Tropical Rainforests and Waterfalls

Mi nueva área es HERMOSA! Besides the fact that we have to hike up and
down hills all day, it´s absolutely wonderful and beautiful here. But
for reals, it´s a tropical rainforest mountain. Yesterday we were
eating in the house of a member at the very top of the mountain and it
started to rain...a lot. After an hour or so, it died down just enough
to hike down the pathway/waterfall to our our next appointment, but
not without tripping, slipping and sliding along the way. What
wonderful adventures we have here in the mission.
This last week was really good, and really hard. New area, new
missionary, new everything. I think more than anything, I learned that
I can do a lot of things I didn´t think I could do. Our Heavenly
Father knows our potential, and when we put our trust in Him, He´s
there every step along the way to help us reach this potential inside
of us. This week I learned a lot about diligence, patience and faith.
Being our first week in this area, we weren´t exactly sure exactly
where the investigators live, when they´re home, or what we should
teach them, but as we diligently sought these people, the Spirit
always lead us exactly where we needed to be and told us exactly what
to say. Yesterday, all of our appointments fell through and we were
standing on top of the mountain without any idea where to go. It was
then I felt very directly prompted to go the house of an investigator
that we had tried to visit 4 or 5 times earlier in the week, but
hadn´t had any luck. Of course, this time she was home, and how
excited she was to see us. She told how she had been reading the Book
of Mormon and praying and everything. The thing is, this woman can´t
even read! But for her that´s no excuse and she has been diligently
studying the scriptures with her family. Before we even invited her to
be baptized, she was asking what she needs to do to prepare herself
for baptism and her husband was asking about when they could be sealed
in the temple. THEY ARE SO PREPARED! So yeah, there´s a lot of work to
do in this area and I can´t wait to keep on climbing these hills and
finding these people to share the Gospel.
Alma 26:28-30
Pase lo que pase...¡la Iglesia es verdadera!
Les quiero MUCHO!!
Hermana Anderson

¡¡LOS CAMBIOS!!

Well, I guess the big news of this week is that I`M TRAINING!! I
received my new compañera today, straight from the MTC. Her name is
Hermana Bernal and I can already tell she is going to be a fantastic
missionary. We will be working in Uruapan, which, considering I`ve
never been there before in my life, I have lots of new things to
learn. I`m super excited though and I feel like it will be a great
experience to work and learn together.
This last week was one of the best weeks of my mission thus far. We
found a family of 9 and many other new people to teach. One of my
favorite parts of the mission life is to see how God leads us to
people to teach, people very very prepared. For example, yesterday
Hermana Campbell and I had about 30 minutes before our next
appointment and went to visit an investigator, but she wasn`t home. We
decided we should knock on a door and both felt inspired to knock on
this gray door. A little kid answered the door, and eventually when
his mom got to the door, she invited us in. We presented ourselves,
got to know her a little bit and started to teach the Restoration. As
we started to teach about the Book of Mormon, Hermana Campbell asked
if she had ever heard of the Book of Mormon. This is a question we
normally don`t ask because the answer is almost always no, thus, we
were all the more surprised when she answered yes. She then stood up,
went into another room and returned with the Book of Mormon in hand.
She said she had received the book nearly 4 years earlier from two
missionaries, but had only recently started reading it. There are no
coincidences in this life and the Lord will guide and inspire us if
we`re willing to listen. We will never know all the effects of our
work in this life, but the Lord knows, and this is His work. I`m
starting to see more and more of the fruits of my labors here in the
mission, and I`ve realized how important it is to plant seeds wherever
possible.
We don`t have a ton of time to write today because we were in
different training sessions all day today, but next week I`ll be sure
to tell you all about our new area and everything. Thank you for your
prayers, I truly feel strengthened by them.
Les Quiero,
Hermana Anderson

Hermana White and I by the Cathedral named Cathedral...original,huh? Morelia, Michoacan 

Noche de Hogar con el Barrio Prados Verdes... last night with Hermana Moncada

We had to say goodbye to Hermana Moncada as she finished her
mission and returned home :(

Fun and Fulfilling...

Primero--¡FELICIDADES A MI PRIMO TORBJOR! Looks like the Anderson fam is going to convert all of México if we keep up this trend. 

Bueno, pues, esta semana...

Nothing super exciting happened, but it was fun and fulfilling nonetheless. I had the opportunity to give a talk in church on Sunday, we had a fun zone activity where we ate tacos and pizza, we shoved each others faces in cake to celebrate Hna. Moncada´s last week in the mission, and we found a mariachi band in the street. But my favorite experience this week was while we were out tracting. It was late in the evening and we were exhausted from walking all day. We had one more address to find, but it seemed as though it didn´t exist. You have to understand that the addresses here in México are ridiculous. It´s the name of the street and a number...nada más. And more often than not, the numbers have absolutely no pattern or reason. The street we happened to be in this evening was extremely long. Halfway down the street we debated going somewhere else, but something told me to keep going, because you never know who might just be in the last house at the end of the street. We made it to the very last house on the street, and the spray-painted number wasn´t very clear. The front door was open so we decided to ask. The person we were originally searching for didn´t live there, but the woman invited us in anyway and we had an amazing lesson. Later in the week, we returned to visit her, and her daughter and son happened to be home too. We taught about the Restoration and were able to bear powerful testimonies of Joseph Smith and the First Vision. They all accepted baptismal dates and are now preparing to be baptized this next month. 

I know with all my heart that this is the true church of God. This work isn´t always easy, but so very rewarding. I don´t always feel adequate to do what the Lord has called me to do, but I know he will never ask us to do something in which we are not qualified. I love this work and I love my Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and don´t forget to read your scriptures and say your prayers.

Les quiero muchisimo,

Hermana Anderson

Cake on my face gracias a Pepe

Eric y Angela en la capilla 

Noche de Hogar con la familia Rodriguez y Julio Y Pepe siempre

Walking home after a day´s work

Last comida con Julio y Pepe

Me and Hermana Campbell with the Mariachi & mira, we match.

Las Tres Nefitas

It was a another wonderful week with my wonderful compañeras. We went to Guadalajara for Leadership Counsel and had an amazing experience there. It`s a good thing I enjoy traveling...cause I`m pretty sure I`ve toured nearly the entire mission by now. We basically live off of the sandwiches and cookies they give us on the buses and endure the long hours by sleeping and reading the Book of Mormon. I`m officially reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish and hope to finish it by Christmas! I`m amazed by the power of the gift of tongues...5 months in the mission and I feel more comfortable speaking and reading Spanish than I do English! The mission is 18 months of miracles. 
This week we had companion exchanges (again) and Hna Buttars came with me and Hna Campbell...that means we had three really white American missionaries walking the streets of Mèxico. Haha needless to say, we received lots of stares...and then when they heard us speaking Spanish, well, we received even more confused looks and some even confronted us to figure out what we were doing. It made for some interesting conversations.
 After our divisions, we were trying to find someone to teach. We knocked on the door of one of our investigators, but no one was home. After nearly an hour of knocking doors, we were still without anyone to teach. I said a little prayer to help me know where we needed to go. Less than 5 minutes later we again passed by the street of our investigator, and I saw that her door was open. We went to her house again, and while she wasn`t home, her mom was and we had one of the most spiritual lessons I`ve had in all of my mission. We taught the entire lesson of the Restoration, she accepted baptism, and is super excited to read the Book of Mormon and pray. 
Other than that, I don`t have much more to say solamente que sè que esta iglesia es verdadera y que Dios siempre contesta nuestras oraciones. Dios nos ama y esta es su obra. Estoy bien feliz y espero que ustedes esten bien tambien.
Les amo,
Hermana Anderson

El Consejo de Liderazgo- Julio 2015 

Las Tres Nefitas (no es cierto) 

Con Julio y Pepe...los mejores miembros en todo el mundo

Comida con la familia Pinedo, Julio, Pepe, y los Elderes Nolasco y Dance

Nuestro Primer Consejo de Liderazgo. Con Presidente y Hermana Egginton

Just another week en la vida

I don`t have a whole bunch to say from this week. We had companion
exchanges again, this time with the sisters in Lazaro Cardenas. The
drive was pretty long, but absolutely beautiful. We even passed by the
beach for like, 2 seconds. I love meeting all these sisters and seeing
all the different places in the mission. I feel so blessed to be here,
and I know without a doubt this is exactly where I need to be.
My companions are still absolutely incredible and I really don`t want
this transfer to end because Hermana Moncada will be finishing her
mission and going home :( Soooo we`re making the best of this time we
have together, and truly it has been some of the best times of my
life.
Exciting news from this week, our investigator Erik recieved
permission to be baptized!!! He`s been actively going to church
everyweek for some time now, and he even goes to Seminary everyday,
we`ve just been waiting for permission from his parents to be
baptized. While he was at EFY this last week, our bishop talked with
his parents, and after lots of prayers, they finally said yes.
We have one family that we are teaching right now that is absolutely
perfect. They have such a strong desire to do what`s right and are
quickly progressing toward their baptism. The father was an extreme
alcoholic, but since our Word of Wisdom lesson, he hasn`t taken a sip.
It`s only through the Atonement of Christ we can overcome these
obstacles, whether physical or spiritual, to return to our Father in
Heaven. We will be have a Family Home Evening with them and another
family from the ward tonight and I`m super excited! My favorite part
of the mission is seeing this change in people, poco a poco, as they
have this change of heart and come unto Christ.
I LOVE THESE PEOPLE SO MUCH AND LA VIDA MISIONAL ES LO MEJOR!
Thanks for all your support and love. I don`t think I`d ever be able
to do this work without it. You all inspire me y te amo mucho.
Con todo mi amor,
Hermana Anderson

Third-wheeling it...

I can`t even begin to describe in words just how much I love working
with my two wonderful companions. I was a little nervous to be in a
trio, but I know this is where I need to be and I`ve already learned
so much from these hermanas. They`re both in their final months of
their missions, and every day I have with them is such a privlege.
Because they`re the Sister Training Leaders of the Sister Training
Leaders, I have the opportunity to travel around in the mission with
them for campanion exchanges and training meetings. Tomorrow we will
be going to Guadalajara. This last week we had interviews with our new
Mission President, Presidente Egginton. He and his wife are both very
excited to be here and they are going to do many great things in this
mission.
So our apartment is right next to the train tracks and every morning,
at nearly the exact same time everyday, we have to cross the tracks.
But there always happens to be a train coming at the same time...and
the trains can take nearly 30 minutes to pass, so what we`ve managed
to do is become friends with all the train conductors and they stop
the train for us in the mornings in order to cross. And this week they
even took pictures of us on the trains and gave us tours of the
inside. It was pretty cool. Other cool things from this week include
eating lots of tacos, getting to attend the baptism of an investigator
of the Elders, and having lots of awesome lessons with our amazing
invesigators.
There was one day this week while we were searching for an address of
a referal, and we couldn`t seem to find the house number. After 20
minutes of searching, we were ready to give up and just go to our next
appointment. It was then I saw a family walking toward us and I felt
impressed to talk to them and ask them if they knew this family we
were seraching for. As we approached them and began to talk, we
discovered they were the very family we were searching for! It turns
out the address we had recieved was missing a number and thus the Lord
placed this family in our path. We were able to share with them a
short message and set up another appointment for this week. I`m always
amazed at all the different was the Lord helps us in this work. He is
so aware of each and everyone of us personally.
I love this work with all my heart. It doesn`t even feel like work, is
simply a joy to wake up every morning and know all I have to do is the
will of the Lord.
Gracias por todo tu apoyo y amor siempre,
te amo,
Hermana Anderson

I´ll Go Where You Want Me To Go, Dear Lord

Well, the big news of the week is I´m in a new area called Prados
Verde...it´s in Morelia. And i will be in a 3-some with the Sister
Training Leaders. My first 12 weeks of training are over, but I have a
feeling I will be learning even more from these wonderful Hermanas. I
was so amazed by the fact that yesterday at 10:30 pm we recieved a
call from our District Leaders, and less than 6 hours later I´m living
in a completely different place. I´m learning to trust in the Lord
more and more everyday, and I´m learning what it really means to say,
I´ll go where you want me to go. Honestly, I´m sad I didn´t have the
chance to really say goodbye to all the people in Moroleón I´ve come
to love, but now this is where the Lord needs me.
My new compañeras are Hermana Moncada y Hermana Campbell. Today
Hermana Campbell is in divisions with some other hermanas, so I got to
spend the day with Hermana Moncada. This is her last transfer of her
mission, and I feel really blessed to be able to spend these last six
weeks with her. Today we went shopping in this Market place, and
bought some Mexican Milkshake things called Esquimos that are amazing,
and we ate some tacos too, and I aready love this area so much. We
have a cute little apartment and I can´t wait to start working in this
area.
This last week we had an amazingly spiritual experience as we taught
Family Valazquez. We encountered this family in the Church this last
Sunday when they came with some member friends. (This is why members
are SOOOO important in missionary work) We quickly set an appointment
to visit them during this last week. During our lesson, we reconized
that they have truly been prepared by God to hear this message. As we
explained things about the Restoration, The Plan of Salvation, and The
Principles and Ordanances of the Gospel, they understood everything
and asked question like, ¨How can we have this feeling of peace, The
Holy Ghost, with us always¨ and ,¨What do we need to do to live with
God and our family forever¨... needless to say, they accepted a
baptismal date, and while I can´t be there to see their progression,
I´m sure they´re going to be amazing, faithful members of the Church.
Not much else exciting happened this week. There was, for whatever
reason, some fireworks on the 4th of July and that made my day, and I
ate a cupecake to celebrate Steinar´s birthday today. And well, it
rained a lot. But yeah it was a wonderful week and now I have a camera
that works so I´ll send some pictures in another email!
And last thing, I just want to share my testimony that while the
church may be attacked, while our morals and values may not be
popular, I know that this Church is true, that we are doing what is
pleasing to God and we need to always be willing to do His will. This
church is lead by a living Prophet of God, and I know with my whole
heart and soul that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in
truly the Church of Christ, and if we do what we know we should, we
will never wander in darkness.
I love you all!
Hermana Anderson

Emma and Maria Fernanda

Adios a la apartamento a las 3 en la mañana

Hermana Moncada y yo en las tianguis

 Calle Rio Grande-- and when it rains it´s literally a grand river