Family,
Well it was a crazy week. Got my new comp Elder Romney on Tuesday and
flew out on Wednesday. We arrived on the island and a couple hours
later I led district meeting. Then we went back and the next couple
days were spent getting settled in. Taking the old area book (that was
literally a binder with some papers just shoved in it) and organizing
it and trying to find our way around town and finding people. It's
been a slow week when it comes to the progress of the area but it's
been fast other than that. Now to answer a few questions. I actually am
serving in a ward that has 4 elders and they were actually here before
(well one of them) and its Elder Gorge! My old companion! So it's a
little bit easier because we are opening up a companionship in the
ward but the thing is there is nothing. We walked into the piso and
there was one usable Book of Mormon and a couple of pamphlets. Thank
heavens Elder Gorge is here because he's been able to help us find
things. We went out to a pueblo called Puerto de la Cruz and met a
couple members and a less active lady named Carmen. So we are going to
start working with them. Puerto de la Cruz is beautiful!! But a very
touristy place.
My companion is doing good! He is learning Spanish and has amazing
desires to learn it and do the work. It's great to be with someone who
has desires to work hard and be obedient. He's a great missionary and
will do amazing things here. We are both learning how to do things
here in the islands cause wow, it's a lot different than Madrid. We
can't drink the water here so we have to buy it at the store for the
week. We don't live right on the coast (about 25 minutes in the above
ground metro) but we see the ocean basically every day.
The work is coming. We're just finding right now and so we will just
continue to lay the foundation for future missionaries. It's gonna be
5 more weeks of hard work and I'm trying my absolute hardest to give
it my all. It was a couple interesting transfers in B5 after Elder
Cahoon left but it shaped me and helped me grow. Now he's giving me
one last mountain to climb before I come home and I'm gonna summit it.
Conference was amazing as always. I have come to appreciate it more
and more. As dad described it it's like finding an oasis in the desert
(or something along those lines) it was well needed and a good
spiritual recharge to help me keep going strong.
I don't even know where to begin with what I learned. I learned so
much! But I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk. What he said really comforted
me. I think I've tried for too long to complicate my discipleship. I'm
going to simplify things and not beat myself up so much. Sometimes I
feel like I don't do good enough but then I realize, I'm trying to be
perfect right now rather than improve and strive for perfection. I've
seen perfection as a destination and not as the journey it is. So I'm
going to simplify things and enjoy the journey. What you said mom at
the end of the email really spoke to me, it's what the spirit has been
telling me all weekend. My goal for the next 5 weeks is to find joy in
the journey. And what better place to do it than paradise?
This island is amazing!! I know the church is true! There are prophets
in Israel and we just spent a weekend at their feet. I love you all!!!
Love,
Elder Anderson
¡Hurah por Israel!
¡El Reino de Dios o nada!
My comp is a great missionary. He's going to do wonderful things in this mission. So cool they emailed you. I'm so grateful for their prayers and thanks for your prayers mom.
Well it was a crazy week. Got my new comp Elder Romney on Tuesday and
flew out on Wednesday. We arrived on the island and a couple hours
later I led district meeting. Then we went back and the next couple
days were spent getting settled in. Taking the old area book (that was
literally a binder with some papers just shoved in it) and organizing
it and trying to find our way around town and finding people. It's
been a slow week when it comes to the progress of the area but it's
been fast other than that. Now to answer a few questions. I actually am
serving in a ward that has 4 elders and they were actually here before
(well one of them) and its Elder Gorge! My old companion! So it's a
little bit easier because we are opening up a companionship in the
ward but the thing is there is nothing. We walked into the piso and
there was one usable Book of Mormon and a couple of pamphlets. Thank
heavens Elder Gorge is here because he's been able to help us find
things. We went out to a pueblo called Puerto de la Cruz and met a
couple members and a less active lady named Carmen. So we are going to
start working with them. Puerto de la Cruz is beautiful!! But a very
touristy place.
 |
| Elder Anderson & Elder Romney |
My companion is doing good! He is learning Spanish and has amazing
desires to learn it and do the work. It's great to be with someone who
has desires to work hard and be obedient. He's a great missionary and
will do amazing things here. We are both learning how to do things
here in the islands cause wow, it's a lot different than Madrid. We
can't drink the water here so we have to buy it at the store for the
week. We don't live right on the coast (about 25 minutes in the above
ground metro) but we see the ocean basically every day.
The work is coming. We're just finding right now and so we will just
continue to lay the foundation for future missionaries. It's gonna be
5 more weeks of hard work and I'm trying my absolute hardest to give
it my all. It was a couple interesting transfers in B5 after Elder
Cahoon left but it shaped me and helped me grow. Now he's giving me
one last mountain to climb before I come home and I'm gonna summit it.
Conference was amazing as always. I have come to appreciate it more
and more. As dad described it it's like finding an oasis in the desert
(or something along those lines) it was well needed and a good
spiritual recharge to help me keep going strong.
I don't even know where to begin with what I learned. I learned so
much! But I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk. What he said really comforted
me. I think I've tried for too long to complicate my discipleship. I'm
going to simplify things and not beat myself up so much. Sometimes I
feel like I don't do good enough but then I realize, I'm trying to be
perfect right now rather than improve and strive for perfection. I've
seen perfection as a destination and not as the journey it is. So I'm
going to simplify things and enjoy the journey. What you said mom at
the end of the email really spoke to me, it's what the spirit has been
telling me all weekend. My goal for the next 5 weeks is to find joy in
the journey. And what better place to do it than paradise?
This island is amazing!! I know the church is true! There are prophets
in Israel and we just spent a weekend at their feet. I love you all!!!
Love,
Elder Anderson
¡Hurah por Israel!
¡El Reino de Dios o nada!
My comp is a great missionary. He's going to do wonderful things in this mission. So cool they emailed you. I'm so grateful for their prayers and thanks for your prayers mom.
To answer your questions!
1) There are 12 missionaries on the island. There are four of us in
our ward. We are opening up a companionship in the ward (which is a
little bit easier, and it's a blessing. Opening up the area completely
would have been a very difficult task
so it's been a blessing to have another companionship here to
help us out)
2) The church is outside of the town about a 20-30 minute walk.
3) We are not sure how many active members there are, but it seems
like there are quite a few! I will let you know next week once we've
been to a sacrament meeting.
4) It is a ward.
5) The Canary Islands was made into a stake in 2013 a couple months
before I got to Spain. It is called the Las Palmas Stake.
6) Tourism is huge. There are also a lot of retired and rich Germans
who come to live here. They are also a huge producer of bananas here.
Training is fun so far! He's got a lot of fire and it's awesome.
Have an amazing week dad.
I love you!!
P-Day in the Canary Islands
Tenerife, Canary Islands
Enviado desde mi iPad
