Well this week was hard. haha We set some goals this week to find, teach and invite people to be baptized and really just did everything we could to accomplish that this week. I think it says somwhere in the Prophet of the Restoration Dvd that when we are accomplishing the greatest good that is when we have the greatest opposition. Pretty much my whole mission so far hasn't been too bad with opposition mostly because alot of the people we teach just dont really have strong backgrounds in the scriptures and usually I try to stay away from sketchy looking places, appointments and whatever else feels wierd. haha this week however I was definatly suprised attacked with alot of opposition that both E. Montgomery nor I were looking for. As I said before we made some really good plans to bring about our goals and we were doing really week in the beginning part of the week when we get this referal from Church Headquarters, specifically from the MTC. It said this guy wanted to recieve a free Dvd and also a Book of Mormon so we went and contacted this guy and when we did he was watching a Soccer game. Barcelona vs. Manchester United I think.. We sat down on the couch and just introduced ourselves and gave him his gifts and due to the fact that he was paying more attention to the tv than to us I asked if it would be better if we came back in a day or so because he was currently not paying attention. He said that would be fine and so we left and were pretty excited mostly because we dont get alot of Referals from Church headquarters that often. So the day came and our appointment was scheduled for 12 oclock. Right after our studies and lunch. We were running about 5 minutes late and on our way to his house when we get this phonecall from him saying "Where are you guys? I am waiting!!" So we were like sweet!!! This guy is awesome!!! Not exactly. It turns out that he brought his other friend and had taken the time to write out a whole page worth of bashing material and pretty much just attacked us for forever and everytime we tried to explain something they would just be like NO! NO! hahaha it was so ridiculous. They would ask us a question and as I would say about 5 words they would cut me off and be like nope look at this other scripture! It was such a waste of time. So I was just listening and trying to find a time to cut in a say well we better go because we had an appointment at 1 oclock after than when all of a sudden E. Montgomery in his broken spanish pipes in and is like I have a question. Everyone just went silent because it was the first time he had talked the whole time and he was like Do you actually want to learn today or are you just inviting us here to tell us that we are wrong. hahahaha They just went all quiet and then were like no no no and then just threw out another question to divert the conversation. hahaha After than I just bore my testimony with all the strength I had in my telling then an pointing with my finger hahaha that no one could tell me the things we teach are false because I have had a personal witness from God that they are true. They couldn't say anything about my testimony and we finally were able to leave. It just shows me how true the gospel is sometimes. Christ never taught people to attack other religions but merely to invite to see for themselves if what they are teaching is true. The funnniest part of the whole thing was when I asked them about 5 times in a row what church they went to and finally after ignoring it they just said well thats not important and we aren't going to tell you. So right before I left I was like ok if everything we teach is true what church should I go to? What church is true? They said nothing and just looked like deer in a headlight. I was super mad and frustrated and so we went and prayed for a while after to regain the spirit. Then after that every single appointment that we had that day fell through. So that night we walked in the rain for an hour and a half to find anyone that would hear our message. We found 1 man and invited him to learn more and so we are hoping we can get in contact with him again. For the next 2 days we found ourselves walking in the rain a little bit more just really showing our Heavenly Father that we are trying to be lead to those who want to learn more. Yesterday we were really blessed to be able to find a family of 4 that is interested and also the family of 5 that we are teaching is praying to know if this is what they need to do! We are being blessed so much as we show Heavenly Father that we want to follow him. Last night we were just on such a high of the spirit being able to almost complete all of the goals we had set that day and we were just so happy when we got a phonecall and someone left a message. Turned out to be some guy that was possessed with a devil and told us he was an anti christ and thats about all I heard before I deleted the message. As I said. When we are accomplishing the greatest good we find we have the most opposition. We are making miracles happen here. Next month we think we can baptize almost 10 people. Pray for us. We are seeing great things happen. One of the things we as a mission quote in our meetings is the Standard of Truth by the Prophet Joseph Smith. It says, "No unhallowed hand can stop this work from progressing. Persecution may arise, mobs my combine, armies may assemble, and calmity may defain, but the truths of God will go forth bodly, nobly, and independant until it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country and sounded in every ear. Until the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jevoha will say The Work is Done."

This week was awesome!!!

Love you all!!

E. Anderson

Sorry I wasn't able to email yesterday! The libraries were closed because it was Martin Luther King day. This last week has been really good! We had alot of things happen! Some good and some bad! Some of our investigators moved and some just dont wanna listen anymore but then we had a family of 6 come to church so it made the week for us!! We have just been trying to be patient and do everything we can and leave the rest up to the lord. I have seen how that really works alot!! This week was a good evaluation week and just a good week to see what we can do better for this week so we are really excited!! I cant believe it is already halfway through January! I feel like time is going by so fast! It feels like I called you all forever ago but at the same time just recently!! Its just really starting to hit me that I am coming home this year and I have been able to just think alot more about what I am going to try and accomplish out here in the mission field and what things I am going to want to do when I get home. I have been thinking alot about a profession and I have a few ideas!! Recently I have kinda wanted to be a kids doctor! I cant spell the word for that in English so I am not even going to try! hahaha What do you think!?

     This past transfer I feel like the Lord has really opened me up and I feel like I know a little better and what I want to do in life! I have such a great love for talking to people and helping them out! I love being able to meet a complete stranger and then just talking about his or her experiences and build common ground and then just learn from eachother! I think my all-time favorite thing is to just help other people smile! I love helping people have a reason to smile. I feel like there are so many people in this world who just aren't happy and that is one of the things I love the most about the gospel! It gives us a reason to be happy all the time! Even in our trials and problems we have the hope and assurance of a better world and just that everything is going to work out the way Heavenly Father wants it to be! Anyways that is just my thoughts for the day! Sorry its a little short but have an awesome week and I love you all!!

E. Anderson!!

P.S. I have been here in Marietta for 9 months now which is pretty rare for a missionary to stay that long in an area but I think I am going to get transfered this transfer!! 1 more week till transfers! Lets see what happens!!

Hey FAMILY!

So this week was A-WEsome! We had a baptism!!! WOOOT WOOT It really
was great and it was beautiful! So that was a lot of fun. Also this
week we have just been trying so hard to get some other people we have
progressing. We also had conference with President which was amazing
as always. We learned a lot about faith and hope and how they apply in
life and how fear and doubt kill our faith and hope etc. I already
knew all of this stuff but the way he applied it and the feelings I
had from the spirit helped me learn so much. I love that. The gospel
is so simple and yet even if we hear things over and over again we can
always learn something new its just like with the Book of Mormon. The
more we read it the more we learn. I was thinking the other day about
how many books I have read in my life. You know I loved reading but
just how once I have read a novel if I read it after its just kinda
the same experience over again. But with the Book of Mormon its like a
whole other experience. I love that. I just get so sad when the people
don´t understand the power in the Book the message and how much it
will literally change their lives.....We can only testify to them and
try to share our own personal experiences from life an hope that they
can feel through the spirit the truthfulness of it. I have been sooooo
tired lately with all this heat and just working so much I just feel
like my body is just dead. I feel myself dozing in personal study etc.
and so I remember praying the other night and just asking God to help
me have the strength and alertness after I wake up. I read an article
in the Ensign and it was just what I needed. Anyways these last few
days I have been able to just jump up out of bed and just get going
even in I am still tired its wierd its like God has just given me a
huge strength to my determination to over come it and to have more
diligence. It really is mind over matter. So that was great. Our
baptism went really well it was acutally kinda cool because the man
that was supposed to baptize her had this tooth sergury the day before
and his face is way infected and swolen so he couldn´t do it anyways
to make a story short her brother that was just recently baptized like
a month or so before was able to do the baptism! I was just thinking
about how God works in mysterious ways what a great way to help them
as brother and sister become closer. We had this huge huge rain storm
last night like the biggest in my mission and we were in one of the
farthest parts of our area and so we walked home in it and by the time
we got home it looked like we had just stepped out of the shower. We
were laughing so hard and took some pics and a video. I will try to
send some pics next week. So I was outside after then just watching
the lighting in the night sky just dance in the sky and sometimes I
just get mesmerized by the power God has and the elements and it just
makes me feel really humbled. But those sentimental feelings were
quickly shortened but the lighting directly over our heads that
happened for like 3 minutes its was awesome!!! Anyways we also were
able to teach a couple people that really needed to hear the gospel. A
lady that has recently lost her husband and a lady that was crying in
the street because she is having marriage problems. So I was really
cool. We also have been working with some menos activos more and we
have had some really spiritual experiences. Whe would be asking them
about why the priesthood has been a blessing in their lives and both
the dads just got really emotional and the wives and some of the kids
so it was pretty cool. I just remember leaving and feeling such a
desire to help more in the work of reactivating. Its just as important
and I feel like sometimes the menos activos get over looks. So thats a
goal for me when I return. So today for P-Day we hung out with some
other elders in our zone and our zone leaders and district as well and
it was really fun. We played dodgeball and fighting ninjas and just
had a blast! It was funny becuase I would be the only one in in dodge
ball and of course all the elders are like pshhh...just an
hermana....but little did they know that I was raised by 5 brothers!!
So I would then one by one pick them all off and then we would win
hahahaha. I just thought it was funny. Also we would play fighting
ninjas and I would win tons I was thinking about why that would be and

So I guess what I am trying to say is thanks for  bros for always throwing 
balls or pillows or whatever at meso I could learn how to dodge them! hahaha. 
But really I love it here in Maipú its a wonderful area and the ward is great. 
I am trying to work my hardest here and this last part of my mission is just flying
by and its not easy when my zone leaders go home a transfer before me
and all I ever hear is the count down of when we are going home
hahaha. I know they mean well but I just really am trying to focus and
it helps that my comp. is great and always helping me and pushing me
to be better. I hope you all have a wonderful week and know that I
love you all.

Hermana Anderson

Hey Family!!

This week was really awesome! We were able to get alot and just talk so much more with people and really teach alot more!! I think I have become alot more outgoing out here and I feel like I am just able to talk and make the people laugh out here. I really want to do something that involves things like that when I get home for a career. I dont think there is anything that makes me more happy when I can just see someone laugh their head off. I know it says in the scriptures to put away childish things and also that we should refrain from loud laughter but I think I just have a really funny and wierd personality that people like to laugh at me.. I dunno. I just love the people here so so so much!! They are the reason why I am here. Seriously if it wasn't for them we as missionaries would be pointless. I think since I have been training I have just found a new door open and I feel like I am just able to understand so much more and really work so much more effectivevly and really see the hand of the lord so much more in my life and in this work. It makes me laugh and kinda sad at the same time when we talk to people that dont have the understanding that we have and just dont want to listen. I laugh more at their reactions to us as missionaries but am sad because they are rejecting something that will bring them more happiness in life than anything that they have every experienced before. I have come to realize that we only feel that happiness and joy when we are abiding by commandments. Like the scriptures say there is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven... all blessing are predicated to obediance of those laws. Somthing like that. I am paraphrasing.

Another thing I have learned this week. Life is hard. We dont get everything we want. And sometimes we have really good desires and really hope for things but we just have to rely on the lord and what He wants to bless us with. There are so many things that I  want in this life but I have come to realize that all I can do is just be proactive and trust in the lord and if he wants me to obtain a certain gift or recieve a certain blessing he is going to provide a way for it. We sometimes feel like things are going bad and thats ok. Thats normal to feel like that. But because we dont understand the big picture or cant see into the future we sometimes let our emotions control us and make us frustrated or sad or angry. Thats normal too! haha but as we take a step back and just say, ok.. I cant really control this situation. All I can do is just pray and trust in the Lord and do what he wants me to do, then the lord will be able to bless us. Think of it. We came to this earth to be tested and tried. Not to just hang out and have fun. This life is full of trials no matter who you are, what religion you are from, what background you have. Everything is for our good. We have the experiences we have to test us to see if we will do what Heavenly Father wants us to do or not. Remember what one of the apostles said. I think Elder Oaks. There are good choices, better choices, and best choices. My testimony of The plan of salvation, redemption, happiness, whatever you wanna call it has become so strengthened as I learn to trust in the Lord. Jesus Christ seriously lives. There is no way he doesn't. I have seen his hand guide my life and its super hard sometimes. Sometimes we want to resist and say you know what I dont want to go that way. There is heartache there is pain there is suffering. But only he can help relieve those problems. He can do anything. I honestly just feel like I could walk out of this library and see a cripple and just command him to walk like the apostles in the Bible did if that is what he wants me to do. All we need to do is just be worthy of the spirit so we can have that guide in our life to know exactly what to do. As we seek it we will find it. As we knock it will be opened. Prayer works if we have patience and really want to know. I know all of these things are true because I have seen them over the course of my life. Especially within the last year. I may only be 20 but I know I can do anything he wants me to do.Hope you weren't too bored of my preachy testimony. I love you guys so much.

E. Anderson 

Hey Family!

Well this has been a really awesome week. We have had some really cool
experiences and really seen some miracles. To start off with lets just
say that its been soooooo hot here! We have been in a heat wave and
its been about 42 degrees daily for the last week or two. We go out
and just about die every day. I am getting tan and my hair I swear by
the time I get home will be blonde! (haha) But no its hard to just be
out. The sun sucks my energy and your just sweating so bad cause we
walk far far distances and just being in the heat all day does it to
you. We are sure to drink lots of water though so don´t worry.

As for some of the cool experiences we have been working with on of
our investigators for a while now and the hermanas before worked with
her. She wants to be baptized but she has just had a lot of doubts. So
we have spent a lot of our time just clearing up her doubts with her.
We had a lesson the other day with her and she just kept bringing up
the same doubts so after a long lesson of just showing her how she
really has no reason to doubt we found that her real doubt was that
she just hasn´t received her answer (or a real sure answer that these
things are true). So I remember I just felt prompted by the spirit to
tell her that the 14th of January is the day that she needs to be
baptized. That we have prayed about it and that God wants her to be
baptized that day. I  then said we are going to say and kneeling
prayer now and you are going to ask God right now if that date is his
will and if you should be baptized on that day. I then told her to
listen to her heart to the words that the Holy Ghost would tell her to
say and then after to really listen to the spirit.

So we knelt down and she prayed and it was a very simple prayer. She
asked God if these things were true and if she should be baptized on
that day. She finished her prayer and we just stayed where we were
thinking. I was praying so hard just begging God to give her an
answer. Hermana Haskell to was praying and then after a minute or two
we God up and I didn´t ask her right away how she felt but we
testified and just verified something else and I then asked her how
she felt. She told us that she felt like she wanted to cry like she
felt a lot of pressure in her heart like emotion but also peace. So
then I asked her ¨Do you feel like that is your answer from God?¨ She
answered and said ¨YES¨ So I said then will you be baptized on the
14th? She said Yes I will!
We were so excited it was a really cool experience of what happens 1
when we follow the spirit. 2. when we trust that the lord will answer
our prayers. I was really grateful and humbled after to see how much
God loves us. Its going to be a great week. We also had another
invesitgator in church that we are hoping to baptize in the next few
weeks she is progressing fast and really has a desire to know. Mom
this was the girl that I was able to share your conversion story with
and it really touched her heart as she has had the same feelings you
had. So that you and know that your testimony and life is helping the
people here in Argentina change and gain testimonies of the gospel. We
have really been able to see the lords hand in our work this week as
we have been working hard and trying to be really diligent. The Lord
is blessing us. I was able to talk to one of my zone leaders today as
we hung out with them and some other elders for pday and we talked
about how sometimes we want certain blessings from God and don´t
recognize that he really is blessing us just with other things. As I
read Scotts letter I felt that again at how the Lord really knows what
we need and that we just need to trust that all of the experiences we
are having and will have are for our good. The Lord knows us and where
we need to be and who we need to be so he will provide a way to help
us get there just like it says in 1 Nephi 3:7. It was Hermana Haskells
Birthday yesterday and that was fun so we went to a members house with
our investigator that is going to be baptized and had a little party.
Its was good. Also something else from this week was that I was able
to receive a blessing from our counselor in our bishopric. Hermana
Haskell too. It was soooo cool to see how the things that I had been
praying for and struggling with the blessings I received in my
blessing. The Lord is ever aware of our needs even if this Hermano
didn´t know what we had been passing through he listened to the spirit
and as we heard the words pronounced over our heads we knew God is
listening to our prayers. So after that as we were walking home we
talked about it and I helped Hermana Haskell understand her blessing
as it was in Spanish and it was just so cool to re-discuss the things
that were said and just to see the way in which we needed to change to
really be worthy of those blessings and what we needed to do to
receive that. Sometimes I think we feel like we get a blessing and
then thats it we have them and we forget that we need to work for them
too. We have to do our part. So its was a really good week I learned a
ton and I know this next week will be even more rewarding!

Love you all. May this new year be full of new goals and challenged to
really become children of Christ and becoming closer to him.

Hermana Anderson

Hey family!

Happy New YEAR!!! So crazy to think that 2011 is officially over and
we have just started a new year. I sometimes forget that time passes
on the mission. Sometimes it just seems like we are just in such a
pattern and habit that its just the same every day week and month. But
ya some great things happened this week we had some great sucess. I
love this area of Maipú there are some great people here. We were able
to teach this reference from a member she is 20 years old and is
great. We were just talking to her about the Book of Mormon which she
is reading right now and so thats great and we also taught her little
sisters as well. So we was really sweet cause we were able to just be
chill with them and be ourselves. Mom I was actually about to share
some things about your conversion story with them that you had told me
when I did that paper about you  in college. It really toched her
heart and I am glad I listened to the spirit and shared it with you.
Her and her two sisters have baptism fechas for the 21 so we are going
to try and do everything we can to get them prepared for it! We are
really excited about it. We are also teaching some other people that
are really great as well so just a matter of time. I am really excited
about the potential of this area. We had a great meeting with our ward
mission leader this week and it was the best one I have had in my
whole mission! So it was a great blessing. Also something cool we did
this week was we had our mission Christmas party! So I got to see
Hermana John, Dana and Ponce again and Hermana Thatcher! It was
awesome we all just ran up and hugged each other and when Hermana
Thatcher saw me she just freaked out and just came and gave me the
biggest hug I was so excited to see her! Its funny how the hermanas in
the mission become your best friends. So the Christmas party was fun I
got Grandma Browns letter tell her thank you for me please! We played
basketball ping pong and it was sweet because we played with
presidents wife Hermana Avila ping pong (around the world) So that was
pretty fun! haha. We had a big dinner and I ate cow tounge......well
for Christmas dinner it was definitely Argentine but thats okay it was
just part of the culture. We had a huge ice cream bar after and that
was way good. So something that is big here is the 3 wise men. They
have a holiday on the 6th on Jan where everyone puts there shoes out
and apparently the wise men come and fill them with candies etc. Kinda
like stockings at Christmas! Anyways I think its pretty sweet! I am
going to do it for my comp. or try to do it at least but I am
definitely incoporating it into my life when I get home. Its called
Dia de los Reyes Magos I think so its pretty sweet. Anyways other
things that happened this week.....welll its was so stinkin hot this
week that I wanted to die. Like 40 degrees. I have never sweat so much
in my life. Our pench is seriously like an oven it traps the heat and
so its sooooooo hot inside. We sleep and we are just sooooo hot We
have to take like cold showers before we go to bed to get soaked and
then we go to bed wet and I still wake up in the middle of the night
just so hot. Its just like stagnant air so its terrible. Makes me
grateful for the seasons that we have for sure. So New Years here is a
lot like Christmas everyone parties and gets drunk and they light off
tons of fireworks. Some members were telling us that sometimes because
they are so drunk the people like put firecrackers etc in their mouth
and there has been some deaths. But usually its just they people that
arent careful and they get burned. So now you are probably wondering
why the title of this email is so strange. Well let me expalin. This
morning we were walking to meet the elders at the church and on our
way we walk by this park and there were a bunch of police out walking
around and there were a bunch of people standing there watching etc.
So we go and ask this one guy whats going on and he tells us that this
woman was walking in the park and just walked by this guys laying face
down in the grass and started screaming and ran away. Anyways the
police were called and it just so happen that this man is dead laying
under some trees in the park. Probably got murdered or something so we
are just watching the police rope off around his body and then we just
walked away so weird!!!!! So after me and Hermana Haskell were just
like hmm.....thats so sad and we were a little shook up just because
its so common here. In our area here the members sometimes tell us
¨´there was a dead body in the street yesterday just down the block
etc´so its a little wierd for us to just walk and talk to everyone. I
think I have realized more than ever how protected we are as
missionaries. God really watches out for us and sometimes I think that
when people that want to rob us or worse see us that maybe they see
angels with us protecting us because let me tell you there have been
many instances where we have been protected. Nothing will hinder the
work of God. Anyways I love you all hope you had a great new years the
ginger bread houses are rocking! I loved them all As fo the winner I
would say the Native Tipi but if we are going for the one that was so
funny!! Definitely Nacho Libres tribute! hahahaha.

I love you all!!
Hermana Anderson

Hey everyone!

Sorry I wasn't able to get online yesterday. The libraries were closed.. oh well. This week has been intense!! We ahve really tried to find alot more new people to teach and its been hard because of Christmas and new years and all the parties but we were able to find a few nevertheless. Did you like that word? Anyways. Its getting alot colder here. This morning it was below freezing and with the humidity it isn't the funnest to tract it or even be outside in general. It usually warms up into the 40's and 50's by the end of the day though so thats nice. I honestly dont know what to say today.. this week has been hard! But one thing I love is just how we can keep pushing and keep teaching. I was reading in Romans today in the bible and I read Chapter 3 verse 16 which says something along the lines of, " I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ." I really liked that alot because as a missionary or even as a member in our everyday life we sometimes are scared to share the gospel or open our mouth because we fear what the response might be from the person we are sharing it with whether its a friend, co-worker, stranger, family member, homeless man, dog, cat, ok just kidding but you get what I am saying. I know its super scary especially doing it in a language you are trying to learn. Knocking on a strangers door and going inside and sharing a 30 minute lesson on the restoration and expecting someone to change their whole lifestyle and believe what we are saying. The beauty about our message though is that its true. If they make that decision to reject it then we still have that reasurrance that we did our best and Heavenly Father will be happy about that. Thats what keeps me going and helps me not to be afraid of sharing my testimony. Of course practicing helps too. So guys, step out of your comfort zone and try to share the gospel! Keep being awesome. I love you all.

E. Anderson