Who Is Your Master?

Hey everyone!  I can't believe that another week has come and gone.  Time is just going by so quickly!  It's crazy that next week it will be November. 

So this week of course was another great week.  No matter what happens throughout the week it is a great week because I am serving the Lord.  Nothing brings greater happiness than helping others come unto Christ.  I just love it!
 

I had quite a few realizations this week.  Sometimes when I realize things I feel so dumb, like why didn't I think of that before.  Oh well, if we knew everything already there would be no point to life.  Well after last weeks emails, I was a bit concerned about Reed and his health situation but I realized that if we don't have trails there is no way that we can demonstrate our faith.  Everyone can be faithful if they want to when life is just a walk in the park but it's when we're tried that our true faith and character are shown.  If we just spend life all worried about every little thing, we won't learn and we definitely wont grow.  The Lord lets us struggle so that we can become something, so that we can become better than we could ever imagine.  I'm thankful for trials.  

For the past few months, there has been a media campaign going on in our mission.  Basically there are tons of commercials on tv about people's lives and they always end with "my name is .... and I'm a Mormon."  They're pretty neat and are on mormon.org.  So we've been hearing a lot of different things about these commercials and what not.  Either people love them or they hate them, but they really have caused quite the stir.  Even all of our pass-a-long cards go along with the commercials.  They just direct everyone to the website.  Well, a few weeks ago (I don't think I've told you all this) we were at the grocery store and I gave a card to our cashier.  He looked at it and thanked us and said, "you know, I love those commercials!  They tell me that you're normal."  I thought that that was great.  It's time for us to stand up and be proud of who we are.  We're Mormons!  There is so much that always goes around about us, but until we stand up for who we are, people will continue to ignorantly make assumptions about us. 


As we were out tracting this week these men pulled up and said, "are you Mormons?"  I was like "of course!  are you?!?"  They said no and I was like "well why not?!"  They just laughed and said that they were Jehovah's Witnesses and weren't interested in changing.  It's just great to be able to boldly tell people who you are and help change their perception on Mormons.

While tracting we met this man named Jay.  He knows all about the bible and religion and everything, or so he thinks.  He kept trying to convince us that we are blind to the truth and need to change.  I think that it's so funny because people always try to out smart us and show us that we are wrong.  It would be easy to prove to people like Jay that the church is true through bible bashing but what good would that do?  Our most powerful tools are the Book of Mormon and our testimonies because that is was brings the spirit and we all know that the spirit is what teaches and convinces of truth.  Not us.  If people are open to the truth than they'll hear it and understand it.
  
So all week we did all that we could to have powerful lessons with our investigators so that they would come to church and progress towards baptism.  We created environments that the spirit can be in.  To do this we went to members homes and helped investigators clean their own homes.  We had members involved.  We tried so hard.  Unfortunately no one came to church.  It's sad because people are missing out on so many blessings.  Heavenly Father is just waiting to prove His love and honesty, but if we don't do our part, we can't receive His part of the bargain. 

I've been thinking a lot about this this morning.  What can we do more?  It really just comes down to us all having agency.  Unfortunately we don't always pick the right side.  In general conference President Packer said, "The Lord is voting for me, and Lucifer is voting against me, but is is my vote that counts."  So true!  What or who are we going to vote for?  In 2nd Nephi 2 it says that we can chose eternal life or captivity and misery.  It's pretty obvious what we all would rather, but why do we chose to disobey God?  I think that it all comes down to what it says in Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.  Ye cannot serve God and mammon."  Who is our master?  Is it our video games? sleep? nfl football? etc, etc.  I've heard about every excuse for not being able to go to church.  My favorite excuse came yesterday.  A less-active sister called and us and said, "I can't come to church because I've been sneezing and sometimes when I sneeze I have an accident."  I couldn't believe that she was telling me this over the phone and felt like telling her to get a diaper, but I decided that that wasn't very compassionate of me. 
If we really understood the first commandment and what Christ said when He said, "If you love me, keep my commandments."  All of our choices wouldn't really be all that difficult.  We would understand where true happiness comes from and do all that we can to achieve that.  Christ needs to be our master.  Nothing and No one else can save us.  Do we want eternal life or eternal captivity?
     
So yeah, that is basically what I've been thinking about lately.  The Gospel is so true and if we just cling to it and our covenants we'll be safe and happy.  It's simple.  Satan is the author of complexity. 

Anyway, I love you all.  I love being a missionary.  It's so much fun and so rewarding.  Even if nothing goes are way at times we can still be happy because we are confidant that we are following the Lord. 

I hope that you all have a great week!  The Church is definitely true! 

Love, Sister Anderson

(Halloween in San Manuel)

Hola Como Esta?

(Sister Thomas did a fabulous job cutting Melissa's hair today. She cut off 2 inches and then layered it with some layers up to 10 inches off.)

Hey hey! It was so good to hear from some of you this week! Like always, this week was a good one. I just love being a missionary so much!

I came to learn something really important yesterday during Sacrament Meeting... I was just sitting there writing something in my planner and I heard this elderly woman sitting probably 5 feet behind me whisper to her husband, "I didn't know that Sister Anderson is left handed." Of course this wasn't meant for anyone but her husband to hear but since she was elderly all of us could hear her. I was just so thankful that I wasn't doing something inappropriate (not that I would be). But what I learned from dear Sister Kincaid is that everyone really is watching and it is up to us to make sure that we are doing what's right. We need to follow the direction in Matthew and in 3rd Nephi 12:14-16 which ends by stating, "Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Now, I wasn't doing anything that is worthy of glorifying Heavenly Father for but hopefully one day someone will catch me doing something good and be thankful for seeing it.

Yesterday we saw a huge miracle, someone that is confused about church just showed up to church. Before church I saw this girl that I just knew wasn't of our faith. So after sacrament meeting I went and introduced myself. This girl is 20 years old and going from church to church looking for the right one. Apparently she noticed the example of a teacher at her high school and decided to see what our church is all about. This teacher wasn't even her teacher but she noticed that she was different. It was amazing as she shared with us her desires. She sounds just like Joseph Smith. Unfortunately she lives in Phoenix during the week and comes home on the weekends so we have to wait until next Sunday to talk to her again. Another miracle is that the ward mission leader's wife recognized her as one of the girls in her kindergarten class and was able to talk to her. There is no such things as coincidences with the Lord. I'm so excited to talk with Gabrielle again on Sunday!

Things are continuing to go well with Sandra and her family. Some people you can find, teach, and baptize in 3 or 4 weeks but this family just isn't one of those. They're going to take a lot of time and I'm ok with that. I don't think that it matters how long it takes for someone to make it to the waters of baptism as long as they're progressing every day and putting forth their best effort. Don't get me wrong, I know that it's important to do it with urgency and as fast as possible but sometimes there are just some obstacles too big to overcome in 3 or 4 weeks. Since the missionaries met Sandra back in June she has refused to pray with us. Well, since we've started getting her sons involved she has started to make some great changes. She's realized that she needs to be a better example because they really know nothing about Heavenly Father and Christ. At the beginning of last week both boys had prayed and they really put some pressure on her to pray. It was amazing because she gave up her desires to be an example for her family. At the end of her prayer I think that I must have yelled "amen" out of happiness and I jumped in the air and gave her a high-5. I was so happy because I knew that she was one step closer to Heavenly Father and making commitments with him. Every little thing counts. Just thinking about how she prayed makes me want to cry. I was and am so happy. I can't even explain to you in words how amazing it was.

Grant an 8 year old from aninactive fam that got baptized.)
I love the Gospel so much and I just know that our Heavenly Father is so happy every time we talk with Him and show Him our faith. It's incredible. I think that I've really started to come to understand our Heavenly Father's love. I can't comprehend how amazing it is but when I feel something for someone that I don't even know and just want them to be happy I know that Heavenly Father is teaching me something. I'm so thankful that He's letting me serve a mission so that I can learn these things.

After church yesterday the yw president approached me because none of our investigators came to church. She was so worried because she knew that I must be discouraged. I thought a lot about that and how I wasn't discouraged. I think that as we come to understand agency and that it is a blessing not a hindrance, we don't get discouraged. We may be disappointed because we know that people are missing out on blessings but we don't get discouraged. Discouragement is one of Satan's tactics. He wants us to feel down but we can always feel uplifted. We have a Savior and as we follow Him we can not and will not fall. There's not a chance. We will be safe and we will be happy. We have to remember the promise in Helaman 5:12.
This morning we got a phone call from a faithful brother in the ward. He stated that he thought that we needed to go visit this part member family because we left an impact on the wife. A few weeks ago we went to their house and the wife said that she had a testimony of the Book of Mormon but just didn't see how the church could be true. We just looked at her for a second and then I read to her the last 2 paragraphs of the introduction to the Book of Mormon. After pausing for a second I just looked at her and boldly stated that I knew that she had a testimony that the church was true and it's up to her to follow that testimony. Afterwards I was a bit concerned that maybe it came out too harsh but I'm excited to go back and to see what she has to say. Sometimes we have to be really bold to put the point across.


(Best of friends after volleyball)
Lastly, I've been thinking a lot about Ether 12:27 lately. It talks about making weak things become strong. My whole mission I feel like talking to everyone has been one of my weak things. I've really prayed and put forth effort to change that. Well, I'm starting to see this weak thing become a strength. I'm so thankful for the prayer because it is only through prayer that I've been able to work at overcoming this weakness. I still have a long way to go but I know that as we truly apply the scriptures to our lives we can and will see miracles.

Well, I hope that you all have a great week! The church is definitely true. There is no doubt about it. There is nothing more liberating then the Gospel. Live worthy of the blessings that come from it and don't let Satan subtly pull you down into discouragement and sin. I love you all lots!

Love, Sister Anderson

Time Sure Is Flying!

(Doing a little service this morning)

Well, another week has come and gone.  I just can't believe how fast time flies by.  It's incredible.  San Manuel is all decorated for Halloween.  I've never seen a place with more Halloween decorations.  It's crazy, especially since there are hardly any kids in this town.  It's fun though to see all of the decorations.

This week was definitely a miracle week.  We just saw miracle after miracle.  I really believe that you receive a lot of blessings when there is a new missionary in an area.  It was like new investigators were just falling into our laps.  It was such a fun week! 

We picked up 3 more of Sandra's kids.  This family is so disfunctional and the Gospel is what will bring it together.  It's the only thing that will bring it together.  Yesterday we ran into one of her daughters and just flat out asked her if she wanted to get along with her family and if so what was she willing to do.  Well, the thing that she is willing to do is to start meeting with us and come to know our Savior.  I'm really excited to work with this family.  The biggest struggle is finding them all at home, but when there is a will there is a way. 

Some other people that we found were this couple named Billie Anna and Raynoldo.  Apparently Billie Anna's mom is a member of the church, but super inactive.  The ward mission leader took us to her house to find her mom and she mentioned that she had been meaning to meet with us.  So we met with her and she informed us that she's been wanting to get baptized for over a year and a half now!  There are some issues that we'll need to overcome with her, but nothing is too out of reach or impossible.  It was so funny because during the lesson her 9 month old baby just sat back and put her arms behind her head like she was just relaxing, like the message and feeling were so familiar to her.  It was pretty cool.
     
In San Man there is this really great trailer park.  I've come to love trailer parks.  It's in them that miracles happen.  Well, last night my companion was kind of sick so we went to the house for an hour for her to rest.  After an hour she decided to show her faith by going out even though she didn't feel well.  Well, I was just one contact away from my goal so we decided to drive around the park and talk to whoever was out.  Well, we saw this man that we met over a week ago and decided to go visit.  In front of his house is this floating device from a boat and on it is painted the words "Party Marty."  Marty obviously likes to party.  Well we got out to talk to him because he was outside and he just poured out his heart to us how he felt like something is missing and that he's so confused.  He then told us that when we walked up that we were the answer to his confusion and that we had what was missing in his life.  We got there just in time because he had just got himself a beer, but hadn't drank from it yet.  He said that he just drinks to fill the gaps that he feels.  

(I Love Power Tools)
The Lord's timing is always perfect.  It's incredible to me.  So often we want things to happen on our timetable, but the Lord's is always right.  He knows what needs to happen and when.  We just have to trust in Him and know that His ways are not always are ways.  Thank goodness!  We just need to remember Proverbs 3:5-6
     
I've been thinking a lot about the atonement lately and how it affects every aspect of our lives if we let it.  Christ is just waiting to bless us and to help us, but we have to do our part.  We have to accept Him.  I've really come to know that I can't do anything on my own.  If I try to do things on my own, it's just a waist.  He knows how to help us.  Why don't we let Him?  What's holding us back from receiving His blessings?  The only thing holding us back is ourselves.  The Savior is who can make us better.  He makes us stronger.  He gives us confidence.  He gives us peace.  We all need to find ways to strengthen our relationship with Him.  It's amazing because things with the Lord are simple.  We just need to do the simple things:  pray with real intent, read and ponder about the scriptures, take time to be holy, etc.  I'm convinced that as we take a little more time each day to worship the Lord he will gives us so much more in return. 

I love in Malachi where it says, "Prove me now herewith if I will not open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing and there will not be room enough to receive it."  Prove Him!  Make Him show you that He is always faithful!  When our investigators have issues with the commandments I always say "Prove Him!"  He wont leave us hanging.
  
Well, I hope that you all have a great week!  Remember to trust in Him who is mighty to save.  Prove Him.  The Gospel is definitely true!  Live it!

Love, Sister Anderson
Alma 26:16

There Not Just Old Men

Hey there everyone!  Didn't you all just love conference?!  It was so good!  It is amazing to see how every talk seems directed towards you.  It doesn't matter what stage you are at life, each talk can be applied to all of our lives. 

I loved how President Monson started the conference by talking about the new temples and missionaries!  2 subjects that I hold very near to my heart.  There really is so much power found in making and keeping temple covenants.  I love this months Ensign about temples.  They truly are the house of the Lord.  And missionaries... I love being a missionary!  I want to be a missionary for the rest of my life! 

Something that I've really come to know is that you can't prepare for a mission by just going to the MTC.  It is something that needs to be prepared for throughout your whole life.  You can't fake a testimony and a love for the Lord.  You need to be a missionary before you even put on the name tag.  Being a missionary is so great!  It truly is the best thing that I've ever done. 

So I want to talk more about conference, but first, I want to share part of a lesson that we had yesterday.  Sister Thomas and I were teaching Hunter and BJ Parry.  They're 8 and 11 yrs old.  Well, we were talking about conference and I said, "The speakers aren't just old men."  Hunter (the 8 yr old) quickly cut me off and said, "You're right.  They're men that want to say something before they die.  We have to be mature about this."  So funny!  I was trying so hard not to laugh.  But, Hunter does have a point.  Our church leaders are men who have so much wisdom and are full of the spirit.  They know what we need to hear.  They know what will bring us happiness and joy.  They know our Savior and how we can draw closer to Him.  This really is something that we need to be mature about.  I love D&C 1: 38 which says, "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my voice shall not pass away, but shall be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."  We can feel confidant that as we study the words of our living prophets that it is the voice of the Lord and that we will hear what He wants us to hear.  It's up to us to listen, internalize, and heed their words. 

I think that it is so sad because there are so many people who are searching for the truth and they have no idea that our loving Heavenly Father has called another prophet to lead and guide us. 

We tried to tell everyone about conference because we knew that it would give people answers to the questions that they've been searching for.  Unfortunately, some people chose not to listen.  We have to make a conscious effort to listen to the prophets.  We were really excited though because some people did come.  During the Saturday afternoon session, 3 of the Parry boys (ages 8, 6, and 5) showed up.  They knew that it was important to listen to the prophet so the 3 of them rode their bikes to the church to watch it with us.  Thank goodness that Aunt Jolene sent me conference games last conference time.  Those games kept them occupied.  It was so funny to hear what they had to say about all of the speakers.  They really liked it.  Yesterday we went to their house and their parents had turned on conference for them to watch at home.  For just learning who the prophet is, they sure do have a great love for him. 

Yesterday, we were so excited because Rycca came to the morning session.  We made her breakfast to make sure that she would come.  It was really cool because we had asked her to pray about some of her questions and promised her that they would be answered as she watched conference.  She was a little hesitant but took the challenge and said that President Monson answered her questions.  She loved it and was so glad that she woke up early to watch it.
  
Things are going great with Sister Thomas!  I love being her companion!  We get along really well and she definitely has been preparing to serve a mission her whole life.  She is just so excited to go out and help others come unto Christ.  It's been way fun because we've made it a goal to get out of the truck and walk and talk to everyone we see everyday.  I love talking to everyone.  For the most part, people are always nice and if anything, we can have a nice conversation with them.  We've talked to tons of people and have seen many miracles.  I feel like talking to everyone is a demonstration of our faith.  As we show Heavenly Father that we want all of His children to come unto Him, He'll put them in our paths. 

An example of this came while we were doing service for our investigator, Sandra.  We were waiting outside of her trailer for her and her 19 year old, drug using son, showed up and told us that he really wants to change his life and wanted our help.  Sandra told us that he is now reading the Book of Mormon and she is so happy because she knows that this can be what makes this difference in him.  The Gospel changes lives as we let it.  But, it wont change someone if they don't know about it.  We've talked to Chris so many times and he's never showed interest.  This just showed me that we have to keep inviting people even if they don't really respond to the invitation at first.  The Gospel is true, and we need to be continuously inviting others to take part in it.
     
Well, that's about it for the week!  I hope that you're all doing great and make this the best week ever!  Come unto Christ and invite your friends to come along with you!  The Church is definitely true! 

Love, Sister Anderson
Moroni 10: 30-33

Hola

Hey there everyone! Another transfer has come and gone. I can't believe how fast time flies. It is absolutely crazy! Sister Rust went to Thatcher and I'm training a really great sister named Sister Thomas. She's from Kaysville, Ut and seems really great. I'm really excited to work with her! I think that she will teach me a lot!

Well this week has been really good! I love being a missionary! On Saturday Roy got baptized! Woohoo! He is such a smart kid and was so prepared. It is amazing how the Lord prepares people and then directs us to them. If you don't remember, Roy is the kid that we just felt like we needed to go talk to his less-active mom and she asked us if he could be baptized. There is definitely no such things as coincidences. Roy was prepared and we were directed to him. It was amazing! The spirit was so strong at the baptismal service. There was no denying that Christ's church is back on the earth and that the authority to perform saving ordinances is back as well. I'm so thankful for the spirit. I would be so lost without it and have no idea of what is and isn't true and what direction to take in my life.
The Gospel is so incredible. I've been thinking a lot this week about how we are so blessed to have the gospel. It just makes life easier. It brings purpose and direction to our lives. It's so sad to think that there are people searching for the truth but just don't know where to find it.

I think a lot about Doctrine and Covenants 123. We need to "waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherin we know them..." I know that nothing brings more joy than wasting and wearing out our lives for the Lord." Nothing! I feel like my body and mind has aged so much since I came on a mission but that's ok because I know that I'm doing the right thing. Being a missionary makes me so happy. There is nothing like seeing others come unto Christ and feel of His love in their lives. I love to it!

We had a really neat experience this week while teaching Rycca. Rycca is 15 and we felt strongly that we needed to teach her the Law of Chastity. As we taught she was very contemplative and thought a lot about what we were saying. As she prayed she promised the Lord that she would live this commandment. Well, the next few days we weren't able to see her because she was really upset about something. Finally, we were able to talk to her yesterday. She informed us that she had broken up with her boyfriend because the prophets have taught that we don't date until we're 16. How neat is that! She really took it to heart! Even though she was fighting back the tears (she really liked this boy), there was a new light in her eyes and she knew that she was following the Lord. I'm so proud of her! We read with her one of my favorite scriptures, Mosiah 2:41. It says: "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in ALL things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." It was so great to be able to testify to Rycca that she will be blessed with "never ending happiness" as she continues to follow the commandments. The Lord doesn't lie.

Oh, I really loved the Relief Society broadcast! It was so great! I loved how President Monson talked about not judging. This is SO important! There is one lady that has said to me multiple times, "we would fellowship the new members if they were more normal." Can you believe that? We all are God's children, brothers and sisters and all deserve to be fellowshiped. I often think about how President Monson reaches out to the one. I think that we can and should do the same!

Well, that's about all from here! I hope that you all have a great week and find ways that you can be better missionaries. It truly brings the greatest joy. The Gospel is definitely true and we all need it in our lives!
Love,
Hermana Anderson