Acorn Grove

Nov. 14, 2011

Hey all!

Another great week here in the Acorn Grove (that is what Avellaneda means. Ironic, there are very few trees...). I heard that the reception for Grandpa Great Miller was really good. He is an incredible man. I love my family so much and realize more than ever how blessed we are. I have the most incredible family in the world!

This week we have been preparing to baptize dos little chicos. One is named Jill (name changed). She has 8 years and the other is named Craig (name changed). He has 11 years. They are both really great and so excited to get baptized. I love teaching them because the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ are so basic that even a child can understand them. Things like "God is our loving Heavenly Father. I am literally a Child of God. That means I am special and can become perfect just like him." And, "When I make bad choices I feel bad, but I can pray for Jesus to take away those bad feelings, and he will if I ask him and really want it and promise not to make the same bad choice again!" They are just so awesome and innocent and just amazing! I love it! Craig's mom is also preparing to get baptized. She is working on getting married and giving up smoking right now in order to be prepared for this. She is doing really well! Both of those things are REALLY hard to do! We are very proud of her and helping her all the way!

This week we also had a great Noche de Hogar or Family Home Evening with a family where some are members of the Church and others are not. We taught from Mosiah 2:21 and 22.

 21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

 22 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

It is an interesting idea to think that no matter how hard we work we can never pay back our debt to God for all he has done for us. However, Christ can and will pay that debt IF we follow ALL his commandments! We can't pick and choose!! We have to follow ALL of them! And then we can have the assurance and joy that everything is taken care of. I don't know about you, but I don't want to meet God's debt collector! He's probably a pretty intense dude! So as it says in Joshua 24:15 "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Think about ALL the commandments you know, and identify one that you have a hard time with. Maybe this is keeping the Sabbath day holy or not telling 100% of the truth. Think about it and make a commitment to improve this week. Say to yourself, “You know what, my soul is worth keeping the Sabbath day holy." Or maybe before you tell a half truth think "Is this lie worth more than my soul? Is it worth more than me?" How much are you worth. I think our identity of self worth can be directly related in how we keep the commandments. IF we really think highly of ourselves, than we are not willing to degrade our worth by lying or stealing. Just think on that. And more than think, DO IT!!! YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!!! YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!! But you have to want it and you have to work for it. How much are you worth?

I love you all. I love being a missionary. I love the people here. I love my Savior.

-Elder Anderson

P.S. Here is a montón de fotos to make up for last week!!

Foto 1 ¡Esta bebé tiene razon! (This baby knows what it is talking about!)

Foto 2 You can find something beautiful EVERYWHERE!!

Foto 3 HALLOWEEN!!! Great Moms think alike!

Foto 4 Elder Guzman

Foto 5 Cool mural right outside our pension

Foto 6 Wow! That’s like 150 kilos!!!!

Foto 7 Municipal building

Foto 8 Zombie!!!!

P.P.S. We saw an entire row of cars on fire this week. And by a row I mean just one and one starting to catch on fire next to it! BUT IT WAS A WHOLE CAR ON FIRE!!!! People were acting like it was no big deal too!! I was flippin out!!! Oh well. I guess it is normal here to just LIGHT YOUR AUTOMOBILE ON FIRE IN THE PARKING LOT OF YOUR APARTMANT COMPLEX IN THE MIDDLE OF A HUGE CITY when you don't want it anymore. No. I'm not freaking out at all. There's just a CAR ON FIRE OVER THERE!!!!!