Merry Christmas Everyone!

The beginning of this letter goes over some fun things, but the last half is what I really want you to read if you're like me and don't have much time and just skim through a lot of things. Love you all! Merry Christmas!

Monday: made candy Holly wreaths with a part member family. They are the greatest. They're going through a lot right now, but they all still come to church pretty regularly and are some of the nicest, hardest working people I've ever met. It was so fun to be able to go over there and do that with them. We've been giving out the 12 or so wreaths we made to some of our investigators, less actives, and former investigators. It's helped open doors and has been an easy expression of how much we really do care for these people we've found.

Tues and Wed: helped sort toys for a toy drive run by the fire department which was busy and fun, visited some people and went caroling with another great family. The kids took us to their friends houses and we got to sing with them. People's faces light up when we start singing, and the kids loved it too. It was such an easy way to share our testimonies. Not everybody was interested in hearing more, but everyone appreciated our visit. Don't be afraid to share what you know. We also helped an older lady decorate her apartment. She has such a wonderful spirit about her too. I'm meeting such a variety of people here than I ever have before, and I'm gaining such a love for them. I have such respect for how much everyone here does, both for the ward and just in their day to day lives, it makes me want to be better.

Thurs: Thursday was exhausting. We helped out at a food bank taking orders and loading boxes of food into people's cars as well as making more boxes of food and making the boxes themselves. I am a boss at making boxes.These aren't just the ones where you tape them a couple times, they have to be folded and tucked the right way and it makes a sturdy little box with a lid. I can make them in about 15 seconds on average. Yes, we timed it. But it was so good to work with the people there who are doing so much good. There were some members helping us as well as many nonmembers that we got to talk to. Then right after that we went and helped one of our members who was moving that day. And then we also got to teach a couple lessons.

Fri: Went to the Christmas party with the elderly Korean people we teach Korean to. I have such respect for these wonderful people who are all probably at least 70 and are still willing to come and learn English twice a week. Fridaynight we had a lesson with our strongest investigator. He's been reading the Book of Mormon, praying about it, coming to church, and he's noticing how it's blessing his life. The Lord's promises are sure. The Book of Mormon really does provide so much light and direction and blessings do come as we strive to obey His commandments.

Sat: got a last minute call to go help with more service with the Spanish missionaries, which was kinda weird, but it was still rewarding. We visited a couple more people who we hadn't seen in a while. One of them was a member who's just had a lot to deal with this past year, she's taking care of her sick husband, her house flooded, in-laws died... just so many things and she's still truggin along. The members have been great about helping her too. When we are faithful in doing our duty, everything works our and everyone is taken care of. I'm so grateful for good home teachers and visiting teachers. Y'all don't know how much that helps everyone, and it sure gives the missionaries more time to focus more in other areas where they're needed.

Sun: We had a wonderful Christmas program, the organization struggled a little bit, but it all turned out okay. My companions and I were asked to sing What Child is This about 10 min before Sacrament started. We all kind of smiled nervously, but said "yes" and went to practice. 2 minutes before it started somebody came and said, "Oh wait, we actually need you to sing Away in the Manger" So we did. And we weren't awful. I even harmonized for the entire song. I'm so grateful we've been singing carols as a companionship the past month (not away in the manger though) and had some practice, and that I'd practiced the harmony to Away in a Manger at some point during the last week. That was definitely a miracle since I've never considered myself a singer and both of my companions sing less than I do. It was all of our first times singing in a Sacrament meeting, but it's given me confidence to do so in the future!

If you're going to read anything read what follows:

Christmas Zone conference was yesterday which is why this letter is going out on Tuesday instead of the usualMonday. Our mission has doubled in the number of missionaries here since the last year, we've got about half sisters of 280 missionaries. The main focus of the meeting was on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love getting to listen to our Mission President teach us. He is so kind and Christ-like himself and puts his all into missionary service. If you think what missionaries do is a sacrifice think about the hundreds of Mission Presidents all around the world. Anyways, our mission president is phenomenal and taught about understanding the Atonement better and applying it more personally. There's a quote from Preach My Gospel that says, "As your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase." I've been trying to increase my own understanding of the Atonement. I felt it more personally and comprehended it more fully during our time yesterday than I ever have before. We watched some of the Bible Videos produced by the Church during our missionary Christmas program yesterday. The last one we watched was this He is Risen: http://www.mormonchannel.org/bible-videos?v=1548356253001     and as I watched it all I could think was that's my Savior, that's my Savior. I would encourage each of you to think on the Atonement of Jesus Christ more this week than you have lately, especially because Christmas is tomorrow. I am so grateful for the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ that lifts us higher than we could ever go on our own. His grace is the power by which we can improve and His Atonement is how he has provided us access to that. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is the Lord's Church. His Gospel has been restored and I am so happy to be a part of His work in sharing it with others. There is so much happiness to be gained and blessings to be had from living the way He has asked us to live and from following His Gospel and His Prophet. I add my testimony to what our living Prophet and Apostles have said, "Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son." May we remember Him now and always. Merry Christmas!

Love, 

Sister Andreason

Holidays Houston Style

I sure love the holidays. We've been able to do so many more things during this season than we normally would be able to. We've gone caroling just as missionaries and with members to the houses of their friends; we've shared Christmas messages; we've had lots of activities to invite investigators and less active members to; we're planning on making treats tonight with some members of our ward to take to those we visit... There are so many opportunities and little ideas that the Lord gives us of how we can do more with this wonderful season and the phenomenal people we serve with.

We have a few progressing investigators now who are doing so well, they're reading, praying and coming to church, and continuing to learn and grow. One of these people came to chuch and stayed all 3 hours. He really enjoyed it and we're meeting with him frequently. He has such good desires to do God's will and to continue to become better. The Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses our lives no matter what our situation may be, and as these people listen to what we have to share and act on it, they come closer to Christ, their faith grows, and many more blessings. One of the most rewarding things about missionary work is seeing the positve changes that come to people's lives as they listen and act on what we have to teach. Besides those who haven't ever heard our message and are learning about it, seeing those who once knew it and have forgotten come back is so wonderful as well. The gospel is true. Repentance is real. This is the Lord's work.

The ward I'm currentlly in is unique in that we have about twice as many people who don't come to church as those who do. There are so many people in this ward who do so much. I am coming to appreciate all the constant work that the members do here. There are so many incredible examples of selflessness and sacrifice.

On a fun note because our car got backed into it's getting fixed this week so we get to drive a big ol truck. I get more and more Texan every week :) (for Aedan's sake it's a Nissan Frontier). We also had a Relief Society social this Friday that was so beneficial in getting to know more of the sisters better. We also got to go help out the sister who's house it was at. We helped her decorate (we've helped so many people decorate--so fun) and she fed us cinnamon rolls. She had an incredible amount of Christmas decorations. She and her husband have a room in their house specifically dedicated to Christmas all year round--they've got a collection of little lit up Christmas themed houses and a bunch of pictures of Christ hanging in there. So we helped her decorate and as part of that climed up a ladder to the 15 ft landing above her entry way and put a Christmas tree up there... it was a slightly precarious job as the landing was about 4ft wide and 8 ft long with a little more room in the cornerns, but we weren't about to let her climb up there (and she has in past years!) Hopefully I'll get some pictures of the adventure to you at some point.

There's also a winter wonderland set up a couple streets away from our church. There's probably a million dollars worth of lights and displays set up on this street, it's incredible.

Next week we have Christmas zone conference. Our mission has so many missionaries that they have to split it into 2 conferences, so ours is on Monday and I will write on Tuesday (Christmas Eve) next week. I love you all! I encourage you to look for ways the Christmas season provides greater opportunites for sharing the gospel and bringing people closer to Christ, and then act on those ideas. The Lord will bless your efforts.

Lots of Love,

Sister Andreason

Tractor-iling

Dear Friends and Family,

This week has been great. As is every week really, I can't imagine a better time to be a missionary or any work that is more rewarding. So here's a list of exciting things:

The girl who got baptized last month is teaching us the new member lessons with her returning to activity husband. She's studying Preach My Gospel and learning lots. She's sharing the gospel with her friends at work, and eager to continue learning. She's "hungering and thirsting" after knowledge and she will find it. It's an example of me of how earnestly we should desire to continue learning and growing.

I know the streets so much better now and can find where I'm going without having to rely too much on the GPS. Because my companion is Sister Training Leader we go on a lot of exchanges, but its such good experience for me. She left for a day last week, so I was the one with the most experience in the area and had to step up and take the lead more in planning and going about our activities that day. It's nice to be able to take little steps toward that rather than suddenly having to do it all at once. I'm pretty sure my trainer is leaving next transfer, so I'll be the one with most experience in the area and still training. It definitely motivates me to keep learning fast.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with a single woman in our ward. We helped her prepare it, and then her non member kids and grandkids came over and we got to eat with them and teach them. We also got to make my family's traditional applesauce which was so nice (although I forgot how long it takes to cook) and I got to take lots of leftover applesauce home MMMmmm.

We went tra-orling. (A combination of tracting and caroling) It was so much more successful. We'd go knock on a door, and then when they were opening it we would sing a Christmas carol, after which we'd ask if we could share a message about Christ with them. We taught several lessons on doorsteps, had someone invite us back, and found a less active member that wasn't on our records. I'm so glad I've learned how to harmonize a little. Caroling is so nice to do with a trio, and I can carry a harmony for "Angels we have Heard on High" so it sounded great! I'm sure the acoustics of small doorways helped us out too, and I have got to practice some other songs today--I love that hymn too much to get sick of it.

Update on the lady I told you about last week: We visited her and she almost came to church this Sunday, she's progressing. I know God is going to work a miracle for her, and I think my new companion is the beginning of that. She has epilepsy (the same condition as this woman's son) and was able to relate to this investigator on a very personal level and encourage her, it was so powerful.

We also have a new investigator we're teaching. Al is great. He is so prepared. We met with him and had a good lesson Saturday night, he came to church on Sunday, and we're meeting with him again this week and he said yesterday he wants to come to church again next week. Huzzah! We've just got to keep following the Spirit as we're teaching him to know how to best meet his needs.

The Lord is involved in this work, and I know he will be involved in the work you're doing as you seek His help. I love this quote from Elder Ballard. "Brothers and sisters, fear will be replaced with faith and confidence when members and the full-time missionaries kneel in prayer and ask the Lord to bless them with missionary opportunities. Then, we must demonstrate our faith and watch for opportunities to introduce the gospel of Jesus Christ to our Heavenly Father’s children, and surely those opportunities will come. These opportunities will never require a forced or a contrived response. They will flow as a natural result of our love for our brothers and sisters. Just be positive, and those whom you speak with will feel your love."  

Elder Ballard asked us to invited someone closer to Christ by Christmas. I'd love to hear of your efforts in doing that, I know the Lord will help you as you ask Him to.

One more thing. Go check out www.mormon.org/christmas . Its a wonderful website and there's a place where people of all faiths can comment and share their feelings about Christmas. I love you all. Thank you for all the wonderful things you're doing, thank you for your letters and prayers.

Love,

Sister Andreason

Power of Prayer

Hello All!

So I've only got half a P-day because we're going to do service this afternoon, so forgive me if this letter is brief. 

The big news of the week is that Sister Allred and I are training a new Sister. Her name is Sister Seivert, and she's great. It's been interesting as a trio, both similar and different from just a companionship. I'm still learning lots, and this opportunity to train in a trio is teaching me a lot. I'm understanding more of how to keep track of everything and everyone. I'm the designated driver for the car we have, so that's allowing me to learn the roads better. I keep thinking of ways we can be more effective in our work and for ways to better myself.

It has been cold this week. I know, I know, I'm in Houston. It's not supposed to get cold here, but it has. It's been the 40s the last few days with a constant drizzle and some wind. We were walking most of Saturday because we were short on our allotted miles for the week, so we walked quickly. Needless to say it made me thankful for my hat, gloves, coat, and good shoes.

Earlier this week we went and visited one of our investigators. She's had the discussions before, and has gone to church when she lived in the boundaries of another ward, but hasn't been since she's lived in this area. She believes what we teach, and she's got a picture of the temple hanging in her house. She's very sensitive to the Spirit, and recognizes it when we come. She's struggling with some fear of doing things right now. She found out over a year ago that one of her sons has epilepsy, which has made her scared to go anywhere. So she's been trying to be consistent with prayer and scripture study, and she's asked us not to give up on her, so we keep coming.

We met with her last Monday and shared a couple scriptures on prayer. We invited her at the beginning to pray at the end of the lesson, and then we were able to talk about the importance of prayer in building our relationship with our Father in Heaven, and in securing for ourselves the blessings God is already willing to give us if we just asked. We testified that Christ knows how to help us, and that if we pray for help, he can help us with anything and everything. During the lesson she realized that she could ask God to take away this fear she's struggling with, she'd never asked him to before. She gave the most amazing prayer at the end of that lesson. She sincerely thanked God for so many things, prayed for each individual member of her family, and then asked for that blessing for herself. I know the Lord is going to work a miracle for her. I know it. There was so much power in that prayer. I know the Lord can work miracles in our lives. I know that as we are striving to do the things he has asked us to do we will be blessed. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father and wants to hear from us. I have seen the power of prayer in my own life and in the lives of many others. I love you all. I am so thankful for all the good things you are doing. Be ye not weary in well doing.

Love,

Sister Andreason

I've been out one whole transfer-cycle!

Wow.

I can't believe I've been out in the field for a full transfer already. Time is flying! We got transfer calls last night and my companion and I are both staying in the area which I'm grateful for. I have much still to learn from what she has to teach me.

So with transfers comes the opportunity to reflect a lot on the past 6 weeks.

We've cleaned up the ward directory (65 on the list have moved).

We've gained more trust and support from the Bishop, and we're more on the same page with him now. Just to give you a visual, our Bishop does not have a right arm, and is a lawyer. So I was a little scared of him at first. When I first got to the area, we weren't in Ward Council, and the most interaction we had with the Bishop was a handshake (left-hand) and a few short words of greeting. We had some stake leaders put a word in for us, as well as our Ward Mission Leader and our new Relief Society President, so he invited us into the first part of Ward Council. Previous to that he had an idea of another meeting to discuss missionary work with many of the same people as Ward Council, and it just wasn't happening. So 2 Sundays ago we were in Ward Council, but still treading softly and our Ward Mission Leader did most of the talking. I'd been feeling for a while that we should schedule an interview with our Bishop. This is something my amazing MTC teacher told us he did when he got to an area in his mission where they didn't have a good relationship with the Bishop. In his story it worked miracles, so I thought we should give it a try. I had mentioned it to my companion, a couple weeks later called the executive secretary but never heard back, and finally after the Sunday we were in Ward Council texted our ex-sec and got an appointment for Tuesday night.

Our interview was enlightening. I'm so glad I followed through on that prompting. We were able to talk with our Bishop (although I was still a little scared going in) and talk about how we wanted to be of service to him, and how we were trying to do the things he'd already asked us to do, and then talk to him about some of our concerns and goals. We're on the same page now. We learned that he really did have a lot of confidence in us already, it was just hard to see. We came away from that understanding our Bishop better, and with a better understanding of what he needed, how he wanted it done, and why he wanted it done that way.

We've found more progressing investigators! We've gotten some referrals, we're teaching a part member family, we've found people in our own efforts, and the work is progressing. I'm excited to start working even more effectively this transfer than the last. It's nice that my companion and I have had 6 weeks already to grow together. This is only the 2nd time she's had a companion for longer than a transfer and she's been out 8 months and trained 4 times. I'm excited for where the work can go from here.

I've learned a lot since I came out. I know how things work more in the field, and how to do things better. I don't think I realize how much I've learned, but I'm comfortable taking over our area 1x a week with the transfers we do weekly because my companion is a Sister Training Leader. I'm so glad to be able to keep working here.

We're continuing to try to work more with the members to encourage them to reach out and invite people. We're asking them to do things, and they're more than willing, they just need to be invited. We're working on following up with all the people we're inviting. I'm so grateful for all the things I've learned before I got to the field, both in the MTC and before that.

Love you all!

Sister Andreason

Unexpected Opportunities

Every time I start writing these things I have to look through my weekly planner to see what actually happened this week and what I haven't told you about yet. I would be so lost if it wasn't for that little white book. . . . 

Hello All!

So last Sunday Bishop asked us to go start teaching a couple of the 11/12 yr old girls from less active families in our ward. One of them is about to enter Young Womens, she's a member, but has a lot to learn still. So we're working with her. The other is just barely 12, has ADD and is not a member although her mother is, and she brings her and her sister to church every week. I'm grateful for my time in the Young Women's Presidency at Aspen Grove this summer, and the practice I got teaching girls like her. We're just teaching bite sized bits, but she seems eager to learn. That was the first of many unexpected opportunities this week.

Another was our follow up on this old guy, Freddy, we gave a Book of Mormon to. He's been reading it and comparing it to the Bible, and had a lot of questions. We can't go in if it's just a single male without another female with us, but thankfully we had a member that lived down a couple doors in his apartment complex that could come with us, so we went and grabbed her, taught him more about the restoration, and we're going back this week to talk more about what he's read and answer more of his questions! So grateful for the willing member that came with us on such short notice.

We've knocked into several people that were very willing to listen and talk with us. We're trying to schedule return appointments with them and encourage them to read from the Book of Mormon. We have many potential investigators we've met this way. We're working on following up with them, and getting members to come with us so they know somebody besides just us. We've also followed up with some of our potentials we've found in the same way in previous weeks. We acted on an impression to go visit one of them, and talked to him and had a good lesson with his neighbor. Many unexpected opportunities--hopefully we can make those expected and make our lessons with them more powerful as we get to prepare more.

We were out checking up on less actives in our area. We knocked on a door we've knocked on several times before. The person who answered the door was someone the Spanish Sisters found and told us about, but she's not at the address we had for her. She's living with her sick mom who's door we were knocking on. She had been trying to get her records transferred to this ward and was so excited to see us! She and her nonmember boyfriend came to church this Sunday! 

We also got to go to part of Ward Council this Sunday! Although I'd like to be able to attend all of it, it's progress from where we've been.

We've been working hard. I know the area a lot better than the beginning of my stay here. I know the main roads and where they are in the area at least, although I don't know what we'd do with out our GPS, it's indispensable. Transfer calls are next week. When did that happen? Apparently I've been working here in this area for going on 6 weeks now. I'm pretty sure I'm staying in this area, but I don't know if Sister Allred is. She's been here 4 1/2 months so she might stay, she might leave. If she leaves that means I have to know everything there is to know about our area and the people here and all the tracking and records so I'm a little intimidated by that, but I think I know most of it. We'll see what happens.

I'm so grateful for all the opportunities I've had lately. I'm sure they're answers to prayer. What opportunities have you had in your life lately? How did you use those opportunities? How have you seen the hand of the Lord in your life? I heard a question a little while ago that really made me think, "What would Christ do with the opportunities I have?" I'd love to hear your thoughts on your opportunities, or anything else you want to tell me about.

Let me know if you want to know anything else about my adventures out here. I'm doing well. Thanks for all you who've written, I'm trying to write you back.

Also, Happy Birthday to Caleb last week, and Uncle Adam, and all the other birthdays in November. Happy Birthday to Dad this Saturday!

Love,

Sister Andreason

Double Exchanges--I love the mission.

Friends and Family!

I am so glad I learned how to type fast cause I don't know how I'd get to write anything if I didn't. This week has been great. I have felt so blessed with a greater portion of love, joy, confidence, and commitment this week than before. It's easier to be positive and keep working hard despite the outward results we've had so far. I know the Lord is blessing me tremendously.

I can't believe this week is gone already, and yet it seems like we couldn't have possibly done everything it says in my planner we did in just the last week.

Tuesday we had zone conference. Wonderful learning from President Pingree about how to improve our work. The number one point was doing the things necessary to qualify for the Spirit every day. So following the mission rules, planning every night, living the full morning schedule (up at 6:30, exercise, get ready, 1 hour of personal study, 1 hour of companion study, and for us newbies 1 hour of training). It's really the little consistent things we do that determine whether or not the influence of the Spirit can be felt in our lives. I am so grateful for that time in the morning and the example of my companion (she gets up at 5:45 to study more). She is really wonderful. We also got to meet with our new Relief Society President in her home Tuesday night and discuss the needs of all the people she needs to be aware of, and the work we've been doing so far, and how we can help each other. She is so amazing. I am so glad she is RS Prez. It's going to be such a blessing to have her to work with.

Wednesday. My first transfer. My companion is a Sister Training Leader (kind of like a Zone Leader) so I get to go on transfers about once a week. We missed doing it last week so I had 2 this week. I got to see another side of the mission. My companion was good, but she wasn't as focused as my trainer is. The ward in that area is so big and strong! They could be doing so much more with the members, they're only scratching their full potential. The area was called Lakewood, and it really reminded me an awful lot of Centerville. The area I'm in right now (Spring Branch, which is actually a ward, it's just called Spring Branch) reminds me an awful lot of the Dayton Branch. It was so interesting to me to see the parallels. My family go to go serve with the people in the Dayton Branch for 2 years. Those 2 years happened to be the ones I was at college; so I got to visit the Dayton Branch when I was at home, but I didn't have quite the same experience they did. So to be put in an area so similar to their experience just increases my faith that the Lord has a specific purpose for me here. I have a feeling I'm going to be in this area for a while. I have great hopes for this ward and the people in it. I am so excited to be working with them.

Thursday. Weekly Planning (takes a few hours, but it's so nice afterwards) dinner with a part member family--the dad (nonmember) was in the air force and lived in Fairborn for a while--so we talked about that for a bit. We also met with our progressing investigator Sarah, and she's getting baptized this Saturday!! :D She's been wanting this for a while. Her returning-to-activity husband is baptizing her, and we're so exciting. She's really great, keeps all her commitments and knows what we teach is true. Her mom hasn't spoken to her since she said she wanted to join our church, but she's still on good terms with her sister. We pray that her parent's hearts will be softened every day. I'm inspired by her strength and faith even when things are hard for her.

Friday. Another exchange. These two companions are really struggling, so me going there was a relief for them for a day or so. Again, another under utilized ward. We were on bikes which was interesting. I am not a fan of beach cruiser, lowered frame whatever bikes those were. If I'm ever biking I am not getting one of those.

Saturday. Fall festival, chili cook off, invited a lot of potential investigators (free food!) and called and visited a lot of them before, but none of them showed up. We'll keep working.

Sunday. Meeting with our Ward Mission Leader!! He's been gone for the past few weeks. I met him on Saturday. It's so nice to have him back.

Sorry I'm wrapping things up so soon. I just don't have the time. The exchanges were really good for me. They showed me how great my companion is, and the good things we're doing in our area, and the progress we're making. They gave me perspective and greater confidence teaching. Thanks for your love and prayers! Thanks for your examples, and the letters you've sent. If I haven't written back to you, I will this week. We have to be in the apartment at 6:30 on Halloween, so I'll have some time. Love you lots!!

Love,

Sister Andreason