Yup, it's cold in Fort Collins!!

Mother and Father,

   Things aren't too terribly different with me "in charge" of an area. We made it our goal to see everyone in the ward, and to start from there. It's also our goal to ask for referrals, because we don't do that nearly enough. (That's a huge goal. There are hundreds of people in a ward!)

(Last email he mentioned a Bro. Langston. I wondered who he was. I'm still wondering, even after his explanation!) In regards to who Brother Langston is, he is the smartest man on the earth. I respect him so much it's incredible.

   (Elder Blue is Andrew's new companion. I wanted some information about him.) Elder Blue is from Mesa/Gilbert Arizona. He has served in Rawlins, Cheyenne, Greeley, and Longmont. He's not entirely sure what his life plans are, but he knows he wants to bike across Europe after his mission. (I wonder if he'll use his mission bike!)
We had a big storm this weekend, and the mission cars had to be parked for a day and a half. It was a cold weekend, but it's sunny out now. Note: Sunny does not mean warm. (I know how that feels!)

   (Andrew is now living in a new home, the Evans family. I looked up their address and noticed the home had a full basement with a wet bar. I wondered how he liked his new digs.) Living with the Evans family is pretty great. I loved being with the Pixlers, but the Evans home is incredible. We do have a wet bar, and a giant basement to ourselves. It's so roomy! Plus all the lights have dimming bars, so we can give the place chilled out lighting. Of course I thanked the Pixlers and I miss their freezer so much. (Remember, this was the freezer that always had pizza and ice cream in it.)

  (I told  him that I got Peter a contract in his old apartment before his mission...Moon Apartments.)  Peter living in Moon C6 is awesome. There are so many memories from that place. I thought Jeff was going to be in Europe, though? Or is he coming back in Fall? (He's coming back in the fall.) Anywho, Jeff is amazing in all ways imaginable.

(I'm trying to locate "stuff" for Peter for his return to BYU. I don't remember where we put everything. Jay and Kim...let me know how much stuff is at your house!!) I remember us putting together some boxes of stuff and leaving it at Jay's house for Peter. I think it was kitchen stuff. I think we also put together some boxes at home for Peter. My conclusion: There is stuff for Peter somewhere. (I'm not sure I can handle this much help!)

   Yesterday Rayann came to Sunday School. Afterwords, she came up to us and asked, "How do I go about getting baptized?" To make a long story a bit shorter, she said that on Saturday night she had a powerful spiritual experience while reading the Book of Mormon, and knew that she needed to be baptized. She said she wants to get baptized this week. We told her that it was possible if she was willing to put in the work necessary as well. At this moment she is scheduled to be baptized on Saturday night. So, that is our focus for the week. Tina and Dalton are going to be progressing sooner or later, they just need more time. At this moment I don't see March 7th as likely, though it is still possible. This past week has taught me that my ability to teach is predicated on how well my studies went that morning. If my studies were lacking, then my ability to teach, testify, invite, and promise is lacking as well. The reason we study is because we teach, and the reason we are able to to teach, is because we study. Everything we do really makes sense.

Attached is a picture of my suave companion, Elder Blue, as well as a picture of all the fortune cookies we took from the Chinese New Year party we went to on Saturday.

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell

Elder Campbell is Staying in Fort Collins!!

(Looks like the heading is going to stay Fort Collins, CO for a while! He's staying this transfer and losing his companion, Elder Moala. His new companion is Elder Blue. That's a fun name!! He didn't mention his back at all, so I'm praying he's better.)

Mother and Father,

   Elder Moala is going to be leaving me. He is off to be a zone leader in Loveland. I am going to be staying here and my new companion is going to be Elder Blue. When Rayann heard he was leaving, she cried. Needless to say, I am scared to be put "in charge" of an area. Brother Langston gave me a lecture on urgency last night, and I now know what it means to be urgent. I did not before. A few weeks ago, someone said the word "Liahona" in a joke, and I had a remarkable idea. What if we were so pious that the spirit would always tell us where to go next. We would never be left twiddling our thumbs and wondering how it is that we are supposed to be productive in the next few hours of our lives. Too many missionaries just aren't. Being a full-time missionary is synonymous with being a full-time teacher. We're supposed to be teaching from 10am to 9:00pm every day except P-day. Tracting has probably taught me the most on my mission, but it's only good when used sparingly, because it's a very selfish thing to do. It teaches you very much, but you do little to no teaching. A change would require a miracle, and miracles are predicated on faith. This transfer is going to be about boosting my faith, because I need it, and the Lord needs me to have it. (I have faith he'll do very well.)

   On Saturday we put Tina and Dalton on a baptismal date. It's March 7th. Please pray for them. We sent a text wishing President Brown a happy President's Day. I hope he enjoys it. We got a call from the Cleverly's last night about a humidifier they have for me. They said they would give it to the Bruxvoorts, from whom I can pick it up. That is pretty exciting. (Our sweet Sis. Cleverly went home from Lodi to Fort Collins. She'd heard that my missionary was having trouble with bloody noses. My sister suggested a humidifier. I was wondering how to get one to him when Sis. Cleverly and her mom volunteered to buy him one. I love the angels who we have on this earth!) It did snow yesterday, but it was kind of weak. I never thought I'd consider snow to be weak. I've kind of had a baptism by fire as far as driving in snow goes. Peter says he doesn't do it, but I have no choice. It's kind of scary, but you just kind of do it. I've gotten better. (And I continue to pray REALLY hard that he'll be safe!)

   This weekend was stake conference, and a miracle happened. Stake President Foster had a joking conversation in which he told the zone leaders that he wanted someone to get baptized on Sunday. A few hours later he called them and said that this time it was serious, there needed to be a baptism on Sunday. Needless to say, the zone leaders asked one of their investigators two days before, and it happened. It's a testament to me of how inspired of a man President Foster is. He knew there was someone in the stake that was ready, and Holly was. It's such a beautiful thing.

   Do you think I could get Griffin's email? I want to send him an email about missions. I'm very proud of him. (Griffin is a friend of Andrew's from church. Griffin has just been called as a missionary to Singapore speaking Chinese. Does anyone reading this happen to have Griffin's email address???)
 As far as I know, we're going to be moving in with the Evans family.  Pray for Elder Blue, that he'll be ready for a crazy companion, and that we'll both have love and charity for each other. (Are you kidding...the prayers have already started!!)

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell

Oh....NO....BACK PAIN!!

(I wasn't happy with his first sentence! This is my worst fear...Andrew and his back!!)

Mom and Dad,

   I woke up this morning with a sharp pain in my back. Yes, the same old back problem flared up. We helped some people move furniture yesterday, and I didn't feel anything, but the pain came on in full today. The zone leaders came and gave me a blessing and made me laugh. Elder Winter tried to walk on my back for therapy. I'm not sure if it helped though. My back does feel better, overall. (Having a full grown man walk on your back....seriously??? Give me strength, Lord!)

   So our stake is implementing a new referral receiving and contacting program, based on a stronger emphasis on fellowshipping, and forming a council around each individual that has been referred. I really like the idea, but in our first council meeting yesterday, I found it quite frustrating. The overall plan was quite good, but it lacked the sense of urgency that the "hastening of the work" had that was instilled upon us in the MTC. They seemed more interested in waiting for the perfect opportunity than in boldly proclaiming the gospel. Alas, I found myself in the wrong, because I allowed the spirit of contention to develop within me, and righteousness left me. It was a powerful lesson on maintaining Christ-like attributes and shying away from anger. (And then your back goes out...beware!)

  (Last week he sent a picture of himself with a blood nose. I asked him about it.)  I'm afraid that I get bloody noses quite regularly here. I got them a lot in Utah, but even worse here. It's just so dry. Also, I saw a doctor quite a while ago in Fort Collins and got a new prescription. Kaiser opened up a new clinic in Fort Collins just days previously, so that's pretty provident. (Kaiser must have known my boy would need them nearby! He might have to spend his entire mission in Fort Collins.)

   Rayann has surgery today. It's really hard to keep in contact with her. She loves the church very much though. Went to see April, and ended up teaching a lesson to her husband/maybe-not-husband Charlie. He's a good man, and he will hopefully read the Book of Mormon. I never believed how important reading it was until I served a mission. Now I realize how much every individual needs to read it. (Everyone should read the Book of Mormon and pray about it's truthfulness.)

  I have never been interested in family history ever, (DO NOT LET YOUR GRANDMA VERDOORN HEAR YOU SAY THIS!!!) until this morning, when I was lying in bed in dreadful pain. I thought about my ancestry, where they came from, would they be proud of me, and how much I wanted to know about them. I just read the auto-biography of my great-grandfather, Jonathan Cornelius Campbell. He served in the Western States mission. Here are some of the areas he worked in: Cheyenne, Greely, Fort Collins, and Boulder. I am so excited right now! I'm following my great-grandfather's footsteps! (Awesome!)

   Mom, I will pray for you. I'm so sorry for the things you are going through. I pray that my mission service will be a blessing to you. I got your package, and it is completely undoing all the weight I lost in the past few weeks. It made me very happy though. I thinking of giving the Valentines to the ward council, haha! (Glad he enjoyed his Valentine box.)

(Glad he approved of Peter's class schedule....and yup, one class is 8 am twice a week.)  I'm so excited for Peter. Those sound like great classes. Though an 8 o'clock class typically makes me cry. It's good for you though. On a mission I've done a lot of things I didn't want to do, but it sure was good for me.

Love,

Elder  Andrew Campbell

A letter from the cat, Katrina!

(To liven things up, I had the cats write to the missionaries this week. Snowball wrote to Elder Peter Campbell and Katrina wrote to Elder Andrew Campbell.)

Dear Katrina,

    Thanks for the blast of nostalgia, I'm crying now. You have an excellent way with words. The weather got a tiny bit snowy this week, but it's sunny and warm right now. People are telling me it's been the mildest winter in Fort Collins in years. (Due to this missionary momma's prayers!!!) Speaking of Fort Collins, we learned some news this week. Our mission is going to be expanding. We are absorbing the Casper, Wyoming and Riverton, Wyoming stakes. Just in case you were wondering, Casper is up in central Wyoming and Riverton is to the west, not too far from Jackson or Rock Springs. My Zone Leader, Elder Winter, said it's a three hour drive from his house in South Jordan to Riverton. It's over 300 miles to Fort Collins from Riverton. (That's a BIG mission area now!!)

   (My brother was in a car accident last Tuesday...not his fault at all. The bad thing was he was driving his missionary son's car. His missionary comes home on Wednesday and now he won't have a car. SADNESS!!). I'm crying for Grant's car right now. He's a good kid and he needs a car. Driving on my mission is something I think I really needed. I'm getting a lot better at driving, and it's probably a lot safer for me to be on the road now.a

   As far as dumb decisions, I've put a lot of thought into prioritizing of time, and what I considered to be important. I read an article from the 

Ensign today about the things that are really important. I wish I had made you happy more often.

   We went to a baptism on Saturday. It was for a young woman from the Wellington Ward. She seemed really happy. In other news 

Rayann came to church yesterday! She really enjoyed it. She said her family hates her for attending an LDS church, but it makes her really 

happy so she doesn't care. We have quite a large teaching pool, but no one seems to want to progress. It's quite frustrating. We have some

 pretty promising appointments with some potential investigators this week, though. We meet with April tonight at 7 our time. If you could

 say a prayer for her at dinner tonight, that would be great. It's funny; I've had several people tell me that prayers of LDS people are so much more

effective than those of others. A real power resides in this religion, and I'm just beginning to realize it.

   I'm so glad that Peter got to go to Red Robin. I'm glad he's enjoying it and losing weight. I gained a ton of weight last transfer, but I'm finally

cutting it down. I've been eating one serving at dinner and we play basketball every P-Day. My belt is starting to slide back to the fourth hole.
Speaking of Red Robin, we went to eat at Chik-Fil-A today. Elder Moala had to scare off some guys that were trying to mess with us. (Thank you Elder Moala!!)  It was a good time. I'm attaching a picture of us at McDonalds with our zone leaders.

   Katrina, I love you very much, and Mom and Dad, I love you very much.

(He also attached a picture of himself with a bloody nose. Sometimes this kid gives us TOO much information....but got to love him!)

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell