October 11, 2011

HEYO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I must say the E-mails this week were superb. The library was closed yesterday so I couldn't write and I was devastated. I love hearing from home. I love hearing that you are all doing well. Tell Clayton I love him and we need to e mail back and forth ok? I miss everyone but the Church has never been more true. I have never been so happy or felt more blessed. I love this work and I am gaining the testimony I have always dreamed of. The funny thing about our testimonies is they don't grow until you bare them to someone else. I absolutely love baring my testimony every second of the day. Sunday and Monday for personal study I read 2Nephi 2 and 9, highlighting all the references to Jesus Christ and his attributes and actions. I would mirror these scriptures in testifying to you the Greatness and Glory and Mercy of our Savior. He has done so much for us. That was quite a faith building exercise for me and I would recommend it to anyone anywhere.

Dad thank you for your letters and all of the support. You write me more than anyone and I feel bad I don't have as much time as I would like to write letters but I'm going to try to write you back. 

Right now Elder Tramell and I have 5 investigators :) The downtown Richmond Branch is amazing. The members are all about missionary work and sharing this message with everyone. We take someone from the branch to almost every lesson and I am so grateful to them for their testimonies. I would encourage anyone reading this to try and go out with the missionaries once, you will be addicted after the first lesson. I love missionary work and I know you will too. Also, always be thinking and watching for those people in your life that are being prepared to hear the gospel, because everyone is. Keep those people in your mind and contact the missionaries and go with them to teach that person. Laboring for the salvation of souls is a noble work and you will be so blessed for your efforts.

 Like I said, we are teaching 5 people. Ashlee and Cedric live next door to each other and are both amazing spirits. Cedric knows the bible in and out and when we told him there was another book he jumped up and yelled "I knew there was another book! I knew there was!" He was so happy to hear about the Book of Mormon and he is set to be baptized on the 29'th of this month but he won't be able to for a while. He has a great desire to learn that is an example even to me.

Ashlee is a single mother of three and is so young. I bore my testimony to her of her divine nature and that God loves her, she really felt the spirit and is reading, we just can't catch her when she's home she's like me before my mission. 

Anthony is way cool, he is a father but not a husband, which seems to happen a lot here, but we haven't met his family yet. We always teach out on the front porch for some reason. He has a really bad memory though and we have discussed the restoration with him twice and he just doesn't remember any of it the next time we go over. That is really frustrating but we will figure it out. 

 John is the next one we are teaching, an amazing guy. He has a big problem with the W.O.W. and he told us the first time we went over that he wanted so badly to stop drinking and smoking but he couldn't. Before we went on in the lesson I stopped and told him to look me in the eyes. I told him that I promised, if he read the book and accepted the message of the restoration of Jesus Christs gospel, he would get help. He would be able to stop and think clearly. I had no clue what to say after that so we went on in the lesson, then we got to the end and again I had a prompting to start talking and I did. What I asked him to do surprised even myself because after I said it I was so afraid he was going to be offended or something. I said "John, next time we come over how about we start fresh and sober, I'm going to call you Wednesday morning and remind you not to drink or smoke at all that day, and if you do, I promise you will have a clear head in our lesson and the Holy Ghost will be with us so you can understand and know for yourself that this is true and it's for you." He waited a second then agreed. I'll tell you what, the next time we went over there he was sober. He swore a lot, because he said he needed a drink to take the edge off so he wasn't so jittery, but I prayed before we started that we could rely on the Holy Ghost to take the edge off. It did. He is reading and said his first prayer with us. We meet again tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.

We find new people that are being prepared every day. This work is moving forward, God's hand is so visible if we are looking for it.

I love this so much. I always tell Elder Tramell how amazing it is that your whole day can suck, you can be rejected 20 times and have someone yell at you in their home, it can rain all day, your bike tire can pop, but on the way home we meet a man named Marcus and bare simple testimony of Jesus Christ and his atonement and we walk into the apartment jolly as can be. It's an amazing thing, your testimony. I once learned from Shane Roberts that if you bare your testimony to someone they will never be the same. Bare it always, because this life is about service. This life is the time to prepare to meet God, and perform our labors. Alma 34:32. and if you cross reference labors you will find that it says good works. Serve others, you will never ever be more happy. :)

Elder Skyler Mark Andreasen

A Comment from Mark and Paula,
Wow, what a letter. This makes a parent proud. Skyler is full of the spirit of being a missionary and of missionary work. We are going to try to live up to his challenge. We love him and are ever so proud of him.