the several layers of ice that covered her driveway, and then she came home in the middle of our shoveling. She was SO incredibly grateful for our service to her, and was truly amazed that we took time out of our day to come and shovel the snow on her driveway. It was great, and I realized that there was a reason that our Zone Conference did not happen that day, we needed to shovel her driveway!
On Wednesday we went up to Big Lake, Minnesota and taught our investigator as well as a part member family. We talked to our investigator about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we discussed the Law of Tithing with the part member family. We had the Ward Clerk as our joint teacher - both lessons went really well! It is always so great to be able to teach with a member from the congregation, not only because it saves our miles, but because they invite a special spirit to the lessons, and the members are more permanent, missionaries can be transferred every 6-weeks.
On Thursday we met with the fiancée of a less-active member in the ward. She has met with missionaries in the past, but hasn't really felt that it was the right decision for her. We got to know her a little better, and she is ever so slightly more open to meeting with us now! Hopefully good things are in the works for the future :)
We had a great lesson with a part member family later in the week with members from the ward joint teaching with us. We talked about the Book of Mormon, and watched a really great Mormon Ad that hit home with our investigator. She really enjoys reading books that not everyone has in the Bible, so she thought it might be fun to read the Book of Mormon. Apparently in the Catholic Bible they have a few extra books that not everyone has, so that is where her interest in other books began.
On Friday evening we met with an investigator and talked to him about the Restoration of the gospel. He was really interested in what we had to share, and said that he is open to discussing philosophies with us in the future. While we know that the Restoration isn't simply a philosophy, it is a good step in the right direction!
On Saturday morning I was WAY sick. All throughout the night I was unable to sleep, and was awake for every hour except for 3:00 AM, so I must have slept a little bit! I had a really bad cold, and my voice was trashed. The members we live with gave me some medications that helped a ton, and I am feeling a lot better now! My voice is slowly improving, and my cold is just about gone. (Maybe delete sections from this part) Later in the day we met with the mother of an investigator. She wanted to discuss plans for her daughters baptism with us. She was really kind, but mentioned that she didn't think February 1st was going to work out. All will be well in the end! The most important thing is that this girl will be baptized.
Saturday evening we taught an investigator with a member from the ward. We discussed the Book of Mormon with her, and were able to make some serious headway! Unfortunately her husband was at work, so we will have to catch him up later, but it was great to see how accepting she was of the Book of Mormon. She has a hard time reading it, so we were able to read with her for a little bit in the lesson. The English can be difficult to understand, especially if you didn't grow up reading it! SO many people out here read the New International Translation of the Bible, so it is simplified and easier to read.
On Sunday Church was 1 hour. The pipes in the building froze, so none of the plumbing worked. We attended Sacrament meeting, and then went home. The church service was really good while it lasted though, and we even had a part-member family that attended! All in all, it was a great week :)
Today we went out to lunch with two sisters from the ward. We went to a restaurant called Space Aliens, so of course we had to take a picture with the Alien. My companion wasn't super thrilled, but I couldn't pass up the picture opportunity :)
Thank you all for your love and support! Your prayers have done some pretty amazing things for me, and I have been able to receive SO much strength from you all. I hope you have an amazing week :) Talk to you soon!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Hello Everyone,
This week we had some really great experiences! On Monday, we had a district P-Day in Princeton, Minnesota. We played a card game called Munchkins, and Stategem or something like that. It was fun :) We also realized that we were going to be seeing everyone together the next day for our Zone Conference, so it was going to be a really fun week!
On Tuesday it snowed a lot, and our Zone Conference was cancelled. Our whole day had been dedicated to our Zone Conference, so we basically had no plans. We went around shoveling snow for people that don't pay for their driveways to be plowed (which are very few), and then I felt inspired to go and shovel snow for one of our investigators, who lives not too far from us. We began to chip away at the several layers of ice that covered her driveway, and then she came home in the middle of our shoveling. She was SO incredibly grateful for our service to her, and was truly amazed that we took time out of our day to come and shovel the snow on her driveway. It was great, and I realized that there was a reason that our Zone Conference did not happen that day, we needed to shovel her driveway!
On Wednesday we went up to Big Lake, Minnesota and taught our investigator as well as a part member family. We talked to our investigator about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we discussed the Law of Tithing with the part member family. We had the Ward Clerk as our joint teacher - both lessons went really well! It is always so great to be able to teach with a member from the congregation, not only because it saves our miles, but because they invite a special spirit to the lessons, and the members are more permanent, missionaries can be transferred every 6-weeks.
On Thursday we met with the fiancée of a less-active member in the ward. She has met with missionaries in the past, but hasn't really felt that it was the right decision for her. We got to know her a little better, and she is ever so slightly more open to meeting with us now! Hopefully good things are in the works for the future :)
We had a great lesson with a part member family later in the week with members from the ward joint teaching with us. We talked about the Book of Mormon, and watched a really great Mormon Ad that hit home with our investigator. She really enjoys reading books that not everyone has in the Bible, so she thought it might be fun to read the Book of Mormon. Apparently in the Catholic Bible they have a few extra books that not everyone has, so that is where her interest in other books began.
On Friday evening we met with an investigator and talked to him about the Restoration of the gospel. He was really interested in what we had to share, and said that he is open to discussing philosophies with us in the future. While we know that the Restoration isn't simply a philosophy, it is a good step in the right direction!
On Saturday morning I was WAY sick. All throughout the night I was unable to sleep, and was awake for every hour except for 3:00 AM, so I must have slept a little bit! I had a really bad cold, and my voice was trashed. The members we live with gave me some medications that helped a ton, and I am feeling a lot better now! My voice is slowly improving, and my cold is just about gone. (Maybe delete sections from this part) Later in the day we met with the mother of an investigator. She wanted to discuss plans for her daughters baptism with us. She was really kind, but mentioned that she didn't think February 1st was going to work out. All will be well in the end! The most important thing is that this girl will be baptized.
Saturday evening we taught an investigator with a member from the ward. We discussed the Book of Mormon with her, and were able to make some serious headway! Unfortunately her husband was at work, so we will have to catch him up later, but it was great to see how accepting she was of the Book of Mormon. She has a hard time reading it, so we were able to read with her for a little bit in the lesson. The English can be difficult to understand, especially if you didn't grow up reading it! SO many people out here read the New International Translation of the Bible, so it is simplified and easier to read.
On Sunday Church was 1 hour. The pipes in the building froze, so none of the plumbing worked. We attended Sacrament meeting, and then went home. The church service was really good while it lasted though, and we even had a part-member family that attended! All in all, it was a great week :)
Today we went out to lunch with two sisters from the ward. We went to a restaurant called Space Aliens, so of course we had to take a picture with the Alien. My companion wasn't super thrilled, but I couldn't pass up the picture opportunity :)
Thank you all for your love and support! Your prayers have done some pretty amazing things for me, and I have been able to receive SO much strength from you all. I hope you have an amazing week :) Talk to you soon!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Monday, January 13, 2014
Preparation Before Mission
Monday, January 13, 2014
Hello Everyone,
This has been an eventful week to say the least ;) We were prohibited to go outside on Sunday and Monday due to extreme temperatures, so we had to be pretty creative on those two "lock down" days. On Sunday we were able to have a mission devotional on a conference call. President and Sister Clements gave us an unexpected training, and were able to talk to us briefly. Sister Clements also told us all to start taking "sunshine pills" (Vitamin D), because the sun does not come out very often around this time in Minnesota, and we need to be happy missionaries ;) I sometimes refer to them as my happy pills behind closed doors, but probably shouldn't share that with too many people :p
Being locked inside for two days was rough. I got cabin fever for sure! Luckily we live with members here, so there was plenty to do. While my companion slept, I studied, watched church videos, deep cleaned our bedroom and bathroom, and took our dog Richard outside for potty breaks. I got a lot done, so it ended up being really nice having two "mental health" days! Hopefully we won't have too many more of those days though, because it was SUPER cold outside. Apparently in some areas it got below -60 degrees. Not cool!
On Wednesday we met with a married couple. We taught them about the restoration of the gospel and they were really excited and accepting of the teachings! During the lesson the wife really enjoyed learning about our church, and is eager to attend sacrament meeting sometime in the near future. The husband asked some really deep questions during the lesson, and asked about our churches stance on gay marriage. Obviously this is a controversial topic, but we were able to talk a bit about the family proclamation, and the fact that our church openly welcomes all people to attend, but that it is a sin to practice homosexual activity. We learned a lot about this in the MTC, and we directed him to the Mormons and Gays website that the church has created. (Mom, remember when we had our little battle on this?!?!?) Hopefully this will not be the end of his investigating, but we will have to see.
On Thursday we were able to attend the funeral of the young man who had a muscular disorder. He will truly be missed in this ward, but his example to all of the youth and members will last a lifetime. His grandma (and caretaker) was pretty crushed by it all, but she knows that he is in a much better place now. He was only 18 years old when he passed away, but his grandma said that he is able to serve his mission now! His dad and his current wife have opened up a little since his passing, and we are starting to meet with them. His grandma said that his missionary work has already begun :) Good things are in the works!
On Sunday we were able to contact someone whose records were just transferred into the ward. When we arrived at his residence, we were greeted by an older man who informed us that he was not home, but he invited us in to visit with him. We found out that it was a group home for adults with special needs. This man has MS and Autism, but was with his family for the weekend. I was struck with the spirit as we visited with the caretaker, realizing that when I volunteered for special education seminary my junior year in high school, it was somehow guided by the spirit. I needed that experience to be able to relate to this caretaker. After teaching him about the restoration, I talked to him a little bit about the seminary program and my experience helping with special needs students. Hopefully we will be able to meet with him, and his wife who was out grocery shopping, and the member of course the next time we visit!
During church we were able to see a less-active member, and her granddaughter. Her granddaughter is 8 years old and has not been baptized. We have been meeting with the grandmother for a while, and during Church they arranged for her baptism to be on February 1st! The granddaughter is SO excited :) Her parents are divorced, and both are inactive. Her dad is fully supportive of her baptism, but her mother is not very eager for it to happen. The mother asked us to call her, and we will be meeting with her next Saturday to discuss what is going to happen. Should be interesting! Hopefully she will still be able to be baptized!
Last night Richard (the dog) was in bed, but the cats, Bentley and Connor, were downstairs with us. I am not particularly fond of cats, so I decided to chase after them. I was ready for bed and was wearing basketball shorts, so my knees were completely exposed. I started chasing after Bentley on all fours, and got carpet burn on my knees! I haven't had carpet burn forever haha! I guess it is a stinging reminder that I should probably act my age, and leave the cats alone ;)
I am excited to be able to meet with President and Sister Clements tomorrow for our Zone Interviews! It should be an exciting event :) We were asked to study Elder Bednar's talks from the October and April 2008 General Conference on prayer, so we have one day to study those and prepare for our Zone Conference. Crazy! I'm sure it will be amazing though. Luckily these past few days have been quite a bit warmer as well :) Yesterday we even hit the 30's! Hopefully it will continue to rise up and up until we are back in the 90's!
Thank you all for your love and support! You are all so amazing, and I truly couldn't do this without all of your love and prayers. I hope you all have a great week, and enjoy the sunshine that doesn't really exist in Minnesota ;)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Hello Everyone,
This has been an eventful week to say the least ;) We were prohibited to go outside on Sunday and Monday due to extreme temperatures, so we had to be pretty creative on those two "lock down" days. On Sunday we were able to have a mission devotional on a conference call. President and Sister Clements gave us an unexpected training, and were able to talk to us briefly. Sister Clements also told us all to start taking "sunshine pills" (Vitamin D), because the sun does not come out very often around this time in Minnesota, and we need to be happy missionaries ;) I sometimes refer to them as my happy pills behind closed doors, but probably shouldn't share that with too many people :p
Being locked inside for two days was rough. I got cabin fever for sure! Luckily we live with members here, so there was plenty to do. While my companion slept, I studied, watched church videos, deep cleaned our bedroom and bathroom, and took our dog Richard outside for potty breaks. I got a lot done, so it ended up being really nice having two "mental health" days! Hopefully we won't have too many more of those days though, because it was SUPER cold outside. Apparently in some areas it got below -60 degrees. Not cool!
On Wednesday we met with a married couple. We taught them about the restoration of the gospel and they were really excited and accepting of the teachings! During the lesson the wife really enjoyed learning about our church, and is eager to attend sacrament meeting sometime in the near future. The husband asked some really deep questions during the lesson, and asked about our churches stance on gay marriage. Obviously this is a controversial topic, but we were able to talk a bit about the family proclamation, and the fact that our church openly welcomes all people to attend, but that it is a sin to practice homosexual activity. We learned a lot about this in the MTC, and we directed him to the Mormons and Gays website that the church has created. (Mom, remember when we had our little battle on this?!?!?) Hopefully this will not be the end of his investigating, but we will have to see.
On Thursday we were able to attend the funeral of the young man who had a muscular disorder. He will truly be missed in this ward, but his example to all of the youth and members will last a lifetime. His grandma (and caretaker) was pretty crushed by it all, but she knows that he is in a much better place now. He was only 18 years old when he passed away, but his grandma said that he is able to serve his mission now! His dad and his current wife have opened up a little since his passing, and we are starting to meet with them. His grandma said that his missionary work has already begun :) Good things are in the works!
On Sunday we were able to contact someone whose records were just transferred into the ward. When we arrived at his residence, we were greeted by an older man who informed us that he was not home, but he invited us in to visit with him. We found out that it was a group home for adults with special needs. This man has MS and Autism, but was with his family for the weekend. I was struck with the spirit as we visited with the caretaker, realizing that when I volunteered for special education seminary my junior year in high school, it was somehow guided by the spirit. I needed that experience to be able to relate to this caretaker. After teaching him about the restoration, I talked to him a little bit about the seminary program and my experience helping with special needs students. Hopefully we will be able to meet with him, and his wife who was out grocery shopping, and the member of course the next time we visit!
During church we were able to see a less-active member, and her granddaughter. Her granddaughter is 8 years old and has not been baptized. We have been meeting with the grandmother for a while, and during Church they arranged for her baptism to be on February 1st! The granddaughter is SO excited :) Her parents are divorced, and both are inactive. Her dad is fully supportive of her baptism, but her mother is not very eager for it to happen. The mother asked us to call her, and we will be meeting with her next Saturday to discuss what is going to happen. Should be interesting! Hopefully she will still be able to be baptized!
Last night Richard (the dog) was in bed, but the cats, Bentley and Connor, were downstairs with us. I am not particularly fond of cats, so I decided to chase after them. I was ready for bed and was wearing basketball shorts, so my knees were completely exposed. I started chasing after Bentley on all fours, and got carpet burn on my knees! I haven't had carpet burn forever haha! I guess it is a stinging reminder that I should probably act my age, and leave the cats alone ;)
I am excited to be able to meet with President and Sister Clements tomorrow for our Zone Interviews! It should be an exciting event :) We were asked to study Elder Bednar's talks from the October and April 2008 General Conference on prayer, so we have one day to study those and prepare for our Zone Conference. Crazy! I'm sure it will be amazing though. Luckily these past few days have been quite a bit warmer as well :) Yesterday we even hit the 30's! Hopefully it will continue to rise up and up until we are back in the 90's!
Thank you all for your love and support! You are all so amazing, and I truly couldn't do this without all of your love and prayers. I hope you all have a great week, and enjoy the sunshine that doesn't really exist in Minnesota ;)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Happy New Year
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Hello Everyone,
This week has been kind of crazy. Today is Saturday. We NEVER email on Saturdays, because Monday is our P-Day. On Monday, the governor of Minnesota shut down all schools, because the temperatures are supposed to be rather cold. The high I believe is -18 without wind chill, and the temperature is rumored to get down to about -50 degrees. Needless to say, we are going to be locked inside all day, THANK GOODNESS! But because of everything going on, today we are doing all of our shopping and emailing and fun stuff :)
To start the week we were able to stop by a potential investigator of ours. We were able to talk to her about the restoration, and the member we were with invited her to church. It was an awesome lesson, and I am excited to be able to visit with her again! Minnesota is largely Lutheran, but I am really good at finding all the Catholic people haha ;) I guess it is a special talent of mine.
On Tuesday we had dinner with a member family. The Sister is from England, and served us Yorkshire Pudding with dinner, VERY English :) It was fun to be able to visit with them and to hear her BEAUTIFUL British accent!
Tuesday evening we were able to visit with a member family. They talked about Studio C at BYU, so I introduced them to Divine Comedy on YouTube, and told them to watch the video "Provo, Utah Girls". The mom told me that she LOVED it!
New Years Eve we were with a member family. The brother is in the Stake Presidency, and I absolutely love their family. Later we spent some time with a family from the ward (he serves in the bishopric) and a few less-active families, it was great!
New Years Day was our P-Day! I finally bought a new pair of shoes, that matched a cordovan belt that I brought out with me on my mission. I was pretty stoked! Unfortunately I have shopping problems though... the Ecco Outlet had a sale... 1 pair of shoes turned into 2. But I love them both, and the second pair was FREE :) Well kind of. It was 1/2 off, so pretty close! My New Years resolution is going to possibly be working on spending money more wisely. I just haven't made up my mind if I can completely commit to that yet. Yikes! (Mom, I also FINALLY got my belts all fixed up, so now I have variety in my belts!)
The other day we went to Big Lake, Minnesota and were able to meet with a woman and her nonmember boyfriend. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation, and arranged to meet with them again today. His girlfriend will be in jail, but he will be home :) Minor details.
We also experienced a tragedy this week. The young man with the muscular disorder who we met with last week passed away. We went to visit with his grandmother to see how she was handling the loss of her grandson, and she was doing surprisingly well! The Plan of Salvation truly is an amazing thing to know that all is well when we experience the sorrows of the passing of a loved one. We know that they are in a better place, and that they are happy! They are now able to watch over us, and help us along the path to return to our Heavenly Father. Death is still extremely hard for us, because we will miss our loved ones, but we know that they are okay and that we will see them again.
We were able to finish off the day by visiting with a part member family. We talked about the For The Strength of Youth program, and they absolutely loved it! They talked about how they always wanted to raise their children with good values, and that this program is the perfect solution to it all. The mom also told us that she quit smoking! Hopefully we will be able to maintain this great progress, and continue to help their family in the future. Things are going well though :)
Yesterday I was on exchange in Buffalo, Minnesota with an Elder from Alabama. We were able to visit with a lot of really cool people, and we were able to give a blessing to a very sick 5 year-old. We finished off the day by visiting with their investigator who is progressing towards baptism. As we talked with him, he mentioned that his parents live in Elk River, Minnesota and that he would like for them to hear this message. Non-Member Referral, AWESOME! We are going to stop by his family later this week, and hopefully get them to begin investigating the church as well :)
During the night something occurred here called "Ice Rain". Not good. The rain froze on EVERYTHING, and the car was frozen shut. We had to break the ice around the door to get in, and scrape all the ice off and melt it with the heat of the car. Kind of crazy! Luckily only the car was frozen, and the roads were fine. Absolute insanity! It all worked out in the end though, and we found out that it only happened in Buffalo, so our car in Elk River is all good :)
Thank you all so much for your love and support! I am so grateful for all of your kind letters and emails of love and encouragement. I have the best friends and family in the world! Have a great week :)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Hello Everyone,
This week has been kind of crazy. Today is Saturday. We NEVER email on Saturdays, because Monday is our P-Day. On Monday, the governor of Minnesota shut down all schools, because the temperatures are supposed to be rather cold. The high I believe is -18 without wind chill, and the temperature is rumored to get down to about -50 degrees. Needless to say, we are going to be locked inside all day, THANK GOODNESS! But because of everything going on, today we are doing all of our shopping and emailing and fun stuff :)
To start the week we were able to stop by a potential investigator of ours. We were able to talk to her about the restoration, and the member we were with invited her to church. It was an awesome lesson, and I am excited to be able to visit with her again! Minnesota is largely Lutheran, but I am really good at finding all the Catholic people haha ;) I guess it is a special talent of mine.
On Tuesday we had dinner with a member family. The Sister is from England, and served us Yorkshire Pudding with dinner, VERY English :) It was fun to be able to visit with them and to hear her BEAUTIFUL British accent!
Tuesday evening we were able to visit with a member family. They talked about Studio C at BYU, so I introduced them to Divine Comedy on YouTube, and told them to watch the video "Provo, Utah Girls". The mom told me that she LOVED it!
New Years Eve we were with a member family. The brother is in the Stake Presidency, and I absolutely love their family. Later we spent some time with a family from the ward (he serves in the bishopric) and a few less-active families, it was great!
New Years Day was our P-Day! I finally bought a new pair of shoes, that matched a cordovan belt that I brought out with me on my mission. I was pretty stoked! Unfortunately I have shopping problems though... the Ecco Outlet had a sale... 1 pair of shoes turned into 2. But I love them both, and the second pair was FREE :) Well kind of. It was 1/2 off, so pretty close! My New Years resolution is going to possibly be working on spending money more wisely. I just haven't made up my mind if I can completely commit to that yet. Yikes! (Mom, I also FINALLY got my belts all fixed up, so now I have variety in my belts!)
The other day we went to Big Lake, Minnesota and were able to meet with a woman and her nonmember boyfriend. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation, and arranged to meet with them again today. His girlfriend will be in jail, but he will be home :) Minor details.
We also experienced a tragedy this week. The young man with the muscular disorder who we met with last week passed away. We went to visit with his grandmother to see how she was handling the loss of her grandson, and she was doing surprisingly well! The Plan of Salvation truly is an amazing thing to know that all is well when we experience the sorrows of the passing of a loved one. We know that they are in a better place, and that they are happy! They are now able to watch over us, and help us along the path to return to our Heavenly Father. Death is still extremely hard for us, because we will miss our loved ones, but we know that they are okay and that we will see them again.
We were able to finish off the day by visiting with a part member family. We talked about the For The Strength of Youth program, and they absolutely loved it! They talked about how they always wanted to raise their children with good values, and that this program is the perfect solution to it all. The mom also told us that she quit smoking! Hopefully we will be able to maintain this great progress, and continue to help their family in the future. Things are going well though :)
Yesterday I was on exchange in Buffalo, Minnesota with an Elder from Alabama. We were able to visit with a lot of really cool people, and we were able to give a blessing to a very sick 5 year-old. We finished off the day by visiting with their investigator who is progressing towards baptism. As we talked with him, he mentioned that his parents live in Elk River, Minnesota and that he would like for them to hear this message. Non-Member Referral, AWESOME! We are going to stop by his family later this week, and hopefully get them to begin investigating the church as well :)
During the night something occurred here called "Ice Rain". Not good. The rain froze on EVERYTHING, and the car was frozen shut. We had to break the ice around the door to get in, and scrape all the ice off and melt it with the heat of the car. Kind of crazy! Luckily only the car was frozen, and the roads were fine. Absolute insanity! It all worked out in the end though, and we found out that it only happened in Buffalo, so our car in Elk River is all good :)
Thank you all so much for your love and support! I am so grateful for all of your kind letters and emails of love and encouragement. I have the best friends and family in the world! Have a great week :)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
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