102

Ryan Nguyen was baptized this Saturday!!! I love the gospel from his perspective -- just simple and straightforward. The gospel just makes sense to him! His friend Adam baptized him, he's the one on the right next to me. Last week Bishop Banks interviewed Ryan and found him worthy of the Aaronic Priesthood, so yesterday after his confirmation in Sacrament meeting, Ryan was ordained to the office of a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. How awesome is that?! He is making important steps to full activity in the church. This week he should be going to the temple to do baptisms for the dead with our former stake president Crockett. We are so happy for Ryan.

Also this week all of the departing missionaries went to the temple with President and Sister Lewis. Usually we all go the day before our flights home, but the Sacramento temple will be closed then. So I got to see all of my MTC district and a few of the other language missionaries (they stayed in the MTC longer)! This is me and my MTC companion Elder Hubbard. A lot has changed since two years ago.

I love you all! This work is the greatest thing I've ever been a part of, and it's so true!!!

--

Elder Chris Andrew

California Sacramento Mission

8267 Deseret Ave

Fair Oaks, CA 95628

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101

This week has been great! Ryan's doing awesome. We just had his baptismal interview yesterday and he's good to go for this Saturday! Our assistants came down on Thursday and did exchanges with Elder Fullwood and I. I was with Elder Richwine and we did team-ups with every companionship in Tracy. It was a good day.

This is me and my crazy companion Elder Fullwood yesterday after church. We are outside of our apartment. There used to be another companionship that lived with us, but now it's just us and our Spanish companionship Elders Reid and Ovard that live two buildings away. I think it would be great to move in with a member family in our ward, but we haven't had any luck yet. I remember how great it was to live with the Morris's in Placerville. They were like our family! But I don't mind living here.

Life is good! The Church is true - always has been always will be.

--

Elder Chris Andrew

California Sacramento Mission

8267 Deseret Ave

Fair Oaks, CA 95628

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100

This week was awesome. I'll tell you about our investigator Ryan. He is 17 and from Vietnam. He is here living with his guardians in our family ward. He was raise Buddhist but his family never kept the traditions. When we met him he had an understanding of Christianity, but really didn't know what he believed in. Our first lesson with him weeks ago he had a lot of questions about God and the purpose of life. He told us, "I'm willing to give it a shot." He's read from the Book of Mormon, prayed, and come to church the past two weeks. A while ago we invited Ryan to be baptized on August 10th, and yesterday he described to us the "fruits of the Spirit:" peace, love, comfort, the "chills" that he feels as he prays. His prayers have been answered as he has put his faith in Christ -- as he's "nourished the seed." So in our lesson last night we asked Ryan how he feels about baptism. "Let's do it." he said. We asked him, "Now would you like to wait until August 10th still, or push it forward to say, July 27th?" "Push it forward, duh." were his words. YEAH! So Ryan is entering the waters of baptism on July 27th! It's just incredible to see the Lord's promises fulfilled as we put our trust in Him. I love to see other people act in faith and receive answers to their prayers.

 

This picture is from a leadership meeting last week. That is my old companion Elder Villalva (remember him?! Yeah, I love that guy) about to chow down on a cake that Sister Lewis got for the mission. "The Book is blue. We hit 92!" Last month was RECORD high baptisms in one month (92!) for the mission in years. Our zone alone had nine people baptized. That's almost every companionship baptizing!

 

The Church is true!

--

Elder Chris Andrew

California Sacramento Mission

8267 Deseret Ave

Fair Oaks, CA 95628

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99

This week was AWESOME. Elder Fullwood and I have seen miracles. I'm really impressed with his faith and spiritual power. In several lessons this week we have been teaching and Elder Fullwood has stopped and helped our investigators recognize the Holy Ghost witnessing the truthfulness of our words. We have added some great in investigators from the finding tool "The Savior's Peace and Blessing." We were looking for a referral without an exact address. A couple kids were playing outside of one home and so we asked if their parents were home. The father, Sam, came to the door and we told him that we are representatives of Jesus Christ and we are here to bless his home. The referral that we were looking for didn't live there, but after the initial hesitation Sam agreed to let us in for a few minutes. We met his wife Christina and all of their children. We gathered their names and needs and knelt and I offered the blessing. The Spirit was strong and Christina was in tears. Sam told us after we paused for a moment at the closed of the blessing that it wasn't by coincidence that we came to their house just as they were in the living room together, struggling with the trials of life, waiting for something. We were an answer to their prayers. It is humbling to be an instrument in God's hands to help His children.

 

It's the greatest thing in this world to be guided by the Spirit as we work. I feel like I've noticed it more and more as I've gotten closer to the close of my mission. I'm learning these things to prepare me for the rest of my life. I know this power is real, that God lives, and Jesus Christ is my Savior. This Church is true.

--

Elder Chris Andrew

California Sacramento Mission

8267 Deseret Ave

Fair Oaks, CA 95628

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

98

This week was great! Transfers are here and Elder Stone got called to Idaho to look for his eternal companion :) I am staying in Mighty Manteca with Elder Fullwood as my new companion! You might remember E. Fullwood from a couple transfers ago in El Dorado where we served around each other. He is a Spanish missionary and this is his first transfer as a zone leader. I'm excited!

 

Other than that not a whole lot has happened that's crazy exciting this week. Our former stake president that was just released a few weeks ago was called as a ward missionary in our family ward! Brother Crockett started off strong in his new calling after sacrament meeting by inviting our investigator Sakkhee to the Crockett home to take the lessons. Sakkhee enjoyed church and is really curious about everything. She is from Thailand. Her husband Freeman works for a shipping company and he is traveling for months at a time. They are a great family.

 

This week has been SO HOT!!! And it doesn't look like it's getting any better the next couple days. I feel like this weather is supposed to come in August? Why can't we have 90 degree weather please? Luckily we got our AC fixed in our apartment yesterday so at least we can sleep now without sweating too much :)

--

Elder Chris Andrew

California Sacramento Mission

8267 Deseret Ave

Fair Oaks, CA 95628

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.