Hey All!
No pictures this week. Sorry. But everything is good here in San Vicente! We are working hard and doing good work here! The highlight has been freezing and below freezing temperatures this week. After not having a winter for a few years that is really nipping me in the bud. I've been thinking alot this week about desires and how inportant it is that our desires be higher and bigger than the simple basic carnal desires. I don't desire to leave every day in the cold and yet I have an overreaching desire to find someone prepared to hear this message and so I leave every morning from the comfort of my home to DO WORK! Our desires are something that we can change. They are a descision. We should control our desires and not be controled by our desires. That is my short inspirational message this week! I love ya'll and am thinking about you! A late but wholehearted birthday shout out to Quinn and Carson and Nathan and Ethan AND Sarah Kruit! You are the best and not forgotten by this Argentine Gringo Missionary!
Love,
Elder Anderson
Monday, July 16, 2012
Short and SWEET
Hey all!
Don't have much time at all! But I want to tell you that i love you and enjoy the pictures of some of my favorite Argentines! THey are funny people!
Love,
Elder Anderson
Rain, rain, humidity, mud
Hola!
Hey all! ¿Que onda? So everything here in Buenos Aires is genial! Elder Phillips and I are doing super well and working hard and seeing alot of mini-miracles. God loves us a whole lot!
Fun things this week would have to be rain and humidity for 4 days in a row. Always a blast when you bike around in a white shirt. My shirts by the end of the day end up a little less than white. That is for darned sure! We had the opportunity on Sunday to have the confirmation of Rafael. He was so happy and content and just glowed. He has come to know all by himself that all this is true! He has read the Book of Mormon, and meditated, and prayed! And just like is promised, he received an answer to his prayer! Amazing how every time God makes a promise he holds up his end of the deal!
I've found that conversion is like baking a chocolate cake. There is a specific recipe for making a chocolate cake and there is a specific way to reach conversion. If you follow the recipe for chocolate cookies hoping to have a cake at the end, you are going to be sorely disappointed. Many people try to find out if the Book of Mormon and gospel of Jesus Christ is true but in their own way. The only way to get the desired results is follow the recipe that God has put in place for us. If we don't follow the specific steps of reading, pondering and then praying for a specific answer if it is true, we will not receive a specific answer. We will not receive the chocolate cake! I invite all of you to follow the recipe and find out if these things are true. Every single person who has been truly converted to this church and this gospel has followed this process and received an answer. There is only one way! We cannot worship God in OUR way and get HIS blessings. We must worship him in HIS way to get HIS blessings. The trick is finding out which way is HIS way. I've come to know that THIS way is HIS way through reading, pondering and praying. It is pretty cool! I love being a Mormon! Apart from being true, it is so cool!
I hope you are all happy and healthy! I sure am! Everything here is good and I'm just trucking along. I'm almost a year old this month! So crazy how fast time flies! Makes you learn and grow up fast!
Love,
Elder Anderson
Yep
Hey All!
Another Great week in San Vicente, Buenos Aires, Argentina!
The highlight was obviously the baptism of our good friend Rafael. He is an incredible guy and is so spiritually and emotionally prepared and is making big changes in his life. It is interesting. Being a member of this church is not like other organizations. You can't just go and be present and that is ok. It is not what we do, rather it is who we are. It is what we do think and desire every minute of every day of ever week of every year of all our life for forever. To really follow Jesus Christ and not just belive in him is really hard. It requires me to do things better, to be better, to do more, than I would doing my own thing and running my own program. So to begin to live this gospel and follow Jesus Christ can be hard. Like his original Apostles, he calls us to leave everything and follow Him. It seems like alot if we forget all the blessings and benefits of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Really all he is asking us to give up is ignorance, misery, a life without purpose, and in turn he gives us wisdom, joy and a focused direction with goals and help all along the way. Really there is no sacrifice at all! We get paid double!
We've been a little sick from the weird weather here. One day it is freezing cold and the other it is hot enough to leave in short sleeve shirts. Reminds me of the fall in Colorado. Always changing and never what they predict. It makes it fun but all gives everyone a cold. So we were fighting against that all week. But a little cold isn't gonna stop us too much. We worked hard and had some really cool experiences.
Overall feelings of my life right now....content, happy, tired, hungry, and STOKED FOR THE FUTURE! Everything is great even when it is not because tomorrow I get a chance to try it all over again and do better. Lucky for us right?!
I'm running short on time so I'll leave you all with this note and a bunch of pictures and just tell you all that I love you and pray for you a bunch!
Love,
Elder Anderson
P.S. Anyone thinking of serving a mission out their with doubts, here is my advice. Do it! You will never regret it! The world stays the same while you are gone. The only thing that changes is you and the change is that you improve drastically! DO IT!!!! IT IS AWESOME!!!!!
Another Great week in San Vicente, Buenos Aires, Argentina!
The highlight was obviously the baptism of our good friend Rafael. He is an incredible guy and is so spiritually and emotionally prepared and is making big changes in his life. It is interesting. Being a member of this church is not like other organizations. You can't just go and be present and that is ok. It is not what we do, rather it is who we are. It is what we do think and desire every minute of every day of ever week of every year of all our life for forever. To really follow Jesus Christ and not just belive in him is really hard. It requires me to do things better, to be better, to do more, than I would doing my own thing and running my own program. So to begin to live this gospel and follow Jesus Christ can be hard. Like his original Apostles, he calls us to leave everything and follow Him. It seems like alot if we forget all the blessings and benefits of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Really all he is asking us to give up is ignorance, misery, a life without purpose, and in turn he gives us wisdom, joy and a focused direction with goals and help all along the way. Really there is no sacrifice at all! We get paid double!
We've been a little sick from the weird weather here. One day it is freezing cold and the other it is hot enough to leave in short sleeve shirts. Reminds me of the fall in Colorado. Always changing and never what they predict. It makes it fun but all gives everyone a cold. So we were fighting against that all week. But a little cold isn't gonna stop us too much. We worked hard and had some really cool experiences.
Overall feelings of my life right now....content, happy, tired, hungry, and STOKED FOR THE FUTURE! Everything is great even when it is not because tomorrow I get a chance to try it all over again and do better. Lucky for us right?!
I'm running short on time so I'll leave you all with this note and a bunch of pictures and just tell you all that I love you and pray for you a bunch!
Love,
Elder Anderson
P.S. Anyone thinking of serving a mission out their with doubts, here is my advice. Do it! You will never regret it! The world stays the same while you are gone. The only thing that changes is you and the change is that you improve drastically! DO IT!!!! IT IS AWESOME!!!!!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Ya Argentina!
Hey all!
Great news here from Argentina! I'm still alive and kicking and everything is awesome! I don't know if that is great news for everyone but It is all the news I got so you are gonna have to live with it! We've had a really good week here in San Vicente but really hard too. The weather has been really crappy with cold and rain and muddy streets and frowny people. But we've trudged through it all and come out alright!
Some cool things from this week would be the awesome Stake Conference we had yesterday. A stake Conference is when all the congregations in 5 or 6 cities get together and have a big old meeting together! It is really cool, especially for us in San Vicente to see so many Mormons and that we are not alone! We are a really small branch and sometimes you get down on yourself for that, but we saw so much support and love in the Conference that helped us realize we may be small but we are very important. They spoke alot of the final step in the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is endure to the end. It was humbling. They asked the question from the question that says more or less, "Christ has descended below all, art thou greater than he?" It made me reflect on a thought from Elder Holland of the Twelve Apostles that said, "Salvation was never easy! It is not a cheap experience! It made Jesus Christ, even the son of God, suffer and bleed from every pour and ultimately give up his life. If it was that hard for him, what makes you think it will be easy for you?" Life will always be hard. There will always be difficulties and challenges even if we keep all the commandments of God and do the best we can. But God has given us the promise, that if we will do our part and live how he asks, he will bless us with the capabilities, faith and strength to bear the weight of the burdens we must carry.
I have gained a huge testimony of that. Here in Argentina I have felt more lonely than any other time of my life. I have felt more tired than any other time of my life. I have felt more sick, than any other time of my life. And yet more than ever before, I have tried my best to follow Christ. Do as he would do and live as he would have me live. And I have noticed, that even though this experience has been the hardest of my blessed and easy life, it has also been the experience of most worth. I have grown so much and am so much stronger then I was before. I am truly a better person. I'm turning into a man. It is weird to think. I'm still childish and immature, no worries, but I see the world and my life a little different now. I realize I am so blessed and that God loves me so much. It is a reality that is hitting me over and over again. I love and miss you so much, but i know I need to be here right now more than any other place in the world. For me, for my family, and for all the families that I talk to everyday.
I love you guys and think about you a bunch.
Love,
Elder Anderson
P.S. Here are some sweet pics.
Happy Birthday.....to me!
Hey Everyone!
So i am almost 20 years old!!!! I can hardly believe it! I feel like a little kid still! I don't feel resposible enough to be called an adult and live on my own and stuff. It really is crazy what I am doing when I stop and think about it. I am living in a foreign country, with a bunch of other foreigners, teaching people about Jesus....cool. I love my life! So I guess it is ok that I am growing up as long as i get to keep having cool experiences like this!
So my biggest and best birthday present this transfer has been my new companion! His name is Elder Phillips. He is from Huntington Beach, California and is a BOSS! He is a way hard worker and is stoked to be here! He has been in Provo, Utah for the past month waiting for his visa. He got here on Tuesday and his first experience was riding the train and buses back to our house for over two hours. He loved that (insert sarcasm here). We were smashed up against the wall and other people and just packed into these train carts with all his luggage. He is getting used to Argentina fast! I introduced him to the pizza and alfajors and everything though so we ended the day well. He is struggling with his Spanish, but so does everybody. I remember when I arrived and I was just frustrated all the time. I try to remind him all the time that he'll get it with time and practice. I didn't like to hear that when I got here either though....I get what he is going through. That is kinda cool.
So I have been thinking about my dear old dad a lot this last week because Father's day is coming up. I think alot about how we are like Nefi and Lehi. We are both super cool and righteous and stuff like them...hahaha! But seriously, I was reading in 1 Nefi 11 this week and it impressed me that Nefi always wanted to know the things that his father knew. I feel like that sometimes in my life. I just want to be like my Dad and know what he knows and do what he did. It is really rewarding to be a missionary and follow in my father's footsteps. It is really cool to think "my dad did the exact same thing!" So happy Father's Day dad! I miss you and pray for you a bunch. I realize, being so far from my family, how much they mean to me. I really love them and they are more important to me than wanything else in the world. And that is why I am here. To help other people to have the same that a had growing up! It is a huge blessing!
Welp, I love you all so much! I am doing well and feel happy and healthy! I'm coming up on 11 months in my mission fast! It goes so fast!
Love,
Elder Cam
P.s. Happy birthday to Aunt Amanda and Marie too. You are special! :)
So i am almost 20 years old!!!! I can hardly believe it! I feel like a little kid still! I don't feel resposible enough to be called an adult and live on my own and stuff. It really is crazy what I am doing when I stop and think about it. I am living in a foreign country, with a bunch of other foreigners, teaching people about Jesus....cool. I love my life! So I guess it is ok that I am growing up as long as i get to keep having cool experiences like this!
So my biggest and best birthday present this transfer has been my new companion! His name is Elder Phillips. He is from Huntington Beach, California and is a BOSS! He is a way hard worker and is stoked to be here! He has been in Provo, Utah for the past month waiting for his visa. He got here on Tuesday and his first experience was riding the train and buses back to our house for over two hours. He loved that (insert sarcasm here). We were smashed up against the wall and other people and just packed into these train carts with all his luggage. He is getting used to Argentina fast! I introduced him to the pizza and alfajors and everything though so we ended the day well. He is struggling with his Spanish, but so does everybody. I remember when I arrived and I was just frustrated all the time. I try to remind him all the time that he'll get it with time and practice. I didn't like to hear that when I got here either though....I get what he is going through. That is kinda cool.
So I have been thinking about my dear old dad a lot this last week because Father's day is coming up. I think alot about how we are like Nefi and Lehi. We are both super cool and righteous and stuff like them...hahaha! But seriously, I was reading in 1 Nefi 11 this week and it impressed me that Nefi always wanted to know the things that his father knew. I feel like that sometimes in my life. I just want to be like my Dad and know what he knows and do what he did. It is really rewarding to be a missionary and follow in my father's footsteps. It is really cool to think "my dad did the exact same thing!" So happy Father's Day dad! I miss you and pray for you a bunch. I realize, being so far from my family, how much they mean to me. I really love them and they are more important to me than wanything else in the world. And that is why I am here. To help other people to have the same that a had growing up! It is a huge blessing!
Welp, I love you all so much! I am doing well and feel happy and healthy! I'm coming up on 11 months in my mission fast! It goes so fast!
Love,
Elder Cam
P.s. Happy birthday to Aunt Amanda and Marie too. You are special! :)
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
It's a Boy!!!!!!
Hi all!!!
Another beautiful week here in the beautiful land of San Vicente!
Some highlights:
- Zone Conference. This is when a ton of elders get together (34 to be exact) and we get taught by the President of our mission and his wife how to be better missionaries! It is always way good and I always learn a ton! THe only hard part is that they generally are really long. This last one lasted for 9 hours. Sometimes my attention span is a little shorter than the meeting. IT was still really good though. The theme was something different, but for me I learned alot about integrity. We live in a world where our word of honor isn't worth much anymore. But I want o be a man of integrity. What I promise, I will do. It was really good!
- Having a Family Home Evening (Spiritual message, Game and Food) with the entire Branch here. We told everone to get there at 7:00 and the first people got there at about 7:45.....ya.....that is not Ok. But in the end we had about 40 people show up and everyone left spiritually uplifted, full of pizza and happy.
- Finding out that I will be staying in San Vicente for three more months!!!!! A really really long time! I will be here in total nine months!!!! I got a call on Saturday afternoon a few hours before transfers. It was the President of the Misión and he asked how I was and then asked if I would be willing to train a brand new missionary in San Vicente. I said "Yes" over the phone and "WOHOOOO!" in my mind! I'm pretty excited and pretty nervouse! When you train a new missionary here, we call the new guy your "son." So this will be my first child. It is a boy. I'm not sure of height weight or ethnicity yet, but it will for sure be a boy!
Haha! We'll see how he turns out. His mother (my last companion) was from Uruguay!
So ya! I'm gonna be a missionary father! They get in tomorrow and we start running with them! Pretty cool!
So that is the news from here. All in all I am doing really well. Other than the diahrea for the last 5 days, everything is great! No worries, medication is on its way! I don't know what they are feeding me here but it destroys my system 100%. I don't know if it is that I have the digestive and immune systems of a 5 year old or what but I have just not been able to get 100% healthy here. I'm hoping that will change with the excitment and challenge of having a new comp! Who knows though!
Winter time is coming on fast with the mornings at 6 or 7 degrees celcius every morning. We'll see how it all goes with that too! Everything is changing and I am excited!
Love you all so much and hope you are all enjoying an awesome summer!!!!
Love,
Elder Anderson
Lavtaro and Milagros in their fairy and zorro outfits!
Us at a Book reading of a member...wierd
The Family Rodriguez
Bad Bike Seat!!!!
Me and Elder Jolly
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