Week 4

 

okay, is anyone else as surprised as me on how fast time is going?!?!?! I started week 5 today!! 4 weeks down, 100 more to go! in two days I'll have been out for 30 days!! so in two days, I'll have 700 more to go! ( that means 702 from today :) ) maybe i shouldn't say that. it makes it sound like a long time. Don't cry mom!!! :)

This week rocked!! But, it is literally the most tired I have been my entire life. I thought the first three weeks i was tired. Back then, I that was the most tired. But, being the zone leaders with Elder Campbell, I have been worked so hard! It has blessed me a lot though. My Spanish is improving a lot!! So, bed time is at 10:30 and we are supposed to be up by 6:30. but, reality is, if we get up at 6:30, then we wait in line for the showers for literally 20 minutes. So, we get up at 6. Also, I wish I could get to bed at 10:30!! Me and Elder Campbell need to walk around at 10:30 and check on everyone. We don't get back till 10:45. Also, Tuesday night we had to sign off more then 1/3 of our Elders who were departing. We have to approve their departure. This put us back till 11:40 till we got back to our room. That'll make you tired!! Literally, if I stop moving I fall asleep. Class is interactive so I'm good there. but personal study, I am asleep in 5 minutes. I literally walk in circles while I read!! I absolutely LOVE being a zone leader though!!

So, we hasta ver'd another district on Sunday. Two districts left on Tuesday. It was sad. I had alot of really really close friends in them! I'm excited and nervous for them though!! So, my best friend that is not in my district tore something in his shoulder two weeks before I got here. the whole time I was here he was in a sling. The Saturday before he departed, he goes to the DR. who says that he needs to stay close for about 4 weeks. The MTC said he can stay here till then, then he can head to Chili. He was a little disappointed, but his spirits were super high about it. He told me that it doesn't matter, he's not on his clock anymore. I was really touched by that. He is an awesome person. Well, Monday rolls around. I'm not exactly sure why, but he could no longer stay here at the MTC. He goes into a meeting where they tell him he is going home for a few months but when his shoulder gets fixed he can go straight to Chili. So he says that's fine. once again he is an awesome Elder. he asks them if his dad is his companion or whats up and they say no sorry, you are getting released. Once you get home, you are no longer authorized and are prohibited to wear your name tag. That hit him hard. He begins to cry thinking about not being a missionary and not being able to spread the Gospel, our message of peace, joy, and happiness to our brothers and sisters that have not been fortunate enough to receive it. Tuesday morning, his companion left so he became the companion of me and Elder Campbell for a few hours. As we are walking him out to his parents, he teared a bit. I gave him a hug and said that he will be back out soon. He said to me " I don't call the shots here. I'll be out when it is right. Always remember to "trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not into thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct thy paths" (proverbs 3:5-6) then he went on his way. This is my message to all of you. We may not always understand where our why our lives are going. but if we rely on the Lord in all we do, he will take care of us. One of my favorite quotes is " Trusting in the Lord is means trust in his timing also".  

I love you all so much. Thank you for your support and kindness while I prepared to serve, and departed for, my mission,

Love,
Elder Andrew B. Lloyd

 

 

Me, my companion, and the two zone leaders before me. Elder Miller and Galbraith

This picture is hanging up in the hall. I don't care who you are, that takes some serious faith to be baptized  in that water!

Me and Elder Tofa. He left this morning to the Salt Lake City South Mission. That is where Mom, Dad and Brandon live now. I think Lisa does too. I am not sure about the rest of you; it is a big mission. Look out for him! He is one of my way good friends! If you see him, tell him I say hi and give him cookies! :)

 

Week 3

 

I cant believe I am already half way done!! This week was awesome!!   But things got a whole, whole lot busier. On Sunday we hasta ver (until we meet) 'ed a district. It was sad. I have allot of friends in that district. The departing district all bears their testimony then we sing hasta ver (in English its God Be With You Till We meet Again). In this district, are the Zone Leaders that welcomed me in. They are my best friends that I'm the closest to here aside from my District. It was really sad.  But we can always write letters. So, there was a void in the zone leadership so, they call me and Elder Campbell to be the zone leaders. I love the assignment allot!! but it is kinda hard. I was in meetings literally all day Sunday which is usually my relax and personal study time. Its all good though! As I serve faithfully, the Lord will bless me with help in Spanish as I will be missing classes a decent amount of time doing Zone Leader responsibilities.

Things are going great here!!

James 2:17-18 '' even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and i will shew thee my faith by my works" Faith is super important in our happiness as we go through our daily lives and the weaknesses and trials we have. but, as well as faith, we need to have actions for our faith is nothing unless we act on it.

I love you all!!

Thanks for all the support you have shown me and my family!!

Love,
Elder Andrew B Lloyd

 

 

Week 2

This week was AWESOME!!!

I cannot believe that it is already over! It flew by so fast! I love the Gospel so much and I absolutely CANNOT wait to be out in the field teaching our brothers and sisters in the California Long Beach Mission! I am really enjoying the MTC. It is a TON of study time and I really, really enjoy it! I just cant get enough Gospel in my life right now! Spanish is going good. It is quite difficult though. I have a stack of a little more then 200 flash cards that I go through every day. That sounds like a lot, but count all the words in this email. I can't say a whole lot at all in Spanish, but, if I try hard, I can almost get my point across to the person I am talking too. It is super frustrating, but its coming. I already have learned more in the past two weeks then i did in the 2.5 years of Spanish I took in middle school! The gift of Tongues is most definitely real! I can see it in my life so prevalently the past two weeks.

It is getting super crowded here. When I came in, the MTC president said that there are 2500 here, and by April, there will be 8000. That puts us at ahead about 700 missionaries each week! Tuesdays are pretty great because everyone leaves early Tuesday morning so i feel like I can take a breath and I'm not breathing someone else's air! It's so crowded! I can only imagine what its going to be like in 4 weeks when I leave, or in April when there are 8000 people here!!!

Helaman 5:12 reads "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation: that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." we need to always remember our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. If we build our lives around him, we cannot be brought down or destroyed. He will Always be there for us when we need him the most. He laid down his life for each and every one of us that we may be happy and receive exaltation.

With Love,
Elder Andrew B. Lloyd

Book of Mormon's from left to right: Polish, Spanish, Korean, Croatian, Afrikaans, Japanese, French, Russian. I thought the display was neat.

 

This is my journal and letter writing space.

Dad was right. This is just after one week in the MTC (I forgot to send it last week). My shoes are already worn out!! Good thing for polish!!

 

I never thought this day would come!

 



Spanish!

All of my Spanish materials are bigger then English. I thought it was funny!

Week 1

Hello Everybody!
     I cannot believe that is has already been a week!! Well, let me rephrase that; the first three days felt like three weeks, but the last four felt like one day!

     I absolutely LOVE it here at the MTC. The first few days were kind of rough; I am not going to lie, but after that, I have learned sooo much about myself, my companion Elder Campbell, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and Spanish. It has been by far the most productive and beneficial thing I have done to date.

     Spanish is very fun! It is difficult to learn, but I can personally testify that the Gift of Tongues is a reality and prayer by faith works!

     I have come to know what it means to "hunger for the Gospel". I mean, I have always "enjoyed" the Gospel, but, I have learned to LOVE its teachings and what it really means. I can honestly say I hunger to prayerfully read and study the Book of Mormon, just as much, if not more then I hunger for food. I have already learned so much in this passed week, I just do not even know what is left to learn for the next five weeks! Well, at least for the Gospel... there is always Spanish!!

     I have absolutely loved getting letters in the mail from you guys! You should ask my mom about dearelder.com. It is just like sending an email to me, but it is a lot more convenient for me because I am limited to 30 minutes on P-Day for Email.

     I have learned to love this scripture, among many many others. 1 Nephi 7:12   it reads "Yea, and how is it ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him."

     I love this scripture because through our faith, the Lord will do anything he can for us.

Day One

     Today was kind of rough. It was definitely a weird experience to walk away with a complete stranger; to not see my friends, family, or anything I know and love for two years. I will miss my nephews and nieces growing up. When I come home, the little ones probably wont recognize me, but that is okay for I am on the Lord's errand embarking upon one of my most important journeys of my life.

     They sit me down in my class room, and I met my district. They seem like good folks. We were all kind of sad, but excited for the journey we are on and nervous for the unknown. I haven't eaten all day; I had no appetite. I start to realize how hungry I am. My companion comes in and he is a pretty cool guy. Our teacher walks in and didn't speak one word of English. I had no idea what I was going to do, or what was going on, but I just knew things would be okay for I am consecrating all to the Lord. What can go wrong? After dinner, it was all downhill. I had no time to be home sick at all. I think this is going to be alright.

Picture is about 30 minutes before I left.