Week 55: Read the Scriptures People!

Hey y'all! 

Back at it again with the weekly email. This last week went by super fast. It was a lot of the same but for some reason the days all went by super fast. We spent a lot of time on Facebook as per usual and were able to do some fun things. We are currently going through online proselytizing training which has given us a ton of new ideas to try. One of them was posting a Bible Study ad in local Facebook groups. It didn't work too well but we did get some interaction because of it. We'll take anything we can get at this point! We also did some fun service, one day cleaning out a rabbit pen which was fun. We love service. 

This past week I finished the Book of Mormon again! It was a great feeling and always fills me with such power when I get to those last few chapters of Moroni. I testify of the power of the Book of Mormon and the blessings it can bring us in our lives. As a missionary I have the privilege of dedicating time each day to study the scriptures and it is such a blessing. I can tell the difference in my day when I take advantage of my study time and have an uplifting morning personal Book of Mormon study. I am filled with power and hope and it helps me get through even the toughest moments. If you've never read the Book of Mormon I invite you to read it. If you haven't picked it up in a while, I invite you to read it. There's a famous quote that goes, "If you want to talk with God, pray. If you want God to talk with you, read the scriptures". Read the scriptures people!

Anyways that's all this week! Hope you're all doing well!

Love and miss you all!

Elder Anderson

 

Week 54: A Divine Reset

 Hey y'all!! 

This week was just an average week in Austin. We posted another service ad on Facebook and got a few opportunities on that. We were able to help one lady move rocks and lay mulch. She is extremely high risk so we weren't able to meet in person at all which is kind of weird but we communicated through messenger and got the job done. 

We've been having more and more in person dinners recently too which is a great sign. Its been nice to sit down in person and finally get to meet some of these members. We've been doing a lot of zoom appointments too to remind the members that we still exist. We try and keep them short cuz a lot of families have little kids but they are great appointments. 

Also we are kicking our Facebook page (The Church of Jesus Christ in Sunset Valley and Southwest Austin) into high gear and have been posting a ton. We also go live 4 times a week, Elder Davenport and I take every Monday at 7, and share quick spiritual thoughts. Our efforts haven't shown a ton of success yet but we know it will soon. 

Elder Uchtdorf recently gave a missionary devotional that changed my thought process on online proselyting and missionary work. He mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic was a "divine reset" on the way we do missionary work. I thought that was so enlightening. I have been looking at online proselyting as more of a "band-aid" to the temporary pandemic problem and less of the future to missionary work moving forward. I definitely feel more of a responsibility now to experiment and learn how to do this new age of missionary work. 

Anyways that's it for this week! Love and miss you all.

Elder Anderson

Week 53: Spanish in Hill Country

 Hey y'all! 

This week was an exciting one! Wednesday I picked up my new companion at their introduction meeting and we began! His name is Elder Davenport and he's from Blackfoot, Idaho. He was originally assigned to the Dominican Republic but because COVID is still a thing he came here first! So I have the task to also help him learn a little bit of spanish. He's a great kid and super easy to work with and we are excited to get started. 

This week we had a SPANISH DINNER APPOINTMENT! One of the families in the Hill Country Ward is from Spain and so we got to chat with them in Spanish! The other elders there were english speaking so they were pretty confused but it was fun. It made me miss the classic Mexico dinner appointments but it was a good experience. 

Other than that it was a pretty average week! A lot of time on Facebook and getting things organized for our time here in the Hill Country Ward. 

Miss and love you all! 

Elder Anderson

PS Also here's my new address again!! This one should be a little more permanent haha. Send me letters if you'd like :))

5001 Convict Hill Road Ap. 416

Austin, Texas

78749

 

 

Week 52: Transfers!

 Hey y'all! 

Had another great week in Dripping Springs which will unfortunately be my last. Transfer news came out last night, I will be getting transferred to the Hill Country Ward (super close, same District and everything) and will be training a new reassigned missionary! I will meet him on Wednesday. I am excited for the opportunity to train a new missionary but sad to leave the Dripping Springs area. I only spent one transfer there within COVID restrictions but still fell in love with the ward members and the community.

This week we did much of the same! Lots of service, lots of zoom calls, and lots of social media finding. We did some good projects for our friends Tina and Christian, and put in a good amount of time at the Thrift Store. The thing I love about service is that even if a project or effort doesn't lead to success missionary wise, we can still feel proud knowing we have done good for the community and helped people in need. Just like the famous quote from King Benjamin says, "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17). I testify of the power of service and the importance of it in the circumstances we live in today. Go out and serve!! ((while keeping proper social distance requirements))

Love and miss you all! 

Elder Anderson 

 

 

Week 51: Killer Wasps

Hey y'all!

This week we ate outside with members!! President Fox gave the go ahead to eat socially distanced meals with members in their backyard if they are okay with it. Most members still do the classic drop off or pick up but the other day we got to eat with our Bishop and his family and it was super nice to be with them. It almost felt kind of normal again. Hopefully this trend continues. 

This week we went up and visited Tina again. She has these huge killer wasps that try to get in her house so we helped close off as many entrances as we could with caulk and stuff so none could get in. We also tried to take some out with wasp spray if we saw them. One time Tina saw one on the side of the house and then yell in her german accent, "Why are you here?!" before spraying it down for 10 seconds and then stomping on it once it hit the floor. It was pretty epic. We continue to teach her afterwards which is good. She seems interested to continue learning and would like to come to church. 

We also had Zone Conference this week! It was great to spend time with President and Sister Fox and learn from them. They are seriously the best and are so good at showing so much love and care to their missionaries. The APs also gave a cool training where they compared the Book of Mormon to gravity mentioning at one point that we tend to take for granted the effect the Book of Mormon has on conversion, just like we take for granted gravity and all of its effects. 

Other than that it's a whole lot of the same! Online proselytizing didn't produce a ton for us this last week but we are hopeful for the next!

Love and miss you all! 

Elder Anderson

Wait, we also moved apartments this week! I can't believe I totally forgot that. Anyways my new address is,

761 Trinity Hills Dr Apt #1205

Austin, TX 

78737

Just in case y'all wanna send me letters :)

Week 50: Virtual Dinners

Hey y'all!

Time is flying here in Dripping Springs! I feel like I just got here but the transfer is almost up already. Here's what's been going on. 

Service! This week we had some awesome service opportunities. One morning we helped out our friend Tina, she's a little german lady who lives out in the middle of nowhere. Her husband passed away a few years ago so we help her with jobs every now and then. This last time after we finished she mentioned that she had lost two boys in their infancy and it was like we were her two boys. We thought that was cute. We also helped out a man named Christian. He also lives in the middle of nowhere and is an older man. We go up with our ward mission leader and help clean up garbage and do dishes and help fix up his place. He can't really take care of himself and lives pretty humbly so it's a big help when we go up and help. 

Social Media! We keep doing our thing on social media. We have had some pretty good chats with people and have shared a good amount of scriptures. We also taught a lesson in spanish too! His name is Manuel and he was in one of the Austin facebook groups we joined. The only problem is that he lives in El Salvador haha. I don't know why he was in the Austin facebook group but it was a good lesson nonetheless. We are going to hopefully get him in contact with missionaries closer to his house haha. 

President and Sister Fox recently have challenged us to do "virtual dinners" with members of our ward. Basically we both make our own meals and then eat it with them over zoom just as we would a normal dinner appointment. Since dinner appointments are such a great way to meet families and COVID has taken that away at the moment it was a pretty good experience to chat with some of the families like normal. While we hope we can get back to normal normal soon it's cool seeing the ways we have been able to innovate. 

Imma share a scripture with y'all today! John 16:22 says, "And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you". I love that! The joy of the gospel is one that no man can take away. It is one that no pandemic can take away either. Although we may feel sorrow occasionally and go through trials, the joy of the gospel is everlasting. We will never go through anything so tough that we won't feel of that joy again. It will always be there. 

Love and miss y'all so much! 

Elder Anderson

Week 49: Service, Zoom Calls & Social Media

Hey y'all!

The work keeps chugging along in the TAM! Here are some of the highlights:

SERVICE! We are still going hard on the service here in Drippin. This week we helped maintain a bonfire, move some stuff, and do some of your classic yardwork. We also helped a couple more days at the Thrift Store. The store owner is named Chris and he always gives the missionaries nicknames when he gets to know them well enough. This week he gave me the nickname FedEx. It was partially because I wore a blue hat with an orange shirt but also because I "always deliver". So that was fun.

ZOOM CALLS! We've had a couple more calls and have gotten to meet a few more members. Our goal in the calls is to get to know the family and also help spiritually uplift them and help them get fired up about missionary work. We had a cool experience where we shared Moroni 7 with one family regarding spiritual promptings from the Lord. The family told us that they had someone they wanted to share the gospel with and that this was their sign that they needed to act on it. 

SOCIAL MEDIA! Not much going on Facebook wise. We have met a few nice people, but no one who is seriously interested in learning more. Our page is slowly building but haven't seen much success on that either. However President Fox wants to make that a priority so we will continue being diligent in that aspect. Also some people are mean and it's funny to just be nice and offer service to them cuz they get more mad. 

Okay that was the week! Hook em!

Love and miss you all!

Elder Anderson