Bodas y Bautismos

Well, according to President Egginton, it´s kinda, almost, pretty-much official that I will be here in Prados Verdes until the end of my mission. Which means I´ll have spent half of my mission in this wonderful area!! There´s so much potential here and we are working with so many amazing people that are truly looking for the gospel in their lives. This last week, we were waiting for some members outside the church. As we waited, we starting talking to some of the people passing by. We started talking to one woman that told us her husband is a member of the church living in the United States, and she asked us to visit her and her son to learn more about the Church. We passed by to visit them, and they weren´t home, but we talked to a young woman that´s renting a room there and we found out that she´s a member of the church too! We invited her and the others to the wedding of our investigator and they all came! After the wedding we were able to visit all of them together and it was a wonderful experience! The mom and son both want to be baptized. 

Our investigator Alicia introduced us to her entire family this last week, her mom, dad, 8 siblings and all her nieces and nephews. And nearly all of them live in the same house. We had a family home evening...biggest family home evening of my life, and it was wonderful to see them learn about these simple truths together. 

The mission is a wonderful thing. You kinda learn a little bit of everything. How to talk with strangers, how to teach, how to clean clothes by hand, how to serve, how to love, and even how to plan weddings. We were running around all week getting everything ready for the big day. And it turned out perfect. Ruben and Tere were finally able to get married after 15 years together. And Ruben was so happy to be able to be baptized on Sunday. He was litterally glowing. And while he refused to smile in the pictures, I promise you, he was super super happy. He´s been attending church and paying his tithing for 2 years, just waiting for his wife to get divorced so they could get married. And in one year, they´ll be able to be sealed for time and all eternity along with their 3 children. So beautiful! I love the gospel so much!! 

Also, don´t know if you remember the story of the mansion in Salvatierra, but that member we found, Mari, introduced us to her friend Veronica that we were able to teach a couple times before I left, well I found out today that Veronica is going to be baptized on May 5. It just makes me so happy to see so many miracles that happen everyday. This is the work of the Lord. There´s no way we could do it without Him. I know this church is true, and I know that our Heavenly Father loves every one of us so much!

Les amo, 

Hermana Anderson

Baptism of Ruben April 17, 2016

Our new trio ;)

Thanks Mom and Dad for the awesome package!! 

Wedding of Ruben y Tere April 15, 2016

Baptism of Ruben April 17, 2016

A Baptism

So I just found out that one of my investigators from my first area, Moroleon, was baptized this last week. His name´s Victor and we found him and his family while walking in the street. It amazes me that more than a year later, and I´m still seeing unexpected fruits from my short time there. That´s something that I always think about as we go out everyday. We never know the impact that we are really going to have on the lives of these people. From something small like helping someone carry grocery bags in the street, to sharing the message of the Restauration with someone for the first time, we´re planting seeds wherever we go. Our Heavenly Father knows the entire plan, the time and place for every detail and every person, and we´re just here to help Him carry out His work and His glory. 

For example, when we went to teach the Mena-Reyes family this week, their daughter was there visiting. As we began to introduce ourselves, she told us that years earlier she had listed to the Elders and had even gone to church. Her parents had previously told us their concern that their daughter would be upset with their decision to listen to us, but it was a great surprise to all of us to see that they were united in their interest and desire to learn more. They even came to church together on Sunday. And Ruben that will be getting baptized this week, has been listening to the missionaries for more than 2 years! But it´s finally his time and I don´t think I´ve ever seen anyone so excited for their baptism. My companion and I are busy with wedding and baptism plans for this week! But it should be super fun. 

Well, all is well here in Morelia. I´m loving it more than ever and we´re just trying to give it our all these last few months that we have left. I know this is the work of the Lord. I see His hand in these little miracles everyday.

La iglesia es verdadera,

les amo,

Hermana Anderson

We went to the temple this week!

The Americans together again...

Hna Vargas and I

Leadership Counsel in Guadalajara with President and Hermana Egginton :)

Another stupendous week

I feel like every week in the mission my weekly emails get shorter and shorter...oops. But as always, it was another stupendous week in Morelia. One day we were walking down the street and the name of a man we met the other week came to my mind. I looked for his address in my agenda and sure enough, we were right in front of his house. We knocked on the door, and when he opened the door, you could tell he was struggling emotionally. We sat down and he expressed to us many of the problems he´s been going through. He told us that just minutes before, he had been praying to God to know the purpose of his life. We were able to share a message of the Plan of Salvation and a little later, the elders were able to help us out by giving him a Priesthood blessing. It was super powerful. And this weekend, he was there on Sunday to listen to the conference. I love how the Lord places us in the lives of the people that need us in the perfect moment. There´s so many people that have so many difficulties, but the gospel applies to all of us, no matter what we´re going through, and our Heavenly Father listens to our prayers. 

We´re going to have to post-pone Ruben´s baptism another week cause some legal papers they need to get married haven´t gotten here yet, but it´s all good, all in the Lord´s time. He had his baptismal interview this last week and was super nervous. He showed up to the interview reviewing flash cards he made haha, but he passed without any problem. I love all my investigators so much and it makes me so happy to see them progressing along this path to eternal life. We found a bunch of new investigators this week, and even though I don´t even know them super well, I love them all. For example, yesterday we decided to knock on doors and the first door we knocked on let us in (a true miracle right there) and after getting to know them a little, we shared a short message of the atonement and restoration of the gospel. By the end of the lesson I felt like I was in the home of some long lost friends. And while we were talking and eating some cookies with milk, it came to my mind that perhaps we are long lost friends, from the pre-earth life. I´m convinced I promised many of these people that I´d find them here on earth and share with them this gospel. 

Other events from the week include another 8 hour trip to Lazaro Cardenas, eating some delicious chocolate from a wonderful Easter Package sent from my lovely mother,  and listening to a wonderful conference that I hope you all got to see too! I seriously love our prophet so much and I´m so grateful that we have leaders to help lead and guide us. May we all keep our destination in mind, and make our decisions according to this eternal goal. 

Love you all,

Hermana Anderson

Selfie with Hna Vargas eating mini bananas :

Hna. Mones in Morelia

Hna Gonzalez in Lazaro

HAPPY EASTER!

I don´t think there´s a better way to celebrate Easter than to share this joyous message that He Lives! It was a wonderful week, sharing the new ¨Halleluja¨ video with people gathered in family and helping them understand the meaning of Easter. While we were in companion exchanges this week, I was able to go out tracting with Hna Luis. We knocked doors, talked to people in the street, and contacted those that we had previously talked to. One of my favorite experiences was while walking, I felt impressed to offer help to a man sweeping outside of his house. As we helped him sweep and water his garden, we started talking. We found out he had previously talked to missionaries, had gone to church a couple times, had read the entire Book of Mormon, and had even gone to a baptism. He didn´t know why the elders had stopped visiting him, but he was eager to learn more. We shared with him the video, sang a hymn, said a prayer, invited him to church and set an appointment for the next week. I was super surprised when he actually came to church the next day, and even more surprised when he stayed for the 3 hours and actively participated in every class. Miracles happen when we just follow those simple promptings of the Spirit.

 We also found another woman that had recently lost her mom. When we shared with her the video, she got super emotional and shared with us the hope and joy that she felt while hearing these people testify that thanks to Christ, we will all be resurrected. I think I watched that video like 100 times this week, and everytime, I learned something new. 

Our other investigator, Alicia, that has been going through a lot of super super dificult problems, but she was finally able to come to church yesterday. She told us that she felt like everything that was said was directed toward her, that it was exactly what she needed to hear. And now with General Conference coming up, I´m super excited to help all our investigators receive that revelation that their all looking for. It´s an amazing thing when someone can learn and feel for themselves that this is the true church. 

This week we´re hoping and praying that all the legal papers get here for one of out investigators, Ruben, to be able to get married to be able to get baptized this week! His girlfriend was less active for many years, but about a month ago, she started coming back to church and invited him to come too...and now we´re axiously awaiting the wedding and baptism! and then in another year will be their sealing! I love the gospel so much.

So while I didn´t have any easter egg hunts, or an extravagent dinner (but we did eat some super good chiles rellenos), I have to say it was one of the best Easter´s I´ve ever had, helping other´s to feel the love of Christ. And now we get to see General Conference. Doesn´t get much better than that. But I hope you all know that I love you and I pray for you everyday! Thank you for your examples and testimonies that strengthen me and help me to keep progressing.

Les amo,

Hermana Anderson

Hna Jovita

Eating tacos with Hna Rita and Marisol

We helped with the New Beginnings program for the Young Women :)

Semana Santa...

For whatever reason, Catholics don´t eat meat in the weeks leading up to Easter...and that means the rest of us suffer too. So we´ve gone on a vegetarian diet this week, but it´s all good. I love Easter. The new initiative from the church ¨Hallelujah¨ has been a great way to share the real meaning of Easter with others. It´s helped me appreciate the atonement of Christ a little bit more this week. Also the whole easter bunny, colored eggs, and easter dinner thing doesn´t exist in Mexico. And while I miss all those festivities, the real meaning of Easter will never change. Christ lives, He is our savior, and thanks to Him, we too will be made alive. What a blessing it is to have that knowledge and to be able to share it with others. 

This last week has been a great one. Lots of Conferences and meetings, but super good. We had Stake conference yesterday which means I got to see nearly all the members and converts from 3 of my previous areas. I was touched to see more than 20 men sustained to receive the Melchezidec Priesthood. 3 from a family I found and taught in Moroleón, 2 young men from Salvatierra that we helped bring back to church, and one of my converts from here in Prados. The church is growing and the power of God is spreading throughout the world. Also zone conference was this last week so we got to see President and his wife. They always help us to feel loved, inspired and excited to work harder and become better. 

Other exciting things from this week include finding a scorpion in the house, eating Kentucky Fried Chicken for the first time in more than a year, and helping a member to throw coconuts against a wall to open them. I love Mexico so much. And this work is amazing. While we have our dificulties, the miracles and joy found in seeing others come unto Christ is far greater than any challenge we could have. This week I had the opportunity to work with Hna Mortensen in exchanges. She was with me in the MTC and we were able to talk about all that has changed in this last year. We realized that as a missionary, you have to learn to forget about yourself and your problems. You´re always thinking in others. The mission has taught me to be grateful for what I have, to look for the good, to see others as God sees them and to trust in Him. It´s been an amazing process to see that as I´ve been trying to help others change and to become converted, I´ve been the one that´s changed the most. The mission has been the best decision I´ve ever made. And I hope to take advantage of every second I have here cause I realize it´s not going to last forever. But thank you for your support, your love and prayers. I love you all with all my heart. 

con amor, 

Hermana Anderson

Hermana Karla and Hermanito Ethan

A Windy Week

It was a very very windy week. One day we were walking in the street wet from the ice cold rain and with the wind practically blowing us over. We realized there was hardly anyone in the street and my companion asked me, ¨do you think there´s a storm coming?¨ Turns out it was one of the worst storms in the history of Morelia. When we finally got to a members house we found out there was a weather warning telling everyone to stay in there houses. I guess when you don´t have television or newspapers or internet you kinda miss out on important messages like that. But we made it home just fine :) And we don´t mind it all that much when it rains cause people seem to be a lot more receptive when they see two young girls, standing in the rain, shivering from the cold on their doorstep. It helps keeps things interesting. 

But really this week was fantastic. We were able to visit one family that we met in la combi (little bus/van like things that we use to get around the city) and they are PERFECT. They´ve been asisting a Christian church these last couple months just trying to find the true church and they were super excited when we went to visit them. As we taught about Joseph Smith and the Restaration, the mom just starting crying, and she couldn´t expain why. She said she just felt something happy in her heart and she wanted to learn more. I love seeing all the different ways the Spirit testifies of the truth to these people when they open up their hearts. And tonight we´ll be having a Family Home Evening with them and the Bishop´s family. 

And remember Ruben that I wrote about last week? This week he told his family that he´s getting married and will be getting baptized. They weren´t very happy with that. It was hard for Ruben cause he´s always looked for the support and approval of his family, but he knew what he had to do and he just shared his testimony and told them that with or without their support he´ll be getting baptized. I was so touched by that to see that even with opposition from his own family, he´s firm in his decision and testimony. It´s not always easy to live the gospel, but it´s worth it. 

And well, that´s about it for this week! I love you all and I know that this church is true! 

Les amo

Hermana Anderson

Another pic of the tiger from last week :)

A pic of the sisters of the Aeropuerto zone

Hna Audelia. We go to visit her every week to sing hymns. Possibly one of my favorite parts of the week

con mis hermanitas

From the city to the beach and a trip to the zoo too

I don´t think I´ve ever traveled so much or slept so little. But we sure had fun along the way. We started of the week spending a couple days in Guadalajara for the Leadership Counsel, which as always, was super great. It was a record-breaking 9 hours long, but we all left super ready to change the world. And then, with just a 5 hour lay over in Morelia to sleep, we were off to Lazaro Cardenas. The beach... just imagine Arizona heat with Georgia humidity and that´s about the weather in Lazaro. We showered with ice-cold water and we slept with fans on high. And my favorite was after a late night special assignment with President, he took us out to ice cream...at 11:30 at night. Just some things I never imagined would happen on the mission. But it keeps things interesting. And then today we enjoyed the day at the zoo. It´s HUGE and hardly anyone was there. We even got to pet a tiger. How cool is that? And we got a private tour in the jeep, train thing that passes through the whole zoo. So needless to say, it´s been a pretty successful week. But better than all of that is that one of our investigators, Ruben, is finally going to be able to get baptized! He´s been attending church for nearly 2 years, he pays tithing, and he really really wants to be baptized, but he hasn´t been able to because his wife/girlfriend hasn´t been able to get divorced to be able to marry him but yeah, this last week she finally got divorced and they´ll be getting married this month! And they´re already making plans to get sealed in the temple in a year with their 3 kids! It just makes me so happy to be able to help these people prepare to have eternal families! 

I love this work with my whole heart. It´s not always easy, but I know this is where I need to be.

Love you all,

Hermana Anderson

El consejo de liderazgo con Hna Sutherland

Lazaro Cardenas con Hna Hernandez (mi entranadora) y Hna Osorio

Buying some coconuts in Lazaro

Just hanging out with the snakes

Hna Vargas and I on our excursion to the ZOO!

I decided to jump in the cage with the tiger...

Selfie with Hna Galvan, Hna Egginton, Hna Vargas and I