Seven Hours with my new Colombian Friends

                                                                                                            April 9, 2018

Sup y’all!

I hope everything is great back on the mainland, here it for sue is starting to cool off, we are having to walk around with jackets and sweaters and it is starting to get dark around 7ish,

The main points of this past week where we found about 3 families........... Yes families, something super hard to find out here! Haha we will see how the progress. Other things that happened were a great trip into the big city right by the temple to go get my 8th ingrown toenail removed, haha ya for sure not great, but it was such a great time to be able to see the temple as we walked by it, I had not seen it since I have been in the ccm, as well as I got to see some old friends, elder and Hermana Atkins from cache valley Utah, they got into the mission the same time I did and they will go home about the same time as well, for sure some lifelong friends, Saturday we helped some people paint there house, and then today we had to go do a part of elder Chaves visa, we waited in a long long long long line for about 6 hours, just waiting to get a number to wait another hour, behind us was a young Colombian couple, I struck up a conversation with them, we hit all sort of topics, we talked a lot about the gospel as well as our lives and exactly what missionaries are, they had never heard of the Mormons before! Haha it was a great chance to explain to them who we are and we gave them a book of Mormon, as the time went by we became great friends, honestly it was dope! They gave us a sandwich to eat because we had no food and had been on foot since 5 am, I got their reference and will send some missionaries to teach them.

In my time at the visa center my creole English and Spanish became very until, I talked to a lot of Hattians, a dude from India, and people from all around Latin America and Spain, I got some weird looks a few times from people wondering what I was doing speaking to all these people, but it was a great chance to talk to a lot of people and talk to them about the gospel and learn of their culture. For example, the dude from India shut me down when I tried to talk to him about Christ, haha but it was great! My Colombian friends got a kick out of me talking my jaw off"

This week was a great week hopefully we will have another baptism here soon, if not this week the next.

I love you all! Take care!

Elder Anderson​

And the Crowd are off their seats!

                                                                                                            April, 2, 2018

Hey fam,

Well I know you all know that conference was fire! Honestly, I have never been so stoking for conference in my life! We set up the GCGC ( Gringo Center of General Conference) it was lit, we had some ins with the stake presidency they let us in there nice conference room with a big huge table and then we talked them into letting us use there HD projector to put it

on the wall, not to mention that we all got a ton of food and then hooked up the conference to a super great speaker, honestly the next best thing would of been to be there in the conference center, But apart from the sick setup the announcements that our new president of the church made was outstanding, and many shouts of joy were made with my patriotic friends in that room, (as well as president nelson got us all up on our feet with the dope changes that will take place, and not to mention that he himself got all on their feet during the conference of the priesthood holder session,)  the spirit was very evident in that room as well all could feel it testifying a and revealing many of the lords secrets and plans for the church in general and for us in the mission, honestly many if not all of the talks were awe inspiring and for sure are worth listening to over and over and over, one thing that I am so great full that I did was last conference I downloaded all the talk from general conference and listened to them almost every morning, I was able to really learn something new from them every day, and I for sure will keep doing the same and invite all of you to do so as well,

As they announced the new temples one of my close friends from Nicaragua Managua was there in the other room with the Latinos, as we all united again I gave him a big hug and we both shed some tears of joy, in that instant I could understand and see the love and pure intent of the saints in that country, the elder has big dream that his mom can be baptized so that his family can be sealed together, and now there being a temple in his country makes it possible, being there in that experience for hits the emotions, very few moments in our lives to we give that much attention and gratitude and emotion for the blessing of the temple, many have had such blessings for all their lives and don’t go to the temple, many people here in Santiago have the same problem, if we don’t go to the temple regularly we are abusing the sacred blessings that god has given us to be with our families, we abuse that very gift that so many around the world long for and pray for every day and night.

With changes I am still here in villa sur with elder Chaves, nothing changes almost in the whole zone, but that is great, in my last interview with president this past week it was evident that he was happy with our actions and wants us to continue doing what we are doing. And that is exactly the opportunity that the lord and president has given me, I could not be happier with my sector my comp and the elders I live with, now it is about striving every day to become mejor, 

I love you all and hope that you all have a great week and that everything goes great!

Elder Anderson​

Once upon a time it Rained!

                                                                                                            March 19, 2018

Hey fam,

Well not gonna lie, this week was a pretty hard week for us, we worked and worked and worked but did not see any fruits leave from what we did this past week, we had a baptism planned for this weekend it was for a Hattian that has been attending church for the past while, he had his interview and all and passed, he just left us hanging with the water in the fount, we really at this point don’t know where he went, we called him and we went to his house but he just disappeared, so we were pretty bombed about that, but it’s okay, I am sure we will find him this next week,

As well as this weekend we should have another baptism if it all goes well with the granddaughter of one of my converts here, 

The goal is to work like were crazy, have the most fun we can but in a good way, and do the best we can, this past week we found ourselves working a lot of hours helping the members, 2 families going through a few very big problems, I never really realized how the people here see this missionaries until this past week , some of the ward members really rely on the missionaries to dig them out of their problems and look for council and help from them, 

This mission is full of ups and downs, even though this past week was a little more on the down side, this whole change has been on the ups, and we have chosen to still have the upside attitude, about it all, 

Thanks for all your support and love!

Elder Anderson​

A Week of Surprises!!!

                                                                                                            March 12, 2018

Hey fam,

Well this past week was full of work and doing interviews, I was busy doing interviews for other sectors as well as we had 2 interviews in my sector, the big news is this past week we baptized those 2 people! It was a great baptism and very spiritual, we had almost 40 people who showed up to watch the baptism, 

The baptism was for Fabian and Carolina, a married couple who each of 41 years old, they have 2 kids and on is a member as of almost 2 months, they are well prepared and I feel as though us as missionaries really didn’t do a whole lot for this, they were just great all on their own and have attended church for over 3 months, 

Fabian did not know that Carolina was to be baptized as well, it ended up being a sweet surprise for him, 

This past week the sun has cooled off a whole ton, we have been focusing a lot about faith and how when we are spending more time doing other things such as the interviews the lord will provide us with the important moment of the week in finding new people to teach. And it really is true while doing all this other stuff we completed all that we wanted to.

This past Tuesday I came down with a really bad cold. Enough so Tuesday and Wednesday I was walking around like a zombie, luckily, I woke up Friday morning feeling great, this whole week we kept working as I was sick, even though that probably was the worst cold I have ever had! The weird part was it was not cold at all during the week! Don’t know how I got sick.

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Anderson​

Doors Getting Slammed!

                                                                                                            March 5, 2018

Sup fam, 

Hope everything is going good up there in the north pole with all the snow y’all got, haha I wish I could send some of this heat your way, it is really a cooker, 

This past week was a week that didn’t really go how we wanted it to but it didn’t turn out to be bad week. Many people here were coming back from their vacations because school for them starts back up today, we really had our hearts set on baptizing Emilio, but god had other plans and we had to put our date with him again for 17th, we also spent a good amount of time doing service this week, cleaning the church and getting ready for a ward activity, it turned out good and we had 9 of our investigators show up. Which is great! We also had our zone conference with president this past Tuesday, and might I just say it for sure made everyone think,

President decided to show us a video called the passion of Christ, it shows everything including the brutal beating Christ received before he was crucified, this video lasted about 2 hours and by the end there was not a dry eye in all the chapel. It really put in into perspective the sacrifice that Christ had made for us and they things he did for us. The amount of pain and blood that was shed. We all left there with even more of a desire to help people accept this gospel so that Christ didn’t suffer in vain.

This week we should hopefully have the baptism of Fabian, he has been attending church for a couple of months and just been trying to quit smoking. So, we will hopefully have that baptism this weekend.

This week has been about getting doors slammed in our faces, at this point in the mission it really doesn’t bug me all that much, although it does get tiring after being in the hot sun contacting for a while. Sunday night I talked to my comp and I said that we have 1 hour left to contact let’s find some people, we starting contacting and to our surprise a few kids about 9 and 10 years old started talking to us, one proclaiming that he knew me. About a month ago I was on divisions and we stopped and helped a younger guy clean his car, was a super great guy but never wanted anything more. That night we went back to his house and we were invited in, they explained a lot to us about there, it was a family of 8, lots of kids. We talked to them about the family. Really trying to make our teaching super simple so that they understand. We have a date to go back on Tuesday. It really showed me that through persistence the lord provides.

I hope all is good at home. 

Elder Anderson

Don't Worry, The Missionaries will do it....

                                                                                                            February 26, 2018

Hello guys! 

Aha well the mission has been just fine and dandy this past week. Today I decided to take a trip to Maipu to dump off some papers and baptism stuff at the office so I really enjoyed today seeing tons of my friends that also make their trips to the office, as well as the new elder who lives in my house who needed a few things so while we were waiting for him I got to talk to elder smith who is one of the older couple missionaries here. We talked about my favorite thing. Haha duck hunting, yes, I know all of you are probably laughing. Even though I got tons of time here in the mission duck hunting still rolls through my brain every now and then.

Well I guess the big news of the week is we baptized! We finally got pate in the water after a change of hard work. It was a great baptism and lots of members were able to attend.

As I have talked about our goal to baptize every weekend I really have put a ton of faith in the lord that he will make it all possible. And that as we put in more than everything we got then the lord will bless us. This past week we worked super hard. Poor elder Chaves was so tired every night when we got home. Haha and I was too. Through all our work and things, I know that the people of my sector will be blessed. Really through looking at all the people we have, all the feches we have it is starting to come together, this weekend we should baptize a Hattian named Emilio, he is a great guy who has a baby boy and has been married to his wife for about 2 years, he is a beast, he speaks 5 languages, all 3 that I speak as well as French and Portugues,

One of the biggest things here is that people smoke, many of my fechas smoke, Paty was a hard-core smoker but now doesn’t smoke at all. One of the guys who should get baptized this next march 10th still smokes about 3 a day. We are going to verify with him every day of the week. 

One thing that am super great full for is my comp elder Chavez. He is a super great guy. It is still hard for him with the Spanish and all but he is doing great. His testimony really strikes me in the lessons and to be honest make me a little emotional, elder Chaves leads me by his example and showing his desires for the work and the love for the people, it is so great to have a comp that is so pure in heart for the work of the lord. 

I have found that in life we really need to be more in tune with the spirit, he will tell us everything, I have felt the spirit guide me in many situations in the mission lessons contacts everything, and I know that he will guide all of you in all the decisions you make, many people don’t understand how much the lord really loves them and cares about there every day life. God loves us so much, I really have started to understand what it means to have the constant companionship of the holy ghost.

Sunday was a great day, I ended up participating a whole lot in church. Including confirming Patty, giving a talk that lasted 20 minutes that the bishop sprung on me 5 minutes before church started, as well as teaching the gospel principle class. In my talk I talked about the importance of being self-sufficient as well as my ancestors. In my class I talked about who Christ is and exactly what is he gospel.

I love you all and hope that you have a great week!

Elder Anderson

A Day In Brazil!

                                                                                                            February 19, 2018

Sup guys! 

Hope all is going well at home, sounds like you are all getting tons of snow! 

Well this week we did have changes, haha I got a new kid from brazil that has about 5 months in the mission, his name is elder Chavez. And the elders that are sharing a house with us, elder Callister left to be ZL, and elder Rita is training, so today all the elders that are training are on divisions in different sector in the mission, haha well the assistants thought it would be funny to send me 4 Brazilians!!!!! Haha let’s just say today has been crazy! But super fun, this morning for the changes I ended up having to go drop off some elders in Peña flor my old sector and then bring some people back, it was so dope to go to Peña flor again, and to see all the missionaries there, I really miss hanging in Peña flor, working in that ward was really super great, the wards mission program was great, we all working super great with the members and the Hermana’s in that ward, talking to some of the elders I found that several of the people I found have gotten baptized as well as a lot of my old investigators, it makes me feel super happy to know that I truly made a difference there, and I made some super great friends while doing it.

Here in the sector we are putting our shoulders even more to the plow, I honestly feel super great about the work we are doing, but I found that I often look at the things that we are doing wrong, or to say my imperfections, things I want more in the sector or things I want to get better at, this week after listening to a talk by elder cook on humility it made me realize a little more about how I can be a better missionary and be a better person. As well as doctrina y convenios section 112 is super great.

As far as things that are going on we have fechas lined up for starting this weekend for the next 3 weeks, I don’t want to jinx myself or anything but our goal is to baptize every weekend, I hope have faith that the lord will help us make it happen. Patty didn’t get baptized this last week because of some things but she has a date now for this weekend,

I love you all and hope that everything is going great! 

Elder Anderson

mi compañero es hatiano

                                                                                                            February 12, 2018

Yello!

Hey guys this week I don’t have a whole ton to say, haha still super-hot here in the sector, enough to say that my comp is getting so dark from the son that all the members are calling him a hatiano, 

Well this week the work was super hard, everyone is on vacations for their last little bit of summer break before school starts up again at the end of this months, the wards attendance dropped down to 36 and 7 of those were our investigators! But we still managed to get a lot of work done and be super tired at the end of the week, our daily verification this week with patty continues, she is doing great. As I got here in the sector she and not been taught by the missionaries in a long time. But never the less my comp took me to here house, she wanted very little to do with us and didn’t really listen or show much interest in the lessons, after about 3 lessons she showed a dramatic change, her smoking went from 20 a day to 10, and she put a table in the front of her house for when we come to visit, she also started waiting for us with her book of Mormon and other pamphlets every time we had a set lesson planed with her, as of today she has 1 week without smoking and is doing great. If things go well she will be in the water this weekend, she is super prepared, not to mention her daughter and son in-law have helped her a lot as well, her daughter got baptized about 3 years ago and just went to the temple with her husband about 2 months ago. Patty is so much happier now and you can see the changes she has made, it is such a great testimony to me that when we put in our part god will help us complete our goals and to complete what god has planned for us.

One thing here that has been a huge blessing is our ward mission leader, his name is Lizardo, he works super hard and come with us to teach about every other day. He helps us a lot in cuanto the people that we teach the verification.

Changes are this next week, we will see what the winds stir up for us,   

Thanks for all your help and support

Elder Anderson

16 Months!

                                                                                                            February 6, 2018

Hello Fam!!!!

hope all is going good back in the good ole us of a, here in Chile we are still enjoying a good grilling, or to put in simply we are getting cooked by the son! the heat continues to rise, but when you get beat them join em, so we also have tried to turn up the heat in the mission work,

this past week we spent lots and lots of time verifying and helping our investigators that we have progress, one is a lady named Pati, her daughter es un member of the church and paty has attented church a lot in her life, and many many missionaries have taught her but not any have been able to really get to stop smoking, now not to say that when we got there we did anything different, I just know that she finally started completing with her part of the process, I know that god has been helping her to stop smoking, this past week we made a deal with her that we would pass every day to check on her progress, as of about 3 weeks ago we was smoking 20 per day, yesterday she smoked one, we are helping her prepare to be baptized on the 17th of this month.

another story is about a lady that is dominicana, (Dominican Republic). we got to know her about 2 weeks ago, I might have mentioned her antes. they here along with a ton of other foreigners, basically Chile is just full of people from other countries, but it is super hard to get work here as well as the Chileans sometimes like to take advantage of the foreigners and not treat them well. as we got to know this couple we found that they have 5 kids still back home and are trying to find work so they can help their kids. we took them to an activity with a family that we are trying to reactivate and had a great time, the guy at the end said at first her really didn’t want to come but was super glad he did,

so, something funny, in the house we all speak Spanish, mas o memos en English or at least we all understand English, and we all understand and speak are learning to speak creole, haha I have to laugh at us now because in the house we bounce back and forth between 3 languages, it gets pretty crazy now! but it is a super cool and fun thing.

in the house this last week we had a little birthday party for one of the elders this week, we surprised him with a cake after they got home from a long day of work. we find ourselves in this house eating a lot together and having good family moments. haha we really have gotten to treat each other like a family in this whole zone, since it is a zone of all dudes we get to enjoy a few more things like that. 

I hope all is well and that everyone is having a blast in life! here in the mission I am doing great just work and work then when we get to the point where we are dead we go work some more.

love you all"

Elder Anderson

like it couldn't get any hotter, or can it?

                                                                                                            January 29, 2018

Hello!!!!

Hey fam another week in the oven, I mean....... in Ochagavia, wow it is super-hot here, we are starting to get super sick of being in the sun!

This week was full of teaching the people that we had gotten to know and those that had attended church, we had another great week, just tons and tons of work, we ended the week with less people in church or should I say they all showed up like an hour late, and we also put 3 baptismal dates this past week, one with a Chilean one with a Hattian who doesn’t speak Spanish and another with a lady from Republica Dominicana, she is the most prepared person that I have ever meet, last Tuesday when we went on splits my comp found her living in a Hattian cave (as we call them because some houses have up to 40 Hattians living in one house, all sharing a few bathrooms and a kitchen and about 5 Hattians per room) she has very little time in Chile and is living with her husband while she has her kids back in her country, they are trying to save up enough money to be able to bring their kids to Chile, as well as her husband shows interest as well, we have only been able to meet him once and it was for a few seconds as we were heading to church yesterday, he could not attend because he had to go look for a stove for their house,

This past week many of the ward members are on vacations so it is making the whole raising church attendance thing a little hard,

Nothing more than work is going on here! just work, everything is going pretty well, one thing that I really have started to appreciate is the change that I can see in other people, being able to look in their faces and see them desire the gospel and desire to change and then accept those changes they have made.

This sector is for sure different to work in because it is city, and I have been in more country side my whole mission but I am starting to get used to the busy life and different feel of the big city,

Hope all is going well at home!"

Elder Anderson