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

 

 

Spring Fever in January!!

Mother and Father,

  The weather is so beautiful right now I think I'm going to scream. It's 70 degrees outside. I'm tired of the cold, it's just so depressing. (He better not get too Spring Feverish....he could have negative numbers hit him just around the corner. It's still WINTER!!)

(I told him we'd had meatloaf, baked potatoes and banana cream pie for Sunday dinner...I wondered what he'd had.) For Sunday dinner we ate with the Pixlers actually (They are the sweet family they live with). Sister Pixler made macaroni and cheese and muffins. I put honey and butter on the muffins and wow, they were good.

(I had oral surgery last week...receding gums. OUCH!) I'm sorry that you had periodontal work, but I'm glad that it finally happened. It's been a while since you started meeting with Dr. Gordon.

  
(I wanted to know more about his car accident he was in last week. I wanted to know how he knew he had internal bruising. I also wanted to know if the accident was weather related. I only got one of my questions answered.) So, I know I got internal bruising because I went to Kaiser and they told me. It's almost all better now. It was really not a big deal. Elder Moala wasn't hurt, and in his own words, "It's really hard for me to get hurt." I think football does that to you. I'm a wimp in comparison. We had a white Toyota Corolla previously. Being the designated driver is really good for me. Not to say that I enjoy it, but I'm becoming a much better driver for the experience. I also don't have to carry the phone anymore, which is a lot less stressful, haha. My driving on snow has been relatively uneventful. We had one close call, but I'm pretty careful. (I don't want to hear about ANY close calls!)

  (A good friend, Elder Austin Mariana came home from his mission this past week.)  Having Austin home is exciting. I'm not getting trunky, but I think a lot about how I plan on living my life after my mission. I made a lot of dumb decisions before my mission, and mission life has taught me a lot about making life a more beautiful, worthwhile experience.(I would like to know what his dumb decisions were.....hmmmmm!)

   (Last email he mentioned that there was new missionary from Hope Mills, NC that knew Elder Peter Campbell. I guess that it was Elder Robertson. His grandma fed Peter on Christmas day and told me she had a grandson heading to Fort Collins. I'll have to let her know how he's doing!) Yes, it's Elder Robertson that I talked to. He seemed like a really good guy. He's going to make an excellent missionary.

(I wondered how his investigators were doing.) I thought Michael was dropped for real this week, but I just got an email from him in which he mentioned that he was investigating the LDS church. He's mingled with some of the best minds and strongest spirits to be found in our stake, and they have been keeping him going. He works as an evangelist of Christian belief to Jews and Muslims, as he is a former Jewish believer. His family has abandoned and ostracized him for becoming a Christian. Apparently his children don't even talk to him. We have some lessons scheduled for next week that we're really excited about. We put one investigator on a baptismal date this week, and we're shooting for at least 3 more this week.

  (I finally sent him BYU men's basketball's record.)  BYU's record is looking pretty good. The season is looking quite good, but their conference record is a bit lacking. They need to get their acts together and win the conference title.

I hope you have an excellent week and I love you both very much. (And we love you very much TOO!)

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell

Picture #1 is Elder Moala and the freezer of pizza and ice cream. YUM!
Picture #2: No idea where they are...but I DON'T like that sign on the fence.

Good News: The Library is Open...Bad News: Car Accident

(Due to it being MLK holiday, I didn't think we'd get an email from our missionaries today. But it looks like Fort Collins came through!! Happy to hear from Elder Andrew Campbell.)

Mother and Father,

   (We're going through some tough situations right now, and these are the wise words our missionary had to share.)  A man in our ward, whom I respect very much, told me that serving a mission was the best thing I could do for my family, so hopefully I'm helping you out. Surprisingly enough, the library is open today, so that is why you're getting this right now!

  

  (I wondered if he needed to worry about filing taxes this year.) Before I left, I added my salary at BYU, and I didn't get $2000, the amount required to file, so I think I'm good in that aspect. If you could check that out for me though, it would be great! (I guess I'd better check it out.)
  (Our oldest son has been invited to present at the upcoming BYU Video Gaming Symposium. BJ wanted tips on how to present, so I asked Elder Campbell.) I remember when BJ told me about his plan for the symposium, and he wanted my advice. I believe I said something along the lines of "follow your heart". That's excellent, and I know he'll do great. He can just play the game in front of the class and he'll be good, right?

  (BJ also found a link on Google News this week about Andrew's video game he was working on before he left on his mission. It's called "DUST" and here's the link: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865619306/BYU-students-help-develop-game-to-promote-STEM-learning.html?pg=all) Your news about "DUST" also excites me very much. I hope it goes well and makes a big impact and blows up my resume. 

  

 (Brian and I went to a BYU vs UOP basketball game on Thursday. It was very fun and BYU won!) Your news about BYU brings me great joy. If you could let me know what their record for the season is, I would like that very much. (I need to get on that too!)
  The other Elder Campbell appears to be in the Loveland Stake. I may meet him eventually. A new elder in the mission is from Hope Mills. He told me that he knew Peter. How about that? (That's neat...what is his name, however?????)

   

  (This is the investigator I've been praying for.) We took Michael to a baptism on Saturday. He really enjoyed it. He keeps finding doctrines he doesn't like, telling us that he's done investigating, then coming to an understanding and being back in the action. I consider him my intellectual and spiritual superior in every way, and don't know how to talk to him. He needs prayers really badly. Pray that Rayann will heal and find a new place to live. Her current conditions are not conducive to healthy living. And please, please, please pray for Carlos. He is at a crossroads, and he needs to make the right choice. Lastly, pray for Madeline and Eliza, they're not in our ward, but they're in our district and they are getting baptized on Saturday. (I need to write these names all down...I'm too old to remember them.)

I love you both so very much,

Elder Andrew Campbell

(Of course it doesn't end there....it just gets better. Here's the REST OF THE STORY!!!!)

Oh yeah, we got in a car crash this week. I got some internal bruising, but I'm all right. The car got a bit beat up, and Elder Moala lost his driving privileges. We have a red Toyota Corolla now, and I'm the full-time driver. Exactly what I wanted, right?! (PLEASE, EVERYONE PRAY FOR HIM. This makes me super nervous!!!! I wonder if Elder Moala is okay. More grey hairs are popping out all over!)

The picture is of Elder Andrew Campbell holding a puppy.

Long Paragraphs....Life is Good in Fort Collins!

Mom and Dad,

   I'd like to start by letting you know that I love you very much. (And we love him very much too!) 

 

 We played basketball with the YSA Elders this morning, and I am super tired. Needless to say, missions make you tired all the time. I also think my medication makes me drowsy, which makes it even harder. Speaking of medication, Sister Brown told me that they don't want the missionaries receiving medication in the mail. I went to the Kaiser in Loveland, and they transferred my medication to the one in Fort Collins, who informed me that insurance was not going to pay for it because CR Paroxetine is a unique prescription which Doctor Arora had to get permission to prescribe me, and would only be covered in California. (Of course!  Nothing with Andrew is ever normal. He has some anxiety, so he takes that to help him.) So, it would be a one hundred dollar payment. (WHAT???) I'm going to be going in to see a doctor to get a prescription here in Colorado. (Good plan, elder or your mother might need to take it!) 

 

 Speaking of Fort Collins, I'm afraid Elder Campbell is not in the Fort Collins zone. He could be in the portion of Fort Collins that the Loveland Stake covers, though! (Maybe so...he's somewhere in Fort Collins. This is another Elder Campbell who used to live in Elk Grove, CA). 

 

 I think it would be super fun for you to get a dog. But, I guess that is your executive decision. It takes a dog with a really good heart to put up with Snowball and Katrina. (We had a chance to foster a dog, but I'm just not ready for that commitment right now) 

 

 (One of our sister missionaries wants to major in Commercial Music, just like Elder Campbell. But she's going to attend Utah State and they don't have a major yet.) Tell Sister Beck to keep going! If she wants to transfer, she could consider Snow College in Utah. Apparently they have one of the best music programs in the nation. She could also choose BYU, where I hopefully will be an accepted Commercial Music Major in a few months! (Hope! Hope!)

   

   It's time for a gratuitous paragraph break! Elder Sewell is from Citrus Heights. I truly don't know if we're related. He's really cool though. I did get your postcard from Disney World, thank you for that! I get letters of encouragement from some different families. It's always fun when I get one. (On his bank statement, he spent most of his money at Walmart, so I wondered what kind of gift card he might like to receive.) I think I would like a Subway gift card. Most of my Walmart expenses are going through my MSF card. (I told him about my weird missionary dreams I had this past week. Andrew was moving into an apartment at BYU and Peter was getting married!!!!) I wonder if Peter will get married before I'm home? He had better keep me updated!

   This week, Michael, the investigator I've told you about, continued his interest, dropped investigations, then changed his mind. He came to church on Sunday, and he is coming with us to see a baptism in Cheyenne on Saturday. We're so excited! We also saw Elder Bednar on Friday. He came and spoke at our mission conference. (Lucky ducky!) He spoke of the importance of action. He said praying at the end of Sacrament meeting that "those who were not here this week will be here next week" is a completely faithless act, unless that person exerts real effort to go to less actives and help them return. It made me think hard about what we pray for. Well, I should be going, and hope you have a lovely week!

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell

Still in Fort Collins!

(No pictures this week. See...I think the honeymoon is already over. Sadness!) Mother and Father,   (I sent Elder Campbell an origami Christmas tree for Christmas. I wondered if he'd put it up. I guess he didn't. I'm not sure what all the "fun stuff" was that I sent him for Christmas. Maybe all these packages will be for naught!)  I need to make a confession. I didn't really involve myself in the fun stuff that you sent me. My days consist of wake, get ready, study, work, plan, sleep. I have the hardest time finding the time to do anything else. (I wondered if their church times had changed. Turns out we go to church at 9 am, he does, and so does Elder Peter Campbell--of course, 3 different time zones!) As far as your questions, our church time is now at 9! It doesn't really matter for us, because we always get up at 6:30, unless we have a 7 am meeting, of course. (Ben Lichty wondered if Andrew knew a Bro. Dixon.)  I'm afraid I don't know a Brother Dixon. (Next I asked him if he knew any Cleverlys....we have a new sister missionary from that area.) However, we taught a lesson to Brother and Sister Bruxvoort yesterday, and Sister Bruxvoort said she had a friend named Sister Cleverly serving in the Sacramento Mission who is coming home soon. I said I wasn't familiar with the name. (But now he is! We're feeding her on Saturday, so I'll have to tell her she's famous.)  What a small world. (I sent a New Year's package.) Thank you for the small package. When I got my patriarchal blessing I started crying for joy. I'm sorry it was so hard to find. If you could send me all thank you notes pre-addressed, my life would be so much easier. (WHATEVER!!!) (It was transfer week...he's staying put.) Elder Moala is staying put for this transfer, and Elder Sewell, who is quickly becoming a good friend of mine, from another ward in our district, is staying as well. We were supposed to move into a new house, but the woman who lives there broke her leg, so we probably won't be moving. (However, his mission office is moving. Their new address is: Colorado Fort Collins Mission 500 HillSpire Drive Windsor, CO  80550 So you know about that "honest truth-seeker" I told you about last week? Well, we met with him, and he's since read the Book of Mormon, sent me a text declaring it to be the "perfected gospel of Jesus Christ", and told us he's going to try giving up coffee, all in a matter of days. On Sunday morning, he sent us a text saying he wasn't going to be able to make it to church (We're the Parkwood Ward), and I immediately prayed, asking to call an audible on my fast, asking that I'd be able to see Michael that day. A bunch of weird circumstances caused us to stay late after church, and we saw him later, attending the Harmony Ward. (I just love tender mercies!)    BYU Basketball is making me so proud. If you could, please let me know what their record is for this season. (That sounds like a good job for Brian.) The turn of the year must be so exciting for you Primary/Nursery people. You, however, are the best nursery leader ever. (Awww, shucks!) I will be praying for Grandma Campbell. I wish her only the best. (Brian's mom is struggling with her health right now.) By the way, 3 wards meet in our building. Those are the three wards of our district! We've been having a really hard time contacting Rayann. Please pray for her and her health. (I continue to pray for her.) We love her so very much. We continue to find an incredible amount of investigators, but their sincerity isn't always there. Alas, it will be what it must be.  I always feel like my letters are so short. I don't know what else to tell you about though. Oh yeah, I have another story. I think I got actual frostbite. How exciting is that? (Pretty exciting, I guess.) We decided to help a woman shovel snow in sub-zero weather, and I forgot almost all my cold-weather clothing at home that night. My left ear hurt for days, and still does, just a little bit. Woo! I'll be smarter from now on! (So much for buying him every article of winter gear I could humanly conceive of...whatever!) Love, Elder Andrew Campbell