Transfer Week - January 25, 2010

Hello again!

  How is everything? I hope all is well. First off I loved the story about Timmy! That is so cute! I miss the kids a lot because I only get to see cute kids for the time of a lesson and I don’t get to play with them like I did with our kids.

So the news. We didn’t baptize Julie Fe this last Saturday because she didn’t finish the lessons but we are having her and Lorie Anne’s baptism this Thursday. Why Thursday you ask. Well it is transfer week and this is my last week with Sister Clave! I'm so sad!!!! I love her so so much! It will be hard to readjust to a new companion. Plus I will be senior for a week because my companion won’t know the area! Crazy! I’m a little nervous! But I know it will all be okay. 

I was worried that they would transfer Elder French and I was scared because I don’t think my companion will speak English as well as Sister Clave and so it would be hard if I needed to explain things and couldn’t but Elder French is staying in the Peate area but sadly Elder Darang his companion is being transferred! We are all a little sad because we have so much fun together! The missionaries here always make zone and/or district t-shirts so we are having one made and I’m way excited!

Enough about the area!

Things are going well, the Satosa family still hasn’t been to church but that is because Sister Satosa is pregnant and she is older so it isn’t safe and she has high blood pressure and she is allergic to so many things and so she can’t take medicine. We went to their home to teach and she was really excited about a living prophet and the Liahona! So we are going to bring her one. I don’t know if I will see her be baptized but I know one day she will be! She reads and prays but the pregnancy is so hard on her that I don’t think she will be able to come to church until after the baby and that isn’t until June. We shall see. But sometimes her daughters come to church so we will just have to make sure they come so they can get baptized and then after the baby she can go to church with them.

So the Jayme family was progressing so much and I felt like we were going to be able to move the baptism of Jovelyn up. However now I am worried that we might have to move it back but we will see. We would go over and teach and their mom would sometimes listen and sometimes not. But their grandma would listen, even when she was acting like she wasn’t we knew she was and she liked our message. One day we went and she wasn’t feeling well, then they took her to the hospital and then about two days later she past away! It was so shocking! We went to their house to teach them and give them some comfort because their grandma was in the hospital and that is when we found out she past away. What they do here is put the body in the casket and it stays in their house for a week so everyone can come and see her before the funeral. So we can’t teach them for a week. This Thursday is the funeral so we well see. I just feel so bad. Jovelyn said I was praying why did this happen. So we have a lot to teach and it will be hard and Sister Clave will be gone! But I know it will be okay and this might just open the door so that their mom will listen to our message more. It just makes me so grateful to know the truth of the restored gospel and know that we are a forever family! We went over the other day and just shared a spiritual thought and just tried to help them. Jovelyn is having a really hard time with it but I think it will just make her faith strong in the long run. It is so sad though!

Then the Suarez family is struggling and I don’t know how to help them they don’t have any money and her husband doesn’t have a job! It is so sad so we are going to the government because elections are going on and I guess they help people more near elections so we will see, but she named her baby Angel! She is so cute! She also hasn’t been to church but the oldest daughter has so that is good!

We are teaching a new family the Revadulla family! They are amazing! The dad is a member and the mom said that she has never been interested in the church until we came. Now they are all listening to the lessons! They came to church as a family last Sunday and they are reading the scriptures and saying family prayer! It is so wonderful! The first time we taught her their son was passed out on the floor because he was drunk. We didn’t really want to teach with him just lying there like that but they insisted that it was fine and so we taught. Then the next lesson he was listening. Then we taught about the word of wisdom and the mom drinks coffee and is now cutting back a lot. She is slowly stopping. Raymart the son drinks coffee would sometimes drink and sometimes smoke. He said he won't drink or smoke anymore and he has cut back on his coffee too. That is a little harder because he had 3 cups a day. But Saturday he only had one cup and Sunday he didn’t have any! They are so great!!!!! I’m so excited for them! This is the first whole family that we have taught that actually came to church together! Yeah!

So I’m sending pictures there is one of me in pink and Sister Clave in purple and a girl in the middle with food around. That is Bajeck! She is amazing she is 23 and puts her papers in this February! She works with us and she is so so sweet! I’m so excited for her! There is a picture of me outside the church with a bunch of girls in strips and those are all the young women who worked with us! They are awesome three of them are recent converts! Jonabeth, Judyann, Luisa! 

I love it! There is another picture of me in pink and I’m with a lady in pink, orange, and yellow strips, sometimes with a little girl. That is Sister Susa and Jeraine! They are amazing! 

Then there is a picture of me in blue and a little girl in brown. Her name is Mary Joy. She is so cute she made me a cute little card and she said thank you for teaching her. She drew pictures for me too! Cute!!!! 

Then we went to a service and we were weeding. After we went in their house and their rat just had babies. I’m holding the babies. They were so small! They didn’t have any fur! They looked gross and you could see their insides because their skin was so thin! The little kids just kept bringing me more and more. Haha. 

The little boy in the service pictures is Robeat. He was so cute! 

Then there are many pictures with kittens and me. We saved the kittens from dying! They were being eaten by ants and we got them and got the ants off. They were just abandoned and so we took them to try and give them away but no one would take them. They were so cute and you know I couldn’t just leave them! So we ended up having to take them to our apartment. Which is not allowed but they would have died! But we didn’t keep them. We tried to give them milk but they were too little so they wouldn’t drink it. We went to our neighbor’s house and they said they know a cat that just had kittens and they would take care of them. 

Then they asked us to stay for dinner and we got to know them a little bit. They are very sweet and we are going to go back and teach them! Yeah! So the kittens are named Re and Ferral because they gave us a referral!In the pictures with the kittens there is also Jonabeth and Aerol! 

Then I have a picture of me and Sister Clave with Elder Hunt and Sister Hunt and their daughter Krista. 

So that is about it, it has been a crazy week! And hard but it was great too. Well I love you.  Oh the weather. It is winter her and I’m cold in the morning and late at night so it is hard to shower because it is only cold water but it’s okay. I think I’m just getting used to the hot and that is why I get a little chilly. It rains unexpectedly. It will be bright and sunny and hot and then in just a couple minutes it will start to rain. It is really windy here so it is like being back at home. But that only happens in the winter.

I did get the money grandma sent. Thank her from me please! Thank you for your package! I’m so excited! Lets see what else did you ask oh my weight I’m not sure but I don’t feel like it is that much. I have had stomach problems once in a while but it's not bad and can’t stop the work! The language is okay I still get frustrated at myself especially when I study but it is okay and the Lord is helping me with what I need to say during the lessons! I just need to keep trying; Sister Clave is a big help and Elder French too. I’m excited that you were able to talk to Sister Smith’s mom! I miss Sister Smith so much!

Thank you for everything! I love you all so much! Thank you for the quote! I love it! Sister Clave and I were studying and we got talking about how the Lord is preparing us to be mothers and I just thank you for being such a wonderful mother! And teaching me so much! I thank dad for being a worthy priesthood holder and for giving me blessings. Sister Clave didn’t have that growing up and I’m so blessed to have my family! I have always had a goal of getting married in the temple and being a great mother because of the example of my family and your love! I love you all I’m grateful for the church in our lives!

Until next week! :)

Love,

Sister Andreasen