Week 19: Corn Basket Workout

Hola Familia y Amigos!

The Lord is blessing us here in Macuiltepetl 2! We have found so many people interested in the gospel and we have seen so many miracles here too. It's funny because the rejections are a tad bit harder than they were in Tihuatlan but the good people we find are so much better as well. It's like when we deal with the harder rejections the Lord is preparing us for the people that are ready to hear our mesaje. He has a plan for us and the challenges are sometimes just the way to prepare us for the doors we will be opening in the future. So awesome.

This week we did a little service project out in the boonies of Veracruz cutting down corn for a member in our ward. My hands still hurt and Elder Gonzalez got bit by a spider and we don't know which one it was. I think we have eliminated Black Widow though. But yeah had to carry this big wooden basket on our backs and it was like going to the gym for 3 weeks. There also happened to be a waterfall on the way back that we stopped at and grabbed a few pics. It was a pretty good day.

Again this week we saw the joy that the gospel brings to peoples lives. The life here in the city is a lot faster and a lot more stressful and we have seen that many people have been just holding on to their jobs and their responsibilities and are relieved and helped when they find our message of peace and joy.

Not much more to report on this week!! Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!! 

Love and miss you all!

Elder Anderson

Pictures!

1. Burgers

2. All the corn

3. The basket

4. The waterfall

 

Week 18: Making Tortillas!

Hola Familia y Amigos!!

Second week down in Macuiltepetl 2. Still learning the area haha but we have seen so many miracles and received so many blessings here. We are working really hard and are seeing it pay off with every person we find and every lesson we teach. Here are the highlights

This week we had our Zone Conference. This was my first time having Zone Conference in the South and it was a pretty different experience. A lot of people that I had never seen before so it was good to meet more of the mission. It was super uplifting as always, but really hit Elder Gonzalez and I harder than normal and really motivated us to give everything in these coming weeks. It was a good experience for us. 

This week we helped one of our investigadors, Martha, makes tortillas mainly because we wanted to learn how. I think we both burnt like half of our fingers but made like 200 tortillas which was pretty fun. Basically pros by now I am pretty sure. 

Other than that not a ton to report on this week. We have a couple investigators really close to baptism and are really strong and we are working a ton with them. I have seen this week, especially a change in people when they begin to follow Christ and keep His commandments. There is a change in the well being and happiness in people when they start to find Christ and His gospel in their lives. I invite everyone who has it in their lives to invite someone else to enjoy the same blessings because it is a gift that many people are craving.

Love and miss you all so much!

Photos!

1. making tortillas

2. Zona Macuil!!!!

3. Some of the men from Colorado

4.Hiding

Week 17: Zona Macuiltepetl!

Hola familia y amigos!

I don't have a lot of time to talk so let's just get the updates!!

Things are great here in Macuiltepetl 2. We are working hard and I am working all day to try and figure out my area. Almost the opposite to Tihuatlan. The weather gets cold here sometimes and lots of rain. We are in the heart of the city and don't have a huge area. Those are only some of the opposites. It's been a good experience to try and figure out ways more effective to preach the gospel and find more people who are willing to hear our message. I have realized that every area is different and brings its new set of problems and difficulties. But things are so good and everything is possible with the Lord on our side.

A fun thing this week is that it was Dia de los Muertos. Here the tradition is Tamales, Hot chocolate, and really good bread. So of course we probably got fed that like 15 times. Not even upset about it but I might gain a ton of weight. But the traditions for Dia de los Muertos are really cool here and it was a great experience to learn about some of it.

Other than that not a lot to report on. Working every day to reach out to more people and spread the gospel!! 

Love and miss you all!!

Elder Anderson

Photos!!!

1. Zona Macuiltepetl!!!!!

2. Me with a huge moth :)

3. Painting we found and liked because its Dia de los Muertos and CoCo

4. Chinese food buffet

Week 16: Transfers!

Hola familia y amigos!!

My time in Tihuatlan has come to a close! After being born and raised here for 3 months, I will be taking my talents to the Zone Macuiltepetl, and my area is Macuiltepetl 2. My new companion is named Elder Gonzalez and I will have the incredible opportunity to be the Senior companion in our companionship. I am incredibly excited for this opportunity and can't wait to see what I can do! Anyways here was my final week in Tihuatlan!

This week in church was the "Primary Program" for our branch in Tihuatlan. They have more or less 10 primary kids, so it was super fun to see them perform their songs and give their memorized parts. It reminded me a ton of back home and I was another testament to me how similar the church is in so many different parts of the world. It is also a testament to see how much the church is growing. These few kids are some of the first kids in their families to be born within the church. The majority of members here are converts, so to see this rising generation with lives in the church makes me excited for their future. The members are so faithful here and are raising righteous families within the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

We also got to bring a few of our investigators to church for the first time which was super nice because it has been a challenge for us as of recent to get people to attend sacrament meeting. Of course it would happen in my last week here but you know what that's just life.

Elder Gavia and I had a super fun lunch the other day with a member that just recently was added to our meal list. We got there, chatted a little bit and all of a sudden she throws down 20 enchiladas in front of each of us. It was like the leaning tower of enchiladas, and we knew there was no way we were finishing all of them. She then proceeded to bring out beans and eggs and we knew we were toast. We tried our best, but unfortunately could not eat it all and finished with a few enchiladas remaining. One of our biggest challenges always is if we can finish the food haha I know I sound pampered right now but its like real life. 

Anyway, those were some of the highlights of the week! Love the work and am excited for the new opportunity in Macuiltepetl 2!

Love and miss you all,

Elder Anderson

Pictures!

1. Tihua       tlan

2. Eating some pizza

3 & 4 Some goodbye pics with my fav family 

Week 15: Carne Asadaaaaa

Hola familia y amigos!

I am coming up on what might be my last week in Tihuatlan! We will see what happens with transfers this week but I am fine with whatever happens. I am very grateful for Tihuatlan as my first area and for all of the things I have learned here. Let's talk about the week

On tuesday night we had a little carne asada party for the son of one of our investigators named Raymundo. We cooked up some bomb meat and spent a little time with their awesome family. 

We found a couple families this week who have been inactive from the church for many years but are great and I think have been waiting for the missionaries to give them a little push. They also have little kids who don ́t know really anything about the gospel and so it has been nice to teach them as much as we can. A lot of our work here in Tihuatlan is reactivating members because their are a lot of inactive members. It has been very productive for us to work and help them.

We also helped with a little service project for some members in our ward, moving dirt and stuff like that. Super fun to hang out with them but we were so dirty with our mission clothes because we didn't bring other clothes haha. 

Today we had a carne asada (yeah I know two carne asadas in one week what are you tryna do kill yourself?) with our Zone to celebrate our missionary who is finishing his mission this transfer and as a little goodbye for all the people who might be leaving to other Zones. We cooked a ridiculous amount and so we stuffed ourselves haha. 

That´s all for this week love and miss you all!

Elder Anderson

1. Carne Asadaaaaa

2. Us with our guy Raymundo

3. This whack like ramen noodle thing we are eating this week

4. Service is the best!

5. Repping the 303 with Ahlstrom and McCollum

Week 14: Chicken Feet

Hola familia y amigos!!

Another great week here in Tihuatlan. This transfer is flying by and winding down quickly. Loving my time with the people here and have been so grateful to call it my home for the beginning of my mission.

Elder Gavia and I had the opportunity to see a ton of miracles this week. Every day we can see how the Lord is blessing us in our labores and it is so rewarding. Early this week we had a little stretch of literally 15 minutes where we met a super awesome family in the street, found an inactive family that is thinking about returning to the gospel who have children that aren't baptized yet, and found another awesome guy who has a ton of questions about the gospel. Afterward we just had to sit there and rest because the Lord is feeding us so many blessings haha. 

Today we had a multi zone activity with Zona Poza Rica and Zona Palmas. It was super fun, we got to play some soccer and volleyball and hang out with a ton of missionaries. I might have gotten a little burnt but whats new haha. I also went up to the Christ statue again with Elder Gavia because he hadn´t gone up before. It really is beautiful and gives me a tiny glimpse of the glory that he has. This work really is all for him. 

Overall these weeks have been great. I love when we can get into a lesson with people who will listen to our lesson because the spirit I feel when I get the opportunity to testify of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. Such an incredible opportunity. I love this gospel and testify of this work!

Love and miss you all,

Elder Anderson

1. Me downing a chicken foot 

2. Elder Gavia and I with our man Eder

3. Christ Statue!

4. Me with a beautiful view of Tihuatlan :)

 

Week 13: Trainer Lineage

Hola Familia y Amigos!!

Super crazy busy week this week! He is how it basically went down. 

Thursday we had interviews with our mission president. Always a fun time and a great opportunity to receive council from our President who has been called of God. It is funny thinking back to my first round of interviews about 6 weeks ago and how much I have grown in those weeks. 

Friday was our Zone Conference where the Northern Zones of our mission (Poza Rica, Palmas, Tuxpan, and Papantla) meet together and hear from Leaders of the Mission as well the Mission President, attend classes in order to better our work and hang out with our missionaries. They are always incredibly uplifting and I am always so grateful to receive guidance from the Leaders of our mission who are so strong in the work and in their faith. 

Something funny about the mission is that your first trainer that you receive in the mission is your Dad and your second trainer (if it is different than your first) is your Mom. And of course the trainer of your trainer is your Grandpa/ Grandma and so forth. Something pretty fun is that since Elder Gavia (my mom) is so new in the mission like me, and his trainer was new too, we have a whole family line in the mission. So in the Zone Conference I was their with mi Mama, mi Abuelo, mi Bisabuelo, y mi Tatarabuelo. It was a whole fun family reunion. I have a pic to prove it too.

After the conference Elder Gavia and I put on a Family Home Evening type thing for our branch in Tihuatlan. We planned a spiritual thought about General Conference, played some Family Feud, and ate Tamales with Horchata. It was a super fun experience and a good amount of ward members and investigators were able to attend which made it all totally worth it. (I also totally destroyed in the Family Feud so I may be going pro after the mission). 

And of course the week finished with another incredible General Conference. We are so incredibly lucky to be able to listen to the words of our prophet and apostles. I testify that they receive revelation for each and every one of us. A talk that really stuck out to me was Dieter F Uchtdorf´s about discipleship in this world. What a great reminder for us in this ever changing world filled with temptation and distractions. The line I loved was when he said, ¨Discipleship is not about doing things perfectly, it´s about doing things intentionally¨. The Lord blesses us when we make conscious decisions to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love that and am so grateful for the gospel in my life.

I love and miss you all and hope you had a great week!

Elder Anderson

Pics!

1. Zona Poza Rica!!!!!!!!!

2. My mom, my grandpa, my great-grandpa, and my great,great grandpa 

3. A little pic of our activity