Hey everyone!  How goes it?  Sorry if this letter is a bit all of the place, I don't have much time to write. 

It sounds like the open house and everything was quite fun!  Well, while you were all enjoying the open house I was at a rocking ward party and didn't want to be anywhere else. It was so funny!  The ward (mostly really old people) had a swimming party! It was great! Sister Rust and I went so that we could show support and I could get to know everyone. I really feel like the temple open house really blessed me with skills in talking to everyone in situations like that. We were even able to get some referrals! 

We're starting to get the ward's support and I'm way excited about it.  Nothing will happen without their support.  So basically to gain trust we just went out and talked to tons of people this week.  It was so fun.  We visited a lot of inactive members and had some good experiences with that.  It was great because in ward welfare meeting yesterday they brought up a lot of the people that we had visited. They asked us to go visit them and we were able to report back that we had already done so and were able to report on how they were doing. It was great! 

We also had some great miracles this week. The church has changed some of the missionary curriculum to make it more simple and to help our purpose to really come into our hearts. So we've been studying this the past few weeks and trying to implement it into our lives and it's making a world of a difference.  On Wednesday at district meeting we learned about how to make church more of a priority and to help people understand that. No one can progress without going to church. Well we role played how to help our investigators understand this and a miracle happened.  Since the missionaries came back to this area in end of May they've been teaching lady named Sondra.  She never went to church and was full of tons of excuses. I honestly don't know why they were still teaching her.  Well, as of late we've been able to meet with her every day and she was beginning to progress. After district meeting we went to her house and taught what we had role played and a miracle happened.  She came out with what her real concern was about going to church.  We were able to resolve it and she came to church yesterday!  It was the first time that an investigator had come to church here in months that hadn't already been coming for a long time. We were so excited and the ward was too!  Some people came and talked to her and that made her feel really good.  It was a huge miracle!  The stake presidents councilors came to our ward yesterday as well to do some ward business and after sacrament meeting they came to me and said, "Sister Anderson, stir things up here. Make these members uncomfortable."  Well, basically they want me to make this a missionary minded ward and Sister Rust and I plan on doing that.  We got a new ward mission leader who is excited about the work.  We'll see miracles because of that. 

Also this week we had interviews with President.  They were a bit different this time because we did them as companionships and talked about our areas rather than ourselves.  It was really great.  We were able to find things that we can work on to make this area the best area in the mission.  I have confidence that it will become the best as we show our faith and as the members show their faith as well.  President shared something with us that is so true. He said, "it's better to shoot for the stars and miss than to shoot for manure and make it."  So true!  I think about this all of the time now and ask myself what am I shooting for. 

As we were talking to a member yesterday she said something that I thought was interesting.  She said, "the Gospel is not something that you can tread lightly on or tip toe around.  The Gospel is true.  Jesus is the Christ.  The Book of Mormon is the word of God.  We have a prophet on the earth today.  Nothing else matters.  This isn't something that we can be sorry about."  Amen! It's so true!  I love the Gospel and everyone needs it.  We can't be afraid of offending someone by giving them the truth, by giving them what they need to live with their families forever.  I love it! 

Well, I hope that you all have a great day!  The Gospel is true!  Christ is the way the truth and the life. Never forget it!  I love you all!  
Love, Sister Anderson  

What a week!

Hey everyone!  It was really good to hear from some of you!  It seems like things are going really well!  I'm glad that all of the wedding festivities went well! 

Well, this has been quite the week.  Tuesday was quite the day what with transfers and the wedding taking place.  It was interesting because I thought that I would be upset all day but I guess that everyone must have been praying for me because I was completely fine.  Like seriously, I was just excited for Reed and Jen.  I don't know if I believe that my little brother is married yet but I guess only time will tell. Thanks for the pictures.  I especially like the ones with you all holding up my picture.  I thought that that was pretty funny.  So thanks everyone for praying for me and what not. 

On Tuesday after I emailed I got on the wonderful transfer van and rode to Tucson with a couple of different missionaries who were going home.  It was fun to get to Tucson and to be greeted by good friends.  Sister Rust is a great missionary and I'm learning a lot from her.  I'm also way happy because Sister Howard is in my district!  Woohoo!  She and I are great friends.  This is her last transfer so we're going to definitely make it the best.  She and I are the oldest sisters in the mission.  It's so weird to think that.  It seems like just yesterday when I came out.  Sister Aquino and I were talking about how long we'd been out and I started to cry because time is going too fast.
      
I'm now in San Manuel and I'll tell you what, it's quite the place. It used to be a booming mining town, but it's not so booming now that the mine is closed.  Most of the people are really old.  I've met 5 kids since I've been here.  5!  Crazy!  The ward list is like 21 pages long and it is full of people who are less-active  Like, a huge huge huge percentage of the members are less-active.  I'm not ok with that. We are all here to help each other and the numbers of less-active is just way too high. Even one less-active person is one too many.  I plan on working a lot with the ward members to change this characteristic of this ward.  The Ward Mission Leader isn't too keen on missionary work because it is "hard" in this area.  We're going to help him come around and see the beauty of missionary work and the necessity of it.  Missionary work is not something that we can be passive about.  People need us!  It's up to us to help them come unto Christ.  I'm excited for the potential of this area but I know that in order to have success we must change some things.  It's going to be a challenging area, but I'm up for that challenge!  Oh, it is SO far away!  We are an hour away from other missionaries and real stores.  It sure is interesting.  We spend a lot of our time in our truck.  Our area covers the towns of San Manuel, Oracle, and Mammoth.  We're kind of on the side of the mountain.  It's really pretty.

 
So we had an AMAZING mission conference on Saturday!  Unfortunately it only lasted 2 hours but we were all just soaking it all up. It was so so good!  It was amazing to see all of the missionaries together.  I was so happy to see Sister Mackay again.  She's doing great in Thatcher but has been pretty sick.  Hopefully that will change soon. 

Well, at our conference Elder Pickett of the 70, Elder Keeron (sp?) of the 70, Elder Rasband of the presidency of the 70, and Elder Christofferson of the 12 were in attendance.  Can you imagine?  It was AMAZING!  It was really neat because before it even started we all got to shake all of their hands and meet them personally.  Elder Christofferson told me that he's been to Bluffdale before so I was pretty excited about that. During all of their talks I felt like they were talking directly to me.  One of the themes of it seemed to be that the Book of Mormon is the most powerful tool that we have.  D&C 4 was referenced and they said that our "sickle" is the Book of Mormon. It is the only way to have lasting conversion.  They talked about how we need to make the study of this book a life long pursuit and that it is salvation in our hands.  Pretty cool!  They also talked about how we have to be the message.  People need to see us and recognize that we are representatives of Christ by our appearance.  We have to smile! 

Elder Rasband talked about how literally the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.  We must remember this in all that we do!  Elder Christofferson spoke a lot about the Book of Mormon but also about how missions and life are hard.  He said not to look too far into the future during the hard times but to take everything one step and one day at a time.  Great advice!  He said that as we do this the sun will soon come through the clouds and we'll be able to see the Lord's hands in our lives. I saw this very literally just a few hours after the meeting. 

As we were driving back I noticed that the St. David sisters had given me their car keys on accident.  Well, this turned into an hour and a half detour.  By the time we finally made it back to our area it was much later than we anticipated, but because we were held up we were able to see people that we otherwise wouldn't have seen.  I think that often things happen and we are frustrated, but often it is the Lord intervening in our lives.  He certainly does work in mysterious ways. 

Elder Christofferson also testified strongly that Christ is the head of the church.  There is no doubt about it.  He said that He is not an absentee leader, but that He is involved more than we can ever imagine.  How comforting!  Yesterday in the stake meeting Elder Christofferson spoke about how we need to hold up our light to the world.  I know that as we do so we will see miracles. We will see others come unto Christ and we will come along with them.  What a blessing!  After the conference Elder Christofferson invited all of the youth and children to come shake his hand.  It was amazing to see his love.  I've realized that the closer people are to Christ, the more they become like Him.  I want to be more like Him and for others to be able to see it in me. I was thinking that it was amazing because so many people were doing their own things yesterday and didn't even realize that one of Christ's special witnesses was in town.  How sad.  We are so blessed to know what we know.  It was really neat because I was able to see people yesterday that I worked with while I was with Sister Howard for those 2 weeks. I was told that because of those 2 weeks that we had together, 5 people were baptized.  What a miracle.  I'm convinced that often we don't see the impact of our work, but there is a great impact that we each have.  

Well, this is a really long letter but it's been such a good week and so many great things happened. I know that Christ lives and that His Church has been restored!  It's true!  If you don't know it's true, read the Book of Mormon and pray.  You will get an answer and be happier than you can ever imagine.  The Gospel is definitely true!  Live true! 

Love, Sister Anderson

All Good Things Must Come To An End...

Well hello everyone! I hope that you're all doing well and that all of the wedding festivities are going well. Congratulations Reed and Jen!

Things have been good here this week. We were able to go to the temple! It was amazing! The spirit was so strong and it brought so much peace to me. It was amazing to be able to walk into the Celestial Room and be greeted by President and Sister Walker. It is something that I'll never forget. I just loved it.


(Hermana Curlee & Anderson)

So this is the last email that you'll be getting from St. David. Like my subject says, I guess that all good things must come to an end. I'll be going to an area called San Manuel. It is the very tip of the mission on the Tucson side. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it. I'm excited for a change but I sure love St. David. It has been very good to me and I realized this morning that I had been there for almost half a year. That's crazy! Time goes by so fast!
(the person who first translated the Book of Mormon in Spanish)

I've learned a lot here in St. David. Here are some of the things that I've learned:

* Exact obedience brings forth the blessings of heaven. I've always considered myself to be a very obedient missionary but Sister Mackay and I found ways to be even more obedient and it made all of the difference. We even made the goal of never speeding and we saw so many blessings even when it meant that we were going to be late. I truly think that this area has been successful as a result of our exact obedience. Elder Holland once said, "Selective obedience is not obedience." Amen! If we're not willing to follow all of the rules than we're not being obedient.
* How to work well with members. I feel like the people in St. David are my family. I've loved working with them and learning to a greater degree that missionary work is most effective when members are involved. I truly love the people in this town. They've changed my life and made me a better person. From them I've also learned how to do a lot of manual labor. Here are some of the things that we did with members: built brick walls, cleaned out horse stables, tiled floors, dug trenches, put in drip sprinkling systems, set up class rooms, alphabetized hundreds of books in the school library, and the list goes on and on. I really would do anything for the people here. I feel like one of the reasons that we have such great relationships with the members is because we have a relationship of service. We help them and they help us. It's amazing!
* I've learned that time can not be wasted. When we meet someone we need to immediately start teaching. The spirit can't testify of something not being said.
* The temple is where we all must be. We need to do all that we can in order to be able to go to the temple. It isn't just a pretty structure that we see as we drive down the street. It really is the House of the Lord. It is where we make essential covenants with God. We need the temples in order to live with Heavenly Father, Christ, and our families again. What's stopping us from going? We can't afford to take our eyes off of the temple. But just like when Peter was walking on water, if we lose sight of Christ and begin to sink we can call out to Him and He'll immediately pull us up and bring us back to where we belong.
* I've learned to love. I love people for who they are and where they are going. It doesn't matter where we've been in the past, what matters is where we're going. We're all children of our Heavenly Father and we all have the same divine potential. We can't lose sight of that. As we see people for who they really are, it is impossible not to love them. "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." D&C 18:10(David P Kimball's Headstone)

So these are just a few of the things that I've learned since arriving in St. David on March 3. I have truly loved this area but feel peace about going to this new area with Sister Rust. Sister Rust has had her struggles since coming out in January and when the Assistants called they said that they just new that I was right for the job. We'll see what that means. I've heard a lot of different things about San Manuel (mostly bad) but I'm confidant that it will be a good area and it will teach me so much. I'm excited for a new challenge.

This week is going to be a great week because we'll have the opportunity to hear from Elder Christofferson. It will be great to be with all of the missionaries and be strengthened together. I'm excited!

Well, I hope that you all have a great week! Cling to the truth and you'll always be safe and happy! I love you all! The Church is definitely true!
Love, Sister Anderson


(A Giant moth at there house)

(The biggest risk in St. David)

What a week it has been!

What a week it has been!  Thank you all for your letters and packages!  I just love mail and it really gives me boosts. 

Missions are so crazy.  I swear that they're like roller-coasters.  On Monday one of our very few investigators dropped us.  It was unfortunate but didn't get us down.  We're serving the Lord and doing our best so nothing else matters.  I've really thought a lot about how if we were always teaching and baptizing like crazy I would be so happy but I don't think that I would appreciate each of them as much.  Plus, sometimes we need to be stretched so that we can become who the Lord sees fit for us to become.  I think that if it was up to us none of us would have any trials or hard times and where is the good in that?  What would we learn?  How would we progress?  There's no way that we would ever get anywhere.  I'm just so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who lets us go through hard times and even puts us in hard times.  

Sister Mackay's companion joined us Monday night-Wednesday night while Sister Mackay went to Tucson.  It was fun to have her around but just reminded me of how lucky I am to be companions with Sister Curlee.  She's a great missionary but I feel like I have so much to learn from Sister Curlee and we work well together. 

On Tuesday night we had an appointment with Heather and Mikayla.  They're the 16 and 12 year old girls that we're teaching.  They told us that they've been coming to church off and on for about 4 years and that their mom is now letting them get baptized!  Yay!  The only condition is that they have a testimony.  I personally think that this is a great condition.  We asked them if they thought that they had testimonies and they both said no.  So we asked them if they believed in our Heavenly Father.  They both said that they definitely believed in Him.  After that we asked if they believed in Joseph Smith and they both said yes.  I was happy to inform them that they both had testimonies and that they needed to be baptized.  So as of right now they are going to be baptized on September 4th!  I'm way excited!  They're so nice and truly just want to do what is right.  Heather and Mikayla definitely are a bright spot in our lives right now. 

Another bright spot is that Bishop Bryce of the Patton Ward has put missionary work as a top priority in his ward right now.  He had us speak yesterday in church.  Sister Curlee spoke about testimonies and I spoke about missionary work.  I shared the story of David P Kimball and how he carried the people across the Sweet Water River and really saved their lives.  I told the ward that our job is the same, it's up to us to save souls.  I referenced D&C 15 and 18.  Every soul is great in the sight of God and it is our duty to help them come unto Him.  It was amazing because I didn't really have any idea of what I was going to talk about and I got up and spoke for about 10 mins.  Things sure have changed since I left home.  It is amazing how the spirit works with us when we put our trust and faith in the Lord.   After we spoke the bishop stood and announced that next Sunday we'll be having a ward fast to find new investigators.  I'm so thankful for his desire to help us and the desire of the ward mission leader as well. 

We saw a miracle in the San Pedro ward yesterday.  An hermana from Tombstone showed up to church.  She doesn't understand a word of English so Bishop Trejo called a brother and myself out of the audience to bare our testimonies in Spanish.  Before calling us up he was talking about how he was going to surprise some people and call them up.  I was laughing to myself and wondering who the unfortunate person would be but it turned out that it was me.  I was nervous because I haven't spoken in Spanish in church for months but it all worked out.  The Lord put words into my mouth.  It definitely wasn't the greatest Spanish but the spirit was there and that's all that matters.  It was really neat to be able to share my testimony in Spanish again in church.
They also had someone interpret for her and had a Spanish Sunday school class.  I really think that she may be the key to finding Hispanics in Tombstone. 

So yeah, things are really starting to move forward and I'm so thankful.  I'm so excited for this week and the potential that it has.  We're going to see miracles!  Also, we get to go to the temple on Wednesday!  I'm SO excited!  It's been over a year since I've had the opportunity to go.  I'm excited to just go, feel the peace and love there, and get a spiritual boost.  It will be so amazing!  The temple really is the house of the Lord.  We are so blessed to have them! 

I hope that you all have a great week!  The Church is definitely true!  Look for the small miracles that happen every day.  They're there!  I love you all lots!

Love,
Hermana Anderson 

Hey There Everyone!

Hey there everyone!  How's it going?  Things are going well here in St. David.  I've had a lot of realizations this week.  It's kind of been a rough week. 

The work is just not progressing like I would like it to.  We picked up a few new investigators who are kind of luke-warm right now.  I'm excited to teach them this week and see what happens. 

So this week they had this big leadership meeting for all of the leaders in the mission and the people that will be leading next transfer.  It seemed like everyone went.  Sister Mackay went because she is training and all of the sisters, but one other companionship went.  At first I was a little bugged because I've been out for 14 months and sisters who have been out for 3 weeks went.  There are a lot of new english sisters coming in so all of the english sisters will be training next transfer.  It's crazy because all but one of them have been out for less than 2 full transfers.  It's crazy.  Anyway, I was feeling like everyone was progressing but me, you know, just feeling sorry for myself but than I realized something... it doesn't matter where you are serving or in what position, it just matters HOW you serve.  Nothing else matters.  I know that I'm where I'm at for a reason.  There's no doubt about it.  The Lord has placed me in this position for a reason and I'm excited to find out what that is. 

I've really come to realize the need to lift where you stand.  We all have so much potential and it's up to us to build the area that we are in.  There are people that we all need to touch.  People that need lifting.  There is a quote that I love from President Hinckley.  It's in PMG Chapter 9 and I can't remember it word for word but it talks about how we need to reach down and pull up the helpless hands and the feeble knees.  It says that as we do so we will be happy.  It is so true, as we pull up those around us and dust the dirt off of their knees everyone will be able to feel the love of our Heavenly Father.  I love it!  Isn't it amazing that Heavenly Father trusts us to be His instruments?  It is amazing.  Every time I testify or help someone out I just feel so good. 

There is a part-member family here.  The husband is the member and pretty anti.  Well Sister Curlee and I went to visit him and his wife and he told us that they couldn't visit because she wasn't feeling well.  We decided that we needed to do something nice for them so we made some cookies and took them over with a note.  It was amazing to see the change in this brother's eyes.  Nothing was said about the Gospel but he could recognize that we were there because we loved them and wanted to help them.  It was pretty neat.  It's amazing what a little card or quick visit can do. 

So this week was crazy because Sister Mackay's companion showed up unexpectedly on Thursday so she had an hour to pack and was gone.  It was pretty crazy.  Even though it's different without her, I think that it will be a good change.  She and I did a lot together and it was time for her to go to a new area and I'm way happy that Sister Curlee is here with me.  It's crazy because at church everyone was just shocked that she was gone and kept assuring me that the church is still true.  Of course it is!  There is no doubt about it!  The Gospel will always be true. 

This week I've really come to feel that trials are here to help us.  There is no way that we can progress without them.  No way.  We need them.  So I've decided to just be happy and smile about any trial put in my way.  I know that I will be blessed and become the missionary that the Lord needs me to be.  I think that our attitudes often affect our altitude.  If we chose to be happy we will progress more than we could ever imagine. 

I'm so thankful that I'm a missionary.  Every day I think about how much my life has been blessed because of my being here.  I hope that I'm a better person because of it.  The Gospel is definitely true and it is up to us to chose to be happy and to lift where we stand.  I know that as we do so we will see miracles.  Look for the Lord's hands in your lives and you will find them.  I know it!  Have a great week!  Love you all lots!

Love, Sister Anderson