Week 61

Family and friends!

This week was pretty exciting! We had plenty of work to do. 

We extended 2 baptismal dates this week to a young man named Kevin (15) and another young man named Richie (19). They are both really cool. Kevin always talks about peace and joy and how he wants it! He is really cool! And Richie prayed about Joseph Smith and told us he got his answer. So Awesome their baptism will be on September 23. So much fun! I love to see young people making covenants with God!

This week we also went to a place called Linden to go on teaching visits. It's about a 2 hour drive there. It's a lot of fun there. Full of hills and beautiful clear water and really cool people! The Lindon Elders are always wet (they baptized that much!) Pretty awesome! 

Well, this week was fun. We got transfer calls on Saturday. Even though we aren't doing them till next week. Elder Riggs and I are staying! Yay! We love each other and have a lot of fun doing all this assistant stuff. Have a great week everyone! 

Love you all! 

-Elder Andrus

This is the same kind of van William drove for about a year before his mission! Haha

Week 60

Week 60

Wow, what a week! It's been really exciting and also really busy! It was good! Love this missionary work thing! Not quite as busy as transfers! Elder Riggs and I play football every morning with the foot ball that my mom sent.

Tuesday, President came into the country, so we had to take him the van to use and we also had a teaching visit. 

Thursday we had Zone Conference and President had us roll play in front of everyone again. It was a little horrifying. J/k we did it last month too.

Friday we had a teaching visit with Elder White Elder Kennedy. We also did Shem's baptismal interview. 

Saturday, Shem was baptized!!! It was so awesome. He did great and only had to go under once. He is also a deacon now which really touched me. I remember being a deacon and passing the sacrament with Austin Ferrin. He'll pass next week. After the baptism, he got up and bore his testimony on Joseph Smith, the priesthood, and the Book of Mormon. It was so awesome. He is a great kid. But, the coolest part for me was his testimony of Jesus Christ. I know, just like Shem knows, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He performed the Atonement so that we might live with God again.  

But it's more than that! It helps us to:

Strengthen our weaknesses (Ether 12:27) 

Ease our burdens (Mosiah 24:13-14)

Heal infirmities (Alma 7: 11-13)

Resist temptations (Helaman 5:12) 

Satisfy justice (Mosiah 15:8-9)

Change (Mosiah 27:25-30

I've been studying the Atonement a lot! I know it's true and I love you!

-Elder Andrus

Week 59

Week 59

This week was pretty hectic. Full of random administrative things that we need to do. President Egbert is flying in this week so we have some stuff to do. I won’t go over the administrative stuff that we have done this week, but I will go over the other stuff.

This week we have been really pushing hard to have Shem be ready for baptism. He is so smart and ready to commit to baptism. The only thing that was holding him back was that he wasn’t reading his BOM. But after much prayer and fasting and reading with him (and a lot of other things) He finally created a good habit of reading. His baptism will be on the 19^th (next Saturday) with him luck! He is a great kid with so much potential.

Three teaching visits this week and yes Lots of discussions! They were all really good. I went with Elders Corrien, Gibson, Nuttall. We had some fun lessons! It was good to go back to Parika for a spell. They are teaching so many cool people! It’s awesome!

I'm good. You know me. Im just like my Dad. If something happens just deal with it. LOL I'm kinda stressed sometimes but not bad at all. Doing really good. I love Elder Riggs so its easy to work hard and have fun.

I love missionary work. I hope and pray that we are doing our best to save the world!

Love you all so much!

-Elder Andrus

Week 58

Week 58

Wow! August already! That doesn’t really make a lot of sense. This week was pretty exciting though.

Tuesday we went on a teaching visit. The first on of the transfer. It’s funny how things work…The first pancake never turns out right. It is the same with teaching visits. LOL It’s ok. I was just feeling really weird I think it was because we had to drive to the airport at 10:30 that night and got stuck in immigrations for like 2 hours! Ughhh… We, by some miracle, got to bed that night by 1am.  

Wednesday it rained on us all day long.

Thursday we went on another teaching visit with Elders Kyler and Batista. It was a good visit. We met a really cool guy named Ernest and the other Elders met someone named Lofutar!

Friday we had a skype in MLC and the power went out, so we ended up calling and all gathered around the phone listening. We couldn’t hear anything. ☹

That was about it this week! Kinda rough, but pretty exciting. It did help me though, to see the tender mercies of the Lord. For example, we met someone really cool in the rain. (Sister May) She had never talked to anyone about God before. She was very grateful for the spiritual experience that we shared with her. And so am I. Always look for those moments to listen, learn and love. 

Have a great week everyone! I love you all so much!

-Elder Andrus

Week 57

Week 57

Elder Andrus didn’t send a letter to everyone this week. Here is some news from our letters:

I’m doing so good! Week was busy week was good! 

Elder Thompson did go home he was done with his two years. Elder Riggs is great! he is a really fun companion he works really hard and loves to have fun! Both my last companions are from Provo area I think? transfers went good! It’s fun to drive everywhere and do everything! LOL 

Thanks mom for the great Email. I do try my best to make my emails meaningful and good but its hard sometimes to keep everything straight with all of the crazy stuff that I have to do all of the time. I’m so happy to be a missionary. I’m glad that I have the chance to serve God and his children. I’ve learned so much about God and about the Savior. I’m happy to learn to know God John 17: 3 (And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.) It makes me understand the Restoration of the Gospel so much better and how important Joseph Smith really is. It’s also teaches me so much about the Nature of God. I love you so much momma I’m glad that you raised me in the right way. Alma 56 : 48 (And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.) Love you so much!

Transfers are done and gone. All went well. Elder Riggs is super chill. I think that he might have known Blake. They both played Baseball together. We haven’t done any teaching visits lately because of the transfers and things. I’m doing pretty good. Just trying to always improve my teaching skills. President Egbert would stop at nothing to help his missionaries. I’ve even had to call him in the middle of the night a few times and he has been alert and awake and loves us dearly. I feel like I am one of his sons. I would really do anything for me. I love him dearly. 

I so glad that you are my dad. I’ve always been grateful for you and I just remember this time that you were on the Phone one day with the office and I needed help on some homework or something and you put down everything to help me do my math. It meant a lot more to me now when I don’t have someone there to take care of me all the time. But I do love you for the touching moment in my life that I hope to emulate one day when I am a dad. I love you very much! I love mom too.