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 Transfers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transfers. Show all posts
Monday, April 6, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
New Area!
Hello Everyone,
This week has been kind of crazy, as always I guess ;) On Monday, Presidents Day and Family Day in Canada, we had our P-Day and I found out that I was being transferred. Yep... totally crazy! I was kind of expecting it I guess, but it still always comes as kind of a shock. In the evening we had Family Home Evening with the families in the ward. Saying goodbye is not fun! I have some really great memories in the Princeton Ward.
On Tuesday I packed up all my belonging, which fit in my suitcases, so that was a plus! It was really strange thinking about the fact that this next area will more than likely be my last area. Everyone that I said goodbye to talked about how I was going home soon, and that I needed to find a good wife, etc... WEIRD! In the afternoon we visited with the four more families. I hate goodbye's, but it makes it easier that I know that I can come back after my mission. In that respect I am super grateful that I live relatively close to my mission. I don't know how people that serve in foreign countries do it! When you say goodbye, it is a pretty big deal. In the evening we first visited with our new member family. That was really difficult for me. We have become really close these past few months, they are like family to me! While we were over, I burned my suit with them. Usually you burn a suit at the end of your mission, but I decided to do it a little bit early with them :) Plus it freed up a little bit of space in my suitcase! (It was a thrift store suit that was getting pretty destroyed, so no worries!) They gave me a really nice picture of their family, and they all signed my testimony journal, so that was awesome. To finish off the evening we went over to our part member family to say goodbye. All in all, it was a crazy day, but I got everything done!
On Wednesday we had our transfer meeting in Bloomington. Apparently this transfer affected 75% of the mission, so it was a HUGE transfer meeting! My whole MTC district that came to the MMM was there, so that was super fun :) I loaded all of my stuff up in the car, and then we took off for the new area. My new companion is from Provo, Utah as well. He is definitely an interesting character. Kind of an awkward duck, but he is a good kid. He came out with my greenie. My new area is his second city. Before his mission he had his own animation business, so that is kind of cool. We know a few of the same people, but not a ton. #MormonProblems. After unpacking my things and getting settled in, we had a lesson with one of our investigators. They got married on Valentines day, and he is progressing towards baptism. She has been a member for a few years, but it just now returning to activity. She works on Sundays, so it makes it tough. They have been through a lot together, and do not have very much money at all. He has quit smoking for about two weeks now, and is preparing to get baptized in March! We had a lesson with them on charity and love. He doesn't know how to read, and has a harder time learning, so our lessons with them are very basic. We watched a Mormon Message with them, and explained it afterward. It was a pretty good lesson. Later we visited with a returning less-active member. He is a very interesting guy. He is super rock and roll, and he is part of a screamo band. He is the lead singer of course... I will have to find out the name of his band so you can look them up on iTunes. He played a song for us about bacon.... very different. We talked to him about the atonement, and shared the talk by Brad Wilcox, "His Grace Is Sufficient." The investigator is really bright, and has a very good understanding of the gospel! In the evening we met together as a Ward Council and went over the Ward Directory. It was good to start getting to know people and the area. My companion has been here forever, so we aren't really sure if he will be my companion for another transfer. Only time will tell!
On Thursday we had an accountability call with the Sisters. Their was just white washed (took the Elders out and replaced them with Sisters) so the Sisters are completely new to the area. They were a little overwhelmed, but we talked things through. The elders in that area were kind of apostate, so this is a fresh new start for the area! The only problem is that nothing is really going on in their area right now. Later in the afternoon we went finding for a little while. We met a cool guy and then I did something tragic. I have not tripped, fallen, or slipped the entire time that I have been here in the MMM! I almost made it my whole mission... and then it happened. His driveway was SUPER icy, and I totally slipped and fell on my butt. Not cool! I guess I somehow knew it would happen sometime! Rude. In the evening we went up to Watertown, and visited with a less active member. She has not been to Church in over 12 years, and the Senior Couple have been visiting with her for the past year. She was committed to come to Church this week, so that was super exciting! The only problem is that the senior couple are going home this week with no replacement. The Church definitely needs more Senior Missionaries! We had a nice lesson with her on the miracles of Christ's ministry. We watched a few Bible Videos and got to know her better. It was a really nice visit! To finish off the evening we met with a family in the ward. They are awesome! We watched a Bible Video with them of Jesus getting water from a well from a Samaratin. I really like the ward here, but lets be real... I have never disliked any of the wards I have served in. Some areas are better than others, but ward members in general are awesome!
On Friday we had a Zone Service Project. AHHH, I love serving in the cities! Because I am serving in the Minneapolis Zone now, the Assistants even come to our Zone events and things. Kind of cool! When you serve in the cities you get a lot closer to the people in your Zone, which is a definite plus. We volunteered at a nonprofit that sends food to over 70 countries. Super awesome organization! My greenie is in this Zone as well. Kind of fun :) Later, we went and did service at a senior center in our area. We play a game with them called sweep six. Kind of a brainless game, but it mixes things up for them so that is good! You have pieces of paper with the numbers 1-6 written on it, and you roll a dice. When you get a number, you cover it up with a poker chip. First person to cover up all their numbers wins! It was a little bit traumatizing in some ways, but it worked out. There was an old lady in one of the rooms behind us that kept yelling "Help! Somebody help me! I need help!" Apparently she does that all day. The nurses check on her occasionally, but the moment they leave she goes back to yelling. Kind of nuts. I feel bad for elderly people that no longer have control over their bodies! I certainly do not want to hang on for that long. The moment I start to have issues, PULL THE PLUG! To finish off the evening we met with the a part member family. The dad has been a member his whole life, but went less-active many many years ago. He married a non-member a few years ago, and together they have had a few encounters with missionaries. The missionaries were really pushy with her, and she was really turned off to the Church. It was the example of her husband’s family that continued to give her a desire to learn more about the Church. 4 weeks ago they started going to Church with his family in his family’s ward. 2 weeks ago they came to Sacrament meeting in the ward here and met with Bishop and told him that she would like to be baptized. Before this lesson, my companion and his last companion have met with them once. She has been interviewed and is set to get baptized. For our lesson we finalized baptism plans, filled out the baptism record, and watched a Bible Video called "John the Beloved's Witness." We talked a little bit about faith, and conversion. It was an awesome lesson!
On Saturday we Weekly Planned for a little bit, and then went over to the Church. We began filling the baptismal font, and then the Ward Mission Leader and his wife arrived. While the font was filling we printed off programs and got everything ready. While we had some down time, the Ward Mission Leader made a few business phone calls. He is some kind of an executive for AT&T and he was making calls for the Summit winners for this year. The Summit is an all expense paid trip to Naples, Florida for the top sellers in each region. He put the phone on speaker, so we got to hear everyones reactions. Super cool experience! At 3:30, the investigator was baptized by her husband, which was really cool. She is pregnant, so now they are both members and active, and they will be a happy Mormon family :) I think in a way that may have helped to spark this decision! To finish off the day we had a lesson with a family. We watched a Mormon Message about the hope of God's light, and talked about how God can help us through any of our trials! The wife had a super bad headache, and they didn't have any money for ibuprophen, so it was kind of tough, but last minute they found some money and ran over to the drug store. Kind of a scattered lesson, but it all worked out.
On Sunday, 1st Sunday of Lent and George Washington's Birthday, we had Ward Council in the morning, and then Church at 9:00. Yuck! Back to 9:00 AM Church... the less-active member who hadn’t been to church in 12 years came to Church which was AWESOME, and our new member was confirmed. Turns out a lot of people in this Ward are from Provo, but most of them went to Timpview. I'm pretty sure when I tell them I went to Provo High School they all think that I'm one of those poor Provo kids, but whatever. The more they get to know me the more they will love me :) After Church we had a meeting with Bishop, and then we went to an open house for the a couple at Bishops house. They are going to Vermont to serve another mission in a few weeks. They will be caretakers for Joseph Smiths home I believe, so that will be really fun for them! In the evening we had correlation over at the a member’s home. I love that family! Pretty sure we are going to be buddies :) I also found out that one of the coaches for the Minnesota Vikings are in our ward, so that will be super cool! He was at an NFL event this past week, but soon I will get to meet him and his family! All in all, it was a really good week and I really like this new area. Life is good :)
Thank you all for all of your love and support. You are the best! Have a great week :)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
This week has been kind of crazy, as always I guess ;) On Monday, Presidents Day and Family Day in Canada, we had our P-Day and I found out that I was being transferred. Yep... totally crazy! I was kind of expecting it I guess, but it still always comes as kind of a shock. In the evening we had Family Home Evening with the families in the ward. Saying goodbye is not fun! I have some really great memories in the Princeton Ward.
On Tuesday I packed up all my belonging, which fit in my suitcases, so that was a plus! It was really strange thinking about the fact that this next area will more than likely be my last area. Everyone that I said goodbye to talked about how I was going home soon, and that I needed to find a good wife, etc... WEIRD! In the afternoon we visited with the four more families. I hate goodbye's, but it makes it easier that I know that I can come back after my mission. In that respect I am super grateful that I live relatively close to my mission. I don't know how people that serve in foreign countries do it! When you say goodbye, it is a pretty big deal. In the evening we first visited with our new member family. That was really difficult for me. We have become really close these past few months, they are like family to me! While we were over, I burned my suit with them. Usually you burn a suit at the end of your mission, but I decided to do it a little bit early with them :) Plus it freed up a little bit of space in my suitcase! (It was a thrift store suit that was getting pretty destroyed, so no worries!) They gave me a really nice picture of their family, and they all signed my testimony journal, so that was awesome. To finish off the evening we went over to our part member family to say goodbye. All in all, it was a crazy day, but I got everything done!
On Wednesday we had our transfer meeting in Bloomington. Apparently this transfer affected 75% of the mission, so it was a HUGE transfer meeting! My whole MTC district that came to the MMM was there, so that was super fun :) I loaded all of my stuff up in the car, and then we took off for the new area. My new companion is from Provo, Utah as well. He is definitely an interesting character. Kind of an awkward duck, but he is a good kid. He came out with my greenie. My new area is his second city. Before his mission he had his own animation business, so that is kind of cool. We know a few of the same people, but not a ton. #MormonProblems. After unpacking my things and getting settled in, we had a lesson with one of our investigators. They got married on Valentines day, and he is progressing towards baptism. She has been a member for a few years, but it just now returning to activity. She works on Sundays, so it makes it tough. They have been through a lot together, and do not have very much money at all. He has quit smoking for about two weeks now, and is preparing to get baptized in March! We had a lesson with them on charity and love. He doesn't know how to read, and has a harder time learning, so our lessons with them are very basic. We watched a Mormon Message with them, and explained it afterward. It was a pretty good lesson. Later we visited with a returning less-active member. He is a very interesting guy. He is super rock and roll, and he is part of a screamo band. He is the lead singer of course... I will have to find out the name of his band so you can look them up on iTunes. He played a song for us about bacon.... very different. We talked to him about the atonement, and shared the talk by Brad Wilcox, "His Grace Is Sufficient." The investigator is really bright, and has a very good understanding of the gospel! In the evening we met together as a Ward Council and went over the Ward Directory. It was good to start getting to know people and the area. My companion has been here forever, so we aren't really sure if he will be my companion for another transfer. Only time will tell!
On Thursday we had an accountability call with the Sisters. Their was just white washed (took the Elders out and replaced them with Sisters) so the Sisters are completely new to the area. They were a little overwhelmed, but we talked things through. The elders in that area were kind of apostate, so this is a fresh new start for the area! The only problem is that nothing is really going on in their area right now. Later in the afternoon we went finding for a little while. We met a cool guy and then I did something tragic. I have not tripped, fallen, or slipped the entire time that I have been here in the MMM! I almost made it my whole mission... and then it happened. His driveway was SUPER icy, and I totally slipped and fell on my butt. Not cool! I guess I somehow knew it would happen sometime! Rude. In the evening we went up to Watertown, and visited with a less active member. She has not been to Church in over 12 years, and the Senior Couple have been visiting with her for the past year. She was committed to come to Church this week, so that was super exciting! The only problem is that the senior couple are going home this week with no replacement. The Church definitely needs more Senior Missionaries! We had a nice lesson with her on the miracles of Christ's ministry. We watched a few Bible Videos and got to know her better. It was a really nice visit! To finish off the evening we met with a family in the ward. They are awesome! We watched a Bible Video with them of Jesus getting water from a well from a Samaratin. I really like the ward here, but lets be real... I have never disliked any of the wards I have served in. Some areas are better than others, but ward members in general are awesome!
On Friday we had a Zone Service Project. AHHH, I love serving in the cities! Because I am serving in the Minneapolis Zone now, the Assistants even come to our Zone events and things. Kind of cool! When you serve in the cities you get a lot closer to the people in your Zone, which is a definite plus. We volunteered at a nonprofit that sends food to over 70 countries. Super awesome organization! My greenie is in this Zone as well. Kind of fun :) Later, we went and did service at a senior center in our area. We play a game with them called sweep six. Kind of a brainless game, but it mixes things up for them so that is good! You have pieces of paper with the numbers 1-6 written on it, and you roll a dice. When you get a number, you cover it up with a poker chip. First person to cover up all their numbers wins! It was a little bit traumatizing in some ways, but it worked out. There was an old lady in one of the rooms behind us that kept yelling "Help! Somebody help me! I need help!" Apparently she does that all day. The nurses check on her occasionally, but the moment they leave she goes back to yelling. Kind of nuts. I feel bad for elderly people that no longer have control over their bodies! I certainly do not want to hang on for that long. The moment I start to have issues, PULL THE PLUG! To finish off the evening we met with the a part member family. The dad has been a member his whole life, but went less-active many many years ago. He married a non-member a few years ago, and together they have had a few encounters with missionaries. The missionaries were really pushy with her, and she was really turned off to the Church. It was the example of her husband’s family that continued to give her a desire to learn more about the Church. 4 weeks ago they started going to Church with his family in his family’s ward. 2 weeks ago they came to Sacrament meeting in the ward here and met with Bishop and told him that she would like to be baptized. Before this lesson, my companion and his last companion have met with them once. She has been interviewed and is set to get baptized. For our lesson we finalized baptism plans, filled out the baptism record, and watched a Bible Video called "John the Beloved's Witness." We talked a little bit about faith, and conversion. It was an awesome lesson!
On Saturday we Weekly Planned for a little bit, and then went over to the Church. We began filling the baptismal font, and then the Ward Mission Leader and his wife arrived. While the font was filling we printed off programs and got everything ready. While we had some down time, the Ward Mission Leader made a few business phone calls. He is some kind of an executive for AT&T and he was making calls for the Summit winners for this year. The Summit is an all expense paid trip to Naples, Florida for the top sellers in each region. He put the phone on speaker, so we got to hear everyones reactions. Super cool experience! At 3:30, the investigator was baptized by her husband, which was really cool. She is pregnant, so now they are both members and active, and they will be a happy Mormon family :) I think in a way that may have helped to spark this decision! To finish off the day we had a lesson with a family. We watched a Mormon Message about the hope of God's light, and talked about how God can help us through any of our trials! The wife had a super bad headache, and they didn't have any money for ibuprophen, so it was kind of tough, but last minute they found some money and ran over to the drug store. Kind of a scattered lesson, but it all worked out.
On Sunday, 1st Sunday of Lent and George Washington's Birthday, we had Ward Council in the morning, and then Church at 9:00. Yuck! Back to 9:00 AM Church... the less-active member who hadn’t been to church in 12 years came to Church which was AWESOME, and our new member was confirmed. Turns out a lot of people in this Ward are from Provo, but most of them went to Timpview. I'm pretty sure when I tell them I went to Provo High School they all think that I'm one of those poor Provo kids, but whatever. The more they get to know me the more they will love me :) After Church we had a meeting with Bishop, and then we went to an open house for the a couple at Bishops house. They are going to Vermont to serve another mission in a few weeks. They will be caretakers for Joseph Smiths home I believe, so that will be really fun for them! In the evening we had correlation over at the a member’s home. I love that family! Pretty sure we are going to be buddies :) I also found out that one of the coaches for the Minnesota Vikings are in our ward, so that will be super cool! He was at an NFL event this past week, but soon I will get to meet him and his family! All in all, it was a really good week and I really like this new area. Life is good :)
Thank you all for all of your love and support. You are the best! Have a great week :)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Monday, February 16, 2015
Don't be a TROLL, LOVE the people!
Hello Everyone,
Things are going well here in Minnesnowta! It snowed today of course, but life is good :) It is Presidents Day, so we are emailing from the Junckers home. We got our transfer emails this morning, and I am being transferred to another area and will be serving with a different elder. Holy cow, I am not a fan of packing! If any of you would like, I would be totally okay with your flying out to Minnesota and helping me pack up all my stuff haha. It will all work out though.
Last Monday we had our P-Day, and then we had Family Home Evening with a family in the ward. Later we visited with Bishop and his family and shared a Valentines message with them about love and service. We shared the video "Because Of Him" and talked about the love that Jesus Christ has for each one of us. We finished off the evening by stopping by a less-active member that Bishop asked us to visit with. We talked to him briefly and shared a quick message with him. It was a really great evening!
On Tuesday we had accountability calls in the morning, and then we went on exchange with the Zone Leaders. I was with an elder from Idaho. We visited with a less-active member and shared a message with him about the importance of serving others. We talked about the service that is provided in Church, and invited him to come worship with us. He loves Church, but admitted that he was just lazy and didn't want to wake up early. Hopefully he will experience a mighty change of heart! Later we visited with an investigator family and set up a return appointment with them for next Wednesday. In the evening we went over to our new member family’s home and talked to them about the Plan of Salvation, which sparked some more interest in doing their family history. To finish off the evening we had a lesson with a part member family. We talked about Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. We shared one of the new Bible Videos with them, and committed them all to come to Church with us on Sunday. A few concerns were brought up, but we resolved their concerns and recommitted them to come to Church! Here is a funny story from our visit with them :) Their washing machine broke, and the son and a friend fixed it up earlier that day. They were SUPER behind on laundry, so in the middle of the lesson the mom had to move over a load of laundry, and put a new load in the washer. She was washing a load of jeans, and decided to check all the pockets before she put them in the wash. She started up the washer, and came upstairs with something in her hand. She then looked at her son and said, "What is this?" with a smirk on her face as she stretched out a red condom that she had found in his jeans pocket. Embarrased, he responded, "What?!?! I was playing with it. My friend gave it to me, and we inflate them like a balloon! It's fun!" It was pretty hilarious! Apparently we will need to recover the Law of Chastity ;)
On Wednesday we all got together for the last District Meeting of the transfer. I gave a training on Key Indicators for Conversion, using a lot of references from a book that I received from my Grandparents, "The Highly Effective Missionary." We talked about how numbers represent people, and so when we work towards numerical goals, they represent the lives of those whom we are inviting to come unto Christ. For our role play, we went through the past week in our planners and discussed with another missionary what went well, what needs improvement, and how we can make the necessary changes to become more effective missionaries. For Valentines Day I gave everyone some Trolli Gummy Worm candies, but I coloured in the "i" on Trolli and said "Don't be a TROLL, LOVE the people!" It was a pretty fun District Meeting :) Afterward we took District Pictures and went on our way. In the afternoon we stopped by one of our investigators, and he was not home. His roommates, however, invited us in and we had a lesson with them. A woman was there and told us that she is a Mormon and that she would like to come back to Church again! We got all of her information so that we can transfer her records into the ward, and she is super excited to come back to Church! It is super cool to see how God works things out sometimes! We had some extra time one day, and so were tracting in the investigator’s trailer park. We set up a return appointment, and although he wasn't there, we met someone that is a lost sheep! #Miracle In the evening we had a lesson with a part-member family on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked mainly about faith and repentance, and committed the dad to start reading the Book of Mormon again! Later we visited with the another part-member family and shared a Valentines Day message with them about love and made Valentines cards for them to give to their siblings and friends. The mom has 10 foster kids, so their house is a little bit crazy at times. To finish off the evening we stopped by a member family and shared a quick message with them about service. The mom is the Relief Society President, and so we discussed a few names of less-active sisters in the ward with her as well. All in all it was a great evening!
On Thursday, Abraham Lincoln's Birthday, we had accountability with our Zone Leaders and then we went over to the Family History Center and began filling out our "My Family" booklets that the Church gave us to talk to people about Family History. I am not very familiar with familysearch.org and family history in general, so it was an experience that's for sure! I got my booklet mostly filled out though :) Later we helped a member with some bulletin boards in the Church. She is recovering from pneumonia, yet she was working on the Relief Society bulletin board. Crazy lady! In the evening we had a lesson with one of the Sister's old investigators. We talked to him about the importance of faith. He told us basically that he was meeting with the missionaries because he is lonely because his wife passed away about a year ago. He isn't super interested in the gospel, but enjoys the company. It is too bad that he isn't willing to act on the things he has been taught, but as for right now it isn't super effective to meet with him on a regular basis. To finish off the evening we had a lesson with a family. We were going to have a lesson on the Plan of Salvation, but there was a big argument at dinner, lots of contention, and some hurt feelings in the home, so we had another Valentines message about loving one another. It worked out rather well, and things were good again when we left.
On Friday the 13th #FreakyFriday, we did service at a thrift store. We moved some things around and helped organize a few projects. Later we did our Weekly Planning and prepared for the upcoming week. It is always super weird planning for the week of transfers. It was super stressful actually, because that is when I started to realize that I could very possibly be leaving. I hate surprises! In the evening we had a lesson with the our new member family on Family History. We opened up Family Search, started filling out My Family booklets, and got to work on their family history. Holy cow, that website gave me a killer headache! By the time we left I was about to hire out professional help! A genealogist would be super useful. It worked out though, and we at least got a start on some of their family history. They are just working on collecting some names and dates and things.
On Saturday, Valentines Day, we finished up some Weekly Planning in the morning and got to work on making a bunch of cookies. We made cookies for the Junckers, the Andersons, the Mowers, the Zunigas, the Larsons, the Johnsons, the Akemans, the Pinkes, etc... we just went to town baking cookies. After lunch we went and distributed our Valentines cookies. It was super fun! Later we did some service for a family in the ward. They have a corn furnace, and so we helped them fill up bags of corn for their furnace. It was freezing cold outside, someone said it was one of the colder Valentines Days that they can remember. In the evening we had Family Home Evening with a part member family. We watched Johnny Lingo and talked about how we are all children of God and have a divine potential. We played some card games and had a great time! #HappyValentinesDay #LoveWeek #AllYouNeedIsLove
On Sunday we had Church. The part member family came to Church which was awesome! After Church we had correlation and then we went and visited an investigator. We talked to him about Christlike love, and we had a super cool experience with him. He has been waiting for months and months for his sister to call him back. He has been calling her several times a week, and has had no response. Finally, while we were over at his home, his sister called! He was astonished, and told us later that he realized that God was trying to tell him something. It was great! In the evening we went up to another town and had a lesson with an investigator family on the Plan of Salvation. We whipped out some shaving cream and drew the whole Plan of Salvation on their dining room table. It was awesome!
It was a great week, and I know that good things are in the works for this week. It will be hard (as always) to say goodbye to all my friends in this area, but I know that the Lord needs me elsewhere at this time. Wish me luck in my new area!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Things are going well here in Minnesnowta! It snowed today of course, but life is good :) It is Presidents Day, so we are emailing from the Junckers home. We got our transfer emails this morning, and I am being transferred to another area and will be serving with a different elder. Holy cow, I am not a fan of packing! If any of you would like, I would be totally okay with your flying out to Minnesota and helping me pack up all my stuff haha. It will all work out though.
Last Monday we had our P-Day, and then we had Family Home Evening with a family in the ward. Later we visited with Bishop and his family and shared a Valentines message with them about love and service. We shared the video "Because Of Him" and talked about the love that Jesus Christ has for each one of us. We finished off the evening by stopping by a less-active member that Bishop asked us to visit with. We talked to him briefly and shared a quick message with him. It was a really great evening!
On Tuesday we had accountability calls in the morning, and then we went on exchange with the Zone Leaders. I was with an elder from Idaho. We visited with a less-active member and shared a message with him about the importance of serving others. We talked about the service that is provided in Church, and invited him to come worship with us. He loves Church, but admitted that he was just lazy and didn't want to wake up early. Hopefully he will experience a mighty change of heart! Later we visited with an investigator family and set up a return appointment with them for next Wednesday. In the evening we went over to our new member family’s home and talked to them about the Plan of Salvation, which sparked some more interest in doing their family history. To finish off the evening we had a lesson with a part member family. We talked about Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. We shared one of the new Bible Videos with them, and committed them all to come to Church with us on Sunday. A few concerns were brought up, but we resolved their concerns and recommitted them to come to Church! Here is a funny story from our visit with them :) Their washing machine broke, and the son and a friend fixed it up earlier that day. They were SUPER behind on laundry, so in the middle of the lesson the mom had to move over a load of laundry, and put a new load in the washer. She was washing a load of jeans, and decided to check all the pockets before she put them in the wash. She started up the washer, and came upstairs with something in her hand. She then looked at her son and said, "What is this?" with a smirk on her face as she stretched out a red condom that she had found in his jeans pocket. Embarrased, he responded, "What?!?! I was playing with it. My friend gave it to me, and we inflate them like a balloon! It's fun!" It was pretty hilarious! Apparently we will need to recover the Law of Chastity ;)
On Wednesday we all got together for the last District Meeting of the transfer. I gave a training on Key Indicators for Conversion, using a lot of references from a book that I received from my Grandparents, "The Highly Effective Missionary." We talked about how numbers represent people, and so when we work towards numerical goals, they represent the lives of those whom we are inviting to come unto Christ. For our role play, we went through the past week in our planners and discussed with another missionary what went well, what needs improvement, and how we can make the necessary changes to become more effective missionaries. For Valentines Day I gave everyone some Trolli Gummy Worm candies, but I coloured in the "i" on Trolli and said "Don't be a TROLL, LOVE the people!" It was a pretty fun District Meeting :) Afterward we took District Pictures and went on our way. In the afternoon we stopped by one of our investigators, and he was not home. His roommates, however, invited us in and we had a lesson with them. A woman was there and told us that she is a Mormon and that she would like to come back to Church again! We got all of her information so that we can transfer her records into the ward, and she is super excited to come back to Church! It is super cool to see how God works things out sometimes! We had some extra time one day, and so were tracting in the investigator’s trailer park. We set up a return appointment, and although he wasn't there, we met someone that is a lost sheep! #Miracle In the evening we had a lesson with a part-member family on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked mainly about faith and repentance, and committed the dad to start reading the Book of Mormon again! Later we visited with the another part-member family and shared a Valentines Day message with them about love and made Valentines cards for them to give to their siblings and friends. The mom has 10 foster kids, so their house is a little bit crazy at times. To finish off the evening we stopped by a member family and shared a quick message with them about service. The mom is the Relief Society President, and so we discussed a few names of less-active sisters in the ward with her as well. All in all it was a great evening!
On Thursday, Abraham Lincoln's Birthday, we had accountability with our Zone Leaders and then we went over to the Family History Center and began filling out our "My Family" booklets that the Church gave us to talk to people about Family History. I am not very familiar with familysearch.org and family history in general, so it was an experience that's for sure! I got my booklet mostly filled out though :) Later we helped a member with some bulletin boards in the Church. She is recovering from pneumonia, yet she was working on the Relief Society bulletin board. Crazy lady! In the evening we had a lesson with one of the Sister's old investigators. We talked to him about the importance of faith. He told us basically that he was meeting with the missionaries because he is lonely because his wife passed away about a year ago. He isn't super interested in the gospel, but enjoys the company. It is too bad that he isn't willing to act on the things he has been taught, but as for right now it isn't super effective to meet with him on a regular basis. To finish off the evening we had a lesson with a family. We were going to have a lesson on the Plan of Salvation, but there was a big argument at dinner, lots of contention, and some hurt feelings in the home, so we had another Valentines message about loving one another. It worked out rather well, and things were good again when we left.
On Friday the 13th #FreakyFriday, we did service at a thrift store. We moved some things around and helped organize a few projects. Later we did our Weekly Planning and prepared for the upcoming week. It is always super weird planning for the week of transfers. It was super stressful actually, because that is when I started to realize that I could very possibly be leaving. I hate surprises! In the evening we had a lesson with the our new member family on Family History. We opened up Family Search, started filling out My Family booklets, and got to work on their family history. Holy cow, that website gave me a killer headache! By the time we left I was about to hire out professional help! A genealogist would be super useful. It worked out though, and we at least got a start on some of their family history. They are just working on collecting some names and dates and things.
On Saturday, Valentines Day, we finished up some Weekly Planning in the morning and got to work on making a bunch of cookies. We made cookies for the Junckers, the Andersons, the Mowers, the Zunigas, the Larsons, the Johnsons, the Akemans, the Pinkes, etc... we just went to town baking cookies. After lunch we went and distributed our Valentines cookies. It was super fun! Later we did some service for a family in the ward. They have a corn furnace, and so we helped them fill up bags of corn for their furnace. It was freezing cold outside, someone said it was one of the colder Valentines Days that they can remember. In the evening we had Family Home Evening with a part member family. We watched Johnny Lingo and talked about how we are all children of God and have a divine potential. We played some card games and had a great time! #HappyValentinesDay #LoveWeek #AllYouNeedIsLove
On Sunday we had Church. The part member family came to Church which was awesome! After Church we had correlation and then we went and visited an investigator. We talked to him about Christlike love, and we had a super cool experience with him. He has been waiting for months and months for his sister to call him back. He has been calling her several times a week, and has had no response. Finally, while we were over at his home, his sister called! He was astonished, and told us later that he realized that God was trying to tell him something. It was great! In the evening we went up to another town and had a lesson with an investigator family on the Plan of Salvation. We whipped out some shaving cream and drew the whole Plan of Salvation on their dining room table. It was awesome!
It was a great week, and I know that good things are in the works for this week. It will be hard (as always) to say goodbye to all my friends in this area, but I know that the Lord needs me elsewhere at this time. Wish me luck in my new area!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Monday, January 12, 2015
Family History
1/12/15
Hello Everyone,
This week has been great! The temperatures were a little bit colder, but overall this winter has been MUCH better than last year. I seriously thought I was going to die last year. I remember leaving the a ward member’s home thinking to myself that I may not return. Kind of morbid, but it was FREEZING! I would always give Richard a hug and a kiss before we left each day, and that was an amazing comfort :) It is funny how all the little pieces come together. I honestly don't know if I could have made it through last winter without my dog! On Monday we got our transfer emails, and I am staying here in Princeton with my companion for another transfer. In the evening we had Family Home Evening with the part member family. Their son was in charge of the activity, and so we played Angry Birds Uno. our new member was in charge of the lesson, and she talked about honesty and obedience. It was a great evening!
On Tuesday we had the exterminators come over to our apartment. It was freezing cold in the morning, and so they were delayed a little bit. We had to shift our schedule around a little bit, but it all worked out. We just have one more treatment to go through, and then we are done! Afterward we had our weekly accountability calls, and then we went and visited with a member. We shared with her President Monson's talk, "Obedience Brings Blessings." She talked to us about how obedience has impacted her life, and how relying on the Lord has richly blessed her. Such a cool lady! In the evening we met with the a part member family. One daughter was baptized a few months ago, and things are going really well for her! The other kids are not members, and their mom is NOT supportive of them getting baptized. They were told that if they were to get baptized, they would be disowned. It is sad that some people are so very against the Church, but you just have to roll with the punches sometimes. Maybe one day hearts will be softened. We shared He is The Gift with them and shared the living nativity video from YouTube with David Archuletta and the Piano Guys. We talked about setting goals and making changes for the new year. We had a really great discussion! Their family is hilarious, we had a super good time :)
On Wednesday we had a meeting with the Bishop. We discussed all the work going on in the ward, and the things that we still need to accomplish. It was a very productive meeting! We discussed the ward baptism date of February 7th, and the part-members that are working towards that baptismal date. Ward members have been assigned to invite 13 individuals to be baptized on the ward baptism date. We will have to see what happens! So far the reception has been really good though. In the afternoon we met with a less-active member. We stopped by him a few days ago, but he was a little preoccupied. In fact he told us that he needed to keep his head clear to put some man behind bars. Who knows what happened, but apparently he was successful and someone went to jail. We talked to him about the Book of Mormon, and he was very receptive. I think in his mind he is an active member of the Church, although he has not been in a very long time. Interesting character! In the evening we went out joint teaching and had a lesson with our part member family. We taught the Plan of Salvation. We had a bit of a rough start. We were discussing our pre-mortal existence and Adam and Eve. Science and evolution were brought up, but the important underlying factor that we kept discussing was faith in God and Jesus Christ and that He created us. They all believe that, which is awesome! The other details are not as important right now. The daughter mentioned that the Bishop had talked to her in the afternoon, and invited her to be baptized on the 7th, and that she was interested but needed to think about it. She is really busy with school and extracurricular activities, and so her mind is a little scattered. I can totally understand! Focus was one thing that I lacked a little bit in high school. I had a lot on my plate, and focus just wasn't always practical! Overall we had a really great discussion. One family memeber mentioned that with everything that life has handed her in the past few months has made her feel a little bit like she is stuck in the mud in the middle of a corn field. She joked that if a farmer were to come and find her, he would probably get stuck too! I want to make them a cup of dirt, like the dessert that they used to have a TGIFriday's! I always loved those as a kid. I just thought it would give a little positive twist on things. Sometimes being stuck in the mud isn't always a bad thing ;) It quite possibly could be one of the best things that could ever happen to you. In fact maybe the mud is chocolate pudding, and there are tasty little gummy worms in the mud with you. (I am going to buy some oreos, gummy worms, and chocolate pudding today while we go shopping!)
On Thursday we went over to the Family History Center and learned a little bit about Family History. I still am super lost as to how to do it all, but I know enough to help other people a little bit. In the afternoon we went and did some service over at the thrift store. We set up a few displays and things. Right now the thrift store is super empty, so finding things that look good is a little bit of a challenge! We made it work though. In the evening we had a lesson with a member. We watched the movie, "How Rare A Possession: The Book Of Mormon." We talked about the power of the Book of Mormon, and how it can change our lives if we let it. We must search, ponder, and pray. I feel like my Book of Mormon studies could improve a little bit... I have almost finished the New Testament, so once I finish I will be able to devote a lot more time to that. I don't think I am going to bother to try and tackle the Old testament while I am on my mission... I just don't have enough time, and there are better things I could be doing with my time. Not that the Old Testament is bad by any means! One day I will read it :)
On Friday we had Weekly Planning and we did service at a different thrift store. We helped rearrange a few things, and tagged some clothes. In the evening we went out joint teaching and visited with the a family. We taught the restoration, and it went really well! The kids mostly taught us the restoration, so that was fun :) Hopefully good things are in the works for their family!
On Saturday we went out finding in the morning. We met three people who have potential for the future. These past few weeks our finding has been lacking a little bit. We need to schedule out little pockets of time that we can go and find new people to teach! In the afternoon we went and visited with an older member. We shared President Monson's talk, "Obedience Brings Blessings." She shared a few stories with us, and we had a great time! In the evening we had Family Home Evening with the our new members. We watched the movie Johnny Lingo and talked about how we are all children of God, and that we all have a noble birthright. It was a really fun lesson! I kind of felt like I was going through withdrawals. We hadn't seen them all week, it was kind of weird! Things are going well though. The mom is having a really tough time with the passing of her friend, however. She was telling us that she has a hard time feeling motivated to get out of the house, and to go out and talk with other people. Her husband without her knowing volunteered her to meet with the Bishop, but she wasn't particularly excited about it. (I was wondering if a Facebook message might help. I haven't discussed the passing of their friend with their family. I have been a little bit conflicted. I just don't really know how to share it and what details to share and what details not to share. I usually just don't end up sharing it because of that. I wonder if it might help if you talked to her about the pain that you went through, and what helped you to overcome that.)
On Sunday the dad of our new member family ordained his son as a deacon and gave him the Aaronic Priesthood. It has been super cool to be able to see the workings of the Church take place in their family! They all got their membership numbers and were able to start using familysearch.org and lds.org and everything. After Church we visited with an investigator. He mentioned that he might be moving in the upcoming weeks. His lungs are blown out from working as a welder, and from smoking. He probably going to move to Missouri to be close to his family, and get care from the VA over there. We talked with him about the Priesthood, and committed him to watch the Mormon Message, "Mountains To Climb". He always talks to us about how much he appreciates having someone to talk to, and to kind of vent for a little bit. He told us that we have really helped to strengthen his faith. I really hope that things get better for him! In the evening we had a lesson with our new member family on Temples and Family History. The mom lost her son many years ago, and so they are excited to be able to do baptisms for the dead in the near future! They are also excited to start doing all of their family history. Luckily we have a family history missionary in our ward, and people that can help them! To finish off the evening we met with our part member family and had a lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked about faith and repentance. Next time we will be talking about baptism, the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. Good things are happening in their family though! Hearts are definitely being softened, and the spirit is definitely working on each one of them.
All in all it was a super good week! Thank you all for all of your love and support :) Have a great week!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Hello Everyone,
This week has been great! The temperatures were a little bit colder, but overall this winter has been MUCH better than last year. I seriously thought I was going to die last year. I remember leaving the a ward member’s home thinking to myself that I may not return. Kind of morbid, but it was FREEZING! I would always give Richard a hug and a kiss before we left each day, and that was an amazing comfort :) It is funny how all the little pieces come together. I honestly don't know if I could have made it through last winter without my dog! On Monday we got our transfer emails, and I am staying here in Princeton with my companion for another transfer. In the evening we had Family Home Evening with the part member family. Their son was in charge of the activity, and so we played Angry Birds Uno. our new member was in charge of the lesson, and she talked about honesty and obedience. It was a great evening!
On Tuesday we had the exterminators come over to our apartment. It was freezing cold in the morning, and so they were delayed a little bit. We had to shift our schedule around a little bit, but it all worked out. We just have one more treatment to go through, and then we are done! Afterward we had our weekly accountability calls, and then we went and visited with a member. We shared with her President Monson's talk, "Obedience Brings Blessings." She talked to us about how obedience has impacted her life, and how relying on the Lord has richly blessed her. Such a cool lady! In the evening we met with the a part member family. One daughter was baptized a few months ago, and things are going really well for her! The other kids are not members, and their mom is NOT supportive of them getting baptized. They were told that if they were to get baptized, they would be disowned. It is sad that some people are so very against the Church, but you just have to roll with the punches sometimes. Maybe one day hearts will be softened. We shared He is The Gift with them and shared the living nativity video from YouTube with David Archuletta and the Piano Guys. We talked about setting goals and making changes for the new year. We had a really great discussion! Their family is hilarious, we had a super good time :)
On Wednesday we had a meeting with the Bishop. We discussed all the work going on in the ward, and the things that we still need to accomplish. It was a very productive meeting! We discussed the ward baptism date of February 7th, and the part-members that are working towards that baptismal date. Ward members have been assigned to invite 13 individuals to be baptized on the ward baptism date. We will have to see what happens! So far the reception has been really good though. In the afternoon we met with a less-active member. We stopped by him a few days ago, but he was a little preoccupied. In fact he told us that he needed to keep his head clear to put some man behind bars. Who knows what happened, but apparently he was successful and someone went to jail. We talked to him about the Book of Mormon, and he was very receptive. I think in his mind he is an active member of the Church, although he has not been in a very long time. Interesting character! In the evening we went out joint teaching and had a lesson with our part member family. We taught the Plan of Salvation. We had a bit of a rough start. We were discussing our pre-mortal existence and Adam and Eve. Science and evolution were brought up, but the important underlying factor that we kept discussing was faith in God and Jesus Christ and that He created us. They all believe that, which is awesome! The other details are not as important right now. The daughter mentioned that the Bishop had talked to her in the afternoon, and invited her to be baptized on the 7th, and that she was interested but needed to think about it. She is really busy with school and extracurricular activities, and so her mind is a little scattered. I can totally understand! Focus was one thing that I lacked a little bit in high school. I had a lot on my plate, and focus just wasn't always practical! Overall we had a really great discussion. One family memeber mentioned that with everything that life has handed her in the past few months has made her feel a little bit like she is stuck in the mud in the middle of a corn field. She joked that if a farmer were to come and find her, he would probably get stuck too! I want to make them a cup of dirt, like the dessert that they used to have a TGIFriday's! I always loved those as a kid. I just thought it would give a little positive twist on things. Sometimes being stuck in the mud isn't always a bad thing ;) It quite possibly could be one of the best things that could ever happen to you. In fact maybe the mud is chocolate pudding, and there are tasty little gummy worms in the mud with you. (I am going to buy some oreos, gummy worms, and chocolate pudding today while we go shopping!)
On Thursday we went over to the Family History Center and learned a little bit about Family History. I still am super lost as to how to do it all, but I know enough to help other people a little bit. In the afternoon we went and did some service over at the thrift store. We set up a few displays and things. Right now the thrift store is super empty, so finding things that look good is a little bit of a challenge! We made it work though. In the evening we had a lesson with a member. We watched the movie, "How Rare A Possession: The Book Of Mormon." We talked about the power of the Book of Mormon, and how it can change our lives if we let it. We must search, ponder, and pray. I feel like my Book of Mormon studies could improve a little bit... I have almost finished the New Testament, so once I finish I will be able to devote a lot more time to that. I don't think I am going to bother to try and tackle the Old testament while I am on my mission... I just don't have enough time, and there are better things I could be doing with my time. Not that the Old Testament is bad by any means! One day I will read it :)
On Friday we had Weekly Planning and we did service at a different thrift store. We helped rearrange a few things, and tagged some clothes. In the evening we went out joint teaching and visited with the a family. We taught the restoration, and it went really well! The kids mostly taught us the restoration, so that was fun :) Hopefully good things are in the works for their family!
On Saturday we went out finding in the morning. We met three people who have potential for the future. These past few weeks our finding has been lacking a little bit. We need to schedule out little pockets of time that we can go and find new people to teach! In the afternoon we went and visited with an older member. We shared President Monson's talk, "Obedience Brings Blessings." She shared a few stories with us, and we had a great time! In the evening we had Family Home Evening with the our new members. We watched the movie Johnny Lingo and talked about how we are all children of God, and that we all have a noble birthright. It was a really fun lesson! I kind of felt like I was going through withdrawals. We hadn't seen them all week, it was kind of weird! Things are going well though. The mom is having a really tough time with the passing of her friend, however. She was telling us that she has a hard time feeling motivated to get out of the house, and to go out and talk with other people. Her husband without her knowing volunteered her to meet with the Bishop, but she wasn't particularly excited about it. (I was wondering if a Facebook message might help. I haven't discussed the passing of their friend with their family. I have been a little bit conflicted. I just don't really know how to share it and what details to share and what details not to share. I usually just don't end up sharing it because of that. I wonder if it might help if you talked to her about the pain that you went through, and what helped you to overcome that.)
On Sunday the dad of our new member family ordained his son as a deacon and gave him the Aaronic Priesthood. It has been super cool to be able to see the workings of the Church take place in their family! They all got their membership numbers and were able to start using familysearch.org and lds.org and everything. After Church we visited with an investigator. He mentioned that he might be moving in the upcoming weeks. His lungs are blown out from working as a welder, and from smoking. He probably going to move to Missouri to be close to his family, and get care from the VA over there. We talked with him about the Priesthood, and committed him to watch the Mormon Message, "Mountains To Climb". He always talks to us about how much he appreciates having someone to talk to, and to kind of vent for a little bit. He told us that we have really helped to strengthen his faith. I really hope that things get better for him! In the evening we had a lesson with our new member family on Temples and Family History. The mom lost her son many years ago, and so they are excited to be able to do baptisms for the dead in the near future! They are also excited to start doing all of their family history. Luckily we have a family history missionary in our ward, and people that can help them! To finish off the evening we met with our part member family and had a lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked about faith and repentance. Next time we will be talking about baptism, the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. Good things are happening in their family though! Hearts are definitely being softened, and the spirit is definitely working on each one of them.
All in all it was a super good week! Thank you all for all of your love and support :) Have a great week!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Monday, November 24, 2014
Transfers and a Baptism!
Hello Everyone,
This week has been good :) On Monday, we had our P-Day. After all of our P-Day activities, we went and helped some guy that a member knows remodel his house. We were tearing out his tiled floor, and ripping out the floor boards as well. It was a new experience using a hammer and a crow bar and taking out the floor. Of course it came off in little pieces, but it all worked out in the end! We even helped a little bit with some sheet rock, and I helped sweep up the mess. You know me!
On Tuesday we did some Area Book work, and then volunteered at Family Pathways for a little while. In the evening we went out joint teaching. We stopped by a less-active family and shared a scripture with them and reviewed the 10 commandments. Later we had a lesson with a less active sister. We talked with her about the Book of Mormon and trials, and she asked us to give her a blessing. After we left she texted us thanking us for the blessing, and that it had made her day! The cool thing about it all is that our original plans for the evening fell through. Originally we were going to be in a different city, and we were not going up to that city. Everything happens for a reason! To finish off the evening, we had a lesson with less-actives returning to activity. We had a really great lesson with them, and talked about Moroni 10:32-33 "Come Unto Christ." It was a super great day!
On Wednesday we had our last District Meeting for the transfer. I have loved this District! We took some pictures, signed each others testimony journals, and went on our way. In the afternoon we had a lesson with an investigator. We talked to him about putting on the Armour of God. We showed a video about putting on all of the pieces of Armour, and he really enjoyed the lesson! In the evening we had a lesson with a member. We talked to her about a quote by President Hinkley, "Look For The Sunlight." It talks about looking for the positive aspects in life rather than focusing on all of the negatives. Super good quote!
On Thursday we did some service at a thrift shop. In the afternoon we helped out with a move into the ward, a part-member family. They are super nice! She is a member, and he is not, but he comes to Church when he can. AWESOME :) After the move we got ready for the evening and went out joint teaching with Bishop. We had a lesson with our investigator couple on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We did a little experiment with hard boiled eggs and a glass bottle where you pour in some alcohol, light a match, and the hard boiled egg falls in the glass bottle. Kind of fun! When you crack the egg shell and peel it off, it represents repentance. The alcohol is baptism, and the fire is the gift of the Holy Ghost (baptism by fire). As the egg squeezes into the bottle, it represents enduring to the end. The kids loved it! It was pretty great :) To finish off the evening, we had a lesson with our mother and daughter investigators on covenants, specifically the covenants she would be making at baptism. It was a great last lesson before her baptism on Saturday!
On Friday we had Weekly Planning for the majority of afternoon. Mostly because we got a little bit distracted, and ended up going to a restaurant, and participating in the "Big Stack Challenge." Super nasty. You have to eat four HUGE pancakes the size of your face. It was pretty disgusting. Still not sure why I participated! But we did it. We got free t-shirts, and our picture up on the wall with a bunch of other people that decided to overly indulge in some carb overload. Never again! The funny thing is... I don't even like pancakes! Totally a waffles person. But it is done and over with :) In the evening we had a lesson with a part-member family and then went out joint teaching. We had a lesson with a less active member in the evening that went really nicely! I shared a Mormon Message with her called "Looking Through Windows" and then discussed Elder Uchtdorf's talk, "Lord, Is It I?" Afterwards she asked us a lot of gospel questions that she had been having, and we were able to resolve them for her. Overall, it was a super good evening!
On Saturday we had a baptism! Even though we tried to plan it out well in advance, it always feels like a last minute dash in the end. It all came together though :) She asked my companion to baptize her, and me to confirm her. Normally we are strongly discouraged from participating in any baptismal ordinance so that the members in the ward that live there and will stay there longer than we will can participate, but she selected us before we were able to have anything to do with it. It all worked out though. The baptism service went really great, and all of her non-member family was there and enjoyed the service! In the evening we went to a city in the cities metropolitan area, and participated in a ward Day of Service at Feed My Starving Children. It was awesome! Such an amazing organization. We packed up a bunch of boxes of food to be shipped out to the Dominican Republic. Our investigator couple came and had a really great experience as well! Overall, it was an awesome day :)
On Sunday we had Church, of course. Our new convert's confirmation went really well. I was kind of nervous for some reason, but then it all came together. Her blessing talked a lot about her example as a member of the Church, and that through the light that she has, others will have a greater desire to come nearer to their Savior, Jesus Christ. She is going to be an awesome missionary! Being the only member in her family, besides her grandma, she is going to do wonders :) Together they are unstoppable! In the evening we went out joint teaching. We had a lesson with our investigator couple on consecration. We watched a movie called "Only A Stonecutter" that shares the story of John Roe Moyle. Super cool guy! We talked about acting and applying the principles of the gospel, and acting, not being acted upon. Later we had a lesson with our new convert. Her first lesson as an official member of the Church! We talked to her about the Holy Ghost, and the influence that it has in our lives. All in all it was a pretty solid week :)
Today we got our transfer emails, and I am staying here, and my companion is getting transferred to a new city, which is still in our District, so that is kind of fun! Thank you all for all of your love and support, have a great week :)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
This week has been good :) On Monday, we had our P-Day. After all of our P-Day activities, we went and helped some guy that a member knows remodel his house. We were tearing out his tiled floor, and ripping out the floor boards as well. It was a new experience using a hammer and a crow bar and taking out the floor. Of course it came off in little pieces, but it all worked out in the end! We even helped a little bit with some sheet rock, and I helped sweep up the mess. You know me!
On Tuesday we did some Area Book work, and then volunteered at Family Pathways for a little while. In the evening we went out joint teaching. We stopped by a less-active family and shared a scripture with them and reviewed the 10 commandments. Later we had a lesson with a less active sister. We talked with her about the Book of Mormon and trials, and she asked us to give her a blessing. After we left she texted us thanking us for the blessing, and that it had made her day! The cool thing about it all is that our original plans for the evening fell through. Originally we were going to be in a different city, and we were not going up to that city. Everything happens for a reason! To finish off the evening, we had a lesson with less-actives returning to activity. We had a really great lesson with them, and talked about Moroni 10:32-33 "Come Unto Christ." It was a super great day!
On Wednesday we had our last District Meeting for the transfer. I have loved this District! We took some pictures, signed each others testimony journals, and went on our way. In the afternoon we had a lesson with an investigator. We talked to him about putting on the Armour of God. We showed a video about putting on all of the pieces of Armour, and he really enjoyed the lesson! In the evening we had a lesson with a member. We talked to her about a quote by President Hinkley, "Look For The Sunlight." It talks about looking for the positive aspects in life rather than focusing on all of the negatives. Super good quote!
On Thursday we did some service at a thrift shop. In the afternoon we helped out with a move into the ward, a part-member family. They are super nice! She is a member, and he is not, but he comes to Church when he can. AWESOME :) After the move we got ready for the evening and went out joint teaching with Bishop. We had a lesson with our investigator couple on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We did a little experiment with hard boiled eggs and a glass bottle where you pour in some alcohol, light a match, and the hard boiled egg falls in the glass bottle. Kind of fun! When you crack the egg shell and peel it off, it represents repentance. The alcohol is baptism, and the fire is the gift of the Holy Ghost (baptism by fire). As the egg squeezes into the bottle, it represents enduring to the end. The kids loved it! It was pretty great :) To finish off the evening, we had a lesson with our mother and daughter investigators on covenants, specifically the covenants she would be making at baptism. It was a great last lesson before her baptism on Saturday!
On Friday we had Weekly Planning for the majority of afternoon. Mostly because we got a little bit distracted, and ended up going to a restaurant, and participating in the "Big Stack Challenge." Super nasty. You have to eat four HUGE pancakes the size of your face. It was pretty disgusting. Still not sure why I participated! But we did it. We got free t-shirts, and our picture up on the wall with a bunch of other people that decided to overly indulge in some carb overload. Never again! The funny thing is... I don't even like pancakes! Totally a waffles person. But it is done and over with :) In the evening we had a lesson with a part-member family and then went out joint teaching. We had a lesson with a less active member in the evening that went really nicely! I shared a Mormon Message with her called "Looking Through Windows" and then discussed Elder Uchtdorf's talk, "Lord, Is It I?" Afterwards she asked us a lot of gospel questions that she had been having, and we were able to resolve them for her. Overall, it was a super good evening!
On Saturday we had a baptism! Even though we tried to plan it out well in advance, it always feels like a last minute dash in the end. It all came together though :) She asked my companion to baptize her, and me to confirm her. Normally we are strongly discouraged from participating in any baptismal ordinance so that the members in the ward that live there and will stay there longer than we will can participate, but she selected us before we were able to have anything to do with it. It all worked out though. The baptism service went really great, and all of her non-member family was there and enjoyed the service! In the evening we went to a city in the cities metropolitan area, and participated in a ward Day of Service at Feed My Starving Children. It was awesome! Such an amazing organization. We packed up a bunch of boxes of food to be shipped out to the Dominican Republic. Our investigator couple came and had a really great experience as well! Overall, it was an awesome day :)
On Sunday we had Church, of course. Our new convert's confirmation went really well. I was kind of nervous for some reason, but then it all came together. Her blessing talked a lot about her example as a member of the Church, and that through the light that she has, others will have a greater desire to come nearer to their Savior, Jesus Christ. She is going to be an awesome missionary! Being the only member in her family, besides her grandma, she is going to do wonders :) Together they are unstoppable! In the evening we went out joint teaching. We had a lesson with our investigator couple on consecration. We watched a movie called "Only A Stonecutter" that shares the story of John Roe Moyle. Super cool guy! We talked about acting and applying the principles of the gospel, and acting, not being acted upon. Later we had a lesson with our new convert. Her first lesson as an official member of the Church! We talked to her about the Holy Ghost, and the influence that it has in our lives. All in all it was a pretty solid week :)
Today we got our transfer emails, and I am staying here, and my companion is getting transferred to a new city, which is still in our District, so that is kind of fun! Thank you all for all of your love and support, have a great week :)
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Monday, July 21, 2014
Faith helps us in all aspects of life
Hello Everyone,
This week has been crazy, but in the best way possible! On Monday we had our P-Day and I decided to buy a fun new University of Minnesota shirt from Target. Kind of just because, but it was my birthday this week so I rationalized that it was a wise investment ;) In the evening we went joint teaching with a Brother from the ward. We first taught a wonderful family. We talked with them about tithing, fasting, and fast offerings. It was a great lesson, and it answered a lot of questions that our investigator has had about living a gospel center life after he is baptized. Afterwards we went over to see the another family. We shared 1 Nephi 3:7 with them, and talked about going and doing. They seemed to really understand it well, hopefully they will apply the principle we taught. Agency sometimes is not our friend!
On Tuesday we had our last District Meeting this transfer. It was fun! We have all come really close these past two transfers. I remember when I was first sent to this District, I absolutely hated it. It felt like we were all sitting down for a business meeting, and then going our separate ways, but that has all changed. After District Meeting we had a lesson with an investigator. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and had a lot of questions for us about it. He said that he has recognized a lot of phrases that are stolen from the Bible, but it was written on the other side of the world. We talked to him about how God talks to Prophets, and how his message never changes. That would explain why his message is the same in both books of scripture. He also talked to us about the great and abominable Church. That was a fun conversation! He pointed out that it specifically refers to it as "the whore of all the Earth." We talked to him about how the great and abominable Church is not God's Church, and that it takes people away from God's Church which is why it is talked about so strongly in the Book of Mormon. After we answered all of his questions he was golden! He asked us to go through the regular missionary discussions with him so that he can learn everything about our Church in the order that we teach it to others. He is hilarious! "Basically what I am asking you to do, is to do your job!" Later we went out joint teaching with the Bishop of our ward, and had another lesson with the family we saw yesterday. We talked about the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom. Neither of those commandments are a struggle for them, so he was ready and prepared for his baptismal interview. Afterwards we visited with another investigator. Her husband was not home, but she has been wanting to meet with Bishop for a while. They talked about finances and life, and resolved some concerns together. All is well!
On Wednesday we had a bunch of phone calls and things in the morning, and went out joint teaching with a member in the evening. Normally I don't talk about our dinners in my weekly letters home, but our Joint Teaching partner’s wife made Texas Sheet Cake for dessert (aka Magleby's Chocolate Cake!). It was DELICIOUS! I am all caked out from this week though, I have had a disgusting amount of cake from all of our meal appointments. Afterwards we saw an investigator briefly and set up an appointment with him. We visited with another investigator on his porch and talked with him about faith. We shared the Book of Mormon scriptures on faith with him, and talked about how faith helps us in all aspects of life. He really enjoyed the lesson, and set up a return appointment later in the week. We finished off the day visiting with another investigator family. They discussed some of their trials, and headway that has been made in some areas. They were planning on blessing their new baby on Sunday but the father got super sick. Awesome family though! At the end of the evening the father gave my companion my birthday package, and gave instructions not to give it to me until tomorrow. Rude.
On Thursday, my 20th birthday, we were all over the place haha! I got a bunch of hair products and clothes. Missionary birthdays are... unique. We had mormon.org time, and all of the people in the Family History Center sang to me. It was pretty hilarious! Afterwards we weekly planned, and I went across the street to the ghetto strip mall and bought some birthday cake flavoured M&M's so I have cake on my birthday, but not real cake because I was kind of sick of it haha. They were kind of gross, but it was a fun thought! We went joint teaching with a brother from the ward in the evening. We were able to visit with an investigator family and reestablish contact! Afterwards we met with a less-active that we have been trying to get a hold of forever, and then we finished off the evening by stopping by our other investigator family. Talk about a turn of events haha! We walked into their house, and they had planned a surprise party! They had a Happy Birthday banner, food, and a cookie with my name on it. It was pretty fun :) We talked with them about Alma Chapter 5, and conversion to the gospel. It was a great ending to a great evening!
On Friday we had a Zone Service Project to start off the day. We were working at the Rose Garden Park in Minneapolis. I love all of these fun parks and places that they have here in Minneapolis. Who thinks of these things?!?! I guess this particular rose park has been here for over 100 years. It was super pretty! We helped replant some roses, and did some gardening work for them. It was pretty low key! On the way home though I caught some pictures of some ghettotastic signs in Minnesota. It was pretty great! We had dinner with a family in the ward and they invited some of their non-member friends. We had a great discussion with them, and then we were off to our investigator’s baptismal interview. It was great! He passed his interview and is ready to get baptized this next Saturday. In the evening we went and attempted to contact a bunch of mormon.org referrals that we received, but didn't have much luck. On a positive note though, I got a package from some family that included a bottle of Coke, and a bottle of Diet Coke that said "Share a Coke/Diet Coke with Kyle!!!!" Oh my gosh! It was the best :) Totally made my day!
On Saturday we helped someone move in the morning. The old ward had 17 planned moves before the end of the summer. I think 8-10 of them are over, but now we have two additional unplanned moves. Goodness gracious! Lot of service ;) Afterwards we met with an investigator and talked with her for a little while. We have been so busy these past couple weeks, that some people have been falling through the cracks. Not good! I am working on figuring everything out, and balancing our schedule better so that we can be more effective and reach out to everyone. We found out that a ward member was going to the Mall of America so I sent her with all of my shirts and things that needed to be exchanged. They did not have them in stock at the store so they had to mail them. She had them mailed to her house, which caused some unexpected stress because of transfers haha! Oh well, I knew I would get them eventually, even if I am transferred. In the evening we went joint teaching with a ward member. We were going to contact an investigator, and met an 87 year old woman instead. She came up to us and held our hands and sang to us, and then pulled us into her house to see one of her paintings. She was kind of crazy, but she was a super sweet woman. Afterwards we set up an appointment with our investigator, because she was busy at the moment. Good things are in the works!
On Sunday we had Ward Council and the Stake Presidency came to visit. Afterwards we had Church, Correlation, and our weekly meeting with Bishop. After Church my compantion had a baptismal interview for someone in our District, and then we had dinner and went to the Presidents Fireside with an investigator family! It was a jam packed day, but it all flowed perfectly from one event to the next. The Presidents Fireside was great! I saw my old companion who goes home on Wednesday for the last time. It was great to see so many of my missionary friends again, and to witness President and Sister Forbes first Presidents Fireside. One of the Assistants told us that they would be talking to us in the Morning, which is always kind of nerve racking. I had no clue what was going to happen with transfers! You get calls if you are training or going into leadership, but we didn't know who the call was for or what it was for exactly. Needless to say it was tough to get to sleep Sunday night.
This morning came, and we got the call. I am staying here, and will be training a new missionary. I was stunned. I was expecting to be called as a District Leader or something, but the thought of training kind of frightens me! So much extra work and responsibility. Being a District Leader would have been so much easier! I am glad that I will still be here though, and that I will be here to witness our investigator’s baptism. Everything will work out for the best.
Thank you all so much for all of your love and support! I am excited to see what happens this next transfer, and how things work out training and everything. Pray for me and my greenie haha!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
This week has been crazy, but in the best way possible! On Monday we had our P-Day and I decided to buy a fun new University of Minnesota shirt from Target. Kind of just because, but it was my birthday this week so I rationalized that it was a wise investment ;) In the evening we went joint teaching with a Brother from the ward. We first taught a wonderful family. We talked with them about tithing, fasting, and fast offerings. It was a great lesson, and it answered a lot of questions that our investigator has had about living a gospel center life after he is baptized. Afterwards we went over to see the another family. We shared 1 Nephi 3:7 with them, and talked about going and doing. They seemed to really understand it well, hopefully they will apply the principle we taught. Agency sometimes is not our friend!
On Tuesday we had our last District Meeting this transfer. It was fun! We have all come really close these past two transfers. I remember when I was first sent to this District, I absolutely hated it. It felt like we were all sitting down for a business meeting, and then going our separate ways, but that has all changed. After District Meeting we had a lesson with an investigator. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and had a lot of questions for us about it. He said that he has recognized a lot of phrases that are stolen from the Bible, but it was written on the other side of the world. We talked to him about how God talks to Prophets, and how his message never changes. That would explain why his message is the same in both books of scripture. He also talked to us about the great and abominable Church. That was a fun conversation! He pointed out that it specifically refers to it as "the whore of all the Earth." We talked to him about how the great and abominable Church is not God's Church, and that it takes people away from God's Church which is why it is talked about so strongly in the Book of Mormon. After we answered all of his questions he was golden! He asked us to go through the regular missionary discussions with him so that he can learn everything about our Church in the order that we teach it to others. He is hilarious! "Basically what I am asking you to do, is to do your job!" Later we went out joint teaching with the Bishop of our ward, and had another lesson with the family we saw yesterday. We talked about the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom. Neither of those commandments are a struggle for them, so he was ready and prepared for his baptismal interview. Afterwards we visited with another investigator. Her husband was not home, but she has been wanting to meet with Bishop for a while. They talked about finances and life, and resolved some concerns together. All is well!
On Wednesday we had a bunch of phone calls and things in the morning, and went out joint teaching with a member in the evening. Normally I don't talk about our dinners in my weekly letters home, but our Joint Teaching partner’s wife made Texas Sheet Cake for dessert (aka Magleby's Chocolate Cake!). It was DELICIOUS! I am all caked out from this week though, I have had a disgusting amount of cake from all of our meal appointments. Afterwards we saw an investigator briefly and set up an appointment with him. We visited with another investigator on his porch and talked with him about faith. We shared the Book of Mormon scriptures on faith with him, and talked about how faith helps us in all aspects of life. He really enjoyed the lesson, and set up a return appointment later in the week. We finished off the day visiting with another investigator family. They discussed some of their trials, and headway that has been made in some areas. They were planning on blessing their new baby on Sunday but the father got super sick. Awesome family though! At the end of the evening the father gave my companion my birthday package, and gave instructions not to give it to me until tomorrow. Rude.
On Thursday, my 20th birthday, we were all over the place haha! I got a bunch of hair products and clothes. Missionary birthdays are... unique. We had mormon.org time, and all of the people in the Family History Center sang to me. It was pretty hilarious! Afterwards we weekly planned, and I went across the street to the ghetto strip mall and bought some birthday cake flavoured M&M's so I have cake on my birthday, but not real cake because I was kind of sick of it haha. They were kind of gross, but it was a fun thought! We went joint teaching with a brother from the ward in the evening. We were able to visit with an investigator family and reestablish contact! Afterwards we met with a less-active that we have been trying to get a hold of forever, and then we finished off the evening by stopping by our other investigator family. Talk about a turn of events haha! We walked into their house, and they had planned a surprise party! They had a Happy Birthday banner, food, and a cookie with my name on it. It was pretty fun :) We talked with them about Alma Chapter 5, and conversion to the gospel. It was a great ending to a great evening!
On Friday we had a Zone Service Project to start off the day. We were working at the Rose Garden Park in Minneapolis. I love all of these fun parks and places that they have here in Minneapolis. Who thinks of these things?!?! I guess this particular rose park has been here for over 100 years. It was super pretty! We helped replant some roses, and did some gardening work for them. It was pretty low key! On the way home though I caught some pictures of some ghettotastic signs in Minnesota. It was pretty great! We had dinner with a family in the ward and they invited some of their non-member friends. We had a great discussion with them, and then we were off to our investigator’s baptismal interview. It was great! He passed his interview and is ready to get baptized this next Saturday. In the evening we went and attempted to contact a bunch of mormon.org referrals that we received, but didn't have much luck. On a positive note though, I got a package from some family that included a bottle of Coke, and a bottle of Diet Coke that said "Share a Coke/Diet Coke with Kyle!!!!" Oh my gosh! It was the best :) Totally made my day!
On Saturday we helped someone move in the morning. The old ward had 17 planned moves before the end of the summer. I think 8-10 of them are over, but now we have two additional unplanned moves. Goodness gracious! Lot of service ;) Afterwards we met with an investigator and talked with her for a little while. We have been so busy these past couple weeks, that some people have been falling through the cracks. Not good! I am working on figuring everything out, and balancing our schedule better so that we can be more effective and reach out to everyone. We found out that a ward member was going to the Mall of America so I sent her with all of my shirts and things that needed to be exchanged. They did not have them in stock at the store so they had to mail them. She had them mailed to her house, which caused some unexpected stress because of transfers haha! Oh well, I knew I would get them eventually, even if I am transferred. In the evening we went joint teaching with a ward member. We were going to contact an investigator, and met an 87 year old woman instead. She came up to us and held our hands and sang to us, and then pulled us into her house to see one of her paintings. She was kind of crazy, but she was a super sweet woman. Afterwards we set up an appointment with our investigator, because she was busy at the moment. Good things are in the works!
On Sunday we had Ward Council and the Stake Presidency came to visit. Afterwards we had Church, Correlation, and our weekly meeting with Bishop. After Church my compantion had a baptismal interview for someone in our District, and then we had dinner and went to the Presidents Fireside with an investigator family! It was a jam packed day, but it all flowed perfectly from one event to the next. The Presidents Fireside was great! I saw my old companion who goes home on Wednesday for the last time. It was great to see so many of my missionary friends again, and to witness President and Sister Forbes first Presidents Fireside. One of the Assistants told us that they would be talking to us in the Morning, which is always kind of nerve racking. I had no clue what was going to happen with transfers! You get calls if you are training or going into leadership, but we didn't know who the call was for or what it was for exactly. Needless to say it was tough to get to sleep Sunday night.
This morning came, and we got the call. I am staying here, and will be training a new missionary. I was stunned. I was expecting to be called as a District Leader or something, but the thought of training kind of frightens me! So much extra work and responsibility. Being a District Leader would have been so much easier! I am glad that I will still be here though, and that I will be here to witness our investigator’s baptism. Everything will work out for the best.
Thank you all so much for all of your love and support! I am excited to see what happens this next transfer, and how things work out training and everything. Pray for me and my greenie haha!
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, 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
Monday, September 30, 2013
Receive No Witness Until After The Trial Of Your Faith
September 30, 2013
Hello Everyone,
This week has been one of many highs and lows, but I made it through alive! I realized the other day the importance of being a leader, not a follower. When I get lazy and unmotivated sometimes, I tend to coast and just follow after others. We cannot coast, we must "keep moving forward" like Walt Disney once said. I was reading over my patriarchal blessing, and it talks about how I will lead others down paths of righteousness. I cannot do that by merely following others, it will not work.
I have been praying recently for an opportunity to meet and teach a family. The other day we were tracting during painfully unproductive hours 7-9:00 PM, and we stopped and prayed for guidance. As we prayed, we saw a family moving in to the home across the street from us. We went over and offered to help them move in, and they accepted! We weren't able to share a message with them that evening, but we offered to come back the next day to continue to help them move in, and we set up an appointment.
I went on a last minute exchange with an elder after district meeting on Wednesday. After we arrived in Sparta, we went out tracting on a predetermined street. It wasn't going very well, and we were approaching another street. I decided that we were going to keep tracting this street, and that we wouldn't go down the other street. As we got closer, I realized there was only one house on that street. Finally, for whatever reason, I got over myself, and we went and knocked on the door of the one house on the street. A teen answered and we were able to visit with him and teach him! I didn't realize at the time that I was being tested whether or not I was going to go down the street, but we did and we were blessed! Later we were able to visit with the family that we helped move the night before, and we continued to help them move in. After we were done moving, we shared a quick message with them. It was great! Hopefully they will begin to show interest in our religion, but if not, maybe their hearts will be open sometime in the future because of our work with them.
We have been able to do a lot of service this week. We set up a hospital bed in a members home, mowed a lawn of a disabled member, and pulled weeds in our apartment complex for a potential investigator. Even though we often aren't able to teach during these service opportunities, we are able to help make a difference in others lives. When we were pulling weeds with the potential investigator, we were led eventually to a really great discussion about God and religion. It helped too that at the time, a different religious group were out tracting our apartment complex ;) Afterwards she fed us, and gave us Diet Coke. SO GOOD! Hopefully we will be able to continue to visit with and teach her.
This week our 10-year-old baptismal candidate and his father cancelled their appointment again. We are still holding out for October 20th, but we will have to wait and see. We did however get the opportunity to visit with our spanish speaking investigator. We have been trying to get in contact with her for a while now, with no success, so this was a great moment! We had a very quick visit, but we were able to reestablish contact.
Today we received our transfer emails, and my companion and I will no longer be serving together in Sparta, Wisconsin. I will be staying here in Sparta. I am very saddened, but I knew that it was going to happen eventually. I am sure that things will work out great with my new companion but I am scared out of my mind! Change and starting over is always scary and stressful. I know that this is what needs to happen though, for whatever reason.
Thank you all so much for your love and support. I love hearing from all of you, and what is going on back home! I hope you are all doing well, and that this will be a great week for us all. Talk to you next week, I love and miss you all!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Hello Everyone,
This week has been one of many highs and lows, but I made it through alive! I realized the other day the importance of being a leader, not a follower. When I get lazy and unmotivated sometimes, I tend to coast and just follow after others. We cannot coast, we must "keep moving forward" like Walt Disney once said. I was reading over my patriarchal blessing, and it talks about how I will lead others down paths of righteousness. I cannot do that by merely following others, it will not work.
I have been praying recently for an opportunity to meet and teach a family. The other day we were tracting during painfully unproductive hours 7-9:00 PM, and we stopped and prayed for guidance. As we prayed, we saw a family moving in to the home across the street from us. We went over and offered to help them move in, and they accepted! We weren't able to share a message with them that evening, but we offered to come back the next day to continue to help them move in, and we set up an appointment.
I went on a last minute exchange with an elder after district meeting on Wednesday. After we arrived in Sparta, we went out tracting on a predetermined street. It wasn't going very well, and we were approaching another street. I decided that we were going to keep tracting this street, and that we wouldn't go down the other street. As we got closer, I realized there was only one house on that street. Finally, for whatever reason, I got over myself, and we went and knocked on the door of the one house on the street. A teen answered and we were able to visit with him and teach him! I didn't realize at the time that I was being tested whether or not I was going to go down the street, but we did and we were blessed! Later we were able to visit with the family that we helped move the night before, and we continued to help them move in. After we were done moving, we shared a quick message with them. It was great! Hopefully they will begin to show interest in our religion, but if not, maybe their hearts will be open sometime in the future because of our work with them.
We have been able to do a lot of service this week. We set up a hospital bed in a members home, mowed a lawn of a disabled member, and pulled weeds in our apartment complex for a potential investigator. Even though we often aren't able to teach during these service opportunities, we are able to help make a difference in others lives. When we were pulling weeds with the potential investigator, we were led eventually to a really great discussion about God and religion. It helped too that at the time, a different religious group were out tracting our apartment complex ;) Afterwards she fed us, and gave us Diet Coke. SO GOOD! Hopefully we will be able to continue to visit with and teach her.
This week our 10-year-old baptismal candidate and his father cancelled their appointment again. We are still holding out for October 20th, but we will have to wait and see. We did however get the opportunity to visit with our spanish speaking investigator. We have been trying to get in contact with her for a while now, with no success, so this was a great moment! We had a very quick visit, but we were able to reestablish contact.
Today we received our transfer emails, and my companion and I will no longer be serving together in Sparta, Wisconsin. I will be staying here in Sparta. I am very saddened, but I knew that it was going to happen eventually. I am sure that things will work out great with my new companion but I am scared out of my mind! Change and starting over is always scary and stressful. I know that this is what needs to happen though, for whatever reason.
Thank you all so much for your love and support. I love hearing from all of you, and what is going on back home! I hope you are all doing well, and that this will be a great week for us all. Talk to you next week, I love and miss you all!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Monday, August 19, 2013
Another great week...
August 19, 2013
Hello Everyone,
This week has been busy as usual, but there have been a few things in particular that have stood out. For starters, I broke a MAJOR rule that I set for myself. My companion and I spend a lot of time talking so last Monday when we were running out of time, I realized that I never got my hair cut! My companion told me that he cuts his own hair, and that he could cut mine if I would like. Yikes! I kindly refused, but soon realized that there was not enough time left on P-Day to get my hair cut. Practically shaking, I told him that I would let him cut my hair. Seriously this was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made in my life! My hair means a lot to me, and I cannot stand bad haircuts. I put a lot of trust in my companion’s hands, but he did a great job! Our hair is very similar, which is the ONLY reason I agreed to let him do my hair. It was for sure a trust building exercise in our companionship, but everything worked out in the end :) Phew!
On Tuesday, my companion had to conduct a baptismal interview in Viroqua, Wisconsin where the Sister Missionaries in our district are working. I swear every time we visit a new area, I find somewhere smaller and more rural. The Viroqua branch is in a remodeled dentists office, so it is absolutely tiny. The only thing they are missing is a baptismal font! What do you do if you are having an investigator baptized, and you do not have a baptismal font? RIVER BAPTISM! I thought this only happened in foreign countries, but it is going to happen here in Wisconsin in a few weeks. Crazy! We are trying to get a few of our investigators to attend the baptism, so we can go and see it all go down.
Aside from that, this week has been fairly typical. We taught a couple on Thursday, which was quite an experience! We taught the Law of Chastity, and the man of the house told us that people get married, and later divorced. He said that he didn't want to get divorced and have his wife take all of his money, so he just isn't going to get married until he is absolutely certain! The woman of the house (who is extremely quiet during our lessons mind you) went off, shouting about how all he ever talks about is divorce, and that she came to live with him to get married. It was... interesting to say the least! We smoothed things over, but we realized that for future lessons with a marriage focus, it would be best to have an actual married couple with us. Not that our marriage advice isn't fantastic ;)
I have been SUPER tired this week. I thought that with our daily schedule, and waking up at 6:30 AM every morning would make going to sleep at 10:30 PM a lot easier. That is not the case. I should have known that my body doesn't go to bed before 12:00 AM, just like when I was in high school! I make things work though, it just involves a lot of Diet Coke and Zip Fizz haha :) My companion and I are Diet Coke drinking buddies, but he hasn't acquired a taste for Zip Fizz. Baby steps ;)
The mosquitoes are in full force! When people say that mosquitoes are the Minnesota state bird, they aren't kidding :p Yesterday I got five new mosquito bites, not cool! Hopefully they will start to die out sometime soon. The worst is when they bite through your socks, and you get a mosquito bite on your ankle! I currently have got two of those babies.
All in all, it has been a fantastic week, and we got our transfer calls today, and I will be staying in Sparta, Wisconsin with my companion! I wasn't sure how things were going to work out, but I knew everything would be fine. I prayed anyways that I would stay with my current companion, and it looks like God agreed with me this time ;) We will see how everything works out in the transfers to come, but as for right now I am happy!
I hope everything is going well back home, and that you all have a great week. I love and miss you all, but I know that I am doing an important work here in the Minnesota Minneapolis Mission :) Thank you all for your love and support.
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Hello Everyone,
This week has been busy as usual, but there have been a few things in particular that have stood out. For starters, I broke a MAJOR rule that I set for myself. My companion and I spend a lot of time talking so last Monday when we were running out of time, I realized that I never got my hair cut! My companion told me that he cuts his own hair, and that he could cut mine if I would like. Yikes! I kindly refused, but soon realized that there was not enough time left on P-Day to get my hair cut. Practically shaking, I told him that I would let him cut my hair. Seriously this was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made in my life! My hair means a lot to me, and I cannot stand bad haircuts. I put a lot of trust in my companion’s hands, but he did a great job! Our hair is very similar, which is the ONLY reason I agreed to let him do my hair. It was for sure a trust building exercise in our companionship, but everything worked out in the end :) Phew!
On Tuesday, my companion had to conduct a baptismal interview in Viroqua, Wisconsin where the Sister Missionaries in our district are working. I swear every time we visit a new area, I find somewhere smaller and more rural. The Viroqua branch is in a remodeled dentists office, so it is absolutely tiny. The only thing they are missing is a baptismal font! What do you do if you are having an investigator baptized, and you do not have a baptismal font? RIVER BAPTISM! I thought this only happened in foreign countries, but it is going to happen here in Wisconsin in a few weeks. Crazy! We are trying to get a few of our investigators to attend the baptism, so we can go and see it all go down.
Aside from that, this week has been fairly typical. We taught a couple on Thursday, which was quite an experience! We taught the Law of Chastity, and the man of the house told us that people get married, and later divorced. He said that he didn't want to get divorced and have his wife take all of his money, so he just isn't going to get married until he is absolutely certain! The woman of the house (who is extremely quiet during our lessons mind you) went off, shouting about how all he ever talks about is divorce, and that she came to live with him to get married. It was... interesting to say the least! We smoothed things over, but we realized that for future lessons with a marriage focus, it would be best to have an actual married couple with us. Not that our marriage advice isn't fantastic ;)
I have been SUPER tired this week. I thought that with our daily schedule, and waking up at 6:30 AM every morning would make going to sleep at 10:30 PM a lot easier. That is not the case. I should have known that my body doesn't go to bed before 12:00 AM, just like when I was in high school! I make things work though, it just involves a lot of Diet Coke and Zip Fizz haha :) My companion and I are Diet Coke drinking buddies, but he hasn't acquired a taste for Zip Fizz. Baby steps ;)
The mosquitoes are in full force! When people say that mosquitoes are the Minnesota state bird, they aren't kidding :p Yesterday I got five new mosquito bites, not cool! Hopefully they will start to die out sometime soon. The worst is when they bite through your socks, and you get a mosquito bite on your ankle! I currently have got two of those babies.
All in all, it has been a fantastic week, and we got our transfer calls today, and I will be staying in Sparta, Wisconsin with my companion! I wasn't sure how things were going to work out, but I knew everything would be fine. I prayed anyways that I would stay with my current companion, and it looks like God agreed with me this time ;) We will see how everything works out in the transfers to come, but as for right now I am happy!
I hope everything is going well back home, and that you all have a great week. I love and miss you all, but I know that I am doing an important work here in the Minnesota Minneapolis Mission :) Thank you all for your love and support.
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
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