So Andy's best friend

So Andy's best friend from our ward (Jared) is serving a mission in the Nashville Tennessee mission now, which is just to the north of Andy's mission. So we got this story from him today...

My companion and I (Jared) are walking out the apartment complex, and there's a young couple and the dude's mother sitting there and eating watermelon. We say hello, and then they offer us some watermelon(!!!!!). End of story.

No, but then we get to talking and all that good stuff, and it turns out he's a less active member, she's not a member, and the mother knows a lot about the church but isn't a member either! She's visiting her son and came up from Alabama. Well then I told her that I had a buddy that was actually serving a mission down in Alabama, and she asked what his name was (like she'd know!). "Elder Chow," I told her. "Yeah! He's Spanish speaking and teaching my next door neighbor right now! He usually comes by there on Thursdays." !!!!?!?!?!?? WHAT?!?!!!!! I grabbed out my camera to make sure we were talking about the same crazy cute chinese child, and lo and behold, it was!~!!! I then grabbed a picture of me, wrote a quick note, and wrote down the wrong address to the mission office so he could write me. (Can you give the right address to Sister McGee please?!?!)

...

Extended Family

From a recent Church News:

Clifton F. and Betty Z. McGee were married 70 years ago on June 3, 1940 in Gallup, New Mexico, and were later sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. They are members of the Fremont Hill Ward, Mesa Arizona Salt River Stake. Parents of 4 children, they have 18 grandchildren and 51 great-grandchildren.


I think this is one of Dad's 1st cousins. Someday we should get a list of all the descendants of Solon and Emily McGee

Catie's Birthday

Happy Birthday. Borrowed from her blog. Wouldn't today be a good day for another birthday? ... Since your new one already passed on Temple Day. Good Luck.

Update from Andy

[update 23 June 2010]

I'm leaving Alabaster


Yep, that's right- I'm leaving the nice clean town of Alabaster, AL and heading off to Bessemer, AL. But that's not what makes me nervous. What makes me nervous is the fact that I'm going to go Senior Companion, District Leader, and follow-up trainer. I've been Junior my whole mission so far! But I have been blessed by having every one of my companions a District Leader; the first one was my actual trainer, the second my follow-up, and my third a DL. So I have some pretty good examples under my belt. I think over the next couple of weeks I will truly understand the concept of faith, hope, and prayer. But what's even more awesome is that my companion now will be training! He's going to be training a missionary who was called to Guatemala but has not received his Visa quite yet. I am sad leaving this area, there are a lot of VERY amazing people (Arlene, Clemente, Brother Betke) but it's okay. I thought to myself, and decided that every area could have their very own Arlene or Clemente, they just need to be found first.
Some things before I forget: When are Laura and Dan's birthdays? I would hate to miss those. And I do not quite have the address of my home in Bessemer, so I'll get that to y'all next week. If you want you can just send mail to the office. And a little something about Bessemer- apparently you hear gun shots every now and then around the home. Excitement.
Sorry to say I do not have any new pictures to send off. But my camera is getting full so I might have to send the USB home so y'all can see everything from my camera. (And if I do send it, just copy everything that is on it, but keep all of still in the USB, because it is plenty big for 2 years I think. I just want to make sure that I'll still have it after 2 years.)
I don't have too much time right now, so I'll just make this quick. I am seeing time and time again on my mission the importance of having a question if you want to receive an answer. I don't really want to repeat myself and bore all of you, but if we do not have a question, the answer is just information. Preach My Gospel says the honest truth seeker will find the truth of the Book of Mormon, that it DOES testify of Jesus Christ, and that through a testimony in it we can receive a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I love the word Restore, restoration, restored. Somewhere in Mosiah 13-16 it tells us exactly what that means. That it goes back EXACTLY how it was. A lot of people that we talk to tell us that all is well if we just wait until the Second Coming, living the life with alcohol and women, it'll all be good- because God loves us and He'll make everything perfect. Oh if it were so. A missionary from this ward just came back from his mission in St Petersburg, Russia, and in the talk that he gave he told us of the sadness that envelopes Russia. Not knowing where to find true happiness, a lot of the time they are lost in alcohol, immorality, drugs, etc. True happiness... is found in the hands of our Heavenly Father, in the arms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and by the constant guidance of the Holy Ghost.

Gotta go, but want to let you all know that I miss you and pray often for your safety.
Love
Elder Chow

Hello, Hola, Ni hao, Zradstvitye, Konichiwa, que mas hay...

[Andy's letter from the week I was gone]

Too bad I can't actually speak all those languages. Really only the first two haha. But it's even crazy to think that I can actually kinda speak the second one...
How's it all going? I hope it is all well. Thank you Uncle Rick for your letters, I love to read every one of them. And maybe even study a few haha.
Well what has been going on with me? A lot of seeing people goes on. I can't say that too much is different here in Alabaster, AL. The work is moving- slowly but surely. We have had some pretty good lessons this past week with some people- sharing the experience of Joseph Smith and about the Book of Mormon is always a good topic. Answering questions about "La Muerte" (Death- a Catholic Saint...); why, if everybody worships the same God, does it matter if we have one "church"; why Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are even important in the first place (and how they are three separate beings). I love the Articles of Faith. If one can study that and understand it all (to it's fullest!) he or she would be a scriptorian.
A few things that have happened this past week: Went jogging yesterday... and got lost.... for about 50 minutes... I was jogging mostly the whole time. I was pretty surprised I could last that long. We tried to take a "shortcut" that ended up not being one. Obviously. Had a very powerful Sunday School on Sunday- we had a testimony meeting with all the Hispanics and with some members who can speak Spanish. It was very powerful, especially the testimony of Arlene (a recent convert of about 6 months) and of Clemente (a recent convert of about 3 weeks). It was really awesome. And really great for the non-members that were there attending that. Today I went to the Birmingham Temple for the first time on my mission. It was great! It is very small, maybe 1/4 of Oakland, but it still serves it's purpose as a House of the Lord. While inside, I opened up to Alma 41- a very interesting chapter to turn to. If y'all have time, I encourage all to read it and pray about it. Maybe even 40-42. Or the whole Book of Mormon. Haha.
Lately I have been thinking about the Pure Love of Christ and the Love that Our Heavenly Father has for us. It is something tangible. Very tangible. St John 17:3, 1 John 4: 19 +18 (on purpose), Moroni 7:40-48, 2 Nephi 2, Alma 40-42, etc. A 4 letter word, but a very powerful one.

Thanks for all the love and care y'all send me. I really do appreciate it.
Love,
Elder Chow

Back from Zions Camp

A week of camping near the snow. We gathered all the Ute fans in camp (5 out of 190). perhaps more but 4 of them stood out from the crowd. More pictures on my facebook page.

Benjamin

Benjamin turned 4!

Andy's letter for 9 June 2010

¿Como esta mi familia? y amigos si estan leyendo esta carta...

Well, my past week has been good. A short little summary: I have figured something about the South. No matter if it is raining or not, you will get wet. I biked in the rain (pouring rain mind you) and I also biked the other day when it was very clear, humid, and hot. I would say I was just as wet after biking in the sun as biking in the rain. It was gross hahaha. Ah well. It's good exercise. I think I'm getting better- I definitely feel it in my legs afterward. Also, I have helped discover chicks (pollitos) at a member's house and had the privilege of naming one. I named him Chowito. Meaning "Little Chow." and yes, he is the runt of the pack. I feel a part of the family already. What else... I had pretty delicious fish- fried in oil. OH. DEEP FRIED OREOS ARE DELICIOUS. So you take an oreo, pancake mix, and fry it in oil, until a nice golden brown. Take it out, and eat it. It is delicious. The South is so revolutionary with their cooking.

Wedding Photo Slideshow

More Wedding Photos from Dan and Elaine

Happy Birthday to Patti

For those who wanted to read the rest of the story but couldn't find the link, Here it is!. Patti's Blog

Happy Birthday to me!

Just thought I share a bit of what we did last Saturday for my birthday. We went bowling with friends! We totally are not going to be on the PBA tour any time soon but it was fun! For more details you can check out my blog, I've actually updated it :-)