First Week in Harlem

hello! wow this has been an interesting week in learnig about a new place and so many new people. it has been fun though i really like harlem and my area it is very historical and has a lot of cool facts. my area is just above central park so if you look at a map you and see my area easily it goes from 116th st to 110 st which is the north border of the park. it is pretty cool. we have a member named zaheer he used to be hindu and he is blind he has the whole book of mormon in brail and just 1st and 2nd nephi alone took up a binder about 7 inches thicK! the is also a man in our ward named matt lybert and he came and talked to me and he is from kennewick! he is tracey lybets nephew so that was cool to meet somebody that i kind of know. that is so cool about brenan and trey i have been meaning to write them but i just havent i guess will get on it now. my comp is from everywhere his dad is in the army and so he has moved around alot. he lived in roy washington for a while tthen miami and then colorado springs is where he came out of. oh in my ward is also a lady named sister smiley and she is bruce r mckonkey's granddaughter i thought that was pretty cool. well it sounds like things are good at home which is good to hear. umm as for packages ys if it is things like treats and what nots like that then it will be fine but if its the shirts and things that i dont necessarily need right away then it will be fine to go to the mission home. well thank you so much for everything i love you so much and miss you and yes mothers day is coming up pretty fast i am also looking forward to it. i love you.

More about the transfer to Harlem.

It is so good to get so much mail and treats from everyone. It helps me out so much.
Well by now you know I have been transferred to Harlem with Elder Sprengle. I hope you got my new address, and have told all our family, and anybody else, that my address has changed. I would have said to send to the mission home during transfer week, but it is very rare for missionaries to get transferred their first cycle. Well I still know nothing about Harlem, but I am hoping to be catching up by next week. I am pretty sure I will be here for at least a couple of cycles, but I guess you never know out here. Ahh, wow it sounds so busy at home and it is weird because the work there is so different than the "work" here. Thank you for keeping me updated on everything. Is very good to hear about what's going on. Well Mom I don't really know what to say because I don't know what is going on here, but I know that everything will be okay. I miss you all so much. It is sometimes hard to think how long it will be before I see you. But it is okay because I am doing find and am having fun. I hope everything is going good. I love you so much. Love, Elder Matt Andersen

Harlem here I come!

hello! wow it sounds like so much has happened this last week. a lot has happened here too..........i got transferred! it was out of no where so you will have to spread the word to not send anything top my old address because who know how long it will take for me to get it if i even do haha. i did get your package thank you so much. my new address is 81 west 126th #5c New York, NY 10027. so i am in Harlem now i don't know much else i guess i will figure it out soon. my new companion is elder Sprengle he seem like a really nice guy i hope we get a long well i was just starting to feel right at home in my last area so as of right now i am a little nervous about what is going to happen the next few cycles. but things are good and the work will go on and i will get back into the rhythm will keep having fun or at least doing my best to. i am glad to hear that Kevin is doing good but i still cant believe is about Judy that seems so crazy. we have been really blessed with good health i hope that it continues. that is so cool about Jon and Maritza it is coming up pretty quick, that is so cool. well mom i am sorry this is short but i am still in a daze from transfers and don't know what to say because i don't know much yet. i miss you a lot and love you too. i hope all is well. thank you so much for all of the letters and packages they help so much. take care.

I continue to roll forth.

Hello! It is good to hear that you guys are doing well. I can’t believe that Kevin Jenks has cancer. That is so crazy. I hope that it doesn’t get worse. I write to Wes back and forth and he has been pretty awesome through out the whole mission deal and he always has given me good advice. So Randy thinks he is going to be transferred huh? I dunno about that. I am almost positive that I won’t be. Most greenies stay in their areas for 3 cycles, but i guess you never know what could happen! Things are good here. Last week turned out to be a little bit of a slow week as far as teaching and there was one day that seemed super long and frustrating, but all is well and i continue to roll forth. I did get to see the blogspot and I have no requests. It looks good to me. I’m glad that Bry helped out Andersons with their pen. I was wondering who would do that so it is good that he did. Tell him if he wants to do a pig in a couple of years I would help him out for his last year. Haha… just in case he decides he misses it. Thank you so much again for all the packages and letters they help me out so much every day. And the jerky was a big hit with my roomies. All they have ever had was store jerky. Oh I just got back from the temple. It was nice to get to go and kind of get out of the world for a little. It is pretty small inside but it is still nice. Well mom i miss you a lot and love you tons. Thank you for all the support and prayers they really help. I love you. Elder Andersen

Teaching Russell

mom thank you so much for all of the letters and e-mails and the packages. They really help. It is nice to have things to munch on when i get home after a long day. this week has been pretty good. i taught a 16 yr old named Russell who was very interested and accepted a baptism date and came to church. i hope we can stick with him and help him to progress. he is pretty shy so i think the biggest challenge will be helping him feel comfortable at church with the youth there is not a whole lot to pick from so i am hoping he can find some one he is really comfortable with. but things are good other then Russell we have people that we teach but not many who are really progressing not many people can stick to commitments and want to go to church.
that is awesome the Chels got a puppy. i am pretty surprised so we will see how that goes. i will have to find out what kind it is. that is so crazy about Judy Pauly and very scary. she is in my prayers and i know she is in Randy's as well he was her home teacher for a long time. i am so grateful for all the safety and health that my family all enjoy.
thank you so much for the pictures it was so nice. i didn't realize until i got out here that i didn't have any pictures of home so it was nice to just get to see the lay out of the land. before i left i meant to take some from grandpas hill but i never got around to it. grandma wrote me she is so awesome here and grandpa both i love them so much and it is so good to hear that they are doing well. well i am doing god and am figuring out my area i will write more in a letter later if i get a chance. thank you so much for all of your letters, packages, and prayers each one really helps me out. i love you and miss you all so much but i am grateful for this opportunity that i have. Love Elder Andersen