Gas Leak

Hey there!  
It was so good to hear from you all!  It sounds like things are going great up there! I'm so glad!  

Well we've had quite the week!  It's funny how things can happen so much on missions. Sometimes it seems like that since we're only out for such a short amount of time we have to have all of life crunched into 18 months.  This week was no different.  

After Dad wrote me about those missionaries who died I decided that we needed to have our house checked to see if it had a gas leak.  Since we moved there I could smell something and have just been putting it off because we had so much stuff going on. Well, Tuesday afternoon the Texas gas people came and sure enough we had a few leaks. Well, he fixed one on the stove and there is another on the furnace.  He shut that off until someone comes to fix it.  

Well, I called and told President Walker about it and he said that there was no way that we could stay there even though the gas man told me that it would be fine.  So we have left our beautiful 3 bedroom 2 bath house for the one bedroom 1 bathroom apartment that the English sisters live in.  That's right, there are 4 of us living there.  And that's not all, it has mice!  Don't worry, we caught a mouse.  It was pretty disgusting.  We had to call a recent convert to come take care of it because it was on a sticky trap and was still alive.  The first night Sister Maher and I slept on the lazy boys but we've since got cot's.  It's actually tons of fun.  We love it!  It's way funny because just the week before the English sisters asked President if we could have a sleep over and he said absolutely not.  Well, we've now been having a sleep over on his orders for about a week.  There's never a dull moment.  

The owner of the house is coming tonight to look at it.  She lives in Mexico and this is the first chance that she's had to come over so the sleep over will probably end soon unfortunately.  But it will be nice to be back in the house where there is more than an inch between the beds.  So crazy.

President asked us to do an exchange this past week and he wanted Sister Maher to come out with me.  It was way fun!  It was my first time that I was the person who knew the most Spanish.  Sister Maher understands a lot of Spanish but can't really say anything.  It was such a great experience!  I was really surprised because everything went really well.  We taught lots of lessons and it was completely fine.  The Lord really blessed us.  It was amazing because I often rely on others Spanish but my mouth was filled and I understood.  It was such a blessing.  It really helped me gain confidence that I can do anything with the Lord.  Confidence is probably the thing that I lack the most with Spanish but slowly but surely its getting better.  

We had some great lessons this week.  We're teaching these women from Peru named Ana and Flor.  They're SO funny!  Ana is in her 60s and is Flor's mom.  Well, she is always saying such funny things.  She calls me her angel and they just love us.  She keeps saying "baptize me" but wont really accept a date.  We're praying that they'll be baptized this month.

We've found a few more investigators that are great.  We're just trying to find find find.  

Anyway, I hope that you all have a great week!  Have fun and do good!  Remember who you are and act accordingly :).  Trust in the Lord and take those steps of faith.  After we show our faith miracles happen.  It's true, I know it.  The Church is definately true!  Love you lots!

Love, Hermana Anderson

The Standard of Truth HAS Been Erected!

Hola everyone! Como estan?

Another week has flown by. I can't believe how fast time goes! Can you believe that in two days I will have been out for 8 months? I can't! It's crazy how fast time goes. So crazy.

So this week has been quite the week. It's been full of adventures, miracles, difficulties, and everything else you can think of. On Tuesday night we were driving to contact a referral. I was driving and stopped at a stop sign. Well, a car failed to yield to oncoming traffic and sped through the intersection. Another car that was going about 50 mph hit him. That car spun and his car came through the intersection right for us. Well, we had quite the miracle. So he was coming right for my door, I could see him and he was so scared. Well, right before he got to us his car practically stopped and he barely bumped us. It could have been really bad but all that happened was we got a few little bumps on the door. Our cars were like a "t." So yeah, we were super blessed because we could have been really hurt but instead we were just fine. We barely even felt it. It turned out that the man was a bit intoxicated. His car and the other car are totaled but no body was hurt.

The next day I was super sick. I don't remember the last time I was that sick. I couldn't keep anything down. After district meeting and what not we talked to Sister Walker and she told Sister Andersen that I couldn't work.

So yeah, we had lots of crazy things happen to us this week but we came out on top. Like the Standard of Truth says "The Standard of Truth Has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing..." I feel like Satan is doing all that he can to stop us but since the Standard of Truth has been erected nothing is going to stop it. When things happen I just say "nice try Satan, but you can't stop us."

You know, this week more than ever I've felt the urgency of the work. I am so happy that I get to be a part of the work. I love the work. When I think of all that the Lord has done for me I just want to talk to everyone because everyone needs the blessings from the Gospel. I can't help but be happy all of the time because of the truth that I know. We had some great miracles this week. We've been going through our area book and pretty much contacting all of the formers. Well somehow we had missed one and than all of the sudden we flipped open to one of the pages. It was for this teenager named Joel. Well, we went over and visited him and he said that he's been looking for the truth. The next day when we came back he had been reading from the Book of Mormon and loving it. He committed to be baptized! Slowly but surely the work will be on fire here. We were also able to contact lots of people so it was just an awesome week. We've been blessed with so much. I love this new area! Our house is awesome! The members are amazing! To answer your question Dad, this area is a lot better well off than my last. My last area is kind of the ghetto of El Paso but this place is super nice. They both provide different pros and cons but I love learning how to work in a new area with new challenges. Its awesome.

Well, I probably should head but I hope that you all have a great week. Be happy! Do good! Remember our Savior and what He has done for you. When we remember our Savior we have every reason to be happy! Well, I love you all so much! Have a great week!
Love,
Hermana Anderson

Transfered To The Edge Of The Mission

Hey hey hey!!!!  

Good morning from the edge of the mission!  So I was transferred to the very edge of the mission.  And my companion is... Sister Andersen!  I love her!  She and I are a lot alike.  We always are thinking the same thing and it's just so much fun.  She's also helping me out a ton with my Spanish.  And guess what else... our ward has us and one other set of missionaries.  They're names are Elder... Anderson and Elder Powell. So funny huh?  In church they said we'd like to welcome "las Hermanas Anderson." That's what everyone calls us.  Everyone also asks us if we're all related.  I love it!  

The ward is amazing!  I came from a small Spanish branch that averaged maybe 40-50 people each week to this HUGE ward that averages 300-350 each week!  The ward's goal for baptisms this year is 70 people!  The members are AMAZING!  

On Wednesday night (our first night) we went to the church and met some people and some men came up to us and said "how many times a week do you need members out with you?" We said "6 nights a week" and they said that they would work it out!  I'm used to having to call for hours every day to find someone to come out and here they arrange it all for us!  So cool!  

This area is super nice.  And guess what... we have our very own house!  Someone moved back to Mexico and wanted the missionaries to live in their house for free.  So based on everything I've said, you can imagine it is a way nice area and I'm super excited! I can definitely tell that President Walker loves me and is rewarding me.  

We are also opening up this area so right now the work is really really slow.  We are going through all of the former investigators trying to find the elect, or anyone who will listen to us for that matter.  We have 3 investigators right now and need lots more.  This week we're really going to focus on the members because members have friends who need the truth.  

So please pray for Sister Andersen and I to be able to find the elect.  I'm so excited for this opportunity and for a change!  This area is going to be awesome!  We're going to work so hard and find the elect.  Even though I was sad to leave the people that I love in the North East, I'm way excited to be here and get a fresh start!
 
Well, I love you all lots!  Have a fantastic week!  Pray for missionary opportunities! Remember who you are and act accordingly!

Love, Hermana Anderson