April 30, 2012

Missionary Slim is getting a new Companion (Week 12 in Pennsylvania, Week 12 in Lebanon, PA)


Sitting in ward council, talking about our goals, my phone rings. I look at the screen. I look at my companion. "It's the president." The entire ward council is silent - they know what this means. I quickly hurry out while answering "Hello, this is Elder Anderson"
 
"Hello, Elder Anderson, this is President Topham. How are you?"
 
He had to ask me that question. In all honesty, I was about as nervous as a newbie skydiver on the brink of the abyss. "I'm doing fantastic!"
 
"That's great to hear. As you probably know, transfers are coming up this next week. Elder Nelson will be leaving and you'll be getting a new companion."
 
And that was that. He told me a little bit about my new companion, gave some counsel and encouragement, and I passed the phone to Elder Nelson. He talked for a bit, hung up, and looked at the phone in his hand. Neither of us were told any specifics - he doesn't know where he's being transferred to, and I don't know my new companion's name. We weren't even told then when and where we would be making the transfer. But we knew one thing - Elder Nelson would be gone, and I would be in charge of Lebanon for a little while until the new companion gets the hang of things.
 
And that about sums up my week. Really, while a lot happened, not a lot happened.
 
I'll give a few updates, though. We were able to visit the Galloway family this week. Darren was the only one who was able to really sit down and have a lesson with us. The rest of them were super busy doing other things. Maria, while she isn't doing great is doing better. We're still worried about them, and with Elder Nelson leaving, it's only going to be harder. During the time he's been here, he's made a great friendship.
 
True to their word, we were able to have Book of Mormon study with the Cambodian family again. Rebecca, Sam, and Sambo (Yeah, I was confused too) were all very interested in the Book of Mormon. We were able to talk to them about it and help them understand how it truly does testify of Christ, even from the first chapter of 1st Nephi. They were super excited about it, and were super sad when we said we had to leave.
 
We also got to teach Luz again. She's probably our closest candidate for baptism, and really has a lot of faith. She's been having troubles getting moved into her new house, so we went over to move some stuff around while Hector Morales chatted with her. After that, we sat down and had a lesson. We were only able to cover one of the points of the lesson, because Hector loves to expound on the scriptures (seriously, the guy can take any topic and give you twenty scripture references which relate - in each of the Standard Works!) But she loved it, and gave a solid commitment to come to church (unfortunately, she wound up in the hospital a few days later, so that didn't happen. Ahh, the joys of missionary work.)
 
Speaking of Church, though, I'll tell you about a surprise visit we had from a less-active member. Brother Reich is his name. He's around 67 years old, has difficulty walking (I've only seen the man do it twice in my life), and used to be a Catholic until he joined the church. Well, I'm not sure if I should say used to because he is still pretty Catholic. He still gets all kinds of Catholic literature and magazines. He even let me read out of his book of Catholic Meditations. He's got a strong testimony of the Restoration and of Prophets - he just loves his old Catholic ways. It's funny because of the vast difference between the books which surround his chair. He has Jesus the Christ and 'Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple' on the one hand and The Catholic Minister on the other. Sometimes he mixes up his doctrines too ("No, Brother Reich. We actually do need to keep the 10 commandments." "No, the commandments are dead. We only need to follow the spirit.") We've been visiting him about once a week ever since I got to Lebanon, trying to get him to come to church. We've talked about everything, from the Plan of Salvation to the 10 Commandments. Nothing we can say can get him out to church.
 
This past week, we brought over another member and ward missionary, Brother Brandt. He didn't say much during the lesson, he just sat back and gave his input when we asked him. But for some reason, with him there, there was a change. At the end of the lesson, Brother Reich said "The time has come. I will make an oath that I will come to church this week."
 
This past Saturday was pretty rough. After all of our appointments for the afternoon fell through, we resorted to tracting. Door after door was slammed in our face before we could even get the words "Latter-day" out of our mouths. Days like that kinda get me down. They don't discourage me, just make me feel like pulling a Nephi, going to bed and having my eyes water my pillow. Fortunately, though, we had an appointment set up with John. He always cheers me up!
 
The lesson before, we talked to John about virtue, and how we always need to keep virtuous thoughts. I told him about how, whenever I think something bad, I start singing 'I am a Child of God' in my head. (It works every time!) We then offered to teach him the song for our next lesson.  "Yeah. Alright. We can do that." I was a little surprised.
 
So, on Saturday, we stopped by, pulled out our little hymn books, and started singing. And guess what! He sang too. While he wasn't exactly a tenor, he still held the tune and finished out the first verse strong. We got to the end, and asked him if he wants to sing it again. With a huge grin on his face, he said "No, I'm not a very good singer." Ah, well. At least we tried. He's doing really great though. Still smoking, but his faith is getting super strong. I know he's going to get baptized. Whether that happens while I'm here, I don't know. But it's going to happen.
 
Well, I guess I was wrong. A lot of stuff did happen. I'll definitely have a lot to write about next week. Tomorrow I'll be meeting my new companion, and we go to work from there! Like I said, I'm kinda nervous. But, like John says "With the help of God and Jesus, I can do it."
A lot has happened in these past 12 weeks since I've been in PA, even in the past 6 weeks. It's a bittersweet feeling to go through my planner or my journal (for those of you who don't know, I am keeping a daily journal, so I can tell you exactly who we taught or met on a certain day) and see the names of people we used to teach. Then again, I can look at the blank pages of my planner for the next 6 weeks and imagine the names of people who I haven't even met, people who are ready and prepared to receive the Gospel. The elect are out there. I just need to find them.
 
Thanks for all of the prayers and support which all of you give me. Knowing that I have so many family members and friends supporting me gives me the encouragement to keep going, to work harder, to teach more, and to love more. Good luck to all of you with everything you do. I know that, as long as we do what the Lord asks of us, we will be guided and uplifted by Him, and what a great feeling that is.
 
Take care!
Love,
Elder Anderson, aka Missionary Slim
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April 23, 2012

Missionary Slim at the crossroads (Week 11 in Pennsylvania, Week 11 in Lebanon, PA)


Change is afoot. Within the next week, my entire life could be turned upside down. 'How' you ask?
 
Transfers.
 
This transfer will be a little different from the last transfer. Since I am now at the end of my 12 week training program, I am now officially a 'real' missionary, able to do all the things that other missionaries can do. That means that I could be kicked out of Lebanon, I could stay here with a new companion... anything! Fortunately, I was able to get at least a little glimpse into the future when I met with the Mission President for an interview this past week.
 
We sat down. He smiled at me, with his signature, heartfelt smile. I sat a little awkwardly in the chair opposite, nervously wondering what would happen and hoping I didn't say something stupid, like I am prone to do. He fired his first question: "So, Elder, do you think you've learned enough to be able to lead this area on your own?"
 
"Uh..." I said, as I decided wether to employ humility or confidence. I tried to go with both. "Yeah, I think so."
 
"Good, good. Because transfers are coming up, and we don't know who's going where yet, but we want to know what you're feeling." Of course he leaves enough uncertainty to leave plenty of room for speculation.
 
President Topham is a really great guy, though. He's not a very loud person, but he isn't quiet or timid. He's very mindful, and will always think through how he is going to answer any question you ask him. Like I said before, he is known for his broad smile, and almost always is wearing it. And he's super loving, and never hesitates to tell missionaries that they are doing great and that he appreciates their efforts. But, he has a habit of letting things slip during interviews, and mine was no exception. I'm not going to share what he told me. Suffice it to say he has some plans for me, and within the next few months, my mission could change even more drastically.
 
The rest of our week started out pretty strangely. We had an appointment with a less-active member, and had one of the Stake Presidency, Pres. Boltz, who happens to live in our ward, out with us. We knocked on her door... nothing. So, we decided to try another less-active member. Knocked on his door... nothing. Then, Pres. Boltz turned around and mentioned that the house across the street was home to a lady who used to be a very active member, and then left the church entirely. He used to be her home teacher, so he wanted to stop by and say hi. We didn't have any other plans, so we went over and knocked on her door. She opened it up. We scarcely said 'hi' before he said "Hang on! You are just the people I want to see! I have something for you." I'm sure you can guess what we were imagining it could be.
 
She came back to the door with a heavy bag, full of books. I took the bag, looked inside. It was full of all of her LDS literature - her quad, a 1970s Book of Mormon, a Gospel Principles manual, and a hymn book. "There you go!" she said. "I don't need those anymore!" That was heartbreaking for me, seeing her give us all of those wonderful books full of so much truth, without a moments hesitation. Fortunately, she was very friendly, and we had a wonderful talk about how she felt about the Church and why she left. The long and the short of it was she just didn't have a strong enough testimony, and missed her old Catholic traditions. She gave us the books with the intention of us giving them to our other investigators. Pres. Boltz took the books with him. I'm sure he's going to hang onto them, hoping they will return to their original owner.
 
On the bright side, here's a random miracle that happened around the same area. We were tracting near her home a few days later, and knocked on a very large, wooden door. A woman came, opened up, and we started out explaining who we were. She cut us off: "Oh, I know all about you guys." We were a little surprised. "Oh really?" "Yeah, my husband used to go to your church all the time!" We were a little bit more than surprised now! She told us about how he went all the time before they were married, and the missionaries came to visit all the time a few months ago. She was still very happy to have us over, so we set up a time to go visit them. Later, I took a look at our ward directory and found her husband, but the address that was listed wasn't the address we had, and they didn't have a phone number listed. Needless to say, if we didn't knock on that door, that family could have been lost. Miracle, or coincidence?
 
Here's another super sweet happening. This week we had exchange - I was working in Hershey with Elder Rowzee and Elder Vallejo came to Lebanon to work with my companion, Elder Nelson. While they were here, they tried to visit Angelica for old times sake. Angelica, as you remember, was a week away from her baptism before she canceled everything. We hadn't met with her until they knocked on her door. She answered, and was more than happy to have us come over later that week! We did, she was there, and we had a great lesson with her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She was really sorry that she hadn't been in contact with us. She had a super jealous boyfriend who was suspicious of all other men, including two 19 year old guys in white shirts and ties. She kicked him out, and is now really excited to have us coming over again.
 
Those of you that have been on missions or read Preach My Gospel know that as missionaries, we report several statistics to our mission president every week. One of those numbers is how many new investigators we have during the week, and I think that Elder Nelson and I may have set a mission record... in one day!
 
Friday. We had an appointment with a Cambodian lady who Elder Vallejo intercepted on Tuesday (Elder Vallejo loves talking to every person he sees, even running into oncoming traffic to catch up to them!). Because her son wasn't there, we couldn't come into her house. It was a nice day, though, and she was just as willing to have a lesson outside. She has great faith, and her favorite thing to do is learn, so she was very happy to meet with us. She even told us that she saw the Spirit of God in us, which is always a nice compliment.
 
As the lesson went on, people started showing up from everywhere. Her son and daughter showed up. The neighbors from next door came over and started listening. By the time we got to teaching about the First Vision, we had five earnest listeners. All of them were super interested, and thought that the First Vision was one of the coolest things they've ever heard. The loved the story about the Book of Mormon too, and all of them committed to reading it. They even said "Hey, lets have Gospel study at the same time next week!" We finished up the lesson by all holding hands to pray. Needless to say, that was an interesting experience, especially considering how I was the one saying the prayer. It was a sweet experience.
 
Right after that, we went over to a Puerto Rican family which we met a few days before. They had heard the missionary lessons while they were in Puerto Rico (from an elder from Utah and an elder from Colorado - the parallelism is uncanny), and were super excited to take the lessons again. As we were teaching about Joseph Smith, the father said "Oh yeah! Isn't this the part where he sees God and Jesus? That's my favorite part!" They, too, loved talking to us. At the end of the day, we could say that we had 7 new investigators.
 
Things aren't entirely peachy though. We have had a hard time meeting with the Galloway's, and when we finally met up with them, we found out that Maria has been struggling with her testimony. The stress of life is really getting to her, and her faith is strengthening. When you read this, if you could do me a favor and say a quick prayer for Maria Galloway, I would really appreciate it, and I'm sure she would too.
 
The Lord has certainly been good to me. Like most weeks, we were forced to drop some of our investigators - the exotic dancer decided that she had better things to do than repent. But we've seen many people who are prepared for the Gospel come into our lives and cross our paths. The work is always progressing and moving forward. We might get caught in the rain or have doors slammed in our face or have people heckle us (all of which happened this week), but looking back at the past three months (yes, I've been a missionary for a full three months now!), I cannot think of anything that I could have done which would be more useful for me and more worth my time. If I knew before my mission what I know now, there would have been nothing which ever could have stopped me from setting aside these two years to do what I am doing now.
 
I said it over and over again before my mission, and I continue to say it now - any kind of service in the Church is an act of faith. You don't know how it's going to turn out. You don't know if you will bless someones life. You don't know if you will find the growth and development which is promised to you. You just have to trust in the promises which the Lord gives, trust in his care, and serve to the best of your ability. The promises are always fulfilled. As Christ told his apostles, if we sacrifice all that we have, our homes, our families, our friends, our worldly possessions, we shall be given "blessings one hundred fold, and eternal life in the world to come." Even during the short duration of my service, I have seen the blessings in my own life and in the lives of my family.
 
Take care! Study the scriptures and pray. They're called the primary answers because they need to come first. Believe it or not, they make a bigger difference than you can imagine.
 
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, aka Missionary Slim

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April 16, 2012

Missionary Slim and Simple Pleasures (Week 10 in Pennsylvania, Week 10 in Lebanon, PA)


We've been trying super hard to re-set appointments with our investigators who we haven't seen in a long time. We took Brother Hector Morales out to go knock on our investigators doors, but, alas, none answered. Hector was still feeling very generous, and invited us over for dinner. We nervously asked him what we would be having (Elder Nelson has been fed some dubious things at the Morales' house - fine authentic Puerto Rican cuisine). "Plaintain with meat," which didn't sound so bad to me. Regardless, we had no choice but to accept.
 
So, a few hours later, we were sitting down to eat the wonderful meal Hector's mom prepared. There was plantain alright, but the meat was a little bit of a surprise: Chicken Gizzard. Oh yeah. Hector's served a mission before, so he knows that missionaries have to eat whatever is given them. He was laughing his head off as I started popping gizzards into my mouth and slowly chewed them. "You don't have to eat it all if you don't want to," he mercifully said. I actually was probably being a big baby about the whole thing - they weren't that bad. Just super chewy and a weird texture. It's probably one of those acquired tastes where if I eat enough, I'll like it.
 
Later that night, we stopped by Michael's house to set up an appointment. Michael is a recovering addict, a stay-at-home father, and a super spiritual guy. He's seeking pretty much any kind of light and knowledge he can find. That is to say, he's golden. We've taught him a few lessons before, and he was super interested and asked the perfect questions (such as "Who's the prophet today?") During our lessons with him, only  him and his 2 year old son were there, but we have met his wife, Kashmire, before. The first time she was pretty uneasy around us, but each time since she's warmed up. Well, when we knocked on their door later, both of them answered, and were super happy to see us. They were really sorry about missing their other appointments, and set up a time for us:
 
"Why don't you guys come by when everyone is here so you can meet the whole family!"
 
 That made us super happy.
 
"We should all be home on Thursday at 5:00."
 
Nice. That worked well for us.
 
"Wait, that's right during dinner time."
 
Ouch. That means we'd have to set another time.
 
"Oh, well you guys could just come over for dinner!"
 
Wait... what?
 
We told them we didn't want to impose. They insisted. So, we set it up - a dinner appointment at the investigators home. That doesn't happen very often.
 
The appointment went super well. We were super nervous before hand and when we first got there, but as soon as we realized that Michael and Kashmire were just as nervous, things went very smoothly. We told them about us, they told us about them. We had a wonderfully humble dinner of canned beans, canned ravioli, and over-cooked chicken. It was one of those times when I felt bad eating what they had because it was obvious they needed it more that I did. But their generosity was overwhelming. We taught Kashmire and Michael about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, and she was really interested, just not in the same way as her husband. Whereas her husband was very knowledgeable about religion, she didn't know a whole lot. She was Methodist by name, but told us "I don't even know what it means to be Methodist." Both of them are on spiritual journeys and are so prepared to receive the restored Gospel!
 
Other than that, though, there weren't a whole lot of super cool things that happened. Later in the week, we were hurting for appointments. A lot of our investigators just don't want to meet up with us at all, which means we aren't teaching a lot of lessons. You know what that means? Tracting. We tracted a bunch on Friday, and ran into a few people who may or may not be interested. Fortunately, we didn't have anyone yell at us, but we did get sick of knocking on doors after a while. So, we decided to try a different approach.
 
Here's your random fact for the week: When it comes to missionary work, there are a lot of statistics. For example, it takes around 2000 doors tracted to yield 1 baptism. For every 1000 people you talk to on the street, 1 of them will be baptized. For every 20 part-member families you teach, 1 of them will become a full-member family. And for every 2 member referrals you get, 1 of them will be baptized. Naturally, as President Hinckley said, those investigators who were referred to us by members are the most valuable and most precious to us.
 
We try our hardest to get the members excited about missionary work, but if they don't give us referrals, we still don't have anyone to teach. But! Part-member families are very valuable too - far more valuable than knocking doors for hours upon end. So, we finished up our week checking out some of these part-member and less-active families. We actually were met with a lot of success!  A lot of them were home and interested in us coming by.
 
One of them, Lorraine, lives right on a street that we've tracted in the past. Every time we knocked on her door, she wasn't there. Well, we were passing by her house to go visit another person, when we decided to give it a try. As we walked up, Elder Nelson audibly said "Well, lets see if Lorraine is here." He raised his fist to knock, but before he even got the chance, she walked around the corner. She, like all other less-active members, knew exactly who we were and was delighted to see us. We chatted with her, found out a little bit about herself and her family, and scheduled ourselves to see her the next week. Now, was that a miracle, or a coincidence?
 
I think I'd better mention Johnathan, considering he's getting baptized in 2 weeks. Yes, you read that right. Johnathan is the grandson of Madeline, and the cousin of those three girls we baptized last month. He was so touched by their baptism that he decided he wanted to be baptized too. We've been working with him since then to teach him and help him understand what everything means. He's been learning slowly and surely, and we have to quiz him every now and then to make sure he really does get it. For example:
 
"Okay, Johnathan. Who is Joseph Smith?"
 
"The Son of God... No wait, the priesthood! No, the Celestial Kingdom."
 
"No, he's actually the prophet who brought us the Book of Mormon and restored the church."
 
"Oh. Right. I knew that!"
 
He's remembering things better though. He'll be baptized on the 28th, right before transfers. When we aren't teaching him, he loves to ride his bike and scooters. He loves to show off his sweet tricks to us, and plans to become a professional skater.
 
Well, that's about it for this week. Hopefully everyones week has been great. Don't forget - the Lord is mindful of us and will always answer our prayers - if we ask. As missionaries, we quote D&C Section 4 often. It ends with "Ask and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen." I've found that the Lord often waits for us to ask, and I've been trying to do that more - ask the Lord for all of the things I need. I know that the more specific we are with prayers, the more powerful they are. I also know that if we tell the Lord what we are going to do with the blessings he gives us, or why we are asking for them, or what we will give the Lord in exchange for our blessings, the more readily he will bless us. Prayer has certainly been a wonderful blessing in my life, especially as a missionary. Lets not forget to pray.
 
Take care!
Love,
Elder Anderson

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April 9, 2012

Missionary Slim and his Easter miracles (Week 9 in Pennsylvania, Week 9 in Lebanon, PA)


We've been going a little bit out of our way to find investigators as of late. Tuesday, we tracted in a nice city called Myerstown, on the east of our area. There were a few people we talked to who weren't interested, a few who tried to preach to us ("You should come join our church's bell choir! We practice every week ..."), and a few who were interested. One of them, Cathy, opened the door and started talking to us right away. In fact, she invited us in right then (we couldn't, though, because her husband wasn't home) and even offered us coffee ("No, thanks." "Are you sure you don't want coffee?" "Yes, we're sure"). We got to come by and visit her later that week, and had a great lesson. She's been through a lot in her life - cancer, the recent death of her mother, etc. and was really looking for some peace. She even told us at the end of the lesson "You folks were meant to come by. I was looking for peace, and then you guys come by telling me how to get it!" Words cannot describe how giddy that made me when she said that. We visit with her again tomorrow.

There's this other sweet lady we're teaching. Her name is Luz (Spanish for 'light'). She's probably one of the nicest ladies I've ever met. She loves to help people, and loves taking care of her adopted special-needs son. She speaks at 100 miles an hour, in English and Spanish at the same time, so sometimes its hard to follow what she says. ("I really try hard porque I know that Jesus will help me, perro it's hard to keep the fe sometimes, you know?") But she's got great faith and a great desire to learn from us.

There's also Nelida. We keep teaching her in the library, and everything we teach, she loves. Whenever we bear testimony, she said "Amen" at the end. Like I said before, she loves the Book of Mormon and shares it with everyone. In fact, this week we were waiting in the library for her to show up and she comes in with this teenage girl who was sitting in the parking lot. Apparently, she invited her to come and listen to the word of God! She bears powerful testimony all the time to everyone. We can't wait to baptize her. (Oh, yes. She will be baptized. We just don't have a date yet. She wants to watch a baptism first)

One of the things which we love to get is media referrals from the Church. That's when someone goes to mormon.org and requests missionaries to come over. Well, this was the case with Billie and Tom. We got a text with their address and phone number, but something seemed off. Usually, these referrals come from the pass-along cards which we leave on doors, but we had never worked anywhere near these people. We went out to their home, but they weren't around (they were probably at Good Friday mass or something. They are practicing Catholics). So we kept knocking on doors down the street. We start talking to this one guy, Barron, who told us he's Presbyterian and he isn't interested. Then I give him my question which is sure to keep them talking "Well, I've always been interested in learning about others. Tell me, what sets Presbyterians apart." Then, he surprised me: "Well, I don't have time to talk now, but if you come back later I'll explain everything to you." Oh. Okay. I was about to decline, but Elder Nelson beat me to it. "Sure! We'd love to come back. When?" We set up an appointment for the following day, and left.

We came back the next day, prepared to have a wonderful conversation, and praying that we'd be able to interest him in reading the Book of Mormon after all, but, alas, he wasn't home. He was decent enough to leave notes for us, though, with his testimony on it (basically, he was trying to convince us we were wrong. At the same time, though, his testimony agreed with everything we teach). 'Well,' we thought. 'Better go try Billie and Tom' We walk back up the street, knock on the door, and sure enough, our referrals are home this time. They recognized us immediately "Come on in!" they said with big smiles.

Apparently they had grandchildren who were friends with Mormons, and they wanted to make sure that the little Mormon kids wouldn't hurt their kids or anything. They googled us, fortunately found mormon.org, and read everything. They wanted to read the Book of Mormon, which brings us to our meeting. We sat down and gave them the entire story of the apostasy and restoration of the Gospel in about 25 minutes (which is record time for us). Our students were very interested, saying things like "I believe that" when we would teach something, and Tom even said "That's powerful!" when Elder Nelson recounted the First Vision. We left them with a Book of Mormon, closed with a prayer (they crossed themselves after the prayer, which made me smile), and went on our way. We had to teach so fast because they were planning on leaving on a trip in the next hour - a trip that would last them 3 weeks. That got Elder Nelson thinking - If we didn't set up that appointment with Barron which fell through, would we have ever had a lesson with Billie and Tom? They would have left on their trip,and we would have given up trying to contact them. Coincidence, or miracle? You choose.

More miracles happened later that day. We parked the car and walked around for a while. We were hoping to set up appointments with some of our investigators who missed our last appointments. With few exceptions, the investigators we were planning to visit were already outside of their homes, so we could just walk up to them and talk to them! They were placed in our path. Coincidence, or miracle?

Easter gave us a lot of opportunity to talk about Jesus. Many of you may have noticed my post to Facebook. Never fear! I'm not breaking the rules. My mission president invited us to watch that video and write our testimony about it. I would invite all of you to do the same. The site is http://mormon.org/easter and it definitely increased my faith, both watching the video and writing the testimony.

I'll end with my testimony, but I'll also share an experience with it. Yesterday, as we were walking, we talked to a very interesting man. He was a student of the Torah, a practicer of the Law of Moses, but not a Jew. He used to be Christian, but drifted away until he began practicing the Law of Moses and lost his faith in Christ. He's studied Hebrew and is very knowledgeable about the 5 books of Moses, and the tribes of Israel. He has also read the Book of Mormon many times, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. He knows his stuff.

What good does it do him?

I would argue, none. He follows the law, but, like the pharisees of Christ's time, doesn't understand the true purpose of the law. He follows out of obedience, but that doesn't bring him peace. My testimony is that the only way we can find true peace and happiness in this life and in the life to come is through Jesus Christ. I wonder to myself sometimes "What if Jesus wasn't real? What if I didn't have a loving Heavenly Father?" I can tell you right now - if that were the case, I would be miserable. But, I know that because of Christ, I can be carried through my trials. Because of Christ, I can overcome my sins and my weaknesses. Because of Christ, I can even overcome death. One of the things that we tell investigators is "We don't know what you might be going through right now, but we know that by following Christ, we can overcome all of our trials. Following the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives us a better life." I know this is true. 

We just need to follow him and believe him. Elder Nelson and I have been watching church videos recently, particularly 17 Miracles and Legacy. The main thing to be learned from those - if we believe Christ, all things are possible. Not just believe in him, but believe him. He says that through him, we can be healed. Believe Him. He says that through him, we can overcome death. Believe Him. He says that through him, we can make it to the Celestial Kingdom. No matter what you have done, Believe Him. He can do anything. He made the world. Why can't he make you whole? He can, and he will. We just have to believe him.

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful Easter. Good luck with everything that you do. Remember, our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us. Don't believe me? Why don't you ask him? I know that he will answer, because he answered me.

Take Care! Be good!

Love,
Elder Alex Anderson
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April 2, 2012

Missionary Slim goes to Taco Bell, again and again and again (Week 8 in Pennsylvania, Week 8 in Lebanon, PA)

You'll have to forgive me this week. I had more spiritual adventures than temporal. That's okay, though. I've still got some funny stories to share!

First off, something related to food: There is a man in our ward. His name is Hector Morales, and he LOVES tacos. That means, that whenever we go out to teach with him, he has to treat us to tacos when we're done. We usually go to Taco Bell and he orders the 12 pack, and gets a few extra for himself. And we taught with him twice this week. So that means I've eaten a LOT of tacos. Hector himself is a great guy. He's been a member for four years, but has a super strong and powerful testimony, and loves to share it. His favorite thing to say to us is "Elders, you have the keys. What does the spirit say?" (He doesn't know that, as missionaries, we actually don't have any keys. Responsibilities and authority, yes, but keys, no. Those are for the Mission President. There's your mission-related trivia for the day)

We've got a guy we're teaching named Doroteo. Apparently, he's super excited about the gospel, but I've never seen it out of him. In fact, it seems hard to imagine the guy excited about anything. Here's how our lessons go:

"Doroteo, what did Christ do for you?"

"...................(emphatic pause)...........Let me think about that. ......... Well,....He is.... our Savior....."

"Absolutely. Christ suffered for our sins and even died on the Cross so that through..."

"Hang on, I have something to say................"

It basically goes like that. We start talking, he interrupts, and then we have to patiently wait for him to say what he wants to say. He's super smart, and really wants to make sure that when he articulates his thoughts, so he is understood. And when he does talk, he has some really insightful things to say. His questions are great. In fact, he told us the other day "I hope that my questions aren't breaking your faith or nothing." They don't by the way. But they really are deep questions that give us all something to ponder. Right now, we're trying to teach him the Plan of Salvation, so that he can understand his purpose in life. He's still got a long way to go, but when he learns something and knows it's true, he sticks with it. He's really great!

We also taught another lesson to Xylina, and she actually wore pants and a long sleeved shirt! It's incredible to see how much desire she has to change, in part because of how self-conscious we make her feel, but hopefully in part because she is coming to understand her Savior and has a desire to do the right thing. She's looking for a new job (that was a pleasant surprise), and wants to quit smoking (we haven't even taught the word of wisdom yet!) While we did invite her to General Conference, she didn't make it.

John did though! He came out to priesthood session. He really felt out of place, though (considering he doesn't have the priesthood), but liked it enough to watch another session on Sunday afternoon (which made me super happy). We gave him a plan on Thursday to quit smoking. He could smoke 30 cigarettes that day, and then we subtract some from his allotment each day. Ever since then, he's been way below his allotment - 24 on Friday, 23 on Saturday, and only 13 on Sunday! He's going to be cigarette free by the 10th of April, and if all goes well (which is will) he will be baptized on the 21st!

So, did everybody love conference as much as I did? Man, that was great. Lots of wonderful gems to be had. In fact, I could probably write for several hours about all the insights which I gained. But, I'll spare your attention and your retinas (because staring at a computer screen for long periods of time is bad for you), and instead just give a few of my favorite nuggets.

First of all, what was the theme of this conference? Every conference has one or two topics which is really focused on a lot. This one seemed to have three competing for the top position - Adversity, Families, and Forgiveness.

While all of them are wonderful topics, I think there was only one which really was emphasized by nearly every single talk - Forgiveness. At least, that's what hit me the most. For example, there were countless times when we were taught about the atonement of Jesus Christ, which in and of itself is an act of forgiveness and mercy. We were taught how we could better seek the forgiveness of the Savior through repentance and through keeping the commandments. We were told of how we could receive mercy through our adversity. And I think we were especially reminded to forgive ourselves. I think self-forgiveness is one of the things which all of us could do better at. Because how can God forgive us and "remember [our sins] no more" if we can't forget them ourselves?

Also, granting forgiveness to and seeking forgiveness from others is one of the best ways we, ourselves, can gain peace and happiness and be free from guilt and shame that come from hurting another person. It's a hard thing to do; it takes humility. It takes patience with ourselves and with the person who we wronged or who wronged us. But, I know from experience, that it is one of the best ways that we can be happy. Forgiveness will allow us to fully take advantage of the atonement and truly let our burdens be taken from us. And if we are currently holding a grudge... STOP IT!

Also, another good talk was Elder Andersen's (not to be confused with Elder Anderson). I especially liked his homily "What thinks Christ of me?" A powerful question we should all ask ourselves, every day if possible! Very similar to it is the thought "What would Jesus do?" Because if we do what Jesus does, then we will be his disciples, his friends, and his companions. Also, It's never right to do wrong, and it's never wrong to do right!

My favorite talk, though, had to be from Elder Richard G. Scott (not to be confused with Elder Richard A. Anderson) who talked in Saturday Afternoon's session about how we can receive revelation and how that can help us to become better people. By preparing to receive revelation, we come closer to Christ. By acting on revelation, we come closer to Christ. In all, revelation is both a fruit of and a motivation to come closer to Christ.

So many good talks to ponder and read over and over again! What a great Conference! What a great blessing to have prophets and apostles who receive revelation from God with respect to us. What a blessing to have it so readily available to us! 15 minutes after each session, video and audio is available. Language translations are available shortly after that. The written word is available within a few days. All of these things are available to us through computers and mobile devices! No longer do we have to rely on scrolls of parchment or plates of brass to read the word of the Lord - it is available to us everywhere in the world and in many mediums. And, best of all, we get new scripture once every 6 months!

Needless to say, I love living in the future.

Well, I hope that everyone felt the spirit as much as I did watching or listening to Conference. Hopefully we can all follow what the prophets and apostles taught us. I know that they gave me a lot of things to work on personally. Hopefully we can all do better.

 I hope all of you are as happy and healthy as I am. Do good. Choose the right. Don't forget the things that are most important, like President Monson taught us Sunday Morning. Seek for Celestial Glory. Remember, as President Uchtdorf told us, that the Celestial Kingdom is filled with those who have forgiven and those who forgive. God is there. That means he forgives. Like Elder Holland said - God enjoys being merciful. Be kind, and be grateful that God is kind. That is a happy way to live! Let us follow the counsel of Elder Hales so we can come back to the father: worthily partake of the sacrament, keep a temple recommend and use it, and always have a spirit of service.

Take care!
Elder Anderson (Missionary Slim)
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