BEST DAY EVER!!!!!

May 14, 2012

Hey Everybody!

So For the first time in 5 months I got to TALK WITH MY FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!! Easily the best thing in the entire world! It is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. They all popped up on the skype screen and the first thing I thought was, "Wow! They are so beautiful! Why am I so ugly if they are so beautiful?!" My parents and siblings are such beautiful people! Blows my mind! So that was my first thought. My second thought was, "This is not real. This cannot be real!" But then it was. And when I realized it was I just started to cry. :) It was so great to talk to them and to see them face to face and speak in English! It was the first time in 9 months that I have heard a prayer, the happy birthday song, and a Church hymn called Families Can Be Together Forever, all in ENGLISH!!!!! It was a pretty cool strange experience. It kinda was hard to talk sometimes because the words that came to mind when I was describing people or places for them were in Spanish! That is a good thing though! Made me smile! We ended up getting back to our Pension really late. I was so out of energy from being so happy and crying so much that I just walked in and went straight to bed! Exhausted!!!!!!

Other then talking to the family, life here in San Vicente goes on as usual. We are working with a whole lot of people but not seeing much progress. That is frustrating. But we keep working hard and keep loving. We have one investigator named Frank that tries to prove and disprove everything using logic and doesn't believe in Faith. He believes only in what he sees. He is really difficult to teach because when you take everything away, our message that God has restored his authority and power in these days through prophets. That the ordinances or promises we make with God using this power is crucial in this life and in the life after. That it seals our families together and brings us joy. And that the only way to know if it is true is reading the Book of Mormon and then asking God if it is true! That when all is said and done, it is a question of faith. If one believes in God and believes he can answer prayers and actively participate in our lives. Without faith, when hard times come our knowledge does not serve us. Our knowledge does not give us comfort when our loved ones pass away because we don't KNOW where they go. We have to rely on faith. It is hard for many to believe in what they cannot see. Sometimes it is hard for me. But I have faith that God lives and loves me. And that he loves every person in this planet with the personal love of a father. And so I keep doing what I'm doing. Because I have faith and it makes me happy.

I don't really know why I shared all that, but it is what I've been thinking about lately. About why I do what I do every day. I do it out of love and faith and hope. Because when all is said and done, I don't know a whole lot! Give me a break! I'm nineteen years old! :)

I love you all. Keep on Keepin on!

Love,

Elder Anderson