COMO ESTAIS VOSOTROS,

¿¿Como estais vosotros?? This week went by so fast I cant really at all beleive it. Last P-day we had a normal pday. My first! We played soccer with some of the other missionaries in the zone. It was so so SO hot, but it was a lot of fun. I don't think I have ever worn a shirt that was so wet. Tuesday I got my package. 100 days out, WOOHOO!! My family sent me a list of 100 things they love about me. 25 each, that must have been tough! I also got my umbrella, which was put to use right away. It works great, but the magic here in El Salvador, is that you can get wet from the ground up because it rains so hard that the rain splashes up pretty high. It's almost like you need waiters or those leg thingies that people use in the snow to keep snow out of their boots. But my pants dry quickly and my feet have not gotten wet even once yet. This week was pretty interesting. We had an investigator who started to have some doubts. Turns out she has had someone telling her all sorts of wacky stuff about the church, and we had to spend an entire appointment doing damage control. We are hoping she is still on track for the 22nd. AND JORGE AND EMMA ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!! Tomorrow is the day. It is Jorge's birthday, and he wanted to get married on his birthday. We have been running around getting all of the necessary documents, in fact, we found out saturday that he was divorced, and we need the act of divorce document as well, so we have to get that today and turn it in to the lawyer in San Salvador. So goodbye P-day! But their wedding is much more important, and they will also be baptized with their two daughters on the 22nd. Jorge is such a great man. When we told them that they need to get married to get baptized, he talked with Emma and told her 'I want to marry you. Tell me if you don't want to, but I want to marry you.' (we found out about this conversation last night). Also, he has family members who have told him not to get married, but he told them, 'I want everything to be alright with my Heavenly Father.' What a champ! And I learned how jaded we are in the States. Emma needed to get a DUI (national ID) to get the marriage documents, and it cost 12 dollars. Between the two of them they had 6. So we chipped in the rest. It really was a touching moment for me. They wanted so badly to get married, but they couldn't afford it. The wedding is being paid for by the ward. It will cost around 20-30 dollars.  This week we found another familly that is looking super positive. We taught a small lesson because we didn't have too much time, but they just listened and want us to come back. As we left, it started to rain...the hardest rain that I have ever seen in my entire life. (SEE PHOTO)  But as I left, there was a huge smile on my face and I couldn't help but sing 'Praise to the Man' out loud. ALSO, I got a letter from Beebs this week. Only like a month and a week after he sent it, but better late than never! If you are reading this Beebs, I am so proud of your decision. The mission is tough, but not much tougher than getting to anatomy when we woke up 10 minutes before class started. Two years off is exactly what you need to figure out what it is you are going to do afterward. And lets be honest, your mission is awesome. It suits you well. So congrats! September 5th will be a tough day, but it will be a landmark that will change your life forever. Another thing: everyone needs to give Zach a huge hug this Wednesday because it is his BIRTHDAY!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACH!! I sent your letter. I hope you have it. But if you don't get it until after, just know that I love you and that I hope you have the best day of your LIFE. You are an awesome brother. And I am going to choke you out so hard when I get home. In other news, I have been going through the new scripture masteries. They are awesome. I was wondering why they changed them, but as I have been studying them, I have realized that they are great missionary scriptures. LEARN THEM! They will make for more knowledgeable, better prepared missionaries. I thought I was 'ready'. I don't think you are ever ready, but the more preparation, the better. I still think of myself as a new missionary, but I have 3 months already, and my training ends in two weeks! I'm old. And I still feel like I am learning and preparing every day. And the time is just flying by me. Here is the thought for the week: 'My promise to you who pray and serve the Lord cannot be that you will have every blessing you may wish for yourself and your family. But I can promise you that the Savior will draw close to you and bless you and your family with what is best. You will have the comfort of the His Love and feel the answer of His drawing closer as you reach out your arms in giving service to others. As you bind up the wounds of those in need and offer the cleansing of His Atonement to those who sorrow in sin, the Lord's power will sustain you. His arms are outstretched with yours to succor and bless the children of our Heavenly Father, including those in your family.' --President Eyring. Let's be the people who 'pray and serve the Lord' so that we can have these beautiful and much needed blessings in our families. If we do that, we don't need to worry, because we will know that what happens is what is best for us, and we can faithfully and hopefully rely on the Lord and his infinite love for each of us. I love you all. Have a great week (especially Zachary!).

Love,

Elder Andreasen

Briggs Andreasen	8:51 AM (9 hours ago)

So apparently I have been out over 100 days. I didn´t know that until I was told in an email. Here we count by weeks or changes or months, and even then it doesnt mean much. I am about to finish up my 2nd change in the field in a few weeks. crazy how fast it goes. It sounds to me that there is a lot going on at home! Graduations, the division of the mission, and all of the other more normal stuff that seems to fill our days. I still love hearing about everyones lives. It is kind of like a little escape for me. Not that I need an escape, I just really enjoy the short time on Mondays to hear about everyone back home. This was kind of a crazy week. It has rained like crazy. I don't think I have ever seen rain like this before. But the work goes on! And all is well. I have to admit, I was a little homesick this week. My companion Elder Martin goes home in one more change and he is getting ¨baggy¨as we call it here. It kind of rubs off too, so I have been thinking about home a little more than I should. I figure it works both ways though, so I am trying to work super hard and stay super focused so that it might rub off on him. But he makes the decisions as the senior companion in our trio so many times we are subject to his bagginess. Something pretty funny and scary and crazy happened this week. We were walking down a street on the way to dinner, and a drunk man (the son of a member...) was walking toward us. All of a sudden, he just looked at Elder Castillo, and as he approached he pulled his arm back and took a huge swing at him!! Because he was so drunk, he was slow, and Elder Castillo had plenty of time to get out of the way. We then just kind of navigated our way out of that situation, as there was plenty of room to run around him and get out of there. Luckily because we had space, we got out without incident. But believe me, I was ready and willing to put him down had it been necessary. Also this week, President Glazier came and did our morning study and weekly planning with our companionship. That was pretty intense. It was amazing to see that he received the same inspirations for our investigators, even though he has never met them. He was quite satisfied by the way we do things in our companionship, and it was a really neat opportunity to study with him. We also did a pretty funny activity this week. An appointment fell through, and we were near the chapel, so we put out a table with some pamphlets and videos and passalong cards and such and talked to people who passed by. To draw a little more attention, Elder Martin and I sang hymns while Elder Castillo explained to people a little bit about the church and gave them one of the materials. And yes, I did sing harmony. And yes, we sounded awesome. I got my package this week. Not the umbrella yet, but the one with the perfect pushup thingies in there. Thank you Mom (and I assume Dad or Zach as well). The treats are well appreciated. And I don´t know if it is just my weakness, but perfect pushups are hard. Way harder than normal pushups. Elder Martin and I have been doing pushups lately. Tomorrow Elder Martin and Elder Castillo have a meeting, so they´ll pick up my other package if it is there. Right now I don´t need anything else. This week in my Preach My Gospel study, I started underlining all of the promises made to missionaries, and I started circleing every time it uses a form of the word ´apply´. I have also been studying the Book of Mormon in every free moment I get. Studying in Spanish is so awesome, because I have to pay much more attention to the meaning of each word, and I notice a lot of stuff that I have never noticed before. Read the Book of Mormon! I promise you that you will like it. You will. Because it is awesome, and you will feel the Spirit of that book. You will. I don´t have a nifty little quote this week, but here´s something. In I Nefi 8, in the vision of the Tree of Life, Lehi sees that there are innumerable concourses of people, and that many of them are pressing forward to the rod of iron. There are MANY people who are looking for the gospel in their lives. If you are one of those people looking, talk to my family or to the missionaries. They can help you figure it all out. And if you are already walking on the path, help others, because there are many who are looking. Be like Lehi, who when he made it to the tree and had found the perfect happiness that is the Love of God, turned and shouted to his family, and they found the path and were reunited with him. We have some shouting to do. We all know people who we wish had the same happiness we do. Let´s call out to them. Have a great week people!! Pray to know who you can help this week. Then, do all you can to help them. I love you guys. Adios!

P.S. - A few minutes after the picture was taken in the rain, that street was literally a river. Crazy!

Elder Andreasen

Briggs' Zone June 3rd, 2013

Monday May 27th 

Holy Cow! This week has been somewhat interesting. I have learned for myself now that things can be a little rough and different after changes. I love Elder Castillo, and he is a great missionary. But he sees things a little bit differently than we had seen them before, and we have had to make several compromises. But I think it is a great opportunity to learn and grow and gain some experience. I have been stressing a little bit lately about what is going to happen to me at the end of this change. I could literally go anywhere. I could be a junior companion, I could be a senior companion, I could be a trainer...The list goes on. OH YEAH, and I could be any of those things in either this mission or the new mission, because I will be changed just days before the mission splits. I have no idea what to expect. So I have decided to trust in the Lord's will and the revelation given to President Glazier and 'go and do' wherever I am needed. I am just excited to be a missionary. This week we picked up our zone uniforms (see the attached picture)! Elder Martin designed them himself, and we had them custom made, and for really cheap too. It has been raining a bunch lately. But don't worry, I have a cheapy little umbrella that has been doing alright and will do the job just fine for now. I put all of my scriptures and stuff in ziploc bags in my backpack, and the work goes on! I have come home with dry feet every night, so no worries there. It really isnt so bad because we have appointments pretty much all of the time and we are only outside in the rain in between. But lately we have been contacting new references, and sometimes they arent there (as in not home, or just that the address doesnt exist...), and in those cases we are in the rain for a bit longer. I have been super hungry all of the time lately. But I can't complain because I am back to what I would say is perfect health, and we have investigators that we are working with and there are many blessings that we receive every day. And I get to eat pupusas every now and then, which is awesome. It seems I am always craving them. We have a bunch of baptismal dates coming up on the 22nd of June, and a few between now and then that we need to work on. I think the ones in between will have to be delayed or dropped; they have not been progressing lately, which is a little bit disheartening. But we are doing everything we can so that they can receive the blessings of the gospel in their homes. I have a little thought I want to share this week. In 1 Nephi 7 when Nefi and his brothers are coming back through the wilderness with the family of Ishmael, his brothers start to murmur and rebel, and Nephi starts asking them what we call in the mission 'inspired questions'. I only have my spanish copy on hand, so I'll cite the references in Spanish and do my best to translate. Nefi asks in verse 11: ¿Como es que habeis olvidado cuan grandes cosas el Senor ha hecho por nosotros? which means, 'How is it that you have forgotten what great things the Lord has done for us?' He continues in verse 12: ¿y como es que habeis olvidado que el Senor tiene poder de hacer todas las cosas segun su voluntad, para los hijos de los hombres, si es que ejercen la fe en el? which means, 'and how is it that you have forgotten that the Lord has power to do all things according to His will for the children of men, if it is that they exercise faith in Him?' I think sometimes we forget the great things that the Lord has done for us, and that we forget that he has all power to do help us in our trials if we would just exercise a little bit of faith. At the end of verse 12 he says, seamosle fieles, which means 'lets be faithful to Him.' Lets take this suggestion to heart this week, and be faithful to the Lord, remembering the great things that he has done for us. I promise that as you remember the wonderful things that He has done for you, you will feel inspired to seek and do His will for you in your life, and that you will find greater happiness and a more appreciative attitude as you continue forward in faith. Esta semana, seamosle fieles. Love you guys.

Elder Andreasen

May 20th 2013

This week has been a little bit crazy. We had changes last wednesday. Elder Garcia left. So that was a sad day. But we got a new companion - Elder Castillo. He is from Puebla Mexico. My first latino companion! Because of that, my spanish has gotten way better. I have to use spanish all day now, and it is really good practice. I have some letters I need to send. Sometimes we dont end up having time on pdays to go to the post office, so they stack up. So i have a few, including one for Zach that is for his birthday. Apparently, letters take 8 days to get to the states from here, so I still have some time. I love letters. KEEP SENDING THEM. Mom, I have gotten a few from Granny Duncan. Tell her that I really appreciate them, and that I love that I have really appreciated her testimony at the end. This week was better in terms of my health, but my digestive system has taken a beating. The viciously fighting cats are no longer in my stomach. But I did have one experience this week. We were out running errands, when all of a sudden it was time to go. So I told my companions that we had to go NOW and we went home. I BARELY made it to the bathroom in time. That was a scary, sucky experience, but afterward we just went back to work as if nothing had happened. Also, Elder Martin got sick this week. He threw up a bunch and we ended up staying in a whole day. It was a great study opportunity, and I really enjoyed that time, even though we couldn't work. This week I gave my first blessing in Spanish. I was nervous like crazy, but it went really well, and I am much more confident in my Spanish at this point. I had another prompting this week. We were walking along the street and I was prompted that we should talk to a family who had their door open. We taught a little lesson and set up a return appointment, but they didnt seem super positive. I don't know exactly why I have been prompted to talk to certain people when they aren't that positive, and we haven't had anything come of it, but I know that it is more important that I listen to and follow the Spirit, and that perhaps the Lord has purposes and plans for those people that I will never see happen. One thing that I want to encourage all of you to do is have Family Home Evening. If you aren't a member, ask my family if you can come by one night to see what exactly FHE is. If you are a member, have FHE each week! They can totally be fun, and it is a great opportunity to strengthen your testimony and your family relationships. Also, invite friends to FHE and ask the missionaries to come. This week we had FHE with a family who invited a friend and yesterday we invited her to be baptized and she accepted! Also, don't forget my invitation to read the Book of Mormon. That book is amazing in ways I can't even explain. Read it. So...today I have 3 months in the field. CRAZY!! It has gone by so fast, and it is hard to believe that I only have 7 more periods of time as long as this last bit. I love you guys! Thank you for your support and prayers. You are the best. Here's something to think about this week. 'Walk peacefully. Walk confidently. Walk without fear and without envy. Be reassured of Heavenly Father's abundance to you always. As we do this, we can help others, calling down blessings on them even as they make supplication for us.' - Jeffrey R. Holland.  I'll be doing a lot of walking this week, so I will have time to put this in practice. I invite you to do the same.

Love, Elder Andreasen

My New Companion Elder Castillo and Elder Martin

 May 13th 2013

Hey all! Today is the first day of my 2nd change in the mission. A 'change' is a 6 week period that is pretty much the standard unit of time in the mission. It is at the end of a 'change' that missionaries get moved to new areas and such. I have one more change of training, and then I will likely leave Apopa and set out on a new adventure somewhere else. Or maybe I'll stick around one more change. Who knows. Anyway, there are 16 changes in the field, so I have 15 left. I'll be home in no time. This weekend I got to skype home!! That was by far the highlight of the week, if not the month. 30 minutes just didn't seem like enough though. But it was good to hear the voices and see the smiling (and very good looking) faces of each of my family members. Only 3 more times of doing that until I'm home. I'm glad to hear that everything is still moving along at home. Things certainly are moving along here. Today, I am writing early. REALLY early. We have a super P-day in San Salvador today. We are going to Wendy's and then going bowling! So that should be super fun. Anyway, there isn't a ton to write about today, and not a lot of time. I finished the Book of Mormon yesterday. I love that Book. In fact, everyone reading this should read the Book of Mormon. Regardless of religious beliefs, preconceived notions, or other circumstances or situations, EVERYONE should read the Book of Mormon. I invite and challenge all of you to do it. You will quickly see that it is inspired of God, and that by applying its teachings in your life, you can find greater stability and happiness. Ask my family for a copy. They can get one for you. Also, so that you can further see and understand just exactly what I am doing here, you should talk with the missionaries!! You could even meet with them in my house with my family. They are just normal people like me (maybe a little more normal than me...), and they really do want to help in any way they can. When you see them on the streets, wave. Stop and say hi. Tell them that you appreciate their sacrifice, and that you respect what they are doing. Maybe tell them that you know a guy that is serving in El Salvador. Remember, they are pretty much just kids like me who are far from home and who are giving up time with their families so that other people can find the only way that they can be perfectly happy forever. Think about us. Pray for us. God answers prayers. Have a great week everyone!

(PS, the picture is the view out of our front door.)

Elder Andreasen