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This week has been great. We have been teaching Lauren, the investigator that attended church for six months in WY. She has chosen a baptism date for Feb. 17th! We are very happy for her and she is really excited. She's amazing.

One dinner we had this week was with the Miles family. They had a son and his family from a previous marriage eating with us, and his name is Taylor Andrew! I pulled out my pedigree chart from my scriptures and traced our common ancestor. His grandpa Reed Andrew is my great-grandpa Clyde Andrew's brother! So that makes us third cousins once removed or something. How cool is that!? So we were talking and we found out that Bro. Andrew's wife is a descendant of Randolph Hockaday Stewart! So we're all related. Bro. Taylor and his wife are both teachers, and they have three kids. I got a picture with them, but I forgot my camera today, so I'll send one next week. Anyways, super cool.

On Saturday I got to travel down to Stockton for the baptism of Madisen Lemon! In case you don't remember her story she is the daughter of a former less-active member, who just returned to the church a year ago. Sis. Lemon began taking her three kids to church -- Madisen, Jacob, and Taylor. At first Sis. Lemon's husband, Mike, was completely against it because of a bad experience with the church in the past; and when we would come over to teach the family he would go out in the garage and work on a car or something. He gave us a pretty hard time. He warmed up when Elder Gurr and I went over for dinner one night, but he still didn't want to come to church or stick around for a spiritual thought. When I left the area only Jacob had been baptized. Taylor was baptized in December. Finally something changed and Mike was baptized the day before Madisen! My companions Elder Gurr and my son Elder Brook where there with all the other missionaries that have taught the Lemon family before they were baptized. That whole family is amazing. I love them.

Well, it's getting pretty cold out here and I'm grateful for longjohns. Also, this month Elder Christensen and I have been trying to not eat any sugar and very little carbs. Do you know how hard it is for a missionary in the States to do that?! When we call our dinner appts. we tell them we don't want desert and usually they don't take it too hard. We feel better after dinner and then we visit an investigator or less-active member and guess what? they have cookies to feed us, or brownies, or pie, or cake and they send us home with extras. Ughhh! We've been dropping off goodies at other missionaries apartments or just throwing it away. I've tried to check off every day that I haven't eaten any sugar and I haven't even made a day. I think it's a lot harder with the holidays and everything. So, just a tip for when the missionaries knock on your door or you have them over for dinner, give them a healthy snack or something like a salad :)

I love you all! See ya.

--

Elder Chris Andrew

California Sacramento Mission

8267 Deseret Ave

Fair Oaks, CA 95628

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