Best Birthday Ever!

Hey Everyone! 
How's it going? 

This week has been awesome and crazy.  I have such a new found respect for visitors center sisters.  It's tough tough work. 

Last Wednesday we had an amazing experience.   All of us sisters went on a tour of the temple with President and Sister Walker and Elder Walker.  It was so cool!  Elder Walker works closely with President Monson and so he was able to give us a lot of interesting information and insight about the temple.  It was a really spiritual experience to be in the temple together, especially after such a long time away.  Let me tell you, this temple is beautiful!  It is really small and so so nice!  It turns out that our mission is one of only 5 in the world that will be having a temple open house this year so we are very blessed. 


Elder Walker also gave us instruction on what we are to do while here.  Basically, we're to look nice.  We're not aloud to proselyte or anything like that.  We welcome everyone to the temple and introduce the movie and then we greet the guests when they come back.  We're not aloud to really talk about church topics unless it is brought up by the guests.  For the most part, people that come are members so I've met a lot of members.  (Chantell Martin:  Donna Butler - Dallace and Utahna Butler's daughter says hello).  We work 7 hour shifts and just smile, walk around, and talk the whole time.  In the off time we're assigned wards to do work in.  It's been neat to see lots of people come to the temple and to hear their reactions to it.  A lot of people from St. David came up so that was really fun.  

(One of my favorite gifts was this picture of Tommy)
My birthday was the best birthday ever because Angela and Dillon Ingram came up with one of our wonderful member missionaries.  It was such an amazing experience to be able to walk through the temple with our investigators and to feel of the power and strength of the temple together.
  It was fun to be able to talk about how we'll all come back to the temple in a year for Angela to go through.  It was so cool!  Speaking of the Ingram family, President informed us that we wont be able to go back to St. David for their baptism on Sunday.  We're pretty bummed.  It's especially sad for Sister Mackay because she always gets transferred right before baptisms and has yet to see any of her investigators get baptized.  We keep telling ourselves that it will be ok and it will make it even better when we go to the temple with Angela.  It was the best birthday present ever and it really was the best birthday.  Friday morning I woke up and all of us in our apt were so excited and I opened up gifts from you all.  Thank you all so much!  You are all amazing!  All of the sisters came over and sang to me and it was super nice.  The day was awesome at the temple and then we got home and Sister Mackay and Sister Aquino had planned a surprise birthday party.  It was so fun! 
Most of the sisters were there are we ate strawberry short cake and just had so much fun.  All of the sisters are amazing!

 
Like I said earlier, most of the people that come to the temple are members.  This morning I decided to pray for a missionary experience.  Boy did I have it!  I noticed some people in the reception area that I thought I needed to talk to.  It turned out that it was a couple from one of the local wards and their 2 nonmember friends that they brought.  Well their friends just loved the temple!  For about 45 minutes I got to talk with them and answer their questions.  It was an awesome experience.  Someone else asked for a Book of Mormon!  It was so cool and an answered prayer!  
 
Sister Rodriguez and I just got a way cool phone call from Sister Walker.  To preface it, we were teaching this person in the North East of El Paso that is our age.  He is a Marines Recon man and has been to war quite a few times.  Well, we almost got Tony baptized when we were there but he decided that Joseph Smith was "a con man."  It was way sad and a few weeks later he got sent to Afghanistan.  Well apparently he got seriously wounded while there and he had to make a split second decision to either have his leg amputated immediately or die.  He decided to get it amputated and said that if he lived that he would join our church.  Well he lived!  But that's not all, I don't know how much later but he is now able to stand up.  One day as he was getting up he was shot 3 times in the chest.  But guess what?!?!  He had his Book of Mormon under his clothes against his chest and the bullets grazed the Book and didn't harm him at all!!!!  CRAZY!!!!!  So so so so cool!  When I found out I just started to cry because we knew that he had so much potential and now the Book of Mormon has saved his life and he's getting baptized May 23rd!  I can't believe it, this is so so cool! 
     
Anyway, I hope that you all are doing amazing!  The Church is definitely true!  The temple is the House of the Lord.  There is no doubt about it!  Go to it and feel of the strength of it!  The Book of Mormon is the word of God!  Read it and let it save you! 

I love you all lots!  Have a great week!
Love, Sister Anderson 

Greetings from Thatcher, AZ!

THE Gila Valley Temple

HOLA FAMILIA!!!!!  Congratulations on SBO Tommy!  I hope that you'll still have time to write your favorite sister next year!  Also, Dad that's great that you have time to rest now!  Think of all that you can do!  Thanks for always being a good example to me!

Greetings from Thatcher, AZ!  Oh my goodness, this is like a dream come true!  All of us sisters got here around 1 yesterday.  We're all sharing one apt building with 4 apts in it.  It's a little cramped but sooo much fun!  It feels a bit like college because there are 5 of us in each apt and we all just go from apt to apt to visit each other.  There are 21 of us here!  It's like an amazing reunion for all of us!  Last night they had a quick planning meeting for us and then we had the rest of the time to ourselves.  All of us sisters went up to the temple.  I don't think that I've ever been so happy to see a temple.  There were few dry eyes as we walked around our temple and could feel the strength found there, a strength that we've all been aching for.  It is amazing what just standing on the sacred grounds of the temple can do.  We all sat in front of it and sang hymns.  The spirit was so strong and powerful.  We're all so so blessed to be here.  It's such a rare opportunity to be able to take place at a temple open house as a full-time missionary.  We're so so happy!  The temple is BEAUTIFUL! 

(The traveling trio, Sister Aquino, Mackay & I. The 3 of us are super close.)
Hopefully today or tomorrow we'll be able to walk inside.  I think that I told you this before but in a prophesy made around a hundred years ago they said that this temple would be one of the most beautiful in the rocky mountains and at least from the outside, it is true.  It's amazing!  While we're here we'll all work at the temple answering questions/mingling with guests for 6 hrs a day.  The rest of the time we're not quite positive what we're doing but we believe that it will involve working with less actives and part member families.  It will all be so much fun! 

This past week has been amazing as all ways!  I think that I much have accidentally told you wrong last week.  We didn't have a baptism.  We do have 3 scheduled for May 2nd though!  I'm super excited!  Unless Elder Walker of the 70 tells us otherwise, we'll be able to go back to St. David for it. (Things you find on the road in St. David.)
So as you know, last week was transfers.  Sister Mackay and I were so scared that we'd be transferred.  It was funny because all of the members were so worried and one of the bishops even wrote President Walker to ask for us to stay.  Despite all of that we were really scared.  Well, Monday night we were in an appointment and got the phone call.  The first thing that we were told is that we were staying together!  We were screaming because we were so happy!  But then they said that we'd become a threesome and that our third companion would be... Sister Rodriguez!  Honestly, I thought that after being companions with her for over 4 months I wouldn't be her companion again but I am.  It's been really fun so far.  We're just trying to help her end her mission with a bang! 

So last week was pretty busy because we got a new companion and we also had to prepare our area for us to be gone for 4 weeks.  We made lots of plans with the elders who are taking care of our area and took them around to meet everyone.  It was a little scary to leave but I know that they'll do a great job because they are obedient elders who love to work hard and follow the Lord.  
(My Companionship)

We had a great turn out at church again on Sunday.  It has EVERYTHING to do with the members.  The members in our area have really stepped it up and shown their faith in the Lord.  Because of it, miracles have happened.  I really have a strong testimony that when we show the Lord our faith by acting on it we see miracles.  I love the members in St. David because they do their job and make our job easy.  It's such a great area.  All of the good things that have happened in that area are from the Lord and the desire of the people to do the right thing. 

I often think about how the Lord leads the way for us.  He goes before us and prepares/softens the hearts of the people for His message and even after we leave, He's still there working on them.  It's beautiful.  It makes me so so happy!  
   
Well, I hope that you all have a fantastic week! 

Friends, good luck with finals!  I can't believe that some of you are graduating this week (I'm guessing that it's this week)!  Weird!  Mom and Grandpa, Happy Birthday on Friday!  If you all have time, go to the temple this week!  It's powerful and true!  It's where we all need to be! 

The Church is DEFINITELY true!  It's up to us to stay true too!

Love,
Hermana Anderson

I invite you to read D&C 123

Hey there everyone! 

How's it going?  Reed, if you continue to scare everyone I will beat you up when I come home.  Man alive!  Well, it's good to hear that Suzy and Tommy had great trips to California!  That's so cool about the award Tommy!  It sounds like Reed had a great trip to the hospital... again. 

Anyway I'm glad that you're all doing well and that the boy is doing better.  This week was another awesome week!  I love serving a mission and seeing the little miracles every day!  This week was a little different because Hermana Mackay was sick and couldn't really breath so we took her to the local family Drs. office (the Drs. and employees are all in our wards and the receptionist is our investigator Angela).  Well they told us that we had to go to the hospital to get tests.  It was pretty funny because we were there for 4 hours and the DR at the hospital diagnosed her with "shortness of breath."  Really? I could have diagnosed that and I don't have any medical background.  It was pretty funny.  It turns out that she just has allergies.  So that was an adventure. 

Despite her being sick for a day or two we had an amazing week!  We taught more lessons than ever and saw so many miracles!  We've been working a lot with the Ward Mission Leader’s, Ward Councils, and Bishops to prepare the area for while we're gone.  I've never seen wards that care so much about the missionary work.  It is beautiful. 

Yesterday we had so many people come to church.  Wow!  It was amazing!  7 of our investigators came and a lot of inactive people that we've been working with.  It was awesome!  One of the inactive families hadn't come for years because of an issue about some of the members getting their son deported.  They only speak Spanish and have just been so hurt that they haven't come.  Well, yesterday they came and it was so great!  They love the Gospel and know that it is true and despite being hurt deeply by some members and not understanding a word of the meeting they came to show their Heavenly Father that they wanted to follow Him.  I was so happy! 

The San Pedro Ward really was amazing yesterday!  They saw Angela, Jesse, and Dillon and really made them feel welcome.  Jesse is 17 and so all of the priests and the young mens president bore their testimonies.  They were all scared but they knew that they needed to do it.  It was so awesome.  I've never seen a ward/community reach out to a family like this ward has to this one.  They had their baptismal interviews yesterday and everything is looking good for them getting baptized on May 2nd.  The ward is prepared to contact them daily while we're gone and to visit them at least every other day.  The ward missionaries and the ym are taking them up to the temple open house so we're pretty excited.  The ward is doing amazing! 

I think that I told you about Hazel last week.  She's the one from Germany.  Well, she went from not believing in God to having stronger faith than almost anyone I know in the past 2 weeks.  It's amazing!  She is seeking and receiving personal revelation every day and is truly seeing miracles.  She is just hungering and thirsting after righteousness.  It's amazing!  To bad we can't baptize her but the ward is gearing up to have everything ready and in place for her when she gets back to Germany.  It's so funny because she wants to meet the prophet SO bad and is trying to figure out what she can do to have it happen at the Temple Cultural Celebration.  Some of her ideas are so funny.  Her plan right now is to wear a shirt that has the German flag on it that says "Hey, I'm German."  We'll see what happens. 

I was so grateful for the opportunity to fast yesterday.  I know that miracles come from fasting.  It really is amazing.  Fasting and praying together is powerful.  It reminds me of the Bible Dictionary definition of prayer that says that Heavenly Father wants to bless us but it is conditional on our asking for the blessings.  I know that as we fast and pray  we can see those blessings and see the Lord's hands in our lives.  I see it every time. 

Hermana Mackay and I have been so blessed this transfer and it has a lot to do with fasting and prayer.  I would just like to invite you all to read Doctrine and Covenants Section 123.  It is awesome!  It is our imperative duty to share the Gospel.  People need the truth and every little thing that we do counts!  This section has an awesome promise at the end.  If we do this "duty" we can "see the salvation of God" and His arm will be revealed to us.  That's powerful and true!  What a great promise!  Fulfill this duty and you will see these blessings in your lives! 

Well, I hope that you all have an amazing week!  The Church is DEFINITELY true!  It's up to us to stay true to it and the Lord!  Love you all lots!

Love, Hermana Anderson

ps tonight is transfer call night.  We're really nervous because we love this area and these calls determine whether or not we'll be coming here after the open house.  It might be a good idea to mail everything to the mission office.  Also, next Monday we'll be traveling to the Gila so I'm not sure how it is going to work out with emails.  If I find out I'll write you a letter. 

Happy Day After Easter and Conference!

(Wearing the sunglasses the Easter Bunny brought.)
Hey hey!  Happy Day After Easter and Conference! 

Wasn't conference amazing?!  It's made me want to be a better person and to serve better.  I love conference!  Sister Mackay and I were talking about it and it seems like we're sponges and we soak everything up during conference, but after 6 months we kind of get dry and conference makes us full again.  I don't know if that makes sense over email but yeah. 

So it sounds like you had a great weekend!  Snow?!?  That's crazy!  When we were watching conference Sister Mackay and I both commented that we were so glad that we weren't in Utah because it looked so cold.  On Monday it was like 88 degrees here but than dropped to around 50 and we about died because it was so cold.  It was pretty funny. 

We watched conference at the church and we just loved it.  The talks were all so powerful!  I especially liked Sister Beck's, Elder Scott's, and President Uchtdorf's.  I loved in Sister Beck's how she quoted Eliza R. Snow for saying something like, "Women need to be women, not babies!"  So true!  I'm trying to be less like a baby and more like a woman.  One thing I liked from Elder Scott was how he counseled us to make a plan to get to know our Savior better.  It is so true.  Often we need plans in order to get anywhere.  I loved how President Uchtdorf counseled us to be Christ's hands.  I love what Elder McConkie once said that we are here to act as the Lord would if He were here.  When I think of that I feel a lot of excitement, responsibility, and love.  It helps me realize my divine nature, worth, and potential.  I feel like we all have so much potential and the only thing really stopping us from achieving it is ourselves.  The Lord and our Heavenly Father know that we can.  

So all and all I loved conference!  I wish that I had cd's of them all already, but I guess that I'll just have to wait. 

This week has been awesome!  Every week is awesome!  The Lord has really blessed Sister Mackay and I so much.  We're seeing His hands in our lives so much.  It really is amazing.  First off, we had zone training this past week.  I love zone training because we get to have individual interviews with President and account for the work that is being done.  He told me that Sister Mackay and I are "tearing it up in St. David."  Truely, it has everything to do with the Lord.  We've seen that if we are obedient we are entitled to the windows of heaven being opened up and blessings poured out to us.  He said that unless the Lord tells him otherwise we'll stay together!  I hope that we do!  I just love working with her! 

We got a bit of info about the Gila.  We'll be there from April 19 - May 15!  A member is donating his apartment complex for that time so it will be just sister missionaries staying there!  So cool!  It will be so much fun!  AND... unless authorized by the presiding authority, Sister Mackay and I will get to come back to St. David for the baptisms of the Ingram family!  We're so so so excited!  Yay!  We're so blessed!  I can't wait to see all of the sisters, it will be so much fun and such an amazing experience! 

This week I've learned a lot about how we can't force anyone to do anything.  We have an investigator who's had a lot of spiritual experiences, but isn't willing to change.  It seems like even though he hears what we tell him, he's not really listening to us or to the spirit.  It's sad because he's missing out on so many amazing blessings that he could have if he did what he knew was true.  So we'll see what happens there. 

We've continued to teach the foreign exchange students.  They're amazing!  On Wednesday Hazel was talking about how people always say that they prayed and then opened up their scriptures and got an answer.  She thought that it was so weird so we told her to do it.  So right there Hazel (the atheist) said "is there a God?" and she opened up right to a scripture testifying of our Heavenly Father!  Amazing!  Now she can't put the Book of Mormon down! 

We were talking to Nat about conference and he said that he could relate to the member of the 70 from Japan.  He thought that it was so cool!  Yesterday he realized that he could one day get the priesthood and he is so excited because that means that he can bless the sacrament and baptize his family.  It's amazing to see the excitement that people have for the Gospel.  We should have the same!  I feel like sometimes the church is so common to us we forget how amazing it is and the blessing that it is to each of us.  We were talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and when we talked about repentance he said "that reminds me of a scripture in the Book of Mormon" and opened up to a scripture about it!  He is so prepared!  The Lord really did put these 3 kids in St. David for a reason!  

This truely is the work of the Lord.  I love serving Him and serving in this area.  Every good thing in my life comes from the Lord and I am so thankful.  I just hope that I can serve Him to the best that I can. 

I hope that you all have a great week and find ways to be His hands more.  The Church is definitely true and we're so lucky to know it!  Christ is alive!  I love you all! 

Love, Sister Anderson  

(The Hermana's Mission Vehicle)