HEY Family

So this week was full of things good and bad ups and downs. I don´t
think anyone that hasn´t been on a mission can really understand or
appreciate the feeling we have here. I feel like everyday is like a
rollercoaster ride. One moment we are up and another way way down. So
those were my feelings this week. Satan is working hard here in Maipú.

So lets see we have been working with 2 people for a while now that we
have been trying to get baptized for a few weeks now and we had a
lesson with him on Wednesday and it was so great. We had a member with
us and we were in the church and we were teaching him about tithing
and the prophet and he is just so prepared its incredible. He has no
problems with anything. Always just really accepting and everything.
After we taught him I showed him and picture of Thomas S. Monson and
asked him if he believes he is a prophet. He was like you know I have
heard a lot of the members use quotes from him in the ward when they
speak and they are so powerful I really do feel like come from God. Ya
I do think so. He is so sensitive to the spirit. Anyways we talked to
him about being baptized without his girlfriend or first and then her
the next week etc. He was like yes. I am going to be baptized this
weekend with or without her. So we were way stoked because we knew
that if he took the step she would too. So then we had interviews the
next day and talk about a complete turn around. They pulled up on his
motorbike and we were all ready with the Elders and so he got
interviewed and while he was getting interviewed she started talking
to us and telling us about how her mom doesn´t want her to get
baptized and they were all discouraging her a ton and then she
discouraged her boyfriend. Basically we were way bummed and I just
wanted to kill satan after that because freak he just never gives up I
swear. Anyways so we were pretty discouraged and we are just working
hard to get them ready this next week. Something funny that happened
this week is that I almost died twice this week. The Argentine dogs
are insane here. 
There are so many cross
breeds that we sometimes see dogs with more than one foot. Anyways so
we were walking by this house to knock and Hermana Haskell is
terrified of Dogs. So I was in front and all of a sudden this dog
started barking and running at me so I just the sequia.(which is like
a ditch) and turned around and he was right in front of me about to
jump on me and kill me. I just had by bottle in my hand and was
defending myself with 500 mil of water so my hopes of surviving
weren´t very high anyways then this little boys runs out and saves my
life and it was a miracle. My heart was just pounding after and I was
like woah! Hermana Haskells eyes were huge and wide and she was like I
don´t know how you survived that. You should have died! Well not 2
days later we were trying to contact references and we look across the
street at the house we need to go to and we see 2 big rot wilers. I
was like hmmmm......Hermana Haskell is way behind me just walking
really slowly so I knew she had no intention of trying to contact them
so I started walking slowly around the car to go and knock the door,
and this dog just freaks out and runs at me full attack mode on and I
just had no clue what to do. I ripped my bag off my shoulder and put
it down in front of me and then just waited until he jumped on me and
started to bite me. Well thanks goodness that moment never came there
were angels for sure protecting me. The dog just stopped right in
front of my little bag and was barking and freaking out at my. Then
the owner opened the door and I started walking away and he was like
did you get bit?! I was like no no I am okay. Then we invited him to
listen to our message hahaha. So basically after that one my body was
shaking so bad and Hermana Haskell just kept looking at my like and
saying You are so lucky! I thought I was going to watch you die for
sure this time hahahaha. Anyways so I am starting to develop a little
fear for dogs now. Especially in this one barrio we go into because
the dogs are all phsyco and there are hundreds of them. So that was a
story of the week. We had a great Sacrament Meeting this week there
are a brother and sister leaving on the mission together and all
returned missionaries bore their testimonies and the spirit was so
strong it reminded me of when me and Scott spoke at our farewell
together. It brought back a lot of memories and the spirit helped me a
lot feel better as it was a hard week. So we have some great goals
this week. I have lots of drive just to be positive everyday and have
fun and work hard. So we will see what Satan has to throw at us this
week. Anyways thats all I can think of to right. Love you all!!

Hermana Anderson

Well this week was sweet! We have this golden investigator named Steven and he is 14. Basically the story is this. He moved here form Columbia, came to church with his mom, we started teaching him, hes getting baptized this saturday! Awesome eh!? So I am pretty excited because I get to baptize him and its going to be really sweet. Other than that we are just trying to continue to find more people to teach so we can help the people here! I love them! Also I was reading Jesus the Christ this week and had my mind blown. I learned so much about the life of Christ and especially alot more about his Atonement. It really makes me super grateful for everything he did and I realize all the time how I need to be so much better and how he loves us all so much and always has his arms open for us. I love my Savior, I love helping the people here and being able to represent him. Hope you all have an awesome week. Love ya!

E. Anderson

Hey Family

So this week had its ups and downs. It was really tough but because
God loves his missionaries he threw in a couple of blessings for us to
keep our heads above the water. So we have been working with these two
investigators for a transfer and a half now and the boyfriend has got
his answer. He knows this is the true church and wants to be baptized.
But not without her....so its tough. She is reading the Book of Mormon
and praying and everything. The other day we were teaching her with a
member who is a recent convert who is amazing and we asked him if he
could give her a blessing of comfort and advice...etc. Anyways we
explained about the Priesthood and everything and she accepted. It was
a beautiful blessing and she really felt the spirit. We went back a
different day and were following up with her and she really loved the
blessing she says that since she received it she has felt that her
prayers have been so much more sincere and that she has desire to pray
even when she forgets in the night that she gets up out of bed and
prays and says that she doesn´t feel tired when she is praying! We
were so exicted and told her that God is trying to answer her prayers.
We asked her if she thought this was an answer to her prayers
etc...among other things she has experienced as answers and she said
yes. So we committed her to be baptized this weekend and hope
everything goes well so they can both be baptized!! So please pray for
them! Anyways so we woke up the other morning and I went to get up out
of bed and just felt a sharp pain in my back in the right lower part
of my back! I was like OH!! Anyways it hurt to walk to sit anything
but lay down. Luckily Hermana Haskell worked with the physical therapy
people in college and her major is health and she had to massage a lot
of the athletes so she gave me a deep tissue massage and it felt a
little better. But it was still really sore. So I rested most of the
day and we went out in the night. It just hurt standing there so we
had to keep walking etc. It was tough but I took some pain killers and
it helped take the edge off. So anyways 3 days later and its still
sore but I feel better than I did. So I am really not sure what
happened unless I was sleepwalking and did something. So weird. So
between me and Hilary we are old ladies now! haha. I am glad to hear
everything is good at home that Baby Clara is healthy and doing well.
I want to say thanks Mom and Dad for always being such great parents I
love you a tons. And miss you all a lot. But I know why I am here and
helping other people have the love we have in our family and more
importantly an eternal family is the most important thing there is. So
thanks mom and dad. Also I want to challenge you all to try to start
looking for people to teach. A family to share the gospel with. Invite
them over for a Family Home Evening etc. Whatever it might but. The
Lord will direct you to those who are ready. Every member a
missionary. I know God will help you find someone that needs the
Gospel so let him use you all to bless the lives of others. I love you

Hey Family!

So.. this week I have come to the realization that I am getting fat. I swear its one of those things that just creep up on you and before you know it your carrying around another 15 pounds around your waist or neck... Ok maybe not that much but I dont think I am going to send anymore pictures home and when I come through the doors of the airport into the Motherland we will see if you recognize me. Anyways....  This week was super sweet. We definatly saw some answers to all the prayers we were offering in the past weeks. We were able to commit 2 people to baptism this week and they are preparing for March to be baptized. We have seen alot more success as we just try to give it everything we have and leave the rest up to the Lord. Like it says in Docertine and Covanents "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say ye have no promise." One funny experience we had was we stopped by these two guys we taught and they seemed super interested. When we first met them one of the roomates told us they weren't there and I was like wait they dont live here and I was like are you sure they aren't home? haha long story short they heard us and were like hey. hahaha so they let us in and that guy went to the back of the apartment because aparently didn't want to learn hahaha. So we stopped by and knocked and the door opens like the the width of 2 quarters together so you can barely see anything.. Like I could barely see this little eye and I was like uhh... como esta hermano.. hahahaha and I started laughing and then they just closed the door and we stood there for like 2 minutes and realized he probably wasn't going to open the door so we just left. hahahahah It was super funny. there are some really funny people out here. I love being a missionary. We had one of the people we have been trying to teach have alot more interest in learning. He had been coming to church for the past 5 or 6 weeks in a row and he just told us how he has seen and huge difference in his life and in the life of his family. (They are all members). He said there is alot less contention and he has seen alot of his guilt and sorrow leave as he is trying to follow Jesus Christ more. It was a good testimony builder to me at the importance of Church Attendance, it is a place where we can receive personal revelation! He told us that he started to read the Book of Mormon by himself and that at church they were talking about the same things that he had read and he got alot of answers to his questions! Sweet eh!? Anyways, I loev being about here and seeing people willingly choose to follow the Savior. I love it so much more that I can choose to be humble rather than being compelled to be humble.. I love you all!

E. Anderson

Hey family!

Well this week has been good. It has been super cold here the past few days. Below freezing. With he humidity here that makes it really really cold. But I pushed through it like a champ and I am still alive. We were able to find some new investigatores this week while we were walking and we had a super good lesson with them yesterday. I absolutely love the gospel. There is no greater joy than walking out of a lesson and knowing that you have just helped someone come closer to Christ by receiving the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I love it here. Its so hard somedays but so worth it. I honestly dont feel like writing anything today and if anything I just want to write in spanish. I know thats wierd but thats kinda how I feel. hahaha This next week I am pumped to see some good things happen. We had one of our investigators come to church in dress pants and a collar shirt and he was waving at me because he was excited! hahaha The best part is is that he is like in his 40's hahaha. I gave a talk yesterday in sacrament meeting about the holy ghost. I have been reading David A. Bednars new book "Increase in Learning." and I have seen and learned that action invites the spirit. Even if we are reading the scriptures we wont learn much if we dont first act by sayinga  prayer and asking for the spirit to teach us during our study. Without the spirit we wont learn anything. Pretty much my mind is getting blown by all of the docterine I am learning. hahah Then after sacrament we had to go teach the young men and young womens class on the spot because the teacher didn't show up and it was super sweet. I love the youth. Another Elder and myself were able to really engage all of the youth and they loved it! We taught to their needs and their understanding. Well actually it was the spirit 100%. I just love the youth of the church. They are the future and without them we are nothing. It makes me want to teach seminary super bad. hahah pretty much every missionary says that at one point or another I am sure. haha anyways keep it real and have an amazing week. I love ya

E. Anderson

Hey Family

Well this has been a crazy week of lots of things. I think that I have
seen more of my weaknesses this weak than ever. And I had to do a lot
of repenting... But I have some great goals set to become a better
person and I know the Lord is really trying to help me see my
potential. We were supposed to have 2 baptisms this weekend but they
escaped on vacation together for the weekend on Friday. We were really
bummed. But they have there agency. So we have been given a new focus
as a mission to work a ton more with the less active memebers and
recent converts and getting a ton of references through them. So we
are excited to start implementing that into the work. Its going to be
hard work because its such a shift from what we are doing to what we
need to be doing. But we are going to see a lot more success in many
areas. So we are excited. So this week we went to this house and were
teaching and after we left I was walking and the back of my skirt felt
really wet! I was like what on earth?! So I like am feeling it and
thinking in my head it is hot but seriously?? Haha but then I smell my
hand and lo and behold it was pee. I sat on a chair that one of the
little girls had just been sitting on and had peed on! hahaha. Luckily
we were like 2 blocks from our pench so we ran back and I changed
quick and then we went back out to work. Also today we woke up to no
power. We had a huge thunder storm last night and all the power was
out for a little while so we sat in the dark for a while haha. But no
it was good because we tood it as a sign from God that we needed to
get our emergency packs. I already have one but my comp. doesn´t so we
went out and got some stuff for her and I got more stuff. I feel like
God is always giving us little warning like that to help us be
prepared for the big things taht will happen in our life. We just need
to act or respond and do something about it. Anyways sorry not to long
this week. It was a good and hard one but I just have a lot of desire
to go and teach and to be a better missionary and person now. So we
will see how this week goes!

Love you all!!
Hermana Anderson

Hey Family and Friends!

So I would just like to start out this letter to let all of you know
that I am engaged! Yes I know! I was walking to the cyber to come
email you and we walked by this man standing by the wall and we just
said hello to him and after we passed we heard him say ¨Hey can I ask
you a question?¨ I we turned around and I said yes. He looked at me
and said will you marry me? I just stood there like sorta confused and
said what? Then he asked me again hahahaha. So I explained that we are
missionaries and that we are here to preach the gospel not get married
then he said that didn´t matter. So then I told him I was dedicated to
the lord for this time and he said what lord? I pointed to the sky and
he just said well we are all going there I said exactly thats why we
are here helping people understand how. So then he just said great so
you can marry me then. I was like no no no. I am smelling the alcohol
on his breath quite strong at this point and finally just told him I
couldn´t because I have a boyfriend back home....(I don´t think God
will judge me for that little white lie if it was for my protection).
Then he was like oh.........well......so then we started walking away
smiling and waving and just saying bye have a good day
hahahahahahahaha. So my Zone Leader just left the cyber and told me to
give him my invite when I get them finished! hahaha. So there ya go! I
guess if all else fails I have options here in Argentina! hahaha.

So this was a pretty awesome week. We had a lot of really good things
happen in our area. First of all we have been trying to work more with
part member families and we worked with this family whoose dad is not
a member and we went over to have lunch with them. Anyways the mom
wanted to take about 100 pictures with us with her and her husband and
the daughters we basically felt like celebreties and I was just
laughing because it was the first time we had met the mom and the dad.
HAHA. Anyways so we had a good lunch with them and then we were just
visiting and Hermana Haskell told them that I can beat box (sort of)
So we did a rap song with them and the Dad LOVED it! He was just
staring at us in unbelief thinking we were the coolest! So I guess
this is a good thing because he told us we could come back any time!
The daughters told us after that this is the first time he has really
like the missionaries! So we are really being blessed by the lord.
Also we have gotten some great references from members that are just
awesome! We are working with them right now and they want to be
baptized so we are going to work hard with them. This is what real
missionary work is working with the members and getting references and
teaching all of them. So much more effective so please start preparing
all of your friends and neighbors and invite them for family home
evening with the missionaries or invite them to listen. So we had
Elder Auidukities (not sure how to spell it) Dane mission president
from Brasil here in our ward this week working with 2 less active
families. He is one of the area 70 for Argentina Paruguay and Uruguay.
He is a great man. Anyways we went by our investigators this week that
we are teaching and it was so awesome. The boy who is like 22 he and
his girlfriend we are teaching them about the spirit and we ask him if
he knows how to recognize the spirit and he is like ya! I was like oh
really how? Somewhat surprised and he just smiles big and is like well
this week I was praying for my grandpa who is really sick that he
could sleep and while I was praying I just felt my heart pounding
really fast and a really weird feeling in my heart and then my grandpa
fell asleep and was really peaceful. The other night too when I was
reading the Book of Mormon and praying I felt the same thing and when
you were talking about the spirit the other day the same feeling was
in my chest! We just looked at him like he was speaking in Japonese!
Then I asked him if he thought the Book of Mormon was true and these
things are true he just said yes! So we put a fecha for this weekend
for him. We are really excited. He still has a few doubts he said and
we had the zone leaders over at our lesson this week and they
interviewed them both and he will get baptized if his girlfriend will
and she still hasn´t recieved her confirmation but she is praying and
will get it this week for sure. It was really cool though because we
found of that he has been living the Word of Wisdom after we committed
him too and his friends have been inviting him out to drink and he
told them no and they started mocking him and he still didn´t do it!
He is so great!!! So we are really fighting for 2 baptism this
weekend. Our other inv. came to church too this sunday we had 7 in
church and it was a miracle!!! I was so happy because it was fast and
testimony meeting and all the testimonies were sooooo strong and
focused on the Book of Mormon and the True Church and the Holy Ghost
and we were watching our inv. the Boy and he was just nodding and kept
looking and his girl friend and we were just so happy! We have a
family home evening with them tonight with some members and we are
going to watch the restoration with them. So pray for us and for all
of them. One of our members who is going to bolivia on her mission in
March is the friend that gave them to us as a reference and she is
awesome she just gave us her cousin on Sunday who was at church with
them and we went and taught her after and she commited to get baptized
too! We are being so blessed right now in our area we have been
working really really hard and have had lots of trials but we know the
Lord is guiding us and we are trying to be even more obedient and
diligent of being worthy of the blessings. Anyways a great week of
miracles and we are feeling super blessed. Thanks for all the the
letters and cards those is the ward and friend I really feel the love
and support from you all. It means a lot. Especially those days when
we think we are alone out here and we get mail it just makes our day
and week. I love you all and pray for you always!

Hermana Anderson

Well this week has been an interesting one.. I had some cool stuff happen.

So yesterday we were at our ward mission leaders house when an elderly woman came over to ask for help about her car. The battery had died on the car and so E. Nelson and myself walked over and being the men we are with all of the mechanical background we have said, "Step aside and watch this.." ok so we didn't say that but needless to say we got the car jump started in about 30 seconds hahaha afterward our ward mission leader was talking with her and the woman expressed anxiety because she is going to have a surgery soon and so our ward mission leader being the man he is said well wel have the authority of god to bless the sick, would you like a blessing? haha she said with tears in her eyes "yes I would." so then he was like ok well you tell us when and we will give you one. and she was like right now!! It was really cool! so we went in and explained how we bless the sick and she opened with a prayer to invite the spirit and it was one of the most beautiful prayers I had ever heard. She expressed desire to follow christ no matter what he wanted her to do.. She just said over and over thy will be done and give me the strength to do your will. Her husband has demensia or however you spell that and so its really difficult for her and she expressed things about that in her prayer. It was really touching. So after our ward mission leader asked who would you like to do the annointing and she was like whoever.. and she looked around the room and I was over near the door and as soon as she saw me she said pointing, "Him!" hahaha I was like oh ok. I felt honored to do that for her and I really had alot of love for this lady who just moments before was a complete stranger. I love the gospel. Its all about helping others. I have seen the example of the savior from many of the people I meet and read about. Iam just blown away by the examples of the apostles and the prophets that we have today and I just want to be like them so much. This time here has really changed my life. I have had to give up my desires so much to learn what He wants me to do and who He wants me to become. I love the lord. Here is a cool poem I found this week.

My Kite

By Erin Camp Worland

 I went outside to fly my kite

One breezy day in spring.

I wondered just how high it would go,

So let out all the string.

With the end held firmly in my grasp,

My thoughts began to flow:

Oh, how much higher could it fly

If I’d just let it go?

With that, my hand released the string,

And much to my surprise,

It fell straight down

Instead of soaring through the skies.

What went wrong, I asked myself,

This made no sense at all.

I tried and tried again, but each time

All it did was fall.

So, one last time I ran

To let the breeze lift up the kite.

I let the string out to the end

But this time held on tight.

I smiled as I gazed upon

Those colors way up high.

I realized that, like my kite,

We too need string to fly.

Our string is called the gospel,

And its purpose now is sure.

Temptation’s wind may tug and pull,

But our string can help us soar.

I’ll hold on tight to what I know,

And like my kite I’ll be.

The gospel doesn’t hold us back,

Instead it makes us free!

 

I love you all. I love the gospel. It is true.

E. Anderson