An Invitation

Hola familia y amigos! Espero que todo esta bien y que cada persona tiene buena salud y felicidad.

What a week!!! I want to start by sharing an awesome experience....

I was at a Noche de Hogar (family home evening). We join other family's family home evenings to teach and strengthen the people here. Often, the people invite new investigators, so we have the opportunity to teach them with members present. I was at a Noche de Hogar with a family that is less active. There is Ruben, his sister (who is not a member), his mom, his brother, a member friend of the family, and Luis and Julio (two members that my companion and I know very well and have become great friends with). We wanted to watch the video "The Restoration", but the DVD player did not work with the disc so we taught the lesson instead. As we were teaching, I got extremely dizzy. The room was spinning. WHAT IS GOING ON!?!? My head was spinning, my sight was blurred....I am going nuts. I am a little freaked out. My companion looks at me and says something like ELDER! DO YOU FEEL THAT?! I realized what was happening...I was experiencing my first earthquake. I flipped out!!! Not so much with fear, even though I kinda was afraid, but mainly with excitement!!! The building rocked gently back and forth and I was giddy with excitement...and everyone else was so calm!!! We sat there in almost silence and we felt the building sway back and forth. And then it stopped. I was asked WAS THAT YOUR FIRST EARTHQUAKE? And I said Si!!! Everyone had a really great laugh as I made fun of myself a bit and how excited I was. It was a great time and we all shared some laughs....and then we went back to the lesson. Haha!!

Language: Coming along great! My ears are getting used to what is correct and what is not in Spanish. Just a little, not a lot. I can kinda pick out things that are incorrect in Spanish. For example the phrase LOS VIAS (the ways) is very, very weird to me. Not because the textbooks tell me it's wrong, but because my ears can pick out that it sounds very awkward. LAS VIAS is the correct way...so Spanish is becoming more natural...that is very exciting!

Our success, when determined by our number of lessons (and really, success should never be determined by this, but rather by our efforts), we have had little. But we are happy and working SO SO SO HARD!!

Familia Romero: The mother of this family talked to us outside her door. I did not understand everything she said, so I asked my companion as we left. He said she doesn't want to meet with us. My heart shattered. Tears filled my eyes. NO! WHY! Oh my gosh it was devastating. I said a prayer as we left that God would bless that family.

But, our successes are what I want to talk about.

Alvaro: Accepted the invitation to be baptized!!! Yes!! He has such a strong desire to change.

Junue: Also wants to be baptized!! Yes!! But I am worried. This family recently moved, and they are very, very stressed. Satan knows full well that she wants to be baptized. Today, my companion and I are going to try and help her understand that she will face trials, but if she perseveres, she will be blessed and her family will be blessed.

Doing very well with Less Actives. Visiting Visiting Visiting!

I had a cool experience. I felt inspired to visit a certain family. So I told my companion this during a nightly planning session. He said he did not feel this inspiration. I kinda got a bit flustered and wondered why. Why would God only inspire me? I must have missed the revelation, and it is just me talking. The next day, we went to this family. I was so nervous!!!!! What is going to happen? Why did I feel led here? We found that this sister is struggling. We gave her a blessing. She began to cry, and we were able to teach and comfort her. Wow.

I want you all to know some things. Missionary work involves missionaries. Now, what am I talking about?  There are people in the neighborhood in Mesa that have been blessed by our religion....but have not talked to the missionaries. There are also people that we probably have invited to talk to the missionaries, and they have refused. For everyone that reads this, I invite you all to take those next steps. Talk to all of these people, even if they refused in the past. Ask them if they want to talk to the missionaries. And then CONTACT the missionaries and have them visit them. And GO WITH THEM!! The missionaries will love you for your referrals and will love if you go and teach with them. They will probably love you forever! There are people who need them. Be persistent. Do not take no for a permanent answer...just a temporary one. This is my invitation! Be involved with the missionaries!! Have family home evenings with them and nonmembers! Do other things! Invite them over to eat!! I promise it will bless every single one of you if you do this.

I love you all and will talk to you next week.

DIOS VIVE

Elder Anderson