Email from December 28th

G'day

Hey it was great to be able to talk to every one on Christmas. After I had talked to everyone we went to help coordinate a Sister's funeral. I still have no clue what to say. She is about the only member in her family so maybe i will try to teach all of her family that are not members. I only have to talk for five minutes but that will still be hard to fill. Oh well.
Well not much else has happened since I just talked to you on Christmas, other than yesterday we were able to go to the family's house that had over for Christmas dinner and we started teaching the mom. She had a baby boy pass away about 18 years ago and she said that was the hardest thing for her to do in her life. Then we taught her and i think she really felt comfort in what we shared. That's what the gospel does though ehh!!
Oh thanks for the pictures I love to be able to see everyone. The branch Pres. has two boys that are 7 and 5 and the have a baby girl on the way so it is almost the same as Andrea and Rich's family.
Oh to answer about the food storage some people have food storage but not much. This one guy in Toukley had a huge fish tank in His garage and would raise and eat fish and he also used his swimming pool for a fish tank as well. He also had a bee farm thing that he would make honey and also candles from the wax.
We don't have much to do on new years but we are probably going to go bowling with some less active members new years eve, other than that all we have to do is deep clean our flats. President Scruggs has told us during the holidays that we have to get our flat clean because we can't really tract or anything during the holidays.
Well i better get going. it was good talking to everyone.
Love ya heaps!
Love Elder Andreasen

Email from December 21st

G'day
Wow that's crazy to here about all the snow and ice over there. It sounds so wierd to me right now because it is so hot here. I think I would rather have a white Christmas. It is hard for me to realize that it is Christmas because I am so used to it being cold.
This week we went down to Sydney for our Christmas Zone conference. That was really fun. we went down Thursday. Then friday we went to the temple had a little temple devotional then we went to a chapel had a big lunch then watched some MOVIES. That was way fun we watched Fred Clause and also Iron Man. Then we received all of our Christmas packages. And that took up the whole day it was great fun. Then on saturday we drove back to Dubbo.
For Christmas we we invited to a couple of different places for lunch we will only be able to make it to 2 of them for lunch. Then yesterday we went to visit an investigator and we were talking about christmas and then they invited us for dinner, and for lunch we are going to some non members house and also for the other lunch a less actives house. Ohhh yeah we also get to sleep in on christmas.
Oh just to answer the q's NO that was not my toe that was Elder Weston's. After about a few weeks of when I was with him he decided to go to the doctors about it so we went and they couldn't remove it till january so he decided to do it himself.
Well we decided to try a new place to email because it is free but this place only has one computer so we have to share . So I am going to let Elder Tobiassen email now, but everything is going really well here in the outback of hot Dubbo.
Love ya heaps
Love Elder Blake Andreasen

Email from December 14th

G'day

Hey we didn't end up going to Lightning Ridge this weekend but I will make it up there this next month. What kind of opal would you like Reddens was just a cheap boulder opal from Queensland. The opal that you can get from LR is black opal it can get very pretty.
just to answer some questions.
Dubbo is the farthest west the mission goes and the branch area is about the size of Utah so Lightning Ridge is part of the branch and there are about 8 members up there and we are to go and give them the sacrament every now and then, then just spend some time with them.
Elder Tobiassen and I are serving as the counselors in the branch presidency but within the next few months I think they will be able to fill the positions with members.
That hotel we stayed at with the dead mouse was in Brewarrina the hotel was right above the pub. So we had to walk into the pub to get our key. haha that was a good night.?
haha the pooping toys were funny I wasn't embarrassed you shouldn't either.
well I better get going thanks for the emails love ya heaps!!!
Love Elder Andreasen.
oh I think the last phone card you bought will still work and it has heaps of minutes

Some New Pictures!

Email from December 7th

G'day mum,

Hey we just got transfer calls yesterday, and Elder Heslop is moving to Springwood and my new companion is Elder Tobiassen.
Elder Tobiassen is from western Australia close to were elder brown was from i guess they new each other before .
this week not much happened, other than transfers.
You will have to forgive me of me typing the keyboard I am using is weird.
this next week we are going back up to lightning ridge and other places so I will so if we can stop again in that little town to email.
the branch is slowly getting bigger out here in Dubbo ( let me know how you were saying it) since Elder Heslop has been here 3 families have moved in, also i don't know how much longer we will have to have the branch presidency positions. Pres Scruggs is coming out this next week for some business so i will see him quickly then head up to lightning ridge.
Well i am excited to serve out here with elder Tobiassen I think we will be able to get a lot done out here. He has been out just shorter than me.
You should get that package sometime this week. I sent some Vegiemite and more tim tams but someone said they don't let that stuff in anymore so we will see what goes through.
well we have to head down to Sydney now to go to transfers so I will take off

Thanks love ya heaps~

Love Elder Andreasen

E-Mail from November 30th

G'day mom
Hey so sorry I don't have any time to write much. I forgot to write Dad last week so I spent most of the time writing him this week.
I am sending a package this week so that can be my sorry present.
Oh don't erase the pictures again
Love ya heaps
Elder Andreasen

Email from November 23rd

G'day mum,

Yeah this week we went down to Sydney for Zone Conference, that was really good. I just love zone conference because you learn so much, then you go back to your area excited and ready to do the Lord's work the Lord's way. I just wish I could always get that boost not just once or twice a transfer (6 weeks).

After zone conference Pres. Scruggs interviewed the bush Elders. That is us in Dubbo and Bathurst. I went to zone conference hoping I would get 2 packages the one with the cookies then my glasses. the glasses were not there. but at the interview President called the office to see if another package arrived and it did. So that was really lucky.

Thanks for the cookies they somehow got through customs but by the time I got them they were pretty old. Those little Halloween toys are pretty disturbing. Pooping in a trick or treat bag LOL. I got the memory card and I will send the other on soon. This new card has alot of pics from the zoo. So could you send some to Hayden when it gets there. Because he and Kylie wanted to know what kind of animals I see here.

I will send some other stuff as well I think I will send something for Redden's baptism. When is that again? soon eh?

OH I almost forgot. Our Branch presidents wife is American so she had us all ( Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange senior couple) over for Thanksgiving Dinner. We played horse shoes and watch a football movie that president said we could watch. So that was really fun.

We don't hear much at all about prop 8 out here in Dubbo. I am not sure if they do in Sydney. I bet they would a bit in Sydney especially in the south mission on the coast because that is like a gay capitol over here?

Yes i got a package from grandma about 5 weeks ago will you tell her thanks for me. It had some cloths and candy in it. That was really nice of her I really enjoyed what she sent.

All I got this time when i went to Sydney was those 2 packages from you and a letter from you with with Jazz info, then a letter from Grandma Janice, and that's about all the past little while.

President Ryan the branch president is a big football fan his favorite team is the Chargers so he is keeping me updated on that, just last week my Steelers beat the Chargers 10 to 11. He was pretty upset about that.

Hey just one question about the NBA who is Oklahoma City I forgot. It looks like they are having a hard season 1 win 12 loss's. 10 losing streak pretty sad. Maybe you should cheer for them maybe they will win.

Well i better get going I think mine is a bit more of a novel than yours

Love ya heaps and thanks

Love Elder Blake Andreasen

E-Mail from November 16th

Hey Elder Heslop and i found a little email library in one of the bush towns we were driving through, so i am able to email this week.
Hey just so you don't feel bad about long emails, I love it the only reason I don't have much time is because Elder Heslop doesn't email so I try not to stay on too long because I don't want to take up much of his time.
Yesterday after church (we only went to sacrament meeting) we started on our way up to lightning ridge. we went through a few other towns were some members lived to catch up with them. we left Dubbo at 12 and got to Lightning Ridge at 8. I think it was about 6 to 7 hours of driving.
If you get the chance look up Lightning Ridge on the net . It is famous for opal's I think next time I am up there I will get some to show you.
we are in Walget now and we are going to spend the night at Brewarina then we are driving to Dubbo then the next day to Sydney then back the next.
well I better get going love ya heaps!!
Elder Andreasen

Tracting at the Zoo

G'day mum
This week was pretty interesting, we went to the Zoo a couple of times. Dubbo missionaries get to go to the zoo because it is an interesting place to serve. As soon as I get the other memory card back I will send this one. I haven't received those packages yet with the cookies or memory card. The only time we get those is at zone conference or at transfers, so zone conference is not this Wednesday but the next hopefully i will get them then.
We also went 10 pin bowling this week on some spare time. That was pretty fun some how I did really good. I got 148 which is the best I've ever done, and I had a really good shot on a split.
Wow I only have a couple more minutes i just realized, tell Jen thanks for the email.
This week was good, Dubbo has a lot of people that could make a big part of this branch, miracles are waiting to happen. I just hope and pray soon.
This next week i will not be able to email at the usual time because we are doing a lot of travelling. We are going to visit some members that live clear out in the bush.
well love ya heaps!!
Elder Andreasen

E-Mail from November 2nd

G'day

Hey sorry to here about your kidney stones hopefully you can get over them quickly. That's good that you have hook ups in the hospital though.
Well we had 2 trick or treaters which were our next door neighbors but Halloween isn't really celebrated over here. Some get kinda mad because they say its an American holiday. We went tracting but didn't get any candy.
Well my new area is Dubbo. Dubbo is a small Branch. The area is pretty much all outback NSW, the area is about the size of the state of Utah. Pretty crazy eh. I am in the branch presidency, there were 17 people at church yesterday. it will be interesting to be serving here but i am sure it will be fun.
Elder Heslop is my companion he is cool. he is from New Zealand. He is white though not Maori. He is 23 but looks a lot older.

Everything is well in Dubbo it will be really fun to serve here it looks like there is a lot of potential in Dubbo. Oh i forget to tell you what I need. I don't know if its allergies or what but my eyes get this goop stuff in them and they mess up my contacts and some other missionaries broke my glasses, so could you maybe go to Sam's club and see if they have the record of my frames and prescription and get me some new ones that is the only thing I really need. I am pretty well looked after both spiritually and physically well i better go love ya heaps!!!!
Elder Andreasen

Letter from the Mission Home

Starting November 10, 2008 the Australia Sydney North Mission will be moving locations.
The new address to send letters for Blake is:

Letters:
Australia Sydney North Mission
P.O. Box 2723
Carlingford Court, NSW 2118
Australia

Packages:
Australia Sydney North Mission
756 Pennant Hills Road
Carlingford NSW 2118
Australia

They also requested to mail Christmas packages to Blake that you should do it six weeks prior to Christmas to ensure that they do receive them, and to please DO NOT send them as cargo packages because they need to be picked up instead of delivered to the Mission Home

E-mail From October 26th Brings Another Transfer

G'day
I have a lot of news today. I was able to watch general Conference Sat and Sunday. That was good its been like 4 weeks since you saw it. I really enjoyed Elder Uchtdorf's talk on Saturday, and i always enjoy Elder Holland.
Well they are closing down Tamworth for a little while, because of the lack of work. There will be missionaries coming back but not for a couple of months. So that means Elder Weston and I are getting moved. elder Weston is going to Maitland which is pretty close to Newcastle. Then I guess President Scruggs decided I didn't get enough time out in the bush, so he is sending me out to Dubbo. My new companion is Elder Heslop. I have mixed feelings about going there but I know that there is a reason for it. Today we have to drive 5 hours to Sydney then tomorrow probably about 5 to Dubbo. I will let you know next week what Dubbo and Elder Heslop are like.
Man this week was pretty fun we went to the water falls it was really cool. I took a heap of videos and pics for you. Oh! and the drive from Tamworth to Port Mac is awesome you go through this rain forest thing that is all just turns left and right weaving up and down it is pretty fun. I will tell you how the drive is to Dubbo.
It will be interesting knocking on doors on Halloween, they kinda celebrate it over here. its not big at all though. I wonder if people will give us candy. Candy over here is pretty expensive, but I guess the pay is more over here so i guess it works out.
Everything is going well I didn't forget the questions but ask them again and I will answer them cause I gotta get on the road.
Love you Heaps!!!
-Elder Andreasen

E-Mail from October 19, 2008

Hey Mom don't have much time so can you make sure everyone gets this: (as you can see he really gets tied up doing stuff :) )
G'day
Hey that was pretty crazy to hear about those 2 missionaries. I never really got to know those 2 missionaries very well. It’s good to hear that they are ok now.
Today we are in Port Macquarie which is about a 3 1/2 hour drive from Tamworth, we drove here this morning. We are here to spend preparation day and to have distinct meeting tomorrow. The Elders here Are Elder Miller and Elder Reichter. After we are finished emails we will go play 10 pin and then go to these cool waterfall places so I will take some pics from it.
This week was a pretty good week. Tamworth is still in the finding stage of things. We had an exchange with the Zone leader both companionships were in our area so we got a lot done. I was with Elder Brown my trainer, who just got moved up to Grafton because an investigator fell in love with the other missionary who was up there. But it was good the exchange we found 6 new investigators this week with high hopes of helping them progress. Elder Weston went with the zone leader elder Butters. It was a pretty good week.
Anyway to answer some questions….
Oh I still haven’t been able to watch general conference because the DVD’s still haven’t arrived. uhhg! haha I might get the ensign before I get to watch it :-)
I bought some pants, so don't worry about buying me some. I just want to make sure they fit well before you get them.
The weather here is really starting to warm up.

Well I sent you that email that president sent to me.
It’s great to here that all the things that could have gone wrong with them didn't. The Lord is really watching over us his servants. This is the Lords work so he will protect us.
Thanks gotta go
Love you Heaps!!
-Elder Blake Andreasen

E-Mail from October 12, 2009

G'day
Hey sounds like you had a pretty fun trip to Oregon except for Jessi waking you up. thanks for sending those pics its always good to see whats going on and how much all the little ones have grown, i think Madi has grown the most. Either her or Redden's hair! HAHA I couldn't help but laugh about Lindsay calling Tech support : )
Oh so i don't forget i will answer Q's

The farthest north our mission goes is Grafton and the farthest west is Dubbo. There are only a few bush area though.
on the east is Grafton, Armidale Coff's harbor, port Macquarie, Tamworth, then sometimes they open up a branch for a couple transfers then on the west is Dubbo, Bathurst, orange, they sometimes open up a branch as well.
Pretty much all we do is cold contacting, tracting or um tracting. they we go around and offer a lot of service. But you do get success though doing it things are really picking up in Tamworth. I just pray that people will take what they learn and nourish it and see if it goes. like Alma 32 explains . but definitely things are picking up.
well just so you know we have 1 zone conference every 6 weeks and it is about the 3rd week of the transfer. so the next one is in about 5 weeks and that is when we get packages oh but the one for Christmas is on the 18. oh the mission office is moving so the address might change i am not sure what will go on with that it will be in Carlinford next to the Temple.
well i cant think of anything that i want or need. socks shirts, i think i will buy a pair of slacks today so i don't need that um.... oh can you send the talk "profile of a prophet" i think it is by Hugh B Brown?
Well I don't have much time love ya heaps.
Love Elder Andreasen

E-mail from October 6th

Hey sorry i didn't write yesterday it was Labor Day so everything was closed.
We had to find a new place to Email because the place they were doing it at
before was pretty sketchy, so we found a nice little library, in Tamworth
there aren't many places to email.
Well don't have much time cause we are doing service for some aboriginal families
to day . Elder Weston is from Albany he is 21 and he has been out 6 weeks less
than me the car stays in the area unless it needs to be moved for some reason.
Tamworth is a country town its pretty cool. There are quite a few aboriginal
people here they are the equivalent of native Americans. Elder Vogel is in
Armidale which is the closest missionaries to us which is about 2 hrs drive. We
both got sent out to the bush.
Thanks for the package sorry to say not much worked from it the only thing i got
was the Reese's but that was worth it i shared with other missionaries and they
all say you are the coolest. The McDonald's card didn't work so i will send it
back. Thanks heaps for that though .Well sorry today was short and probably jumpy but
gotta go,
Love you heaps
Elder Blake Andreasen
Tell everyone hi!
PS: Jessi is so cute

E-Mail from September 28th

G'day

Hey that was an email from President Scruggs, about voting i didn't open the attachment though.
Hey I heard about the banks and stuff sounds like things are going crazy over there. Its pretty crazy to see how big America is all over the world alot of people start talking to me about that cause they know i am from there. Anyway about voting cause I don't watch TV or news or anything, it sounds like Obama will win? who sounds better to you?
Well things are going well in Tamworth just still trying to find solid people to teach, the ward is really small there was about 30 people at church yesterday. Elder Weston and I have to bless the sacrament every week and them sometimes we have to teach Sunday school. Tamworth is only big enough to be a branch but it used to be huge so its a ward.
Well there isn't much going on to tell you about, so if you have more questions fell free to ask so then i will be able to explain more about things here.
Question answer time

Yes that was WML Bro Geerlings house that we have hats on, I had church pants on because we had done service for someone earlier and my pants were all dirty and I think I lent out my shorts so I just wore those. but I don't need any clothes.

So are things getting really dire over there because of the finance's. Things over here are very dire not because of the banks in America its just the way it is I guess. We went and found a place in Tamworth that sells root beer and Reese's root beer was 2.60 a can I don't remember how much the Reese's were but that is expensive. when candy bars are on special the are 1.00 and over there its like 4 for a dollar. this is probably one of the more expensive missions.
Well better go.

Thanks heaps and

love you heaps!!
Love Elder Blake Andreasen

Memory Card #3

Its Almost Like Christmas!!!

We received his 3rd memory card today :) Some pictures and videos to follow soon.

"What a Stud"

E-Mail from September 21st

G'day y'all
Hey this is my first email from Tamworth. I just want to explain a little bit about Tamworth. Tamworth used to be the place where missionaries got sent because they were bad. So now under President Scruggs he is trying to change things around. So a lot of people don't really trust missionaries because of the past ones. Tamworth was just reopened 3 months ago so there is not much going on here. Right now we are just trying to build up our teaching pool, we have a couple people we are working with, one of them we were able to get to church with us this last week. There hasn't been a baptism here for over a year and the ones then are all less active they just liked the missionaries so they got baptized.
Things are going pretty well though Elder Weston and I are getting along great. He has been in Tamworth for 3 months. oh the ward here is tiny at church there was about 30 people there 75 % of the ward is less active. I just pray that we will be able to help the ward here. They have a big chapel because the ward used to be big.
And just to answer some questions; yes i am still senior comp, and yes we have a car, oh and the money........ at the start of the mission you get a credit card and each month the mission puts your disbursement in, it is usually about 300 AUS dollars . Mum thanks for the b-day package the ties are good. I haven't tried on the shirts yet but one of them said generous fit ? does that mean fat fit or slim fit? the CTR thing i thought that it ran out of batteries then one day it just started flashing.
OOOppsss I still haven't sent my memory card yet please forgive me I will send it today with some pics of Tamworth.
well better get going love you heaps !!
love Elder Andreasen

Email from Sept 14th (Transfer to Tamworth)

Blake is being transferred to Tamworth, Australia. Its about 4 1/2 hours north of Toukley were he is has served for the last 4 1/2 months. He is also getting a new companion Elder Weston who is from Western Australia from a town call Albany. This is the big guitar he mentioned in his letter.



Hey mom got some news I am getting a new companion after being with Elder Vogel for 4 1/2 months and after Elder Vogel being in Toukley, for 7 1/2 months we are both getting moved with new companions. For some reason the Lord needs me to serve in Tamworth it will be pretty cool though because it is like the Nashville of Australia, I guess when you drive into town there is a big golden guitar. I am going to really miss Toukley, I got pretty close to the ward mission leader Bro Rolf Geerlings, and others. So today elder Vogel and I spent most of our time cleaning the flat because sisters are getting transferred in. My bags are getting pretty heavy i will probably leave a lot of stuff when I fly back so I am not too worried about that. oh yeah my new companion is Elder Weston he is also from Western Australia from a place called Albany. He came out a transfer after me and he is already in Tamworth so he will know the area better than I do.
Oh yeah Suzie, for Elder Vogel and I's birthday, she bought us some awesome didgeridoo? ( i can't spell) they are so cool and it sounds a lot better than the one i made out of toilet paper tubes.:)
If i didn't say last week already "Thanks for the package. i loved it well the past couple of days have been really nice it got up to about 100 degree's on Saturday, i think summer will be really hot. everyone says it gets hot in Tamworth ( just look Tamworth up on the Internet and Google earth).
to answer some questions
i have heard from Collette in a while and i did get bishop's letter it was crazy to hear about that crazy bike ride.
I get an occasional note from siblings but not to often i think since i have gotten email the have each written me once about?
and i am sending the memory card this week.
well better get going i am looking forward to be able to serve in the country music capitol of Australia with elder Weston. i know i will be there for a reason thanks for everything love you heaps!!
-Elder Andreasen

Email from September 7th (Blake's Birthday)

G'day

HAHA that's funny to hear about Mysti. I hope she gets better though. That is also cool to hear about that lady from work. It is so much fun to be able to share the gospel. Its kinda like an adrenaline rush and you just want to keep doing it over and over. It's just cool to be able to share not just your beliefs but your testimony with others it kind of addicting. I just wish the members here could find that same addiction and joy. It is pretty hard to try to find people to teach the best way is to have the members find them and the missionaries teach at members homes. Hopefully Elder Vogel and I can help the members here catch the drift.
Well everything is going pretty well just kinda the same me birthday was pretty much the same as any other day. Just some people said happy birthday. Suzie said she had something planned for Elder Vogel's and I's birthday because his is 2 weeks later she is doing something on Friday for us.

Well transfers are coming up and it would be highly unlikely if things didn't change. I am pretty sure Elder Vogel will finally get moved from Toukley cause he has been here his whole mission 7 1/2 months. so i will probably get a new comp here. We will see though its just whatever the Lord wants.

Oh and yes i got the package thanks for that its great to be able to have some good candy. Candy here is really expensive. hey just next package you send. just the only thing they don't have here that i miss is stuff made by Hershey's. like Reese's anything sticks, pieces, cups. hey a member gave me a secret to get jerky over hear. don't write it on the paper that goes on the front of the box and wrap it like it is a birthday or Christmas present.
thanks for that just saw the time and gotta run love ya heaps!!!!!

-Elder Blake Andreasen

Email from August 31st

Mum,

Its Monday morning about 10:20 here in Australia. This is about the time that I email every week. Today is preparation day and you guessed it we are going to play rugby again. I am pretty tired because we live in Flats 2 in 1. But anyway the flat next to us was having a big party. I think about 3am I woke up and I don't think I got back to bed till about 5am then had to wake up at 6:30 just like every other morning. At least i got a laugh out of it. I was able to here a lot of the conversation.

I will clue you in on the story.

AJ and Scotty had a little argument. People were trying to separate them and calm things down. They took AJ to the balcony (which is right next to our balcony from our room) and they were trying to calm him down. This took quite awhile because as you can imagine a couple of drunk guys trying to calm down an even more inebriated guy would take awhile. After about 20 minutes of this they finally convinced him to say sorry to Scotty, so i assume AJ was at fault?. so they call for Scotty and after about 5 min of trying to get someone to get Scotty, the word comes that Scotty doesn't want to talk with AJ because he is still upset. This just makes AJ even more upset then he was at the start. Then the rest of Story i don't think i caught quite enough of it because it didn't make sense to me. Something about how AJ has to go home but i guess he didn't go home because after waking up, and starting our study the party was still going and AJ was still there. Pretty interesting eh!

I wanna know how and why AJ stayed?

So even though i didn't get much sleep i still enjoyed last night.

Hey sorry to hear about the accident going to Grace. Speaking of Grace Elder Callister is now in our Area Presidency his wife grew up in Grace I don't remember her name though.

Oh, sorry to hear about Mysti maybe she is in a suitcase. I remember once she got in my suitcase then she wasn't able to get out?

Oh last Saturday was Mormon Helping hands day. It was pretty fun because the 3 wards in central coast went to the beach and planted trees. That was fun Suzie and 1 of her daughters came. There was a BBQ after 3 hours of planting trees, everyone ended up having a good time. All the missionaries did too because we were on the sand for about 3 hours :-) Well we have to catch the train down to Gosford soon so I better get going.

Oh but i will answer questions first I am not sure if Australia gets Hurricanes i haven't heard of any ever hitting Australia but i don't know. but i did hear about the one headed for New Orleans just yesterday from an investigator that's pretty crazy they are telling every one to evacuate.but a hurricane would be pretty bad were we are . i guess last June there was a bunch of flooding here not from a hurricane just from rain.the weather is generally nice its kinda of and on Saturday was sunny as Sunday was rainy today is sunny again but its usually nice well gotta go thanks love you heaps!!-

Elder Blake Andreasen

Email from August 24th

G'day mum,

Hey everything is still going really well in Toukley. We have another baptismal date for September the 13th. so we are really excited about that. It is really cool that Suzie is already helping us with missionary work.

Let me answer a few questions now.
You don't have to worry about writing a lot i don't get that many emails or letters so its good, Dan just told Jeff to write only a few paragraphs because everyone was writing him.

The weather over here is interesting its coming into spring here but winter is weird it gets cold but they have no protection on their houses from cold (like double pain and insulation) so at night it gets really cold . the past few days it has rained off and on, but i think as we start going into September it will start warming up?

Well you will have to let me know how Dan and Laura went In South Africa because there is a kid going to Johannesburg(i can't spell....) SA on his mission. His cousin from Dural ward is in Cape Town so that will be interesting for that family.

I think during the winter the big spiders hid a little I still see them but not as many any more. the biggest ones I see are Huntsman spiders that are harmless. the most deadly ones i see are little red back spiders if you get bit your chances are slim. I still haven't seen the Sydney Funnel web spiders those ones i think are the most deadly in the world, and i guess they are big and aggressive. Right now the only things that i really see are birds you will have to look up what kind of noise's they make cause they are weird.
(remember I can't spell)
Coocaburra ......... Monkey noise
Kokatoo ......... annoying cry noise
Oh yeah! then about this time of season there are a couple of birds that start swooping at you when you are in their territory they are crazy.
Well everything is going good thanks for everything and thanks for the prayers Elder Vogel and I are doing well in Toukley Love you heaps!!
-Elder Blake Andreasen

Email from August 17th

G'day
Just to start off with a few answers to questions. Suzie was baptized this last weekend it was an awsome experience, to be able to see some one walk into church and 3 weeks later get baptized. Elder Vogel baptized her on saturday and I confirmed her on sunday, then later that day we drove down to the fireside with Elder Callister( his wife is frome Grace).
Her baptism dress is the same dress she wore for something kinda like a prom. 2 of the triplets live at home 1 boy 1 girl the other triplet is a girl and the older boy is in the navy in Darwin NT. Well things are going great here in toukley its not every week you have someone like Suzie walk in and want to be baptized and start helping us teach people. the other missionaries envy us now because miracles like that don't happen very often.
Today some other zone members are coming up to toukley chapel and we are going to play some basketball. most of the zone is american now it's kinda weird. usually there are some kiwi's or ausie's in a zone but not any more.
Well time is going really fast for me and i think its only been 8 months not 9? but anyway its seems to fly week by week. Alot of the contacting we do is cold the members don't help us find very often, we maybe get a couple refferals a month.
thanks for the pics of the kids i am going to have to send home my card soon there are some good pics and stuff on it.

Well gotta go love you heap!!
-Elder Blake Andreasen

Cool quote "Hope is the thought before the Faith" -Elder Andreasen "The Bible Ends" -Elder Callister (talking about the apostacy

Email from August 10, 2008

G'day mum,

Hey I have some really good news Suzie that lady that walked in 3 weeks ago is getting baptized this weekend on the 16th. She is really excited. She used to be Catholic but she didn't agree with some of the beliefs. She started searching and that is how she found us. She found out early that the book of Mormon is true. So she has been able to receive all the truths joyfully. She is 44 with 18 year old triplets. Well I am really excited for that as well. She was so prepared it’s not funny. Her baptism is this weekend so this week we will focus on that.
Oh on the 17-19 we get to go to Sidney for some firesides one is with Elder Cook and them some of the area presidency is coming. I am looking forward to that as well.

Today we are going down to Gosford to play rugby again, so I don't have much time to write but to answer some questions:
I don't hear much from other people it’s probably because I don't write back much so that is my fault it’s just hard for me to sit down and write or even type well we are not having a zone conference this transfer because of those fireside's but we should get packages either at interviews which is the first week of September or at transfers which is the 16th of September. so I am not sure when I would receive your package , but could you maybe put some of those slim fit shirts that we got they fit really well. Maybe one of each long and short sleeve. Thanks. Oh yeah my ward mission leader here is really cool he and his family love tootsie rolls. I let them try those ones that you sent oh and I haven’t seen a koala yet just kangaroo's and some other weird stuff, but I don't think you would like a koala they just sleep allot ;-) Hey could you tell me who is on the American basketball team this year. some of the members like basketball so they always tell me that America doesn't have a good team cause they lost last time thinks Woy Woy is a suburb just below Gosford that is where elder brown was serving but now he got moved down to Sydney in Chatswood. That one thing about Australia they have weird suburb names.
well gotta go
Love you heaps!!
-Elder Andreasen
P.S its ok that you got my birthday wrong I don't even proof read mine no time too :)

E-Mail from August 3, 2008

Hey Mom
Well just to answer a few of you questions first. It is transfer week but Elder Vogel and I are staying here in Toulkey, Toulkey is awesome it is an interesting area and you meet some interesting people but I love it. All the missionaries when they leave this area say it was their favorite. Oh yes I got those packages you sent me and will you tell Grandma Lyn thanks for her package as well. All the other missionaries are jealous of my ties now. They will probably end up getting swapped around though soon. Well last week after I wrote that email to you about my sore throat everything just got worse I had a pretty good cold for a couple days but I am fine now. The next Zone conference is in about 3 weeks at the end of August then the one after that will be about half way through September.
Sorry it will be a couple more weeks before I will be able to send another memory card back I just have to fill it up first.
Hey can you do me a favor. Can you send me a cd or jump drive with all the photo's I have sent home on it. Cause so we can remember some of the people that we served with and around we make what we call "sign pages" pretty much it’s a cool way of saying scrap booking but it’s pretty fun.
well other than being sick this week was pretty good Suzie (the lady that walked in a few weeks ago) and her daughter came to church I think they like it Suzie used to be a catholic so she is really enjoying finding the full truth and she is really clinging to it. We are having dinner with her tonight and we will try to set a date for her baptism tonight. We are working with a few other people but they are going pretty slow.
Sounds like you had a pretty full on week with the grandkids and all. Sounds like redden and Austin are still crack up its funny to hear about them and their stories.
Hey make Brent and Griff Come over and look at photo's they need to do something other than what I guess they are probably doing. I bet it will entertain you as well.
So what would you like from Australia I will keep my eyes open for stuff that you would like?
Well for prep day we are going to woy woy to have a barbie. So that should be pretty fun. Oh did I tell you a couple of weeks ago our zone leader was arm wrestling Elder Brown and elder Brown was about to lose then all of a sudden the ZL'ers arm broke. It broke were his bicep is so now he has plate s and bolts for an arm.
He is fine though he is a big tough Tongan Elder he is funny as too!
Well thanks for everything love you heaps!

-Elder Andreasen

Email from July 27th

G-day mum (that's how they say it in Australia) I am doing really good. I am pretty lucky I guess a lot of people in the mission are sick right now (the N on the keyboard doesn't work well, so sorry if some stuff is hard to understand) I had a cold sore about 4 months ago but it went away really fast. In used that Novitra stuff. The past couple of days I have had a sore throat, but it is not slowing me down any. It has been pretty cold over here nothing like 102. Everything is going awesome though.
Over here is a lot like the U.S so I can’t think of any decorations or anything that you would like but I will keep an eye out.
I think my release date will be about December 22 or 23 so it looks like your picking me up from the air port just before Christmas what a good Christmas present :)
Well we had something really cool happen the past week. Last Sunday this lady walked into church with some encouragement from a guy in the US sharing the gospel over the internet :) just like this month’s ensign. Cool Ay. She said she was interested and maybe her 2 kids as well we went by started teaching and this next week they are all coming to church. just this last Sunday she pulled me aside and asked me how she goes about getting baptized, pretty cool the way the lord works. He is always preparing people we just have to work hard to be able to receive the blessings from Him.
Any questions just ask
Well better get going love y'all heaps!!
-Elder Andreasen

E-Mail from July 20th

G-day

Hey sorry this week will be short we have some other missionary's from Toronto NSW and the library gave their computers to some one else.
Everything is going really well.
Just to answer the question's Elder Brown is a DL in Woy Woy which is in my zone so I see him fairly often and Elder Harrison is in Parramata and I never see him.
Rugby is fun you can only pass the ball backwards its pretty cool.
Yesterday was really cool. This lady came to church that seems pretty interested. I guess she has been talking to this member from North Carolina. pretty cool ah? Just like the ensign this month said about sharing the gosple over the internet.


Well I better let the other missionaries have some time thanks love ya heaps!!!

Email from July 13, 2008

Hey well this week was ok, nothing bad happened and nothing good happened. Haha that's funny to here about Jay. OH sorry i forgot to tell you last week that's fine if Nat takes the computer, but i might have to do some work on it when I get home to get the TV card working for it. I think last week I said anyone can email me but i think I forgot to say that I can only email family back
We have Zone confereence this week on wednesday that will be good to go to. It is school holidays right now so we can't get a hold of some of our Investigators. so things are pretty slow right now. We did start teaching 2 kids from texas that are over here for the summer they are 16 and 18 they don't really believe in God but we were able to get them to pray and they have had really good experiences with that. So other that that not much is happening.
Man after reading your E-mail I really miss Del-Taco now I am really hungry, next time just don't write about Cafe Rio. :) they don't have much mexican food over here. they places to eat are; Hungry Jacks (burger King) Mcdonalds, KFC, Subway, chinese take away, or fish and chips shops. I will have to send more Tim Tam's and some milo. is there anything else you want to try? oh have you had Vegimite? its not very good but i think i could get used to it, what sport season is it over there? over here its just rugby all year long then sometimes there's soccer and cricket, but those aren't as cool as rugby
How is Zane doing in Madagascar? Is Nick Salisbury in Texas? How is Griff and Brent doing? Don't worry about writing alot I can e-mail for about 2 hours before i have to start paying for it, so i have heaps of time to read.
Oh yeah there is a member from the ward that is going to Utah for a wedding they said they might give you a call. I think he is Canadian but they live here they are pretty well off. They are the James family. Is there anything you want they said they could bring stuff over for you because they will pack light so they can buy stuff over there and be able to bring it back, cause stuff over there is cheap? I have a Question on your email's it says there is a small attachment then i open it and its little purple and blue dots about a square inch big, are you sending that? Can you send me some email addresses everyone like bro's sister parents so I can Email them. Don't be afraid to ask questions it is easier for me to remember what i wanted to write
Thanks Love You Hepas!!!
-Elder Blake Andreasen

E-Mail from July 6, 2008

G-day (blake with tattoos?)

Sorry I wasn't able to E-mail last week our Zone Leaders wanted us to go down to Gosford to play rugby. We are playing it again this week. I am pretty good at it and it is really fun, maybe when I get back I will have to show me and my mates how to play.

The baptism went really well last week. Caitlin and her family are moving in the next couple of weeks to Cessnock. But it sounds like the mom wants to try to stay active, and she even said her brother that lives in Cessnock wants to come back to church as well. So that is really cool to hear.

Just to answer a few questions:
Yes anyone can E-mail me. but I don't want to spend my whole time reading Email so when people write other than Close family they have to have a really good reason,

So I left my bag at a train station , and my camera got stolen nothing else in the bag was stolen, but the funny thing is, is that there were all these pass along cards with a picture of Jesus on it, in front of the camera. So I think they felt kind of guilty.


Well sorry I have to go or we will miss our train to Gosford. Everything is going good I won’t get that package for about another week so I won’t be able to send pics back till I get that memory card

Love ya Heaps
-Elder Andreasen

Letter from June 24th

(the email beats the postal service) :)
Hey Family,
Sorry todays letter is going to be short. We just got back from playing touch rugby. We dont have much time till we have to be out of the flat.
Hey Elder Vogel and I have a baptism coming up this weekend. Her name is Katelyn she is 10 years old. She is way excited.
Transfers are in a week so next letter I will tell you if anything changes. Hope everything is going well. Everything is going awesome in Toukley. We have a couple of investigators that look promising. Alot of them are from less active famlies, so Elder Vogel and I are trying to baptize and reactivate it is a hard process but I know that with hard work and prayer it will happen.
I have some bad news though. I was on an exchange in Toronto with Elder Miller (DL) and we were waiting at a train station for a train. I had 2 bags, 1 with clothes and 1 with church material. I was solving a rubiks cube (which i know how to do now :) )and the train came so I grabbed my bag and walked on to the train and just as we started moving I saw my bag (the one with materials in it) it was by the bench I was sitting on. We exchanged back and I asked the other Elders to ask the station for my bag. The station found my bag in a bathroom and they stole my camera from it. So... that kinda stinks.
I will look around at some shops and see if they have Sonys that can use the same memory card.
Well everything else is going awesome in Australia, Love you heaps!!
Elder Blake Andreasen

PS I will email next week, I just got my address so next week I'll email you. I can only email family!!

Email from Monday June 23rd

Well i don't want to write too much if this is the wrong address, but Australia is going good. It is they start of a new transfer, but nothing changed same comp, same area. I bought a new camera it is a sony so it will take that 1 card that I have left so that is good. The camera was on clearance at Dick Smith, so it wasn't too bad. I will just have to put pics on a DVD to send them home or something, maybe I will look for a cheap card?

Well that all I will put 'till I find out if i guessed the Email right.


Elder Andreasen

Letter from June 13th

Mom,
G-day! It's Monday the 9th of June, its a public holiday (Queen's Birthday) here so good thing it's prep-day. There are a lot more holidays here because Australia is a lot more laid back so they just come up with things to get off work. No one even cares about the queen here. Elder Vogel & I went & played ball at the church with the Mclelland boys, they are like 22 and 26. They are pretty funny.
Katelyn, the 10 year old is going to get baptized on the 22nd. So that's exciting! Her Mom, Kylie is LA & she is struggling financially right now. She has 2 kids Shannon (13), Katelyn (10). We have had to try to find ridws for them to church cause she doesnt have petrol in the car.
Sorry to hear about the kidney stones again. :( I hope that all goes well wtih that. It's good to hear that the "BU" is doing well. Did you get it a bright pink furry steering wheel cover? :) To match the bright pink floor mats Jeff got for it. J/K she wouldnt like that.
Well things are going good down under in Toukley ward. Sorry I don't write much. But hey I get to email next week:)! Well its about time to go
Thanks and Love you heaps
Elder Andreasen

Letter from June 6th

G-day,
Hi! Everyone I just want to write and tell you a little bit about Toukley & Central Coast.
Toukley Ward covers over 30 suburbs. Pretty Crazy huh? Our zone is pretty small it only has 5 areas, and 10 missionaries. My zone leaders are Elder D'fahulu (New Zealand) and Elder Frame (Boise, Idaho). We have the youngest zone in the mission. 3 trainees are being trained in the zone. There are 4 that are under a year and only 3 that are over a year. Although the zone is young it is an awesome zone. This past week everyone in the zone had a progressing investigator. That is the first and only time that has happened to a whole zone. That's pretty cool.
Well now a little bit about the area. It is heaps different than being in the city. Everyone is a lot more relaxed and slow paced. Typical Aussie style. The other main difference between here and Dural is the money$. Most people here are pretty humble. The ward is good too. There are heaps of less-active that we are trying to work with. Most of the members are either old or young families. We are trying hard to work with a few (LA) Polynesian families that their children haven't been baptized because they don't go to church.
Everything is going good here in Toukley with Elder Vogel. Thanks for all your prayers. Wow it's been over 5 months. Well thanks
Elder Blake Andreasen

Elder Andreasen in Toukley

How Tall is Elder Vogel

Apparently Elder Vogel is quite tall and the two of them walking down the street together is pretty funny.

Letter from June 4th (Pictures and Videos coming soon)

Mom,

Hey! Well its been about a week here in Toukley. In the Toukley Ward the members are pretty cool. The area is really nice as well. My comp., Elder Vogel is from Orem. He is pretty cool. He is reall tall. He is 6ft 5in. So it looks pretty funny, us walking down the street together. haha

Driving is fun. The area is pretty big, so that means more driving. Driving was easy to get used to it only took a couple of "close calls" before I got the hang of it. :)

I just found out the mission is getting e-mail back, starting in June. But it will probably take awhile after that to get everyone's account set up. That will be cool so now you wont have to try to read my beautiful handwriting.

I have been blessed with another big flat. 2 showers, 2 floors, 3 bedrooms. Living the high life in Toukley, or maybe President Scruggs think I am high maintenance or something. :)

Toukley is going good the investigators we have are all under 15. Most of them are from less active families that hopefully start coming back to church before their kids get baptized.

Well you probably looked for the memory card before you read this (he must know his mom pretty good), but I will explain the pictures:

* Elder Harrison & our Flash as new car

* HAHA Home Brand

* Some Scenary

* The tennis rackets on the far left is the best in the world, Bro. Ken Degan designs them (he is from the Dural Ward

* Zone Activity by the pool :(

* Elder Stott, Moffitt, Harrison & I having some fun

* Cool family from Dural ward with Elder Harrison and I

* Elder Vogel and I in Toukley

* My tattoos I recently got

I sent Tim-Tams they are really good. I am thinking about bringing back a suitcase full of them :)

Well thanks, Love ya Heaps

Elder Blake Andreasen

MOTHERS DAY!!

Wow, talk about a bitter sweet day. A week from Monday Elder Andreasen will have 5 months under his belt with 19 more to go. It was so so good to talk to Blake today. He seems to have picked up a little bit of an accent. We found out that he is getting transferred to a place called Toukley, Australia. If you map it, its right on the beach. Its 107km north of Sydney. He is really excited about the move and will become senior companion. They also have a car and so that will be a fun experience to drive on the wrong side of the road. He seems to be very happy and still loving Australia. He told us that he received a letter from Elder Warnock this last week and was happy to hear from him. He got to talk to me and to Natalie and Brian and Jeff. Collette (his 2nd mom) and her two boys stopped by and talked with him for about 10 minutes also. I dont think an hour has ever moved so quickly as it did while he was on the phone for that hour. He promised he would send home more memory cards from his camera. He said that he was mailing a package today (which is Monday for him) so we should get that in the next week or so. He wanted me to tell everyone hi.
I am so proud of him and his desire to serve.
He is definitely a blessing in our lives.

Letter From May 5th 2008

Mom,
I think I have already said a few times, but your last letter said you dont know where I am and who I'm with. I'm still in Dural Ward with Elder Harrison from South Jordan. Thank you for the Resses & Jelly Bellys. Hey you said you put pics on my memory card? I put it in my camera & it said it was empty. Either it is the wrong file type. (I will check it on a picture machine here to see) or it didnt save. Maybe you didnt click safely remove hardware? Thats good to hear about work. They retro paid you back till March. That was nice of them.
Conference was awesome. Elder Holland is the man. That was a good talk. I liked Elder Uchtdorf also.
You would be impressed with the last thing I cooked. It was rice and bacon. I cooked an egg in it with a little soy sauce. YUMMI
Well things are going good. An 18 yr old member brought her friend to church so we are starting to teach her. She is chinese so she doesnt understand alot. SO we have to teach simply.
We had mission tour this past week. Elder & Sister Sybrowski spoke to us. Elder Sybrowski called Elder Harrison and I up in front of the whole mission and told us to teach out of this 1 verse. Man was I nervous but after I read it he pretty much took over,so it wasnt too bad.
Thanks for the goodies and stuff I will try to send my card home more often.
Love Ya Heaps
Elder Blake Andreasen

Letter from April 25, 2008

Dear Family,
I am still loving Australia. Although it has been raining alot it is still really fun. I love seeing all the birds around. The most common bird, but the most annoying bird is the cockatoo! They are white birds with a yellow mohawk things. The bird that sounds the coolest is the Cookabana ( i am not sure how to spell it) it makes a monkey sorta sound. Well enough about the birds.
General Conference was awesome!! I got to wwatch it the next week so the 12 & 13 of April. I went to all the sessions so we were at the stake center for ages. Thats how they watch GC they boradcast it to the Stake Centers. I really enjoyed Elder Holland's talk. I guess because we get that all the time. People say "The B of M adds to the bible & it says not to" I also liked Elder Bednar's talk.
Well Elder Harrison & I are doing good. We still have a car, so we havent gotten too wet yet. Elder Harrison drives the car, because he is senior companion. It kind of sucks though cause he doesnt know the area & I have been here for 3 months. Oh well, I think driving here is easy, they have heaps of round abouts & less traffic lights. It still is kinda weird driving on the other side of the road.
The work is starting to pick up here in Pennant Hills. This past Sunday at sacrament mtg there were heaps of non-members there & Elder Sybrowski pretty much invited all of them to get baptized in his talk. It was a good talk though. He is going to talk to our mission this Thursday too. So that will be good.
For preparation day today we are going to pick some pizzas up & go to the chapel with some other elders and watch some church movies or something. So i just ordered the pizza & we are going to pick it up in 20 min so I have to be quick
I started trying to make food this week. Since, Mom you said you were not impressed with my cooking skills. I made fried rice with veggies, soy sauce & eggs in it. That was pretty good. Then last night we ran out of food in the flast so I made rice with beans. That was good too. I will take pictures of my master pieces and send them to you. I bet you would be impressed. Well gotta run and get pizza from Pizza Hut its only $5 today, I got BBQ meatlovers, Yummy!
Love ya Heaps
Elder Blake Andreasen

Letters from April 18, 2008 (finally) :)

Dear Family
Transfers were just last week. My new companion is Elder Harrison from South Jordan. He has only been out 6 weeks longer than me. We are in the Dural Ward so I am staying in this area at least another transfer. Elder Harrison is senior companion, but I know the area. He was in Bathhurst before this & it is a country area, so being in the city is alot different for him. We got a new car, its an '08 Camry, too bad I cant drive. Only the senior companions can drive.
Well everything is going good in the area. We are still mostly in the finding stages. But we did have a lady at sacrament meeting last week. She didnt stay the whole time, but we went & visited her Wendesday & she didnt like how children were in the meeting. She looked on Wikipedia about some church history. Hopefully we can resolve her problems and start teaching her. Other than that there is not much going on here. It is starting to get chilly over here. Alot of the members are over in Utah now, so Sacrament Meeting attendance was heaps fewer than normal.
Well I think you are listening to Conference right about now. I hope you are enjoying it. I am watching it on reboradcast next week. It will be good.
We have dinner with Bishop Krok tonight so I better get ready. Bishop is awesome. Hey look up Matt Krok on the web. (thats his son) Good family, well gotta go
Love ya heaps
Elder Andreasen

Mom
Thank you for that package with all the goodies & toys. Elder Brown has never had swedish fish so he enjoyed that. They dont have very good candy in Australia. Some stuff they dont have, that I miss is, Reeses, Swedish Fish, Tootsie Rolls, Yummy!! Thanks for sending Brent's letters they make me smile. It sounds like he is going to do good in Cape Verde.
Sis Scruggs brought over some homemade cinnamon rolls, (they dont have them in Australia) they were really really good. It made me miss yours, but yours are heaps better.
Can you send some more contacts for me. I am on my last pair after I got poked in the eye. I need more socks & garments, but I can buy them here. That is about all I need. I dont need Oreos or Top Ramen or anything. :)
Thanks, Love you heaps
Elder Blake Andreasen

(this little note was written last and makes me feel a little bad)
I found some writing paper in the flat and I also found some pens. Well I think something went wrong with the mail a couple weeks ago we got new office missionaries and I think they messed up bad. The past 3 days I have gotten 10 letters, but they were written ages back, like over a month ago. So please forgive me for not writing as much as you.
Thanks for all the letters though.
Elder Harrison & I are working hard & trying to find people that will listen to us.
Yea!! we get to watch GC. We get to go to all the sessions. I hope you like the paper and pens.
Love Elder Andreasen

Blake sharing his bird noises and showing us things in his apartment

Blake showing us his cooking skills

A TOAD in a HOLE

Elder Andreasen

Creatures from Downunder!!

Letter from March 19th

Hey
Sorry about the last letter I never got a chance to send it. Wow its been 3 months that means transfers are coming up and I will probably get moved. I will let ya know what goes down and who my new comp is. Hey the Mt. Dew doesnt have caffiene here. :) Hey I was talking to my Ward Mission Leader and he served in Wellington, New Zealand. Then I got thinking and I told him my uncle (Neil) served there and he asked his name and my Ward Mission Leader said the he knew him and he trained one of his good mates. Shane Armfield. So that was pretty cool. Elder Brown is just out mowing the lawn. We are suppose to mow it often but this is the first time in 3 months. The grass is long as...
I think I have forgotten to tell you some of the slang over here.
mate= friend
Heaps = lots , bunch
Slash = pee
trash = rubbish
trunk = boot
hood = bonnet
ground beef = minced beef
They dont have good american candy here like Reeses or stuff like that. They dont have Dr. Pepper at all. All they have is Coke & Mt. Dew & a little Pepsi
I have told you that Dural ward is a rich ward and I just found out a bunch of families are going to SLC from here for General Conference.
My Ward Mission Leader is going, Brother Bennallack, Brother Arnold is going and a few others. Oh and Elder Sybrowsky the Area President is going. So if ya hear anyone talking funny ask 'em if they know me :)
(Blake drew a picture of the different rules missionaries are suppose to follow.)
There are bunch of rules but rules are good for us. If you obey with exactness then you will be happier, stronger, healthier, smarter, and be able to recognize and feel the spirit. So rules are good.
Well I better go and see if Elder Brown is done mowing the lawn.
Love ya Heaps
Elder Andreasen

Letter from March 14th

(Elder Andreasen & Elder Warnock)
Dear Family,
I am still loving Australia. It is sooo green right now. Everyone says this has been the wettest coolest summer in ages. I must have brought some moisture from Utah :).
Wow sounds like Utah got heaps of snow though. Wish I could be there to shovel it??
Wow there are so many birds here. I have gotten used to all the noise they make.
Last week I got to see Elder Davis Warnock when Elder Bednar came and talked to our missions. We couldn't talk long though because we were supposed to hurry and leave after the meeting. I got a pic with him (Elder Warnock) though. I also got to shake Elder Bednar's hand. That was an awesome meeting. He taught us that it is the Holy Ghost that reaches, not us, so get out of the way.
He is speaking again to all of Australia on Sunday so that will be good.
We had zone conference so that was really nice too.
Well that is pretty much all the excitement here.
Not much is happening in this area, but Elder Brown and I are trying and we will be blessed for our efforts.
Love ya Heaps!
Elder Andreasen

Letter from March 4, 2008

These past 2 weeks were pretty good. First I found out that Elder Bednar is coming to speak to the missionaries. Then I found out that he is going to talk to BOTH Sydney missions!!. So I will be able to see Elder Warnock. Man I am excited for that. He is coming Friday March 7th.
After I found out Elder Bednar was coming I found out that Elder Brown and I are getting a CAR!! Thats good cause Elder Brown is not very good at riding bikes. :) But I found out today that he is not good at driving either. But it is alot faster getting around in a car than on bikes.
I went on exchanges again with the zone leaders, but this time I got to stay in my area and I got to plan and do everything the way I think it should be done. So that day I planned was the best day of stats that Dural Ward has had in a long time. So that was fun to do.
We had interviews yesterday thats where you get interviewed by the Mission Pres. Then while he is interviewing there are lessons and activities. 1 of the activities was a desire activity. Whoever showed the most desire to do something won the competition. There were 5 different comps they were, Arm Wrestling, Playing a church style of Chubby bunny, eating as many wheat bix as possible in 4 min, stick your head in a bucket of water and hold your breath for the longest and the one i got chosen to do is to eat a chinese 1,000 year old egg. I am not sure how they get them but they are green nasty looking eggs. Well I showed the most deisre and finished my egg first :) but man did my breath smell bad after that. I was interviewed right after that so I tried not to breath too much in it. That was the first thing I ate that day so my stomach was rumbling after that.
Well that was my excitement for the past couple of weeks. I am learning so much out here. We are finding people to teach buy they are not going anywhere fast. But Elder Brown and I have high hopes for them to progress towards baptism. I know that if we exercise our faith and help them feel the spirit then we can achieve our goals.
Oh I finished the B of M and I started it in the MTC. But just as i was reading Moroni 10 I got a call from the zone leaders saying that Pres. Scruggs has issued the Mission a challenge to start and finish the B of M in March - April. SO i have the opportunity to read it again. We are to finish 1 Nephi by the time Elder Bednar comes. I am really excited to read it again. I will learn more everytime I read it as Pres. Hinckley promised.
Well I gotta go. The church is true. Pray always! Love ya Heaps
Elder Andreasen

Letter from February 19, 2008

Australia is so fun. All the members tell me I am lucky because its been a mild summer. Usually the temp stays around 40 degrees C but I think the 6 weeks i have been here its hasn't been 35 degrees C. Australia is in a drought and this summer they have gotten heaps of rain which is unusual. Yeah I have been drenched a few times, but I dont mind. Everyone says they more hours you tract in the rain the hotter your wife gets.
6 weeks are gone and 6 more to go until I am done being trained. Then after that I hope to get transferred out to the bush. Cause I think it'll be cool.
Dural ward is the richest ward in all of the Oceania area.
Elder Sybrowsky is in my ward. He is the Area President and he is in the 70, he is from Provo. Elder Hilbig is in my ward he is a counselor to Elder Sybrowsky and I think he is in the 2nd of the 70's. There is a guy in my ward that owns one of the biggest insurance agencies or something like that. But all the members are really nice. We get fed about 5 times a week. So thats nice :)1 of the AP's right now is from Pocatello and the other is going home tomorrow.
Yeah things are going good in Aussie land.
Love ya Heaps
Elder Andreasen

Letter from February 11, 2008

Things are starting to pick up here in Dural Ward. We have a few solid investigators and we have high hopes for them.
Yeah you are sending letters fine. They have to go through the mission office then they forward them to my flat. Our flats is a 2 story duplex its 3 bedroom, 3 toilet, 2 bath so it is huge. Its one of the biggest in the mission. Packages we get every transfer, but I got lucky I think cause you wrote Valentines Day on it they delivered my package early so thanks for that. Customs took the beef jerky out of it, so they sent me a thing saying that i would cost $40 to send just the jerky back, so I am no going to worry about it. Thanks heaps Elder Brown says you are the coolest.
Well i just wanted to write to tell you happy birthday and thank you for all your prayers and support.
Mom i was talking to some members and I noticed they had a sudoku book so I started talking to them about how good you are at it. They gave some names of fun games like that to give you. They are Addoku and Kakuro and they printed off a different kind of sudoku. I dont know if you've done it but i sent it to ya.
K I gotta go now
Thanks, Love ya heaps
Elder Andreasen

Letter from January 24, 2008

Hey
I have some really cool stories already and its mostly within the first few days. The first day I ate some kanga, and it was covered in BBQ Sauce so it was really good, then for that night we tstayed in a place next to the temple for people who needed to say over night to go to the temple. Anyway the 20x30 bedroom had 10 beds in it and then there was 2 showers. 10 of us had to stay in there and we still had all our luggage that was a fun night and morning.
Another story is the next day when we got assigned our companions they were taking us all around to our different flats in this rental van that was a 10 seat van. Anyway there were only a few people left to drop off ( I was going to be the last one) and we pulled up to this apartment complex that the parking went under the second floor of the building kinda. Well we started to pull in and we found out the van was too tall, but we had already pulled in. The assistant to the president was driving and he had pulled in and hit the roof of the van. We couldnt back out cause the van looked (see pic)like this we had a trailer on the back for luggage. So we took off the trailer and tryed to do 100 point turn to get out because we couldnt go back through because we didnt want to hit the pipe on the other end. But after 90 points of the turn we found out we didnt have enough room. So we had to turn back the other way 190 points to get turned around. Then we decided to take the air out of the tires to try to get more clearance. After that a few of us got in the back of the van (1 of them being me) to weigh it down. And as we were pulling out you could see exactly where the beam was from inside the van. Wow!! cool story, for my second day in Australia I guess
Love Elder Andreasen