Week 7: "Address Him as Father"

Hola Familia y Amigos!

Great week great week!!! Super awesome time for my growth language wise and mission wise, and had some great experiences. This week absolutely flew by, time is getting faster and faster here I can´t believe it. 

This week we had our Zone Conference, where the 4 northern zones in the mission (Poza Rica, Palmas, Tuxpan, and Papantla) came to Poza Rica to be spiritually uplifted. We got to hear some talks from the Assistants to the President, from Hermana and Presidente Equihuas, went through some classes lead by some Zone Leaders, and got to engulf ourselves in the spirit of the mission. At the end of the conference we sang our mission song, which is the hypest thing I have ever been a part of. I can´t really explain it, but it gave me so much energy and reminded me of the brotherhood and friendship we have as missionaries here. Great experience. 

Earlier this week Elder Almonte and I got sick, not sure what it was, I think it was some sort of day sickness or whatever, but we both weren´t feeling great and didn´t have virtually any energy. However, we had this family we needed to visit that is seriously up the side of a cliff (I have a picture of the road we went up, don´t have it right now but next week I will include it). When we were standing at the bottom I thought up asking to turn back, we were sick, it was late, and I just didn´t think I had the energy to go. Anyways we went up, seriously almost passed out, but got to their house and sat down with them. This family is partially active, but the men in the household aren´t members and we have been talking a little bit and teaching them. After taking some time to chat and ask them how they were doing, we were able to share a little bit about the priesthood and about fatherhood. They have a TV, and we were able to connect a memory chip to watch the video titled, ¨Earthly Father, Heavenly Father¨, and if you haven´t seen it I definitely recommend watching it. It´s super powerful and the last line says, ¨of all the titles of respect and honor and admiration that are given to Deity, He has asked us to address Him as Father¨. 

Anyways, they were all super receptive to our message and we were able to have a good conversation with all of them, the parents and children, about their roles and how they can strengthen their faith. I learned a couple things from this experience. 1. I learned that the Lord will help makes us strong as we serve him. The only way we were able to teach and spend time with this family was because of his strength. He gave us the energy to get there and gave us the resources to teach. And 2. that the Lord will bless us after we have taken the effort. Getting up the hill and having the will power to get there was not easy, but once we got there the Lord blessed us with the spirit and the opportunity to teach. This lesson was the first time we had the whole family in the house to teach. That isn´t a coincidence, and I know that the Lord gathered them together for us to teach as He knew we were going to put in the effort to reach them. 

I am grateful for the father figures in my life and for everyone else that have been examples to me. I love this work and am grateful to serve. We have got a lot to do out here and are having fun doing it. And of course learning Español!

Love you all! No pictures this week! Super depressing but Ill be back next week with more.

Hasta luego!

Elder Anderson

Week 6: Tihuatlan Plus Iguanas

Hola Familia y Amigos!

Week 2 in the mission field is in the books! Such a great week for my progress and for the work. Still super hard, but the progress I am making with the language, with my teaching, and with the lifestyle has been making it all worth it. There´s a quote that I heard in the CCM that I think describes this exactly. It said:

¨A mission is hard, but ceases to be hard when we admit that it´s hard, because the fact that it´s hard doesn´t matter anymore.¨

It´s kind of a confusing quote but basically explains that when we know and recognize that its hard is when it ceases to be hard because we are doing it for other more important reasons. I think that´s true for everything. In work, school, relationships, and everything else we shouldn´t avoid the fact that its hard but actually embrace it and see how we can learn and grow from it. That´s my little thought haha now lets talk about the week.

We are continuing to teach the triplets and they are doing good. I love seeing their progression in their want to go to church and learn more about the gospel. The tough thing is that their parents are not members and have no interest in joining the church. And their aunt is an inactive member and doesn´t show a ton of interest in attending church, leaving three 11 year old girls with no reliable way to get to church every Sunday. Super bummer. We have been working with getting them a reliable support system but we haven´t been making progress. One of the requirements for baptism is that they have to have support in their attending church and remaining faithful so if we can´t get that support from her aunt or parents we may need to push back their baptisms which would crush us. We are definitely going to be relying heavily on the Lord to give us an answer to this problem. We also have a couple other families who are seeming to progress well and I am anxious to see their growth. 

We got a call the other day from Salt Lake City about a woman who called the church´s number from seeing it on the TV and they sent us her information. We talked to her and set up an appointment to come and talk to her. She lives pretty far away in a really small town called Guadalupe. We took a taxi there and got off in the little town and walked to her house, and had a few different people come up and talk to us about who we were and why we were dressed that way. I started to realize that I think in this little town they rarely or never have had the missionaries. It helped make me realize how important it is to progress this work and teach everyone we can about the church. There are so many places all over the world who have never heard the message of the restored gospel and it is our job to bring that to them. I am so grateful to have the gospel in my life and want to never take it for granted. 

Overall it has been a great week. I have been learning a ton about the language. Every day my goal is to write 10-15 words or phrases I hear throughout the day on a notecard and memorize them and their meanings. It has been a huge blessing for me and after just a couple weeks I have soooo many words that I am working on learning. This has made me especially attentive to the things people say and common phrases. It has been a good exercise for me but makes me mentally exhausted haha. Thats going to be my life for the next few months. I am so grateful for my opportunity to be here and I know I am going to be so blessed after the work and time that I have been putting in.

Love you all,

Elder Anderson

Oh btw we climbed up to the Christ statue the other day because we are half way up there for a reference and decided why not. It was beautiful. 

Pics!!

1. Iguana in a tree

2. Christ statue

3. Me with the Christ statue

4. View of Tihuatlan from the Christ statue

Week 5+: Tihuatlan

Hola Familia y Amigos!

Week 1 in the mission field is in the books! Not going to lie, I probably think it has been the hardest week of my life. I am still so far off with the language, the culture, the weather and everything and it has been a week of adjusting and growing. Here's how it went:

We left the CCM at 10:30 and from there we took a bus to the airport, and then a 5 or so hour bus ride from the airport to Xalapa. From there we ate some dinner, had a meeting lead by our Assistants to the President and President Esquihaus, and then got our trainers! My trainer is Elder Almonte, hes from the Dominican Republic, doesn't speak really any english, and is in his 21st month in the mission. So hes pretty much a vet. I can see the confidence he has and it helps me know develop my own confidence. Im excited to see what I can learn from him. After the meeting Elder Almonte and I went and stayed at a missionary's house. Then in the morning we got up and took another 5 hour bus ride to our area!

My first area is Tihuatlan. Veracruz, in the Poza Rica Zone. The other missionaries refer to the Poza Rica zone we are in as the Inferno. The heat, especially at this time during the year is killer. It is so humid and so hot that most missionaries bring towels that they were around their belt like a Quarterback. I have started doing that and it has blessed my life. I also where a pretty sick hat that keeps the sun out of my eyes and apply sun block daily, but Im not quite sure if that's enough. Regardless of the weather though Tihutlan is great. It has a Christ statue that is apparently bigger than the one in Rio and they are very proud of it. I love looking up at it and pictures don't do it justice. Our little branch that we have is so awesome and the members make the most delicious food. It is a known fact that I am the only white person in the whole town so I get stared at from time to time. Its not racist, I'm just different haha. A lot of them are also obsessed with my blue eyes. I'm like a novelty here I should make people pay me to look at me. 

Anyways this week was really tough but I have learned so much. Being with a Spanish speaking companion has really improved my communication and my involvement in the language, something I never really was able to do in the CCM. It feels like all the vocab and grammar that I learned over the years of class in school and my time in the CCM have been coming back to me in a flood, which is crazy and really a testament to me of the power of the gift of tongues. I know I could not learn a language without it. But then again, one of the keys to having the gift of tongues is working diligently for it, so I write down and look up words I hear often and am unfamiliar with, and I try to get at least 10-15 a day. Its been a good experience and has really helped me. 

We have been teaching these triplet 11 year old girls who are getting baptized with upcoming Saturday. I am super excited to participate in my first baptism, it has been so exciting getting to know them and seeing their progression. They even wrote me these cute notes and drew my pictures. 

I would just like to end with the importance of relying on God in all things. I have never relied on him more than I have in these past 7 days. I know this process of learning the language and adjusting to missionary life is going to push my limits and I know I will not be able to do it without the love and help of my father in heaven. I challenge everyone to rely on him in all things. It doesn't matter how small or how big it is. The Lord wants to bless and help you. 

I love you all so much and am so grateful for all of you in my life.

Elder Anderson

Pictures!!

1. A picture of a street with the Christ statue in the background

2. Me and my best bud my hat

3. The notes the triplets wrote me

4. mirror pic

  

Elder Anderson with his companion/trainer Elder Almonte and President and Sister Esquihaus

All the new arrivals in Xalapa from the CCM

Week 5: Last Week in the CCM

Hola Familia y Amigos!!!

It's my last P Day here in the CCM! I leave for Xalapa on Monday morning at 6:30 in the morning. We are going by bus which is interesting because a lot of missions closer are flying but I think its because we have 15 missionaries all heading to Xalapa together. Its gonna be a hoot. I got made Travel Leader which is fun because I get to inform everyone of the travel plans except I had to tell the Latino District coming with us which I was scared of because they dont speak english. Luckily theres one elder who speaks both so he was able to translate. Dodged a bullet on that one.

Other than that nothing really happened! Elder Doman and I have really gotten to know the Districts in our Zone which is fun because there are some great missionaries here. We had to say goodbye to two Districts this last week which was sad because we got so close but they are going to do some great things out in the field. After they left its been tough to motivate ourselves to study because we know how close the end of the CCM is but we are trying to push ourselves. Not a whole ton has happened honestly. The CCM is funny becuase it is just the same thing day after day week after week so we really run out of fun things to do. So I guess its good that we are leaving this week because we have kinda hit our limit here. We are all so excited to go out and serve and be the best we can be. I know that our entire district is going to do great work and Im just excited to see what everyone does.

Something that is really fun is that we have gotten really close to our two teachers, Hermano Hernandez and Hermana Cabrera. Hermano Hernandez teaches the morning and Hermana Cabrera teaches the afternoon and so being with them half of every day gets us pretty close to them. They are both like 22 and 21 years old so we can joke around with them because deep down they are still just goof balls. On the ground all over the MTC are these little seed pods type things that are pretty hard and easy to kick so we all try and meg each other with them (kick it between their legs). We do it a ton with Hermano Hernandez which gets super funny and he does it back. We have gotten pretty good at it. We also play a lot of legit games for Spanish language learning which are fun also because then we get to have fun and learn some spanish. I really like our district and am gonna be sad to see some of them go because they are going to Oaxaca, Mexico and Fresno, California.

Something really cool about the CCM is that we get to watch every Sunday exclusive MTC videos from apostles when they came to the MTCs. The one we got to watch a couple weeks ago was with Elder Holland about missionary work and the importance of the new Preach my Gospel program (this was a few years ago obviously). In it he talks about the importance of "feeding His sheep" just like Jesus asked Peter to do three times after he came back to meet them. His talk really fired me up because he shared about the importance of teaching investigators by love and by the spirit. He pushed us to study hard and dedicate these two years to the service of the Lord. I know the importance of this work and know how much I can bless people's lives if Im being the best I can be. I love this work.

Love you all and hope you're doing great, 

Elder Anderson

1. The BYU boysssss (elder Powley and elder johnson)

2. Former Zone Leaders and new Zone Leaders

3. Hermana Taylor and Hermana Longhurst!

4. Me at the Mexico City temple!

 

Week 4: Mexico City Temple & Immigration

Hola Familia y Amigos!!

Gotta be quick but here’s my update this week!

Time is flying by here! Can’t believe it’s already been a month since I’ve been out. Everything is going good, we really do just do the same thing over and over again which can get a little frustrating and boring but at the same time it’s been really nice to “eliminate the variables” in a way and just focus on our Spanish and our gospel study. But besides that, there were a couple really fun things that happened. 

We just barely got back from the Mexico City temple which was awesome. It’s huge and beautiful and just an awesome experience to be able to go. There is awesome a really cool store on the grounds that sells really cool ties so we loaded up on that. It was also nice to get outside the walls and see a little bit of Mexico. Also last Friday I went to immigration so now I’m legally aloud to stay here!!! It was also great to see a ton of the city and got me super excited to leave. 

In other news Elder Doman and I got made Zone Leaders of our Branch! How the CCM works is that there are districts of about 10 people and then a branch/zone makes up about 5 districts so now we get to oversee about 50 ish missionaries. It’s a very exciting opportunity and I’m just excited to get to know and serve the missionaries in my branch. Even if it is only just for like 2 more weeks. 

Well that’s about all for this week! I wish I had a little more time to share some stuff but I’ll make sure to share more and have some pics next week! I just want to end by saying how grateful I am for all of you who have made me into the person I am. I know I wouldn’t be in this position to serve and love the people of Xalapa without the wonderful influences you have all been in my life. 

I love you all lots and I’ll talk to you all next week (my last pday at the mtc ahhhhh!)

Elder Anderson 

Here are two pics I just took:

 

1. Of my new fresh really short haircut 

2. Of my ties I just bought 

 

Week 3: Chokis

Hola Familia y Amigos!!!

Hope all is well! Its been a short time since I emailed last but ya know thats how the Mexico MTC Be sometimes!! Anyways all is doing great here. We are just working hard, doing the same thing over and over again. Learning a ton of spanish. Elder Doman and I have been continuing to give lessons to our teachers and it has been awesome to see our growth. Gift of Tongues is real here people and its been so crazy to see how comfortable I have been able to get with the language. Still have a long looooong way to go but in just three short weeks I have been able to learn so much. Crazy stuff. 

At the tienda here in the Mexico CCM there are Mexican cookies called Chokis. They are like Chips a hoy on steroids and we are like addicted to them. Every week at the tienda Elders get 100 pesos to spend and hermanas get 120 (ridiculous I know) and we probably blow roughly 80-100% of it on Chokis. We've gotten to the point were we will bet each other a sleeve of Chokis if we can memorize a verse or speak in spanish for a whole day. Its been a good time. Get your hands on a sleeve of Chokis if you have the opportunity, it'll change your life. 

On a slightly more spiritual note, we watched a video about obedience in a devotional last sunday and they showed a talk which included a story about surfers who were upset about a barrier in the sea that was blocking them from surfing the bigger waves. However, after further examination of the barrier with binoculars they were able to see that the barrier was blocking hungry sharks from entering the beach and keeping everyone safe. The line that was impactful for me was when he said, "Don't be too critical of the barrier, its the only thing keeping from being devoured". Sometimes I look at some of these mission rules we have and think we are pointless or unimportant and sometimes we can look at the commandments the Lord has set and feel the same way. But I promise that these "barriers" are protecting us from far greater threats that we can't see with the naked eye.

I love you all, hope you're doing so great, continue to email me with pictures because I love seeing how your lives are doing!!

Hasta Miercoles!

Elder Anderson

anderson.jack@missionary.org

1. Chokissssssssssss

 

2. Aloe Water Mexico Editionnnnnn

 

3. All of the Chokis we bought today

 

4. A mural in the Joseph Smith building that was cool

 

 

Week 2.5: Superior Genes in the CCM

Hola familia y amigos!!!!

Almost through Week 3 in the Mexico City CCM!! Before I begin, my mission email is anderson.jack@missionary.org and I would love to hear updates and see pictures about your lives!! Also, the website missionarypackagemx.com has a free letter service where you can type and send letters to the CCM and I can read them on days other than my P Day!! 

The CCM is lots of fun, spending like the whole day with people makes you really close and thats how I feel about my district. We have so much fun together and Im lucky to have the group that I have with me. Its been so awesome to see our growth as a district language wise and faith wise and I just know we are becoming powerful missionaries by the day. I am in a weird place right now where I know I need to learn and practice but Im also just so excited to leave for Xalapa. I guess I have no control over it so Im just thinking about how I need the to keep practicing to leave and serve. 

We do these things where we "role play" teaching our teachers lessons. It has been so awesome to see me and my companions growth as the lessons feel more natural and we are definitely learning how to serve and invite the spirit into our lessons. Its also making me anxious to get out and teach actual people. Except for the fact that I know our teachers talk extra slow for us and Im scared to hear them speak at normal speed. Our teachers have also challenged us to talk to 5 actual latino missionaries a day about what we have been learning. So its funny to see one of us go up with our Spanish booklet and have a conversation about where we are from and what we are learning. But the latinos are all really nice so they are patient with us.

In other news 3 people in our district threw up this past week. And another person in another district in our branch got a parasite. But Ive got superior genes and a stronger stomach so Im not even scared. The CCM chicken is no match for my stomach. 

Last Sunday we watched a devotional by Elder Bednar which was really awesome. He basically talked about the character of Christ and his message was for us to lose ourselves in the work and become more like Christ. He shared some really powerful stories that really touched me and showed me the power of service. I cant wait to serve and I know that I will be so blessed in all aspects of my life when I put service to others over myself. I want to look outward instead of inward and I want to challenge you guys to do that same. 

I actually have pics this week!!

1. Me and Elder Doman mi compañero! 

2. Me and my man Elder Powley (BYU) 

3. Me and my man Elder Johnson (also BYU) 

4. A pic of the MTC on a beautiful Sunday and you can see a little bit of the giant wall that keeps the peeps safe

Love you all! Hasta Miercóles!

Elder Anderson