Hey sorry this week's email is going to be really short we are short on time today because we are going to go golfing! It will still be an okay email though.
This week was a really really slow week. We are trying to find some new people to teach but with the holiday this week people could really care less about listening to the missionaries and cared a lot more about their bbq's and their fireworks then the good word of god.
We had a good meeting with the stake presidency of one of our stake's last night though and hope that it will spark the interest in that stake and we will see some increased missionary efforts in that stake.
Thank you for all of the support that all of you give to me and for all of the prayer's in my companion's and my behalf.
Have a great week and I will talk to all of you next week.
Last but not least. Two days ago I played a Fazioli piano. This piano is a $200,000 piano! The piano man has never sounded so good!
Love, Elder Anderson
P.S. Next week's letter will be better I promise!
Monday, July 27, 2009
hoy es el dia
Hola! So this week has been really good! Unfortunately I was kind of bad a writing in my journal this week so I can't really remember everything that happened. Every day is pretty much the same though.
So you may or may not have heard but I taught a lady from our stake this week at the TRC. It was cool to see someone from Bluffdale. Unfortunately I kind of froze and it took me awhile to get into the Spanish grove. That's OK though. Spanish is coming slowly but surely. I guess it will really come in a week when I leave.
Yes, I did get my travel plans. I leave a week from tomorrow! It will be weird to be in the outside world but I'm excited! Our flight leaves at 8:40 (I think) on the 4th. I'm the travel leader (woohoo, I'm not too excited). So I have no idea what time I'll call you but it will probably be between 7-8 or so. There are 10 of us going. 5 are in my district and I don't know the others.
I'm kind of nervous and can't really believe that I'm actually leaving. I'm planning on just doing everything I can to have the Spirit with me because that will make up for my lack of speaking the language. After-all, it's the spirit that teaches, not the missionaries. I've found something amazing though. When my companionship is unified and I'm listening to the Spirit I can speak really well. It is a miracle. It really is a gift from Heavenly Father because when we aren't teaching I can't really speak any Spanish. I did hear some reassuring news from a Spanish speaker from Tucson though. He said that almost everyone there speaks English as well. I don't know if that is true but I hope so. He said his tio (uncle) is the branch president of one of the 3 Spanish branches in Tucson.
We had a substitute teacher this week that kept saying "hoy es el dia" (today is the day). He said it over and over again and would say things like "today is the 2nd to last July 24th you have as a missionary." This has become the joke in my district. We always say it to each other. I realized that it is true though. Today is the day and today is the second to last July 27th I have as a missionary. I need to make sure that I'm giving it everything I have. I think that this applies to everyone. Today IS the day.
Thanks for all of the letters and packages. I really love them and so does my district. Hermana Lee said "your mom is the bomb." I agree. Dad, thanks for sending me those cool postcards! I loved them! It sounds like you are all doing really well and are super busy. Way cool about the temple dedication! Tell the fam thanks for all writing me little notes on Sunday. I hope Matt is feeling better. And I'm so glad that grandma is doing well. I'm sorry that my letters are so long. Put Reed's on after mine on the blog so people can read his. Have a great week!
Love, Hermana Anderson
ps Suzy thanks for giving me those popper things before I left. For the 24th my roommate, Hna Hadley, and I hung out the window and throw them out. It was quite exciting and I felt like such a rebel. I'll send pictures soon.
pps that is cool about the 5k for Keltson. How did Tommy get involved. If it hasn't happened yet tell his mom that I'll participate not next year but the next
So you may or may not have heard but I taught a lady from our stake this week at the TRC. It was cool to see someone from Bluffdale. Unfortunately I kind of froze and it took me awhile to get into the Spanish grove. That's OK though. Spanish is coming slowly but surely. I guess it will really come in a week when I leave.
Yes, I did get my travel plans. I leave a week from tomorrow! It will be weird to be in the outside world but I'm excited! Our flight leaves at 8:40 (I think) on the 4th. I'm the travel leader (woohoo, I'm not too excited). So I have no idea what time I'll call you but it will probably be between 7-8 or so. There are 10 of us going. 5 are in my district and I don't know the others.
I'm kind of nervous and can't really believe that I'm actually leaving. I'm planning on just doing everything I can to have the Spirit with me because that will make up for my lack of speaking the language. After-all, it's the spirit that teaches, not the missionaries. I've found something amazing though. When my companionship is unified and I'm listening to the Spirit I can speak really well. It is a miracle. It really is a gift from Heavenly Father because when we aren't teaching I can't really speak any Spanish. I did hear some reassuring news from a Spanish speaker from Tucson though. He said that almost everyone there speaks English as well. I don't know if that is true but I hope so. He said his tio (uncle) is the branch president of one of the 3 Spanish branches in Tucson.
We had a substitute teacher this week that kept saying "hoy es el dia" (today is the day). He said it over and over again and would say things like "today is the 2nd to last July 24th you have as a missionary." This has become the joke in my district. We always say it to each other. I realized that it is true though. Today is the day and today is the second to last July 27th I have as a missionary. I need to make sure that I'm giving it everything I have. I think that this applies to everyone. Today IS the day.
Thanks for all of the letters and packages. I really love them and so does my district. Hermana Lee said "your mom is the bomb." I agree. Dad, thanks for sending me those cool postcards! I loved them! It sounds like you are all doing really well and are super busy. Way cool about the temple dedication! Tell the fam thanks for all writing me little notes on Sunday. I hope Matt is feeling better. And I'm so glad that grandma is doing well. I'm sorry that my letters are so long. Put Reed's on after mine on the blog so people can read his. Have a great week!
Love, Hermana Anderson
ps Suzy thanks for giving me those popper things before I left. For the 24th my roommate, Hna Hadley, and I hung out the window and throw them out. It was quite exciting and I felt like such a rebel. I'll send pictures soon.
pps that is cool about the 5k for Keltson. How did Tommy get involved. If it hasn't happened yet tell his mom that I'll participate not next year but the next
Monday, July 20, 2009
Hola mi familia!
(Please don't worry...no scandal here Hermana Anderson with her cousin Elder Lloyd.)
Hola mi familia!
So this week has been really good. Thanks for everyone's love and support. I really appreciated the letters and packages. Dad thanks for sending me a letter. I love getting letters from you. Mom, thanks for sending letters and the pie. Unfortunately, I did not receive the pie. The post office people somehow knew that it was a pie and instead of giving that to me they gave me a lovely notice saying that I received a pie that had been confiscated. I really appreciate the thought though. Sorry you took all of that time and I didn't even get it. The other package was way good. My District loves our family so much.
So this week I have learned a lot about communication. Communication is SO important! Without good communication there can be a lot of misunderstandings. A lot. So I've been working to make sure that everything I say is understood the right way. Also, I've learned the importance of service. Service and communication have changed my companionship. Every day I search for things that I can do to serve. There is no time to think about myself. This is how it should be.
My companionship has grown so much stronger this past week. When we teach it is amazing. The spirit is with us. It’s amazing because even if we don't understand what the other companions are saying we always know what to say and it always ends up being the perfect thing to say. People have been complimenting us a lot this week because of our teaching with unity. I attribute it all to the Lord, communication, and service.
We have an investigator that we call on the phone every week. He is a middle aged man who has no hope in life because he is really sick. This week we taught him about faith and hope (PMG teaches that hope is the anchor of our souls; I know that this is true). He told us that because of us his faith and hope has increased. It was amazing when he told us that. I realized that we really are doing the work of angels. We really are bringing salvation unto people.
Today I was studying Words of Mormon. I love verse 8 because I think that I am fulfilling Mormon's prayer in a way. It says "and my prayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God, yea, the redemption of Christ; that they may once again be a delightsome people." I'll be teaching his people.
So we got 3 new roommates this week! It is amazing! I love it. One is from South Jordan, one used to live with one of the Elders in my districts fam in Alaska, and one is my friend from college! Suzy, it is Sarah Johns, you were visiting teaching comps with her at the Dev. For the week leading up to getting roommates I just knew that it would be her. I could just feel it. The Lord has really blessed me. At District Leadership Meeting yesterday the District President said "Hermana Anderson, the Lord must really love you." I completely agree.
Although I've had some hard times here I know that it all has a purpose. In everything we do there is a purpose. In Words of Mormon 1:7 it says "..And now, I do not know all things which are to come; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come..." I know that He has a plan for me and I just need to have faith and be humble. PMG teaches that Humility is not a sign of weakness but strength. It means that we know that through the Lord we can do all things. I've been working to have more humility. I love Chapter 6 of PMG. You all should study it. So, this letter is really long. Thanks for everything you all do for me. I can't believe I'm leaving here in 2 weeks. I look forward to talking to you on the phone. Can you maybe send a slip (the kind for bikes) just in case I'm on a bike? That would be fabulous. Good luck with everything this week! Have fun! I love you all!
Love, Hermana Anderson
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
How Can Something So Right Be So Hard?