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

No puedo hablar Ingles...

Sorry if my writing a day late caused any stress...we had the change
of our Mission Presidents yesterday so our P-Day got switched just for
this week.
Sooo, this week we met a woman from Beaver, Utah! She was born there
and speaks perfect English, thus she started talking to me in
English...and that`s when I discovered I CAN`T SPEAK ENGLISH ANYMORE!
So I guess it`s a good thing I can at least kinda speak Spanish now.
But for reals, this week was super good! We found nearly 20 new
investigators including families and others that I believe are truly
prepared to hear the Gospel. I love seeing all the different ways the
Lord places these people in our path... in the bus, in the street, or
in the house of their aunt that was a wrong address given to us
through a reference (that probably doesn`t make any sense, but it
happened). The Lord is aware of each and everyone of us, and
everything happens for a reason!
One of my very favorite things in the mission is teaching children.
They have this tendency of understanding everything and are always so
excited to learn and participate. We have one investigator, Maria,
she`s 9 years old and the sweetest, happiest little girl I`ve ever
met. Earlier this week, she accompanied us to a lesson with her aunt,
where she shared with her testimony of the Book of Mormon and how The
Book of Mormon has changed her life. (Her words, not mine) When we
first met Maria, she could barely read. Since our first lesson, she
had diligently read the Book of Mormon every night by herself and has
improved her reading skills dramatically. Her testimony was powerful
as she told her aunt she needs to read the Book of Mormon cause it has
"all the answers to [her] problems". It`s no wonder Christ said we all
need to become as the little children.
This Gospel is so true and I`m so grateful to be an instrument in the
Lord`s hand to share this wonderful message with the people of Mexico!
Say your prayers, read your scriptures, and know that the Church is true!
Gracias por sus oraciones y amor!
Te amo,
Hermana Anderson

I love this work with all my heart!

These weeks are just going by faster and faster. This week we has
Companion Exchanges and I was with my sister training leader, Hermana
Mones, for 2 days in my area. I was sooooo nervous... because she was
coming to my area, that meant I had to do all the planning, calling,
and remember where all the houses are and what buses to take and
EVERYTHING! I was pleasently surprised when we only kinda got lost
once on the way to a new investigadors house in the middle of nowhere,
which we eventually found just fine, and everything else worked out
perfectly. I also had to do a lot more of the teaching during these
couple days, but I was able to gain a little more confidence in my
Spanish as I realized people can actually understand me! In just a
little over 2 months out here in the field, I`m able to understand
nearly everything and I can more or less say everything I want to say
too...The gift of tongues is so real, and there`s no doubt in my mind
that this is the Lord`s work.
Haha I feel like every week we have something wrong with the
house...no electricity, no hot water, and this week was no running
water on the first floor. Thank goodness we had water in the upstairs
part to wash our dishes and stuff, or else I don`t know what we
would`ve done. I`m convinced the Lord is preparing me week by week to
be transfered to some area in the middle of nowhere with no water or
electricity or something. Haha but it`s all good, these adventures
always make me grateful for the little things we have.
In our Zone Conference last week, President Camarillo challenged us to
always carry a Book of Mormon with us to give away. This week, as I
implimented this little challenge, I was amazed at how many people
were interested in the book I was holding. We were able to talk to
people about the importance of the Book of Mormon, and invite them to
learn more about our special message. On Tuesday, as we were walking
out the door, I quickly remembered to grab a Book of Mormon, we walked
to the bus stop just outside our apartment, and just as we approached
a man asked me what book I was holding. I explained to him that it was
The Book of Mormon, a book that contains the fullness of the Gospel
and testifies of Christ. The bus quickly arrived, but in those 2
minutes, we were able to share our testimonies of the Book of Mormon
and give him that same book I had nearly left in the apartment. As we
left on the bus I turned around to see him intently reading the
introduction. The Book of Mormon changes lives, and I have the
priviledge of seeing this change in people everyday.
I love this work with all my heart. There is nothing more rewarding
than sharing the message of Jesus Christ and His restored Gospel. We
are so blessed to have this light and hope in our lives that the
Gospel brings.
I hope you will all continue to strengthen your testimonies of our
Savior Jesus Christ and share this message with others.
Thank you for your prayers and love,
Hermana Anderson

Una otra carta de su misionera mexicana

What a week here in the beautiful Moroleòn. We had a lot of disappointments and even more miracles. After many many lessons on keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, we had 8 investigators in Sacrament Meeting, and nearly all the less actives that we taught this week! We had Zone Conference this week, and nearly the entire meeting was on Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. The things we learned in the conference really helped in our lessons, and obviously all the work paid off yesterday as nearly all our progressing investigators got to enjoy the special Spirit in the house of the Lord. I don`t think I understood the importance of church attendance until my mission. There`s people here in this ward that travel an hour or more just to attend Church. They understand the importance of renewing their baptismal covenants and are willing to sacrifice just about anything to do so. 
Another exciting things from this week include teaching a lesson in the biggest, nicest house in all of Moroleòn, finding a McDonald`s in this mall place we went to today, getting drenched in the rain (that`s not anything new though), and getting locked INSIDE our house for a solid hour the other day. Yeah, surprise, locks here in Mèxico also have the ability to lock you inside your house. And here`s an experience from this week:
 We were walking along, and we passed some streets we had never passed before. I glanced at the street signs to try and learn some of the names to help me know the area better. We were trying to find new investigators, but were not having very much success. It was then I glanced at a street sign, and below, it read ¨fracc. Jardin¨ I instantly remembered a name we had recieved from the Elders of a man that lived in this fraccionamiento. We had searched for his street on the map before, but had been unable to find it. I found thia man`s name in my planner, and sure enough, we were right in front of his house. We taught him and his wife. They had had many other missionaries from other religions in their home, and were curious as to why we thought we had the true church. Well, that was easy to explain with a brief explination of the apostacy, restoration, and Book of Mormon. The Spanish became easy and clear as I bore sincere testimony of the restoration and the fullness of the Gospel that we have in our church. They both accepted dates for baptism. 

I know this church is true. Even in those moments at the end of the day when we`re walking down the street, drenched from head to toe and exhausted from walking all day in the rain, it`s in those moments I think to myself that I`ve honestly, truly never been happier. This work is the work of the Lord and I feel so blessed everyday to be a small part of this great and glorious work. 

I love you all! Stay strong!

Hermana Anderson
​

I´m really bad at writing good subject lines

Well, another week has come and gone! We got a new cellphone, had another Zone Meeting, and I´m finally beginning to think and dream in Spanish! I just can´t even express how much I love being a missionary. Every day we have miracle after miracle and it´s just one great big spiritual party. 

One of my favorite experiences this week was with little 9 year old Angel. We were teaching a lesson with him and his mom about Faith, Repentance, Baptism and Confirmation. We asked them to be baptized and Angel was a little hesitant. We then began talking to his mom, and I turned to see Angel quietly bow his head, fold his arms, and offer a prayer. Once we had discussed some things with his mom, we turned back to Angel and he simply said, ¨Yes, I want to be baptized. The Holy Ghost told me that´s what I need to do.¨ When he didn´t know the answer, he simply offered a prayer. What a great example that was to me. It´s no wonder Christ commanded us to become as a little child...for truly such is the Kingdom of Heaven. After that great manifestation of faith, his mom also agreed to be baptized, and what a beautiful moment that was. And then to see them walk into the Chapel on Sunday was absolutely glorious. 

Okay, one more quick story. We had just finished up our last lesson of the night, and it was late. We knew it would be impossible to walk, or even run, to our appartment and make it on time. We decided to take a taxi, but then we realized we had used all our money on other transportation throughout the day and were left with nothing. In a desperate attempt to make it home on time, we began running as fast as we could. I said a little prayer in my heart that somehow we´d be able to make it home on time. It was then a taxi pulled up next to us and asked if we needed a ride. We explained we had no money. He asked where we were headed and when we told him, he said he was headed that way anyway and it was free of charge. Needless to say, we made it home just in time. MIRACLES ARE REAL PEOPLE, AND GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS!

I have a strong testimony of prayer. We are children of a loving Heavenly Father and He wants to help us. All we need to do is humble ourselves and ask with faith and He will answer. I love this Gospel so much and I know this is exactly where I need to be.

I love you all so much! 

Hermana Anderson