What my mission has meant to me.

I have been thinking today, about what I wanted to say in my email. I wanted to kinda express what my mission has meant to me. Now, I know I have a week left, but next week, will be a little crazy.

 Time has just flown by. The days sometimes drug on, and the weeks sometimes felt never ending, but before I could blink my mission has gone by. It has been the greatest experience of my life. I couldn't have expected anything more from it. It was everything I could have ever dreamed of and more. I love the good and amazing experiences along with the learning and growing ones. As I was going through all of these experiences, it was sometimes hard to see why or things like that, and I still don't have all the answers, but now, I see all the pieces together instead of dis jumbled  It's amazing. I just am so grateful for all the experiences I have been given.

 I have come to know the Lord here. I have come to know my Heavenly Father and the love and faith and hope that He has for each of us. I know that he is always with us. And He has shown me time and time again that He will never leave His children. Never. No matter how many times that we ask, He will always love to hear our pleas. He will always love to hear from and bless His Children. I know that, I have felt that. I know that He love us. And He will show us that. I can't really put into words my love for my mission. It has just been so amazing. I am grateful that I have been blessed enough to have been able to serve here, to have served a mission. I am a highly blessed person to have had this opportunity.

 This week I have really come to realize how much it has meant to me. But, the Lord has blessed me with a knowledge that there are exciting things laying ahead of me, and more adventures to come. There will be more experiences more wonderful and blessed that I now realize, and that He will lead my life to them. He has shown me that my time has been accepted here. He has shown me that there are great things that lay ahead of me, and that I can look forward to them with an eye of faith. I have been clinging to that thought, and have found great peace in it. I am so grateful to the Lord and for all of His tender mercies each and every day.

 I am looking forward to finishing out this week strong, and to do what the Lord would have me do. I have loved serving and preaching and sharing the Gospel, and I want to take advantage of every last second of it. I know that this time is precious, and I cherish every moment of it. 

 I am grateful to each of you, and for all of your love and support, and all your hard work in allowing me to be out here. I know that I will be better and great blessings will come into my life, and I know that that is only made possible because of the sacrifices that each of you have made throughout your lives to help me here. I know that worry has been part of your life on my behalf, I know that endless hours of work, and labor mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually have been put forth for me. And I know that I wasn't always the easiest child to raise, but I know that the Lord has blessed each of us along the way, and because of that I have been able to bless the lives of others. But more especially  I have seen my life blessed the most. So thank you, thank you for all that you have done, it does not go unnoticed or unappreciated  But most of all, I thank the Lord, and for His sacrifices, and His tender mercies. For I know that without Him I am nothing, and I know that it is only because of and through Him that I can be who I am.

 The Lord is great. He is miraculous, and He loves you. He loves everything you do to follow Him, because it means that we are returning to Him. Continue moving forward. Continue strengthening your faith, and doing all that He has asked. Because, that is when the blessings truly come. I love my Savior more than anything else. I know that He is most important, and will fill our lives to overflowing if we allow Him. I know that the Church is for our benefit. I know that the Book of Mormon teaches us of Christ. I know that if we abide by it's teachings and precepts that we truly can come closer to Christ and see our lives be filled with joy and peace. I know that it is through prophets that we know the commandments to obey so that we can return to Heavenly Father. I know that we can be together forever. And I know that all of these things exist so we can be happy, not only for eternity, but for now as well.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love always,

Sister Anderson

Its been a Crazy few weeks !!

You all will not believe the week I had.

On Monday evening I ended up taking my companion to the ER, she's okay. 3 different doctors told us that if the numbness she was feeling in her legs from her herniated disc spread even more to get her to the ER immediately. So we called Sister Batt, got it approved and I drove her into Farmington. President called the Farmington zone leaders to come down and give her a blessing, it was about 9:30 at night by the time we got there. Sister Batt came down and stayed with us too. So she was admitted and had another MRI done and whatnot, and by the time that was done it was about 11:45 or so. The doctor said that the results will be ready in 30-45 minutes, so we said, okay. Then a life flight paramedic comes in and asks if he can get blood samples. So he starts digging around in her veins and tries 3 different times to find the vein and can't. And he's like turning out the lights and using a flashlight to find the vein (I think he was just using his street skills) and digging around all this stuff, and finally decides to get another nurse. So she comes in and puts the IV in her wrist, and the look on Sister Orr's face was so painful! Sister Batt was about to cry for her! So after they get the blood and everything I read the Book of Mormon to her and we watched Mormon Messages on Sister Batt's iPhone and then by this time it was 1:45 am so Sister Batt decides to go ask what is going on and the doctor comes back with her and says, "all the tests are normal, we're going to let you go home." and he says it so casually and all the other doctors were so adamant about this! So it was kinda crazy, so we ended up getting home around 2:15 am. We had zone conference at 8 am that morning. Sister Batt told us to sleep in and go try and see the neurosurgeon that Sister Orr had seen before, before we went to zone conference. So we got up around 8:15 got ready, went to see the doctor and set up another appt with him and then went to zone conference. And we got to sit on a couch because Sister Orr's back was hurting so bad. And the new medicine that she was on was making her super loopy. So that was interesting. And so our district and zone leaders and other sisters were calling us asking us where we were and if we were okay, and all this stuff. It was crazy. So wednesday we go back to the doctor and it's decided that Sister Orr needs surgery, so we call Sister Batt and let her know. And then Thursday we get a call from President saying "we want to get you home as soon as possible so that we can get you back out as soon as possible" and so we thought that meant that she would have some time. Well, around 4 pm on Thursday we get a call from Sister Batt saying, "Sister Orr, we have you're flight information, you are leaving in the morning." Then Sister Orr hands the phone to me and Sister Batt says, "President doesn't know what he's going to do with you yet, but you'll know before 9 oclock tomorrow morning." So then we don't know what's going to happen to Bloomfeild or to me. So we get her packed up to be at the apache by 9 oclock Friday morning. So then President calls at 9:30 pm and he tells me that I am being transferred to Kirtland to be in a trio

Me, Sister Swayne, Sister Heimbigner

with Sister Swayne and Sister Heimbigner for the last two week of my mission. Bloomfeild will be closed until the next transfer and I need to have my bags packed and ready to go to be at the Apache by 9 am. So I stayed up until 12 packing and then got up early to finish in the morning. So, to say the least, this has been a crazy hectic week, full of surprises. I was sad to let Sister Orr go, but I am really happy she gets her surgery!

So, that was my week. Cool huh?

I love you all, thanks for all your love and prayers! Sister Anderson           April 8

Well! Happy Easter to you all! I hope that you're Easter was great! Our was wonderful.

It has been another crazy week here in New Mexico. We got a call from President Batt Tuesday morning. I was just getting out of the shower and I hear Sister Isaacson say, "where should I sit down?" And when the mission president is asking you to sit down before a conversation something major is happening. I thought that someone had passed away in her family. So I hurry up and get dressed and run out to our room so that I can be there if something happened and all I hear is "okay" in a very serious tone. And then there is some silence and then she says, "when do you need me in Farmington by President?" and I knew it was a transfer. Then she says, "yes, she's right here." and hands the phone to me. President then asks me to finish the 12 week training for Sister Orr because the Lord needs Sister Isaacson in Farmington 4th ward. So then Sister Orr walks into the room and Sister Isaacson and I are both just sitting on our beds wondering what just happened and all Sister Orr can say is "what's wrong?" and then we tell her and then she sits down and we all freak out together. So after we sat and processed for about a half an hour we helped Sister Isaacson pack all of her stuff so that we could have her at the mission office by 1. So it's been a little bit of a chaotic week. None of us really knew how to process this. 2 emergency transfers in 1 transfer, that's crazy. 

A sister in the ward asked us to bathe her dog, so we did that, and then she took it to the vet and she found out that the dog has kidney stones and they removed them and so when we went over there for dinner the next day she was recruiting us to feed medicine to her dog. We couldn't get the dog to take the medicine and so she called someone else to come help and they were able to get er done. So the next day we were visiting her son and he told us the dog died! We felt so bad! This sister REALLY loved her dog. So, that was interesting. I'm not sure that we are allowed to help people give medicine to dogs, so I don't think that we will be doing that in the future, but that was interesting.

We met with an investigator the other day, and she has been praying and reading! Which is a miracle! She had some really awesome experiences with prayer and even asked us when church started! Sadly, she didn't come. Church was rather sparse yesterday. Everyone went family's. We did have a less active there though, so that was good.

Our Easter was good. We had meetings and church until 4 and then we tried to see some people, but a lot of them were at parties and gatherings and things like that, and then we had dinner with a family. We didn't color eggs or do anything like that.

I am doing good though! Thanks for all your love and support! I feel your prayers, and am so grateful for them! Love you all!

Sister Anderson                               April 1

Sis Orr, Sis Isaacson and Me

Hey!! 

So, I told you last week that temple square sisters were coming in and one would be in my area so I would be moved. Well, I am in Bloomfield New Mexico. And it is awesome. Just imagine Oakdale with less green and less hills and that's about where I'm at. I have two companions now! Sister Isaacson and Sister Orr. And they are awesome. Sister Orr is new and in training still. And we laugh, a lot, and have fun. It's been way good. I will attach a picture. Sister Isaacson has been out for about about 8 months or so and Sister Orr has been out for about 2 months. Sister Isaacson is super sweet and loving and is way fun. Sister Orr is a tough Idaho girl and she cracks me up. Sister Orr has a herniated disc in her back so that stinks. We have been seeing doctors to try and figure out what might help.

It's kinda funny being in a trio because we intimidate ourselves haha. We always feel like there's a lot of us when we go tracting or go talk to someone. And when we are in meetings all three of us pull out our planners to write stuff down, it's kinda funny. We joke about how people won't open the door because there's so many of us.

Trunky Papers  

None of us have been in a trio, so we are still figuring out how this whole thing works. The other night we called the housing coordinator to bring us another dresser so we could all have room for our clothes. So they got there around 9 Saturday night. And we hear a knock at the door so we answer it and it's a senior sister and her husband. Elder Van Sickle starts hauling our dresser in on a dolley and starts in on going up our stairs (we live in a town house) and all of a sudden he starts grunting and wheezing and the dresser in slamming into the walls, but he just keeps dragging it up. And we try to help, but he won't slow down enough for us to help him, and it was just insane. So he gets it to the top of the stairs after fighting with it for about 10-15 minutes and then throws it off the dolley and sends it top over end into our office and then stands it up agian and throws it top over end again and then just stands at the top of the stairs wheezing. And his wife is telling him not to move. And we are just standing there in shock wondering what just happened. And then Sister Van Sickle says, "I guess we won't be doing that again." Elder Van Sickle didn't say anything as he walked back down the stairs and out the door and then our neighbor came out (we share a wall) and was about ready to call the cops because she heard a lot of banging and grunting and "only girls live there" and didn't know what was going on. We were really grateful that she was watching out for us and so we made her brownies and took them to her. But, that was kinda crazy. So we called Sister Van Sickle later that evening to make sure that everyone was okay. He was. It was just weird.

 Then, we were trying to contact less actives, and a lady opened the door at one house, held up a wicken bible in a "warding-off" type fashion, while shutting the door. We didn't say anything, and we weren't sure how to react so we laughed. It's just been kinda a crazy week.

I love you all, thanks for everything,

 Sister Anderson                March 25            

Pres and Sis Head Dove Creek   =)

Transferred to Dove Creek

Some Elders made us feel welcome!

Well, this week has been interesting. Dove Creek has about 10 streets, we have knocked about 5 of them and spent the rest of our time in the truck driving miles and miles in between houses looking for people. So it's been a little different. We have met some good people though and have been able to give some service so that's been nice.
 The branch is really excited to have us here, and we are glad to be here. It's kinda funny because most of the people know who we are and where we live before we even meet them, it's a small town. And then the people who aren't members just keep giving us funny looks like, "who's truck is that?" or "who are those girls in skirts walking around?" Everyone knows everyone and we are the new kids in town. Even the little ones look at us funny.

 But, it has been good. Someone tried to kiss my hand, my companion petted a dog, and then the same dog almost bit my fingers, and our house got attacked. IT's been an interesting week.

 But, as a side note, I will be being transferred this week. I am not sure where yet, there are a bunch of new temple square sisters coming in today, and so we will see after they get in.
 We have one 19 year old sister in our district, and that's kinda cool. She is being trained by a sister who has only been out for 3 months, kinda cool right?

 I am doing good though, I got the package, thank you! I have been listening to my new CD over and over again, I love it. And I wore my jacket to church yesterday :) I haven't made the brownies yet though.
As far as food goes, one of the sisters in Monticello sent us with a bunch of food so we weren't completely out. So that was super nice of her! She gave us tons of flour and sugar and canned stuff, it was really nice of her.

Well, I think that's about it. LOVE YOU ALL! So glad Dad got time off :)

Sister Anderson        March 18, 2013

Well, transfers! They did whitewash/split the area! So Elders will be covering Monticello 1, 2, 3, 4 wards and the La Sal and Paradox branches. Sister Ward and I will be staying together and opening Dove Creek as it's own area! So before we covered all four wards and 3 branches ourselves, so it will be kinda cool to give some more detailed attention to the Dove Creek/Eastland Branch. Dove Creek is in Colorado and Eastland is in Utah. But, it is all the Eastland Branch. So it is kinda a big area. We are excited for it though. The Eastland branch is really excited that we are coming there and Monticello is sad that we are leaving. It's really not that far away, but we can't just go into Monticello when we want to. Dove Creek is small. There is a Superette and a Sinclair, and that's it. There is a pretty big cultural difference and you can almost feel it when you cross the Utah/Colorado border. We have a lot of work to do over there. We have 3 families that we are currently working with and so we have a lot of finding to do. I feel quite inadequate to the job. The branch list for this area is rather long, they could have a ward, or even two wards if everyone came. So we have somewhere to start with. The branch has a lot of expectations for us. So we have to live up to them. It will be fun. And it will be neat to see the area grow. We have a cute little house over there. it has tile counters, so that's nice! We actually helped move into it last Wednesday. The housing coordinators called us and asked if we would like to tour the "our" new house. They didn't know we would be moving in there, but apparently they had been telling lots of people that we were before transfers were even finalized. so we said "yeah sure!" so we got there and they were moving beds in (which are so comfy! I may or may not have layed on them for a good little while! i'm excited) and dishes and everything else in. So we offered to help. We washed dishes and put away utensils and everything else. So we gave service to ourselves and we didn't even know it! haha But everything is brand new in there so we are excited.. We just have to do our part, work hard, be obedient, and listen to the promptings of the Spirit. So that is what we will be doing. President and Sister Batt came up to our stake conference this weekend and so we saw them for a couple days. So on Sunday we saw President and Sister Batt and we asked him if we could take our Tacoma to Dove Creek and he said, "well, possession in 90% of the game, get it to Dove Creek as fast as you can and don't tell Elder James!" hahah we just laughed, he was kidding of course. And then later that day he asked if we had any complaints about transfers and we said no, only if we don't get to keep out Tacoma and then he threatened to take it away from us haha and put us on bikes or make us walk. He was just kidding, but it was really funny. Sister Batt stopped him and said, "okay that's enough, stop torturing these poor girls." hahah they are so funny, I just love them.

  We are kinda sad to leave Monticello area though. We love the people here. They are just so nice! Sister Boyle, the stake presidents wife, was really concerned that we would get to Dove Creek and have no food. So she let us go shopping in her food storage room. Everyone keeps wanting to buy us stuff or give us stuff, and it's way nice. 

  OH! In other news! Brady, I met three different people from your mission this week! Elder and Sister Johnson, a senior couple who worked in the office I guess, they said "hi!" and then an elder Rob Anderson. I don't know if you remember him at all. But yep. Small world right? I thought that was kinda cool. 

 Also, yes we can email anyone! So! If you could let my friends know that, that would be awesome. That's kinda nice!

 Hmmm, I'm not sure what else happened.... I think that's about it. We weren't able to see as many people as we would have liked to this week, but we have been trying to organize the area for the elders coming in. Lots of paperwork! Kinda crazy! It's good though, we are looking forward to this change!

 Thanks for all you do! I love you!

Sister Anderson     March 11, 2013

This is going WAY too fast!

Well, another week has come and gone! This is going WAY too fast!

This week has been pretty good. We went out to La Sal, a branch that is way out in the middle of nowhere, and we met some new people and taught a couple lessons and set a new baptismal date! There is a 9 year old girl who is dying to be baptized, but her guardian wants to make sure that she really understand every thing that she is committing to before she is baptized. So her date is for March 16. And we aren't sure either of us will be here. President is planning to whitewash this area with elders this coming transfer, which is on the 12. So we will see. It would be cool to be here, but I know that wherever I go will be good.

 Not too much has happened this week. It's been a little slow, but good. And I haven't eaten lunch yet, so I may be a little distracted and it may reflect in this letter. 

It's been FREEZING cold here! We got some good winds and snow storms the last couple of days! It's enough to make you cold just looking outside. But, then, after the storm passes and you wake up in the morning and you look out the window and the sun is shining and you think to yourself, "oh good, it will be warmer to day!" and then you walk outside and the deception of the sun is very real! It's kinda crazy.

 Well, I'm not sure what else has been going on. We have just had lots of meetings and teaching classes and stuff. We help teach mission prep every Sunday, so that's kinda fun. A lot of these seniors have mission calls. One is going to Roseville, CA. So we play investigators and answer questions about what a normal day is like and our schedule and rules and what companionship's are like and stuff. It's a lot of fun. Some of them are more prepared than others, but it's fun to watch them all learn and grow! It's such an exciting time, right before you leave, and these young men are just ready to go. I wish elders were here to teach them though. I feel that sisters missions and elders missions are very similar, but yet, very different.

But, anyways, I am doing good! Meeting lots of new people everyday!

Thanks for everything!

Sister Anderson  Feb 25

Well, it's another beautiful week here in the neighbor hood!

 It sounds like you are all doing good! Our week has been good! Monticello is freezing cold and covered in mud. That about sums up my week. I'll have to take a picture of my boots and send it to you next week. They used to look halfway decent.

Mom sent us a Valentine and said to take a picture! Silly~

 We got flowers and a package or pink pancakes and a box of chocolates and then we both got a package from both our families! So we were pretty spoiled! We actually forgot it was valentines day! We got to a ward correlation meeting with Brother Redd and they asked us how our valentines was and we just looked at each other and said, "that's why no one was home!" we totally forgot, the Redds just laughed at us.

 Well, this week we went out to LaSal, another branch to give another talk. I spoke about the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's and Ammon's mission to them and their conversion and how other Lamanties were converted at that battle where they all just knelt down and prayed. It was kinda neat, because I was standing up there and as I was speaking I was learning things too. The Lord promised me before I left that the scriptures would be opened up to me in a whole new way, and they definitely have been throughout my mission. And it has been such a great blessing.  It's okay to be confident in those gifts, because I know they come from the Lord and not from me. I know I can do nothing of myself.

Lately I have been pondering often on the story of Peter walking on water. Peter said, "if it is you Lord bid me to come out on the water." And the Lord did. And then it says, that AFTER Peter stepped out that the winds and the waves started. How often do we start out on our journey full of faith and we see a little bumpy patch coming and we get distracted and lose our concentration of faith. But, as soon as Peter lost his concentration of faith, the Lord stretched for his had. How cool is that? The Lord knew the winds would come and the waves would swell, but He still bid Peter to come. He knew Peter would be okay, and when Peter didn't think Peter would be okay, when he began to doubt, the Lord was right there to pick him back up and help him through the storm. How neat is that? And then it goes on to say that as soon as they were back in the boat the winds and waves cased. How interesting is it that the winds and the waves were there when Peter began to exercise his faith, is that not much like our own lives? it wasn't until AFTER the trial of his faith that Peter was returned to dry, safe ground, he received a witness. How miraculous is that? But, not only was he probably pretty sure at this point that he could walk on water again if the Lord asked him, I'm sure he was also full of a perfect knowledge that the Lord would never leave his side, and never let him drown, but would stay by his side and pick him back up.

Isn't that something that we can learn and take from our own storms and trials? We can start and end with the same faith, even if things get a little rocky in the middle.

 I know the Lord lives, I know he is there for me. I know he is there to lift us when we get distracted. When our concentration of faith isn't as strong as it could be. I know that He loves us and will walk with us through all the storms of life. and I know that I can do what the Lord would have me do!

 I am doing good. rumor has it that our area is going to be whitewashed this next transfer and they will put elders here in Monticello, so it's kinda interesting working for 3 weeks knowing that we are leaving. I'm not sure where I'll go after this, but I knew I wouldn't stay in one place too long for the rest of my mission. But, that's okay, I am planting seeds of faith :) Oh we have the opportunity to drive a brand new Toyota Tacoma around for a couple weeks while our Colorado is in the shop, so that's kinda fun! The elders in our district are pretty jealous.

 Oh, so our District Leader is Elder Miller. Well, at zone conference 2 months ago I met Elder Miller, he was sitting in front of us. And I was sitting with Sister Kidd and we were laughing and joking and Elder Miller turns around and says something, and so I was begin a smart alack and said something to the effect of, "you don't know me" I was completely joking, and we were all laughing, but I figured I should apologize to him when I found out that he was going to be my district leaders so he didn't think I was super ridiculous or something, he didn't even remember it.

I love you all! Thanks so much for everything!

Sister Anderson  Feb 18

Well, Monticello is FREEZING! It snows a lot, which is good for this little farming community, but not always so plesant for these little missionaries!

 My new companion is Sister Ward, and she is really nice. She has been out for about 9 months-ish. She is from Troutdale, OR. She is a writer and love CSI stuff. She tells me stories, like books she's read and stuff, so it's kinda fun.

 We cover the whole stake here in Monticello. 4 wards in Monticello and 3 branches that are 30-90 minutes away. So it's kinda a big area. But we heard on Sunday that next transfer they are putting elders here in Monticello. And they are going to put the sisters in the branch of Eastland/Dove Creek. Right now that branch is part of our area. So most likely I will be opening up that area. Which would be cool, but who knows really. Everyone here is LDS and knows who the missionaries are, and for the most part everyone actually likes us. Haha. We teach a majority of less actives. Which isn't unusual for missionary work, but the less actives know quite a bit about the Gospel and are willing to hear the message we share. Most less active I have taught in the past have not really known anything about the Gospel, so it was like teaching an investigator. Or if they did know much about the Gospel they didn't want to hear the message we had to share. So it's been a little different. But awesome.

 The first or second night I was here we went to this older couple's house for dinner. And they were SO NICE! They were constantly smiling and all this stuff, and we walked out and I turned to Sister Ward, and I said, "Is that normal?" hahaha it is! I forget that I'm in Utah! It's good though, I really enjoy this area. I especially love all the branches. I love the small little farming communities.

 We spoke in Eastland yesterday, and I spoke about the story of Jonah and how it relates to missionary work. How sometimes we don't want to do what the Lord asks, we don't want to go to Ninevah, but when we do, we are blessed, and miracles happen! Sister ward spoke about how to be a missionary. Everyone loved our talks, but it was definitely the Lord, because we didn't have anytime to prepare our talks at all!

 I am doing good, and really enjoying my time here. I love being so close to the temple and seeing it everyday! It brings a special spirit into my life, and I am constantly thinking and pondering on it, and the significance it has in my life. I am so grateful for the temple.

 It's kinda weird being outside of Farmington. The only time I have been out of the Farmington zone besides now was when I was in Gallup. so for 10 of the 15 months I have been out I have been close to the mission office and tons of missionaries and President and everything. So it's weird being so far away from everything. The closest missionaries are sisters and they are in Blanding which is 20-30 minutes away. And because it's snowing, I'm not sure what we are going to do for p-days haha. Today the sisters are coming in and we are making potato tacos for lunch.

anways, there is a lot of beautiful things to see here in Monticello, but I'm not sure we will because of the weather and lack of miles.

Sister Anderson  Feb 11

Well, things are going good!

Well, things are going good! I am doing well. This last week we went on exchanges and it was a great experience. This whole transfer has been quite a learning experience. I don't really know how else to describe it. I am grateful for the things that I have learned! The sisters came in for training, they have been going around the whole mission and living out of a suitcase.... fun fun! Anyways, after they left our place they went to the mission home to visit with President.
  Brady has this way of getting me to do things that I don't want to do. Whether it's skiing down a black diamond slope or swimming across a freezing cold river, whatever it may be, he always can talk me into doing it. Which is impressive, I didn't realize what a talent that is;) But whenever he talks me into doing something I don't want to do he never leaves me alone. He never just leaves me hangin. He stays by my side and talks me through it and guides me the whole time. No matter how much I am crying he calms me down and helps me. I never realized what a talent that is either. But, he never lets me quit either (half the time there is no quitting anyways, i'm already halfway down the hill or something), he never lets me say that i can't or that i don't want to. He just calmly and rationally talks me through everything. And I didn't really realize what a great benefit that was for my life until I came here. It was such a type for my mission. The Lord never lets me quit, he never lets me runaway and he never leaves my side. No matter how badly I want to give up or I want to just have the situation be done. He never lets me do that. He helps me and in a lot of ways strongly encourages me to push through too. President also does the same thing for me as well. No matter how many times I call him he calmly and rationally talks me through and always says, "i'm not going to let you drown, the Lord is not going to let you drown." I am just so blessed to have so many sources in my life that see me and my potential and my strength in such an eternal perspective  I guess I have just learned that in a little bit bigger perspective here.

  But, I do hope that you find joy in the blessings and the things that I have learned. I find great joy in my mission. This is the best thing I have ever decided to do. I love everything about my mission. I especially love the things that I have learned. This mission is for me. Not for anyone else.
  A talk that has really brought and my life back into perspective in "Things as they really are" by Elder Bednar. It is talking a lot about technology but, as I have studied I have found that the principles contained therein can apply to many other things.

Thanks for all you do!
All my love,

Sister Anderson Alma 26:27