Sept. 22, 2011 Not much going on here. Just the same old boring.....

Sept. 22. 2011

Not much going on here. Just the same old boring.....

Hola Familia!!!!

 So not much happened this week except for the fact that I got my TRAVEL PLANS!!!!!! I'M ACTUALLY LEAVING TO ARGENTINA!!!!!! So here is what it all looks like. I'm flying American Airlines all the way. We meet at the Travel Office here at the MTC Monday all ready to go at 3 AM!!!! That is THREE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING PEOPLE!!!!!  Turns out God is merciful but sometimes the scheduling department is not. So we leave Monday morning in the madrugada around 3:30ish and our flight leaves at 6:20. We Fly to Dallas Texas and get in there at about 10:00 their time. That is 9:00 mountain time so I'll call home around ten or elevenish! Super excited to talk to you guys!!!! It'll be really cool!! So then we leave Dallas at 2:05 their time and get to New York City, Kennedy airport at 6:40 NY Time. At this point you should all be saying WHAT?!?!?!? Yup we fly salt lake, to Dallas, to NYC, THEN to Buenos Aires. So we then sit at Kennedy for about 3 hours till we leave there at 9:50 pm. We then have the "Blessed Opportunity" to fly all night long, 12 hours, to the Beautiful City of Buenos Aires. We will arrive there at 9:15 am. Needless to say I am peeing my pants excited to be in Argentina and not at all excited for getting there. I don't really do well or sleep at all on planes so this could be SUPER interesting. Oh ya. I forgot to mention that I am also the travel leader for my group. That means I am personally responsible for 14 other missionaries getting all the way to Argentina. So ya...not stressing out about that at all.

So apart from all the travel info coming in and all that, it has been a pretty regular week. By a regular week I mean to say that we were taught by another apostle, Elder Russell M Nelson, I taught another 14 lessons in Spanish that were 40 minutes each, and I didn't say a word of English (okay maybe a few words slipped) for two days straight. Ya. Only in the MTC can that be considered a regular week. It was incredible. Elder Nelson spoke to us about the new October Ensign or monthly publication of the church. This month, the revista is dedicated to the Book of Mormon. I loved reading it! It was so beautiful to hear so many testimonies of the truthfulness and power of this sacred book. For those of you that have never read the Book of Mormon, I'd invite you to get on Mormon.org and order a free copy. Read the introduction and begin reading the book. This book, the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the gospel or "la plentitud del evangelio." I know that we can come closer to God by reading this book than by reading any other book. But you don't have to take my word or anyone else's for that matter. In the book there is a promise. In the book of Moroni, the Book of Mormon is sealed with a Promise. That if you will read the Book of Mormon with a sincere heart and real intent and Ask God if it is true, he will tell you that it is. It is the only Book I know of that contains such a promise. If we pray to ask God if it is true with all our heart, HE WILL TELL US! I promise you that same promise. I have asked and received my answer and it has changed my life, now it is your turn.

So that is it, my last email from the USA for the next two years. I leave Monday and I am so EXCITED!!!! God has blessed me so much. I can't even describe how excited I am! So what this means for all of you, is that I will have a new address. My mom has put that up on the blog so ya'll can start mailing to Argentina!!!! I love you all so much. Can't wait to hear from you and can't wait till next week when I get to tell you all about this CRAZY adventure called the mission.

Love,

Elder Anderson

Sept. 15, 2011 Tminus and 11 Days!

Sept. 15, 2011

Tminus 11 Days! 

Hola!!!

So happy to have heard from so many of you lately! I love getting updates on how you and your families are doing!

This week has been another incredible week. I've been thinking a lot about the scripture that says "Be still, and know that I am God." Psalms 46:10 It's been a week where I've really been able to contemplate, what my relationship is with my God. I know without a doubt that he loves me and knows who I am personally. I am so grateful that he loves me so much, that he was willing to give his son. John 3:16 says God so loved the world, but I want you all to take time to read that scripture and insert your name where it says the world. I can promise you that God knows you and loves you personally. And if you do not know that for yourself, I challenge you to get down on your knees and pray with a sincere heart and real intent. Pray to feel his love for you. I PROMISE that he will answer the sincere prayer of His children. We are Children of a Loving Heavenly Father who loves us, and we love him. Something that I've been impressed with is the mind and the analogy that our mind is like a stage and it can only entertain one thing at a time. It was interesting to me when my Branch President, or Ecclesiastical Leader here, made the comment, "Thoughts can come from three places. They can be your own. They can be impressions of the Holy Ghost, or they can be whisperings of the Devil. As such we must discern in our times of trial which is which. That is where the notion of being still comes in. Be still, and know. Take time to think of where your thoughts come from, and as such, how you should react to each. I've been struggling with not being the great teacher I want to be. Thoughts have come to me that have really burdened me down with self doubt. And yet thoughts have come to me of hope as well. It's been very interesting. That is kinda deep, so sorry if I confused you!

 Other things that happened this week:   Well for one thing I can start counting down on both hands how many days I have left here in the CCM. If all goes as planned I should leave here early in the morning on Monday the 26th. We're really starting to wind things down here and GET PUMPED for flying in a super fast jet plane to ARGENTINA!!!!!!!! I can't really describe to you how excited I am except by saying I just peed my pants from the sheer joy!!!! Just kidding. But really, I've come close a couple of times! I'm going to get there and not understand ANYONE!! That is gonna be way sweet!! And whatever I say will be Hilarious because it will be total gibberish! It is like a dream come true for me! Everyone will think I'm funny!! We haven’t gotten our travel plans yet but they should come tomorrow, so you'll all know by next Thursday all the sweet deets (deets= details).

 Something totally awesome that happened this week was that Elder M. Russell Ballard came and spoke to us! No big deal but I got to hear talks from Apostles twice in the past few weeks! I feel like the luckiest Elder in the world! They have such sure incredible testimonies of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I love listening to them speak and feeling the Spirit they bring with them. They love us all so much! It was interesting to me, Elder Holland has a testimony of Christ that reminds me of the phrase "He is the Lion of Israel" and Elder Ballard has the testimony "Of the meek and lowly Lamb." Such different views and yet, when referring to the Savior, they work in such Harmony!

 I was thinking the other night about my Family after reading in 1 Nephi 1 where Nephi talks about how he was raised by goodly parents. I definitely had the same experience as Nephi. And something that struck me that was REALLY COOL was that when I get back and see my Dad, we can take a picture of both of us wearing our Spanish missionary name tags. So look forward to that Dad! It'll be really cool! You are such a great example to me of being a strong and dedicated missionary! Thank you for being a goodly parent!!

 I love you all and pray for you often. Vaya con Dios!

 Elder Anderson

So Close To Argentina I Can Smell It!!!!

Hola!

So another week has passed here at the CCM and yet again I have little to nothing to complain about! This place is so great. I guess the only downer would be having a cold now for a few weeks that I just can't seem to shake. Other then that, life is good!

So excited to hear about my "Super Mature" and "Grown Up" little sister turning 16! So proud of you Clo! I love ya so much! Just don't date stupid boys now! Boys are lame and they smell bad!! : )

This week has been really interesting to me. I've been studying two themes that are incredibly important to missionary work, repentance and obedience. Our devotionals this week (I don't think this is coincidence) were on repentance and Obedience. I really found some great insights.

Obedience is the first law of the gospel. Meaning that all other laws are predicated or based on our ability to obey. I think of the Israelites, when Moses went up into the mountains for 40 days and upon his return with the tablets containing the commandments he found the Israelites worshiping a calf of gold. If you recall, Moses, seeing this, smashed one of the stone tablets of the law and gave unto the Israelites only the 10 commandments. What incredible and beautiful truths from God did the Israelites miss out on because they were unable to obey and only worship God. Likewise in our lives, how often to we disobey the simple things in life like not lying or having impure and unholy thoughts and miss out on the blessing God WANTS to give us. And now this is where repentance comes in. I challenge everyone to pick one thing in your life, and repent of it. Simply stop and say to yourself "I DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE!"  I think when people think of repentance they think of it only being something for those who sin, and while repentance does cover sin and that is very important, likewise it can cover anything. Bad habits, inconsistencies in our behavior or thoughts that are a little off color can be repented off. For me, this week I repented of always having to be right when it doesn't matter. I said "I will not argue on inconsequential things anymore." It is something small, but for me I have really noticed a difference. My relationships with people in my district and just the overall mood wherever I go seem less contentious. It has been great for me. And on Sunday, I will choose another thing like that to repent of and just stop doing it.

So I hope ya'll got my pictures I sent home!!! I'm real sorry for not taking too many. I'm gonna do better! I promise. The photo printing machines have been broken for the last three week and so I haven’t printed any off but I'll keep sending home SD cards.

This week has kinda been a week of mile stones for me. I finished an entire missionary planner which is for 6 weeks each. That was totally cool. I also finished an entire Journal, 150ish pages since I got here. Apparently I have a lot of thoughts. I don’t think I wrote that much. Kinda suprised me.

Funny story for the week. Elder Wadman in my District and in my room, was called down to the travel office yesterday. If you get to go down to the travel office, generally that means you are leaving. So he gets called down and they tell him "Elder Wadman, they need you in your mission in the Dominican Republic. Please go and pack, you are leaving tonight at 8:30." So he freaks out and is stoked and runs back, tells all us and goes and packs. He comes back to class about four hours later totally packed and ready to go. We were about to start taking a district picture before he left when he got called down to the travel office again. He gets there and the lady looks at him and says "Never mind, you aren't going anymore." Now I love the MTC, and it is a great place, but I would give my left arm to get out of here and get to Argentina. So I can only imagine how much this totally stunk for Elder Wadman. He comes back to the class and breaks the news to us and says another Elder showed up unexpectedly in the Dom Reps and the spot is filled so he is here for another three weeks like the rest of us. Being the kind, considerate, caring people we are, we all start laughing hysterically and tell him how bad it sucks to be him and that was the end of that. Moral of the story. The MTC really plays some SICK AND WRONG jokes on people sometimes.

Hope all is well and you are all doing awesome!!!!!

Vos Amo (But not in a weird romantic kinda way cause I'm a missionary),

Elder Anderson

Sept. 1, 2011

Aloha and Hola!!!!

 I've been here at the MTC over a month now and in 25 days I'll be heading out for Argentina. IT is a surreal thought that hasn't really hit me yet. I'm working hard and learning a lot though. This place is crazy, how fast you learn and how much in such a short amount of time!

The most incredible week has been for me here in the MTC. Elder Jefferey R. Holland of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles came and spoke to us on Sunday. He is an incredible man and I was in awe and so humbled to be able to listen to him. He is so wise. He spoke to us of the importance of our mission. He said "My mission meant everything to me!"  He talked about the immense work that we are taking upon ourselves. In all the world, every restoration of the fullness of the Gospel has ended in Apostasy. We are in the only time that will not end in a falling away from the truth. At the end of this dispensation, Christ will come in glory and majesty. That is so beautiful to me. He talked about how we are the most prayed for people on the planet earth and that “That should help get you through a hard day." He was so honest and forthright. He said "If you are struggling, welcome to life!" It is hard and sometimes it stinks really bad, but he also made the point that we are never alone and it is always worth it.

The thing that struck me most from his discourse was this. "People have given their life for this work! The most recent being 4 hours ago!!" He was crying and looked completely devastated. On Tuesday afternoon a missionary somewhere in the world was killed for this work. It is a humbling, and in some ways a terrifying thought. The thought that immediately went through my mind was "is it all worth is?" And I want you all to know that it is. I would give everything for this work. It is the work of God bringing souls unto Christ. How great the worth of souls!!! Now don't get all worried! I don't think I will be required to die for this work, but it is a humbling thought that made me really reflect on why I am here.

We were then able to ask him questions. One of which was, what does Christ want me to know right now? His answer was "He told the truth. Everything he said was true. Every word he spoke will be fulfilled. You can trust in the Lord with all thy heart!" I love it. It is a fact that I am reminded of everyday. I can't learn Spanish and learn how to teach all on my own. On my own I will fail. But lucky for me, I am never alone. I have Christ, My Heavenly Father, and the Holy Ghost on my side. I can do it with their help!!!

 On a lighter note, I thought you'd love to hear about one of my classic Spanish teaching blunders! So this week we are teaching Gloria and I begin to talk to her about what it takes to truly repent, explaining that this is a process that takes real time and effort. We can't just say sorry and be done with it! So I'm explaining this to her, it is totally serious stuff! Out of nowhere she starts busting a gut laughing at me! Repentance was the funniest thing she had ever heard about apparently. I am obviously super confused and thinking "What on earth did I just say to her?" Turns out I started teaching her about the Patos de Arrepentimiento instead of the Pasos de Arrepentimiento. If you don't know what that means, ask a Spanish speaker or do a Google translate. It was hilarious once I found out what I'd said. So yea. Oh! And another classic blunder. We are all pecadores NOT pescadores. There is a big difference!

I hope that make s you all laugh a little and can imagine my red embarrassed confused face!

 I love Spanish, I love teaching, I love being a missionary, I love my Savior, and I love you! I am so excited and humbled to serve the people of Argentina. I am already growing to love them and I think I've met a total of 5 Argentineans in my entire life! I love you and pray for you always. Please pray for the family of the missionary who has sacrificed all so that others like me can serve. This week and always, I am so grateful for his sacrifice.

 I love you all,

Elder Anderson

Note: Here is the news link about the sister missionary that passed away:

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top_stories/story/LDS-sister-missionary-dies-in-car-crash-in-New/o-R6hWNxnUizzeoTgxWH6w.cspx

August 25, 2011

Hola!!!

 This week has been one of the coolest weeks here at the CCM so far so strap yourselves in!!! Monday the awesomeness began with my purchase of a pocket protector. You know, the little plastic sleeve you stick in your shirt pocket so pens won't leak and stain your shirt? The cool part is I didn't even buy it as a joke but because I actually have a legitimate concern for my shirts. So Monday was the day of the pocket protector and I have vowed to never look back to the dark days when I did not have a true knowledge of the awesomeness that therein lie. Tuesday I had the opportunity to meet with the Argentine Consulate. He is this Argentinean guy from Buenos Aires who comes and meets with each of us individually as a part of the visa process. Argentinean law requires individual meetings with the consulate in order to obtain a visa. So I got a little interview in Spanish and he signed away on my visa and I think that means I'm pretty much in, but I guess I'll have to wait and see. It was super cool just being able to meet face to face with a real live Porteño!! He was really cool and I learned a lot from him! This week we got a new Branch President or Ecclesiastical leader. He is a great man and really teaches us a lot about how to really feast on the word of God. Not just read or study, but to feast. He is an incredible man. Thursday was quite possibly the best soccer game I've ever played in my life. I got drilled in the face with the ball four separate times, jammed three of my toes and got my hand stepped on. Needless to say, I don't think I’ll be playing goalie anymore. It turns out that being goalie is not as fun as some people make it sound.

I've had a really hard week with my study though. I have been struggling with being able to find in my studies answers to my investigator Gloria's questions. She posed the question to Elder Martino and I, "Why do bad things happen to good people." It really got me thinking. I believe with all my heart, in fact I know, that our Father in Heaven is a loving and Compassionate God. And as such it seems contrary that we should have so much pain and hurt in our lives. In my studies I came across 2 Corinthians 1: 3-7.

 3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

 6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

 7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

This scripture for me was the answer. We are partakers in tribulation with Christ. We have to grow through hard times and bad times in order to love more as he does. Christ suffered all and therefore has a perfect love for us. As we suffer we are able to develop empathy for those that are in similar situations. We are able to reach out with a more Christlike understanding love, a more perfect love, and bring others to the Messiah as we love as he does. We suffer so that we may become more like our Savior-more loving, more understanding, and more full of hope.

This week I got a postcard from my pseudo older sister but really she is my older sister Masa Kat Ferrin who is on a mission in Latvia right now. It was so awesome to hear from her. It was just another confirmation that I am where I need to be, and that the harder I work and the more effort I put in, the greater missionary I will become. She is an incredible example to me and I hope to become as effective a missionary as she is.

Some chistos from this week:

 My companion Elder Martino is from Texas (which means that he is always wrong but always thinks he is right and will fight anything to the death).  It is so awesome! I love Texans! So easy to ruffle their feathers! So we were sitting in our room before bed and he was reading a letter from his Dad. He looked up and said "If it stays above 100 degrees for the rest of this week in my home town, it will set the WORLD record for the hottest it has ever been in TEXAS!" Apparently if it beats a record in Texas, it beats it in the entire rest of the world too! I never knew that! :) Funny how the world revolves around Texas! (Insert sarcasm here).

 Another funny is that everyone in my district is getting sick, including myself, and as I was studying some flash cards this week, I was standing facing the wall and leaned forward resting my head on the wall. After about two minutes I fell asleep standing up, with my face smashed into the wall! You know you are working hard when.... :)

My Spanish is coming along great and I am loving it here! I am growing more and more confident in my speaking every day!! The gospel is so true in Spanish!!! Favorite Spanish word for the week: misericordiosamente. It means mercifully. So awesome! Who knew a word could be so long!!

Pues, I love you all and I hope you are doing well. The gospel of Jesus Christ is amazing! I encourage you all to study it and share what you study! The sharing will bless your life more than you can imagine!!!! I Know that this is true!!!

 The Church is true, the book is blue, see you in two!

 Adios!

Élder Anderson

August 18, 2011 Hey Vosotros!

August 18, 2011

Hey Vosotros!

 So it has been another awesome week here at the CCM! Working hard, praying harder, and just doin’ my very best! As of yesterday I have officially been on a mission for 3 weeks! One third of the way done with my stay here at the MTC! The MTC is great but I just am more excited about getting to Argentina cause that is gonna be AWESOME!!!

So from my last email I got some questions about who Gloria is. Gloria is actually one of my instructors. My instructor acts as her. She taught Gloria on her mission and brings up the same doubts and struggles for when we teach her. It is super cool and real in the sense that we are dealing with real problems from real life. We teach her EVERYDAY in Spanish for about 45 minutes, and we’ll do that for all nine weeks. Every Saturday we go to the Teaching Resource center, TRC, and get to teach two people we have never met for about 30 minutes also in Spanish. I'm getting to the point where I can do almost all the lessons in Spanish pretty fluently.  It is super exciting!!!! I'm really excited every opportunity I get to teach someone. I realize they have heard it all before, but the Gospel never gets old, and since the Atonement of Christ covers EVERYTHING it never hurts to hear it again and recognize where you can apply its healing power in your life.

For my mother and Grandmothers and all the mother figures in my life, I just want to tell you that I eat a salad or wrap for lunch every day. I'm starting to enjoy veggies more with the help of a lot of ranch and bacon. So no worries! I'm eating well and staying healthy!

Something I read this week that really struck me was Moroni 10: 3-8. It is an amazing promise to us that no matter the question, we can receive an answer if we ask in faith. Going on in vs 7 and 8 Moroni pleads with us not to deny God's power in our lives.

 3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

 6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

 7 And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

 8 And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them.

 So that is my message for all of us this week. Simply that we must not limit God's influence in our lives by the things we do. I heard a quote that said "You are not entitled to lower God's standard, neither are you entitled to raise it. Never expect more or less of yourself than God does." The beautiful thing is that God only expects us to give our best, and only I and the Lord know what my best is. So only I can be a judge of how I am doing and see if I am limiting how active God can be in my life by expecting too much or too little of myself.

I've really had a lot of time to think about how awesome the atonement is lately and the lessons I have learned is that we are all great sinners but God is an even greater forgiver! So head up and just keep truckin’! That's what we as missionaries tell ourselves every day over and over.

Also something to check out is my Mom's SWEET mormon.org profile. I searched Jennifer Colorado and it popped up. Super Awesome Mom! Thanks for being such an awesome missionary!

Thanks to all of you that sent pictures! I have them all up in my room and it is fun to practice my lessons to you! I sit there and talk to ya'll about the atonement all the time!! Hope you hear me once in a while!!!

Got to go to the Provo temple again today! I'm not gonna lie, I think it looks like a spaceship and is not very attractive in comparison to other temples, but inside it is so cool and you can really feel the Spirit there just like any other temple. God has walked those halls!

 Tuesday we got to hear a devotional from Bro. Evans of the Quorum of the 70. Super awesome! He talked about just being really good missionaries and never giving up. It was good to hear.

 A fun thing that happened this week was the birthday of one of our roommates Elder Wadmen! Super awesome! We ate smashed cupcakes and "splurged" and went and bought sodas. It was the best 15 minute party before lights out I've ever had. This place is crazy ‘cause you go to bed exhausted and wake up even more tired than when you went to bed. I guess that is good ‘cause it means we're working hard but it is still a trip!

Some quick P.S's.:  If you gave me your address so I could write you....I don't have it anymore. So yah, sorry, whatever you wanna do about that… Also I'll send pictures as soon as I can!

 I love you guys!   Elder Anderson

Semana Dos

Hola!!
It is so awesome to hear from all of you so often! I love getting news from home! Getting letters here is always the highlight of the day!

This past week has flown by! It seriously has been 2 weeks already! I'm already 1/52 of the way through my mission! Can you believe that?! Everything here is really good. This week, Elder Martino and I started teaching an investagator named Gloria. She is Colombian but lives here in the states. She is an OBGYN who can no longer work due to cancer. She had a severe surgery done on her neck and is unable to move around much. The Gospel is very new to her. Understanding the concept of a Savior such as Jesus Christ brings her so much Joy. She has a hard time with the concept of an afterlife though. Lucky for us we get to address her doubts (in spanish) everyday for the next seven weeks. It is a huge blessing to see the gospel enrich and make a difference in people's lives. I read a scripture this week that really hit home. It is in Alma. Ammon is preaching. In Alma 26: 12-16, it talks alot about how I feel about the gospel.
 12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
 13 Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice?
 14 Yea, we have reason to praise him forever, for he is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the chains of hell.
 15 Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.
 16 Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.
Some new things here! New missionaries for starters! They are hillarious to watch with their dazed faces and blank stares when you speak to them in Spanish. I love it. I was there only two weeks ago! My spanish is improving SOOO much! After studying for litterally 12 hours a day, I guess it should! I love the Spanish language, and I've gotten to the point that I can speak for an entire day and communicate all my wants and needs! It is super cool to learn and stretch. The greatest day ever though, will be when I can tell a joke in Spanish and people will both get it AND think it is funny!! I am working for that day!
Some things that I've resolved to do this week have been:
Only pray in Spanish and speak only spanish from 6:30 till 4 everyday.
Another is to never eat enchiladas here again. They do a number on your body AND your soul!
Find atleast one new "favorite" scripture everyday.
Wear matching socks (it's amazing how when they are all black but the patterns still stick out).
Forget myself and lose myself in the work.

Some things that would be super awesome, is pictures!! Please send (real live, through snail mail) pictures of you and your families!! I realized when I left home that the only pictures I have are of my "older sister" Kat Ferrin in Latvia on her mission! So please! I'd love to see your faces! Also please pray for me, my companion and all the missionaries in the field. I'm gonna give it to you straight. Being a missionary is the best thing I have ever done, but at 6:30 in the morning when that alarm goes off and you already have a migrane from dreaming in spanish, it can be kinda hard! So please pray for all of us! I pray for you!  Thank you so much to all those who write me! And if you don't...START!!! I'd love to hear from you.

Some pearls of wisdom. We are happiest when we serve others. Hard work is incredibly satisfying. Sometimes your work doesn't pay off how you want it to, but it always pays off!!

Some really funny things have happened here lately. I've come to love rice even more here!! They still have it at every meal so I can still eat it for breakfast! Today I got to see Chelsea Christensen who works here and didn't even think about giving her a hug :) Only a few weeks and I'm already getting awkward around girls. I'm starting to understand why Return Missionaries are the way they are. All in all, I'm getting stretched and it is way awesome!

I love you all! The Church is true, the book is Blue, See you in two,
Elder Anderson