Letter #9

HEY Family,

How is everything at home? I like that Tianni and Carly came over for a good time, and you have missionary's over too!!! And yes to answer your question about beans and rice... I have it every single dinner appointment and I still have not grown to like it!!! I am hoping soon I will like it, but now I look at it and think "man not this again!" hahah I hope I can like it soon so I don't think that! I eat it because I know if I serve them then they will help serve me!

Yeah its crazy to think I have been here for 4 weeks!!! It feels like I just got the the M.T.C. yesterday!!! I am loving everyday here! :) Everyday I learn to love the people, the mission, my companion, and my family even more! I thought I couldn't grow more love; but I found out that I can! :)

Miracle this month: We were teaching a gentleman in his 40's. He got baptized (Mauricio; he had the baptism and wedding in the pictures I sent home), and I have seen a huge change in him! I feel the spirit when he talks to us! He goes to all the baptisms and tells the people after they are baptized that they are doing the right thing and god is proud of them! This church gets truer and truer every day;  because I see peoples lives change and mine too! I love how the Lord has changed his life! We had a wonderful opportunity to go to the temple!! It is so pretty and it looks like a castle!! Mauricio's fist time going to the temple and he loved it!! Elder Gray got to perform baptisms while he was the proxy and it was very powerful!

Oh and so yesterday was my first flat tire. We had to run a couple miles home but it is a good missionary experience! :p

It is awesome here, I learn so much every day! I am grateful for all you guys and your examples for me! Yo are awesome and keep up the good work! Love y'all! ( yes "y'all" it has got me)

Love Elder Andersen 

Mission Rules EVERYONE PLEASE READ!!

I guess I better cancel that big trip to Texas! haha!

Helpful Reminders for us all when we are writing him! 

THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO! ~

Keep writing him! See address on the side!

Letter From President Ashton ~

Quick Pic!

My parents got a letter and photo from Texas.

LOVE IT ELDER ANDERSEN!!

Letter #8

Hey family!!!

It's good that the family reunion was fun and they were asking about me. If they ask, tell them i am DOING WORK here in Texas!!! This last week we have been doing so much; since the broadcast we have been getting members to help us and this week we had 15 member present lessons and 9 other lessons!! The Lord is really hastening and growing his work!!! Me and my companions have been super busy, we leave at 1 and come back like 9:15 giving everything we can to the Lord!! HE is blessing my area so much, he is softening the hearts of everyone and they want to hear this message. It is amazing how blessed we are, i get along amazing with my companions and we just preach the word and it's a good feeling to have the spirit with us all day!

Every contact we talk to listens and if they argue with us, we pretty much prove him wrong in a nice way. I think it is super funny how they argue with us and when we do, it just shows me that this church gets truer and truer by the day! Like yesterday we were teaching some Catholics about prophets and they asked what they are and i brought up prophets in the bible and she didn't read the bible, so i was like you know the pope right? Well our prophet is kinda like your pope, but our prophet was called by God to lead and guide us. And she is like yeah shaking her head like man that's cool! So i totally accidentally bashed her; but she knows what prophets are haahh!

So this last week it has cooled off and was 80 degrees and it rained alot too! I like the rain cause it is warm and the warm rain feels good :)  Texas is awesome and i might want to live here after my mission! The people here are awesome and super nice!! Everyday i love this mission and people more and more!!!

The investigators we have are super sweet!!! One named Oscar and he is 12 and he is excited for every lesson! he wants to get baptized so bad, and he is the smartest and the only 12 year old that wants to learn more about this church! We also have these kids named Mauricio and Jose -- one 13 and the other 18 and they are brothers! They are interested and they want to find the truth! We asked them to be baptized but they said if it is true then they will, sooo pretty much yeah they will!!!! Hahah and last we have this dude named Rafael. He was a street contact and he was super humble, and we just taught him the restoration and the spirit was super strong!!! We asked him to get get baptized and he is like, of course if it's God's will and we gave him a Book of Mormon to read and i know he will cause he is super sweet and he wants to know too!!!!

Man, missionary work tires me out soooo much!! By the end of the day, i am pooped and i wake up tired but through Jesus i know nothing can stop me from doing his will! I could get shot or a tragedy can happen but as long as i look forward to him and he will strengthen me with anything. It reminds me the footsteps in the sand talk -- i forgot who is it by; but it's super good! Ya'll should read it because it shows how He helps us through everything :)

I love you all and keep up the good work :)

Love Elder Andersen

Letter #7

Hey family,

This week has been amazing!!!!  I have been learning so much doctrine stuff and Spanish things! So yeah, Dad my Spanish is getting alot better! During lessons when we are on topic, I can understand about 70 percent; but when we are off topic, it drops a lot so I need to learn more words and verbs that are conversational. I am bad at contacting -- I don't know what to talk about; in English, I can do it well but I don't know how to carry good conversations in Spanish! My trainer says that it will be like that for the first 1000 people you talk to so all that matters if you get those 1000 out of the way in your first month or after 18 months. So I a lot of time to practice! And what is sweet about my area is it is a square mile and it is 90 percent Hispanic; so I get a lot of practice. And yeah, Dad, we ride bikes all the time and I got all that stuff for the bike but they didn't give me clips for my pants... but we do also have a car because my trainer is a zone leader!

 

And mom, I will send my sd card with all my pictures I have and will you take it off that and send it back :) But yeah, I will take pictures of me and my companion! But this last week we had a wedding and a baptism the same day :) It was soooo sweet!  The missionaries sang 'Come thou Fount of Every Blessing' and I have it recorded so you will see it when I send it :)

 

But dad, have you sent the glasses yet? It is super bright here when I drive; so it would be nice to have those now :p  So send those as fast as you can :)

 

And about my address: give them the mission home one because we go there once a week to meetings. So I can get it then and then you won't have to keep telling them new address. I will tell the family who sends me letters often my new address! And I sent it in the last one so you guys should have it!

 

And Melissa has asked me and I bet a lot of you guys think about this too: YES it issss hot here!  These couple weeks it has only been about 99 with 90 percent humidity; but they tell me that is nothing to what they normally have -- So I will start to see that soon! But as soon as I step out the door, I start to sweat! It is really that instantaneous, and yes it is that crazy!!  But I am dropping a ton of weight -- my pants are starting to get loose and I have to tighten my belt a lot!!!

 

I am running out of time, and I love you all so much. I love getting your emails and letters; so keep it up :) I pray for all you guys in every prayer and you heard the broadcast -- missionary work isn't just for missionaries; it is for everyone. So share your testimony and convert people and the Lord will be pleased with you!

 

Love Elder Andersen :)

Letter # 6 HE IS IN TEXAS!!

Hey family,

So Monday is our new p-day and yeah! so far i love Houston.  I have grown a love and want to help the people already!  It is sweet having that feeling that i want to help them instead of here is something cool, if i really am trying to help them and they see that, then they are more willing to listen to what i have to say!

So i got here Tuesday and we just went over stuff we needed to know and on Wednesday, we met our new companions.  I have 2 Elder Gray who is my real companion for the next 12 weeks and Elder Peterson who is a visa waiter to go to Buenos Aires North. But i love them and it is awesome teaching people in Spanish!  I have learned so much in these last couple days and the spirit has testified to me many things to say to people and stuff!!!  It's awesome having the Holy Ghost as that other companion cause, with him, then we can preach and share it!

Thursday I was sick but I tried to go out and teach and it was horrible; we had to come home early.  I felt fine the next day on Friday so we taught the whole day, and on Saturday i was sick again and the mission nurse told me i had to stay home that day. so all i did was sleep and study Spanish!  and on Sunday we had a baptism with a girl that Elder Gray has been teaching for the last transfer and her name is Eimy and she is 9 and it was a very nice baptism. ( i will send my memory card full of pictures in a letter home. And with letters, i figured out when i am on my mission i have NO TIME TO MYSELF so i will probably not write too many letters :(  But i will try to write everyone once a month; TRY, no promises)

I like the pictures that mom and dad sent me. thanks :) 

and mom, to answer your questions:

 My address is: 

 6666 Chetwood Apt# 219

 Houston, Texas 77081

And it hasn't been too hot.  But at the end of the day, i am very sweaty so just a little hot!

My Spanish is doing a lot better; i can understand about 40 percent of what the investigators say cause they speak so fast. But slowly i do get more and more!! :)  but it doesn't matter what they say. i just listen to the Spirit and say what he and God want me to say!

One thing is i don't really like beans and that is what the members feed us is beans and rice and that's it!!  So i need to learn to love them cause that's all i will get for the next 2 years!!!!!

But other than that, how is the family.  I want to hear stories about you guys?!!?

Next letter i will talk more about the investigators cause i don't know them that well :p

But i am almost out of time; i only have an hour to do everything but love you all :)

Love Elder Andersen