Monday, July 27, 2015

You Are Your Own Gym!

(Yay...he has received all of his packages....BOO...he has not got his money card yet!)

Mother and Father,

   I'm so sorry about never mentioning my Fourth of July package. I loved everything in it. Elder A wasn't so excited that I was getting an instrument. (It was just a small, annoying instrument). Thank you for talking to Sister S. I was talking to her, and I knew that for some reason, you and her needed to talk to each other. I knew it would make you both happy, so I set it up. (It did make me happy. She had such nice things to say about our missionary!) 

I did get my DoTerra supplements, and they continue to make me very happy.

My back started hurting last night (NOOOOO!!!) and continued into this morning. I  pent a few hours laying on my bed to give it some rest, and it feels like it did some good.

During the district leader meeting, I discussed with Elder P how hard it was for me to get up in the morning and he gave me his workout program called "You Are Your Own Gym". (I LOVE that name!) I don't know why grueling exercise gets me out of bed, but it seems to be working. I've been painfully sore, but I actually enjoy the exercise. It's just a set of body workouts split up by upper body days, and leg/core days.

I wouldn't be worried about my birthday package quite yet. (HA! He should know his mom better than that. I'm a worrier!) Transfers are next week. There are 13 new elders coming in and I think I'll probably be training one of them. I don't know this, but I think it's a good possibility. (I guess we shall see!) 

So, the steps for getting an unknown or moved person off the records are intense. They involve asking the neighbors where they went, searching for them on social media, searching public records, etc. (That sounds like a job I would love!!)

A family in the ward called the M had their son visit a few weeks ago, and it turns out that he's the stake president of the Manteca Stake. He asked for a picture with me to send to President A. You should ask him about it.(I will!) 

I do have one incredible miracle to share with you. On Monday night I got an email from my best friend, Brother L. He told me that his daughter had an emergency, and she requested a blessing. On Tuesday afternoon we met up with him, taught his daughter and her boyfriend a lesson, and gave her a blessing. I never thought we could ever teach a lesson to them, but it happened. (What a wonderful miracle!)

I have not received my card yet. I heard it can take a long time. (Goodbye money!) 

I'll be praying for you as you prepare to begin work. (Ready or not...here I come Kindergarten.) 

(I want to start cleaning out the boys bedrooms and get rid of stuff. I've asked them to tell me what they want to keep.)  I'm not super keen on keeping the stuff in the bedroom, but I wouldn't mind keeping some old games for nostalgia's sake.

(Back to the birthday box!) A tie that's a bit on the nicer side would be a great birthday present!

I think that answers all your questions. I love you very much, and will be praying for each of you. (And we love him so very much!)

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell
(I think the picture he sent is of him and his best friend, Brother L. If not, it's the Manteca Stake President.)


Monday, July 20, 2015

I read pioneer stories and they make me feel like a horrible person for complaining!

(Still no money card, but he sent a picture. YAY!!)

Mother and Father,  

(I told Elder Campbell that we had Sunday dinner with the grandparents and that I'd made homemade mac and cheese. I wanted to know what he ate and with whom.) Okay, so last night we ate dinner with the W family. We had some sort of vegetable stuffed meat, which was pretty good. They are the coolest family. Brother Wahlquist is in the army and they are paying him to get his PhD at Colorado University. He's studying a cure for arthritis of the knee.

   (I wondered what could prepare a missionary best to serve a mission This is what he had to say.) To this day, I'm still trying to figure one thing I could have done to prepare me for a mission. The only thing I could have done is serve one of those mini-missions. The only thing that could prepare you for a mission is actually serving one, so just do it!

    (We need rain and I wondered what was happening in Boulder, weather-wise.) The weather has been several heavy storms a day for a few months now. Boulder is supposed to be semi-arid in the summer, but we've been developing a rainforest climate.

   I'm shocked by all the changes that have been taking place at home. Did you just say that you fed the missionaries on Friday night? I guess the Saturday only policy is no more. (Hey, it's summer vacation....Friday worked out. Usually when I work all week I feed them on Saturdays. Less stress.) Not to mention a new roof and paint job. All the changes I'm hearing about are really scaring me. (HA! Just because it's been 22 years--longer than he's been alive--since we've made any house changes. It'll be beautiful when he comes home from his mission!)

   We met with our new ward mission leader, and he is really awesome. He is a retired nuclear scientist who still works on occasion. He seems a little unsure as to what to do, but he seems like a guy ready to take the torch and run with it. He says he's thinking about what he can change in his life so he can be in a position to give us more referrals.

   (Last email he said that they had taken Rick, an investigator, to Vicki's baptism. I couldn't remember who Vicki was.) So, Vicki was the woman from the Dominican Republic that the Spanish sisters were teaching. Rick fell out of contact with us this week. We don't know what is going on. Cleaning up the ward list is going dreadfully. Well, all the work in this ward is going very poorly. We had four days in a row where we only had dinner lessons to show for the day. We've been trying so hard though! The zone leaders are really worried about this area.  It's been a really difficult week. Elder Nielson and I are trying to figure out what we're being tested for. (I guess I'd better ramp up my prayers for these hard-working missionaries!)
     I'm still waiting on my new card. It hurts to use my personal funds, but I need to survive some how. (I hope it comes soon!)
   I'm trying to remember my purpose despite adversity. Every night I go home and read pioneer stories and they make me feel like a horrible person for complaining. (Maybe he should STOP reading pioneer stories if they make him feel like a horrible person. Oh, my Andrew, what am I going to do with you?!!) Christ went through the worst of it, and we just need to remember His grace.
Love,
Elder Andrew Campbell
Picture of Elder Campbell and Elder Nielson


Monday, July 13, 2015

Bless the ward....

(Sadly...no pictures. I guess since he just wrote on Friday I should be happy I got anything from Elder Campbell!)

Mother and Father,

   It's good to talk to you again! We got our new ward mission leader! (I prayed that they would. YEAH!!) His name is Brother Martin. He is the primary pianist as well. We have yet to meet with him, but hopefully will soon.

(He said he had lost his missionary money card. I asked him how he had lost it? He didn't answer that question. But at least he's getting a new one even though there is a penalty!) As far as my card goes I need to hear back from one of the senior missionaries, who will order a new one. The only penalty is a $15 charge. I have plenty of money on it, so I'm not worried. (Of course not...when it's not your money. HA!)
   Rick came to Vicki's baptism and really enjoyed it. (Is Vicki the lady they were teaching a few weeks ago??? I have so many questions and not so many answers.) He said it was really inspiring. Unfortunately he didn't come to church, but we had a lesson with him afterwords, and it went pretty well. He understands
the lessons so well, and it makes me happy. He committed to baptism, but is going to pray about the date.

   I truly have been happy and healthy! One thing that hasn't changed has been my sleepiness. Morning studies are still a huge battle for me. I think some more supplements would be great! (Just ordered some on Amazon!)

I haven't really been thinking about Pioneer Day. I don't really know if anything is going on or not. If so, we will let you know! (I was trying to think of things to write about. Pioneer Day sounded like a good subject....HA!)
   Oh yeah! We also had interviews with President Brown this week. He told me that I need to focus on blessing our ward. The auxiliary leaders are most worried about the number of people on our roster that have moved, so we are going to help them fix it. The church has a very intense 9 step process for getting people removed from your ward list. It may not appear very impressive, but I so hope that we can be a real help to the Flatirons Ward.

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell

Friday, July 10, 2015

Organic Food in Boulder, CO!

(This is what I got on Monday:  I have to switch my preparation day to Thursday. Today was crazy. I will send an email then! Then this is what I got on Thursday: Hey Mom, we had a surprise zone meeting today, so preparation day
can't happen. I promise to email tomorrow. So then the email FINALLY came! YAY!!)

Mother and Father,

   It's a good thing I was unable to write you on Monday because nothing really happened last week. This week has been a trip, however! On the Fourth of July, we had a district leader council in the morning, in which we discussed the new system of district goals that we are implementing. We then went tracting and street contacting. We were told we were expected to proselytize until 9pm, so that's what we did. We found a new investigator named R. He's great and sincere, but we found he's homeless and asking for help, which makes things harder, especially for poor missionaries. Speaking of poor, I lost my MSF card! (THAT does not make me happy. That's the card that has his monthly money on it. Now he's using his personal debit card. Bother!!)
   This Monday we spent 7 hours moving the H family to Arvada. They are going to be living in the Arvada First Ward! We got in contact with the Bishop and a big moving crew arrived to help them in Arvada. Then on Tuesday, we went on exchanges with my best friend Elder Moala! We went tracting up on Nederland, the town up in the mountains, and got a call while up there from the only active member that lives there. She asked us when we'd get time to come up and give a less-active man a blessing. Good thing was, we were already there! (Tender mercy!!)
   On Wednesday we taught R a lesson, and he understood it very well. The message of the Restoration is exciting to him. This Thursday, we had a zone meeting. The mission goal until August fourth is 35 baptisms. I believe that our zone is capable of reaching our goal of 6. This Saturday, the Spanish sisters are having a baptism for the mother of a relatively recent convert in our ward. She moved here from the Dominican Republic to watch her grandkids, and the Book of Mormon hit her like a ton of bricks. As the district leader, I had the pleasure of interviewing her baptism via translator.

   Well, I just got back from the grocery store! I was kind of sad buying groceries with my personal card, but it had to be done. (That makes me sad too!) It's confession time. Ever since I came to Boulder, I've been getting into organic food. The more I've looked at the ingredients in my food, the more I realize that the weird unpronounceable stuff in it probably isn't good for my body. So, I've been getting food with less artificial ingredients. I will say that it's helped me feel really great. I don't really have days where I just "don't feel well" anymore. (Looks like he's becoming a true Coloradan!!)
   Stuff has been crazy, but I do have a belated birthday card for Dad in the works. (Brian's birthday was July 3rd...yup, it's belated!) In regards to the missionaries doing fun stuff, it's not allowed in the mission. Companionships  aren't allowed to see any other missionaries ever without President Brown's explicit permission. (I was wondering how it worked in his mission. Looks like it's very strict.)
   (Missionaries are coming home early from their missions due to anxiety and depression. Luckily, for us, Andrew dealt with his issues before he left. We didn't really realize that he had a problem because he dealt with it so well. So grateful he got help to make his life a positive one!) I have been thinking a lot about my anxiety recently, and I've realized how bad it used to be. A lot of the breakdowns I had, especially the ones I had in college, were caused by the emotional instability I didn't realize I had. Once I saw a doctor, who referred me to the psychiatrist, I started taking the medicine, and things started to improve. The only thing I noticed at first was the panic attacks started to reduce, but I now recognize a serious improvement in my emotional instability. I used to have tear-filled breakdowns all the time, but I can't recall having one since I got medicated. Other things that I've seen improve my ability to survive on a mission is taking those energy supplements, and eating healthier foods, like I mentioned earlier. I have a clarity of mind and energy in my body that I've been craving for a long time. In other words, I just feel really good! (Yay...now if he could just find his MSF card!!!!)
   (Peter was told last week that he'd make a good research assistant, but we don't know how to become one.) Funny story, when the Laycock Center hired me to produce music, my job title was research assistant. It is basically anyone who works for a professor to help them work on projects. So, you would make good friends with professors to get that job! (So start making friends PETER!!)
   So, this is week 3 without a ward mission leader. Elder Nielson has spent his whole time here without one. Pray that we'll get one! (I'll add that to my list!)

Love you all,

Elder Andrew Campbell
Pictures of Elder Campbell with his trainer, Elder Moala, who is now his Zone Leader. We love that missionary!!