Heri ya Mwaka Mpya!

Hi! I just want to start out by telling you how great it was to hear your voices on that sweet Christmas morning/evening. Haha, I could tell that you were just waking up and it was super to be there with you on Christmas morning...in a way. We had a super rest of the Christmas evening. We went back to the flat and played games with the elders that we were hosting and just had a good time. It is crazy how fast the time does go by. There was so much that I would want to talk about but hard to say it in such crammed amounts of time. Guess what! They let us know that we can now use Skype if it is available. So maybe next time…depending.

Wow…can I just say that here during Christmas, it really does not feel like Christmas. Everybody just celebrates a little but they treat it like another day too. Most people will go to church for a little bit to celebrate, sing, praise, eat, and it just is a lot different. We visited some people and they were just so normal about the day…haha. The thing here they love to eat is some kuku or chicken, freshly slaughtered. They have some sweet potatoes and Nchele or rice. They have some NICE cooked pumpkin and they actually cook the leaves here too. Anyhow, I think I am making myself hungry. OH! MAN! I got to try something new that is served a lot here. It is called Omena. It is little fish that are about as long as half of my index finger and as thin as cardboard. They are sold in buckets and barrels at the markets and I got to eat them! It was the fishiest thing that I have ever tried, and you could feel the bones crunch as you ate them but it is something that I will have to get used to. I am excited for the next round! One of my favorite dishes here is Chapatti and Ngengu (Green Grams). It is Delicious!

Ok…you asked me to speak some Swahili and I have to tell you that I am picking up on it but I could not think of anything at the moment. I am practicing more now and making flash cards and trying to talk more with people but it is different. Swahili is a language where the sentences are completely backwards and so there is no direct translation.

We have been trying to keep busy the rest of the week. It is a little hard though because people here in Eldoret are here for different reasons and at Christmas, a lot of them go back home. It has been good though and we have been finding some new investigators. One thing that we are doing is working to help bring FHE into families and so we have seen some beautiful families this week. Looking forward to this next week though, going to have even more spiritual fun!

Well, I think that is about all for now but I love you MUCH! I wish the BEST of this happy NEW YEARS and hope you have some exciting plans! I will try to bang some pots and pans together if I get the chance.

Siku Njema!

Elder Andreasen

SMILIN BIG!

P.S. Pass Along: Thank you Grandmas and Grandpas!!! I love you SO much and will definitely try to get something nice!

MERRY CHRISTMAS ADAM (Adam came before Eve)

WOWWOWWOW!!! Tomorrow is Christmas EVE! SO exciting! Ya know we don't even have decorations in our apartment! We are thinking of going and breaking off a little palm tree to decorate.  I am excited for Christmas day! We are having the whole zone come and stay tomorrow, and then we are going to all be together on Christmas day. We are going to the couples home and eating, playing games, and just celebrating Christ's birth. Elder Kisesi and I have a few homes that we are planning on stopping by though and I am really excited to see how their Christmas day will go.

I suppose I can answer those questions. So, I LOVE it here! The members are so great and our investigator...top NOTCH! It is really just so much fun here. WE have some exciting news, an investigator accepted baptism and she will be baptized on the 12 of January! Her name is Agnes.  Also, Rhoda from my last area just got baptized yesterday at our chapel so I got to tell her congrats! Anyhow my package, they got it to me by the couples, because they were in Nairobi at the time and so they brought it up. My Comp and I are really getting along. We seriously are always laughing endlessly at everything. It really is so great! We are still working SO hard and I love that so much! I have so much spiritual energy, it is insane! Oh, he is from Uganda and he joined the church just two years ago but you really wouldn't even know it. He seriously is so smart and just loves to study the gospel! We are learning so much from each other. 

OK, so there is just so much that has gone on this week that it is hard to narrow some of it down. I will tell you that it was good and it was spiritual. We are so excited because we do have another investigator that has a baptism date. We are planning on giving like two others a date and it is just super exciting. They are really so interested and excited about the gospel that they are just moving right along. It is not like they are just forgetting the things that we teach them either, they all have some seriously good questions!  One thing we are working on is building up the foundation of those that we teach and making sure that if they want to get baptized, they are really willing to make the commitment that it entails. I just am stoked for all of them and for their willingness to learn!

Well, I love you so VERY VERY VERY MUCH! I wish you a happy Christmas Eve and can't wait to talk! What a beautiful season it is, to remember Christ a little more in our lives and to not just celebrate His birth but also to celebrate His perfect life. He is the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, our Everlasting Savior. I have seen so many marvelous works so far as I have tried to follow His example. I have seen His love change lives and I am so proud to bear His name. To all of the family, I just want to say that I love you, I appreciate your love, prayers and support, and I hope the best of that glorious Christmas day to you. May God bless you! (Every One) MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Much Love From:

Elder Andreasen

(Joy to the World)

P.S. HAHHA I confess that it took me a few minutes to actually get the top of the letter and I couldn't stop laughing!

Jerusalem

Hey guess what you guys…I have CRAZY news!!! I got TRANSFERRED! It is really shocking where I am at right now. Um...so I am still in Eldoret. WHAT! I am in a place called Jerusalem. I am with a companion whose name is Elder Kisesi. So awesome! We were in the MTC together and I had already been on two exchanges with him so we pretty much new each other. We are having great times. The reason that transfers were so weird was because the visas for all of the missionaries coming into Kenya are getting denied. They are not letting any Americans in and I heard that they think that the church is American and so things are just at a stopping point right now. But wow we got two other missionaries here and then we kind of just got switched up a little bit. That is so crazy about Morgan! Not good at all. Yes I did know her and really hope all turns out well. I will for sure be praying for her.  

Ok, so this past week has actually been one of the busiest weeks that I have had on mission so far! We have been working hard and just been smiling and feeling the spirit. Man, there are SO many people that I don't know and it is crazy to try and remember all of their names. I am sure that I will have them all down in the next week and a half or so though. I seriously just love meeting them, they are so friendly and just great! Yesterday I got to meet most of the active members and we got to attend PEC and I got to meet the Branch presidency. They have a building or a chapel here in Jeru. It felt weird to actually have a mic to speak through. I was given the chance to bare my testimony. Anyhow, I love it here and really am looking forward to the next busy week!

I have such a growing testimony and am getting to know the spirit a little bit better. I have experiences that I want to share but there are seriously so many! The other day we had two people come and we gave them a tour of the chapel. We then got the chance to sit down with them and talk to them and get to know them. The lady that we talked to really touched me SO much. I am not going to lie, I almost cried. I felt the spirit so strong. She explained some of the trials that she had been through and how hard her life had been the past while. She said that she didn't know really what else to do but something led her to us. We were able to give her a blessing and just let her know that God really does love her. She came to church yesterday and let us know that she will be worshiping with us from now on. I know that HE is watching out for his children and that He will never abandon us...ever. Comforting huh? 

I love that we get the chance to be out here to serve the Lord as His servants. I am proud to be here! I love you and just sincerely hope all keeps well. I love and pray for you everyday. I love the gospel. The church really is true. What a statement! I am trying to be safe so I think all is well there.

Much love from:

Elder Andreasen

Smilin Big!

Let's build MUDMEN

WHAT!!! No way! I can't EVEN believe it! You got another dog!!! Holy cow. I'm looking forward to hearing him bark on that awesome 25 of December! Hmmm, does that mean you are going to be getting the paper again? Wow, so it is snowing and cold there and it is nice and warm here with the occasional rainstorm.  I am realizing how weird it is to not be freezing my tush off in December. I am not going to lie though, it is nnnicce!  

Well, I have some exciting news of my own. One of our investigators has agreed to be baptized on the 22nd of this month! It is so great because she just has expressed to us how ready she really is! She seriously just is so stoked about the whole thing. She told us that she didn't want to wait till next year because it was to far away. She wants to start a new year having been baptized in Christ and in the true church. So awesome! We also found out that finally after a long process of getting things legalized for the marriage, that our investigator Edwin, will be having a wedding a couple days after Christmas and can then be baptized the coming week! The joy that comes from seeing him stick strong and do all to get baptized is a testimony strengthener. Even if I am not here to see them get baptized, I am so happy that I had a chance to be apart of changing their lives and to help bring them to the knowledge of the truth. Keeping strong is so so important. One thing that we have really focused on this past week is helping our recent converts push through trials and have that over bounding faith in our Father in Heaven to know that things can always turn out for the good. I have told you about the persecution that is around and it just never seems to stop. But one of the scriptures that we have really focused their attention towards has been in 1 Nephi 8. Lehi's Vision. I have seen that great strength can be found from these verses and just love to share with them that the word of God IS unbreakable and will never fail! We have also been encouraging prayer. I know that prayer can always help; I have a testimony that is so strong of how God really does listen. The thing is, we have to listen…that is a VERY important part. I really just love when we get investigators who are young adults. It seems like I can really connect with them and show them the great importance of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It is really cool too because they are so excepting of new ideas and just of change. Man, the church is true.

So, the branch is starting to plan their Christmas party and they have asked us to give some ideas. I could only give them just a few but they have activities that are planned outside. Funny. I mentioned maybe building some mudmen..."snowmen" but they didn't so much like the idea! haha It really seems like things are going great with you guys back there in the valley. Skyler, tip me on how the season is at the Beav and just how everything is going with them girlies. I LOVE you all so MUCH! Keep up the great work of just being you cause that is rad! And keep listening to Christmas music! Hehe

    

Much love from:

Elder Andreasen

P.s. Nice name for the dog, can guess who came up with that! I think you should probably decorate...TWO weeks left till Christmas!

Start Singing Those Christmas Songs!

WOW! I can't stop smiling right now! IT HURTS! You all just make me want to burst!...In a good way of course. Congrats to you for another Thanksgiving down! It sounds like it was nice. Except, where were all the kids??? They make it fun right!?! I really just love kids, they can teach us SO much and they are just fun! Here in this nice Eldoret, there wasn't really any Thanksgiving. Actually, it is pretty sad. I didn't even know that it was Thanksgiving until Sister Anderson reminded me half way through the day!!! They had their Thanksgiving a week early, so no chance there. So it really was just another day. Got to do service that day though. Anyhow, I am excited for the NEXT holiday. It is officially December, so start singing those Christmas songs! I have! Wow though, I can't believe it's already December. Transfers are coming up! They are actually next week! I am kind of antsy to know what’s coming up. You never know what is going to happen. President Hicken is really random it seems. He moves people around but also keeps if it’s right. I really do love the people here where I am serving but I would like to see somewhere else and meet some new people. I love meeting people!

This Saturday, we got to have an Open House for one of the Branches in our district. Got to meet a lot of people there and it was just such a great experience. I had a lot of fun that day. We got to have the chance to invite people to come and see how the building looks and help them understand a little bit about what we believe. It was awesome because at one point, we got to stand on the side of the dusty road and talk to people that were passing by. We would let them know what was going on and convince some of them to give a few minutes of time out of there day to come and take a look for themselves. That was one of the highlights of the week. We also got to go on exchanges this week and that was fun! I got to go with an awesome elder, his name is Elder Schneider. He is actually from Idaho. He is probably the best missionary I have ever met. He used to be an AP but now he is in our district. It is funny though, we just did exchanges in Huruma, our area. All four of us. Haha! We had done the exchange and were in the different areas when we got a call that...I still had the key to our flat. So we went back to Huruma and it was late and just stayed. But wwoowee, I have learned a LOT about being an even better missionary and giving my all to the Lord.

You know what is great, this past week I have had this huge desire to just simply feast on my scriptures. Something that I am working on is getting to know the scriptures a lot better and I have seen the Lord answer my prayers a little more in that regard. They are now one of my best friends and I love to keep studying them. Oh, you asked about my companion. So Elder Ndwandwe is from South Africa! Sorry if I didn't tell you that before. He is a Zulu and is from Johannesburg. He has been a member since he was about 16 I think it was. He is the youngest and I can't really remember how many are in his family. I think it was around 5 or 6. He is a pretty funny elder. He has three months left and is anticipating THE day. Not much else really to say.

Well, I think that’s it for now. I Love you all VERY much and hope all keeps well!

Much love from:

Elder Andreasen