So this is it...

I cannot believe that the time has gone by. 18 months. Just like that. And I have to admit, I really hate saying goodbye. I´m just a big mess of mixed feeling right now. Of course, I´m excited to see you all, friends and family, but at the same time, I´m leaving behind my new found family here in Prados Verdes. It´s been more than a year since I first met many of these people here, and we´ve all grown spiritually together. I´ve seen families baptized, others return after a long time, others sealed, and it´s been a privilege to be a part of their lives. I will never forget my experiences here. 

This last week was easily one of the craziest of my entire mission. To briefly summarize, it included 20+ hours in meetings and another 20+ hours in bus to get to all the meetings. And the majority of that traveling took place in the middle of the night. So we´re kinda tired, but I have to admit, it was fun. Hna Yañez makes everything fun and exciting. And it was a great thing to see and interact with so many missionaries. They always teach me new stuff. Now I´m just hoping to get home and be able to keep applying everything that I´ve learned in the mission. It´s been a grand adventure with so many ups and downs. I´m so grateful for the opportunity I have had to give this short time to my Savior. By giving my time and giving myself to this wonderful work, I´ve gained more than I ever thought possible. 

I can´t wait to get home and tell you guys all about my experiences. And just so you know, tomorrow I´ll be traveling to Guadalajara, we´ll have interviews, temple, tacos, testimony meeting, the final dinner and Thursday morning I´m headed to the airport for a long flight home. I´m anxious to see all your beautiful faces. You´re the bestests.

les amo,

nos vemos muy muy pronto,

Hermana Anderson

Hna Mortensen y Hna Tere Bedolla

Mi hija Hna Gonzales

The Crew. President Egginton, The Assistants (Elder Starley, Elder Suarez), and us. 

My dear Hna Yañez. Man I´m gonna miss this girl

...after nearly my entire mission, I finally found the ocean :)

con la familia Ventura

Our last zone meeting. They feed us :) 

Another one of us...cause we´re cool like that

They shoved my face in cake this last week to tell me good bye

Here´s a pic with my comps, Julio and Karla, and the other one is in Lazaro Cardenas

Hna Angelita... one of my converts from my first round in Prados

The Final Countdown

Wow...there aren`t even words to explain my many mixed emotions right now. 10 more days. I`m excited for what`s to come. I realize there are many things for me to learn back at home, but it`s not going to be easy to leave so many people that I`ve come to love so much. I completed 9 months here in Prados Verdes...that`s half of my mission. Prados is like my second home. And part of my heart will always be here. This last week of my mission will be one of the craziest. In a couple hours we`ll be leaving to Guadalajara (again). We were just there last Friday and now we`re going again for a future leader training thing. And we`ll be coming back to Morelia tomorrow or Wednesday with President Egginton. We will then be teaching the same training session here in Morelia and we will also be having our zone meeting and somehow we`re going to fit two companionship exchanges in the middle of all that. I`m just trying to enjoy every last second and trying to use up every last drop of energy I have. There will never be another time like this in my life. I feel so blessed to have had these experiences, to have gotten to know this people, and more than anything, to have gotten to know my Savior on this wonderful adventure. 

I`m excited to come home and put into practice all that I`ve learned here on the mission. It`s been an experience that I will never forget. I don`t have much more to write. I`ll be there soon to tell you all about my adventures. I just want you to know that I love all of you and I`m so incredibly grateful for your support and love over these past 18 months and over the course of my life. You guys inspire me. 

See you soon. 

Remember that patience is a virtue.

les amo,

Hermana Anderson

Exchanges with Hna Tupouniua! 

The Crew (Hna Aguilar, Hna Yañez, Hna Vidales, Yo, Hna Sutherland)

Hna Ana de Salvatierra

The three Hnas Anderson...and yes, we are all distantly related 

Con Hna Isabel Chavez :) 

This one`s for all the Anderson CrossFitters out there

This mission is not mine...

`My mission belongs to the Lord, with all my heart I give my energy and my time to the Master. Therefore, I`m going to look at every day not as mine, but as His. Because I love Him. And I will treat each minute of His time with respect and focus and the dedication that it deserves.` (M Russell Ballard) This has been my goal my entire mission, and I believe it applies more than ever in these last couple weeks. It`s not easy, but it`s worth it. This last week I had one experience that made me realize that this mission really has been worthwhile. We went to a youth conference in the Stake to help with a mini MTC activity. While there, I ran into one of my investigtors from the beginning of my mission. He excitedly ran up to me and told me that he had some good news. He explained to me that him and his family are going to be completing thier one year as members and are preparing to get sealed. He invited me to their sealing and with tears in his eyes he told me, `thanks to you, I`m going to have an eternal family`. I explained to him that I really hadn`t done anything. I had just been an instrument in the hands of the Lord to invite him and his family to come unto Christ and accept the gospel in their lives. But hearing him say that made me realize the importance of serving a mission. I`m truly convinced that I promized the Velazquez, even before this life, that I would share the gospel with them. It`s a satifying feeling to know that the Lord has let me be a small part of His great plan in truly changing the eternities. And I hope that in a little less than 2 months from now I`ll be able to come back and see this family get sealed for time and all eternity. 

We`ve also seen many miracles this last week as we found new families to teach. Remember the guy I told you about a couple weeks ago that we knocked on his door and we found out he had a member friend and all? Well they are all progressing really well! And we`ve found various other families this week through members and referals and just talking to people on the street. But honestly, there`s not a day that goes by that I see the hand of the Lord so clearly in this grand work. 

These upcoming weeks are going to fly by with various trips and trainings and companion exchanges that we have planned. I can`t believe that it`s all coming to an end. It`s been such a marvelous adventure. 

I love the Lord with all my heart and serving a mission as truly been one of the best decisions thus far in my life. It has brought me more joy than words can describe. But don`t worry, I`m also excited to you all in a couple weeks (17 days to be exact.)

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Anderson

The Cosmes Family...

Let me tell you a little bit about the Cosmes family... when I first got here to Prados Verdes, they didn´t want anything to do with us. We´d knock and they´d sometimes hide or make up excuse for why they couldn´t let us in. On the rare occasion that they did let us in, you could feel the tension between everyone in the family. They almost never smiled. It´s been a process of 6 months, but with the help of the members of the ward, church activities, family home evenings, lots of prayer and scripture study, this family has completely changed. I love them so much. They now come every Sunday without fail. The mom has a calling as one of the relief society teachers, the dad is a worthy melchezidek Priestood holder, the kids excitedly get themselves ready to go to church, they´re happy and they have a home full of love. I feel so blessed to have gotten to know this wonderful family, and to have been a part of their conversion process. Their oldest daughter, Sofi, got baptized on Saturday. It was beautiful. 

We also had the opportunity to go to Guadalajara this last week to participate in a training meeting for all the new missionaries. I always love seeing the enthusiasm of the new missionaries, it always reminds me of when I first got here. Something that feels like just yesterday. 

Well, everything is going well. I don´t necessarily have any stories to tell you from this week cause we spent the majority of the time traveling, but I just want you to know that everything is great. I don´t even know how it´s possible, but I´m coming to love my companions and these people more and more everyday. The time is going by way too fast, but I also realize there are great things to come when I get home.

Thanks for your love and support in every step along the way.

I love you all.

Hasta luego,

Hermana Anderson  

Family Home Evening in Jovita´s house

Hna Lagarda and I in the 12 weeks training meeting

Quick Letter

Sorry, it´s going to be a quick letter today. But considering I´ll be seeing you all in a month, I don´t think a super detailed letter is too necessary anyway. Well, the good and surprising news is we´ll be staying in trio until the end of my mission. That´s right...my 4th trio in the mission. But we´re pretty pumped. We all speak spanish and english so they´re helping me adapt to english again...but it´s more spanglish than anything. We´ve been working super hard. This week we were focused in finding more investigators and wow did the Lord bless us. Yesterday we were leaving a lesson and had an impression to go see if one of the references we had received was home. While walking, it started to rain...but really rain. By the time we got to the house of the reference, we were soaked from head to toe and covered in mud. But it was a blessing because when they saw us, wet and everything, they quickly let us in. Thanks to the rain, they hadn´t left like they were planning and we were able to teach a lesson. It´s another family of 5. And wow are they prepared. The husband has had lots of problems with alcohol, but he hasn´t drank for 4 months and he´s ready to leave it for good. The wife lost her mom and brother to an accident a couple weeks ago and has been praying to know if she´ll see them again. Their questions and everything were perfect. And tonight they´re going to go with us to a Family Home Evening. It should be super great. This week Sofi is going to be baptized. I remember when I first got here, her family didn´t even receive us in their home. But with lots of persistence, and thanks to the help of a loving Heavenly Father, I have seen this family change 100%. Alejandra (Sofi´s mom) was called as a Relief Society teacher and taught an awesome class this last week about temples. They´re also going to the Family Home Evening tonight. I just love these people so much and I hope that I can continue to be an instrument in the Lord´s hand to help as many people as possible in the little time that I have left. 

So I´ll keep sloshing through the mud and doing all I can to help the Lord in this marvelous work. 

con amor,

Hermana Anderson

The three musketeers

Making every second count.

Everyone keeps reminding me how little time left I have in the mission. But it`s okay cause it helps me to remember to make every second count. The mission is honestly the best opportunity to learn and grow in such a short amount of time. It amazes me at the end of every day when I write in my journal, or every week as I write to you guys, and I start to analyze all the things that have happened and all the things that I have learned. This week was a grand adventure of trips between Guadalajara, Morelia, and Uruapan along with interviews and meetings along the way. President surprised us the other day with the news that we`re going to be in trio this week! So we went to pick up Hna Aguilar from Uruapan yesterday and we`ve been enjoying our P-Day together. We made tacos and visited el mercado de los dulces. Good stuff. 

This last week we`ve been really focused in finding new people to teach and it`s been a blast. The other day, we were in divisions with some young women from the ward. I was with Mari and all of our appointments fell through, so we decided to knock on a door. I told Mari to pick a door and we went.

A man answered the door and we began to introduce ourselves. Before we could even finish saying the whole name of the church, his whole face lit up and he started telling us that he has a friend from our church and he`s been wanting to learn more. Sure enough, his friend is a faithful brother from the ward, and we were able to teach a the first lesson with him and his family. Sometimes I wish all the members of the church could recognize what a great influence their example has. Had it not been for the example of this brother, I`m not so sure this man would have let us into his home. And just like that we`ve been finding lots of people prepared to hear our message. I`m not gonna lie, sometimes it takes hours of walking and talking with hundreds of people, but there are people prepared and waiting for us to find them. 

I love this work with all my heart. It`s not easy, and I`m pretty much exhausted all the time, but I love it. It makes me happy to make others happy through the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is His Church and this is His work. I know it without a shadow of a doubt.

Les amo,

Hermana Kirsten Anderson

Kickball in the rain

Selfie with my awesome companion

A Family Home Evening we had with the Cosmes Family and others from La Colonia Eduardo Ruiz

My cute companion and I

Hermana Eva from Salvatierra. Saw her in a stake meeting on Sunday! Love her. 

Here`s a photo eating homemade tacos today with Hna Aguilar

Where do I even start?

Where do I even start? So many experiences this week. I think one of my favorites was a man that tried to contend with us in the street. He started asking us questions about the church, but before we could even answer he was yelling about how Joseph Smith was a liar and we´ve been brainwashed our entire lives. We kindly listened for about 10 minutes and then the only thing we could do was invite him to read the scriptures and pray about it for himself. We crossed the street and a man selling coconuts on the other side stopped us to tell us that he admired the way we had handled the situation. We invited him to listen to the lessons. He agreed, and now the elders are currently teaching him. It makes me laugh cause the people that think they can tear us down with words just help us to strengthen our testimony and even help us to find those who are ready to hear the gospel! No man can frustrate the ways of God. 

We´re working hard, and while our ward isn´t perfect, and we might not have hundreds of investigators like we´d like, we´re doing all we can to build up the kingdom of God in this little part of the world. That often includes walking for hours on end, having doors shut in our face, having to accept rejection and disappointments, but if that´s what it takes to at least help one person come unto Christ, it´s so worth it...even if that one person is me. The mission has converted me, and I still have things to learn in these last couple months. 

Oh, remember the lady from last week that said we were really pretty? Well she´s one of our new investigators. So interesting how Heavenly Father helps introduce us to so many people. This week we took the wrong bus... but it turned out that on the bus was a young man that had been praying to run into us. He had listened to the missionaries before, but his family told the missionaries to never come back, even though the young man still had a desire to learn. Well, we started teaching him, and he came to church this last week! I see a lot of potential in him. 

Well, other then that, I just want you to all know that I love you!! Stay strong, read your scripture and say your prayers. This gospel is the only road to true happiness.

con muchisisisisimo amor,

Hermana Anderson

In a FHE we used sundaes to explain the importance of making your ¨Sunday¨ a delight

See that house way there in the distance...at the top of that giant hill? Yeah, we walked there :)

I took Hna Yañez to the zoo today!

My companion made me lunch to celebrate my 16 months in the mission 

2 Months to Enjoy...

I refuse to accept the fact that I just received my flight planes to go home... the good thing is I still have 2 months to enjoy. And I promise you I´m going to enjoy it. Rain, sun, hail, we´re making the best of it. Today we played kickball while it was pouring rain, and it was super fun! The entire week´s just been a joy. Maria Eugenia was baptized! And all her family even came to support. It was a beautiful event. We also have interchanges with some sister from Guadalajara and had some great experiences. My favorite was while we were walking down the street and someone starting talk to us. She said, ¨I just wanted to tell you girls how beautiful you are. You have some sort of special...light.¨ We introduced ourselves and asked if we could visit her. She excitedly agreed and said, ¨Who wouldn´t want to receive angels in their home¨ it made us smile. We were also able to knock on a door and find a family that happens to be exactly like my family. The oldest girl is 20, with her 18 year old brother and the smallest boy is 10. They showed a lot of interest and it was a special experience to explain to them the blessings that I´ve received in my family thanks to the gospel...and to help them realize that they could have the same. I love the mission so much. There´s nothing better than just forgetting about yourself and helping others. 

Yesterday we had our ward conference and after that, the members were super excited to help us in the work of the Lord. We´re working hard, and there´s a whole lot more to do. So let us all press on in the work of the Lord.

Les amo,

Hermana Anderson

Just a pretty landscape of my lovely Mexico

Marchas en Morelia-- we got caught up in one of the biggest demostrations in the history of Morelia... so that was interesting. It had to do with the teachers and education in Mexico and stuff

One of my favorite experiences...

This last week was probably one of my favorite experiences...watching my convert baptize my convert. Erik baptized Emily on Saturday and it was so beautiful! And it looks like my primary calling with the 9 years olds before the mission really has been a blessing. We do a lot of activating families which results in the baptism of their kids. And I love teaching these little children. They´re so smart and so receptive to the spirit. It was funny because after Emily was baptized, she went to go change and the rest of us were waiting while singing hymns. After about 15 minutes we were getting worried and went to see if everything was okay. But we couldn´t find Emily! We all went out to find her, and there she was outside running around and playing! When we asked her to come back in she told us, ¨But yeah I got baptized, what else is there to do?!¨ It made us all laugh. 

We also had a lot of cool experiences trying to find new people to teach. Lots of rejection but also a lot of people that let us in! We even found another family of 15. It was a good week. Lots of walking and lots of sun which means lots of sunburns, but we couldn´t be happier. My companion laughs at me cause my arm currently looks like nepolitan ice cream with tan, burned, and completely white, but that´s just how the mission goes. 

I´m just loving life and I´m enjoying the mission more and more everyday. There´s still a lot of experiences to be had and people to help these last two months I have in Mexico, so I´ll be sure to try to make the best of every minute. 

I love you all and I feel so grateful for your support and prayers and love. 

con mucho amor,

Hermana Anderson

It´s a strange thing, the mission

It´s a strange thing, the mission. We go out walking, knocking, and talking with people for hours on end, and you feel so happy that you never want it to end. There´s an incredible joy that comes from loosing yourself in the work of the Lord to help others. This last week in our Zone Conference, we talked a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I realized how blessed I am to have this knowledge of the Atonement, and I don´t think words could ever describe the peace, the joy, the love I´ve felt thanks to Him and it would be selfish to keep this wonderful gift to myself. This last week we were able to teach a family that recently lost their mom due to cancer. It was amazing to see, as they came to understand the Atonement and the Plan of Salvation, this light of hope that came into their eyes. I wish you could all just come out to the mission with me for a day to see what it´s like. The miracles, the Spirit that so directly leads and guides us, the rain and sun and doors slammed in our faces. It´s a beautiful thing. 

Today while shopping in Walmart, a young woman came up to us and asked where she could find a church. We gave her the address of the church and asked if she would like us to visit her. She happily agreed and we were able to set up an appointment. The missionaries had visited her once or twice before and she explained to us that she´d been praying to run into us to because she wanted another chance to accept the gospel and change her life. It was funny cause we never shop in Walmart. In fact, it´s in a completely different zone, but for one reason or another, we decided to go today, and I´m glad we did. The Lord works in mysterious ways. I´m convinced that there´s no such thing as coincidences. 

Well, we continue to work hard and I´m honestly sincerly super happy here. We´ve got a lot to do before August 18th...

I hope you know I love you all and I´m grateful for your prayers, and love and support. I too am praying for you! 

Hasta luego,

Hermana Anderson

Angela, Hna yañez and I...we went to play soccer at the church this morning with a bunch of the youth and missionaries

Enjoying the rainy season in Morelia!!

Hna Yañez and Me

Y los cambios han llegado...

Well, I´m officially with my 12th and last companion. Her name´s Hna Yañez. She´s from Tamaulipas, Mexico but lived in the United States for a long time and speaks super good english...which is good to be able to practice some before coming home. I have to admit, it was hard to leave Hna Vargas, but I´ll be seeing her soon, and changes are just part of the mission, and life. This last week was Leadership Council. As always, it was super good and I learned a ton. Hna Vargas and I spent a solid 2 hours talking about the role of Sister Training Leaders and how to help the sisters in the mission. With 17 new sister missionaries coming to the mission these next couple weeks, it was an important subject. I´m super excited for this next transfer. We´re seeing lots of progress in the stake and the work is progressing like never before. The members are excited and are actively participating in the work. I love this ward so much! I can´t even explain in words the love that I have come to felt for these people. Investigators, members, less-actives, everyone. This last week, we were out teaching like normal when we both received a strong impression to visit our investigator Alicia. When we got to her house, her daughter answered the door crying, and when she saw us she just starting crying more. We asked what was wrong and she explained to us that her grandma had just passed away. She said that when she found out, she said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to send her someone to help her feel better. That´s when we showed up, and three other youth were also acompanying us. It was a beautiful lesson with the whole family, explaining the Plan of Salvation and the power of temples. Day after day I´m amazed by the way that Heavenly Father guides us to the right people at the right moment. 

I also want to share my testimony of fasting. A fast with a purpose is a powerful thing. I´ve seen it change peoples´s hearts and help bring to pass miracles. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He gives us instruments to show our faith and receive incredible blessings, I love this church with all my heart. I know that it is true. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing someone become converted to this gospel. 

I love you all! Thanks for your prayers and love.

con mucho amor,

Hermana Anderson

The stake rewarded us for our progress this last month with Gourmet Hamburgers

Here´s a pic with Julio, Erik, and Sandy 

We made these for Relief Society to teach about working together as missionaries and members (M&M= missionaries & members) 

Family Home Evening with the Rodriguez Family

Hna Mortensen and Hna Guevara :)