A Faithful18 year old...

HEY FAMILY!!  

OK, well times is just flying fast!!! Another weeks down and my mission to going too fast!! I'm getting the language!!! I'm understanding a  lot and its finally making sense. I'm still troubled at times in the lessons but I'm getting use to it!! My companion's impressed with me because in our language study, I could teach him nearly the whole restoration, ask commitments and prayer and testimony!! So its coming along slowly!!! Our goal is for me to be able to teach all the lessons the last week me and my companion are together!!!

We had our baptism and marriage for Irwin And Milan last Saturday and it was really a beautiful thing to witness!! Me and my companion had to sing - President asked if we could do an item, and we sang!!!   I totally mucked everything up, and they still thought I was good haha, I pretty sure they're just being to nice to me.

Sacrament is so much different here family - they sing the same songs every week, and we don't have a piano player, so they put on the piano , and it automatically plays the church songs which ALWAYS puts everyone out of time!! Its funny!! I wish you guys could be here!! Its funny at church how everyone wants to sit next to me and my companion!!! especially the old sisters!!

We had our first feed with a member two days ago,The Bulanon family. Jesse Bulanon They are such a wonderful family and to me, they're a huge impact on our Stop Alginado branch, ALWAYS caring and loving to the other members and us missionaries! They  feed us this kumara type vegetable. I took one bite of it, and it tasted like a kumara back home!! So  I ate a lot, and they just kept feeding me, because I dont think my companion liked it - but it was REALLY tasty and nice!! And I think they really like me just because I ate a lot!!  And I think it looked like I wasn't picky too.. 

Anyways I wanted to share something that really stood out to me:

A boy by the name of Jo Jo Bulanon, he's an 18 year in our branch, hes a strong member and very loving to me and my companion!! As we were eating at his brother's Jesses house, he told us, that his little 18 year old brother "jo jo" got offered a scholarship by the government, to go to uni in Baclolod and box, which is a massive opportunity !!! 

His father and mother told him to accept it, accept the once in a lifetime opportunity!! Brother Jesse told us he dropped the scholorship because he wants to serve a mission!!! 

I thought to myself , this 18 year old lives in a bamboo house, is not wealthy at all, and has an opportunity of a lifetime that "could" have given him and his family money!! 

I saw this boy the same age as me, his faith, his testimony of the Saviour and my faith grew as I heard this story!!  I have so much respect for Jo Jo and I love him to pieces!!!

I love these people and their faith in the Lord even though they dont have much!!!

I love it here and I love this gospel!!

Love you my family and have an awesome week:)

Love Elder Anderson

Cooking by Candlelight during a Brownout! That's what they call a blackout!

It's a half hour trip.  I relax and contemplate all that is happening in my life.  I enjoy the motorbike ride.

What I learned from Lehi's Dream/My first Shave

DAD and MUM and Family!

Another week has passed, man it goes so fast!! First I'd like to start off by telling you something that I learned in my personal study!! I read through 1st Nephi chapter 8, which talks about Lehi’s dream. I  was reading in this section because we are teaching missionary work to Irwin and Milan our investigators who are getting married this week and both are being baptized.

They’re really solid and do all our commitments and come to church and so forth. Anyway Ii was reading through it and as he explained in I think verses 16 and 17 it  talks about how Lehi wanted both  Laman and Lemuel to partake of the fruit, but they didn’t. 

It helped me realise that even in strong families, your kids or grandchildren can( hopefully wont) still fall away from the church - it happened to prophet Lehi - two of his sons stayed rebellious even though they saw miracles and angels.

It also helped me realise how grateful  I am to my family and also helped me realise how I don’t want ANY of my kids to ever go less active and fall away from the church. This mission has been the key to whether I chose to follow the world in my life or Jesus Christ!! And with a family like ours and through my testimony in Jesus Christ I chose to follow him.  I am truly grateful for that and for choosing his plan at first !!

As I’ve said time and time again, I love it here and I love the people. Also, the knowledge and patience I’m learning out here is indescribable!! I don’t think I could have never learned everything I’ve learned so far if I didnt decide to come on a mission and serve the Lord!

I’m still growing, I had to shave my chin hairs because apparently to my companion they were too long, Which is a good thing is it not haha??? And apparently I eat a house load compared to my comapnion, haha He eats nothing which is good because I get more food !!

I have to cross these streams to get to my investigator's homes.

I walk up the mountains to teach.

My companion is really good at the language and has taught me a lot. I can understand ALOT more in lessons now and I can open a lesson, say a prayer, explain a little bit of the lesson, and bear my testimony at every principle we teach!! So im getting better!! I  am truly witnessing the gift of tongues!!

Another funny story.  So there’s this less active who we always go to and try and bring him back to church, but he seems to always be working . Anyway I caught him out. We went to go visit him this one time and saw a teaching opportunity on the other side of the road so we went  and talked to this stranger AND out the corner of my eye I saw brother Mahina walk out, spot us and went straight to his back yard!

We then went across the road to brother Mahina’s house and he was in the backyard cutting his-Im being serious the grass was so short, it was like weeds and dirt and he was there cutting it with a machete haha. Me and my companion stood there and looked at each other.!! We then asked to share a message and he said he was busy!! 

haha We then left and cracked up laughing. I said to my companion, do people think we are that stupid then we crack up laughing again!!

Its the best here, walking up mountains, teaching people, walking across streams and just an adventure to get to my investigators.

I love you

Have a good week. Have some weetbix for me.

Elder Anderson

I work in the mountains

Hi Family

Okay so im going to go more indepth with this email. Man one week already gone, wow the time flies, OK well explaining my apartment:

That well outside is our water for the shower, to wash our plates and for water in general -, we buy filtered water across the road so that’s a life saver.  We wash our clothes by hand outsid. This week we are getting a member to wash our clothes and we pay him, just becaue we have so much!!I We have a roof but mosquitos can enter through the roof.   

I  wash in a bucket, its funny, because I see  myself in two years and Im going to be a rugged maori when i get back ,lol.

 Im doing good in the area, the language is hard and Im getting use to it, BUT Im starting to understand, and its sinking in whenever we are teaching. I share my testinmony ,always open with a prayer every single lesson.  The people, love hearing me talk because I only know a little, and because I think they can have a good laugh haha.  But im learning, and me and my companion’s goal is before he leaves,  the last week Ill be leading the area and teaching most of the lessons!!

Please keep my learning the language in your prayers to help me and Sister Anderson, because its not easy and we need that help!!!

I taught my first lesson in a members home, Brother Romeo, I talked about Ether 12:27 and I thought I did alright . He got the message so yes thats my real first lesson in the language.

OKay so im going to show two photos I took.!! Our area is the most ‘bukid’ in the whole Bacoclod area, (which means mountains), so Im out in the real Phillipino world.  We walk up all those big moutains and it sometimes takes 40 minutues to get upto one appointment, or one investigator, so managing where we go is important so we stay in one area for the whole day.

 Every Friday we go out to Canubgan which is a 30 minute ride into the mountains on a motorbike, or how we call it a hubble hubble and Jeremy probably knows!!!  

I sweat continuously here and just got over my sickness, and now I can eat properly, me and my companion are going to get a lot of food!

Its funny because my companion eats NOTHING and I tease him because he has no chest, I mean it looks like he hasnt done a press up in his life -hahah so he wants me to train him  within our 30 minute exercise times in the morning hahah.

There was a cool experience with a recent convert who was going to be a paster in another church, we went and visited him and we got him to come to church - hes a golden investigator.  I  jumped for joy inside because it was good to see him where he needed to be and shows he really soaked in our message. Its weird because even though I may not know the language, I can still communicate with the people. The Lord really helps me with that. Ive really gained  a big understanding of the Book of Mormon, but I still have a lot to lern, so Im focusing on how I can help meet the needs of my investigators.

This morning I was reading about repentence and I learnt that every time we give a commitment, we are inviting them to repent. Throughout my life I always understood that repentance is a change in heart, thoughts and desire and this morning my mind really opened up to the real meaning to repentance, turning andchanging your life towards the Saviour, and my job is to be a guide for the people I teach and commit them to repent. 

It was real awesome, we had our second baptism on sabador,(Saturday) , Marjorie aresgar. She’s 13 and real shy, It was another good experience to witness her being cleanse from sin and her receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Family I have been really blessed to serve here in Stop alginado and I pray for Tacloban everyday that I may serve there. I know it only depends on Heavenly and if he feels it’s right. I love it here, I love you and miss you.

Love Elder Anderson

PS I just wish I could have some weetbix.  That is what I missJ