Office Life

(It's been a busy week and we got three emails from Chase within the span of a week, so getting letters caught up has been tedious.  Sorry to make you wait!)

Hola!

Here are the answers to the questions:

1. Friday was great. I took the elders to get fingerprinted and it was nearly flawless. It was so awesome and I am so thankful to God for this. It was in Polanco. One micro (a little bus), 3 metros, one big bus, the fingerprints, the bus again, the 3 metros again, a micro, and back to the offices...all elders survived. I got lost at the end, but after a phone call I was able to get it figured out, and found my way.

2. We are hardly in the area. Saturdays and Sundays and Mondays are generally just the area, and no offices (today was a huge exception because we have a lot of things to do). We are in the offices now. We are rarely in the area during the week.


3. Yes, I pay rent and bills....well, all missionaries do. The mission office does not. However, bills have piled up in my life so the mission office helped me get back on my feet and will give me some money to pay them all. I have gotten a small taste of dept, or near dept. But outside the mission, people don't often just give you money and understand that you are learning, and do not expect you to pay them back. On the mission, this can happen if you don't take unfair advantage of it. I am glad that the mission gives second chances.


4. There are no typical days in the offices. Sometimes we have to leave and do things for visas. Activities change and depend on the day. For example, today I called some families and let them know when and how their children are returning from their missions, because they have completed them. That was a cool experience. We also sometimes receive referrals from other missions, and I am to send these referrals to the correct mission or area in our mission so that the elders or sisters there can find and teach this person. I also order furniture and name tags on emails, make ID cards for new missionaries, and whatever else I am asked to do. I am enjoying it.

5. The apartment is big. I like it. There is a lot of space.

Junue is devastated at the fact that the elders come and go. She wants them to stay. She did not go to church. We want her to trust more in God and less in us. I have plans to surround her with members in the next few weeks so that she can have friends and such.

We met with the ward missionaries and made some plans for the missionary work in Zaragoza. I hope they are on the same page as us and have desires to serve.

Villanueva family: The brother still doesn't go to church. We have a huge family home evening with them tonight.

Irene Torres is an older lady who is becoming active again. We had a family home evening with her as well.

Elder Loveland and I are doing great. We are great friends. We laugh and are enjoying the mission.

I LOVE CHILAQUILES. This food is heavenly. It involves a sort of chip, cheese, and cream drenched in salsa. I love this food. I also enjoy Posole. It is a soup. It is very hot but I like it.

I understand almost everything. There are times when I don't understand, but for the most part, I know what people are saying. I think I am at the point where I could live here by myself and be able to associate with others relatively well. Dont get me wrong though, because sometimes I really have no idea what people are saying. On the phone, I can hardly understand a thing. But maybe 70% of the time, I am able to understand what people are saying.

I can roll my Rs. It is not perfect and often sounds very forced. But, I can do it. My name has a rolled R so sometimes I struggle to say my own name! As far as I understand, the letter R is rolled when it is at the beginning of a word (like REVELACIÓN), at the end of a word (like COMER), or before a consonant (like ANDERSON). Or if there are two Rs, like "rr", then it is rolled also. So the R is rolled A LOT. I am getting used to it.

Me siento muy bien. Estoy experimentando muchas cosas increíbles en mi vida. Veo milagros todos los días. Mi testimonio de este Evangelio ha crecido mucho. Yo sé con todo mi corazón que Dios existe, que Jesucristo existe, y que Su obra y gloria es hacernos felices. Yo lo sé. Sí, tenemos problemas. Sí, tenemos tristesas y otras cosas fastidiosas que nos molestan. Pero, testifico que Dios nos ama y quiere que nosotros estémos felices. Podemos ser felices. El himno dice...

TU CAMINO PUEDE SER
UN SENDERO DE PLACER
SI HAY GOZO EN SU SER.

Yo sé que hay un plan para cada uno de nosotros. Y sé que podemos lograr todo que Dios nos manda, para que vivamos con felicidad eterna.

(Translation....I feel very good. I am experiencing a lot of incredible things in my life. I see miracles every day. My testimony of the gospel has grown a lot. I know with all my heart that God exists, that Jesus Christ exists, and that their work and glory is to make us happy. I know it. Yes, we have problems. Yes, we have sadness and other annoying things that bother us. But I testify that God loves us and wants us to be happy. We can be happy. The hymn says...(I can't remember how the English version goes! Sorry! It is the hymn THERE IS SUNSHINE IN YOUR HEART.) I know that there is a plan for every one of us. I know that we can accomplish all that God commands us, so that we may live with eternal happiness.)

I love you all. I would like to invite you all, if you haven't started already, to start reading the Bible and Book of Mormon. I especially invite my family. I will read 4 pages from each every day. And I invite you all to join me if you would like.

DIOS VIVE (by the way, if you dont know what this means, it means GOD LIVES!)

Elder Anderson