Saturday, August 24, 2013 7:05 PM
Well, I leave on Monday so they said I could email today. It has been an awesome week and I'm sad to leave my district that I have grown to love so much but I am so excited for el campo. I need to talk to everyone, EVERYONE and I am going to try to. Why wouldn't I, it isn't my work it is the Lord's. I read Mosiah 14 recently and it was awesome you should check it out. I got an email from the Moultons today and it was so fun to receive. They have been through a lot of trying things lately and I hope that the Lord is preparing them to return to full activity. Today has been very bitter sweet; all our teachers have been talking about their missions, showing us pictures and bearing testimony. I have felt a lot of the power of the work today. Hermana Taggart taught us to always open our mouths, never get discouraged and just keep chugging ( she is un poco loco pero ella es super motivated, which I hope I can be tambien) and Hermano Littlefield, Daniel will like this part, brought us cookies and his pet pingúno named charley. He loved his penguin and always talked about him in class it was pretty fun (he was a stuffed animal). He showed us pictures from his mission and I haven't seen him emotional before but when he was talking about Cesar who they were worried wouldn't come to church because his cousin had died at 3 Sunday morning. Then they saw him at 9 walking to church, he could hardly say that part. Cesar was a kind of rough kid but changed his life around and is now serving a mission. I am going to meet some the best people in the world in Argentina and the gospel can really change their lives. I am so humbled to be called to a work so great. We sang "God be with you till we meet again" in espanol at the end of class and were all crying. I love you my familia I will try and call you when you asked, hopefully I'm not so busy preaching the gospel that I completely space it, but I guess that wouldn't be a bad thing. I will call from a payphone and when you pick up I'll probably hang up and then use my calling card to call. I will use change first just to make sure you're home so I don't waste my calling card. Tengo mucho amor para ustedes.
Love,
Elder Andrew
The things in italics are by way of explanation and are writen by Ben's mom, Joleen)
Monday, August 19, 2013 2:45 PM
HOLA Familia,
Les amo mucho! y les extreno mucho. Mami, su espanol es magnifico, pero mi espanol es no bueno y yo salio para el campo en una semana!!! (I love you much and I miss you much.) Mom, your Spanish is magnificent but my Spanish is not good and I leave for the field in a week.) This week has been ups and downs. On Tuesday a lot of missionaries dreams where made true when.......(drum roll please) ELDER RICHARD G SCOTT came and spoke with us. It was so awesome and I was so happy that I could sing "Jesus once of humble birth" in the choir and bear my testimony of the Savior to him. He spoke a lot about missions and said that he even struggled with companions so if an apostle struggled then I guess it is only natural for me too. It was just so awesome and he talked mostly about prayer. The simple yet profound way that he talked was amazing and it made me re evaluate the way I am saying my prayers. The week before they talked about scripture study and then he talked about prayer so it really is about the basic simple things of the gospel that really matter. I don’t know if I told you last week but I started a study journal that my teacher gave me an idea for and when I use it, it really enhances my study. Elder Richard G Scott also invoked an apostolic blessing on all those learning a foreign language, through our faith and giving all the effort that we have. I guess that is pretty important since I'M GOING TO ARGENTINA ON MONDAY!!!! On Thursday they gave me a paper in the mail that said my visa wasn't coming and that I would be getting a re-assignment so I was prepping with that and getting excited and then today they dropped the bomb on us. BOOM!! In the mail we got our travel plans, to Atlanta, Georgia and then to Argentina starting 7:30 Monday morning and getting to Buenos Aires and 8:30 Tuesday morning!! The church is trying a new policy where they will send us down on travel visas and then get us our actual visas while we are in Argentina. My district kind of made fun of me because I said I was going to have faith that I would go to Argentina and my visa would come. It just shows that the Lord can do anything and the church is true. I'll get to call you from the airport so look forward to that. Thank you for all your prayers and faith in my behalf, I guess the Lord needs me in Argentina right now! All the missionaries in my district going to Argentina are in the same travel group. I was going to wait until the end of the email to tell you but I'm just too excited. The Lord has blessed me so much and I really need to start cracking down on Spanish, yikes. TALL means technology assisted language learning, so Spanish on the computer but sometimes it means try not to fall asleep at the computer haha. TRC is teaching the members like they volunteer and we go and teach them a lesson in Spanish, it is always very rewarding. Thank you for the socks I threw away all my old ones. (He had taken old socks he already had for work out socks and discovered holes in two pair right off the bat.) I am glad to hear about all the adventures that the family is having. (Daniel wants to run for Student Body Treasurer and I asked Ben for ideas for his speech. We thought he could dress like a pirate.) ARGH ya scurvy stars, I'll keep yer booty safe if ya make me treasurer, and if not............... you will feel the wrath of my filthy bad breath, ARGH. haha I don't know I am kind of on cloud nine right now I guess, good luck Daniel you'll do great. Carolyn good luck with your permit the promise I made Matthew applies to you too, if you want to look fly while rollin down the street feel free to use my sunglasses! Matthew I am excited for you and for you continue to prepare to become a great missionary, work on loving everyone which you are already great at, it is such a big part of missionary work. If a person knows all the lessons and such but doesn't know how to love then there knowledge is void. Mom I know you are probably already crying because of the Argentina news but prepare sus ojos (your eyes) once again. Our speaker at the devotional last night was none other than Via Sikahema! (Via is a guy Joleen went to high school with) It was so cool to see him and hear him speak. He talked a lot about the mission he served in South Dakota and was pretty funny. So that reminded me of you and now get ready for the crying part. For the movie we watched "For Such a Time as This" which is a talk that Elder Holland gave to the MTC. Before Sister Holland spoke He stood up there with her having his arm around her. You could feel the love that he had for her and it was just so sweet and tender. It made me think of my sweet mother and the love that my parents have for each other. Elders talk about missing hugging girls and I guess I do too, but most of all I miss being able to give my mommy big hugs every day. You have done so much for the salvation of souls. You served a mission and helped the gente en Honduras (people in Honduras) come to the gospel and find the way to salvation. When you returned home you waited patiently for a worthy priesthood holder who would take you to the temple and have you be sealed for time and all eternity. When that time finally came you went with love and trust in the Lord and then immediately started a family. You have done so much for the salvation of your family and have made so many Christ like sacrifices. I know my Savior so much better because of you and your example. I sat in that meeting just crying and I’m even tearing up a bit now, how embarrassing. You have raised a daughter to be worthy to be married in the temple and have done a lot for the salvation of the new Lamorauex family. Now, I, your son, go to Argentina to help the people find their way to Christ. I am eternally grateful to you and words can not describe the love I feel for you and the rest of the family. I will always be momma’s little boy. I hope that me serving a mission can bring all the blessings of heaven to my family because you all deserve todo las bendiciones Dios les da (all the blessings that God gives). I love you all so much. Also thank you for my name mother. You have told me how you chose my name before but it was always kind of just those "cool story" things and I don't think I had told anyone about it. I was talking with Elder Patey the other day and some how we got to talking about names and some of the special names in his family. I told him that while my mom was pregnant with my older sister she was trying to think of names for her and then in the shower just had the strongest impression that her first son needed to be named Benjamin Thomas Andrew. As I related that story and especially when I said my name it was like a fireball exploded inside me. It almost blew me out of my chair in the cafeteria. I know that is who I am and the Lord knows Benjamin Thomas Andrew and has work for him to do. I got to go to the temple again today and that was very nice. It was my genius idea to go to that cafeteria instead of the MTC one and so my whole district and a lot from our zone headed over a half hour early. Turns out that the cafeteria is closed on Mondays...... So I got something out of the vending machine. The cool thing was though that we got to help in the laundry room with the extra time we had. I worked on pairing shoes together and I guess that they were really behind from Saturday and so needed the help. It was really bueno to serve, and especially in the temple. I won’t get to go again, at least not in English for almost two more years. The MTC has been great but I'm ready to go. It has served its purpose and now it is time for me to serve mine. Elder Mckean and I are going to try and really knock it out of the park this week because it is our last week as zone leaders. I talked with him about being more obedient, I won’t go into specifics, but a lot of little things have been semi or disobedient and it was really weighing on me. It was hard for me to bring up because I am really not a confrontational person but the Lord Helped me with it. I really am going to focus on just loving other people and getting to know them as much as I can and on being more strictly obedient. Obedience is SOOOO important. A quote from my sacrament meeting yesterday, "Obedience rules the Spirit and the Spirit rules the work." It doesn't matter if I don't "want" to keep a rule I need to keep it because that is the pattern. I haven't really had too many problems with that myself but it is always a little hard, and not all the elders have the same drive as I do. We are all still 18 year old guys after all. The branch president has corrected activities that we have done and when they tell you something is wrong then you just stop doing it, easy as that. I love all of you so much and hope you have a fantastic week, the next time you hear from me will probably be in an airport in Atlanta Georgia any time between 4:58 and 9:11 (long layover!) We already said we aren't going to waste our travel time and are going to try and spread the light of Christ any way we can whether through giving out a Libro (Book) or just having a nice conversation.
Love,
Elder Benjamin Thomas Andrew
Monday, August 19, 2013 2:45 PM
HOLA Familia,
Les amo mucho! y les extreno mucho. Mami, su espanol es magnifico, pero mi espanol es no bueno y yo salio para el campo en una semana!!! (I love you much and I miss you much.) Mom, your Spanish is magnificent but my Spanish is not good and I leave for the field in a week.) This week has been ups and downs. On Tuesday a lot of missionaries dreams where made true when.......(drum roll please) ELDER RICHARD G SCOTT came and spoke with us. It was so awesome and I was so happy that I could sing "Jesus once of humble birth" in the choir and bear my testimony of the Savior to him. He spoke a lot about missions and said that he even struggled with companions so if an apostle struggled then I guess it is only natural for me too. It was just so awesome and he talked mostly about prayer. The simple yet profound way that he talked was amazing and it made me re evaluate the way I am saying my prayers. The week before they talked about scripture study and then he talked about prayer so it really is about the basic simple things of the gospel that really matter. I don’t know if I told you last week but I started a study journal that my teacher gave me an idea for and when I use it, it really enhances my study. Elder Richard G Scott also invoked an apostolic blessing on all those learning a foreign language, through our faith and giving all the effort that we have. I guess that is pretty important since I'M GOING TO ARGENTINA ON MONDAY!!!! On Thursday they gave me a paper in the mail that said my visa wasn't coming and that I would be getting a re-assignment so I was prepping with that and getting excited and then today they dropped the bomb on us. BOOM!! In the mail we got our travel plans, to Atlanta, Georgia and then to Argentina starting 7:30 Monday morning and getting to Buenos Aires and 8:30 Tuesday morning!! The church is trying a new policy where they will send us down on travel visas and then get us our actual visas while we are in Argentina. My district kind of made fun of me because I said I was going to have faith that I would go to Argentina and my visa would come. It just shows that the Lord can do anything and the church is true. I'll get to call you from the airport so look forward to that. Thank you for all your prayers and faith in my behalf, I guess the Lord needs me in Argentina right now! All the missionaries in my district going to Argentina are in the same travel group. I was going to wait until the end of the email to tell you but I'm just too excited. The Lord has blessed me so much and I really need to start cracking down on Spanish, yikes. TALL means technology assisted language learning, so Spanish on the computer but sometimes it means try not to fall asleep at the computer haha. TRC is teaching the members like they volunteer and we go and teach them a lesson in Spanish, it is always very rewarding. Thank you for the socks I threw away all my old ones. (He had taken old socks he already had for work out socks and discovered holes in two pair right off the bat.) I am glad to hear about all the adventures that the family is having. (Daniel wants to run for Student Body Treasurer and I asked Ben for ideas for his speech. We thought he could dress like a pirate.) ARGH ya scurvy stars, I'll keep yer booty safe if ya make me treasurer, and if not............... you will feel the wrath of my filthy bad breath, ARGH. haha I don't know I am kind of on cloud nine right now I guess, good luck Daniel you'll do great. Carolyn good luck with your permit the promise I made Matthew applies to you too, if you want to look fly while rollin down the street feel free to use my sunglasses! Matthew I am excited for you and for you continue to prepare to become a great missionary, work on loving everyone which you are already great at, it is such a big part of missionary work. If a person knows all the lessons and such but doesn't know how to love then there knowledge is void. Mom I know you are probably already crying because of the Argentina news but prepare sus ojos (your eyes) once again. Our speaker at the devotional last night was none other than Via Sikahema! (Via is a guy Joleen went to high school with) It was so cool to see him and hear him speak. He talked a lot about the mission he served in South Dakota and was pretty funny. So that reminded me of you and now get ready for the crying part. For the movie we watched "For Such a Time as This" which is a talk that Elder Holland gave to the MTC. Before Sister Holland spoke He stood up there with her having his arm around her. You could feel the love that he had for her and it was just so sweet and tender. It made me think of my sweet mother and the love that my parents have for each other. Elders talk about missing hugging girls and I guess I do too, but most of all I miss being able to give my mommy big hugs every day. You have done so much for the salvation of souls. You served a mission and helped the gente en Honduras (people in Honduras) come to the gospel and find the way to salvation. When you returned home you waited patiently for a worthy priesthood holder who would take you to the temple and have you be sealed for time and all eternity. When that time finally came you went with love and trust in the Lord and then immediately started a family. You have done so much for the salvation of your family and have made so many Christ like sacrifices. I know my Savior so much better because of you and your example. I sat in that meeting just crying and I’m even tearing up a bit now, how embarrassing. You have raised a daughter to be worthy to be married in the temple and have done a lot for the salvation of the new Lamorauex family. Now, I, your son, go to Argentina to help the people find their way to Christ. I am eternally grateful to you and words can not describe the love I feel for you and the rest of the family. I will always be momma’s little boy. I hope that me serving a mission can bring all the blessings of heaven to my family because you all deserve todo las bendiciones Dios les da (all the blessings that God gives). I love you all so much. Also thank you for my name mother. You have told me how you chose my name before but it was always kind of just those "cool story" things and I don't think I had told anyone about it. I was talking with Elder Patey the other day and some how we got to talking about names and some of the special names in his family. I told him that while my mom was pregnant with my older sister she was trying to think of names for her and then in the shower just had the strongest impression that her first son needed to be named Benjamin Thomas Andrew. As I related that story and especially when I said my name it was like a fireball exploded inside me. It almost blew me out of my chair in the cafeteria. I know that is who I am and the Lord knows Benjamin Thomas Andrew and has work for him to do. I got to go to the temple again today and that was very nice. It was my genius idea to go to that cafeteria instead of the MTC one and so my whole district and a lot from our zone headed over a half hour early. Turns out that the cafeteria is closed on Mondays...... So I got something out of the vending machine. The cool thing was though that we got to help in the laundry room with the extra time we had. I worked on pairing shoes together and I guess that they were really behind from Saturday and so needed the help. It was really bueno to serve, and especially in the temple. I won’t get to go again, at least not in English for almost two more years. The MTC has been great but I'm ready to go. It has served its purpose and now it is time for me to serve mine. Elder Mckean and I are going to try and really knock it out of the park this week because it is our last week as zone leaders. I talked with him about being more obedient, I won’t go into specifics, but a lot of little things have been semi or disobedient and it was really weighing on me. It was hard for me to bring up because I am really not a confrontational person but the Lord Helped me with it. I really am going to focus on just loving other people and getting to know them as much as I can and on being more strictly obedient. Obedience is SOOOO important. A quote from my sacrament meeting yesterday, "Obedience rules the Spirit and the Spirit rules the work." It doesn't matter if I don't "want" to keep a rule I need to keep it because that is the pattern. I haven't really had too many problems with that myself but it is always a little hard, and not all the elders have the same drive as I do. We are all still 18 year old guys after all. The branch president has corrected activities that we have done and when they tell you something is wrong then you just stop doing it, easy as that. I love all of you so much and hope you have a fantastic week, the next time you hear from me will probably be in an airport in Atlanta Georgia any time between 4:58 and 9:11 (long layover!) We already said we aren't going to waste our travel time and are going to try and spread the light of Christ any way we can whether through giving out a Libro (Book) or just having a nice conversation.
Love,
Elder Benjamin Thomas Andrew
This e-mail answers a lot of questions from letters we wrote or commented on things we wrote like back to school stuff and things like that.
Monday, August 12, 2013 2:15 PM
Dear familia,
I like all the visits you are doing mom sharing the love of Christ is pretty much all that missionary work is. Loving the people. It is a struggle sometimes but I am trying to love everyone here. Mrs. Loder was my math teacher, I knew that coach he was pretty cool and seemed like the real deal, And I loved mrs. govert her class was easy for you I just had to do the homework everyday and then it was easy. For dad It's crazy because I read out of the ensign sent to me for the first time yesterday and I read that talk! Next time you have a journey in the wilderness don't forget to take a liahonna so that you can find the meters easier. My district has been sharing some personal stories with each other and it really takes faith to share stories like that. To believe that Your experience needs to be shared for the benefit of others even if it puts you in a little bit of a vulnerable situation. That sounds like a great end to the summer, it is the little things that count. I will most likely get re-assigned but I will find out not this Friday but the next. Please pray for my visa if it be God's will. I really liked the package! In fact I'm wearing the superman shirt right now, and wore the captain America one for my captain american workout on Friday. I got to go to the temple for the first time and it was amazing. The new movie was really good, but I was more grateful to just be able to go again. It seems like so long and i haven't even been here for a month, but at the same time.... I've almost been here for a month! Craziness I am so excited for the field. TRC was really good this week, I launched into a few personal stories that I didn't necessarily know the vocab for but tried to tell them. I was able to relate the stories! we even had one of the people we talked with in tears. It was awesome and the spirit is really starting to come with my Spanish. Elder Patey said something really cool the other day that "its cool to get to know God in a different language." and it is! My companion helped me to realize that I wasn't being as faithful in saying my prayers completely in Spanish so I’ve been trying a lot harder and the blessings are so real. I love all of you and think of you often. I got a few un-expected e-mails this week so I don't really have too much time, maybe I'll write you a letter too. How is school coming? Mrs. Gutting was awesome and I'm glad Daniel gets her, I really like the pictures and letter i got from him and a the other elders where really impressed with the captain america drawings. I keep telling elders that my little sister will be 17 by the time we get back so if she gets a few strange emails she'll know why haha. I saw Dallin the other day and will hopefully see him more. Have Carolyn get Bennet’s mission email for me please. Sorry I'll try and email better next week.
Love,
Elder Andrew
Monday, August 12, 2013 2:15 PM
Dear familia,
I like all the visits you are doing mom sharing the love of Christ is pretty much all that missionary work is. Loving the people. It is a struggle sometimes but I am trying to love everyone here. Mrs. Loder was my math teacher, I knew that coach he was pretty cool and seemed like the real deal, And I loved mrs. govert her class was easy for you I just had to do the homework everyday and then it was easy. For dad It's crazy because I read out of the ensign sent to me for the first time yesterday and I read that talk! Next time you have a journey in the wilderness don't forget to take a liahonna so that you can find the meters easier. My district has been sharing some personal stories with each other and it really takes faith to share stories like that. To believe that Your experience needs to be shared for the benefit of others even if it puts you in a little bit of a vulnerable situation. That sounds like a great end to the summer, it is the little things that count. I will most likely get re-assigned but I will find out not this Friday but the next. Please pray for my visa if it be God's will. I really liked the package! In fact I'm wearing the superman shirt right now, and wore the captain America one for my captain american workout on Friday. I got to go to the temple for the first time and it was amazing. The new movie was really good, but I was more grateful to just be able to go again. It seems like so long and i haven't even been here for a month, but at the same time.... I've almost been here for a month! Craziness I am so excited for the field. TRC was really good this week, I launched into a few personal stories that I didn't necessarily know the vocab for but tried to tell them. I was able to relate the stories! we even had one of the people we talked with in tears. It was awesome and the spirit is really starting to come with my Spanish. Elder Patey said something really cool the other day that "its cool to get to know God in a different language." and it is! My companion helped me to realize that I wasn't being as faithful in saying my prayers completely in Spanish so I’ve been trying a lot harder and the blessings are so real. I love all of you and think of you often. I got a few un-expected e-mails this week so I don't really have too much time, maybe I'll write you a letter too. How is school coming? Mrs. Gutting was awesome and I'm glad Daniel gets her, I really like the pictures and letter i got from him and a the other elders where really impressed with the captain america drawings. I keep telling elders that my little sister will be 17 by the time we get back so if she gets a few strange emails she'll know why haha. I saw Dallin the other day and will hopefully see him more. Have Carolyn get Bennet’s mission email for me please. Sorry I'll try and email better next week.
Love,
Elder Andrew
Monday, August 5, 2013 8:46 AM
Querido Familia, I'm glad you are okay with me only doing one letter because that is what I was going to do anyway haha. Make sure that this gets to Brenda because I won't have time to include the meat of what is happening to me in my e-mail to her. I'm glad to hear about the missionary experiences! since school is starting i definitely expect some missionary experiences from my younger siblings to be included in following e-mails. I start my email with some thoughts i had about school yesterday and some wisdom and advice i can hopefully impart. The MTC is definitely a higher institution of learning and the Lord is here to help whenever I seek His help. However, I would not be ready for this higher learning experience if I had not been diligent in my earthly learning as well as spiritual learning before my mission. My advice is to learn as much as you can, Learning is such a big blessing that God has blessed us with, and I wish I had taken more full advantage of my opportunities to learn during elementary school and high school. Even thing is line upon line poco y poco. If a person does not learn the simple things they can not move on to more complicated things. Especially take full advantage of your sacred time spent in Seminary and In church learning classes such as Sunday School. It is time set aside for learning about the Lord. Especially in the MTC I am finding out how blessed a person can be if they use time set aside by the Lord to complete the task He has set the time aside for. for example If i actually use the allotted time to study the language, to study the language, then my lessons go better, the spirit is more prevalent, and I am able to retain a lot more Spanish. If i waste my time joking with elders or being lazy then everything becomes difficult. Also don't be afraid to make sacrifices for to be able to learn. For example, Elder McKean and I did TALL on our p-day and it was really hard and i don't think we learned much, but I know that the Lord blessed us so much for just making the extra effort and sacrificing some of our "personal" time. So just count your blessings for having the opportunity to learn and try to let the Lord into your learning, He will increase your capacities to levels you didn't know you had. Next I'll tell you about some of the amazing experiences I have had this week. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between days and the weeks mesh into one, I mean in two days my MTC stay will be half over (Hallelujah!). Anyway, Wednesday I think it was, was a very good day. I got the opportunity as a zone leader to work with Elder Tyler (our district leader) as he interviewed the sister senior companions in our district. I am so impressed by the members of our district and their personal commitment to do the Lord's will. It was interesting to watch Elder Tyler minister to them and try to know by the spirit how to help them, I could definitely feel the spirit and only gave a few inputs. After that Elder McKean and I talked with the sister training leader Hermana Curtis (who actually had been living in mesa for a few years and at one time lived in the condos right by Fry's crazy right! Leadership reppin Mesa whoot!) and she told us how she was doing and concerns that she had, we tried our best to minister and let the spirit guide us in giving advice and I feel that He did. Then after she asked us to give her a blessing and Elder McKean said he had never preformed a blessing before and so would be more comfortable if I was the voice. So I was and it wasn't like the words were flowing straight from Heaven out of my mouth but the spirit was definitely there and I know that The Priesthood can bless everyone according to their faith. It was a very neat and nice opportunity to minister. Administering is part of my job but it is almost just an afterthought to ministering because that is really what’s important. There is a talk about ministering in the last general conference, which reminds me could you please send me my copy of that? sorry to keep asking for stuff, if you already sent the package don't worry about it. Then that night Hermano Rodgers wanted to do a role play on teaching a first lesson and asking questions so that you can really meet the needs of the investigator. I felt impressed that i should volunteer and that I should try and put myself into the persona of Meghan. I believe that i gained heaven sent insight into her situation. I felt bad for not trying to be more understanding and for not really having Christ-like love. I wrote her a letter telling her how I was doing but didn't tell her about my experience. I felt impressed that i should just tell her about my mtc experiences so far and hopefully it can bless her. You could send me coach greg williams email too i guess. I found out yesterday as Hermana Weller and her companion were teaching our district meeting that the role play experience had blessed her with a prompting as well. She said she new a non-member lady and that during the role play she felt a strong impression that she needed to write her a letter and she didn’t' know about what but that she has been studying a lot and is going to do it. I know that I was impressed to do the role play but i didn't think it had really affected anyone but myself. I am learning that if a prompting comes to just act on it, if I ever wait to act on a prompting or let the opportunity pass me by the spirit leaves and I have to work hard for the Lord to bless me with His promptings again. It is hard and can sometimes be a bit scary but I am trying to get over that and just drop everything and act. Yesterday was probably my best day in the MTC. We had a mission conference because it was fast Sunday. During the first musical number (a piano solo to "I stand all amazed") the lyrics from the song, "and for ME a sinner He suffered, He bled, and died" came into my mind with great force and power. That for me, a man that makes a lot of mistakes that has a lot to work on, for me a lowly 18 year old boy Christ suffered bled and died. I felt God's love for me and the Savior's love for me in that moment probably more than I ever have in my entire life. I could feel a warm feeling envelope my body, like a warm hug. The rest of the meeting was wonderful and inspiring and I just kept thinking back to that experience. I used to think that the MTC was some spiritual wonderland but it is much more real than that. I am also coming to understand just how real Christ's atonement, crucifixion and resurrection are. They can literally change my life and the way I face it for time and all eternity. Stay strong Andrew/Lamereaux clan, may the Lord be with you!
Love, Elder Andrew
Querido Familia, I'm glad you are okay with me only doing one letter because that is what I was going to do anyway haha. Make sure that this gets to Brenda because I won't have time to include the meat of what is happening to me in my e-mail to her. I'm glad to hear about the missionary experiences! since school is starting i definitely expect some missionary experiences from my younger siblings to be included in following e-mails. I start my email with some thoughts i had about school yesterday and some wisdom and advice i can hopefully impart. The MTC is definitely a higher institution of learning and the Lord is here to help whenever I seek His help. However, I would not be ready for this higher learning experience if I had not been diligent in my earthly learning as well as spiritual learning before my mission. My advice is to learn as much as you can, Learning is such a big blessing that God has blessed us with, and I wish I had taken more full advantage of my opportunities to learn during elementary school and high school. Even thing is line upon line poco y poco. If a person does not learn the simple things they can not move on to more complicated things. Especially take full advantage of your sacred time spent in Seminary and In church learning classes such as Sunday School. It is time set aside for learning about the Lord. Especially in the MTC I am finding out how blessed a person can be if they use time set aside by the Lord to complete the task He has set the time aside for. for example If i actually use the allotted time to study the language, to study the language, then my lessons go better, the spirit is more prevalent, and I am able to retain a lot more Spanish. If i waste my time joking with elders or being lazy then everything becomes difficult. Also don't be afraid to make sacrifices for to be able to learn. For example, Elder McKean and I did TALL on our p-day and it was really hard and i don't think we learned much, but I know that the Lord blessed us so much for just making the extra effort and sacrificing some of our "personal" time. So just count your blessings for having the opportunity to learn and try to let the Lord into your learning, He will increase your capacities to levels you didn't know you had. Next I'll tell you about some of the amazing experiences I have had this week. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between days and the weeks mesh into one, I mean in two days my MTC stay will be half over (Hallelujah!). Anyway, Wednesday I think it was, was a very good day. I got the opportunity as a zone leader to work with Elder Tyler (our district leader) as he interviewed the sister senior companions in our district. I am so impressed by the members of our district and their personal commitment to do the Lord's will. It was interesting to watch Elder Tyler minister to them and try to know by the spirit how to help them, I could definitely feel the spirit and only gave a few inputs. After that Elder McKean and I talked with the sister training leader Hermana Curtis (who actually had been living in mesa for a few years and at one time lived in the condos right by Fry's crazy right! Leadership reppin Mesa whoot!) and she told us how she was doing and concerns that she had, we tried our best to minister and let the spirit guide us in giving advice and I feel that He did. Then after she asked us to give her a blessing and Elder McKean said he had never preformed a blessing before and so would be more comfortable if I was the voice. So I was and it wasn't like the words were flowing straight from Heaven out of my mouth but the spirit was definitely there and I know that The Priesthood can bless everyone according to their faith. It was a very neat and nice opportunity to minister. Administering is part of my job but it is almost just an afterthought to ministering because that is really what’s important. There is a talk about ministering in the last general conference, which reminds me could you please send me my copy of that? sorry to keep asking for stuff, if you already sent the package don't worry about it. Then that night Hermano Rodgers wanted to do a role play on teaching a first lesson and asking questions so that you can really meet the needs of the investigator. I felt impressed that i should volunteer and that I should try and put myself into the persona of Meghan. I believe that i gained heaven sent insight into her situation. I felt bad for not trying to be more understanding and for not really having Christ-like love. I wrote her a letter telling her how I was doing but didn't tell her about my experience. I felt impressed that i should just tell her about my mtc experiences so far and hopefully it can bless her. You could send me coach greg williams email too i guess. I found out yesterday as Hermana Weller and her companion were teaching our district meeting that the role play experience had blessed her with a prompting as well. She said she new a non-member lady and that during the role play she felt a strong impression that she needed to write her a letter and she didn’t' know about what but that she has been studying a lot and is going to do it. I know that I was impressed to do the role play but i didn't think it had really affected anyone but myself. I am learning that if a prompting comes to just act on it, if I ever wait to act on a prompting or let the opportunity pass me by the spirit leaves and I have to work hard for the Lord to bless me with His promptings again. It is hard and can sometimes be a bit scary but I am trying to get over that and just drop everything and act. Yesterday was probably my best day in the MTC. We had a mission conference because it was fast Sunday. During the first musical number (a piano solo to "I stand all amazed") the lyrics from the song, "and for ME a sinner He suffered, He bled, and died" came into my mind with great force and power. That for me, a man that makes a lot of mistakes that has a lot to work on, for me a lowly 18 year old boy Christ suffered bled and died. I felt God's love for me and the Savior's love for me in that moment probably more than I ever have in my entire life. I could feel a warm feeling envelope my body, like a warm hug. The rest of the meeting was wonderful and inspiring and I just kept thinking back to that experience. I used to think that the MTC was some spiritual wonderland but it is much more real than that. I am also coming to understand just how real Christ's atonement, crucifixion and resurrection are. They can literally change my life and the way I face it for time and all eternity. Stay strong Andrew/Lamereaux clan, may the Lord be with you!
Love, Elder Andrew
Monday, July 29, 2013 8:58 AM
Hola mi moma, To answer an earlier question my P-day is on monday so i will do all of my e-mailing and most of my letter writing on that day. I'll try to send some pictures next week even though i haven't really taken that many yet. I saw Elder Grayson Allen yesterday and that was really exciting I needed at least one big hug from that loving guy before I head out. Elder Porter McClaws left today early in the morning for Sydney, Australia so I got a few pictures with him. with my companion and I being called as zone leaders they also called a new sister training leader who is Hermana Curtis from our district. She has a great testimony, spirit, and her personal experiences often blow my mind so she will be a huge asset to leading the zone. Our last zone leader ship had two short elders and a tiny filapino sister training leader. Entonces, I joke that our new Zone leadership is one of intimidation because Elder Mckean is skinny but about the same height at me and Hermana Curtis is Big and probably about 6 feet or 5' 11''. I'm sure it will be a blast though and I'm excited for the oppertunity to serve the members of my zone that i already love and respect so much. I glad that I can hopefully count on you not to critize my email spelling struggles because I believe we suffer from the same struggle. I'm glad that you are loving up your pioneer heritage and thank you for the story I will read it today. The building that our classroom is in is the "Parley P. Pratt building" which gives me a little extra strength to take the long treck every day, sevral times a day up the multiple flights of stairs. Probably whichever parent I email first will get the bulk of what happened to me so just know that and make sure to read to each other and share with the family. Elder Mckean has never consecrated oil before, so sometime today we will get some oil from the bookstore and do that. If you ever for some reason felt like sending me a care package here are a few suggestions. 1- please dont send food items, they feed us enough junk here at the MTC and real food probably doesn't last in the mail. 2- It would be funny to get a Captain America shirt to wear to bed or something. 3- I left two things of body wash in the shower and it would be cool to get those and also left the scrubber shower thing that i bought for my mission. 4- little games or toys are fun. These are all things that I don't really need so don't feel like you have to send me anything. Oh many I only have 7 minutes left there just isn't enough time! Hopefully I'll see Dallin I've seen a lot of friends already and it is really great. Your prayers for me give me strength and I really do apreciate them. I can maybe see a little better where Aaron is coming from when he writes home complaining about companions. People are different and it's hard to spend every waking, and sleeping moment with the same person. I feel like I just need to humble my pride and not let little annoyences bother me, after all Elder Mckean is a great guy and can help me an awful lot. We had a companionship inventory and talked about a few things and now I feel much closer to him and ready to serve next to him as a Zone leader. I know that I can't leader or set an example if I don't love and get along with my companion. It is getting harder to get up every morning but I just push the the 5 second intense struggle and roll out of bed and get going. I didn't fall asleep during anything yesterday which is really a huge improvement on last week ahaha. We don't have silent sundays but as a district we plan english fast times and those would sometimes be silent but we are really working on it. well my time is up and even though it wont kick me off I need to be obenient so Adios I love you and I love my family with all my heart.
Elder Andrew
Hola mi moma, To answer an earlier question my P-day is on monday so i will do all of my e-mailing and most of my letter writing on that day. I'll try to send some pictures next week even though i haven't really taken that many yet. I saw Elder Grayson Allen yesterday and that was really exciting I needed at least one big hug from that loving guy before I head out. Elder Porter McClaws left today early in the morning for Sydney, Australia so I got a few pictures with him. with my companion and I being called as zone leaders they also called a new sister training leader who is Hermana Curtis from our district. She has a great testimony, spirit, and her personal experiences often blow my mind so she will be a huge asset to leading the zone. Our last zone leader ship had two short elders and a tiny filapino sister training leader. Entonces, I joke that our new Zone leadership is one of intimidation because Elder Mckean is skinny but about the same height at me and Hermana Curtis is Big and probably about 6 feet or 5' 11''. I'm sure it will be a blast though and I'm excited for the oppertunity to serve the members of my zone that i already love and respect so much. I glad that I can hopefully count on you not to critize my email spelling struggles because I believe we suffer from the same struggle. I'm glad that you are loving up your pioneer heritage and thank you for the story I will read it today. The building that our classroom is in is the "Parley P. Pratt building" which gives me a little extra strength to take the long treck every day, sevral times a day up the multiple flights of stairs. Probably whichever parent I email first will get the bulk of what happened to me so just know that and make sure to read to each other and share with the family. Elder Mckean has never consecrated oil before, so sometime today we will get some oil from the bookstore and do that. If you ever for some reason felt like sending me a care package here are a few suggestions. 1- please dont send food items, they feed us enough junk here at the MTC and real food probably doesn't last in the mail. 2- It would be funny to get a Captain America shirt to wear to bed or something. 3- I left two things of body wash in the shower and it would be cool to get those and also left the scrubber shower thing that i bought for my mission. 4- little games or toys are fun. These are all things that I don't really need so don't feel like you have to send me anything. Oh many I only have 7 minutes left there just isn't enough time! Hopefully I'll see Dallin I've seen a lot of friends already and it is really great. Your prayers for me give me strength and I really do apreciate them. I can maybe see a little better where Aaron is coming from when he writes home complaining about companions. People are different and it's hard to spend every waking, and sleeping moment with the same person. I feel like I just need to humble my pride and not let little annoyences bother me, after all Elder Mckean is a great guy and can help me an awful lot. We had a companionship inventory and talked about a few things and now I feel much closer to him and ready to serve next to him as a Zone leader. I know that I can't leader or set an example if I don't love and get along with my companion. It is getting harder to get up every morning but I just push the the 5 second intense struggle and roll out of bed and get going. I didn't fall asleep during anything yesterday which is really a huge improvement on last week ahaha. We don't have silent sundays but as a district we plan english fast times and those would sometimes be silent but we are really working on it. well my time is up and even though it wont kick me off I need to be obenient so Adios I love you and I love my family with all my heart.
Elder Andrew
Monday, July 29, 2013 8:34 AM
Mi querido Padre!
I am glad to hear from you as well. When I was a district leader (I am now a Zone leader as of sacrament meeting ayer) one of my responsibilities was to get the mail for my district. on wednesday i think it was i opened the mail and there was a whole huge pile of mail, and the best part was that pretty much half of it was for me! The day before i got a letter from carolyn and then on wednesday I got a letter from Mom (two actually), one from matthew, one from Daniel and one from Cami (the first correspondence I've had from a friend). It took me until last night to finish replying to Carolyn's letter but dont think that means it is excellent, I just don't have any extra time to write letters in a normal day! Today is my Preperation day and because the Provo Temple is closed until sometime in August I have a lot of time. Too much time we found out last week as we wasted most of it and were not at all prepared for the lesson we had to teach that night. I am bummed about the temple, sometimes i just look at my temple recomend and wish i could go. It's okay though, I'll make it through. I feel a lot better than the last time I e-mailed you guys, i fasted and said many long and hard prays and it is starting to pay off. Like my companion and I like to say "the church is true, the book is blue, and Moroni is always on the ball." So we planned our day better today and are going to be more preductive, and i will try to corespond to all mail recieved. CCM= centro something Misioneros so just MTC en espanol. Thank you for keeping that list for me! oh and don't critize my spelling!ja ja I only have a limited time to e-mail you guys and i'm trying the best that I can! thanks for trying to keep me on the straight and narrow though. FELIZIDADES MATTHEW!!!! that is so exciting my little bro hitting the streets. I left all my sunglasses in the different cars so tell him if he needs so added babe attraction gear he is welcome to use them. Looks like me serving a mision is blessing my family already. That is awesome for Samphson! He really is his first convert, and i wish him, dallin and drew the best of luck. I like your workout story and I have one of my own. To start off the guys in my Zone like to call me names like "captain america, Mr. Incredible and when i wear my glasses, Clark Kent." So on fridays we don't have any gym time but we have what is called "personal excercise time" which some of the elders have re-named "personal nap time." anyway, I made a circut workout doing various exercise with upper body and squats and lunges for the lower body. I got about 6 elders in my zone to do my circut with me and it was pretty hard but very rewarding. not so rewarding when we had to climb the stairs though.... Ijole mi piernas still hurt. Elder Craven who isn't really into fitness but did the circut and said he had never worked out like that befor was very proud to say "I finished the captain America Workout!" So we work hard but we also have fun in the MTC. I think you would really like elder pierce he was our zone leader before me and he is from Hunginton Beach. Every time he talks about california i think of you. When he talks about it he says how much he loves the beach and that he'll just go there to think and it was pretty much the last thing he did before his mission. He also says that if he starts talking about "the wedge" (I assume you'll understand the termanology) He is going to start crying. So you guys are in my thoughts and prayers. We got a new district on wednesday and we were excited because we wouldn't be the "new guys" anymore. Pero it turns out that they were and intermediate class and so pretty much already know more Spanish than us. Ha ha the Lord never ceases in his efforts to humble me. They are great though and there are even two missionaries from Mesa! Hermana Mary Jarman is one of them she was a year ahead of me in high school at mesa high and brad guthrie dated her sister from a while. The other one is Elder Ridd who went to Desert Ridge High School. He was made district leader and kind of turned to me for a lot of advice and I tryed to give it as best I could He is really an awesome guy and even though He seems to be naturally gifted with el Don de Lenguas i still like him. I like all the new guys in the Zone and now I have an oppertunity to love, serve and teach them. It is a humbling assignment and I cant do it without the Lord but Faith brings miracles. I'll let you know how my escapades go with that and trying to get the rowdier all elder district ahead of me to behave goes. I'm used over half my time writing this so mom will probably get a shorter E-mail (lo siento Mama) pero Yo le amo.
love,
Elder Andrew
Monday, July 22, 2013 9:02 AM (To Dad)
Holla,
Descriptions of my district are in my email to mom so make sure you read that. I sent you guys a letter on my second day I hope that it gets to you! The lord is trying to humble me for sure. My second day here they called me to be the district leader and so it added that to my already heaping amounts of responsibility and thing to do. And then come Sunday the branch president was interviewing me and asked me if I would accept the call with my companion to be a zone leader. So barely even knowing what being a district leader means after next Sunday I will become a zone leader with my companion with Elder McKean. The zone leaders I have now are awesome and I will definitely be looking to them for guidance and as good examples. Elder Pierce is from Huntington beach and is a muscular really polished elder that is very loving and you can tell is a natural leader he seems like he is about 20 years old and all the other elders seem older than me in the zone but the reality is that I’m just as old if not older than most of them. It just goes to show how much you can grow from a few weeks in the mtc. The other zone leader is Elder Melville a short bulky guy that is always laughing and maybe a little more "rough around the edges" he is also a great leader and I just think of him as a little ball of love. He wrestled is high school and was very excited when he found out that I am a wrestle. Thank you for your words of encouragement and strength I can use them. The spirit is strong here but I have been struggling to keep it with me lately I think it is just because I am feeling too overwhelmed and I need to focus on helping other people. The first few days were full but not too hard because I had the companionship of the spirit with me, when he isn't with me is when the work gets really hard I’m trying to re evaluate myself and what I’m doing and my prayers are very hard and I’m trying hopefully my next letter/ email will be more uplifting. So far in the MTC I have seen Elder Porter McClaws, Elder Chris Willis, Elder Austin Long, a couple elders from Aaron's ward in California, Elder Bradley (the asu wrestler guy from flagstaff), Elder Dylan Shaw, and it seems like maybe more but I can't think of anymore right now. Good job talking with those people at work! Thank you for taking the challenge and immediately acting on it! I am grateful that I am learning Spanish every time that I see and elder with weird symbols on their name tags. Tell Matthew Congratulations for me I am so happy for that guy! Well I hope that the Moonstruck lovers will find some time to write to me! An hour is hardly enough time to write even just two emails so maybe ill start writing letters to you guys on P-day because I have a lot more time to do that. The program of the MTC is inspired. Elder McKean and I have already taught two lessons to Javier our "investigator" in our first lesson we forgot to bring a Libro de Mormon so we had to bring it back for the second lesson and committed him to read and pray about it. The lessons are in Spanish so they are a bit slow and choppy but we are able to communicate which is the most important thing. It doesn’t matter if a person has perfect command of the language if they don’t have the spirit their teaching will be pointless, so I've been trying to focus on that but I have a feeling that maybe I should work a little harder at the language too haha. We watched "the character of Christ" by elder bednar last night and it was really good, I need to stop focusing on my own problems and short comings. We walked around the temple yesterday and as we went in the gates there were some guys with big crosses yelling at us trying to tell us we needed Jesus or something. Dude... He's on our nametag! And people say that Mormon missionaries are pushy! We live on the fourth floor of our residence hall and the 5th floor of our teaching building so the top of both buildings. I walk up and down the stairs several times each day so hopefully that will help to keep my weight in check. whenever we go back to our classroom I feel like Kung Fu Panda because I'm always a bit winded by the top of the stairs, (pretty sad huh). Tell Daniel that, I always think of him when I feel like Kung Fu panda. I Love you guys and send my love to Carolyn, Matthew, Daniel, Brenda and Levi. Send their mailing address please and if one of you sends me a letter can you also send me one of those address sheet I made before I left? The work is going and I’m sure things will only get better from here.
Mucho Amor, Elder Andrew
Holla,
Descriptions of my district are in my email to mom so make sure you read that. I sent you guys a letter on my second day I hope that it gets to you! The lord is trying to humble me for sure. My second day here they called me to be the district leader and so it added that to my already heaping amounts of responsibility and thing to do. And then come Sunday the branch president was interviewing me and asked me if I would accept the call with my companion to be a zone leader. So barely even knowing what being a district leader means after next Sunday I will become a zone leader with my companion with Elder McKean. The zone leaders I have now are awesome and I will definitely be looking to them for guidance and as good examples. Elder Pierce is from Huntington beach and is a muscular really polished elder that is very loving and you can tell is a natural leader he seems like he is about 20 years old and all the other elders seem older than me in the zone but the reality is that I’m just as old if not older than most of them. It just goes to show how much you can grow from a few weeks in the mtc. The other zone leader is Elder Melville a short bulky guy that is always laughing and maybe a little more "rough around the edges" he is also a great leader and I just think of him as a little ball of love. He wrestled is high school and was very excited when he found out that I am a wrestle. Thank you for your words of encouragement and strength I can use them. The spirit is strong here but I have been struggling to keep it with me lately I think it is just because I am feeling too overwhelmed and I need to focus on helping other people. The first few days were full but not too hard because I had the companionship of the spirit with me, when he isn't with me is when the work gets really hard I’m trying to re evaluate myself and what I’m doing and my prayers are very hard and I’m trying hopefully my next letter/ email will be more uplifting. So far in the MTC I have seen Elder Porter McClaws, Elder Chris Willis, Elder Austin Long, a couple elders from Aaron's ward in California, Elder Bradley (the asu wrestler guy from flagstaff), Elder Dylan Shaw, and it seems like maybe more but I can't think of anymore right now. Good job talking with those people at work! Thank you for taking the challenge and immediately acting on it! I am grateful that I am learning Spanish every time that I see and elder with weird symbols on their name tags. Tell Matthew Congratulations for me I am so happy for that guy! Well I hope that the Moonstruck lovers will find some time to write to me! An hour is hardly enough time to write even just two emails so maybe ill start writing letters to you guys on P-day because I have a lot more time to do that. The program of the MTC is inspired. Elder McKean and I have already taught two lessons to Javier our "investigator" in our first lesson we forgot to bring a Libro de Mormon so we had to bring it back for the second lesson and committed him to read and pray about it. The lessons are in Spanish so they are a bit slow and choppy but we are able to communicate which is the most important thing. It doesn’t matter if a person has perfect command of the language if they don’t have the spirit their teaching will be pointless, so I've been trying to focus on that but I have a feeling that maybe I should work a little harder at the language too haha. We watched "the character of Christ" by elder bednar last night and it was really good, I need to stop focusing on my own problems and short comings. We walked around the temple yesterday and as we went in the gates there were some guys with big crosses yelling at us trying to tell us we needed Jesus or something. Dude... He's on our nametag! And people say that Mormon missionaries are pushy! We live on the fourth floor of our residence hall and the 5th floor of our teaching building so the top of both buildings. I walk up and down the stairs several times each day so hopefully that will help to keep my weight in check. whenever we go back to our classroom I feel like Kung Fu Panda because I'm always a bit winded by the top of the stairs, (pretty sad huh). Tell Daniel that, I always think of him when I feel like Kung Fu panda. I Love you guys and send my love to Carolyn, Matthew, Daniel, Brenda and Levi. Send their mailing address please and if one of you sends me a letter can you also send me one of those address sheet I made before I left? The work is going and I’m sure things will only get better from here.
Mucho Amor, Elder Andrew
Monday, July 22, 2013 8:27 AM
Hola Mom!
Things are going pretty well! That is awesome that you talked with Mr. Moore. Missionary work is inviting others to come unto Christ. It is interesting that is says Others instead of non-members. Even members need invitation and uplifting experiences. This first few days have been pretty crazy, it seems like I’ve been here for weeks but I think it’s just because they pack so much into every day. The food is too good and I hope I’m not gaining too much weight, I think to myself that I am not going to take that much food this time and then I get to the cafeteria and Hey that looks good and so does that! pretty soon my tray is full and I feel fat haha. My companion is Elder McKean he is tall and thin and is getting the Spanish really well, he is always trying to use mas y mas espanol which is helping me. We get along well he is a nice guy and we have fun making jokes and are even starting to make some jokes in espanol. The first day we got here my escort (the guy you dropped me off with) elder billings took me around and got me to where I needed to go for the first bit. As soon as I got to my class the maestro Brother Rogers started talking to me, but only in Spanish. That first day was a whirlwind and the next few weren’t any easier. The Spanish is coming amazingly fast the CCM is a really inspired place (ccm=mtc) We sang called to serve on the first days with all the new missionaries but it wasn’t in our language, maybe because we don’t know it yet? My district is Elder Tyler, a happy and really outgoing and social guy for Salt lake city, Elder Richards from Nephi who is more quite but is really cool and funny he ran cross country and the 800 in high school, Hermana Hansen Also outgoing and full of energy serving in the Buenos Aires mission, Heramana Tua(something long and crazy) from Tahiti going to the Dominican republic she is funny and knows French, English and is learning Spanish, Hermana Wellers from St. George going to the Dominican republic she is kind of quite but is working really hard at Spanish and getting it (she took German in high school). Hermana Wake from Utah who was playing tennis on a full ride in Arizona going to the Dominican republic, Hermana Cox an only child from sandy Utah going to Salta Argentina, and Hermana Curtis from Yuma, Arizona who is also going to Salta Argentina she was a hair stylist and has a lot of faith promoting experiences that she shares. All the elders in my district are going to Buenos Aires South which is cool that I will be able to see them possibly in the mission field as well. They provide sheets at the mtc so I haven’t had to use mine I sleep on the bottom bunk of a bunk bead. I was getting up at 5 30 so I could study extra but I read yesterday in the handbook that I’m supposed to arise at the same time as my companion so I wont be doing that anymore. I hope you are doing well! This place is pretty cool.
Love, Elder Andrew
Hola Mom!
Things are going pretty well! That is awesome that you talked with Mr. Moore. Missionary work is inviting others to come unto Christ. It is interesting that is says Others instead of non-members. Even members need invitation and uplifting experiences. This first few days have been pretty crazy, it seems like I’ve been here for weeks but I think it’s just because they pack so much into every day. The food is too good and I hope I’m not gaining too much weight, I think to myself that I am not going to take that much food this time and then I get to the cafeteria and Hey that looks good and so does that! pretty soon my tray is full and I feel fat haha. My companion is Elder McKean he is tall and thin and is getting the Spanish really well, he is always trying to use mas y mas espanol which is helping me. We get along well he is a nice guy and we have fun making jokes and are even starting to make some jokes in espanol. The first day we got here my escort (the guy you dropped me off with) elder billings took me around and got me to where I needed to go for the first bit. As soon as I got to my class the maestro Brother Rogers started talking to me, but only in Spanish. That first day was a whirlwind and the next few weren’t any easier. The Spanish is coming amazingly fast the CCM is a really inspired place (ccm=mtc) We sang called to serve on the first days with all the new missionaries but it wasn’t in our language, maybe because we don’t know it yet? My district is Elder Tyler, a happy and really outgoing and social guy for Salt lake city, Elder Richards from Nephi who is more quite but is really cool and funny he ran cross country and the 800 in high school, Hermana Hansen Also outgoing and full of energy serving in the Buenos Aires mission, Heramana Tua(something long and crazy) from Tahiti going to the Dominican republic she is funny and knows French, English and is learning Spanish, Hermana Wellers from St. George going to the Dominican republic she is kind of quite but is working really hard at Spanish and getting it (she took German in high school). Hermana Wake from Utah who was playing tennis on a full ride in Arizona going to the Dominican republic, Hermana Cox an only child from sandy Utah going to Salta Argentina, and Hermana Curtis from Yuma, Arizona who is also going to Salta Argentina she was a hair stylist and has a lot of faith promoting experiences that she shares. All the elders in my district are going to Buenos Aires South which is cool that I will be able to see them possibly in the mission field as well. They provide sheets at the mtc so I haven’t had to use mine I sleep on the bottom bunk of a bunk bead. I was getting up at 5 30 so I could study extra but I read yesterday in the handbook that I’m supposed to arise at the same time as my companion so I wont be doing that anymore. I hope you are doing well! This place is pretty cool.
Love, Elder Andrew
Ben's Letters
The first letter Ben wrote was hand written and sent July 19 just two days after entering the MTC.
Dear Family,
The Elder who met me today was Elder Billings and he gave me a little run down and helped me to get my stuff. He will be serving in the same mission as Blake, Spanish speaking (Blake Smith is one of Ben’s best friends). My companion is Elder McKean from Salt Lake City and he is super cool. I really like my district, which consists of 6 sisters and 4 elders. The other two elders are Elder Tyler (Salt Lake City) and Elder Roberts (Nephi, Utah). Elder Tyler is very confident, outgoing and active, Elder Roberts is pretty quiet but I sense a strong spirit about him. We are all 18 and trying very hard. One hermana (sister) is from Yuma, AZ and one from Tahiti and the rest are all from various parts of Utah. This is crazy and I feel like I’m going through the temple for the first time because they are throwing so much at me and I’m trying to glean as much as I can. It’s like I asked for a drink and they turned a fire hose on me! I love it though, and just get the feeling that I need to come back every day with renewed vigor trying to learn more. It’s hard to say everything that has happened and I’m writing this in little pieces of time I can find but I’ll try to be more detailed in my e-mails on P-day. Tjis is the end of my second day and I’m learning so much about myself and others. As if all they’re throwing at me wasn’t enough tonight we met with the branch presidency and they asked me to be a senior companion and the district leader. I am humbled and am going to need the Lord’s help muy mucho. My district is awesome and I am blessed by their sweet testimonies and commitment to the work. Brother Price from my branch presidency said he knew Mom from serving in Honduras. I know that my Redeemer Lives. What Joy and POWER this sweet sentence gives!
Mucho amor,
Elder Benjamin An drew
Dear Family,
The Elder who met me today was Elder Billings and he gave me a little run down and helped me to get my stuff. He will be serving in the same mission as Blake, Spanish speaking (Blake Smith is one of Ben’s best friends). My companion is Elder McKean from Salt Lake City and he is super cool. I really like my district, which consists of 6 sisters and 4 elders. The other two elders are Elder Tyler (Salt Lake City) and Elder Roberts (Nephi, Utah). Elder Tyler is very confident, outgoing and active, Elder Roberts is pretty quiet but I sense a strong spirit about him. We are all 18 and trying very hard. One hermana (sister) is from Yuma, AZ and one from Tahiti and the rest are all from various parts of Utah. This is crazy and I feel like I’m going through the temple for the first time because they are throwing so much at me and I’m trying to glean as much as I can. It’s like I asked for a drink and they turned a fire hose on me! I love it though, and just get the feeling that I need to come back every day with renewed vigor trying to learn more. It’s hard to say everything that has happened and I’m writing this in little pieces of time I can find but I’ll try to be more detailed in my e-mails on P-day. Tjis is the end of my second day and I’m learning so much about myself and others. As if all they’re throwing at me wasn’t enough tonight we met with the branch presidency and they asked me to be a senior companion and the district leader. I am humbled and am going to need the Lord’s help muy mucho. My district is awesome and I am blessed by their sweet testimonies and commitment to the work. Brother Price from my branch presidency said he knew Mom from serving in Honduras. I know that my Redeemer Lives. What Joy and POWER this sweet sentence gives!
Mucho amor,
Elder Benjamin An drew
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