CONVIDAR SEM DUVIDAR

Monday, March 23, 2015

Invite without doubting! (it sounds way cooler in Portuguese) If you think you cant do something you are right. If you think you CAN do something, you are also right. A lot of missionary work is talking to complete strangers and starting off your conversation with "Hi I'm a missionary...." and a lot of times the conversations ends with "And?" or "Im evangelical" haha, so the point is that really there are a lot of opportunities to get discouraged and frustrated if you let the opinions of the world trump the doctrine of God. On Sunday we had a ward conference and the Bishop gave a talk and talked about the story of the "Little Engine that Could". I immediately thought of my older Brother Cam hahah at first I wasnt sure why but then I remembered all the times he encouraged me with these words "I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN".  I'd like to adapt that to missionary work. Not only for full time missionaries, but for everyone with a testimony of Christ and a burning desire to spread His light to illuminate the lives of others. If you think you can, you can. The best part about that statement isn't the "you" but it's the "can". It's the action that comes after your faithful desire to do something that may seem beyond your capacity. You put in 1 percent and the Lord does the rest. You have to think and act like that little engine though. You have to take the first little chug on the track which may be simply opening your mouth to invite someone to church, or writing a letter to your friend and including your testimony of the Savior. All the Savior asks is that we first do SOMETHING. That's what helps me as a missionary. Knowing that no matter how many people reject me or tell me no or even tell me that what I believe is wrong, it doesn't hurt because "I know I can, I know I can" through the power of the Lord!

JUST RELY! SÓ CONFIE!

all my love

Sister Anderson

it was "cold" like 75 degrees and so we HAD to wear sweaters haha

We had an amazing mission tour with Elder Grual of the 70 and I got presents from Sister Kelly´s family!

Her cute grandma made me a skirt owwwwwww

 

Sis andersen sis Kelly at mission tour

6 months!!!!!! 6 reais hahaha

6 MONTHS!!!

Monday, March 16, 2015

MY GOODNESS TIME FLYS WHEN YOU ARE PREACHING THE GOOD WORD!!! haha Seriously though, time is passing so fast and I want it to stop!!! One third of the way down and yet I have so very much to learn and to do!!

So this week was way good because the members are working with us and they gave us 7 references and then on top of that went with us to the lessons and then on top of THAT they talked to the investigators afterwards on their own time and shared more of their testimonies!!! Wow, how different the work of the Lord is when His children who have knowledge of the gospel are spreading it to those who have been prepared and are ready to hear it, being placed into their lives as coworkers or neighbors or random people in stores they always go to! way too cool! So me and my companion, Sister AndersEn (haha so funny), made a goal for the week to do 100 contacts. So it was Sunday and we needed 10 more to reach our goal (and then or course one more to overcome it hahah) so we were at a members house visiting with her and cooking because she just had surgery when we came up with an idea for our last ten contacts. She lives o the 2nd floor of an apartment building right across the street from a Japanese restaurant okay. She we go out on her balcony and sang in harmony "Nearer My God to Thee" in English, ya know, to capture even more attention, and than we went down and contacted all the 10 people that 'happened" to be outside of the restaurant eating!! Such a cool way to end the week and get ur goal! Plus I'm singing, in public, for other people. That's a miracle in itself. haha

Spiritual lesson:
Set your goals and then take them to the Lord. Then when he gives you a "how" for your goals run out of your comfort zone and just do it! In this case who knows how many of the ten people we sang to will get baptized, but it doesn't matter for us right now because we planted a seed! And seeds grow with just a tiny amount of faith!!! Such a cool spiritual experience and it was way fun!! Anyways, know that I have six months and sang from a balcony, I'M ON MY WAY!!!!!!

love you!!

Sister Anderson

Me and a baby turtle :)

Im a Fruitcake

Contact 101 with a piece of cake and pass along card for our neighbor :)

comida NUNCA falha

March 10, 2015

Here in Irajá it blows my mind how filthy rich the members are. Everyone lives in these huge gated neighborhoods in grand mansions and then the other half of the ward lives in poverty pretty much.

We always have a lot more success as missionaries with the people who have little or nothing wordly wise but are rich in spirit. Just this last week we found about a dozen new people to teach!  It's hard to get baptisms in this area though because in order to be baptized the people have to be actively going to church and everyone works really hard just to live, and don't make time on Sundays to go to church. BUT we had a miracle this week as we called for members to pick up investigators. Only one, Vera, showed up but she loved it! What's really special as a missionary is when you see people you've grown to love progressing spiritually.  Its almost like you can literally see the spiritual growth in a person as they take all the lessons and share their testimonies not only with you but with their family and neighbors and all the stray dogs and the bus drivers... :) That's the best part of being a missionary: the people. People are so wonderful and different and special and valued by our Father in Heaven. As we teach people who have little to nothing in worldly possessions and people who are wealthy beyond belief, we still get to come to know beloved sons and daughters of God who are willing to humble themselves to repentance. More than a few times this week I felt prompted to share Words of Mormon 1:7, that says that only the Lord knows all that will happen and the necessity to put our faith in our Father and in our Savior and then to ACT on that faith!

I'm really happy with my new companion Sister Andersen and we have a lot of fun introducing ourselves to people here and explaining that we are not sisters nor in any way related! hahaha

Missions are hard but for all the hard times we see daily miracles and we still get to laugh and enjoy the everyday little beauties that the Lord constantly blesses us with!

Até mais
com Amor
bjo

Sis Anderson

Food for our 1st district meeting here in Ribeirão Preto!! Sister Soares

Ward baptism :)

This cool Greek looking house in the middle of normal houses haha

TRANSFERS!!!

March 3, 2015

So after 3 transfers in the end of the world where it is SO unbelievably hot, I got transferred to Ribeirão Preto :)  I'm excited for a new area and companion because guess what, her name is Sister AndersEn. hahahaha  She is an American that just finished her training so I'm the senior companion....with 5 months..... BUT I'm really excited because if the Lord knows I can do it then I can do it!! I actually am progressing really really well with the language, but that's partly because I dedicate at least AN HOUR AND A HALF EVERY DAY TO STUDY.  WHEN WE DO OUR TINY LITTLE PART AND SHOW THE LORD WE HAVE FAITH, HE MAKES UP THE REST! I see so many miracles every single day (and so many things that i never wanted to see too haha).

Thought I'd share some things I love about Araçatuba now that I'm gone. sad.

• The amazing members that gave us wonderful (fattening) lunch every single day
• The surplus of ice cream parlors 
• The people in the same spots on the same streets doing the same things every single day that we stop and talk to and care about because they're sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father too!
• Sister Sperry, Sister Young, Sister Kelly.....LOVE THEM
• The chapel. It's the house of the Lord first of all and also I love that no matter where you are you can recognize a Mormon church!
• Walking for hours and hours up hills both ways in the rain and sun AT THE SAME TIME. :)
• My sweet sandal tan
• Mostly I'll miss our investigators though and the every single less active that we visited....this work is driven with love and its a good thing that I love to love and I love to learn to love too... LOVE LOVE LOVE its all about love in this world. Love for the blessings and the trials. Love for the people that show us love and the people that don't. Love for our Savior and our Heavenly Father even when we feel far from them.
• Love.

I'm in Irajá with Sister Andersen now, and our area is a bunch of mansions and really rich people so this will be a little different for sure!!! I'm excited!

LOVE
Sister Anderson

Sister Young going home :(

Bishop in Araçatuba

Oi Família!

February 23, 2015

So its the last week of this transfer and there is the possibility that I stay here at the end of the world close to the hot place where Satan lives OR that I'll be transferred. We'll see! I already have 3 transfers here so anything is possible.

Last week in our district meeting and then again today we had a training that talked about "What are our Dreams?" that we have to set more than specific goals but actually have dreams for our lives (and right now for our missions).  We talked about the "Why" behind the dreams, that if there isn't a motive for the dream why would you ever complete it? And then the "How". The How really is the most important. God expects us to use our free agency and make our plans and then show them to him. We show God our plans and dreams through our actions and most importantly through our daily and divine communication: prayer. On of my mission dreams that I'll share is to find, teach, baptize, and then accompany to the temple to make the highest covenants with our Heavenly Father. I delight in seeing miracles and change and the hand of God actively working in the life of someone who before, barely had a seed of faith. But to achieve this goal I HAVE TO talk with as many people that I can! I only have 5 months on the mission and while I speak really well for people to understand me I still struggle with the fear that they won't and that because of my inability to communicate they wont receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in there lives. But as I've been praying and reading and studying and trying I've learned that the only thing that will make the fear go away is my confidence in my savior and Heavenly Father. Elder Bednar (a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) said once in a talk he gave that if we do what we have always done we will have what we always had. That really made me think, because I don't want to settle just for what i have right now, I want to get the closest I possibly can to becoming perfect like my Savior.

This week we had a farewell of young man that will leave to serve in the very south part of Brazil. (people say it snows there but i think its impossible to have snow in Brazil) haha  We had lunch with his family and it was so neat to see and here some of his goals and dreams for his mission and how much his parents love and support his decision and yet don't what 2 years apart will be like. Made me think about my family. How much I love you guys and how happy it makes me knowing that I will be with you forever in this life and into the eternities; that families are forever.

One of my favorite young women here in the Santana ward turned 13 this week and instead of going out with friends on her birthday she told us that she wanted to come with us and teach...how awesome is that! 13 years old and shes already preparing herself to serve a mission. We always joke about how she'll be called to Colorado and that one day shell knock on my door (hahah), that would be too cool!!!

Well.....I'm tired but I'm so very happy and I'm working hard. Only one request: PRAY. Pray for me and my companion and the mission and for you too. Everyone needs the strength that comes from prayer.

até mais

Sis Anderson

JuJu Birthday Girl!

taking pictures because we were waiting for Noah and his arc...

swinginggggg

Valentines day.....

Monday, February 16, 2015

So I forget when holidays happen in the US and didn't realize until the morning of the 14th that it was Valentines Day :) BUT, I made cute little valentines for the sisters I live with and my companion so phew!

Also shout out to BIG COLE ANDERSON!!!!! WOOHOOOOOOOO 16 YEARS OLD!!!! I would say little brother but he is far from little now with 16 years of age and I don't even know how tall haha BUT HAPPY BIRTHDAY to him! Man i love my family! That saying that says you don't truly appreciate something until its not there (or something like that, i forget English) is so true when it comes to how i feel about the anderfam...

Before I tear up I wanted to talk about love in honor of Valentines Day! Reasons why I LOVE serving a mission and being a missionary. I love to love and I love to serve. I was called to be a missionary before this life and I know my Heavenly Father is pleased that I'm fulfilling that calling.

God is hastening the work of spreading the gospel and the prophet has told all young people who are worthy and have a desire to serve a mission. I want to be obedient to the prophet of God because he is God's mouthpiece on the earth. I love building relationships with other missionaries and finding people, like my trainer Sister Kelly, that I'll always have to support me throughout this life and the next. I've seen the blessings of the gospel in my life and my family and I am SO BEYOND HAPPY when other families are able to enjoy those sames blessings.

I get to walk! i love walking! I'm completely submerged in a new and very different culture with new food and customs and language and I'm lovin it! I love being able to dedicate my whole self and all my time in thinking about others and their needs above my own. Most importantly, I love being a missionary because I love my savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ. He is the reason.

My mom sent me a quote a while back that says:

"Someone has written "Love is a verb". It requires doing-not just saying and thinking. The test is in what one does, how one acts,for love is conveyed in word and deed."

Love your family above anyone else on this earth and love God above ALL else that exists. For He created you and me and put us in families to learn and grow and progress until one day all His children can return to His presence and live with Him again.

ALL MY BRAZILLIAN LOVE

Sis Anderson

My throne

Are there limits in what we are willing to do in order to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

I have a lot of quotes and scriptures that I thought I'd share as my weekly email because I loved them so much!!

"Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary, use words."

"And blessed are they who do HUNGER and THIRST after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost" - 3 Nephi 12:6

Humility isn't a sign of weakness, its a sign of spiritual strength.-Preach My Gospel

Mormon não diz o que sabe, presta testemunho
Mormon não afirma, testifica
Para Mormon não existe mentira, existe apostasia
Mormon não paqueira, procura um parceiro celestial
Mormon não casa até o morte e separe, sela para toda a eternidade
Mormon não pensa, pondera
Mormon não cuida da saúde, guarda a palavra de sabedoria
Mormon não tem intuiçaõ, tem o dom do espírito santo
Mormon não tem energia, tem fogo nos osos
Mormon não tem problemas, pasa por provações
Mormon não supera dificuldades, sobrepuja fraquezas
Mormon não morre, vai para mundo espiritual
Mormon não peca, fubeca
Mormon não lê só a biblia, estuda as escrituras
Mormon não reza, conversa com o Pai Celestial
Mormon não aconselha, exorta
Mormon não faz acord, faz convênio
Mormon não chama a atenção, quima
Mormon não é mormon, é Santos Dos Últimos Dias!

I realize its in Portuguese, but the message is clear: being different from the world in these times means to me following the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and humbly recognizing the Lord's hand in EVERYTHING we are blessed with. All he asks in return is humble service to the rest of His children who are searching for peace and happiness.

My love all the way from Brazil!!!

Sis Anderson

I GOT A BUNCH OF PACKAGES THIS WEEK!!!

SUNDAY RAIN!!!!!