I gave myself a haircut!

Monday, October 30, 2017

Hello! So excited to talk to all of you!

I don't think we have any Kroger stores back home, but guess what?! You can scan the Book of Mormon when you are checking out and it gives you a discount! I'm not even joking... I didn't think it was real until I saw it. Pretty cool though! I guess the Kroger people must really like the Book of Mormon.

So last week we had dinner with Hermana Nidia, and that was super fun. She's a single lady that's older. She made us a really good dinner. After wards I asked her how she makes papoosas. She got all the stuff for it and taught me how! They are an El Salvadoran dish and are easy to make, cheap, and taste pretty good. I bought the stuff to make them and that's pretty much all I have eaten the last week! They're like latino hot pockets.

Last Tuesday we were with Julio and Yair for dinner. That was a lot of fun and then after Julio gave us a ride to English class! He came with us this week which was way awesome. He's a recent convert. He also drives really slow on the highway! We were definitely going 45 in a 75! I got a picture of it. He didn't notice and it was really funny because all of us missionaries were laughing/thinking We were going to die, and he didn't think it was a big deal!

It's actually started to get pretty cold here! I know you won't believe me when I say that but the cold here is a lot different. It only gets down to like 50, but the humidity makes it feel a lot colder! It also feels colder because we are riding bikes. I like riding the bikes though!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! We were at Dollar General last Monday and I bought some hair clippers! My hair was getting a little long so I gave myself a haircut and it turned out a lot better than I thought it would! People actually complemented it and didn't believe me when I said I did it my self! Don't have any pictures of it but that's OK.

Lastly we had another one of our music performances yesterday! This time it was here in little Rock. It was super cool. There were about 50 of us missionaries singing and the audience filled a stake center! That's always a cook feeling. All of the songs were I'm English except 2 of them which the Spanish missionaries sang. We sang "if the savior stood beside me" and "Placentero nos es trabajar" which is a hymn that's only in the Spanish hymnbook. It loosely translates to "it makes us happy to work". So that was a lot of fun to sing!

Before I sign off j want to share something from my scripture study this week! It is the whole chapter of 2 Nephi 29. I invite you all to read it this week. Many people, especially here in the south say there is no more to add unto the words of the Bible, but God still talks to his people. He communicated with and sent prophets to the Americas during the same time as the Bible. His dealings with them are recorded in the book we call the Book of Mormon. It is the word of God. I tell you all as family and friends that I know it is true and correct. The Bible and the Book of Mormon together contain the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that by reading and praying about it each one of you can receive a witness of its truthfulness. Don't just take my word for it, but go and ask God yourself. If you do this with sincerity and pure intent He will answer you.

Well that's all from me this week! Love and miss all of you! So happy to be here.

Elder Anderson

PS The picture of us in the car has me with my new haircut! I actually did pretty good.

1 transfer down in the field!

Monday, October 23, 2017

Hello Everyone!

It's official I have successfully completed 3 months in the mission! Part of me thinks whoa, that's a long time. Then again, when you look at the fact that I have another 21 months it feels like I'm just beginning. I am so happy to be here though and that I have so much more time to serve and be in this mission.

Yesterday I got to be a part of confirming Guillermo a member of the church! It was so cool because he was so excited. I performed the ordination which was really special. He was so happy and it was easy to see the physical difference in how he appeared after the prayer. I asked him how he felt after and he simply replied, "The spirit is a beautiful thing."

We also had transfers today! That means that every 6 weeks you might get sent to another place in the mission. However elder Giles and I are staying in the same area for this next 6 weeks! It will be really good to keep working with him and with this area. I have really grown to love this area and all its people. They all have such strong faith.

I figured out how to make papoosas last Tuesday! It's like an empanada from el Salvador. That's all I've been eating the last week. They are filling and very cheep to make.

I'm going to send a few kind of different pictures but I think you will all enjoy them! They're just little windows into my life.

I don't know what order they are going to be in but here is what they are!
- My desk! I study at this desk for 4 hours every day. I have grown to love it! The blue chair next to it we found on the side of the road and carried it about a mile back to our apartment. After we checked for bugs we decided to keep it! It's my favorite chair
- A picture of Guillermo's house. I don't know why but I just really like his red door! It looks really good.
- A picture of English class. We teach a free English class every Tuesday and Thursday at the church! We usually have a pretty good turn out and it's a great way to meet new people.
- A picture with elder Russell! He's an elder from the area where mom and dad are moving to! It was really fun to talk to him about Richmond.

That's all I got this week! I'll talk to you in one more :)

Elder Anderson

Guillermo's Baptism

Monday, October 16, 2017

Hello Everyone!

This week was a great one that I will definitely remember for a while. This weekend was especially cool.

Some random little things that made me smile this week:
1. I was riding through Boyle Park (refer to last emails) and I popped my tire.  It was too big of a hole to patch, so I just took the tire off and replaced the tube. Im really thankful to my dad that he taught me how to do that. He is the smartest guy I know. It was actually really nice to be able to take a break and enjoy how pretty the park was. I guess God knew that I needed a little break, even if it was changing a tire.

2. I got a package from my family! It was packed full of a bunch of halloween stuff and decorations. My mom always knows exactly how to brighten my day! Thanks so much for thinking of me.

3. We went to a trampoline park this morning!(Monday the 16th) The ward mission leader in one of the areas in our zone owns a trampoline park! Don't have any pictures but its similar to jump street! He let a group of about 10 of us missionaries in for free, since today is our preparation day we got permission to go! Only bummer was right when we got there one of the first things I did was this free fall thing. Its a giant inflatable pad that you can fall from 2 stories on to. It was super cool and the 3rd time I did it I accidentally went to far off to one side. I kinda bounced off the side and then hit the ground. Might have a little bit of a black eye in next weeks photos but other than that I'm totally ok! It'll just be a good conversation starter I guess! Don't worry mom Im not hurt :)

But now onto the coolest and funnest thing Ive done in a long time! We had the baptism of Guillermo. It was such a special experience.

We went over to his house around 8 on Saturday night just to see how he was feeling. He said he was a little nervous but still definitely wanted to do it. My companion and I bought him a nice new white shirt and tie earlier that morning. For about 30 min we taught him how to tie a tie. For the last 30 min we read the scriptures with him. It was just what all of us needed. I know that God can communicate with us through the scriptures when we approach them with an open heart.

Then Sunday came and it was branch conference! The members of the stake presidency had all prepared talks. However only one of the 3 spoke Spanish. The other two had to have translators. I got to translate in priesthood meeting and my companion in the sacrament meeting. It was really cool to feel confident enough with my Spanish to translate for someone. God has truly blessed me to help me learn this language.

Right after church ended at 4, we had our baptismal service at 4:30. Almost all of our branch showed up! We had about 20 people there! The service was so beautiful, and our elders quorum president, Presidente Ollivares, baptized Guillermo. It was really cool to see and witness.

The whole entire branch stuck around after to have food and just talk. One thing that latinos definitley know how to do is have good food, and a good party. We were all able to talk and celebrate Guillermo and his descision to follow Christ.

So thankful that the gospel has been restored in its fullness to the earth. I know Christ lives. He is our personal savior and redeemer. The scriptures are a gift God has given us to communicate with him and learn more of his Gospel. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love you all and have an amazing week!

Elder Anderson

Another amazing week!

Monday, October 9, 2017

Hello All,

This week has been a great week! Mostly though I am going to sum it all up by telling you all about my weekend!

SATURDAY

We all traveled up to north little rock to hear Elder Clevengat, one of the Seventy of the church, to hear him talk to all of us. His instruction was awesome and I learned a lot. He taught a lot about about what it takes to be a good missionary and how when we are doing are best, the Lord can better use us. I took some great lessons away from what he said and how I can become a better missionary. Trust me Ive got a long way to go!

SUNDAY

First we went to church in the English ward at 9 because we weren't going to be able to make it to our Spanish branch later in the afternoon. It was really good to hear some english! I haven't been able to have an English sacrament service in a while but it was great. Then we went to the first class of the Spanish branch, Sunday school, and we had a great lesson about the importance of the Book of Mormon. We had one of our investigators there who is thinking about getting baptized next Sunday. During the lesson we got to a point where he asked the class if they thought that he was ready to be baptized. Our whole branch came together so much and told him how happy the Lord was that he was trying to be closer to Jesus Christ. I loved seeing them come together as saints and how they cared so much about him.

After that class we had to hurry off to a musical presentation that we put on in Conway! We got there and practiced for about 2 hours as we polished up the last parts before we performed. We had so many people show up! We had about 80 missionaries singing to a crowd of about 1000. It was humbling to be able to sing the sacred hymns. All the Spanish missionaries had a special number that we all sang, Placentero nos es trabajar, and it was amazing to see the strength of that song. My favorite that we sang though was amazing grace. That song has always been special to me as it so vividly describes our relationship with the Savior.

Dont' have much more to write this week and time is short but I love you all and know that this gospel blesses families. I invite you all to read the lyrics to Amazing Grace. The song has a lot of nice messages. After Jesus Christ has given us so much, take some time to think how you can give back. Whether its something as small as reading in your scriptures or serving your neighbor get out and do it!


Elder Anderson

Guillermo is my best friend!

Monday, October 2, 2017

I have had a great week! This week was a happy one, and was a lot of fun.

My companion and I were biking all week which was super fun, never thought I'd love the chance to bike so much. I've actually really enjoyed it, the only down side is how hot and humid it is! Other than that it is super pretty. Also it is way easier to bike in Arkansas than Colorado. There are absolutely no significant hills here, pretty flat! It reminds me a lot of Florida! Just not quite as nice.

We were also biking home one night when we were riding through a park that technically closes after dark but it's one of the quickest ways back to our house and we were close to when we were supposed to be in for the night! We were riding and it was really creepy when all of the sudden we came across a car that was driving through the middle of a grass field toward us. It stopped in the path on which we were riding to try and stop us but we just kept riding! The men in the car definitely yelled some profanities... All I could think of to respond was by yelling loudly "Jesus loves you!" It was a very strange exchange of words and gestures.

This last weekend was general conference! It was so great to listen to it and hear the words of the prophets. It was a lot of fun listening to it in Spanish! It really made me focus and work hard to try and get as much out of it as I could! Guillermo was also able to watch it with us! That was so great. He is an amazing guy that wants to get baptized and is trying to be like his savior Jesus Christ.

After conference on Sunday we went over to his house and I made us dinner! He promised that because I made dinner this time, he would make it for us next week! Looking forward to some really good Mexican food.

Guillermo is one of the coolest people I've ever met. He lives alone because his wife died 2 years ago, and he's about 50. He works really hard all week so that he can send money back to Mexico to help support his family. Such an example to me of humility and love!

This week has been a blessing. I look forward to learning more and doing better this week! Love you all and can't wait to hear from you!

Elder Anderson

PS Just bought some Coco Roos, pretty happy about it!