Week 101...almost the end.

July 1, 2013

Hola!

Here we are! Week 101 of my mission. In reality I should have three weeks left, but the way things have happened, I only have one! So crazy! It is amazing to be where I am now. It feels strange.

Here in the mission we have Mission President. He is like our boss. They serve for three years instead of two and are the guide and example to us. They really have their work cut out for them seeing as there are almost 200 of us 18 to 25 year olds under his charge. The mission President who I have served under, President Stapley, went home this last week. Usually before a missionary goes home they receive an exit interview from the mission president. I got mine early. I learned alot from him in this hour of time and was impressed that a man so humble could be so wise.

The greatest "pearl" or wisdom I received from him was this. "For the past two years you have been living every day focused on others. Trying to live your life in such a way that you can represent Jesus Christ and invite others to come unto Him. You have been molded and changed and the Lord has invested a lot in you and your progress. Now you are going home. Your focus and purpose should not change! The secret to happiness is focusing on others and helping them be successful. Being happy is being clean. Clean in thought word and deed. After all you have experienced and done, don't go back and be the same person as when you left. Be better. You ARE better. Don't go back to the same people and same things and same places that impeded your progress beforehand. Continue progressing and REMEMBER so you can always be better than before."

So...get ready. I'm gonna be a little different! A little taller, a little more handsome.... :) But mostly I feel more centered. More sure of who I am, what I believe and what I want. I'm still goofy, clumsy, and funky....some things never change, but things that were weaknesses before are now strengths. I'm so grateful for this experience that I have had to give selfless service to my God and my brothers. I have grown and changed so much as I have served. I have stretched and grown in character. In the end that is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about; Making bad men good, and good men better!

I have come to know for myself that God lives. That he loves us and knows us individually. I know that he answers prayers and that he has revealed his will to man and will continue to do so. That he has Prophets on the earth yet again! And that the living Prophet is Thomas S Monson. That as we follow his council we will be able to grow closer to God and be protected from the dangers of today! That God has restored his truth, his priesthood, and his church again on the earth to bring about the immortality and eternal life of his children. I know the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the atonement, knows no bounds. That he can heal any wound, right any wrong, and change any man for the better if only they will believe and FOLLOW him. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. As I read it I feel a fortifying peace in my life that pushes me to be better and never give in to the temptations that present themselves. I know that as we base our lives in Christ our families will be protected and strengthened, and that one day we can be blessed to live with them for Eternity. God lives. He loves us. This is His church. I hope to live in such a way that I have no regrets and will one day stand before Him and recognize Him as my Savior and Redeemer. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I am so grateful to all of you for supporting me. I have felt the support of your prayers and wish I could repay you. I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Cameron Mark Anderson

Thoughts from the Temple

June 20, 2013

Hey all!

So I'm writing to you all on a Thursday (wierd)! I had to change my preparation day to today in order to go to the Temple with a lady who was baptized a year ago in San Vicente. She went to go take out her endowments and I was given permission to accompany her! It was an amazing experience. If you don't know what an endowment is...ask a Mormon! :) Or better yet, in a neighborhood near you there are two really slick guys in white shirts and ties and black name tags that would LOVE to tell you all about it!

I think something that I've been thinking about a lot lately is that being converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ just makes us better. It makes us love more, open our eyes to everything around us and seek to be the best we can be because that is what He expects of us! Like any good father, God sets goals for us, and conversion really truly is just making His goals our own and striving to meet them every day! It is promising to be better and live more! Make the most of every moment and every thing that He gives us.

A tradition of mine is to read the same scripture every time I go to the temple. I read it again today. It is found in Romans 8 and it says:

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Who are we to shrink down and say we can't? There is someone so much bigger and better than us that is on our team! I think that sums up what the gospel means to me. That I always can because HE already has and that His goals, are the best goals.

Another week gone and another ahead!

I love you all,

Elder Anderson

Pics

June 10, 2013

Some pics!

These are all pictures from his missionary companion, Christopher Anaya.  The comments are from Elder Anaya too:

Elder Anaya: The views from our apartment. cant, complain, i love where we live, hot water, cant hear when it rains, no leaks, and awesome. We live on the 16 floor, there are 25. The other side of the river is capital.

Elder Anaya: Messing around after some service, it is an abandoned, bad structure that was going to be apartment. We have some people that live at the bottom and right next to it. 

Elder Anaya: Random pony attached to apartments =)

Elder Anaya: Great family, Miriam and Fransisco. We are trying to get them married, and they want to, but it is difficult because they are from Paraguay and Peru.

Elder Anaya: We had to get to the apartment early last night because of the riots and crazy stuff that happens after soccer games. This is the traffic of all the cars trying to get back home on our side, leaving capital. 

Elder Anaya: And the sweet zone activity we had, I set it up so that we could all, except for me, throw flour and eggs on him. My comps Bday is on Wednesday.  I was going to do something crazy on Wednesday but we have a zone conference.  But as you can tell we love him.  We wanted to make sure he had the best and last Bday on the mission. =)

Cam: This is my birthday party! Got eggs and flour thrown at me! Gotta love those Argentine traditions! This is our zone too! 

[No Subject]

June 3, 2013

¡Hola! ¿Que onda?

This last week finished up another transfer here in Avellaneda. A transfer is a six week period that at the end has some sort of change usually, either companion or area of proselyting. This time though nothing changes for me! Same companion and same area! I will start and finish my area in the exact same word, in the exact same city of Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, Argentina. My mission is coming full circle....weird.

This last week I was able to finish the Book of Mormon in Castellano for the first time. It was an amazing experience that brought so much light into my life. That book has a singular power to change human nature from the natural man to a child of God. If we follow the precepts found therein we will grow closer to God and come to understand more and more how to utilize the infinite sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ, in our lives. We will be molded and changed into the kind of person He wants us to be. Someone that far outreaches our hopes and dreams. I've come to adopt this motto in my mission. "B the best you can be. Elevate yourself to the level of your potential." I have seen so many changes and miracles in my life as I have taken this slogan to heart and worked to elevate myself. Live on a higher plane of virtue and purity of heart and mind. I feel more humble, more meek, and more prepared to take on the world as it continues to spin around me. God qualifies us to meet the tasks and challenges of our lives if we depend on him. I saw that in a very simple way this last week.

There is a couple we are teaching by the names of Miriam and Francisco. They live behind a polluted swamp tin house with cardboard thin walls and a roof with more holes than a cheese grater. They are the most humble people I hav perhaps ever met in the worlds eyes. They struggle to maintain their hope for good things to come. We challenged them to do a simple exercise. We promised them, that if they would read the scriptures and pray everyday, and then at night come together and write down a miracle they saw in that day, that God would bless them with the things that they most desperately needed. These promises we extended didn't come from us though. In the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 2:41 it says:

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out cfaithful to the end they are received into dheaven, 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.

They took to heart what we had told them to do. On Sunday we saw them at church. Miriam approached us with a smile on her face and said "Elders. My husband and I are doing as you've said. I can't say God has rained down money or a new house on us, but I can say that I have found new work and that I have a new optimism from seeing the blessings the Lord has given me everyday." I know it may not seem like much to you but in the life of this woman she recognized the simple truth, that the more we recognize the blessings of God in our life and the more we show Him we value these blessings, the more He blesses us. Good things are yet to come for those that wait upon the Lord. I wish you all could see and feel what I have felt. Perhaps then you could understand how much this simple story means to me. God is there. He listens. And he is waiting to pour out blessings upon us until we have not room to receive them.

I love you all so much. Thank you for all your support. See you all before you know it!

Love,

Elder Anderson

¡Heá! ¡Andá loco!

May 27, 2013

Hey all,

First things first! I'm so pround of you Chloe for graduating! I wan't sure if you were gonna make it but I'm glad you did! :) Haha! You are a great girl! So amazed that God loved me so much to curse me with such a great sister! :) Love you so much Chloe!

This last week has been a great time of reflection for me. Something that I've seen is the value of living my life with a direction and a goal. In the book "Preach my Gospel" the manual for missionary work, it says "our goals reflect the desires of our hearts." That has proven true time and time again. As missionaries we set goals for every day, week, month, year, and mission! We plan activities for literally every minute of every day from the moment we wake up till the moment we fall into our beds exhausted! And all that because we have a super desire to do our very best and to maximize our time so it can be 100% efficient! I realize now how short two years really are! It passes by so fast!

As I inch closer and closer to the "end" of my mission I see the completion of so many goals that I have placed before me and find myself changed and improved! And yet at the same time, I find myself with less and less goals and less and less direction! So this week I've been thinking, "What now? Where do I go?" It is a strange place to be after having my goals so clear for so long. Now when I have the opportunity to set my own goals I find myself a little lost. I wish I had some profound way of ending this email that shows that I've found out what all my goals will be for the next bit in my life, but I'm still in that phase of seeking and thinking. One thing has come to mind though in all this. It is a SUPER scripture that is SUPER well known. " If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." That is where I'm at now. If anyone knows what my goals should be I believe God does. I think he is waiting for me to propose a plan though. We'll see where this goes. If there is one thing I know though, it is that God will answer my prayers. Whether I get the answer or not just depends on how hard I listen.

Love you all so much,

Elder Andeson

The week in pictures!

May 20, 2013

Fotos!

This is a house on stilts in a polluted lagoon.

This is me in front of a house on stilts in a polluted lagoon.

This is me and my comp just working away in the villa!

This is a horsy eating trash! YUM!

This is where all the shipping containers are next to the dock.

This shows how secure my area is. SUPER SECURE!!!!!!!

The zone with ASADO!!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!

Hey All!

Another SUPER week! The highlight was of course speaking with my family on Mother's day. They are all doing so well and look so great! It was good to hear from them. I think they are about 20x more excited for me to go home than I am! :) Every time I think of leaving here I get kinda sick to my stomach. I just have to finish strong though and have no regrets! Colton is huge and such a stud, Chloe is a little princess, and mom and dad...they are the same! :) Just kidding! I can see how much they've changed as people too. They seem so converted and so conscious of the blessings in their lives. I see them as more grateful, in trials and blessings. As always they are my very best examples!

Other highlight would have to be getting smacked by a drunk guy on Saturday and having a big bruise along my cheek bone! SWEET! We were walking to go to teach a family and a man we taught a long time ago called us over. We could tell as soon as we got close and gave him the customary kiss on the cheek that he was REALLY drunk! He said he'd been partying for about two days now and that he finally was making his way home...wow. He gave us a huge hug and just kept telling us how much he loved us. I think that is something I've heard from just about every drunk person I've talked to here. At the end he gave us a loving "pat" on the cheek which turned out to be an open hand full on with-all-you-got slap to the face. He had a HUGE gold ring on his thumb and when that found it's way to my cheekbone it left a nice little mark! Really spiced up my day! :)

And something that we've seen as a miracle is that even though we have hard some difficulties this last week, someone always was there to keep our emotions and hope up. It reminded me so much of a talk by Jefferey R Holland, one of the twelve apostles  that says "Good things will come, don't you give up! Don't you look back! It will all be worth it in the end!" We are now seeing the fruits of our labors and feel grateful to have endured difficulties to receive miracles.

That is a lesson that I began to learn with my mother and am coming to really understand here on my own. Her mantra of "You can do hard things" always picks me up and keeps me on track because I can! I CAN do hard things! And I will have to if I ever want to become who I want to be and if I ever want to make a difference in my life and in the lives of others. The hard things are what give value to life and make it all worth living. Why do we worship Christ? Because he did the HARDEST things and never shrunk down, never backed out, and never looked behind. He did the hard things that we could never do alone, and THAT is why we worship Him. Because He is the one that showed us first,"You can do hard things" and "it will all be worth it in the end."

I love you all! Happy Mother's day Mommy! I love you so much,

Elder Anderson

The week in pictures

May 6, 2013

Some fun pictures this week!

Burgers

Avellaneda train Station sign on the platform (it is only a year old)

The view of where I call Home! 

Super Foggy afternoon!

The word KULTURA begins with a C. I'm not sure how cultured they really are! :)

And the view of our chapel from the top of our new house! 

Weekly News from ARGENTINA!!!!!

April 22, 2013

HOLA!!!!!

Today in Buenos Aires we have slightly overcast skies with a chance of showers. Cloudy with a chance of
Meatballs!

Everything this last little bit has been interesting. I have officially Murdered my first person in the mission! :) We as missionaries always have companions and we are with them 24 hours a day 7 days a week! Together 100% of the time. When a missionaries companion finishes their mission we say that they "die" and so that obviously makes the "living" companion or the Missionary who stays in the field, his murderer. I "killed" my companion today. He is off to California and I now have a Texan to kill me. His name is Elder Anaya and is a total stud! We are going to do WORK!

I'm recognizing now how very fast the time is going by. And yet how much I desire to still do. Yesterday we had the baptism of a young woman named Micaela. She is 16 and 9 months pregnant  She has obviously had a hard life and yet has such an optimism and love for life. Her baptism was amazing and she was the happiest girl alive in that moment! You could see it in her eyes! She really truly glowed! Something that amazes me about this gospel is the change that it effects in the lives of so many so rapidly. It is truly a miracle. Through powerful personal spiritual experiences hard hearts are softened and people reform their lives! IT is something that I have noticed as well in my life. Even though I struggle often with my weaknesses, I too have a rapid rate of change when I am apply the gospel to my life. Elder David A Bednar of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles once said,

"The grand objective of the Savior’s gospel was summarized succinctly by President David O. McKay (1873–1970): “The purpose of the gospel is … to make bad men good and good men better, and to change human nature.” Thus, the journey of mortality is to progress from bad to good to better and to experience the mighty change of heart—to have our fallen natures changed (see Mosiah 5:2)."

I testify that that is true. Alma the Prophet of the Book of Mormon said,

32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

There is a danger in saying "someday" if someday is not "this day". If there are changes to be made in our lives, the time to start is now! We cannot wait, because whether we like it or not the clock gradually ticks away the years of our lives! I see how much the Lord helps me change and grow when I choose to act NOW and not LATER. It is a lesson that has been hard to learn but that has humbled me and formed me into who I am today. I have seen the principles of the gospel put into action by people of all walks of life and they have healed and changed EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM INCLUDING ME! I know that the gospel and the blessings thereof are extended freely to all. For this reason and this purpose came our beloved Savior Jesus Christ. He lives, He loves us, and His Sacrifice works for ALL!

This is what I have seen and felt in just a short weeks time. Amazing how time flies and yet the impact all these moments can have. I feel tremendously blessed.

I love you all,

Elder Anderson

fotos

April 15, 2013

The Villa

Muertos

Dirty

General Conference

April 8, 2013

HOLA!!!!

Another week here in Buenos Aires and the theme lately fro me has been love. I've recognized how much I've truely come to love everything here. The amazing people, their language, their culture, and even the dirty nasty city I call home! This place is amazing, and I've been so blessed by all the accumulated experiences. Yesterday we had the opportunity to listen to our beloved Prophet and other leaders from the church. There were beautiful messages but what struck me most was that every single person that spoke expressed how much they LOVED the Savior Jesus Christ. When he is the focus of our love, our families succeed, our problems seem smaller and our opportunities seem greater. The legacy that our Loving Father in Heaven and His Son have left us is a legacy of LOVE. A legacy of mercy and forgiving. A legacy of Second chances and comfort every time we fall down and spiritually "get a scratched knee."

I think of how ungrateful sometimes we are and I think that God feels a deep sadness for that. But not a selfish sadness for him, but a sadness for us, because He knows that the only way to be truly happy, is to be grateful and USE the LOVE that he has left us.

In the beginning of my mission I can admit that I worked a lot out of a sense of Duty and the desire to make other "proud of me." But that motivating factor in my work has since changed. Every day, I wake up at 6:30 and head out to be ridiculed and rejected because I LOVE the people I serve, and all the ridicule and rejection is worth the one person that will open their heart and be filled with the Love that comes with repentance and service.

I know very little. If you ask me to memorize and recite I'm next to worthless. But I do know that God loves and that I love Him and that He has sent me here because he has  MILLIONS of children that feel deserted depressed and unloved. And if we are supposedly the body of Christ, is it not our responsibility to Love?

I love you all, hope you and your families are healthy and united. Because at the end of the day, nothing else matters.

Love,

Elder Anderson

Not much

Hey Everyone!

An update here from the Acorn Grove (translation of Avellaneda)! Another hot week! Hot like fire!!! We have been doing really well and have been seeing a lot of miracles! This time of Pascua or Easter has been amazing. It is a time when the difference between believers and followers is apparent  Those who believe in Christ recognize the purpose and maybe go to church for Easter and call it good. Those who follow Christ sanctify this holiday making it something special in family or within their congregations  It is a time of thanksgiving and gratitude to the Savior for all he has done. The difference between believing and following has been on my mind a lot lately.

Everything is generally the same in my life. Working hard and growing and changing. I'm kinda mind dead right now. Me and my companion just ate 2 kilos of french fries together. The oil is getting to my head. Here are some great pics from the last little bit though!

Love,

Elder Anderson

Baptism of Branko

Us eating "Animal Fries" from in and out Argentina

My feet and SUD!!!!!

The cars at night in the downtown! 

Fotos

March 25, 2013

This is me in front of Capital

This is me under a highway

Yup. I get kissed by girls on the mission

Me on our roof

Us and the Kids. Vero and David

Us and the kids again. Elder Alvarez is from Uruguay

Me on the rock

Us and the Paraguayo kids from the Familia Benitez

Kid robbed my camera and this is what happened. That is the face of "alright now give me back my camera!"

Baptism of Carlos Benitez by his cousin David

Us in the truck. Not legal but totally normal. 

Tower and Little Benjamin Solorsa

Another Succesful pday of laundry 

BK cuadruple stacker baby!!!! HELLO DELICIOUS!!!!

I am the Walrus! CUCUCACHU!!!! 

Argentines LOVE tang. There is a whole aisle of it!

Just sitting here in the family history center writing you a note! Here is a live action foto for you! It is rainy and dreary outside and we're going to go to BURGER KING in a little bit to buy ourselves QUADRUPLE STACKERS!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!

Perspective

March 11, 2013

Hey all!

So this week we have time for letters and pictures! I sent a lot of pictures from last week of some of the parts of Avellaneda. It is interesting for me to see your pictures and see the difference between the world I live in and the world you all live in. We are blessed with such an abundance and economic security. Here that is just something that exists with an elite few. Inflation is constant. When I first got here a kilo of bread cost 4 pesos and now is 14. In just two years! The people here suffer greatly economically and spiritually but have an optimism and desire for better times to come. Just like everywhere, there are those that are destitute and hopeless and those that are destitute and hopeful  I think what the Gospel does is provide the hopeless hope, and the hopeful the ability to make their hopes reality. Ezra Taft Benson in a discourse once said,

"The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."

That is what I have seen every day for the last two years. Everyone falls down. Some fall further than others. Some start further down and so when they fall it seems even further! But Christ descended below all and through his grace and A LOT of hard work, we can be lifted and changed. God is so good. He will provide the way. He does provide the way. I love you all. We are so blessed and loved.  More than many of us will ever come to realize.

Love,

Elder Anderson

View from the Torres Puerreydon towards capital. One on a foggy day and one on a clear day. When it is foggy a stench of rot and decay permeates the city. This part of Avellaneda is the most contaminated place in all of Argentina. 

This is the Familia Molinas. They are the Loyal Saints of Avellaneda! We took this picture at our last supper with the Elders of Avellaneda 1B right before their area was closed.

A view towards capital at night! 

Burning Tires on the Bridge in protest of who knows what! Someone is always burning something and protesting something here. You'll notice all the publicity vans are keeping a good distance! :)

And this is a four lane street 100% flooded after a rain storm. They have serious drainage problems here when it rains hard.

This is a perfect example of the plan of Salvation....a nasty dead dog carcus. :)

And these are our water filters after a month....ya.

Me and lem and then me in front of my Futbol team's stadium! Aguante Racing!!!!!!

All the Elders on the roof of our Bishop's house

And me enjoying the view!

The reason for everything!