Catholic church here in San Vicente. It is very beautiful!

Investigator family:
Nancy (the mom) Edward and Marc the little one.

Me with the kids and
Elder Cowan. We sat side by side on the plane down here and is one of
my best buddies here in the mission.

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

May 7, 2012

Hey All!!!!

A beautiful autumn week here in San Vicente! The leaves are falling the air is...cold, and everyone is happy and just keeping on with life. I am surprised that life goes on here when it gets cold. :) Argentines are very wary to go out in cold or rain or anything because it is “Bad for the liver" they say. Makes me laugh every time!

We had two Noche de Hogar or Family Home Evenings this week with the Branch or congregation here in San Vicente this week. It is informal where we all get together and share a message and play a game and eat something. They were great and we are starting to see the people united! IT is important and amazing. I love it!

Another great thing is that we are finding people to teach all over the place! Of every 50 doors we knock or people we talk to, 1 person actually listens. If there is one thing that the mission has taught me, it is how to handle rejection well. But this week we've found some great families that listen and are just awesome. Makes me happy and excited. They take us in like their children. It is amazing.

So everything here in San Vicente is going on as usual. Normal and tranquilo! I am very content and just keep working! That is the key to satisfaction, hard work! Found a great new scripture in 2 Nephi 1:23:

Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.

I'll leave you all with that to think about!

Love,

Elder Anderson

No time so i'm sending fotos only!

Fotos!

Love,

Elder Cam

¡Hola!

Bueno, todavia estoy in mi hogar de San Vicente. Creo que voy a jubilarme aquí!

Welp, I'm still in San Vicente. I believe that I am going to retire here!

For another 6 weeks for sure I will be here with my same companion, Elder Prantl from Uruguay. At first I was a little sad, but I realized I was being really selfish. We have been seeing alot of people change and make progress in their lives here as we have worked together. The people and Church here in San Vicente need us to stay for now. It'll be really good.

Something that has amazed me lately is how humble people are. We had an incredible experience with one family in particular. We were finishing teaching about the Book of Mormon and read the last paragraph in the introduction that says:

We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10:3–5.)

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.

Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah.

After reading this aloud, our investigator Laura paused. Took in a deep breath and said....Wow. That is really powerful. It made me stop and think. I take for granted so often the simple truths that the gospel teaches us. This woman, so humble, was awe struck with the idea that God was a loving God. That he knew her personally.

Another quick story that touched my heart. We have a family that has not been to church in many years. They have a son that is mentally disabled named James. For the first time in 7 years, they went again to church. Afterwards we went to have lunch with them. James was sitting there and said to us in his special way, "Elder, today I went to the chapel! I saw so many beautiful people, so many angels!" I think often of how hard it must be to have a disabled child, and I said this to the Mother. Her answer impressed me. She said that having someone so pure and so happy all the time by her side had changed her life. That she would not want her son any other way. That he was perfect. Perhaps she couldn't see angels all the time, but he could. And he tells her all about it. How amazing it would be if we all could be so close to heaven. Whatever you want to call him, the universe, Allah, Jehovah, God, the Great Spirit, whatever you call him, he exists. He loves us. He encircles us about with angels. He is there. He hears our prayers and he answers them. I am so blessed to be where I am doing what I am doing. I turn 9 months old as a missionary on Friday. It is going so fast. It seems like a dream. I wouldn't trade moments like these for anything.

I love you all so much and think of you always,

Elder Anderson

P.S. I ate McDonalds today AGAIN! It was amazing!

Hey vos! Que tal eh?

¡¡¡¡¡¡¡HOLA!!!!!

April 16, 2012

Que tal eh? Another beautiful week here in San Vicente Buenos Aires Argentina. It really was a great week! We worked hard and saw some serious results! It is very satisfying when things work out like that.

Before anything else, I failed to recognize that my Grandma Joan had a birthday last week! I love you Grandma!!!!

Me personally, Elder Cameron Mark Anderson, am doing quite well. I am healthy (almost), happy (very), and just super grateful to be where I am doing what I am doing. We found some great people this week. A couple families that are just happy and normal and looking to be good strong Christians. We taught a couple named Lisa and Dan and the whole time she just had big eyes and kept saying, "Wow! It is true isn't it! I've been looking for this!" I wanted to cry I was so darn happy! It is amazing when people actually test the promises in the Book of Mormon and this gospel. We talk with TONS of people every week and the question we always ask is, "Did you read the Book of Mormon?" Generally the response is, "I didn't have time, I was really tired." But when they say yes and they ask God with real intent wanting to know and willing to follow the response, they get answers! God actually responds to prayers! That for me is a miracle. Alot of times, I feel so small. The world is so big and there are so many more people that sometimes I doubt that I am important. That I matter. But then God answers MY prayer. He helps me with MY needs that are specific to ME! That to me is amazing. That I matter to Him. It is something I've learned through alot of prayer, alot of scripture study and alot of obeying the commandments and repenting when I screw up. All we do as missionaries is invite people to do the same! We teach a little and provide the "tools", but more than that we just invite. Kinda cool.

Some fun things that happened this last week. The trains and bus lines are getting cut due to riots. Always an adventure. A part of Buenos Aires has been without Electricity and Gas and Water for a week now. Anarchy is reigning over there right now. No worries, all the Elders are safe and pulled out of there. I was walking down the street and a "friendly fellow" cast the demons out of me...I think he missed a few.  I rode in a car for the first time in 5 months, and I went running for the first time in 6 months! It was awesome!!! So ya! Healthy and happy! Hope you all are doing great!

Love,

Elder Cam

Fotos!

April 8, 2012

Hey All!

Lots of fotos this week!

I hope you like them! Life here in San Vicente is just great! We are working hard and it is so awesome! There is nothing more satisfying than hard work well done. I am alot healthier and therefore alot happier! Funny how those two things often go hand in hand. Everything is just more beautiful when your body is working right!

We had a really good week starting off with interviews with President Stapley in Adrogue. It was really nice to just talk with someone and to have them ask, "How are you? What do you need?" Plus he asked me in English! I always took for granted how nice it is to speak the same language as all the people surrounding you. It is really....convenient. By now I can communicate just fine in Castellano but speaking in English is something I look forward to once in a while.

We've been working lately with alot of really great families that are investigating the church. It is amazing how much love and peace people feel when they really truly seek truth. I know this gospel that  we share is true and makes people genuinely happy and it is beautiful to see that change in people. Once in a while I ask myself "why am I so blessed?" and the answer is always the same "because I (God) love you and you are worth it to me." Even when I don't feel like I am worth it, I am worth it to him. Something I am learning from all this is that I don't deserve anything. That I am blessed far more than what I put in. God is not fair. He slants everything in our favor. It is truly amazing. I love you all and I am doing great!

Love you,

Elder Cam

 Hermana Villa- Relief Society President in San Vicente

Part of a care package from home

Awesome Package from Chad and Trish Christiansen

Another package from Colorado-yeah!