Brand new iPad Mini Two!!

(It's probably a good thing this is a holiday...it's taken me forever to try to get this letter composed. My email provider has me using a new email and I don't know what I'm doing!!! So I've had to add everyone one by one and I probably missed some people and added people who would rather not be added. I apologize. I hope I figure this out in time. Then my missionary starts his letter off saying he didn't get a letter from me. I wrote one last night and it was sent at 7:35 pm....where did it go??? I might have to switch to gmail. Enjoy our new iPad missionary's email this week!)

Oh dear, I don't seem to have an email from you. We will have to make due without one. Some pretty exciting things happened this week. There's a Brother Mierzejewsky in the ward who the ward believes has no interest in the church at this time. But we stopped by this week, and he bore his testimony and I gave him a Book of Mormon and he committed to reading it. He's excited by the prospect of his deceased daughter receiving a proxy baptism in the temple. Then there was the iPad conference, which I will tell you about later.
Tricia took us out to a really good pizza place, and then we helped her get her apartment fixed up so she can take on a roommate. That was when you received that picture. Send a text introducing yourself to her!) (I did!)
Saturday we did a lot of planning and got our iPads set up. Elder Pope's is partially not working. He can't download apps.
I wrote a new arrangement to "All Creatures of Our God And King" on the piano and played it it as a special musical number during sacrament meeting. Then I got a call on Saturday asking me to give a talk as well. So I gave a talk on the steps of the gospel of Jesus Christ and why we need it. I really enjoyed both of them, and I think the ward loved it. Sister King said that the song made her feel like she was walking through a forest.
Okay, so the big news? Yes, I am sending this from my very own iPad. It is an iPad Mini Two. Elder Nelson of the Seventy, the one who gave the talk about his sister who left the church and came back during general conference, came and presented the conference to us on Friday. It was mainly about how we need to make smart decisions while we use our iPads. I'll admit that having every single church resource at the tip of my fingers is a bit distracting. There is so much I want to read. Though they were talking about some more insidious distractions! The mission will be going paperless over the next month as we transfer our area books to the cloud. They will stop producing planners for us as well. In a month or so we will begin Facebook proselyting. We've already began using videos during teaching and online materials during studies. What did they not mention? Payment. Someone said that my home ward was going to be billed? Also, I'm allowed to check my email every night, so if you want to send me messages during the week, I can read them.(WAHOOOO!!!) Typing on this is really easy! It's making for longer letters!
Well, I'm going to work on getting you some pictures now.
Love, Elder Andrew Campbell
I'll attach the picture that Tricia sent us and the picture of him with his new iPad Mini 2!

Boulder, Nederland and Superior!!

(Sounds like our missionary is happy, happy in Boulder. I'm so glad. It' sounds like a BEAUTIFUL place. We'll have to go on a road trip sometime after he gets home.)

Good day,

   I am writing to you today from the beautiful Boulder City library. It is really big, and much nicer than the main library in Fort Collins. I'm also going to make the comment that Boulder is a beautiful city. The Flatirons are gorgeous. We also cover a town called Nederland up in the mountains, and it is such a pretty place. Boulder isn't the heathen wasteland that everyone told me it was going to be (I wonder who told him that???!!), especially since I work with older people. Everyone is either a scientist, a professor, a programmer, or some other big name career. Ball Aerospace is located here and apparently it's a pretty big deal. There are also some really big meteorology stations here. (My brother would love that!! He's a meteorologist!!) In other words, I'm surrounded by money, and some really nice people!

   Sister McD found me and gave me my journal. I even wrote in it last night! I hope you're proud of me. (I am very proud that he wrote in his journal. And I'm super grateful for Sis. McD. How sweet that she would give him a missionary journal as a welcome present from her family.) Want to know a way in which you won't be proud of me? I forgot to take pictures...I wish I had, but we've just been so busy. (Luckily Sis. McD sent a picture, so I've attached that. It's of Elder Campbell with his new companion, Elder Pope.) We don't live in a cabin anymore. We live in the home of the R family in South Boulder. It's a really nice home and they have a piano, so I approve. We are supposedly moving soon, so who knows where we'll end up. (So, do we send him a package or wait??? Decisions, decisions!) We also cover half of the city of Superior. It's full of young families that commute to Denver for work. It is also VERY wealthy but it is very different from Boulder. I've not yet actually been to the campus, but I have been to the institute, so that's close.

  (I asked him who I should pray for.) Let's see, F M is in great need of prayer. We also have a recent convert named T who got baptized a few weeks ago. She is an attorney and she is awesome. She is going through a rough time, and her family hates the church, so she needs prayer as well. The investigators I've met are T and Sister P. They are both so nice, but I'm a little worried about how they are going to progress from where they are. So, prayers are in order! (I think I'd better make a list.)

   Elder Pope is from Orange County. I don't recall what town. I feel like everyone from Orange County just says Orange County. He is 22 and studied Computer Science at Cal-Sate Fullerton before he went on his mission. He's been on his mission for 18 months and is the district leader. He has a younger brother that left on a mission at the same time as him, and his family returned to church activity about 3 years ago. Also, his father is not a member of the church. (From his picture, he is TALL!!)

   As far as the weather goes, it rains and it thunders every day. We were driving up to Nederland, and it hailed a ridiculous amount on us. There's also a lot of sun, but that's the kicker: it rains out of the clear blue sky here. You know when it rains on a sunny day and you look up to see the dark cloud above you? Well, you don't need dark clouds here, because water will fall from the clear sky. It's a little scary sometimes.

(My sister and her husband are here for a week. They and my brother, Dirk, were cleaning out my parent's garage today.)  I will pray for everyone clearing out Grandma and Grandpa's garage. They are truly going to need it.

  (Last week Elder Campbell sent pictures but I didn't know who the mystery people were.)  Those were pictures of me with Brother L and his mother-in-law Sister U. It turns out the L's used to live in this ward and are really missed. (What a small world we live in.)

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell

 

 

Boulder, CO....Here Elder Campbell comes!

(Can I just tell you how FUN it was to Skype with our missionary on Mother's Day???!!!! I wasn't even sad when we talked. I'm 'just so proud of him and the great job he's doing as a missionary. He's being transferred...TODAY! He's heading to Boulder, CO and will be serving in the Flatirons Ward with Elder Pope. Can't wait to hear the exciting new adventures he'll have!)

Mother and Father,

   I'm writing you from...Fort Collins, Colorado! We haven't left for Boulder yet. The plan is to email, eat at Cafe Rio, then head out. (Really? Eat at Cafe Rio?? HA!)  I don't have a whole lot of time, so I want to give you some highlights for the week.

1. I went on exchanges to the YSA (Young Single Adult) Ward with Elder C. He has this little game where you fling a wooden basketball into the hoop. I beat him! Thanks for the practice Dad!

2. We had a zone meeting to finish the transfer. I played an arrangement of God Speed The Right that I wrote a few weeks ago. There was no other musical number planned, so it was a lot of fun.

3. While I was off in the YSA ward, the elders in Parkwood found some new investigators, so they have more people to teach!

I was never able to get a journal. It would be a really nice thing for me to get, and I've used about half of the supplement pills left. I don't know if Boulder has a Kaiser, and it's about an hour from the mission office. We're closer to Denver than anything else. All I can say about your trip is that you should go see the Washington DC temple. It's a beautiful one. (These are all just answers to questions I wrote in his letter from us.)
All right! Pray for me in my Boulder adventures!

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell

(Attached are some mystery pictures. Actually, the family one came via text with a nice note saying, "Thanks for sharing your son with us!" However, the other two are two very nice people from Fort Collins. Maybe I can get him to tell me in his next email.)

 

 

Cafe Rio AND Marriage!!??

(The things my missionary thinks about just makes me LAUGH!! Enjoy!)

Mother and Father,

  First of all, I just want to make it known that I went running this morning.(WOW!!) Last week I didn't notice the difference, but this week I certainly have. Those Mito2Max supplements are really working. I just feel like I have so much more energy throughout the day. It's helping me get the energy I need to keep exercising.

   This week was rough. We really had nothing going for us. I think every appointment fell through except one. I will, however, give you some highlights.

1. We finished P-Day last week with a foosball tournament at the Institute building. The YSA Elders are seasoned pros at this point, so I was torn asunder by them. It was fun nonetheless.

2. Brother T, who is not a member, but his wife is, bought us lunch on Saturday. I got a steak burrito at Cafe Rio, and it was amazing. I've made the decision that I want Cafe Rio to cater my wedding. I think it's my favorite place to eat. I wanted to be sealed at the Oakland Temple, but I may need to change that to a temple closer to a Cafe Rio. (I'm not sure what to even comment on this. I just laughed!)

3. I went on exchanges with our Zone Leader Elder S. He's a really great elder from Twin Falls, Idaho. His decision to serve a mission was a hard one. (I'm friends with his mom on the Fort Collins Mission FB website.)

4. We had ONE appointment not fall through. M is a spiritual giant, and I can only wish that I could get to his level. The first thing he told me was that I shouldn't worry about what I was going to say, because he was going to take it to the Lord after our lesson, and God would reveal the truth to him. He has a very real relationship with our Father in Heaven. He also said that the teachings we brought ringed very true in the logical and emotional sides of him, and he just needs a spiritual confirmation. Elder M predicts that he is going to be a general authority in a few years.

5. Moroni Books is closed on Mondays.... (Not a highlight!) (Guess I'll need to get that boy a journal!)

6. Brother L gave me a book called "Five Classics by Truman G. Madsen" He wants me to read an essay called "Eternal Man" and President Brown gave me permission. I've read a bit so far, and it is amazing. I don't think mankind is ready to accept that we have always existed, and always will exist. There is no end to us, but there was also no beginning. (Andrew LOVES this kind of stuff.)

   For some ridiculous reason, I've been thinking a lot about marriage this week, and not just the food that's going to be served at it.(Do I freak out, yet????!!!!) Just about how I want my mission to get me ready for marriage, and what kind of husband/father I want to be.  Here is what True to the Faith says about preparing for marriage: "If you are single, prepare yourself carefully for marriage. Remember that there is no substitute for marrying in the temple. Prepare to marry the right person in the right place at the right time. Live worthy now of thekind of person you hope to marry...Look for a companion of your own faith. Look for someone you can always honor and respect, someone who will complementyou in your life. Before you marry, be sure you have found someone to whom youcan give your entire heart, your entire love, your entire allegiance, your entire loyalty." The only way you'd be breaking the commandments would be by avoiding marriage, and ultimately never marrying.

   Peter needs to make money to get ready for marriage, so go Peter! (How about Peter needs to make money to help pay for SCHOOL??!!)  

I just talked to Elder M, and we decided that 6pm my time would be a good time to Skype.(Next Sunday is Mother's Day and we get to talk to each other. That will be a great time because the grandparents will be over at our house. YEAH!!)  I'll talk to the E's and I'll have Sister E send you any additional information.
I'll keep up the supplements. I feel so healthy. Read Proverbs Chapter 15 this week. It's a good one! (I've put it on my to-do list!)

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell

P.S. Here's a district photo. I should know transfer info when we Skype! (I've added two pictures that were sent to my phone this week. I have no idea who sent them. They are of Elder Campbell and Elder M!)

 

 

Welcome to Casper and Riverton, WY!!

(Only two more weeks and it's transfer time. He mentions two new stakes being added to his mission and that he's not sure he'd like to serve there. I'm wondering if he just JINXED himself. We shall see on May 11th!)
Mother and Father,

   This week was a really good week.We found 3(!) new investigators. And they're all quite promising. M and J were a referral from the Bishop in the Terry Lake Ward and they are people of incredible faith. When we knocked on their door, they were so happy to see us. Jana is from the Czech Republic. That's so cool, because our other new investigator, A, is from Slovakia. They should get together and form mini-Czechslovakia. She just came out of nowhere, and she's already read the Book of Mormon, and believes every word we say. She's moving to Longmont this week, though. (Maybe he'll get transferred to Longmont...I'm not even sure where that is!)

   I got your package, as well as a little package from the youth. They gave me cookies and some very nice notes. (Thank you Lodi 1st Ward youth!!) I've been taking the supplements. I haven't seen a difference yet, but I'm sure I will. I did some dieting this week as well as additional exercise, and I lost some weight. Could you send me a Doterra supplement for weight loss? I really need to get back down to a healthy weight. (I can send him supplements, but they really aren't magical...diet and exercise are what it takes!)

  (We had a baptism in our ward.)  I'm so happy for J. I'm glad he made the first step, and as long as he applies it in his life continually, he will get it.

   I'm so sorry, I forgot to acknowledge your birthday. (I'll attach the picture I sent him of me with a birthday bouquet I received from a friend...not from any of my boys!!)  However, Mother's Day is coming up soon, and you are for sure getting something. Could you send me Grandma's address as well? She deserves something too. You are just too good to me, Mom. I love the Apple and Banana chips. Banana chips must be one of my favorite things ever. I get so much candy that I always have a stockpile, but I ate almost none of it this week. I'm done with unhealthy eating!  (I will  have to find HEALTHY snacks to send from now on!)

   You're going to North Carolina? (First we're going to washington DC and THEN NC) That's so exciting! Airbnb did work out really well for us. I highly recommend it. In fact, you could rent out my room on airbnb if you'd like. (Sorry, I'm already using it for storage...HA!) I hope Jerry gives you some tickets. I won't mention the name of the man who could have given you some tickets...(You can write to your Congressman and request tickets to the White House, the Capitol, etc. Hopefully we'll get some.)

   M and A have stagnated again. A has been stuck in Longmont with his broken-down car for two weeks now. We've tried to get him help, but nothing has seemed to work. He could have been baptized this transfer until he broke down...I feel like Longmont steals everyone from us.

   You know, I'm going to try to take some pictures this week. We just haven't done anything worthy of photographic recognition recently We'll do something exciting, just for you! Today we're going to go to Moroni Books! I want to get a journal because I've been a poor journal writer. If I could get a dedicated journal, I'd be much more inspired to write in it.

   Our mission gets Riverton and Casper in two days, I have mixed feelings about whether I want to go there or not. Regardless, I will go where I am called.

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell

"I can't be perfect tomorrow, but I can certainly be better."

(No mention of his last week's "sickness"....so I guess that's good. Andrew has always been his worse enemy, so I'm glad he might be figuring that out. Thank you, Bro. L.)

Mother and Father,

   Last night, I sat down with my favorite person, Brother L., and we had a talk. Basically, he made me understand what countless others have failed to do: That I worry too much. (Are you kidding me???!!! We have ALL told him that!) But, rather than suggesting that I give up and live a life of apathy, he recommended that I direct my "worry" towards the work. In other words, that it would be much better for me to be anxiously engaged in the service of God, rather than to be filled to the brim with anxiety over my own spirituality. In a way, I'm very grateful for my anxiety disorder. If I can learn to control it, I can direct a lot of passion towards what is good and right. As it was, I was letting it destroy me. In summary: It's not about the doing, it's about the becoming, but I was missing the mark by worrying more about what I was, and that I wasn't becoming what I wanted to be fast enough. Last night, I realized that I can't be perfect tomorrow, but I can certainly be better, and it is only possible if my goal is to do good, not if my goal is to be perfect. (HALLELUJAH!!!)

   That likely made no sense, but to me, the path is clearer than before. Just be humble! Thanks for the incredible supplements you're sending me. I'm really excited to take them. (Sending him some Essential Oils DoTerra supplements and Wild Orange oils.)  Energy is something I've been craving. You know, as much as I'd like Twix in the package, could I get something healthy like banana chips instead? I'm fat, and Twix would not help. Maybe Fort Collins is turning me into some sort of hippy. (That made me laugh. I picked up some banana chips and apple slices.) 

   M. came to church this week. He hasn't come in a month, so that was pretty great. He also seemed really happy; he usually seems really uncomfortable. A. is a great guy. He just got laid off from the oil fields, and he is using his extra time to complete community service requirements he has. He has, so far, read every reading assignment he has been given, and then some.We have to text him more during the week because he finishes it all, and then wants more. He, too, is afraid of baptism because of the great commitment involved. He doesn't want to mess up and be even more condemned. The same goes for M., and just about every other investigator in the mission.

   (I wondered how many sister missionaries they had serving in the Fort Collins Mission?) As far as your question about sisters, the number of sisters serving has dropped significantly. When Elder M. started his mission, there were 90 sisters in the mission, and now there are only 30. They are, however, amazing. Elder M. is district leader over 3 sets of sisters, and week after week their numbers blow ours out of the water. Well, I've got to go, but I'm feeling a lot better than I've felt in a long time. By the way, why did you guys go to Provo? Just curious, and you're all amazing. (Brian's mom's funeral was in Idaho and since I had 5 bereavement days...we headed to Provo to visit with BJ, Michele and the Verdoorns!)

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell

(I'm attaching a picture of a food truck we took in Provo. Andrew's favorite food is mac and cheese. Another picture is of our family at Grandma Campbell's funeral. We're at the cemetery.)

Tired, Dizzy and a Headache

(We're in Idaho at Elder Campbell's grandma's funeral. I always hope for a good week and it looks like it was a good and a not so good week. I never know what to expect from Elder Campbell!!)

Mother and Father,

   This week was a rough one for me. I came down with some sort of sickness. I felt tired, dizzy, and had a headache all week. It's gotten a lot better this week, but the headache is still there. The mission nurse thinks it might be related to allergies, and wants to talk to me about them. I may be getting an allergy shot this week. After having a runny nose 24/7 since I was 14, you can say I'm pretty excited by the possibilities. I need you to do some research for me, Mom. What are some supplements I can take and foods I can eat to increase my energy? My ability to do the Lord's work is being hindered by my constant exhaustion. (I think being a missionary is exhausting. I wonder if his medication he takes causes tiredness. I know allergies can make you tired too. So....does anyone have ideas about supplements or foods he can eat to increase energy?)

   (Since his grandma and grandpa are both gone now....the grandkids were told to pick out favorite things for inheritances. This is what Elder Campbell chose.) Personally, I would really like the metal Campbell insignia that has been hanging on the wall in the basement, in the room at the end of the hall on the left. I asked Dad once if I could have it, and he said no, but I'm going in for a second chance?! (BUMMER...another cousin already took it. Ooops!) BJ finding that pin is a good find, I would like something "Campbell-y" as well. I wish I could be with the family, but I know where I need to be. (Luckily, Aunt Connie Jo found some Campbell signs we'll bring home for him. Hopefully that will be okay.)

   The positive highlights of the week: 1. We had a lesson with Albert, which went really well. We have another scheduled for tomorrow. I believe he is the most likely investigator to be baptized this transfer. (I'll pray for him!!!)

2. We had a zone meeting! I think the best way to describe the Fort Collins zone is it is "stacked". There's a lot of good missionaries working here and we may even set a record for baptisms in Fort Collins in a transfer. We shall see!

3. We taught Michael the final investigator discussion on Saturday. He is seriously considering baptism. Prayers are needed all around for him. (This investigator has come and gone so I'm hoping he'll be baptized.)

   I'd like to ask another favor. Could you work on getting me my priesthood line of authority? Oh yeah, I also got a letter from Molly this week. I guess the song we made is on Amazon and Itunes now. You and all your friends should go buy it. (I'm not sure what the name of the song is...I'm guessing it might be this that I found on Amazon.http://www.amazon.com/Now-Free-Progressive-Trance-Remix/dp/B00UHB16A0/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1428968960&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=molly+bohman).  Do you think you could send me her email address? I would like that pedigree chart and Grandma's life story as well. I'm just a beggar today. I hope the funeral is lovely, and have a safe trip back home. (I'll attach the family tree to this email so everyone can see what Michele Campbell created while she was in Swan Valley for the funeral.)

Love,

Elder Andrew Campbell