Hey O-South, here I come!

Hey fam! Sorry I didn't get the chance to email until now with Memorial Day and transfers. I have been transferred. I am now in the Windermere Ward, right by the temple! My new companion is Elder Kress Johnson from Fillmore, UT. He graduated in '09 but looks like a full-grown man ha ha. He is huge. He played football and wrestled in highschool, and has 2 older twin brothers that also served missions. His dad is a county foreman and his mom is a dental assistant. He knows G. G. and some of the other people I met from there in FFA. What a small world ha ha. Anyway, we are whitewashing the area, and are the zone leaders over the Orlando South zone. It is one of the biggest zones in the mission; we have about 13 or so companionships in our stewardship. I am very excited to be here and serve, and have so much to learn!

Our new apartment is really nice. Sister missionaries used to be in this area before us, and so the apartment was super clean and smelled great. Thank you Sisters. It is a really nice apartment, like the one in Daytona Beach was. The apartment complex is called Independence Luxery Apartments or something like that. My new direct address is this:

Elder Andrew John Beckett

6902 Pasturelands Plaza #8211

Winter Garden, FL 34787

There is a nice gym here, we each have our own bathrooms, and the ward from what we can tell already is just awesome. Tons of people that work for Disney live in our ward, and apparently it is one of the most missionary-minded wards in the mission. This area is also a lot more affluent than anywhere else I've been; you should see some of the houses here! I'll have to take some pics sometime.

This last week we had leadership training, and it was great! I got to see Elder McClatchy there and we snapped some pics. I love James :) Ha ha, I kept calling him that on accident, but I think I finally got down "Elder McClatchy."

Wow, it sure was tough to leave behind Daytona Beach! There were so many wonderful people there. I'm really going to miss B and Grandpa a lot! B had heart surgery on Thursday and it went well - he was back home that evening. Now he can be baptized in a little bit! I'm "not gonna lie.." I felt very loved and missed by B and Grandpa as I was leaving. B kept mentioning how disappointed he was and was wondering why "M" (Elder M is the Assistant - he served in Daytona Beach a few months back) let me get transferred. We told B not to worry, that the next Elder coming in is really awesome, and B just looked at me and said, "Nobody can replace you." It was one of those rewarding moments where the Lord let me see that I was making a difference! That I had helped someone to feel the Spirit and find truth in their life. Even though I didn't get to see him baptized while I am there, that's ok. The change of heart is more important than just seeing him baptized. :)

Dad, you asked about printing emails off, and now I don't think I can (due to being transferred to a new area.. we email differently). That's great if you type something up and just mail it during the week; that way I can read them during lunch or breakfast or if I have an extra minute. I am really learning to keep better track of my time, and focus/concentrate on the task at hand. I think we all waste so much time without even realizing it! It takes very little effort to kind of just mope around, but when we work hard and focus and do our very best to be effective, we can accomplish a lot.

Well, my time is about up, but I love you all so much! I'm still working on a tape for you that I will send off as soon as I'm finished. I hope you have a great week, and I'm keeping you constantly in my prayers. Elder Brown is on a plane back to Utah right now. CRAZY! Ha ha love ya!

-Elder Beckett