2 Letters

Hey everyone!

Cant believe im already emailing you again, everything is going crazy fast. So my companions and I looked at the email from Brother Douglas, haha thats so crazy! Those pictures were awesome I cant wait to be there. Thats so cool that he got to go to Bacolod and spend time there. I seriously cant wait to leave the MTC and get there. So my email is so late today because my district was called to clean the temple this morning from 8:00-11:30. So the temple is closed for these next 2 weeks for cleaning and stuff and we were able to clean it today. It was a sweet experience. We all put on white scrubs haha it was funny. So we started off by cleaning all the lockers, then Elder Sargent and I were assigned to go help with the demolition of a wall on the bottom floor of the temple. So we went down there and picked up all the dry wall, metal scraps, and doors that were knocked down. I was kind of weird to be doing demolition in the temple but it was a cool experience. It brought back memories of my construction days at Pridemark haha. Anyways, after that Elder Sargent went and got his haircut, we had lunch, and now here I am!
      So this last week was an okay week, definitely a tough week. Our one investigator hasn't been progressing that much and it has been super frustrating. We've committed her to pray to know what we taught her is true after every lesson but she either doesn't pray or doesnt think she receives an answer. Itts really difficult. We met with our teacher in a little coaching meeting and talked to him about our situation with our woman investigator and he didnt know what to say to us. He has no answer for us, all he said was to keep teaching and doing all we can do to bring her unto Christ. So we'll see how that goes. The language is still coming along pretty well. We finished all of our grammar book so now we just review it all I think. Its still difficult to teach sometimes but its coming along. So this last Wednesday we were able to host. I hosted an elder from Virginia and a sister and I dont remember where she was from hah. But it was fun, it brought back memories of when I got dropped off haha. Anyways this week we're hosting again and theres supposed to be 700 new missionaries coming in this week, which is a lot of missionaries. So yeah its going to be pretty hectic, but it'll be fun cant wait. The 2 new hiligaynon districts came in and its been sweet to have them here. A lot of them are international. Theres elders from samoa, tonga, australia, and new zealand and some sisters from samoa and tonga. Sui would love it here haha. But yeah they ask us all these quesitons and I feel so smart because I can help them with everything and it makes me feel like I know everything when I really barely know anything haha. Half of them are going to Iloilo and the other half are going to bacolod. The new elders and sisters and really fun though, theyre in our zone so they live on our residence floor so we've made friends with a few. Its cool to talk to them and learn about their culture in New zealand or whereever there from haha.
      Thank you for the package! That was so great, especially the cold medicine. Im not sick anymore thanks to that medicine. And for the ties and food and bowl games and everything. I showed everyone the bowl games and we were all just talking about football for a little bit. It was great. Between my companions and I we have so much food. I was meaning to take a picture of our pantry that we have in our room and send it to you but I forgot, I'll have to do it next week. We have a ton of food its awesome haha. Thats exciting that everyones coming down this week. That should be fun. Im pretty stoked to have Christmas in the MTC. My district is thinking its going to be a memeber of the 1st Presidency thats going to speak to us, but we'll have to wait and see. It'll be nice to have a holiday next week and not have classes for a day, but the only bad thing is that its freezing here. Yesterday it snowed and today its supposed to snow until tomorrow night so that should be fun, I cant wait! I cant wait til im in the Philippines sweating haha its gonna be awesome. Spencer emailed me and was like, I wish I could be in the cold right now, im dying here in Brazil haha. So great. Oh yeah thanks for his pictures that made me so happy to see those. He's such a stud in Brazil i bet he's killing it out there.
     So if you havent sent that package yet could you send me some Burt bees chapstick and some Nivea after shave cream stuff in it, oh and yeah I want the tylenol pm for the flight that would be great. If you could do that that would be so great. We should be getting our travel plans this week so Im excited for that. Cant wait to find out when we leave and everything its gonna be awesome. And to answer your question, yeah I have seen Stephanies boyfriend in here. He has the same meal times as me so I always see him in there but I havent said anything to him cuz I barely know him. But you should ask the Hobbins if Tedi's has a brother or cousin in here or something. Cuz i saw an elder in here with her last name and that not that common of a name. I wouldve asked him if he was related to a gril name Tedi but he already walked passed me after I saw his name. Anyways, yesterday was another sweet Sunday. Our sacrament meeting was about full yesterday because of all the new missionaries. And we're supposed to be getting 20 new missionaries in our branch this week so its going to be packed. But we did all the usual stuff, district meeting, meals, sunday walk, and everything. Then for our devotional Richard Heaton who is the MTC Executive Director or something spoke to us about the importance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how important it is to teach is to our investigators. It was a sweet talk, and some family, the Brett family or something, sung to us. Theyre supposedly a well knowned singing family. Anyways, thats all I have to say for now. Im so grateful to be here in the MTC and to be learning so much right now. I have already changed and learned a ton its been awesome. I cant wait to be in the Phillippines in a few weeks and be teaching real investigators. I already love the Filipino people and I havent met anyone yet haha its the weirdest thing but truly do love them. I just want to tell you how important and how real prayer is. If you are going through struggles or trials or just anything, you can pray to God and He WILL listen. He will ease your troubles and your pains and He wants you to come unto Him and pray and He will help you. He only wants the best for you and He is there for you. I love this gospel and I love the Book of Mormon so much. I hope all of you have an amazing week and I am so grateful for all your love and support that you give me! Halong!

Palangga taka,

          Elder Anderson

From last week:

Hello Everyone!

Elder Kimball and Elder Anderson

Elder Anderson and his companions

Another week and another email! So I have made it 6 weeks, so crazy! I only have 3 more weeks to go woo, cant wait to leave! Well, it's snowing right now its horrible. We went to the temple this morning and it was soooo cold, I cant wait to be in the Philippines. So Elder Taylor left this last tuesday, it was sad...I went to his residence on Monday night to say bye to him and his companions and then they left Tuesday morning. I definitely miss seeing him at every meal and on temple walks. I have seen Elder Kimball just a few times, our schedules are way different so we dont have anything at the same time except for temple walk. I didnt go on a temple walk yesterday because it was too cold, so my district just stayed in our classroon and studied.
   Well, this last week was another quick one. The same old stuff everyday. Class, study, gym, and taugh at least 1 lesson a day. All I do here is just study its crazy. I go from studying the scriuptures, to studying Preach My Gospel, to studying flashcards, to studying grammar, to studying Hiligaynon on the computers. I feel like there isnt enough time to fit everything in its nuts! Theres so much to study and I have to pick and choose what to study because I dont have enough time to study it all. So, this week we started teaching other elders in our district. So we teach another companionship as if they are real investigators and another companionship teaches us and we act like investigators. So we teach them along with our 2 other investigators (who are our teachers) that we have had for a few weeks now. We taught everyday except for Saturday and we taught 2 investigators on wedneasday and Friday, so its been fun and Ive been keeping busy. My companions and I have been working on companionship unity this week in our teaching. We've been trying our best to all talk the same amount and to make sure that we dont say the same thing that our other companion already said, so that had been what we have been working on.
    This next week is going to be a good one. Our district is hosting on Wednesday and we're getting 2 new Hiligaynon districts. Its going to be fun with fresh Elders and Sister and im going feel so smart talking to them in Hiligaynon and stuff haha. I saw a list of the new districts and theres 2 elders/sisters from Tonga, then some from Samoa, and 1 from Australia so that should be sweet. Our teachers always compliment us on how fast we are picking up the language and how well we are progressing, so thats some goods words of encouragement. One of our teachers who has been teaching since they started teaching Hiligaynon here said that we're progressing faster than any other district that he's taught before, so thats cool. But we just have to keep working hard and progressing because I never want to plateau. I got a letter from elder Spencer Taylor this last week so that was awesome, it made my day so much better. Can you please send me his and the other elder Taylor's emails. I really want to read them and see how theyre all doing. Also, maybe if you could send me some pictures that they send home. I want to see what theyre doing in their missions and stuff. If you could do that that would be awesome! In dad's letter to me he said that he talked to Tyler at Woodranch, thats sweet. I miss that guy, tell him that I say hi next time you see him.
    So yesterday was another awesome Sunday. We had normal sacrament meeting and everything else and then we had our fireside. For the fireside the BYU Mens Chorus came and did a program. They sang for an hour straight and shared a few testimonies here and there. It was pretty boring haha, it was good for about 20 minutes then it just got old, probbably because I dont like that music that much. It was kind of like a sing noel thing. After that we watched a talk from David A. Bednar that he gave a few years back to the MTC, it was soooo good. He talked about the Character of Christ and when the natural man would turn inward and be selfish, Christ turned outward and served. One story he used was after Christ had suffered for all of our pains, afflictions, sorrows, and griefs in the Garden of Gethsemane, he walked out to find that Paul cut of one of the gaurds ears. After suffering all of that stuff, Christ's first actions was to serve the gaurd and heal his ear. I just think that was just crazy because I know I probably wouldnt have even thought about the gaurds ear and I would have just been worried about myself. It was such a good talk and I am going to try my best to always serve others and to try to never think of myself. So yeah that was my sunday. Also, Saturday night I started feeling sick, and it just has progressively gotten worse, it stinks. I have a sore throat and and cough and a stuffy nose. I have been loading up on the airborne and taking cold medicine, so hopefgully I will get better. Missionary work is already hard enough, I dont want to be sick and make it even harder.
    So my companions and I want some mentos (fruit and mint), starburst, reisens, sprees and whatever other kind of candy you want to send. Oh dad could you send like all of the bowl game matchups. A bunch of elders in my zone love college football and we want to know who everyone is playing. If you could that would be awesome! One of the elders is going to play for Utah State after his missions so he's dying to know who theyre playing. Oh I almost forgot, make sure you tell the Koellikers and the Gregsons that I say thank you some much for the package that they sent me. They sent my a tie, candy, a letter from each of them, some pens, and a Christmas book thing. It was so nice of them to send that. Also, Taylor thanks for the cookies man, that was so nice of you and they are so good. I am definitely blessed with all of the love and support that I get from all of you, so thank you! Well, thats all I have to say! I might send some pictures later, I dont know if  I have any to send or not but we'll see. Anyways, have a good week and I love you all. Read your scriptures and pray everyday and your week will go so smootly. I love this gospel and I am so grateful to be on a mission at this time in my life. My testimony is growing so much and so fast and I cant wait to be teaching real investigators in a few weeks. I know that through prayer we can speak to our Heavenly Father and that he listens and answers every single prayer that we offer to him. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how the Atonement can make up for all my mistakes and sins. I am the farthest thing from a good missionary and I am grateful for the Atonement that it can take away my faults and mistakes and shape me into the best missionary that I can be. I love you guys and I miss you guys! Halong kamo!

-Elder Anderson

MTC Week 5

Hey family!

     Kamusta ang pamilya ko (how is my family?)? Well this was another quick week in the MTC. Not too much has happened this past week that was out of the ordinary. Im so stoked for SUI!!! (He is going to the El Salvador, San Salvador Mission) Thats so awesome i'm so excited for him. Thats funny that him and Nancy are going to the same MTC on the same day thats crazy. Also, congrats to Michelle North thats awesome! (she is going to the Chile, Santiago West Mission)

    Well, yesterday was another great Sunday. Sundays here are awesome days. We had a fast and testimony meeting followed by a 2 hour mission conference. In the mission conference all of the MTC Presidency spoke along with their wives. The overall theme was The Book of Mormon. I think every speaker spoke about the Book of Mormon it was great. President Brown (the MTC President) gave an awesome talk about the Book of Mormon. I dont have my notes with me right now or I would tell you guys some of the things he said. So after the mission conference we had a district meeting, dinner, then the temple walk. I spent some time with Elder Taylor and Elder Kimball at the temple. Elder Kimball is the kid from Laguna Beach that was at In n out before I left he got to the MTC this week. I was looking for him like all week and I didnt seem him until Friday so I was stoked to see him. After the temple walk we had dinner and just pigged out it was awesome. Then we had a fireside where we watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. It was super good, you guys should definitely watch it if you havent yet. After that we watched a talk by Elder Holland that he gave at the MTC a few years back. It was such an awesome talk, I seriously took like 2 pages of notes it was so good. Elder Holland is the man I love him. So yeah that was what we did yesterday. I learned so much yesterday and my testimony was strengthed so much.

     So to answer someof your questions, we taught 4 lessons this last week. I am starting to feel really comfortable in the lessons. Elder Sargent told me in our companionship inventory that I know how to make sentences and stuff in Hiligaynon but I just hold back in lessons and I dont say them because I am worried im going to mess up. Once he told me this I realized that this was really true. When I get in lessons im sometimes scared to say something so I choose not to say it. Our last lesson on Friday I just opened up my mouth and I truly wanted to help my investigator and it just seemed like the words were just put into my mouth without me even thinking about it. It was so crazy. I finished saying like these 2 long sentences about prophets and I was like wow how did I just say that haha because it made perfect since. Usually I stumble over words or have to pause and think about the next word im going to say but at that time I just spoke and the words just came out it was great! I know that that was God speaking through me and that was the gift of tongues. I am so grateful for all the help from my Heavenly Father that I get out here. I would not be able to do anything out here on a mission without his help. A mission is so hard and I am so grateful that God helps me so much, I feel His love and help for me everyday. My teacher the other day was giving a spiritualy thought before class and he said, "Jesus Christ wants to be your third companion." Thats how bad Christ and God want to help us.

      Also, yeah the Iloilo missionaries finally got their travel plans. We were in the computer lab doing our computer assisted language study stuff and one of the elders walks in and was like "who wants their travel plans?!" They all jumped up and screamed haha it was so funny. They were all so stoked, and I totally understand why, theyve been here for 11 weeks now! Oh yeah one of the Elders in that disctrict going to Iloilo is Elder Giddings and he's from Richfield, UT. Haha how funny is that. I was talking to him during basketball one day and I told him how my grandma lived in Aurora haha it was so random. Thank you guys for that package of tiger milk bars and those pumpkin cookies, that was soooo nice of you guys so thank you so much. I'm good right now on candy and stuff but im almost out of cashews so maybe another thing of cashews would be great. Also, could you send me my ties that are on my tie rack in my closet. I want some more ties to wear and trade, i've traded a bunch of ties and Im picking up some sweet ties. Also, could you send me my black oakley gloves. My hands freeze up here and gloves would be great. If you could do that that would be so awesome. Thanks for the pictures of Regen! and the new cabinets are looking good! Yeah I got both Elder Taylors letters thank you for those that was great to read those. So not this week but I think next week is when the first wave of those 18 year old missionaries are supposed to start coming in. Its gonna be nuts in here! We were talking to a guy who is in a Branch Presidency here about the missionaries coming in and he said that the its going to going from 2,500 missionaries that are now in the MTC to around 4,000 missionaries in a few weeks. Its already extremely crowded in the cafeteria and the gym everyday so I dont know what theyre going to do to accomodate all of the new elders. He was saying that they might house some at BYU and have them do all their classes and everything at BYU, but who knows that will happen. Im just glad i'll be out of here.

       Yeah I wore my fast sunday tie yesterday it was sweet. Everyone loves that tie, they always want to trade me for that tie and I always have to shoot em down haha. Thats exciting that Follow the Star is this next week. Im going to miss that but yeah you guys should invite everyone you can! Well, thats all I have to say. I dont have any pictures to send home this week but Elder Taylor has Pday to so I might take a picture with him and maybe I can send it home to you guys. Im sad he's leaving me, its gonna be a bummer not seeing him everyday. I only have 4 more weeks! so crazy haha and a new hiligaynon district come in next wednesday so thats excited. Well have a good week. Read your scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. I love being a missionary and I love the MTC. I am growing so much in here its awesome. Everyday I learn something new and everyday I become a better missionary. I am so grateful for the Atonement and Christ can save me even though I am the farthest thing from perfect. That is such a wonderful gift in my life. I love you all!

Halong,

Elder Anderson

MTC Week 4

Hey everyone!

Kumusta ka? This week was so good and so fast. Hah it seems like yesterday that I emailed you guys. But yeah this week was so awesome. I'll start with Thanksgiving. Ive got a good story for you to hear. So I woke up Thursday kind of missing the turkey Bowl and what not but excited to be able to hear from an Apostle. Before the devotional started I went to the bathroom right by where the General Authority that is speaking gets dropped off (we usually arent allowed to use that bathroom because of that but they let us use it this time). The bathroom had a super long line so I was waiting in it for a few minutes. When it was finally my turn to go to the bathroom, some guy that works for the MTC comes in and was like "everyone needs to get out right now" and I was pretty upset because he wouldnt let me pee and I really had to go. So I walked out of the bathroom to see Elder Holland just arriving, seriously 10 feet away from me. It was the COOLEST thing ever. I could just feel his spirit radiate around everyone, unfortunately I didnt get to shake his hand or anything though. It was so cool to hear his voice and see him in person. So then I went into the big auditorium where we all sit and wait to see who the speaker is, and I told all my district that it was Elder Holland. We all took guesses of who the speaker would be and I chose Elder Holland so I won that one haha. Anyways, he gave an awesome talk of course. He had 4 of his grandchildren each either bear their testimonies or do a musical performance and then he and his wife both talked about things they were grateful for. One thing he emphasized was how great it is to be born at the time in the World and he was saying how blessed we are to be living in this time. It was so awesome, and I would take listening to an Apostle of the Lord over the Turkey Bowl anyday haha. After that we had a nice temple walk, then we had Thanksgiving Lunch. It was really good we had Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and pumpkin pie. But mom I do miss your rolls thats for sure! After that we had a little personal time so we went back to our residence and studied for a little and took a nap. haha I had to fit in my Thanksgiving nap. After that we had a service project. The service project was for the country of Mali in West Africa. We made 4,000 medical kits and 4,000 school kits for the people of the Ouelessebougou tribe. It was a lot of fun and It was awesome to be able to make those kits for the children that truly need it. Then we had a dinner that was just a sandwhich and chips, then a movie. We watched 17 Miracles and they gave us all kettle corn so that was sweet. So Thanksgiving was definitely the best day of the week. It sounds like yours went well too so thats good to hear.

        Now to Sunday. Yesterday was a sweet day too. I had sacrament, priesthood, and our district meeting and we studied in between all of those. Then we had our temple walk and as you already know I saw Kelli. Haha it was awesome to see her and be able to talk to her. Im glad she sent you those pictures of us. After that we ate then had a fireside. I dont remember the name of the guy that spoke but it was really good. The guy who spoke used to make those commercials for The Church about like love or family or stuff like that. So, during his talk he showed us many commercials that he made and used the themes behind those commercials to teach us how to be better missionaries. He gave a great talk and he was pretty funny. After that we watched Legacy and then wrapped up the day. So all in all it was an awesome day full of the Spirit.

       The language is coming along well. I feel much more comfortable in the lessons because I can convey simlpe messages to my investigators from memory. Oh I memorized The First vision in Hiligaynon on Wednesday so that was sweet. Hah its something like 60 or 70 words so it was hard but I finally got it. I wish I could say it to you guys haha. Also, I saw Ryan a bunch this week as always. He leaves early in the morning on december 4th, next tuesday. I cant believe he's already leaving! Im gonna miss him a ton and his companions too, we all get along really well.

       Oh about my haircut, yeah it ended up looking fine. The lady who gave me my haircut saw my Mission Viejo Basseball Shirt and was like "Are you from Mission Viejo?" I was yeah and said her son in law was from there. After talking for a little she told me that her son in the is the oldest Fuller boy haha so random. But yeah we talked for a little about that and she said she would say hi to the Fullers for me so that was sweet.

      Brother and Sister Taylor I just want to thank you guys so much for the Thanksgiving Card and the Oreos. That was so nice of you to send me that. The oreos seriously made my week it was so awesome so thank you! Also, thanks for the package family! The jacket seriously has saved my life and the ties are sweet. also, the oreos are so good as always! That's awesome to hear about Brittney and Avery. Elder Taylor told me about Brittney's call in the cafeteria on Friday i think. And Im so stoked to here where Sui's going, I cant wait to find that out!

      Thanks for the pictures of Sebastian those pictures are so cute. The missionaries going to Iloilo are still here waiting for their visas. I feel so bad for them haha this week is going to be ther 11th week. I get 30 minutes to email so all the time I have is to email you. I dont have any other time for other people. 

     Thats all I have to say today! I just want to say that God loves us so much. I know that without His help I would not be able to do this hard work. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to pray to Him all the time and receive help from Him whenever i need it. I know that He is watching over me and he his helping me so much as a missionary. Even though its only been 4 weeks, my testimony and my faith has grown so much. I love to the MTC and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to learn, study, and teach the Gospel everyday. Palangga taka! Have an awesome week!

Elder Anderson

Thanksgiving Week

So great to here from you again and Im so glad its PDay. This week was suuuper fast it seems like yesterday I was emailing you guys haha. But this last week was pretty good. So I have 2 teachers and our teachers are now our investigators so we switch off teaching them everyday so its fun. My companions and I taught 5 lessons this last week and some were good and some were difficult. I just hate not being able to share my feelings and incites with the investigators because i dont know how to say it in Hiligaynon. It is so difficult and I am trying so hard to learn the language but I am still struggling a ton. Like the investigators ask simple questions that would be so easy to answer in English but they are so hard to answer in Hiligaynon. So I am learning a lot about patience right now thats for sure. But our teachers always say "you guys are learning the language so fast, and you guys are going to be so prepared when you go out to the field." So thats comforting to hear.

         So yeah the other 2 hiligaynon districts were supposed to leave today. One of the districts was the district that Louie Rios was supposed to be in haha which is funnny. But yeah the Elders and Sister going to Iloilo for some reason didnt get their visas. The elders going to Bacolad had no problem though and theyre leaving at 4pm today. So I dont know that the Iloilo elders are going to do yet, they should find out sometime today what their plans are now. But this is the first time ever that the missionaries going to the Philippines have had problems with their visas so its really weird. But those districts are really cool, we are all good friends with them and when we first got here they helped us out a ton with the language. Also, the other Hiligaynon district that is going to Iloilo the same time I am is Elders Walmer, Lundgren, Bates, Nielsen, Disque, and some others that I can remember.

        Yesterday was another sweet sunday. I didnt have to give the talk in sacrament so that was good haha. Oh and dad I pulled Ryans shirt out for you haha it was funny. But last night we had a fireside with President McIff, he's in the MTC presidency, and he talked about Missionaries health and what we can do to improve our health on the mission and to not get sick on the mission, so that was interesting. Oh also he showed us this video about the Mormon Helping Hands in New York after Hurrican Sandy. It was a super cool video and they interviewed a dozen New Yorkers and they all said how much they loved our Church and the members of our Church because of the help that they gave them. You guys should go check it out. Then we watched a talk by Pres. Ucthdorf that he gave at the MTC a few years back. It was an awesome talk and he talked about his wife and the story behind her conversion and how we need to follow the promptings we get.

          This week should be a good week with Thanksgiving and all. Im super excited because we get to usher at the Thanksgiving devotional and an Apostle is coming to speak. My moneys on Holland. Our whole district is just praying that Holland will come, that would just be so awesome. But after that devotional we are going to be making educational and health kits to send across the world, so it should be a fun day. Oh and yeah were definitely gonna pig out. The food here is still good, hopefully it'll stay that way. I have a salad and an apple with about every meal. Elder Pulsipher and I just pound down the apples here, and when were done with dinner we grab 1 or 2 apples and stuff them in our jackets for later haha its awesome.

         Anyways Im getting a haircut today at 11:15 and Im kind of worried about that. Ive heard stories where the haircutters here dont care what style you want, they just give everyone the same buzzcut. So im not letting the haircutter touch my hair until she understand exactly what I want haha I hope all goes well and I dont end up looking bad. Also, yeah I got Rachelle and Taylor's dear elders, thanks for all the letters and support you guys are the best! We can only write letters on Monday so I apologize if it takes me awhile to write back.Thats awesome about Matt, thats so exciting. I wish I couldve gone through the temple with him but all of us will definitely go after the missions, thatll be sweet. And sui finally got his papers in, good for him! He still hasnt written, so sui if your seeing this I hope you feel guilty...haha jokes lang (just kidding). That would be so cool if Brother Douglas could send some pictures of the Philippines I would love that. Elder Taylor said he should be getting his travel plans tomorrow, so crazy! Im so jealous hah I wish i could just go to the Philippines right now.I did some tie trading this week haha it was sweet I got 2 new ties, and theyre sweet ties. Well, thats all I have to say. Can you remember to send me Spencers emails? That would be awesome! Dad you better not be lame and not play in the Turkey Bowl, even if that means you can walk the next day. You have to be there to represent me, score some TD's for me. Have a good week and a great Thanksgiving! Halong!

Love,

Elder Anderson

Elder Anderson and his Companions

Elder Pierce, Singley and Gille in their classroom

Second Letter

Dad sent me a letter from him this week so that was nice, thanks dad! Also, thanks for all the letters and the love and support, especially the package. The package was seriously a life saver, thank you so much for sending that, now I wont have to go to bed hungry every night so thank you.

Now onto this last week. I cant believe its already my p day again, this week went by so fast. We pretty much did the same thing everyday, study, class, gym, eat, study, class, go to bed. It was a fun week though. We taught 4 more lessons this week to our investigator so that was fun. Its crazy to see how fast my hiligaynon is picking up. I am able to teach simple lessons now with no notes or anything so its super fun, but its still really difficult. My teachers are awesome and they are so helpful and good at teaching the materials. We had a devotional on Tuesday where Elder Zwick of the seventy spoke to us. It was an awesome talk and its so cool that we have so many firesides and devotionals to go to and listen to general authorities. The MTC is an awesome place and Im loving it more and more everyday. The Spirit here is so strong and I love everything that I do here. I love how all we do is study the gospel all day, its seriously the best thing. This is the only time in my life that I wil be able to devote all my time and energy to studying the Gospel so I am putting 100% into all of my studies.

Also, this week it snowed. I would say we go 5-6 inches of snow on Friday I think and the MTC is still covered in snow. Its so cold its horrible. We went to the temple this morning at 6:20 and on the walk there we were all freezing. My ears and face were straight frozen, utah sucks...but I hope it gets warmer or this is going to be a long 7 weeks. Yesterday, Sunday, was awesome. I love Sundays here. In sacrament meeting I was chosen out of all the missionaries to give a talk, so that was fun. My topic was "Recognizing the Spirit"' and it only had to be 5 minutes so it was super easy. President Brady, a counselor in our Stake Presidency here, presided over our sacrament meeting and after the meeting I had the chance to talk to him. He came up and was like "Is your Stake President from home President Brennan" and I was like yeah, kind of confused. But he went on to tell me that he was the Mission President for the Carlsbad mission until 2010 ,so that was cool to talk to him. Later on Sunday we had a fireside with Brother Heaton. He taught us to keep the main thing the main thing. The main thing being the Missionary Purpose. He counseled us to not get distraced or to worryied about specifics of investigators, but to always remember Our Purpose as missionaries, so that was a good meeting.

Also, Im ballin it up in basketball out here everyday its pretty awesome. The holy ghost is definitely helping me drain my threes haha its fun. Everyone calls me A-game Anderson because of my basketball skills haha its awesome. But 50 minutes a day of exercise goes by way to fast. Also, on Pdays we cant go play basketball but we can go to the weight room and work out. They have dumbells and benches so I did that last week and Im going to do that today too. nothing like going to Gold's Gym though hah but a little working out is better than nothing.

Anyways, thats about all I have to say. I am so grateful for all of your guys love and support, I really feel it out here and it helps me get through the day. Im so grateful to be a missionary right now and I cannot wait to go to the Philippines. Theres two districts leaving this next Monday to go to Iloilo and Bacolad so seeing them leave gets me really excited. One of the districts is actually the one that Louie was supposed to be in haha crazy. But yeah I am so grateful to be in the MTC and to be able to learn everything that I am learning. I love the power of the Holy Ghost that I feel in here, its so great. I love you all and I hope you have an awesome week!

My companions and I in front of the temple. Yes, that is snow on the mountains. It's freezing here!

Elder Cannon and I. Elder Cannon is from Black Foot, Idaho and I seriously love him. He's the most humble kid I know and he's so funny. He has a little souther accent so its so funny to talk to him but he's seriously the man.

This is my district in front of the Provo Temple. We all get along really well! 

Palangga ka ko! (I love you)

Halong,

Elder Anderson

First Letter!

Kamusta! How is everyone? Well, I've survived 5 days so far and its been great. The first day, Wednesday, was super long and it was a pretty hard day, it seemed like it was never going to end. But then Thursday came and it eventually got better and now the MTC is a lot better. I'm loving the MTC more and more everyday. It was sweet I was walking in to the MTC after getting all my stuff on Wednesday and I see Elder Taylor walking through the hall right in front of me. I was stoked i ran up and gave him a hug it was awesome. His companions are hilarious he has this little short hispanic kid with glasses and he cracks me up. But i've seen elder taylor everyday in here its awesome. And we've taken a few pictures together and Ryan always has his camera and I dont so he usually takes the pictures so make sure you get his email cuz the pictures of us will probably be on his email. We've sat next to each other at dinner and we sat next to each other during a movie so we've had some quality time together.

Now onto my companions. So Im in a three some companionship and Elder Sargent (the kid from In n out) is one of my companions haha. how funny is that that we are now companions after meeting each other at In n out. He's from Tempe, Az and him and I get along suuuuper well haha we have the same sense of humor and everything its great. And my other companion is Elder Gille, he's from Tampa, FL. He's a gook kid too, super nice and easy going. All 3 of us are just perfect for each other and we get along super well so that is definitely a blessing here in the MTC. Also there are 9 Elders in my district (which is my class). Elders Singley, Sargent, Gille, Pierce, Cannon, Butler, Pulsipher, and Crosland, and I. We all have fun in our class and we all get along pretty well. Mostly everyone is from Utah or Idaho except for Elder Pulsipher he's from San Diego. But the funniest, most interesting kid in our district is definitely Elder Pierce. He is just one of a kind let me tell you that. He wears scrubs for his pajamas...haha yeah he's interesting but he's from Colorado Springs. My companions and I are trying to love him and get along with him better but its hard to do, he just has no sense of humor and he's very hard to get along with but we'll work it out. 

So yeah all we do here is study, learn, study, study study...I've taught 2 lessons in Hiligaynon already, its crazy how fast im learning my language. I already know how to pray and to bear my testimony along with how to say hello and introduce myself. But this language is not coming easy, I've been studying A TON. Our first lesson didnt go so well, I just bore a basic testimony. The second lesson was waayyy better and my companions and I were understanding what she was asking and we answered all her questions, taught her how to pray, and she prayed during the lesson. All in Hiligaynon! It was great! I cant believe I can already say the stuff I can say in Hiligaynon its awesome. So yeah we teach an investigator everyday so that'll be fun.

The food here is good, just like the Cannon Center. But I eat so much salad here, how surprising is that! Elder Sargent and I pound down the salad here its so good haha. sunday in the MTC was awesome. We had church, the a missionary conference (which was basically a general conference for missionaries), a district meeting, a fireside, and a movie. It was such a spiritual day it was so great. Then this morning we went to the temple at 6:20, hah yeah it was super early, but it was good to go to the temple. Also, tell Sui that I met Hermana Fusi, his cousin, in here. I started talking to her and I was like, do you have any family in california? then I found out that I knew her brother and she was related to the kilifis it was great. She wrote me this long letter giving me all this advice about the MTC and the language and stuff, it was super useful and super nice of her. she left today to go to guatemala. 

Well I have to go but I know this gospel is true. I'm so grateful to be in the MTC and I love learning and studying everyday. I am so grateful for the Atonement in me life and I cannot tell you how grateful I am that Christ has suffered for our sins. I know that if you trust in God you can do anything. Kabalo ako nga matuod ang ebanghelyo kag Libro ni Mormon. Kabalo ako nga importante ang pangamuyo. Kabalo ako nga kilala kita ni JesuCristo. Kabala ako nga palangga kita sang Diyos. Sa ngalan ni JesuCristo amen. 

Love you guys!

Also, my address is different, it's:

Elder Parker Douglas Anderson
MTC Mailbox #98
PHI-ILOL 1230
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604-1793

So, yeah... my departure date from the MTC is 12/30/12

Elder Anderson with Elder Ryan Taylor

Elder Anderson with his companions- Elder Sargent and Elder Gille

It's Only Just Begun...

Hello Friends and Family!

Elder Anderson is now in the MTC and we look forward to hearing from him soon! He enjoyed his last meal at In-N-Out before going in and was happy to see so many friends there!

Please feel free to send a letter or package to him. Here is his address:

Elder Parker Douglas Anderson

MTC Mailbox #98

PHI-ILOL 0101

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604-1793

Two whole years?? Does he know how long that is?