2-18-13

Hi there everyone.  Happy President´s day.  I guess you could call it a coincidence that Ecuador had it´s elections yesterday.  The same president, Rafael Correa, shall reign a few more years haha.  

Anyways, Happy Birthday Elaina and Tyty.  I did remember them both because I have my little calendar that Paige sent me to remind me when the birthdays are.  I have been starting to miss the american food a lot.  I am more than positive that you guys ate something really good and it makes me really jealous haha.  

I have had a good week.  I am very grateful for the truly converted members that help us out.  We had an activity with all of the missionaries in the zone and we paired up with members to go meet new investigators and pick up some referrals.

There is a preparing missionary that just got his call to Provo.  I am helping him out with his call that came in English.  He gets there in May so I might send him with a couple things.  

Well this week I was able to learn about showing love to those who are closest to us.  This came out of a conference talk but is a quote from C.S. Lewis:

Do what you will, there is going to be some benevolence, as well as some malice, in your patient’s soul. The great thing is to direct the malice to his immediate neighbours whom he meets every day and to thrust his benevolence out to the remote circumference, to people he does not know. The malice thus becomes wholly real and the benevolence largely imaginary.”⁴

People in their imaginary world can think they are really righteous, but then when they walk in their home (the real and most important world) they forget that imaginary person they had pretended to be.  So I hope we may all really LIVE in the real world and be loving towards our own.  

With much love, Elder Anderson

1-7-13

Hi mother and brothers and sisters and dad and friends......

Well it is a whole new year.  I am pretty positive that I will never forget 2012....the year that the world was supposed to end yet I made it all 365 days on the mission. I hope all of you were able to reflect on what happened this past year as well as I did.  Ecuador goes crazy with their muñecos.  Everyone buys or makes these piñata type things and fills them with really loud fireworks.  At midnight the whole city blew up and then turned black with smoke.  lt was pretty exciting.  Don´t worry--I was in the house, but on the roof we were able to see everything. 

Work hard in school, everyone.  Just be grateful that you are all able to study in such high-class universities.  Our country is very blessed to be able to provide such outstanding schooling to so many.  Take advantage of that blessing and soon you will all be able to be a blessing to so many others with the rich knowledge and prosperity that God provides to those who obey.

It is funny to hear that Tera got a new car.  I was thinking about that this week saying to myself that for sure someone has a new car by now? Or a new boat? Haha, anyways congratuations Tera.  You are an official mother of two children with your new, bigger car.

It was a pretty crazy week trying to get everything ready for the baptisms...No resultó...One of the investigators had to work the whole week and wasn´t going to be albe to attend church nor her confirmation.  Another one really had us going and hoping all the way up until the last moment with the baptismal font full and the members waiting.  We both had to take a deep breath and try to understand her and the situation that was presented.  All is well.  I know that something in what happened had to do with the will of God and we willl continue to sacrafice to be able to bless our investigators in their challenges.

The members are really incredible.  We have the chance to meet with a lot of the stake leaders to try to help lighten their load.  The Stake Mission Leader´s name is Pablo Ceballos.  It was like the third time talking to him, but this time it was so different.  He sacrafices so much in order to magnify his Priesthood duty.  His calling involves a lot of time and organization.  The only problem is that the other leaders are not as dedicated nor punctual as he is.  If I were him, I would feel so discouraged and overwhelmed by the load on my shoulders(and really, super, overly bothered by the lack of respect of other people´s time) yet he treated the situation in such a solid and confident manner that my feelings of resentment toward others were taken away.  My heart truly was touched and I felt a whole new level of charity towards him--and even towards his family.  I asked if there was any way we could lighten his load and all he did was look at us and share his testimony of the gospel and the importance of the work we are performing as missionaries.  It was such an inspiring experience.  I hope to be as strong as he was when I am older with a "high-time required" calling in the church.

What else...I am really happy.  This gospel is incredible.  I love each and every one of you.