April 29, 2013

Missionary Slim thinks " Who needs Punxsutawney Phil when I have Somerset Mandy ". (Week 64 in Pennsylvania, Week 5 in Somerset, PA)

Service has been the theme of this week. Pennsylvania did a giant day of service on Saturday where we spent several hours raking and bagging leaves in a state park. Tuesday we helped a disabled member put together a trampoline for his granddaughter. Definitely makes you feel good.

One way we serve out here is by visiting one of the elderly-est members of the Branch - Shirley. She lives in a nice old-person manor on the shore of Somerset Lake. It certainly is a pleasant place. Too bad she has to stay in bed all day long. Her roommate, Ruth, is in a similar predicament due to her legs being broken in an automobile accident. Both of them, though, have a great love for music. That is, hymns sung by the Mormon Missionaries! In the notes the other missionaries left for us, they warned us "Bring a hymn book to see Shirley. Trust us... ;)" Sure enough, we get there, and the first thing she says to us is "Can you sing me a song?" Her favorite song is "Did you think to pray?" and we always have to get that one in there at some point. Sometimes, we use the teaching power of Primary songs to get into an actual lesson, but for the most part, we just sing, and they listen. Ruth closes her eyes and then exclaims as we finish, "You've brought me right to the throne! Oh, thank you Lord, for these wonderful singers who share their talents with us!" We don't take requests though - usually, they end up being something we don't know like "What a friend you have in Jesus," or "The old rugged cross," two very good songs, I'm sure, but songs we sadly don't have in our hymnals. We are temped to go to the local Salvation Army thrift store and pick up some old protestant hymn books we found there a few weeks ago.

We've been teaching Mike for a couple of weeks now. He's got alcohol problems, and I don't know... for some reason, I just seem to have the greatest love and sympathy for alcoholics. I have little patience when they are tipsy, but when they are sober, most of them are the most humble people you would know. That's Mike. Great guy when he's sober, mostly incomprehensible when he's not, just a cacophony of random stories and exclamations.

On one of our earlier visits, he claimed to be a philosopher. "I think about a lot of things, guys." We got into a conversation about how people are followers, and he gave us a way to test it. "As you are driving down the road at night, and you have a car following you, just swerve gently into the other lane, and then back, and then swerve again, and go back. The guy behind you will start doing the same thing, he'll start following you. It's human nature!" I still haven't figured out if the experiment was to see if the guy behind our car would follow us, or if we would follow the insane experiment he told us to try. Needless to say, I think it's a good thing Mike doesn't have his drivers license.

On one of the visits where he was more drunken, he pointed at his chihuahua, Mandy. Even when he's sober, Mandy is a part of every conversation, and is mentioned in every prayer. She is Mike's life-line. This time, though, we found out that he has a super dog! "Mandy can predict the weather three days in advance!" he declared. He told us that she tells him how the weather will be - how she communicates to him we are still trying to figure out. Then, the weather is just the way she said it would be. On this visit, the forecast was sunny and clear. Sure enough, when we took a rather lengthy car drive to Indiana, PA for our district meeting, we drove through bright, shiny... rain. Well, so much for that.

I'll make one more little note though. I got word from Washington that Dan, the investigator I baptized there a few weeks ago, was just ordained to be a Priest. I was more than thrilled to find an email in my inbox about it. Apparently, the missionaries had no idea that it was happening. The bishop just pulled him in, interviewed him, and BOOM! There he was. He told me about his trepidation, but I'm sure that he'll do a great job. It certainly is gratifying to know that not only am I part of a work that is bringing forth fruit, but the fruit is remaining, even thriving. It certainly gives me great hope, strength, and encouragement.

Have a most fantastic week, everyone! Thanks again for reading!
Love,

Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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April 22, 2013

Missionary Slim meets someone who says that she is, "Mostly Catholic." (Week 63 in Pennsylvania, Week 4 in Somerset, PA)

An interesting (or perhaps, very uninteresting) thing about Pennsylvania, and something that has been a big part of my mission so far: There are 50,000 members in this state and 104 congregations, according to LDS.org. An average congregation has had anywhere between 180 to 200 members in attendance each week, although my current branch only has around 55-65 each week. Doing the math, it would appear that each congregation on average has about 200 less-active members. This congregation, being smaller, naturally would have a smaller number. As far as I can tell, we have about 100 less-active members.

Taking it a little deeper, there are a very large number of these less-actives who are working on coming back to church. One of the greatest joys of my mission has been working through the concerns of these less-active members as we visit with them. I have such a great love for so many of these dear brothers and sisters who have strayed from the fold, and have had such awesome and inspiring experiences teaching them and helping them come back.

At the same time, there are an awful lot of people who have just dropped off the face of the earth. Seriously, I mentioned the experience where we went to the one address to find these lost sheep and end up in a zombie apocalypse movie. Seeking out and finding these lost sheep has become a big part of my missionary labors here in Somerset, and that's a big part of what this week has been. Sadly, we didn't have too many remarkable experiences. It usually just involves us going to the address, knocking on it, waiting for the response, asking if the person who answers is indeed the person we are looking for. If we don't get a response, bugging the neighbors always seems to be effective. Sometimes they are open to visiting with us. Sometimes, they very clearly tell us what they want from us: nothing. That's always a little saddening.

Probably the best part of the whole operation is when we get back to church on Sunday and say "Hey, we met so-and-so this week" and watching the jaws drop. "What, you actually got in there?" "How did you get past the dogs?" "I haven't seen that person in over 25 years!" Hearing those things always gives me a kick.

We had Zone Training this week. My zone is far different from any zone I've ever been in, which made it a... unique experience. The zone goes from the bottom-most border of the state to just about the top-most border of the state. For reference, check out the Altoona stake on maps.lds.org (Go to the "Layers" section and choose to show "Stake Borders" and note that you have to log in with your LDS.org account) That means that instead of just traveling to the stake center for our meetings the day of, we ended up staying the night. We carpooled with the Bedford missionaries and ended up at the Zone Leader's apartment. Which happens to be the home of four missionaries. Yep. We had a grand total of 8 missionaries staying in that one apartment. It was unique to say the least.

I'm sure you are thinking "When is this drivel going to be over?!?" Well, never fear! I saved the best for last. Actually, just yesterday (Sunday) we had an awesome experience. It was one of those really down moments of the day - we were out of plans. So, I picked a street and we went a-pounding doors. The first door we got a response from was a 35-ish old woman, musician who claimed to be "Mostly Catholic." That got us going on a good conversation of how she, being a musician, jumps from church to church performing for them. When we introduced the Book of Mormon, she said "Can I have one?" We testified, got a return appointment, and everything. We stayed out on her porch for a pretty long time just getting to know each other too. She seemed to be very open and fairly excited to read the book and learn more. I certainly would call this one of those times when the Lord prepared the person for us to find and put her in our path in just the right moment - she works 5 jobs in addition to going to school. The time we knocked on her door was one of the only times that she would be home ever during the week. Coincidence? ...Perhaps.

Regardless, the Church is true, regardless of anything else. Christ is at the head. He is the captain of this ship, and the captain of my soul. At least, I hope he is and strive every day to help him lead me. 

Have a delightful week!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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April 15, 2013

Missionary Slim has a week full of firsts (Week 62 in Pennsylvania, Week 3 in Somerset, PA)


This week has been fairly successful. Sadly, it's been a little dull, but that's okay. Although it has been a week of firsts, in several ways. 

We were driving down the road, trying to figure out who to visit where and when. A person popped into my head. Now, mind you, it was weird because I didn't know the face of the person, nor did I know the name. Regardless, I knew there was a person in the direction we were going that we needed to visit. I asked my companion to read off the names of all the members who lived in the direction we were going. Probably thinking I was crazy, he started reading. Then he got to Bro. Kimmel. "That's the one!" He put the address into our trusty GPS and away we went, down the windy, rocky, dusty roads of PA. 

We got to Bro. Kimmel's house to find him inside, smoking out the window. He let us in without any hesitation - he was glad to see us. "Guys, I need some help," he told us. He said that he was working on getting his life together, getting the priesthood, and eventually getting sealed to his sweetheart. I would say wife, but they got divorced. "But we're trying to make it work right. We're going to start it right this time." That was the first time I've ever heard of that. "So, what you're saying it you got divorced so you could get sealed?" His reply was as matter of fact as saying "It's sunny outside." -

"Uh... Yeah."

Man, is that guy humble. He wants to be his very best (he has a bunch of personal motivation books and on top of them all rests his triple combination), but at the same time, easily recognizes his worst (obviously smoking, but he also recognizes his addiction to Pepsi). Best of all, he wants to change. "Whenever I need you guys the most, you always show up," he told us while we were there. 

In fact, my companion and I are starting to know what it feels like to be prayed to people's doors. Another investigator, Kazia, told us "You missionaries always show up right after I have a deep prayer." Wow. Kazia is pretty fantastic. She's super hyper, bubbly, full of energy all of the time. She's got a great desire to follow the Lord, she just has a hard time getting down to it. She's got a lot of great insights to the gospel, but at the same time still has a lot of questions. Best of all, she's got faith. Despite her questions, she does not doubt. She still hopes to be able to get out of this rut that she's in and feel the love of her Savior that she felt before.

Don is another investigator we've been visiting with. He's very much into the Gospel - he loves his Savior and wants to be baptized. He's just so worried about joining a religion that he doesn't want to be baptized a 'Mormon' or a 'Catholic' or a 'Lutheran' or whatever - he wants to be baptized as a disciple of Christ. We found, though, that his main concern came down to his belief in the Book of Mormon. After reviewing the restoration, we asked him "If you find out that this church is the true Church of Christ, would you be okay with joining it?" His answer: "Of course!" When we asked him how his reading of the Book of Mormon has been going, he said that he was pretty sure that the devil has been working on him, trying to keep him from reading it. The member that came with us was sharp and caught on immediately. He asked Don "What does that tell you about the Book of Mormon?" After a moment, he responded "I guess that means it's true!" He still needs that spiritual witness, but he keeps moving one step forward at a time.

We've also been teaching a great family; Ben, Jen, and their four children. He works as a sanitation engineer (AKA garbage man) and she takes care of the kids. They've got a bunch of questions, and also have their doubts. But they're willing to act. After a pretty decent lesson, we gave them the invitation to come to church, and they came! I was more than thrilled. I'm not sure if it made a huge difference - we haven't had the chance to chat with them about it, but they were willing to try the word, to give it a shot and see if it would help them in their lives. Hopefully it does. 

So, we're teaching a lot of people, all very different, but all similar in their quest for peace. Hopefully, we'll be able to help them find that peace. And hopefully, all of us will be able to find that peace ourselves.

Take care!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim

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April 8, 2013

Missionary Slim plays " Sniper " with a young boy and makes his day. Is that really appropriate? (Week 61 in Pennsylvania, Week 2 in Somerset, PA)

This week has been oodles of fun. We've done some pretty crazy things, like always. Seriously, every day is an adventure when you are a missionary because you never know who will be behind whatever door you are knocking, or which investigator is going to ask what crazy question or what random person is going to stop you on the street to ask you to help them with their lives... or what funny instances happen on a day to day basis that just need to be written down.
 
We were walking down the street, trying to find someone. In Somerset there are a handful of highrise apartment complexes. As we were walking, I looked up to the balcony of one and saw a kid with a toy gun. He was up there, pointing his gun, taking careful aim, and then recoiling as if he just sniped somebody. I watched him for a few minutes as he "took out" cars, people, trees, whatnot. We got to the door we were looking for, knocked, and had no answer, so I decided I'd start playing Sniper. I get down in a tactical stance, holding my invisible "hand" gun (man, those tech guys are getting better every year!) and point it up at the kid, waiting for him to notice me. He does, eventually, and immediately points his "gun" at me, and recoils. I collapse. I lay there, for a moment, on the pavement and then look up. He is seriously freaking out. He can't believe what he just did. He ran into the apartment, grabbed his mom, and showed her his "kill." I waved and they both waved back. I feel I had done a good deed for the day, that is, if I didn't instill in this child the desire to go and snipe people with a REAL gun. Eh. I figure this just gets it out of them early on in life.
 
On a similar note, though, we were sent out by the Branch President to find a few members with some sketchy addresses. We went to one of them, pulled open the door of the apartment complex, and were met with this sight: a dark, damp stairwell. Several units for fluorescent light were installed along this stairway, but only one light-stick was on, and even then it only flickered. A rank stench filled the air. Garbage was strewn on either side of the stairway. If that wasn't enough, a very heavy silence was all we heard. With trepidation we walked up the steps, certain that at any moment, a reanimated corpse would burst out of a door or a psychopath would come running down the stairs. Each step brought a loud creak out of the stained floor beneath us. We eventually found our way to the apartment doors. The apartment we were looking for was around a corner, down a hall. The only escape was behind us - we were trapped! As we neared the door to the apartment we were looking for, we found it hanging open. I knocked. "HELLOOOOOOO!" No response. I stepped into the apartment. A few random items were strewn on the floor - a baby cradle, a plastic water bottle - but nothing of note. As I looked deeper into the apartment, I saw the refrigerator doors wide open, cupboards open, drawers open with nothing in any of them. I turned to my companion: "I don't think they live here." He heartily agreed, and we made our escape with our lives into the night. Seriously. That was honest-to-goodness how it happened. It was straight out of "I am Legend" or something...
 
We did have some more positive experiences, though. We knocked on someones door, and a wonderful woman opened it. She was sincerely interested, invited us in just to chat with her and her husband for a bit. They asked us about where we were from, about the Church, about the Book of Mormon. She did say "I'm interested in learning, but I don't want to convert." She also asked for a copy of the book, to which I warned her "If you read this book, I want you to know that you will not only learn, but you'll be converted." She took it anyway. (I'm not complaining!) They even invited us over for dinner right then and there! I've never had that happen my entire mission (and I could extrapolate that and say my entire life too). These people were pretty sincere and genuine too - they didn't want to convert us or change us from our ways. They just wanted to be hospitable and kind. Man, it's nice to meet people like that.
 
And, of course, General Conference. Man, it was amazing. As usual, I pulled out my study notebook and wrote copious notes. Before conference, I decided to ponder a few questions I wanted to have answered. Nothing too specific and too personal, just things that I wanted to get out of it. As usual, every question was answered, sometimes multiple times. Here goes the list.
 
First: How can I be a better disciple? Not just better missionary, but a better follower, a better learner. 
 
Dean M. Davies gave a good answer - do the little things. Like a building, our lives and our testimonies are built with materials, one brick, one tray of mortar at a time. He described these materials as prayer, scripture study, sacrament, and priesthood ordinances. 
 
Henry B. Eyring reiterated those first three (the Trifecta of Testimony, as I like to call them) as simple acts of obedience which we can use to draw near unto the Savior and abide with him. Also, he said we must serve. As we give of ourselves, the Spirit will be more present in our lives. Of course, the Prophet also gave excellent counsel on being obedient. Obedience is the Hallmark of the Prophets, as he put it. We learn truth from it, we serve God through it, and we protect ourselves by it. (Who can forget his story of his youth when he lit an entire field with a match?) Obedience is the mark of a true disciple.
 
Second: How can I prepare now to have a more happy and successful marriage and family? 
 
L. Whitney Clayton gave a marvelous talk: Watch and Learn he said. We can observe the good qualities of successful marriages. For example, the best kinds of marriages mean the world to the partners - the marriage itself is a Pearl of Great Price to those who are part of it. He, and others, also said that Christ must be a central part to the marriage and to the home. 
 
Richard G. Scott also talked about this, and asked the question "How do we center our homes on Christ?" Daily personal and family scripture study and prayers and weekly family home evening - the little things. Also, we must live like the Savior. Selfishness is the source of a great evil. We must live our lives outwards, and not inward, and help those in need. 
 
There was also a great theme of disconnecting from technology and reconnecting with those who love us.
 
I was very impressed with the example mentioned by at least two of the speakers: the Saints in West Africa. They are not concerned about material things. They have a little of what matters the least, but a lot of what matters the most. Boyd K. Packer also talked about how we need to apply the power of the Priesthood in our homes, and how all of us can become more worthy to receive and exercise the power of the Priesthood.
 
My final question was: How can I have more peace, joy, and love in my life?
 
Quentin L. Cook comes out and talks about that very thing: how we cannot have universal peace until the millennium, but we can have a very real personal peace now. He talks about how the doctrine we preach, the doctrine of Christ, is also a doctrine of peace. Peace comes through knowing our life is in line with the will of the Father by following that will. He taught about faith, repentance, and keeping covenants as sources of this peace. Ultimately, it comes through the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Craig A Cardon also mentioned the peace that comes through repentance and forgiveness, and how the mercy and compassion of the Lord can always carry us, even as we still make mistakes - we are not required to have immediate perfection, but to grow and develop into better selves. I might also mention an overall theme of peace in David A Bednar's talk on chastity, and the inner peace that comes from keeping this essential, divine law.
 
Dieter F. Uchtdorf talked about how as we walk in darkness, we can be filled with light. We start now, turn to the Lord, and walk in the light, which is his way. "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (although, secretly, I always say that scripture "the way, truth, and light" in my mind, because he is the "light and life of the world").
 
Bruce D. Porter gave an excellent talk on hope and optimism, and explained that even in darkness and adversity, the Lord will be with us. A beautiful morning lies ahead. The Spirit will always be there to guide us, and of course, Christ has already overcome it all. "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
 
The Church is true - there are prophets and apostles on the earth today. Isn't it wonderful?
 
Have a great week, all!
 
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim

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April 1, 2013

Missionary Slim and his new adventure or How use the word " assuaged " in a sentance. (Week 60 in Pennsylvania, Week 1 in Somerset, PA)

This has been a week of changes, and the only way I'll be able to describe everything to you is by giving a play-by-play day-by-day. So, bear with me, and here it goes.

Monday, we went over to Sean and Becky's to give them the Stop Smoking program. They did it. They promised to do it, and I believe them. In fact, they should be non-smokers completely by now. The program lasts for 7 days and kicks the habit entirely. Between that and the Addiction Recovery Program hosted by the church, they'll be completely smoke-free and free of the smokes.

The goodbye was pretty rough - that family, a lot of families in Washington, and I have gotten really close. In fact, the missionaries who went in to replace us getting transferred out texted us and said "Elder Anderson, these people really love you. They keep talking all about you." That means the world to me. It tells me that I must be doing something right, but it also says a lot about the people - they can love a person like me. I've learned a lot about love from Washington Ward.

Tuesday morning, we got a call from Shane, another investigator. He was bummed that we didn't get a chance to say goodbye, and while we were chatting on the phone, I mentioned that transfer meeting is in Greentree, PA. "Wow. I actually am doing a job in Greentree tomorrow." Coincidentally, we were actually able to meet up for lunch before transfer meeting to say our final goodbyes. I would even say, it was a miracle.

We got to the transfer meeting, met all of the new missionaries (A dozen new Elders and a dozen new sisters.) As usual, one by one the missionaries were called to their new areas. Elder Wright actually went to his old area, Uniontown, which he was pleased about. Then came me. "In Somerset Branch, Elder Anderson will be serving with..." President Topham purposely paused for dramatic effect, "...Elder Swanson." Both of us were pretty excited about that. I've met a lot of missionaries who have served in Somerset, and they said very good things about it. But my greatest concern, getting to know a missionary who I have never served with, was assuaged.
 
Just a little geography lesson - Somerset is a little town/county almost directly east of Washington. There is another county in between them, but it's only about 65 miles away. It's landscape and culture is similar to Lebanon, except there aren't as many Puerto Rican's here as Lebanon. The plane that went down in PA during 9/11/01, Flight 93, crashed in Somerset County, so hopefully, I'll be able to visit that place. And, the people who are here have been here forever. That means they have no intention of changing. It's a very nice place, quiet, the people are friendly, and the horizon is just peppered with windmills. Like anywhere else, it's full of uniqueness.

Wednesday, we drove to Johnstown, PA for our district meeting, where I found my semi-not-really-long-lost Cousin twice removed. Yep, coincidentally enough, my mother's mother's father's son's son, or grandmother's cousin is serving a senior mission here in Pennsylvania. He's been here for about a month, and is loving it. Needless to say, we made fast friends.

After a long drive back to Somerset with several stops to meet some less-active members, we got word from our Zone Leaders (who control our mileage allotment) that we were only allowed to use 100 miles from the time we got to Somerset. And we had used 90 already. With that, we put on our walking shoes (which happen to also be our driving shoes, but my English teacher would be proud that I used the phrase "put on our walking shoes"...) and went to work.

Oh, may I also mention - it has snowed pretty much every day that I've been in Somerset, with about 7 inches falling the first two we were here. It's been a very wet, cold, slippery week.

Now that I've bored you all to tears, I'll get into the highlights. This being the first branch that I've served in, I was a little nervous about how well the members would be able to help us. My worry was unnecessary - this branch is awesome. We've been fed, we've been driven around, we've been helped. The branch president spent tons of time with us helping us get to know the area and the people in the branch. It's been fantastic.

Friday morning we got a call from the Branch President: "What are yous* doing this evening?" (* Not a typo. Him saying that tells me "Welcome back to Central PA, Elder Anderson")

Our answer: "Well, we've got nothing solid planned."

"Well, Brother Vaughn's daughter is going on a mission, and they are having a little pie party over at there house. Most of the branch will be there, so you'll be able to meet them and get some pie. What do you think?"

If you know how much I love pie, you could probably guess my answer.

Incidentally, a very interesting person lives in this branch ("I don't always eat pie, but when I do, I prefer cherry. Stay hungry, my friends.") That interesting person is none other than Brother Topham. Yep, the mission president's son. It really doesn't affect anything. It's just... interesting.

Easter was also very pleasant for us. We again were invited to the Vaughn's home for dinner and an Easter egg hunt. (I felt like a kid again!) And the rest of our week was spent knocking doors, trying less-active members and potential investigators, and walking from place to place. A day in the life, as always.

In closing, I'm going to get on my soap box for a bit. Something very special is coming up. Something very unique, especially to people who aren't members of the church. You know, that time when a man who speaks with the Lord tells us what the Lord told him to tell us. It's an event which has been prepared and planned and prayed over for weeks, even months. And it's an excellent opportunity to share the gospel.

 I mean, come on. If you weren't LDS (maybe you aren't! If that is the case, it means the world to me that you are reading my blog), and somebody told you a prophet of God was going to speak, you'd be interested, right? I would be. And I'm sure a lot of other people would be too. I've been leading out my conversations with people by asking them "If there were a prophet on the earth today, like Moses, what would you ask him?" Answers ranged from "Where is my life going?" to "Why is there so much pain in the world?" And I know for certain both of those questions will be answered in General Conference.

Friendly reminder: Conference is in four sessions April 6th and 7th at 10:00-12:00 AM and 2:00-4:00 PM, and a Priesthood session at 6:00 PM April 6th, all times MST. It can be viewed online at GC.LDS.org, on BYU-TV, or at any friendly, neighborhood LDS meetinghouse. Be sure to check it out.

Oh! That reminds me of one more thing. For those of you into satellite stalking (or sending pieces of paper tucked into other pieces of paper folded, glued shut, and plastered with the most expensive sticker you'll ever buy), my address is:

402 High St. Apt. 2
Somerset, PA 15501

Enjoy!

Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim

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