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
Monday, July 1, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
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
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: 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. =)
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.
Cam: This is my birthday party! Got eggs and flour thrown at me! Gotta love those Argentine traditions! This is our zone too!
Monday, June 3, 2013
[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
¡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!
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!!!
Monday, May 13, 2013
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
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