Hello Everyone,
This week has been great! On Monday, Groundhog Day, we had our P-Day. We heard that the we will be having 6 more weeks of winter... no surprise for Minnesnowta ;) I am loving this winter so far though! Sure it isn't as good as the winter back home in Utah, but it is surprisingly warm for Minnesota standards. Currently there is no snow, and the temperatures are quite mild. Hopefully it stays that way! You never know in Minnesota though, it could snow in June. Lets just pray that the bad weather holds off until May ;) On Monday evening we went over to an investigator’s home. We had a super cool experience with them when we first got there. The mom was going hardcore in the kitchen, like Iron Chef status. She was a little overwhelmed though. We offered to help her out with what she was doing, and she accepted. She was making crock pot chicken pot pies for a trade off at work. She made like six of them and was trying to get it all done quickly. We took over at the stove and helped her with the roux, and finished everything up :) Later we began teaching the daughter all the lessons. Yeah... it was a lot, but she was a champ! We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Law of Tithing, The Law of Chastity, Follow the Prophet, and discussed the baptismal interview questions. Meanwhile her mom was able to catch up on her Scentsy orders. Later that evening after we returned home, her mom texted us. She told us that she had prayed earlier that day that she would be able to finish up the frozen crock pot meals and all of her Scentsy orders before 10:00 PM, and she did it! It is always cool to see when you are able to help to be an answer to someones prayers.
On Tuesday we had a bunch of accountability calls in the morning, and then we went over to the a member’s home to clean our car. We had Zone Conference later in the week, so we had to make sure our car was spic and span! They were not home, but their two brothers were home. We were able to talk to one of her brothers after we finished cleaning our car. We talked to him about the Book of Mormon and invited him to come to Church with the family. He kindly refused, but said that he is always open to listening to missionaries. We will have to clean our car more often ;) In the evening we went to our investigator’s last swim meet of the season, and then got our hair cut by a less-active member. Yeah, my hair is always a touchy subject. I have only met her once before, and I have heard stories... She did a pretty good job, but it was a little uneven. Before we went to bed I touched it up a little bit, and things are good again :) I know what you are thinking... but sometimes you just need to be a little vain! We were able to meet their family though, and they are open to having us come over and share a message with them on occasion. We will have to see where it goes!
On Wednesday we went to a thrift store for service, and then we went on exchange. I went to the other area with an elder from Oakland, California. We were in my old area for the afternoon, and we were able to stop by a family I had taught. It was fun to see one of the families that I was teaching while I was in that ward! They were very different though. One of them is not active anymore, and you can see that there is something missing. She used to want to be a missionary, and their family was actively taking the discussions. Kind of sad. We invited them to attend the ward party on Saturday, but they had a birthday party planned for their son. After visiting with them we went and visited with a member couple. They both have A LOT of health challenges now, and they are basically waiting to die, but other than that, they are doing great! Yep... that sounded kind of odd. We talked to them about faith, and how faith can help us to overcome. In the evening we went over to the a member’s home, and had a lesson with their progressing investigator. We taught the restoration, and then I interviewed him for his baptism date of February 14th. What a "love"ly day ;) It was probably one of the most thorough and lengthy baptismal interviews that I have ever heard of on my mission! Usually it lasts about 30 minutes, and it took an hour and a half! He is definitely a talker, and has a lot to say about the gospel, so that is a good thing I guess ;) Just very long... Then we went back to the apartment and went to bed.
Thursday morning at around 2:00 AM my exchange companion woke me up and told me that he had a SUPER bad headache and that he hadn't been able to get to sleep yet. He said that he felt like his head was shaking, and that he needed to go to the emergency room. So I got up out of bed, changed quickly, had him call President Forbes (because the Emergency Room is SUPER expensive, so we need permission to go unless it is a real emergency), and then we were off! Turns out there isn't a hospital in that area, so we had to drive to to a different city. They admitted him, checked things out, did a CT scan, and gave him 800 mg of Ibuprofen. It took quite a while, so we got home around 4:00 AM. I wish I would have been more awake at the time to help diagnose him so that I could have just told him to take some pain medication and go back to sleep, but it all worked out. At least they were able to determine that there was no real underlying problem. Apparently he had had a headache most of the day, but he was just waiting for it to go away which is why it got so bad! On Thursday after getting some sleep, we exchanged back and went on our way. Holy cow, I was SUPER tired. Luckily that area has a Sonic :) Day made! We went and did service at a thrift store, and set up some cool shelves. My companion mostly helped out in the back breaking down boxes and things while a member and I set up displays. In the evening we went and visited with a member and talked to her about goal setting and execution. We shared the Emmett Smith Story with her, which was super good! It is a video that I have that shows a runner who had surgery and was told that he couldn't walk again, and he ended up getting back to running in a year. Super good example of goal setting and execution :) To finish off the evening we stopped by a member family and dropped off some food and a card. The mom has had pneumonia for a few weeks, and so they haven't been able to meet with them. We actually haven't been able to meet with them since the Sister Missionaries left. Lame! One day...
On Friday we had Zone Conference in St. Cloud. Sister Forbes gave a really good training on how to study the scriptures effectively, and President Forbes gave a training on planning and execution of the NAC initiative. That is a big thing in our mission right now. We are all focusing on part-member families, children of record, and prospective elders. They kind of has been the focus of my mission on my own, so it has been nice having it transition to a whole mission focus! Sister Forbes even took pictures of us all at lunch and texted it to our Moms haha. She loves hearing from our moms. In fact, the whole day she was reading off responses from our moms. Kind of funny! In the evening we went out joint teaching. We had a lesson with a new member family on Priesthood and Auxiliaries and talked about how they all have their own responsibilities and things in the Church. We watched a few really good videos on the Priesthood, Personal Progress, and Relief Society. To finish off the evening, we had a lesson with an investigator family on tithing. I have a TON of candy, so we used candy to demonstrate the principle of tithing. We all had 20 or so jelly beans that I got from a member for Christmas, and we payed our tithing with jelly bean currency. Everyone seemed to understand it pretty clearly! Candy is a pretty good motivator haha ;)
On Saturday we had a baptism in the morning, and then another was baptized at 1:00. It was a crazy morning! Everything came together perfectly though :) We shared a message at both baptisms, which was kind of fun. We watched the Mormon Message, "Reclaimed", and talked about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how we can repent and be cleansed of sin. We have the examples of the people who were just baptized to follow, because they are nice and clean! But luckily we can renew those covenants each Sunday in Sacrament Meeting :) Afterward we went over to a family’s and did some service for them. We put up some wallpaper in their home, which was pretty eventful. I have never put up wallpaper before! While we were over, some Amish people stopped by and wanted to look at their house. The family is planning on moving in the next few years, and the Amish people in the community found out about it and want an Amish person to move into their home. They have a had a few Amish people tour their home the past few months. They were really kind, and we were even able to have a gospel conversation with one of them. Crazy to think that if they moved into their home, they would rip out all the plumbing and electrical features. I certainly couldn't do it, but more power to them! I would probably die without plumbing and electricity. No hot showers, cell phones, lights, flushing toilets, etc... No thank you! For the remainder of the evening we weekly planned. We just haven't had a ton of time to plan this week! It flew by.
On Sunday one of our new members was confirmed in Sacrament meeting, and her sister (non-member) gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. It was a super good service! In the afternoon we visited with an investigator and talked to her about our lesson in gospel principles, the fall of Adam and Eve. Her memory is getting a little bit worse, but she is hanging on! Favorite quote from our visit, "God forbid I live to be 100!". She is a fun lady! In the evening we had a lesson with our investigator family on the Law of Chastity, so that is always exciting ;) They had a friend over, and his Mom wanted him to sit in on the lesson. She thought it was hilarious! She was very open with her comments ;) It was definitely an experience!
All in all it was a super good week, full of a few little surprises! It was a good week though :) Next Monday we will get our transfer emails, so that should be interesting. I have no clue what is going to happen. I have two transfers left, so I could stay here for the rest of my mission, or I could go over to a new area. We shall see! I hope you all have a great week, and a Happy Valentine's Day :) Talk to you soon!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Showing posts with label Zone Conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zone Conference. Show all posts
Monday, February 9, 2015
Monday, July 22, 2013
Happy Birthday in the Mission Field!
July 22, 2013
Hello Everyone,
This week has definitely been one to remember! As you know, I turned 19 on Wednesday, July 17th! Lets be honest, having a birthday in the mission field is different. The entire day I had to just sing the birthday song to myself in my head, but it was a good day! The mission office, and Sister Clements called to wish me a happy birthday though, so it was pretty fantastic! I even waited until Wednesday morning to open my birthday gifts like I was asked to :) I wore my new Burberry Sport cologne (which I love), and a few people even complimented me, which NEVER happens here. Unfortunately that was not enough to get us in to their home to teach them, but it was a start! A part member family in the ward, signed up to have us over for dinner, so I wasn't able to go out to eat on my birthday. One of our investigators, grilled a TON of food, so we rolled out of their house and wabbled home. In the evening we were teaching another one of my favourite investigators. We were teaching the Word of Wisdom, and since she just had her son less than a year ago, she has had to live the Word of Wisdom throughout her pregnancy and nursing. With the faith she has been developing, we knew that this would be an easier commitment, but I was still excited. Two sisters from the ward joint taught with us, and I was on exchange with one of our zone leaders. The two sisters from the ward are converts, and were able to bear such strong testimony about the Word of Wisdom, and the lesson went amazingly well! One of the sisters surprised me, and planned a mini birthday party, complete with cake and ice cream :) It ended up being a pretty good day afterall. Different, but still good.
On Friday we had a zone conference in Rochester, Minnesota. President Clements taught us about faith, and Sister Clements taught us about hastening our work in the mission field. Both were amazing trainings! They also announced the new dress code adjustments that will be taking place in the mission. We have until the end of August to find an alternative to our backpacks, and we can now wear khaki pants! They also abolished the rule about wearing suit coats to proselyte between certain dates. These are definitely some exciting changes in the mission :) Luckily, I already have a messenger bag that I love! I guess you could say I was inspired ;) I have actually received a ton of compliments on it though, and everyone loves the seatbelt. I feel like it was a wise investment, although my Mother might not agree.
My companion and I work on language studies together each day, and I somehow am able to help him with his English. He struggles with his R's and L's, because apparently in Asia their language does not include those letters or sounds. It has been quite interesting trying to help him to pronounce them a little better, but we have made some headway! We focused a lot on pronouncing word, ward, and world. I had to break them down, and re-spell them wurd, wharred, and whirreled. He records me saying them, and tries to repeat them, but it a very difficult process! I am learning a lot about patience, but President Clements told me that I just have to be persistent, and not enabling. The companions that have excused his struggles with the English language have not helped him to improve, so he hasn't been able to progress.
On Saturday evening after a long day at work, we received a call from President Clements. Surprise, emergency transfer! After a week and a half with my companion in La Crosse, Wisconsin, I am being transferred to Sparta, Wisconsin to serve with our new district leader. My current companion and my new companions current companion are going to the cities in Minnesota. They didn't disclose the reason behind the emergency transfer, but I am certain that it was very important! I am excited to be companions with the district leader again though, now I will be able to continue going on exchange with all the missionaries in our area :) I had a brief week and a half break, but now I am back at it! My new companion is great, and I am excited to be able to serve in Sparta, Wisconsin with him. The future is looking bright!
Today at 8:30 AM we exchanged companions, and made the big move. Last night we packed up our apartment, and finished cleaning. It has been a crazy couple of days, but it has been fun! I am excited to see what the future has to hold here in Sparta, and I know that this will be a great experience and that I will learn a lot. Thank you all for your support, kindness, and birthday wishes :) I love and miss you all, talk to you next week!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Mom: The Mini Preach My Gospel does not count as a birthday present in case you were wondering ;) Thank you for the presents and everything though. I really do appreciate everything I got! Thank you so much for everything you do! Love you :)
Hello Everyone,
This week has definitely been one to remember! As you know, I turned 19 on Wednesday, July 17th! Lets be honest, having a birthday in the mission field is different. The entire day I had to just sing the birthday song to myself in my head, but it was a good day! The mission office, and Sister Clements called to wish me a happy birthday though, so it was pretty fantastic! I even waited until Wednesday morning to open my birthday gifts like I was asked to :) I wore my new Burberry Sport cologne (which I love), and a few people even complimented me, which NEVER happens here. Unfortunately that was not enough to get us in to their home to teach them, but it was a start! A part member family in the ward, signed up to have us over for dinner, so I wasn't able to go out to eat on my birthday. One of our investigators, grilled a TON of food, so we rolled out of their house and wabbled home. In the evening we were teaching another one of my favourite investigators. We were teaching the Word of Wisdom, and since she just had her son less than a year ago, she has had to live the Word of Wisdom throughout her pregnancy and nursing. With the faith she has been developing, we knew that this would be an easier commitment, but I was still excited. Two sisters from the ward joint taught with us, and I was on exchange with one of our zone leaders. The two sisters from the ward are converts, and were able to bear such strong testimony about the Word of Wisdom, and the lesson went amazingly well! One of the sisters surprised me, and planned a mini birthday party, complete with cake and ice cream :) It ended up being a pretty good day afterall. Different, but still good.
On Friday we had a zone conference in Rochester, Minnesota. President Clements taught us about faith, and Sister Clements taught us about hastening our work in the mission field. Both were amazing trainings! They also announced the new dress code adjustments that will be taking place in the mission. We have until the end of August to find an alternative to our backpacks, and we can now wear khaki pants! They also abolished the rule about wearing suit coats to proselyte between certain dates. These are definitely some exciting changes in the mission :) Luckily, I already have a messenger bag that I love! I guess you could say I was inspired ;) I have actually received a ton of compliments on it though, and everyone loves the seatbelt. I feel like it was a wise investment, although my Mother might not agree.
My companion and I work on language studies together each day, and I somehow am able to help him with his English. He struggles with his R's and L's, because apparently in Asia their language does not include those letters or sounds. It has been quite interesting trying to help him to pronounce them a little better, but we have made some headway! We focused a lot on pronouncing word, ward, and world. I had to break them down, and re-spell them wurd, wharred, and whirreled. He records me saying them, and tries to repeat them, but it a very difficult process! I am learning a lot about patience, but President Clements told me that I just have to be persistent, and not enabling. The companions that have excused his struggles with the English language have not helped him to improve, so he hasn't been able to progress.
On Saturday evening after a long day at work, we received a call from President Clements. Surprise, emergency transfer! After a week and a half with my companion in La Crosse, Wisconsin, I am being transferred to Sparta, Wisconsin to serve with our new district leader. My current companion and my new companions current companion are going to the cities in Minnesota. They didn't disclose the reason behind the emergency transfer, but I am certain that it was very important! I am excited to be companions with the district leader again though, now I will be able to continue going on exchange with all the missionaries in our area :) I had a brief week and a half break, but now I am back at it! My new companion is great, and I am excited to be able to serve in Sparta, Wisconsin with him. The future is looking bright!
Today at 8:30 AM we exchanged companions, and made the big move. Last night we packed up our apartment, and finished cleaning. It has been a crazy couple of days, but it has been fun! I am excited to see what the future has to hold here in Sparta, and I know that this will be a great experience and that I will learn a lot. Thank you all for your support, kindness, and birthday wishes :) I love and miss you all, talk to you next week!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
Mom: The Mini Preach My Gospel does not count as a birthday present in case you were wondering ;) Thank you for the presents and everything though. I really do appreciate everything I got! Thank you so much for everything you do! Love you :)
Monday, June 10, 2013
Missionary Excitement
Hello Everyone,
This past week has been quite interesting to say the least. First and foremost, the "beats ban" was removed from our mission. Now we can listen to music with a beat, still no EFY music though. One of the missionaries brought out a CD from his archives and has shared it with us all, it is really something. They are all songs from the Primary Children's Songbook, but they are hip hop versions of these songs. Kind of odd that we are getting excited over music, but it's apparently a big deal down here. President Clements keeps a tight ship, but we have a very obedient mission, so it all works out!
This past week, I went on four exchanges. It was fantastic! My first exchange was with a Spanish missionary. I had my first official Spanish lesson, which was an experience, and he even translated a couple of things for me. I only know very few select words in Spanish from Dora The Explorer, like Hola, so it wasn't exactly effective for my teaching, but it was cool to watch the lessons in different languages. Next, I exchanged with one of our zone leaders. This is the Elder that gave us the CD with the hip hop primary songs. He is a really cool guy, and I had a great time serving with him. Then I went on exchanges and Elder who came out to the mission with me, so we have not had very much experience. He was super sick though, because earlier that day we all had a zone conference and went to 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. Pretty much our entire zone felt sick, but he got the worst of it. And last, the other day I exchanged with a Hmong missionary. Unfortunately I wasn't able to sit in on any Hmong lessons, but hearing him speak his language was really cool! I have another exchange this week, but I am not sure who I will be exchanging with yet. It's nice getting to learn from other Elders in our mission though, and meeting so many new people!
This past week we also received a pretty cool announcement. On June 15th, we will be meeting together as a mission to hear from Elder Holland, Elder Callister, Elder Dube, and Bishop Stevenson. I'm sure it will be a pretty amazing day, and it will be great to hear from such influential church leaders. I will have to let you know next week how it goes, and share some of the things that they said.
As I mentioned earlier, this week we had a zone conference. One of the highlights, was hearing from Sister Clements. She had a great lesson for us on etiquette. It reminded me of all of the etiquette dinners I have attended for FCCLA events, I loved it! It shocks me sometimes to learn that some people do not know about basic etiquette, which is why they have to teach these skills to all of the missionaries. Crazy! I am so glad that we have President and Sister Clements in our mission. They are so great, and I love hearing from them and learning about them each time we get to see them!
On Sunday I was asked to give a talk to introduce myself to the ward, and to talk about any gospel principle of my choosing. I talked about myself for a while, and the various things I have been involved with throughout my life, and related it to the sense of belonging, and families. For the rest of my time, I talked about families, and how we can strengthen our families. They didn't inform me before hand that this was also the day of a missionary farewell. I talked about how difficult it was to leave my family for two years, but that it would be well worth it in the end. Then I shared the Facebook quote about missionaries (noun) someone who leaves their family for two years so that others can spend eternity with theirs. By this time someone in one of the front two rows was crying. After I spoke, they announced the next speaker and that he will be departing for the MTC this Wednesday. That woman was his mother. It reminded me of my farewell, and how truly difficult that was. Maybe family wasn't the best topic after all!
Just so you all know, I am fully aware that my birthday is in a little over a month. I have already begun working on my classic birthday list, but it will not be as beautifully designed as it has been in the past. I apologize, but there is not much I can do! If only I had my laptop with me :)
Thank you all for your support. Missionary work is not easy. I must work harder and press on, even if it is challenging. Your prayers and kind words have helped me so much, and I truly appreciate you all. I am constantly reminded of my favourite quotation in the entire world, by the one and only, Walt Disney. "If you can dream it, you can do it." I know this to be true, and I will not give up. I can do it. I love and miss you all!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
This past week has been quite interesting to say the least. First and foremost, the "beats ban" was removed from our mission. Now we can listen to music with a beat, still no EFY music though. One of the missionaries brought out a CD from his archives and has shared it with us all, it is really something. They are all songs from the Primary Children's Songbook, but they are hip hop versions of these songs. Kind of odd that we are getting excited over music, but it's apparently a big deal down here. President Clements keeps a tight ship, but we have a very obedient mission, so it all works out!
This past week, I went on four exchanges. It was fantastic! My first exchange was with a Spanish missionary. I had my first official Spanish lesson, which was an experience, and he even translated a couple of things for me. I only know very few select words in Spanish from Dora The Explorer, like Hola, so it wasn't exactly effective for my teaching, but it was cool to watch the lessons in different languages. Next, I exchanged with one of our zone leaders. This is the Elder that gave us the CD with the hip hop primary songs. He is a really cool guy, and I had a great time serving with him. Then I went on exchanges and Elder who came out to the mission with me, so we have not had very much experience. He was super sick though, because earlier that day we all had a zone conference and went to 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. Pretty much our entire zone felt sick, but he got the worst of it. And last, the other day I exchanged with a Hmong missionary. Unfortunately I wasn't able to sit in on any Hmong lessons, but hearing him speak his language was really cool! I have another exchange this week, but I am not sure who I will be exchanging with yet. It's nice getting to learn from other Elders in our mission though, and meeting so many new people!
This past week we also received a pretty cool announcement. On June 15th, we will be meeting together as a mission to hear from Elder Holland, Elder Callister, Elder Dube, and Bishop Stevenson. I'm sure it will be a pretty amazing day, and it will be great to hear from such influential church leaders. I will have to let you know next week how it goes, and share some of the things that they said.
As I mentioned earlier, this week we had a zone conference. One of the highlights, was hearing from Sister Clements. She had a great lesson for us on etiquette. It reminded me of all of the etiquette dinners I have attended for FCCLA events, I loved it! It shocks me sometimes to learn that some people do not know about basic etiquette, which is why they have to teach these skills to all of the missionaries. Crazy! I am so glad that we have President and Sister Clements in our mission. They are so great, and I love hearing from them and learning about them each time we get to see them!
On Sunday I was asked to give a talk to introduce myself to the ward, and to talk about any gospel principle of my choosing. I talked about myself for a while, and the various things I have been involved with throughout my life, and related it to the sense of belonging, and families. For the rest of my time, I talked about families, and how we can strengthen our families. They didn't inform me before hand that this was also the day of a missionary farewell. I talked about how difficult it was to leave my family for two years, but that it would be well worth it in the end. Then I shared the Facebook quote about missionaries (noun) someone who leaves their family for two years so that others can spend eternity with theirs. By this time someone in one of the front two rows was crying. After I spoke, they announced the next speaker and that he will be departing for the MTC this Wednesday. That woman was his mother. It reminded me of my farewell, and how truly difficult that was. Maybe family wasn't the best topic after all!
Just so you all know, I am fully aware that my birthday is in a little over a month. I have already begun working on my classic birthday list, but it will not be as beautifully designed as it has been in the past. I apologize, but there is not much I can do! If only I had my laptop with me :)
Thank you all for your support. Missionary work is not easy. I must work harder and press on, even if it is challenging. Your prayers and kind words have helped me so much, and I truly appreciate you all. I am constantly reminded of my favourite quotation in the entire world, by the one and only, Walt Disney. "If you can dream it, you can do it." I know this to be true, and I will not give up. I can do it. I love and miss you all!
Best Wishes,
Elder Kyle William Andrews
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