Cold Front 2

Hey everyone!!!!!!!

How is everyone doing? I am doing fantastic! This week has been very fun. I have been able to talk to so many people. It has been so cool. Also, it has been cooler this week. It has only been like 101-103 and we are expecting 99 soon so I am ecstatic about that. I might have to start wearing a sweater or something.

Pues, this week I have learned a lot. I also had my kind of first baptism. Her name is Aurora. She has tons of energy but is very smart. The reason I say kind of is because she turned 8 and was baptized. But because she can't come to church on Sundays because she is with her dad on the weekends, we taught her. We conducted her baptism and everything. It was cool.

Then this week we did exchanges for my first time. It was fun. I went up to Brawley with Elder Hardy. Funny thing about Elder Hardy is that we met each other before the mission. When I went to my first Decathlon, he was also competing. Small world. But, it was cool to go out with him and meet some of the people up in Brawley. I was able to use Spanish a little bit up there with a lady who has a crazy story about how she became interested in the Gospel. She had a dream when she was in the hospital and in the dream she saw three white doors. She was able to go into two of the doors, but could not get into the third door, which was the biggest. She said that she knew two of them were Heaven and Hell, but could not explain the third door. Then the missionaries found her and taught her the plan of salvation and told her that the three doors that she saw were the Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial kingdoms. And that the door she could not open was the Celestial kingdom because she has not been baptized with the proper authority yet. She is awesome and has only a few more things to do before she is baptized. So that is a crazy awesome story!!

Also this week we had stake conference. Elder Miskin of the Area Seventy came. He taught that the Church is not a rest home for the righteous, it is a hospital for the imperfect. This means that the church is a place for people to come to repent and come closer to Christ. He also said that the best smell in a congregation is the smell of tobacco, because that means that someone is there that needs this message and needs the gospel to get closer to Christ. He also said that we need to go into the wilderness and bring back the one to the ninety and nine. The wilderness is wherever nonmembers or pre-members as we like to call them, and less active members are. He said that we all need to be that shepherd. And he pointed out that the shepherd didn't guide his sheep back, he carried him. That's what all of us need to do, we need to carry those people to church and help them as much as we can. Another thing he said is that if someone isn't at church, find out why. Make sure that we support each other in the church. If there are less active people in your wards or branches, go visit them and befriend them, invite them to church, if they say no that is ok. But don't just stop trying. Be involved in their life so that you are ready and there when they are ready for the gospel due to trying times or by whatever means God prepares them. Help them as much as you can. Everyone needs this gospel in their lives. It is the most important thing on the earth.

So this week my challenge is to go to a less active member or a pre-member and befriend them and when they are ready for the gospel, be there and invite them. It might be a long time, it might happen when you befriend them. Be patient. Help them and love them. Don't be afraid to talk to them. It is just like talking to any other person. Finally, make sure you pray for them. That is very important. Email me some experiences you have with this. I would love to hear them.

Thank you all for all you have taught me and done for me. Thank all of you who have written to me, and I would love to continue to hear from you. I would love to hear from those who have not yet written to me. I am loving it here and hope you all feel the spirit as much as I do!! I love you all.

Con amor,
Elder Andersen