Dear Family and friends,
Elder and Sister Andrus are reporting in again from Charlotte, North
Carolina. We have had a splendid week. We pray each of you have
likewise had a wonderful and successful week. We love and pray for you
all each day and think of you often. Thanks to all of you for your love
and support and prayers in our behalf. We need them and we feel the
Lord’s blessing on us each day as we strive to be obedient servants in
the kingdom.
Monday morning
began with a detailed staff meeting with President and Sister Craven.
We have one each Monday morning when the President is in town which is
about 80 % of the Mondays. He challenged us to put our seat belts on
because we can expect an increase in missionaries very soon. He and
Sister Craven have been at a mission president seminar with Elder
Gonzales, our 70’s quorum file leader, since Thursday. We will be
anxious to hear what they have learned tomorrow in our staff meeting.
We are reading what you all are of the increase in applications for
missionary service—many from young women. It will be great to have more
sister missionaries. They have a wonderful spirit about them and we
can use more of it everywhere. With our President out of the area
Sister Andrus and I have had to fill in some of the blanks that normally
would be filled by the President. We had an elder involved in a
serious bike accident that placed him in the hospital overnight. Sister
Andrus and I have been in the hospital and took the Elder and his
companion home. Helped them get situated with pain medication and
food. He will need some major dental work as many of his teeth were
broken. His mouth and face had to be stitched back together.
Fortunately it was not any more serious than it was. We met with a
Bishop in Kannapolis regarding one of our Church Service missionaries
who works in the office. He is a handicapped Elder who so desires to be
just like all the Elders but really can’t—and he doesn’t see why not.
The President asked me to work out a solution between the Bishop and the
Elder. We have a workable plan in motion that should help.
Regardless, all of these thinks takes us away from our duties that
normally are performed in the office. It also cuts in on our
proselyting time. We were able to meet with the Hill family. Sister
Hill is a member, however Joe is not. He is a Deacon in the Baptist
Church and doesn’t see how the Baptists can survive without him being
there. He is a good man. We are working to always have a message to
share with him regarding the unique doctrines the restored church has to
offer. We had a good meeting with him last Monday evening. We hope to
keep moving forward with this in the coming weeks. We met with the
husband of the family of three who were baptized last Saturday. It was a
good meeting also. We are meeting again on Monday (Tomorrow) We hope
to be able to use the influence of the spirit that his family has to
help him. He also is a good man who does many good things. We met also
on Friday evening with the Perez family. The mother is a member and
her 10 year old daughter has expressed interest to join the church.
They recently moved here from Las Vegas. The mother wants to let her
daughter make her own choice so Sister Andrus and I have the privilege
to present the restored message to her and hope to do it in such a way
so the Holy Ghost can bear witness to her of its truthfulness.
On Wednesday we took another Sr. Couple, the Bushman’s from American
Fork (They used to be neighbors to Uncle Rick and Bev in Payson) to High
Point, North Carolina to a new missionary training meeting. President
Craven desires all the missionaries, after about a month in the field,
to gather together with their companions to have a day of training to
help answer questions and demonstrate teaching techniques via role plays
etc. It was a great experience. We learned the what is called the
READY approach. R—We are to establish what is their religious
background. E—Establish common ground. A—Share something about our
Unique Message—preferably the 1st vision being able to recite
from memory Joseph Smith’s account of his visit with the Father and the
Son. D—Describe roles. What we as missionaries are going to do and
what will be required of them as investigators. It was emphasized that
during this time we should share with them that we are going to be
asking them to commit to baptism which will require them read the Book
of Mormon and to pray about our message and attend church. Y—You do
it. Commit to both do what you have agreed to do. The whole process
should not take more than 5 minutes. There demonstrations were
excellent and then we role played doing it. It was difficult, however
very inspiring. Our roles as Sr. Couple are a little different; however
the message is the same. We must do things that allow them to make and
keep commitments. It was emphasized that people who cannot keep
commitments will not be able to make and keep covenants. So it weeds
out those who are not willing to move forward. We as Sr. Couples,
however usually are left with those who need more time so we move a
little slower.
Sister Andrus
and I spent most of Saturday with another Sr. Couple, Elder and Sister
Tarbet from Midvale, Utah. President Craven desires Sister Andrus and I
to go to each of our Sr. Couples and spend time with them on
Saturdays. It is nice to share some common experiences and be
together. We visited Morrow Mountain State Park near Albamarle, NC. It
was a pleasant day with them. This is there second mission. The have 8
children with many grandchildren. Sister Tarbet suffered a stroke a
couple of years ago, however she functions pretty good. Elder Tarbet is
a great stalwart priesthood leader. A retired Dentist. He and Dr.
Robert Jenson served as missionaries in Norway together. They were not
companions, however knew each other. It was good to be with them.
We were taught in our new missionary seminar that our families are our
most important investigators. We were instructed to share our
testimonies as fervently with them as with anyone. I hope we are not
guilty of not sharing our testimonies with you are dear children,
grandchildren and friends. We never tire sharing the message of the
restoration with anyone. Each time we share the 1st vision
experience with anyone, we still have warm feelings in our bosoms of the
truthfulness of its message. Joseph Smith and all his predecessors are
prophets of God. We sustain President Thomas S. Monson as the prophet
of our day. We are led by prophets and apostles called and set apart as
especial witnesses of the Master Jesus Christ who atoned for our sins.
How blessed we are to know of the plan of happiness that allows us to
be together as eternal families. Please know of our prayers of
gratitude for the potential of our family to be eternally together. We
know we must all do our very best to be present in those eternal
realms. It is not too far away. Make sure we stand steadfast and
immovable in a changing world. Shun evil in all its wicked ways. Say
prayers and study the scriptures daily. Have family home evening weekly
and pray for strength to serve in every capacity you can to prepare the
world for the 2nd coming of the Savior. We know this
message is one of hope and is of utmost importance. Again we love you
all and so appreciate your support and love.
Sincerely with love
Elder and Sister Andrus, Grandpa and grandma, Don and Ruth.
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| Grandma Andrus sewed the dress the mom is wearing. This is a baptism. This is a mom and her daughters. |
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| This is Ruth and Don with another senior missionary couple. They get to visit the other seniors on Saturdays. |
