Year 1 - Letter 4 - MTC

Hey everyone!  This week has been absolutely crazy!  Started off this Sunday, when we got to sing in the special choir for the first time.  Guess who was there.  All of the apostles and the first presidency, Thomas S. Monson and all, except elder Packer, who, rumor has it, was getting a new pacemaker.  What an experience!  Afterwards, we were ushered into another room where we were able to hear president Monson speak to the mission presidents about how to be good mission presidents.  If i have learned anything from this, its that the Church is true, and that these men are prophets, seers and revelators.  L. Tom Perry spoke at our devotional, and talked about how the church is helping people now, and used mostly statistics, which was interesting.  I'm glad everything went well with Gramps.  Dad, it sounds like your talk at the service went well, that makes me glad.  Its pretty much exactly what we are teaching our investigators about the plan of salvation, which we did a week or so ago in Spanish.  Nice use of the missionary purpose too.  When i look at the missionary purpose, and it says "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Christ and his atonement, I've started to see it more like this.  that we invite people to receive the restored gospel though faith in the lord Jesus Christ, and to receive the atonement in their lives.  That is our true purpose out here on missions, and in life.  We are here to help people have the atonement play a part in their daily lives, and the way we do it is by repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end.  I LOVE the purpose!   I love you all an hope you are doing fine!  I'm doing great in the MTC!  Love my Companion, Elder Larsen, and my District!  They take good care of me, and help me when they hear my pump, if they do!  Read the book of Mormon individually!  I know the power it contains, even if i read it in Spanish! Love ya! Elder Scott Turner Andrews

Year 1 - Letter 3 - MTC

The MTC is still as good as ever.  Except the food.  La comida esta malo!  No me gusta NADA.  I cant wait to get to Louisiana!  I'm sure squirrel would taste as good or better than some of the concoctions they create in the MTC cafeteria.  Big news!  The MTC is having a confrence for all of the new Mission Presidents starting Saturday.  Every day from saturday till wednesday there will be apostles and the first presidency here.  Plus, i auditioned and made it into the Mission President Confrerence choir, which consists of around 35-40 voices, about ten being basses.  Sunday, we sing infront of President Monson.  That is going to be crazy!  Wew have good music too.  We're singing Consider the Lillies, Come thou Fount, Praise to the Man, which the MTC choir sang in conference once, and a few others i can't remember.  Its gonna be a neat week!

Had two other cool experiences here that i can think of.  One is that for one of our progressing investigators that we teach (which is really just one of our teachers) we taught about the plan of salvation.  We weren't the most prepared we have ever been, and my companion was not so sure about not using notes, decided to go in without them.  The spirit as he taught about the majority of the Plan of Salvation was incredibly strong, and he used phrases that i am pretty sure he has never used or studied.  It was just a straight up example of the Gift of Tounges.  I was so proud of him!  Another cool incident was when we were making our spanish goals.  I wanted to follow examples of previous districts, which wsa to, for the last two weeks, speak only spanish.  The rest of everyone wanted to "settle" for one week.  Thats what killed me.  The word "settle".  One of the Hermanas asked me what i was thinking.  I had no idea what to say, so i just started to bear my testimony of the Gift of Tounges.  The spirit was stronger there then i had ever felt it.  I made it clear that if we put in the work, we would be able to do two weeks.  I also remember saying something about Nephi 3:7, and that we had been commanded to "speak your languange".  The change that had come over the room was incredible.  I know that the spirit had spoken to them, and we all decided that we could speak spanish for the last two weeks.  I know that if we will just open our mouth, having faith, we will be able to do great things.

Love,

Elder Scott Andrews

Year 1 - Letter 2 - MTC

Hey everyone!

  its crazy that my second week at the mtc is over!  its going by so fast!  The saying around here is that the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days, la verdad!  My spanish is coming along very well here!  We started teaching Carlos from the beginning again.  We invited him to be baptized, he just doesnt know what church he wants to join yet!  We promised him that as he leera´ el Libro de Momon y orara´, usted recibe el spiritu santo y la verdad de nosotros decimos. I hope he keeps his commitment!  Went to the temple this morning!  Gotta love being in there!  Wish my companions realized its importance a bit more.  Mom!  Your in Utah!  Hope you are enjoying it here as much as i am!  This beautiful weather, as well as this beautiful place, with the mountains an all, as well as the Spirit here in the MTC is incredible!  Last sunday, after the devotional we went and watched a talk given by Elder Bednar last Christmas at the MTC entitled ´´The Character of Christ´´.  Probably one of the coolest talks i have ever heard.  He started off talking about an assignment he had when he was a 70 with elder Maxwell.  In Elder Maxwell´´s talk, he said that ´´Without the Character of Christ, the atonement would not be possible´´.  Interesting.  He mainly said that the Character of Christ was that even in his darkest moments, he constantly looked outward.  The natural man, however, is to look inward, which he compared to the Cookie Monster.  I WANT COOKIE NOW!  For example, after he had been tempted by satan and fasted for forty days, if you look in the JST of that scripture in Matthew, you see that after this ordeal, which i think i would want some help, he sends angels to go to John in prison to comfort him.  Another is after gethsemane, and suffering for the sins and pains of all the world, and bleeding from every pore, he takes the time to do one last miracle, heal the mans ear.  If that were me, i dont know if i would take the time to do that, feeling how the savior must have felt.  He then related this all to missionary work.  He said it can be easy for missionaries to be like the cooke monster.  ´´I WANT BAPTISM NOW!´´  We need to look past our will, and focus on what the will of the father is for those we teach.  AWESOME TALK.  I enjoyed getting letters from you all!  Thanks for sending those!  Tuesday devotional, we heard from Elder Malm, who is from Sweden.  He talked about how we can be better missionaries, which i think was good for all of us to hear. The thing that really stuck out for me were the breif words of his wife.  She talked about a dream her father had in relation to missionary work.  She said her father had seen a beach, and out in the water countless people were drowning.  He helped as many people as he could, but there was not enough people helping.  She related this to the mission field, where the missionaries are few.  There are countless to save, and we need to go out and help! I have been singing in the choir every week!  Its fun!  Even though most of the people have little experience, the directors are really good at dumming things down, and we sound absolutely fantastic!  I miss your food mom!  The MTC is a lot like the Canon, but worse :(  I cant wait to cook for myself!  Well, my time is coming to a close!  I love you all, and miss you!  If i have learned anything here, its that you pray for everything!  Literally, never think you cant pray because its too trivial!

Love you all!

 

Elder Scott Andrews

Year 1 - Letter 1 - MTC

Hola ustedes!

Good to hear from all of you guys!  The MTC has been great so far.  I have been blessed with a great companero Elder Larsen, who is from San Diego, but was raised in South Jordan.  He may think differently from me at times, but he is a great guy and i dont think i could have a better companion.  You guys wont believe who spoke in our devotional this Tuesday... Elder Marlin K. Jensen!  (the guy who spoke about the sacred grove during the CES fireside).  He was awesome!  He didnt have a planned talk, so its hard to summarise exactly what he said, but essentially he spoke on being a good missionary.  Some things he said were "This is not the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Status".  We need to focus on what our calling is, not have ambition for others.  Another thing he talked about was a sister that served while he was a president in Rochester.  He said she was the "Open your mouth Queen".  She talked to everyone, to the point that she even got a referral from the attendant taking her boarding pass as she got on the plane.  I hope that i can be that good of a missionary!

Me and Elder Larsen have been teaching an investigator named Carlos.  He wasnt the easiest person to get involved in our conversation.  Yesterday however was completely different.  I felt the spirit so strongly, unlike anything i had really felt before.  Me and elder Larsen dropped our lesson plan, and when you have been speaking spanish for five days, that is a huge thing.  We were going to get him to pray, but we ended talking about the atonement, the book of mormon, and how prayer can help us to recieve a testimony of these things, as well as answer all of our questions.  It was an awesome experience!

I love you all!  I pray for you day and night!  Keep up on all of your personal studies of the Book of Mormon.  Ihave personally seen the power that it has in the conversion of people.  Its probably one of the best companeros i will ever have!

Yo se que Jesucristo es mi salvador personal.  yo se que el libro de mormon es la palabra de Dios.  Yo se que presidente Thomas S. Monson es una profeta.  Se que Jose Smith restora la Envangelio.  Se que familias para siempre. Yo se que Jesucristo vive.  En el nobre de Jesucristo, amen.

 

Elder Scott Turner Andrews

la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias

May 30, 2012 - Provo MTC

Short stop at BYU on my way to the Provo MTC.

Quick visit with my great cousin, Linda Peterson.

Hug and visit with my sister and soon to be fellow missionary, Hillary Andrews.

My aunt, Becky Peterson, who took great care of me and was my companion on my way to the MTC.

Ready to go!! Reporting at 12:30 pm - 10 minutes early!

My home for the next 9 weeks.