June 24, 2013

Hello from Camp Hill!!

This week was one of the best weeks I've had in a while!! I arrived in Camp Hill Monday evening and hit the ground running with Sister Maddox. Sister Maddox is the Sister Training Leader for 4 different zones. The STL is the new position created earlier this year and is the Sister version of a Zone Leader, kindof. So we spend a lot of time working with other sisters and making sure they are all taken care of. Its been pretty exciting. We spent a lot of our time this week visiting members and less-active sisters in the ward and trying to help me figure out the area a little bit. Sister Maddox has only been here for one transfer, so we are both figuring out our area and how to best find people to teach. But I am seriously loving it. We are 3 miles outside of Harrisburg and 20 miles away from Hershey. So no more boonies for me! People wear clothes in this city and have actual doors. Its so great!! :) On Friday, because Sister Maddox is the STL, we went on exchanges with the Sisters serving in Shrewsbury. Which happens to be Sister Kirk (my MTC companion) and her greenie. So I got to be with Sister Kirk for a day!! IT WAS SO GREAT! I am so lucky I was able to serve with Sister Kirk in the MTC and we seriously are like sisters. Every time we see each other, we just have a blast. Shrewsbury is right by Maryland, so we may or may not have driven to the border and I may or may not have "Accidentally" stepped out of the mission! :) It was so fun to see how we work together in "real life" and see how each of us have changed and learned how to be missionaries. I hope President will let us be companions again one day. I seriously loved seeing her and spending time with her and love that I get to talk to her more frequently! Sunday night was a special treat because we got to watch The Work of Salvation Broadcast! A lot of missions already use Facebook and Blogs and such but it sounds like most missions now will be doing that! We have zone Conference this weekend and President Topham said we will get more information about what that means for our mission, at that time. So I will keep you posted! I was pretty emotional through the whole broadcast. I've become the Sister Missionary who just cries all day, whatever :) I just know how much Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to be with Him. I feel very confident that Heavenly Father could do this work without us. We dont convert people anyways, the Spirit does. But He LETS us participate. He LETS us reach out to others. And we are lame if we dont take that opportunity to become more like Him and love His children! Thank you for all the prayers on my behalf. I've been struggling but this week I could feel the strength and added boost from your prayers. We know that God takes us low so He can bring us higher and I feel like I've hit the low. So I'm bucklin my seat belt so I can be launched higher!! :) I love yinz so much! Chloe and Meg: Have so much fun at girls camp this week. It seems like yesterday Sara and I were going to Girls Camp and Mom was the director! WEIRD! I loved girls camp, so will you! Wear my shirt or something so Im there in Spirit.

Have a happy last week of June (CRAZY!!)

I love you!

Sister Andresen