June 19th, 2013

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS GIRL!!!!

Well Hey there!!

I hope that all is going well with everyone!  It makes my week to hear from you guys!

Well, my P day was changed to this Wednesday... because we got to go to the temple!! I feel so blessed- I have had the opportunity to go twice already in my mission.  And I just absolutely love it.  Whether its the South Jordan temple, or the San Jose Costa Rica temple, I just feel so at home.  So blessed to be a member of this church.

Oh, and hey Dad... HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!  I hope that you had a wonderful one.  You were defiantly  in my thoughts this last Sunday, I am so grateful for your love and support throughout my life.  I am so incredibly thankful for your example, and all of the life lessons you have taught me.

Here are some fun facts for the week-

1.  I am so grateful that little by little I have become accustom to the strangely large insects and creatures that are in this country.  I first became accustom to the gigantic ants... because they are always hanging around in our apartments. Next lizards, odd beetles, gigantic toads, immortal worms, worms with legs (yeah that was not a fun one when I found that one in my bed... haha) snakes outside of our door (and it had just eaten... wakala!!)  and then.............. last night............ I was just sitting at my desk when out of the corner of my eye I saw something scampering across our floor... low and behold it was a  PICA CABELLO. (for easier terms lets just say a tarantula!!).  I literally about died.  I jumped on top of my wobbly desk and screamed for my companion.  Between a broom stick and some running shoes we ended up victorious.

2.  Hermana Starke and I bought cushions for our chairs.  It was defiantly  the best purchase thus far in the mission.

3.  They put air conditioning in the chapel... ITS SO COLD.  Haha I guess that's life.  Too hot or too cold.  But I believe that everyone is going to be bring jackets from now on :)  

4.  Its amazing to see the Lords hand in this work. A really cool experience this week was that we meet this one lady named Lidseth, through her we met her neighbor Christopher, and his Dad- Warren.  Warren now has 13 days with our smoking or alcohol!!! how wonderful is that.  Coffee is still going strong, but we are working on it.  The hard part is that he works every Sunday...  so we are working on that one.  But through Warren we met Guido.  We gave him a book of Mormon, and didn't see him again for a while.  Then when we visited Warren last week, he told us Guido wanted to talk to us.  He has been reading the book of Mormon, and really likes it!  When we went to visit him the next day, his friend Hernan was there... and he listened to the first lesson with us!! Asking questions the whole way along.  We couldn't even explain what the Book of Mormon was because he was reading it instead of listening to us.  It is my prayer that we can help these investigators progress more... but I am just so grateful for the Lords guidance in this work.

And a quick thought about adversity.  It has been something that my companion and I really have been studying.  It has been really interesting as we have talked to our different investigators about adversity, and what is the purpose. 

Well, to start out with if we know where the adversity in our life comes from, we know how we can cut it out of our lives. 

So to teach it, we put them into 3 different  categories.

1.  Afflictions

This type of adversity comes from our own actions.  We know that every actions has a consequence- and this adversity comes from our own actions.  It stems from our own disobedience and pride.  As we humble ourselves, learn to turn to the Lord and change our actions we can cut this type of afflictions out of our lives.

2.  Heartache

This comes when we are affected by the consequences of others actions.  This type of adversity we do not have much control over.  But if we want to overcome this, we need to turn to the lord for comfort, and he will strengthen us.  We also need to learn to forgive, and we truly can overcome this affliction.

3.  Tests and Tribulations

These are natural consequences of the fall, such as death, natural disasters, sicknesses, the circumstances that we are born into and what not.  These times in our life can strengthen us, as we learn to trust in the Lord, and endure to the end.  As we do the basic- reading, praying and going to church we will have a foundation to overcome this trials.

We also know that God can sent us trials to help us become stronger, and learn how to trust him more- such as job and what not.

Here are some stories that exemplify this - 1 Nephi 9 (? when nephi is on the boat and the storm comes) as well as mosiah 23 (?) The story of Limhis people.  (Sorry my references aren't sure, I'm typing fast!!)

D&C 136 : 31

´just as it would be a demoralizing experience for an untrained individual to attempt to play in an orchestra of skilled musicians- so it  would be painfully punishment to attempt to live in a celestial realm, for which you are not prepared.   -elder Scott

I know that this life is a time to prepare to meet God.  To learn and grow, and become a better person everyday.  All of these are for our benefit.

I know that this gospel is true, I am so grateful to be a missionary!

Love you all!

Hermana Anderson