Elder Zachary Andrews: Interview with Elder Andrews

THE VISION OF THE SOUTH

"Make no small plans: This is the vision I have for the South. I believe that one day the South will baptize more people into the church than all other English speaking missions in the world together....We will see the time when we will baptize hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands...In your day you will see a million members of the church in the South. There will be temples plural in the Southern States. What a great call you have to serve with these marvelous people." President Spencer W. Kimball

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Interview with Elder Andrews

Can you speak Spanish any better?

Si yo hablo un poco espanol. Yo puedo ensenar el evangelio pero un poco mas. Yo trabajo mucho y El Dios bendice mi con el Don de lenguas. Con Amor, Elder Andrews

What do you do on your Pday? Do you play or go to the temple?

I do none of those things. I just study all the time. This Pday was better because we just decided to study like it was a normal day and not do nothing or sleep or sit around picking our noses.

(Right: Elder Andrews trying to learn the baptismal invitation.)

What did you do on the Fourth? Did you get special treatment?

On the fourth we had a special program with a speaker. Then we watched the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire. We stayed at the MTC and I talked to Porter for a while then went to bed. I am not here for the fireworks.

(Left: Friend and neighbor, Porter. It was his second day at MTC.)

What did you think when you saw the new missionaries come on Wednesday? Did you feel like you had all the answers?

It feels like I have been here forever, forever, and when I see new missionaries coming in, I look at them and think that person who came here two weeks ago is so different from the person I am now. Not really but my testimony has grown by immense proportions; my knowledge, my study habits are completely different, and I don't secretly in my heart just want to go home and go back to bed. I want to be here...well, I want to be in Louisiana teaching people but if this is what I have to do first, I am fine with that.

Are you getting all the stuff I am sending?

Yes. Thanks for the care packages. My roommates devoured the pretzel dip and pretzels. My companion still has the whistle you sent for my birthday. Thank you so much for the photo album it was so amazing to see all your smiling faces, and to know that I have such an amazing and supportive family back home. I feel your prayers and pray for you too. When you address letters to me it's Elder Andrews not Hermano, please. There are three Zach Andrews here at the MTC so make sure you put Zach Jacob Andrews and Baton Rouge Louisiana or I won't get it until I meet with one of the other Zachs and exchange. We haven't found the third Zach but his girlfriend keeps writing me.............she is weird. (Above: Missionaries playing with glow sticks from one of the care packages. I guess you can have fun.)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission

The first branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in New Orleans with 334 members in 1841. The prophet Joseph Smith sent the first missionary to New Orleans in March of that year. After reaching 169 members in 1849, the New Orleans branch disbanded because of the threat of serious disease in the area. The Southern States Mission, which included Louisiana opened in 1878, but the first missionaries were not sent to the state until nearly 20 years later. Missionary work spread throughout the state during the early twentieth century and by 1930, there were 1500 members. The first ward was established in Shreveport in 1953 and the first stake in New Orleans in 1955.In 1975, the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission was created and by 1980, there were over 12,500 members in the state of Louisiana. By 1989, Louisiana had 22,000 members in seven stakes. In 1998, the First Presidency announced the building of a temple in Baton Rouge. That temple was dedicated on 16 July, 2000.The Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission extends from Natchitoches South to the East and West borders through the state including the Gulf of New Orleans. The mission also includes the South West corner of Mississippi including Natchez, Liberty, and Macomb.