Week 76: Teaching & Progressing

 Hey y'all!

We had yet another busy week here in Marble Falls. It's been such a good feeling to start our daily planning sessions filled with planned activities for the day, it really makes things a lot easier for us and keeps us busy and focused. This week we did say goodbye to Elder Janeway and Elder Hunt, as they headed off to new assignments. Elder Hunt was with me for 4 months and got to be really close with, Elder Janeway I was with for almost 3 months and also got to become good friends with. I am excited to see what they do in their new areas and assignments.

As for our week, our big highlights were in some of the lessons we taught. We had a couple awesome visits with the Estrada family, a really good lesson with the Gayosso family, and another good virtual lesson with Julio. They all continue to be progressing In the gospel and we can feel the spirit so strongly as we teach them the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. One theme we seemed to focus on with all of them was the Vision of the Tree of Life by Lehi in the 8th chapter of 1 Nephi. I love the idea of grabbing hold to the word of God and pushing forward, admist trials and distractions we face every day. It's cool to see people we are teaching commit to do the same and grab hold of the word of God. They are such great examples to me and I learn so much as I teach them.

Well that's it for this week!

Love and miss you all!

Elder Anderson

 

 

Week 75: Birthday Week

 Hey y'all!

This week was super great. We were so busy and of course saw so many miracles. Here's the wrap up for the week:

Wednesday I celebrated my birthday! Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. I don't love celebrating my birthday, but a couple of the members in the Spanish branch insisted on celebrating and it was a great experience. Huge shout out to Abuelita, for getting tres leches and getting my a stuffed birthday bear.

Saturday we had an awesome lesson with one of our friends called the Estrada family. We showed up and started talking with them and halfway through 3 of their friends walked in. We ended up answering a ton of their questions and teaching the restoration of the gospel. They said they wanted to keep talking with us so they will be joining in on our lessons with the family. It was a really cool visit with a ton of people who are very prepared to learn about the gospel.

Overall great week! Also transfer news came out last night and the days of the quad squad are officially ending. Elder Jenson and I will be staying in Marble Falls, but Elder Janeway will be heading off to Round Rock and Elder Hunt is officially heading to Paraguay this week. It's been a good run with these companions and I will always cherish the days of the Quad Sqaud. However Elder Jenson and I are excited to do good work!!

Love and miss you all!

Elder Anderson

 

 

Week 74: Snow in TX!

 Hey y'all!

This week was a CRAZY one. Lots of highlights and a whole ton of work we were able to get done. We were so busy this week and it went by so quickly. Here are the highlights:

-We had interviews with President on Tuesday! Love spending time with President Fox and learning from his example. We focused on our efforts to teach the Spanish community and he is happy with what we have been able to accomplish so far. We talked about the potential our area has and got pumped up to work hard.

-Earlier in the week we received a referral for a Spanish speaking man and we set up a time to meet with him. When we arrived we met him and his whole family and are now actively teaching them and they have serious interest in joining us at church one week. That was a huge miracle and it's all because we have made known the desires of our hearts to the Lord to be able to grow our Spanish group.

-Also we got SNOW!!!! Apparently for the first time in MANY years snow actually stuck to the ground in Marble Falls, Texas. It was A Christmas miracle to say the least. Of course we had to celebrate with some pics and playing around.

Those are the big highlights of the week! So much more going on but there's not enough room to write it all!!

Love and miss you all!

Elder Anderson

 

 

Week 73: Happy New Year!

 Hey y'all!

Happy new year! I can't believe 2021 is here, for me this year went by so fast, it feels like just yesterday I was listening to the fireworks on New Years Eve in Xalapa, Veracruz. This year has been filled with so many experiences and so many ups and downs but I feel like I have grown so much. In my journal entries from this time last year I didn't make too many predictions for the year, except for this comment:

"And just like that I begin my first full calendar year in the mission. In the year 2020 I will not step foot in the United States (I hope haha). Crazy stuff to think about". 

The me from one year ago had no idea about the crazy rollercoaster year I was about to take, spending my first 3 months in Mexico, followed by getting sent home during the pandemic and spending 3 months at home, before getting sent back out to spend 3 months in the Austin area, and finishing with 3 months in the Marble Falls area. While almost nothing this year went to plan, I learned so much, grew so much, and wouldn't trade this year or the experiences I gained for anything in the world.

I am so grateful to serve as a missionary especially during these crazy times. I have met so many wonderful people and learned so many things along the way. I am excited to continue to serve for the time I have left and bless more of Gods children!!

As a recap for this week we attended the birthday party of a little buddy of ours, Malaiki, we had some good lessons with some of our friends, we made some fun videos for our Facebook page, and saw some sweet longhorns! 

Love and miss you all!!

Elder Anderson