Hey Family

So this week has been interesting and awesome! So first of lets talk about our investigator that is smoking.......well she still hasn´t quit. But she really is doing great. From smoking 1 to 2 packs a day to smoking 1 or 2 cigarettes a day that is a miracle. But we had a great lesson with her the other day in the capilla and we taught her about Joseph Smith again and watched the first vision. She loved it and we put a fetcha with her right after. For this weeked. We asked her is she believes Joseph Smith was a prophet and she said yes and if she believes this is the True church and she said yes again. We were so excited. So she was excited but of course Satan knows these things so we passed for her the next day and she had smoked 4 that morning!! We were so frustrated but we have to help her so we went over and explained that Satan wants her to fail and that she need to be strong. She sometimes doesnt understand we wanted to take her last 6 cigarettes from her but she was like well I will just go and buy more then we were like NO THATS THE POINT YOU ARE QUITING!! ahhh!!!! So frustrating sometimes but its okay. We fasted for her and are praying and are trying to do everything we can do to help her. I really hope she can drop it this week so she can be baptized pronto! So other news from this week.....the other Hermanas are great and we decided to play a little prank on them so we stole all of their food out of the cuboard and hid it all around the pench and put a note in the cupboard that said the furbies ate it all and we took a pic of ourselves eating some of H. Thatchers chocolate on her camera and put a note on it so she would look at it. They loved it and then they got us back by that night by hiding H. Danas alarm clock in my cardigan in my closet and set it for 3 in the morning. So H. Wilde and I are alseep and the alarm goes off and I was like oh okay so I turn off my alarm thinking its mine and then she does hers too but its not either of ours. I was like wide awake and ready to start getting ready for the day it was so funny. So I stumble over to the light and flip it on and am digging through the closet trying to find this alarm clock and I couldn´t find it for the life of me! The sound was so loud in such a closed space that I couldnt find exactly where it was. So I am frantically looking in Hna. Wildes boots in the drawers for like 5 minutes and then finally I just give up sit down and say I can´t.......I just can´t find it......in this distraught voice. H. Wilde is laughing and then comes over and finds it in my cardigan. Then we couldnt get back to sleep because we were just laughing so hard. This explains our relationship perfectly. We laugh allllllll day. About pretty much everything. She is like my other half. So we compliment eachother really well which rocks because we have the same grea drive and goals for the work and we are already seeing a change in the work. So ya we have been having lots of fun and have much more to come. We were going to visit some part member families this week and we found one yesterday and we taught the 3 kids. The mom is a member the dad is orthodox and the kids are catholic...they go to a catholic school. So we had a great idea to do a family home evening with them and teach them how to cook like brownies or cinnamon buns or something and also we are planning an activity with the other hermanas and their investigators to play a big game on futbol one weekend with all the kids and then have a lesson after. We have a good feeling about them and they already love us. The two girls love California and Canada which is me and H. Wilde so its soooooo perfect!! Haha God knew to put us together. I seriously dont think I have ever been this happy for this long and consistantly in my life. I have learned so much about the importance of a positive attitude. When you just are happy all the time and serving someone else you can face anything. I feel satan sometimes try to tempt me to get frustrated or sad or mad or something and imediately I recognize it because I am just always so happy and know that I have no reason not to be. H. Wilde is exactly what I needed at this point in my mission and she feels the same way. I feel so different from before the mission now and I dont think I have lost my temper in a long time! So incredible I know! hahahah. I am a much better version of myself and God is blessing me so much. I cant even begin to think what he will have for me in the next 9 months! I just sometimes sit on my bed thinking and am just overcome with gratitude from what I have learned thus far in the mission. This is the best decision I have ever made in my life and I will never be able to regret it because it is a part of me now forever. So this week we have some great goals and we are going to see some miracles. I will let you know how it all goes!! Pray for us and for this area. We need miracles to help the barrio grow!
I love you all!!!
H. Anderson

Hey family!!

So this week I am going to be strictly business. Jks hahaha so we had exchanges this week and I went with my comp two transfers ago and we did service for this lady and she had a jungle growing in her backyard. So we used machettes and hacked and cut a ton of stuff and I am pretty sure I have poison ivy all over my legs hahahaha its so nasty! hahahaha dont worry I bought some itch cream. hahahaha I think maybe the lord likes laughing at me when I buy wierd crap like that. First a bottle of fiber? then a enema kit? ahahaha now I have to buy itch cream!?! maybe the lord is preparing me for a future trial hahahaha who knows hahaha anyways thats about it. Oh we went to a baptism that we taught in an area where we served together and I got to speak at it! It was really awesome to see everyone again and see so many familiar faces!! I love it!  Anyways!

Love ya!

Elder Anderson

Hey!

Sounds like you have had a busy week! I cant believe how much is going on back home! The littlest things to you all seem so big to me since I haven't been there for 9 months. I swear I have been gone for like 13 years. Oh well. Everything is sweet here. I got a new comp from mexico and he is super sweet!! Umm lets see this week has been good! We were able to teach a few interesting lessons. One lady tried to bash with us about how the sabbath is on saturday and so I just sat there and didn't say anything the intire time! hahaha it was ridiculous and the spirit was totally gone and I just felt terrible so after we finished we went home and tried to get the spirit back before we went out to teach again. It was a good week though. We have just been trying to incorporate the area we took over with ours since it adds a big workload to our area so we have been visiting members and less actives and trying to get to know all of them.! I dont know what else to say about this week though. Heres some pictures!

ELDER ANDERSON

  

HEY Family!!

So the drumroll you have all been waiting for where in the world is Hermana Anderson.....Transfers.....Hermana Anderson Se Va!! So I left Godoy Cruz centro which was a complete shock and I got sent to San Rafael Barrio 2!!! Which was my first area here in the mission where I started with Hermana Pelton. I didnt speak anything and so its great to be back and see everything and be able to speak! My new comp. is.......Hermana Wilde!!!! I love her to death. She is seriously hilarious and we have so much fun! I feel so different this transfer like I have woken up from a sleep! I am so excited to work with her and we have been together for a week and I feel like it has been months. We talk about everything and I feel like we are always in one long conversation! I just love her and I can tell we are going to be great friends! She has 3 transfers ahead of me and is a rock star in the language now and she is from Cali. I love her! Haha. Anyways what a change I couldnt believe it when the Zone leaders told us! It was really hard to leave Hermana Gutierrez as this is her last transfer and I wont see her again as she goes home in September. So I waited till last to give her a big hug. It was just so hard and we were both crying and just not wanting to let go. She just kept telling me we will see eachother soon! I am going to miss her so much but I have a feeling this isnt the last time I will see her! She will always be one of my best friends! Anyways so this area has so much memory for me and I just cannot believe I am here again. Its surreal almost but I am happy to be here. We went to church on Sunday and the bishop asked me to share my testimony and it was so fun to see everyones faces and they all came up to me after and just were like welcome back! One of the members asked me if I died my hair blonder because it is so much lighter now...haha. Good ole sun down here just bleached me right out and I still have one more summer to go so who knows we might be adding one more blonde to the family....haha. No I am red head to the end I am afraid. But ya I have learned so much from Hermana Wilde already. I love the way she teaches and I feel like I have to improve so much! But I am excited for the change. She really focuses on Christ and just explains the restoration so well so that everytime I listen my testimony is stronger. Plus I l just love her becuase she is so great and we just laugh all day. For example I walk into our room today from the bathroom and she is standing on my bed with a scarf on her head looking like a ninja and she proceeded to attack me! I was just dying of laughing. I know we are going to have some crazy fun times this transfer. I also have a great feeling about this area. Its really been sufferring and I know that we are going to turn it around. So we have this investigator and she is great she has a smoking problem but other than that she has been taught everything. So we have her on the goal of only smoking one cigarette a day and then we are going to cut her down more. We hope to get her baptized within the next two weeks. So something way funny about her is that she pretty much loves us. Hermana Wilde has a way pretty singing voice very sweet and our Inv. always wants her to hum a song yes hum not sing. She loves the sound of the humming. So dang Hermana Wilde made me hum with her now cause she found out I can sing harmony and so know everytime we pass we have to hum together hymns for her. Its so funny! Any everytime we finish she stands up and gives each of us like 5 kisses on the cheek. She just smothers us in love and calls us her bon bons (candies chocolates) Reinas(queens) or angeles(angels) and we just laugh so much. She loves church so we are just working with her to get her to stop smoking and then we can help her get baptized..so ya. The other two Hermana in the pench are great Hermana Thatcher and Hermana Dana(Latin) so we have a lot of fun. Hermana Thatcher is really tall and strong and so she always beats us up today we both went and attacked her as ninjas and then we ran and she chased us into our room and jumped on top of me and threw me down hard on the bed I was just like HERMANA WILDE HELP ME I was laughing so hard and just trying to protect my feet. So ya I just feel so different this transfer. I feel more alive and just so excited for the work....so this is a huge blessing for me! As for my feet.....they are doing better. They are still sore as the scarred part that is still healing is really red some days but is really thick and hurts with pressure so I am trying to massage it out but I am afraid it is going to scar pretty bad....dang it! Oh well. But Hermana Avila(Presidents Wife) called me this week just to see how I am was doing in the new area and with my feet. She said we have all been wanting to know how your doing. It was really nice and I really appreciated it. So dont worry mom I have a few substitute moms down here that are keeping an eye on me for you while I am here. But your irriplaceable trust me. Anyways. Thats just a little from my week and I am sure there will be many more things to come so stay tuned!!
I love you all and couldn´t be happier than I am right now!
With all my love
Hermana Anderson

Well this week was very very interesting to say the least. So I am going to break it down for you.

Tuesday: We had conferences and it was great. President talk to us a lot about obedience and going back to the basics about how we should be studying personally and with our companions. I loved it. I have loads to work on. So I am excited to get started with that. So ya it was really great and we learned some great things. We ate lunch and it was delicious, and then Hermana Packer (Mission Nurse), me and Hermana Astorga and some of the office Elders went to the Hospital for my surgey!! We I was doing great I changes into my sweat pants and a T-Shirt before we went to the hospital and when we got there the first sight was a man being wheeled on a gurny through the hallway without a shirt on....I was like alriiiiiight. So we keep walking and keep in mind this is a public hospital and not very clean and a little old.....yep....it was great. So as you can imagine my nerves we a little bit on end...So the nurse calls my name and has me come back. So I said goodbye to the Elders my comp and Hermana Packer....The nurse took me into a little room where she told me to change into this little gown and put this hairnet thing on and little slippers. I came out when I was done and she had me follow her. So this was pretty funny. I had to step over a 2 foot ledge to get into the hallway that led to the sugery room and as I am doing that I am trying to keep the back of my gown shut! hahaha. It was pretty funny. So the nurse walks me into the room and the first thing I see is about 6 different machines and a bed. So I hop up on the bed and she is just preping the surgery and asking me for some information. So as I am laying there I look up and see this light with about 14 light bulbs and I was like oh geez...I felt I was about to be experimented on....So finally the doctor walks in....yes this was a good part. First of all he is wearing pink scrubs and these scrubs are not like the ones back home. They are sort of older looking and they dont have like tee shirst under them..so he had his pink scrubs and the other doctor has on blue ones and all I can see is a forest of chest hair popping out and a gold necklace to top it off. I was thinking to myself at this point. Why do I have to wear a hairnet he has more hair coming out of his chest then I do on my head...but I then remembered that he would be holding the knife and didnt say anything. So before I could even start to get mentally prepared in goes the needle to freeze my foot. OUCH! Just like I remembered it. The pain was intense and I had this hard pillow thing that I was just hugging trying to stay still. So they just got right to work at cutting and unscrewing the screws. I felt....a lot.....and several times they needed to put more freezing in because I was in pain. I will admit I was crying a good part of this sugery. It was really weird. Not just from the pain and uncomfortableness of the sugery (as I think every muscle in my body was tensed a fighting so I wouldn´t move my foot.) but I felt extremely alone! It was so weird. I am just used to having a companion or someone there to help me when I need that support but there wasn´t anyone. I prayed a lot and just asked God to help me. I remember the nurse walked by me a few times and would ask if I was in pain and how I was doing and tell me to relax (like I can relax when they are pulling screws out of my feet.....and it was gently.) She would put her hand on my should or on my head and I would instantly feel calmed. It was a tender mercy from the Lord I know that. But I also thought it was funny how much just a physical touch can help a person and I understand now a little bit between that bond between mother a child how really sometimes all you need is a hug or something. Anyways so finally they finish up the surgery and I wasted no time in inviting them to church. hahaha. So then they all left and I was just laying on this bed trying to relax and process what had just happened. Then some other nurses come in and tell me to get on this gerny and they push me out into the hall so they can prep the room for someone else. As I am being pushed out into the hall there is a man on a gerny against the other wall. So as I passed I said Hola! He looks back smiles and said hola back to me and we both just went back to staring at the ceiling. He had no shirt on either and had a hair thing on and a white sheet on him. I then began feeling sort of like we were both waiting for our turn to go into the morgue or something. It was a little funny. Finally a nurse came and was like okay your done...so she helped me get down and I walked back to the room where my clothes were.....ya that was a long walk. My feet were really really sore. But once again I stepped rather clumsily over the ledge as I was trying to keep my gown closed so the group of male nurses behind me wouldn´t see anything. So I get into the room and sit down and start crying again...more just from shock as the surgery took a lot of my energy physically and emotionaly. So I change and Hermana Astorga came and helped me into a wheelchair...oh by the way I asked the doctor for my screws and he gave them to be right after the surgey...blood and all...so I might need to clean those up a bit...gross. So I got wheeled out and the first thing I see if the face of Hermana Packer. Now she is basically like my mission mom and since my own mom wasn´t there, as she asked me how it went and I imediately started crying again!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!! Those were the words in my head at this moment. I usually can control my emotions especially here in the mission but for some reason it was all just coming out. So I composed myself and luckily the elders went for the car so I didnt look like a baby. So we wheel down the hall and out the door. The elders being the gentlemen they are wouldnt let me try to get into the car by myself and litfted me up into the car.....They were so concerned and made sure I was okay with everything. So we went back to the offices and they were just finishing up conferences so President came and saw me and made sure I was okay. Hermana Richins and Hermana Gutierrez came too and gave me a hug and made sure everything was okay. So then I went to Hermana Packers pench and hung out with her for the night. She made crepes which was good! I also got to call mom which was good too! So then the Elders came to pick me up later to take me back to my pench to sleep and I hobbled out with crutches and got into the van and Elder Duran turns around and is like here Hermana this is for you! A liter of ice cream from Grido!! (Grido is a icecream place here...the best) Plus two bottle of sauce carmel and strawberry! I wanted to hug them both but we cant do that so I just said thank you. They seriously are sooo kind. So I got back to the pench and the helped me up the stairs and then left. Anyways that was Tuesday and that night was lovely as the pain really set it then. But I finally got to sleep. So Wednesday through Saturday kind of followed the same pattern the elders would pick me up and we would go to the offices and they would take me home at night. In the office they brought me McDonalds one day (mmmmm) and ice cream haha. And Elder Duran set up a little desk with a laptop with a beautiful picture of the Nauvoo temple and music playing for me to work at because I was helping Hermana Packer with some things. I really felt spoiled and for the first time in my life I just went with it. Usually I have a really hard time accepting help because I am so prideful and always feel silly. So I know God was trying to teach me something there too. Friday I got my dressing changed and the doctor was a little rough as he just pulled the gauze off fast and was not being gentle. Hermana Gutierrez was with me because my comp had a lunch apt. So she was just watching me trying to hold back the pain and was like oh my word! haha. She wanted to hit the doctor! But everything is good now! haha. So that was basically my week of surgery. I helped a lot in the offices and read a little bit and it was good. I am definitely ready to get back to work and am excited to do so. Walking is a little awkward as the stiches are right where my shoe is on top so I wear my flats that are all open on top but they are really thin so my feel hurt a bit while walking but its better that the pressure on the stiches. 

Well geez. I feel like I learned a whole lot this week. I have some really great goals for this next week and I am excited to get started with it. I am going to need a lot of prayers as I know this week is going to be really hard and I am going to really work hard on being as obedient as I can...and praying that God will bless us accordingly. I am learning patience, charity, and the importance of prayer (we are always learning as missionaries..) I love you all and want to say thanks for the support and love. I feel it. I need it. Thank you again!

Love Always,

Hermana Anderson

Hey Family!

We have transfers tomorrow and I am staying in Marietta again! I am excited because I am getting 3 new people to live with. All the other elders are getting transfered so I am excited to see some new faces and work hard! I dont really know what else to say. yesterday we had Zone pday and we went to do some service before the library opened and we didn't have time to email after so thats why I am emailing today! I got the package! thanks so much! I really enjoyed it! Birthdays in the mission are wierd. They are like any other day. hahah Presidents wife called me and wished me happy birthday but thats about all. We just worked and had a normal day. Thats pretty much it! Ill talk to you next week!

Love ya!

Elder Anderson

Wow this week has been awesome!! I have been able to see some really great things! We were able to set a baptismal date with one of our investigators and hopefully get him baptized here in the next 2 weeks if his dad allows it so prayers are always welcome! Other than that we have been able to visit a lady who is really experiencing alot of trials and problems in her life, things like marriage issues, finding work, getting a drivers license, just really struggling emotionally as well as physically. We were able to share with her a scripture in the Book of Mormon that I came across as I was reading the other morning that I love so much!! 1 Nephi 17:41 "And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they ^ahardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying ^bserpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be ^chealed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the^dsimpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.

Wow something as simple as looking and they wouldn't do it. Isn't it the same today? We promised her in the name of Jesus Christ that if she would honestly and sincerely search the scriptures (particularily the Book of Mormon,) then she would see a dramatic change in her life and see many of the frustration, sorrow, confusion in her life go away. We promised her that if she did something as simple as reading everyday for as little as 30 minutes then the blessing of the Lord would come down from heaven. I know it seems really wierd that a book could do that right? But isn't it the same for the people in Moses' day? Something as simply as looking up to the serpent on the stick that moses raised would heal them of a deadly sickness.  I dunno, that sounds pretty awesome to me. I love the Book of Mormon. It has changed everything about who I am. I am becoming more of who the Savior wants me to become as I read and apply what it teaches.

Funny news. Yesterday we talked to a drunk guy again and that is always fun and they jsut really dont know whats going on and try to speak to us in english hahaha. Its still super hot here! Yesterday or 2 days ago I think it was 9 30 and we were just getting out of the car to go inside and it was 90 degrees still hahaha so aweomse. I love it. Anyways. Thanks for the birthday wishes Im excited to get some mail. haha

Love ya!

Elder Anderson