Week 11!

Family and Friends,

Another week down... its crazy to think I have only one more in this transfer. time has gone really fast. I´ve been learning and growing spiritually a lot. in free time, I have thought about things in the big picture and its been really great. Seeing this life as a tiny piece in our eternal perspective makes doing the right thing so much easier and encourages me to be better and do more. The highlight of this week has definitely been how red my calves are right now. It's hard to look at them without squinting my eyes... I got baked :I

The real highlight though was definitely confirming Gabbi as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and giving her the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was all in Portuguese in front of the seemingly thousands (really about 100) of members in the chapel. It was really special and a great and nerve-wracking opportunity. I´m continuing to learn to replace my fear with faith. It's really great. I'm really glad to be here.

- Elder Anderson

No pictures this week...he said they wouldn't load...:(

Week 10 - Respostas e Batismo!

Friends and Family,

This week has been great and super fast. 

I went on splits with one of the Zone leaders here (Elder Jackson from California). We didn´t have any lessons but talked with lots of people and talked about how we can help the mission and obedience. Good stuff. We also had 5 Americans in one house one night which was cool. We all shared mission stories which was fun and funny haha.

I´ve grown a lot this week. I have learned a lot in the scriptures and from other people.

Elder Hoch baptized two of our friends this week, Cleide and Gabi. They are super great! I'm really happy for them. 

I'm about out of time so this email is shorter than the others. Emailing friends/family before the mass email wasn't a good idea, haha.

- Elder Anderson 

Pics: city on a hill, a bad panorama, Night skyline, and a pic with Cleide and Gabi

Week 9 - Kickboxing, Multi-zone meeting, and funny moments..

Friends and family,

This week has been great. This past p-day, we went to a martial arts place owned by a member and got to work out, learn some moves and spar with my companion in boxing, it was super fun.

Wednesday, we had a multi-zone meeting with 2 other zones, it was really good and the mission leadership talked a lot on obedience and purifying our lives. good stuff. I also got to bear my testimony in Portuguese which was neat

Fast and testimony meeting yesterday was great. I bore my testimony really simply but strongly. a lot of people after told me my Portuguese is really good which was great to hear.

Funny moments... 

1. We were leaving a members house after dinner, and Elder Hoch asked one of the sisters (around 50 years old, not 100% there mentally, and apparently likes me?) wanted to tell me something. she gave me a small smile and winked, we all died laughing haha. good times

2. We went my a less-active members house to see how they were doing. the dad was working on his car trying to fix a piece on the stick shift that broke. After 20 or so minutes of work, he tried to put it in reverse a couple times, it didn't work and a piece on it broke. He turned the car off, sat there for a sec then starting screaming and punching the steering wheel and threw the door open and went out in the road to cool down for a sec. wild times haha.

3. I was taking a shower at another missionaries house and noticed my arm felt weird and numb, i eventually found out that when you are standing in the water and adjust the water knob, you get electrocuted haha. good times.

My testimony and conversion has really grown here in the field. I'm starting to love the work and the scriptures and develop the crucial Christlike attributes described in Preach My Gospel. I´m really glad to be here.

Tchau!

- Elder Anderson

I made good use of the ripped shirt... (Alma 46), Some pics of the veiws, and Elder Hoch and I at the multi-zone conference.

Week 8! - Baptism, a Parrot and GC!

Friends and family,

This past week has been great. 

This past Tuesday we talked to a lady who had taken all the missionary lessons but was never baptized. We set a date for baptism with her and reviewed lessons and this past Saturday in between general conference sessions, I had the incredible opportunity to help her come unto Christ by baptizing her. It's something I'll never forget.

A funny experience from this week: I set a ´goal´ in the ctm to flex and bust a shirt by the end of my mission. 2 weeks in and... it already happened haha. In district meeting I tried just joking around (having my arms in front of me with my hands on my shoulders and pulling my elbows together to tighten my shirt on my back) and the left armpit of the shirt ripped open haha. We all laughed about it. Luckily it wasn't too noticeable for the bus ride back. I'll attach a pic.

A note about buses in Brazil: they're insane. They're all stick shifts and the drivers drive them like sports cars. Mix that with bumpy roads, tight turns and trying to give an American missionary his change for the bus ride at the same time and you've got an accurate picture of what they're like.

We also stopped by a family's house this past week to say Hi and Elder Hoch and I were able to get their parrot to get on our shoulders, it was super cool haha. I fed it a cracker.

General conference was great! It's such a blessing to be able to hear from a living prophet of God. The stories and testimonies shared were incredible. A theme I noticed was repenting now and coming back to the fold, and helping others do the same. The changes to the church schedule and 12(!!) new temples was also incredible. I'm so glad to be part of God's church.

My testimony and conversion to the gospel is continually growing. I've a long way to go but I'm not doing it alone.

My Portuguese is slowly getting better. I can understand and talk about simple things, bear testimony, and share points in a lesson but I still am and for a while will be lost during lightning-fast Portuguese conversations between natives. I've got a lot to learn.

Love you all,

Elder Anderson

Week 6&7!

Friends and family,

The past two weeks have been wild. Elder Skinner returned home this past Tuesday, it was sad for everyone but he made his choice. I was with Elder Rhodes and Morrow who were in the same room as me. We had a good time, taught well, and finished the MTC experience well. 

We got a new MTC president the Sunday before I left. President Silva's wife has been in bad health for months and it was super tough for him to handle two huge jobs. The new mtc president is great. He is a man of God and will lead the mtc well.

President and sister Bangerter (leaders of my mission) are great and energetic. They do a great job. We got a warm welcome, great food and were assigned our first companions of the field. My companion is Elder Hoch (pronounced hawk) he's a convert and a super cool elder. We've been able to work hard and do well together. He speaks enough English to get his point across most of the time but nothing more than that. It's tough but he's patient with my Portuguese and I'm learning a lot.

During lessons, I don't understand much but I can testify that our message is true and share simple experiences or topics of lessons. The people here are great! You can ask anyone for water or to use their bathroom and they'll let you in and help you out. It's really cool.

I'm so happy to be here. I know I'm doing what God wants me to do and I know this is his work. Tchau!

-Elder Anderson

Pictures from the MTC: