busy week

Friends and Family, 

 This week has been pretty good.   We have a Baptism coming up this weekend,  her name is Misty she has been being taught for about a month now and she loves Jesus!  She is great.  We are also working with her daughter, but she does not have a baptism date yet.   She is 14 and her name is Dechantene. We  have been teaching another investigater named Jammine and she  also has a baptsim date for Dec. 23rd!  We are keeping busy and it is great.  

 This last week we got to help out with the tree lot again and after we helped out they let us pick our own tree! :) its almost 8 feet tall in our lil 1 bedroom apt! but it looks great! :) i don't have my camera so I will send pics next week!  We get to go to the temple on Wednesday and I am always excited for that!  Its always so fun to be able to go there and feel  peace! 

 We had a conference call a couple nights ago about Mary the mother of Jesus and man was it good! i wish yall could just call in and listen! Sounds like yall had fun this weekend! We have our ward Chrsitmas party this Saturday.   They are doing it in the morning as well so it will be different. Man i just feel like i never have enough time to write everything!

 I hope yall have a great week! i love yall so much!
Elder Anderson!

Turkey bowl winners. Nov 26, 2012

Family and friends, I hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It's a little different down here in the south for Thanksgiving but still the same meaning! Just a lot more corn bread! But hey I'm not complaining about that! We had Thanksgiving at our bishop's house and also the Melby's, a member in our ward. They are both very great cooks! The food was great!  We got to play in the turkey bowl again this year. I'm proud to say I'm 2 and 0 on my mission. I had the winning interception in the championship game! I should have been a receiver in high school. haha I had 7 touch downs! I had lots of fun but was very sore the next couple days, but it was well worth it! My new companion is Elder Tuailemafu -Mauigoa (Tawaee lema foa maui goa) haha took a while to get it down! He is a great missionary and we are excited to work together to find, teach, and baptize. I'm still the district leader for our district of 10 missionaries. We are having a Christmas luncheon at the mission home this Wednesday. Sister Holzapfel is so nice and good to us! That's a lot of cooking! But it should be great! We found some new investigators. One family is from Ghana and said we could come back Wednesday along with a man that just moved here for schooling. So we will see and update y'all next week on how it goes! Crazy to hear all the people getting home off their missions! Well better send this so I can send pictures! We bought a Christmas tree today!
I love y'all.
Elder Anderson

Halloween Party

So this week was a long one! My companion ended up being sick and we had to be in the house for 4 days!!!!! Ah, I thought we were going to die. We were going crazy! Ha but it’s all good and he is getting better and somehow our prayers worked and I'm not getting sick! So that’s great. I decided I was going to try to finish the Book of Mormon in one day and guess what!!! I got to 2 Nephi. Man was I wrong. That was way more than I thought! But I did learn things that I didn’t know from reading it last time. I always learn something new! Being stuck in a house on a mission is like being forced to watch a BYU game! Haha just messin, but for real it is not fun! We tried to make it fun but you can only do so much in a one bedroom apartment! We had the ward Halloween party here and did trunk or treat. It was kinda like they do it in Howell, but I like how our ward does the haunted house! There is a street here that they call Halloween Street and I guess there were thousands of people go there on Halloween! We didn’t get to see it, but heard it was pretty great! We have zone conference this Wednesday so that should be good.  President Holzapfel will be going over some information that he received in Florida last week so I'm excited about that. Sunday I bore my testimony and then there were two girls under the age of 8 that got up and bore their testimonies. They were so great! They said they can’t wait to be baptized and go on missions! They have a brother that’s out on a mission right now. They did a great job!

Well sorry for the lame update! 

Love y’all

Elder Anderson

A great week!!! Oct 22, 2012

Hi Yall

Well this week was great! Monday we went on an exchange and I went with one of the zoneleaders to their area in Cahaba Heights.   I was there. Tuesday was my birthday! Thank you to all of yall that sent me a letter and/or a package! Your awsome!!! :) We went to lunch and after we were almost  done eating,  this lady and her son came up to us and said,  hey we are members too and just wanted to say hello and we hope yall have a good day. So we thought  that was nice of her to come say hello! The waitress came back  10 mins later and said didn't that lady tell you she paid for yalls meals? That was so nice of her!!!! Later that night we went  to a members for dinner and help decorate their house with Halloween stuff (P man I was thinking of you) We then exchanged back that morning! Wednesday we had some great lessons with some recent converts and investigators.  Thursday we were BLESSED! We had district meeting in the morning and that was great! We then went to an appointment that fell through :( (keep in mind we are on bikes!) then from there we went to so service and help a lady move.  That also fell threw.   So we thought man,  this day is not working out!  We felt a bit down and not sure what to do. So we decided to get on the bus to ride around and I was getting so motion sick because they are so bad at driving! I I then had a thought come to my mind and we were right where we needed to be to make it happen,  so we got off the bus and walked to this guys house that we had talked to and his mom answered the door.   We talked to her for a little bit and I got another thought.   I know it was the holy ghost working through us! I asked her,  well since your son isn't here,  could we read something with you? She accepted. We sat down with her and at first we just talked a little.   She then opened up and said,  I have had a very rough week.... and so Elder Larsen and I both went to the Book of Mormon.   I went to Ether 12:27 he went to Mosiah 24:13-14.   She teared up and said those are so powerful.... I know yall were sent by God I was thinking about taking my life and yall showed up.   Thank you so much.. It was so great to follow the spirit! Then as we left we decided to start walking towards home because it was a pretty far walk.   We wondered which way to go on the road and  felt  the need to CHOOSE THE RIGHT haha so we went right and we ended up running into the investigators that appointment fell through, so we were able to see them and talk with them.   After we were finished talking with them,  some lady came up to us crying and said we need you in our lives please! She was from a part member family.   We had received a text earlier that day from our zone leaders that said we would  will find someone to set a baptism date with today.  Just have faith and let the Lord guide you. So as we were talking with her,  I felt the need to ask her why she wasn't a member.  After talking to her for a bit we ask her to be baptized on Nov 18th and she said yes! Then we started on our way home again and some guy came up to us said he always wanted a Book of Mormon.   It was great!

 Well love yall and have a good week!

Elder Gentry Anderson

seriously... 18 years old to serve

Family and friends! are you SERIOUS 18 for the youngmen to serve! That’s AWSOME! This week went well we didn’t find new people to teach but we have been trying to get use to the bus! (man, it’s tough when they don’t come on time and break down) (they are trying to cut back, so they took some of our cars away and gave us a bus pass) but we do get to talk to a lot of people. We were on the bus one day and a lady looked at us as we were jamed packed in the bus and said, have y’all ever done anything bad before? and we were like umm.. bad as in what? and she said like do drugs or drink or anything? and at this time like everyone in the back of the bus was staring at us! so what did we do? we taught the word of wisdom to people on the bus! haha it was great! and after we gave them all mormon.org cards! We took the bus to where we have district meeting and it took about 30 mins in a car and by bus it took about 1 hour 25 mins! so that will be different but at least we are being seen and get to talk with Heavenly Fathers children. This weekend was amazing! I love General Conference so much! and hearing from a prophet? nothing better! It started on Saturday with the great news of 18 for men and 19 for women to serve missions. That just shows that Heavenly Father trusts his children at such a young age! It’s amazing how much trust he puts in us, so why don’t we put more trust in him? :) There was such a strong spirit before conference even started! then when it did everyone seemed to be glowing! Before the priesthood session, one of the senior missionaries took us out to dinner. We were going to get it for him but he ended up buying dinner for us. I love our senior couples, they are so nice! President Holzapfel showed up where we were watching the priesthood session, it was great to see him. Sunday was awesome too. I could go on forever if time would allow! Today we went back to the science center. Some missionaries got us some free passes so we went with them. It was way fun! Congrats Rhett on the TD!! That’s awesome! I’m glad you got to meet the Reeds! they are so great! Well sorry not much crazy stuff this week! I’m not getting transferred and will be staying in Vestavia, so that’s good. We have a date for baptism set for the 21^st of October set with Jordan. (he is Trevor and Haley’s other brother) Pretty cool!

Love y’all!

Elder Anderso

What’s up family! What a busy week! Last Tuesday we got a text saying we needed to meet at the mission home where President and Sister Holzapfel live. It was a text to all of us including the Spanish missionaries, so we all were wondering what was going on! I was nervous and the other missionaries said they were not,  but you could tell that all of us were ha ha.  It was just so random! When we arrived to the mission home, the President sat us down with the assistance and all of the Birmingham Elders  and  told us we will be losing our cars,  so we no longer have a car starting next week.   They have bought us a bus pass and we now have to learn the bus routes when we can't ride our bikes.  It should be fun, hard,  but it will be a great finding tool to meet people we are hoping! That night we met with Erika and went over a few of the commandments. We then saw a couple other people on Wednesday.   We we able to go out with Sister Reed to lunch! It was so great to see her! She brought a non-member friend that we got to talk to about the church and she also told me she is coming out to Utah for conference and has already made plans with yall! That’s awesome! After lunch we went on exchanges.   I went to Center Point and was with Elder Thurston.   Elder Tolman trained him. We just tracted and contacted. I forgot a pair of pants so I bought a pair for 3 dollars at a thrift store! Great buy J Friday we met back up in Homewood and had district meeting.   After that,  Elder Larsen and I had the two Elders drop us off down town to see if we could make it home! And we did!  Man its going to be rough riding a bus with how motion sick I get because  they are crazy drivers! Friday night we had a couple recent converts go and do baptisms for the dead.   That was so great! Saturday we prepared for Sunday! (Saturday is a special day it’s the day we get ready for Sunday we clean our rooms and we brush our teeth, clean the font and see Erika, Trevor and Haley! We also helped a member move that morning! Sunday! Wow what a busy day! We got up at 6 am and hurried to get ready, and then got picked up a little late so we were rushing!  When you rush,  you always forget something right! Dad? J So we get to the church  and start to get the font filling and was getting everything ready.  We took pictures then went to get in white and guess what I forgot! My baptism clothes!!! Are you kidding me...  what is wrong with me! So I scrambled to find something to wear and just ended up wearing a jump suit haha. The baptisms went great! Everything went good. After church it poured rain the rest of the day.    Today we got our bus pass we are in for a ride!J hope all is going well! Thank you for the letters Mark and Mallory! Hope yall have a great week!!

Much love! Elder anderso

Times flying... Sept 25, 2012

Hi y’all,

Man another week come and gone! Someone has got to let go of the fast forward button and let time slow down a bit! Things are going well! We had a good lesson on Tuesday with the Evans and also with Erika. On Wednesday we got to go to the temple and of course that’s always great! Nothing like being in the temple jammed packed with tons of missionary’s and having the spirit so strong! It’s great! Thursday we were able to teach another great lesson with the Evans and meet with Erika and then stopped by a member’s house that night. Friday was a slower day. Saturday we did service for a family in the ward! It was good to get dirty for a while.   Saturday night the ward had a chili cook off with 37 different chili’s and then pies. You got to rate 3 each it was pretty fun and a great idea! Sunday was great and church went by really fast! Nothing much new this week! We are having some baptisms this weekend that the Lord has allowed us to have. Erika asked me to baptize her on Saturday then on Sunday the Evans will be baptized so we are excited for that!  Today we went to this place called the Mcwane Center. It is like the science place at the Gateway only 10,000 times better. haha (see attached picture) I laid on a bed of nails,  got to pet some sharks, and even played a piano that is so big it’s on the floor! It was a good preparation day! This week will be 14 months! I can’t believe how fast it’s going! I hope y’all have a great week! 

Much love! 

Elder Anderson

Hi y’all

Alright.. so this week was my last week in Fort Payne and it did go by fast!

Monday for our p-day we went to the rec center with the Wilding boys and some of their friends to play basketball.

Tuesday we had multi zone conference in Huntsville with Elder Koelliker and his wife.  Elder Koelliker is in the Quorum of the Seventy and he had some pretty great things to say. We all were asked to prepare a 5 min talk and then he was going to choose randomly people to come up and give their talks, so I was freakin out a little bit... but was not called up thankfully! We did do something pretty cool.  All the missionaries got up and bore there testimonies in one minute. Man there are so many different testimonies, no wonder we have so many missionaries, different people need to hear very different testimonies. The meeting went from 9 am until about 3 pm.

Wednesday we went to Gardendale for a bit.  I got permission to go to Bessemer for the day and see some of the people we taught. There wasn't very many of them was home though!! :( it made me sad. We did get to see the Reed’s, man what a wonderful family! They invited me to their temple sealing on May 12th. That will be a great day! :) We had alligator gumbo and it was amazing!  Then we made the long drive back to Fort Payne.

Thursday we had district meeting and went on exchanges with the district leaders for the day. We helped by serving others that day.

Friday we exchanged back and then yes, did more service :) I love service. We went to see Jason and Maranda that night.

Saturday we worked during the day and then went to the Wildings at 7 pm for hamburgers.  We talked with them and Justin and Amy. (Justin and Amy Nessen are Gentry’s cousins. They are friends with the Wilding family and drove from Texas for the Wilding boys farewell) It was so great to see them! Their girls are so cute! They are such a great family! It didn't even seem real they were here in Fort Payne. It was kinda like a dream haha.

Sunday we had church, of course and I had the opportunity to teach proper prayer language in Sunday school. Elder Wilding gave his farewell talk and did great! He will be a great missionary! After church we went to the Wildings home for a little bit. We talked and took some pictures and then the Nessen’s headed back to Texas. It was very good to see them. The Wildings have been so great to us. I am thankful that I was able to meet them and their family. We had stake priesthood that night and I said goodbye to *** Chain he is also a great guy I'm gonna miss him too! Then of course like I said I’m getting transferred so I will keep you updated! 

Thank you for the package!!! Today I have been out 13 months! pretty crazy!!! :)

Love y’all..  Elder Anderson

Never put off a prompting

This week went by pretty quick! On Tuesday and  Wednesday we were in Huntsville for the day because  we had a meeting with the Callisters, a senior couple in the mission.  Tad Callister is his  brother and they have set up a master teaching program in the mission to help us become better teachers and also better at the scriptures.   The meetings went pretty good.   It really helps a lot to be able to be corrected and to receive help on the lessons. We came home that night and had missionary corralation at the church.

 Thursday we had a  district meeting and it rained pretty hard here that day.   We have been having some crazy weather lately here. We saw some members and set a baptism date with a dad and daughter for the 25th of this month,  but they didn't show up to church so we are going to go and see whats going on tomorrrow.  We saw the Mangolds  and they fed us some good pizza from Chattanoga. 

On  Friday we did our weekly planning and did some service.   It was a busy day with people all day long.   The Wilding boys have been going out with us and it has really helped us out a ton! We also we have a new elder with us now so we are in a trio and his name is Elder Bentz from Arizona.  We seen Jason and Maranda on Saturday and helped build a ramp for some one in the ward.   That took a while,  but turned out really good.

 Sunday we obviously had church and Elder Whipple was scheduled to speak last in sacrament meeting.   We got a text saying a lady needed a blessing and we kinda put it off because it was in the middle of sacrament meeting.  Then we got the same text from another number and then someone called us so I knelt down and prayed about it and felt like we needed to go right then,  so Elder Bentz and I took off and asked a priesthood holder to stay with Elder Whipple.  When we got to the address we were suppose to go we found out a lady had been run off the road by a 18 wheeler and her car went under the trailer.  Instead of getting crushed inside the car it  actually pushed her out.   She really shouldnt be here any more. She is going to be alright.   We gave her a blessing and we could feel the spirit was very strong.  I'm glad we were able to follow the spirit of the Lord to help give a blessing.  We should  never put off a prompting just do it!

Hope yall are doing great..  

Love, Elder Anderson

july 23, 2012 update

Hi yall

 This week we taught one of the families that there son was one of the boys we helped in baseball.   The son can speak english but the rest of the family only speaks Spanish.   Elder perkins and i went over and I basically just sat there most of the time.  He would then would give my testimony in english it went pretty good. We set a date for the 28th of July for them to be baptized and they said yes,  but they first need to learn more they said.

 Tuesday I was with Elder Perkins.   They got there visas so they were showing us where the investigators they were working with live. We then had dinner a familys house that made us gautamulin  kind of food.  I was really nervous,  but it was pretty good.! 

Wednesday we went to one of the part member families homes and had a lesson.   Jermey came with us and it went good.  He is still not ready for baptism yet though.   He said he still needs to receive his answer.

 Thursday we had  our weekly planning and then we tracted for a bit.   We saw Chris and his family.  They are the ones from the baseball team.   We taught them the restoration. The spirit was very strong as Elder Perkins gave the account of the first vision.  Chris was actually saying it with him so it was a cool experience. We then had dinner at a members house and then our corrilation meeting.

 Friday we had district meeting and one of our zone leaders Elder Schawrting taught the meeting.   It went well.   He is really good at all he does and knows a lot about the gospel. He is from Long Island New York. He talked about dead works which sometimes means going through the motions. It was a good one to be at.

 Saturday we did service for a referral that  we received out in Rainsville.   He is a non member, but his son served a mission and was a bishop and is now a Dr.  in texas. Ben is the father and his house got hit by the tornado.   We went and helped him pull nails out of boards and clean some stuff up. They then made us some good deep fried chicken,  okra,  corn and all that good stuff that came right out of the garden. Then we went to Jason and Marandas and read the Book of Mormon with them.   They just finished with 2 nephi! yay! 

Sunday we had church of course then after the other elders started packing up all there stuff to go to Argentina.    Elder Whipple and I saw some members.   We came home and everything was all packed up. We took them down to the Birmingham on Monday morning.  Transfers were this week, but Elder Whipple and I we will be here for another 6 weeks.

 Hope yall have a great week!

 love you so much

Elder Anderson

busy week of june 9th

whats up yall

 This week has been pretty good. Tuesday we went to the country to see some members for most the day an then they were having their firework show at the Fort Payne High school and a member took us.  We talked to some people until it was 830 and then we had to leave! :( so no fireworks for the missionaries... but thats ok because I went home wrote in my journal and drew some in there so that should make up for it right? 

Wednesday we had zone leader training in Huntsville.   We drove to the meeting and it was  good.  I like hearing our leaders talk. We then came home and tracted the rest of the day. 

Thursday was pretty busy.   We had weekly planning in the morning then we have been asked to start doing 4 hours of service in the community.   We searched for service,  but everyone just looked at us like we were talking a different language.. so we went to an all you can eat pizza place called Stevie B's.   You can put whatever you want on a pizza there.   We did some service for them and they allowed us to get some food so that worked out great :) Then we had branch corrilation that night and a storm rolled in with heavy winds and rain.   The 2 visa missionaries were lovin it. I went out in it for legit 5 seconds and was soaked head to toe... 

Friday morning during studys door bell rings and it was the mail lady and what does she have? A pkg from Uncle Kirk. Lets be for real.   Whenever he sends something,  you know its home made,  So I ripped it open and there it was..... the best jam in the world! Two  loafs of bread gone that day! We then tracted and contacted the rest of the day. We were able to watch tv special 20/20 Where Heaven Is.   It was pretty cool that it talked about our church. 

 Saturday we helped our branch mission leader start putting up a shed just like Uncle Rex's tin one.  It is 17 ft tall 40 ft long! Man that was tough,  we only got 4 sections up andwe got sun burned! Man am I greatful for sundays and church.   I taught GP's class again   The visa waiters  had 2 investigators come to church that I had talked to before.   It was weird they remembered me to, it was pretty cool,  I really hope they keep coming. Then after church Jason and Maranda had us over for dinner and we watched the 20/20 with them.   So all and all it was a pretty good week. The weather radio calls for rain everyday this week,  but I doubt it.  The weather in Bama is bi polor! Gas was down to 2.94 now its back to 3.04.  I never thought it would get that low again.

 Well hope yall have a great week! Much love!

Edlder anderson

hot hot in Alabama

Well this week has been hot!!!!! They said it is never this hot till end of August,  but it was over 103 for 3 straight days with the humidity! The heat index got up to 112 one of the days..

 So Monday the baseball team won.  They were down by a few runs,  but then they started to get it together and let  Shane pitched and they ended up going into extra innings and ended up winning. When we came back home,  there were police boats and scuba divers out in the lake by our apartment. Come to find out someone drown and they couldn't find his body. Later on in the week they did find his body about a mile down the lake from where they last saw him sad...

 Tuesday we tracted all day and then the team had another game that we went to that and they lost.. so now they are out. The good news is we gave another book of mormon to someone else that asked for one,  so that was good. 

Wednesday we got up at 5 am and got to go to the Temple! I love the temple.   It was great to be able to go and feel the spirirt with a room filled with missionaries! We saw brother Bush from Bessemer at the temple cutting the lawn with some boys from Bessemer.   He  took us out to lunch to Hamburger Heaven and it was pretty good!

 Thursday Elder Perkins and I  went out  tracting and it was so hot!  We had some good lessons and found 2 potential investigators,  so we will see where that goes. I forgot my planner at the house so sorry I'm  winging it from memory!

 Friday was just another day of heat and tracting. We had district meeting over the phone because everyone was out of miles on their cars. 

Saturday we were in Collinsville and it was another way hot day on the bikes until Elder Whipples chain on his  broke off.  We then we had to walk all the way back to the car it wasn't very fun haha.

 Fast Sunday was yesterday and we talked to John and had him pray during the sacrament  We then asked him to read a story from the Ensign and pray about the 14th of July and he said he would,  we are really hoping for that!  We had a pretty good storm last night that was needed because  everything is dying because of the heat. The new elders thought the lighting and thunder was pretty sweet!

 Well I love yall so much and have a good 4th of july. 

Happy Birthday Markell! love yall!

Elder anderson

Fort Payne All Stars

The Fort Payne All Star Team.  A letter that one of the parents wrote to President and  my testimony that I wrote and put inside all the Book of Mormons.

11 months and counting

Hi y’all

Here's a rundown of our past week. 

Tuesday we went to try to see a lot of the members and less actives and so we did that most of the day.

Wednesday we had district meeting in Scottsboro. Then on the way home we saw more members. That night we had branch mission council.

Thursday we did service for a thrift store down here and they just had us do all the nasty jobs :) it was great! Then we tracked most the day. Later that day we went to the all-star team’s last practice. Elder Whipple and I had written each one of the boys on the team a little letter and then wrote our testimonies in Book of Mormons to give to the parents at the first playoff game the following day. The parents all wrote President Holzapfel letters thanking him for allowing us to help with the team. That was so nice of them. We went to the practice and it was so hot we just died in our long pants. The team gave us a team hat and they are way sweet. They also sent one to Elder James in Cali.

Friday same thing tracked a lot of the day, then that night went to the all-star game. They got killed! It is double elimination so after the game they talked about their next game that would be Saturday at 8. We would not be able to go to the game because our mission president was coming to meet with us and some investigators. I asked the coach if I could say a few words and he said yes. I stood there for a second and just started crying in front of the whole team. I thanked them for all they had done, for the examples they have been to me and for allowing us to help. As I looked up, a lot of the boys were in tears and they all come up after and gave us hugs. We gave them the letters and the parents the Book of Mormons. Only 1 family didn't take one. One of the coaches is a youth minister and he even took one! It was so great! I hope this will open some doors to share the gospel.

Saturday rolls around and my heart would not stop racing all day. President Holzapfel is one of the last people I would ever want to disappoint. The night came and Elder Whipple and I felt the need to show the hour long restoration film. We were so nervous about the meeting because we told president that the lessons are only 45 minutes long. Anyway, we got to the church and watched it. The spirit was so strong and I was dreading for it to be over because the lights were off and when they came back on I knew I had to share my testimony. It’s so hard for me to bear my testimony, especially about Joseph Smith ever since Dad took me to the Sacred Grove. I got up and could not even talk, I was crying so hard. Once I calmed down I said how thankful I am for Joseph Smith and all he went through to restore the gospel. Then Elder Whipple bore his testimony and talked about his little brother he lost. Then another member bore his testimony and then President Holzapfel bore his. It was just a huge chain reaction and it was amazing! I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers! We got there at 6:30 and ended up leaving the church at 8:30. I’m thinking great we went way over time, but president told us we did the right thing and that he was very glad he came to that lesson that night. I am thankful to have the amazing mission president that I have.

Sunday we were at it again. President Holzapfel came and taught in a combined Priesthood and Relief Society meeting, then turned around and spoke in sacrament meeting. I got an idea.... send me a walkie talkie and you can hear him too :) maybe someday!

Well, sorry this is kind of long but hope y’all have a great week! Can you believe on Wednesday I will have been out 11 months! On Wednesday we are going to the temple and I can’t think of a better place to be than at the temple!

Thanks for all your love and support!

Love, Elder Anderson

Staying in Fort Payne

Hi Y’all

So this week has probably been the fastest week on my mission so far it seems like at least! We have been helping out with an all-star baseball team a lot.  I didn't realize until the members told us what a big impact we were making.  I then looked back and noticed the change in the attitude the players parents have towards us compared to the first couple times we helped. It’s amazing! We are hoping that maybe some baptisms will come from it. But if not, we have given the Church a good name to the 60+ parents and kids that come and that is pretty sweet! They had me coaching 3rd base and also had me pitch some heat to the kids.  They were lovin every second of it.

I think I told you that I am under 200 lbs. now and I'm still workin out pretty hard. I decided I might as well keep it off out here and I won't have to work it off when I get home. Elder James had exercise contraption called contour and it’s an exercise for your abs and back, so I will have a 6 pack when I get home. J  I bought one of Elder James suits from him, he sold it to me for 15 bucks!  We have got along great. I am going to miss him.  He leaves Thursday morning at 5 a.m. He is pretty excited and I can understand why.! He has a few scholarships to play college football as a kicker!

The assistants called this morning and said I'm staying in Fort Payne and will be getting a newer companion. Not training, but follow up. Then I will also be getting 2 Spanish visa waiters who are called to serve in Argentina, but waiting for their visa's to come through.   He said it will be like you are going to be in a glass box because they are all new so they will be watching every step and move you make, but we know you can do it.   It’s going to be a lot different and hard to have 3 new missionaries in a new area! haha oh gosh!  We had bunk beds put in the house since there will be 4 of us now.  

We are working with a couple prospects. One used to be a member and now wants to be re-baptized. The other is from a part member family.

I got a package from the James today. They are great, and also, tell everyone thank you, thank you for their letters from camping.   They make me cry every time, but in a good way. I can hear their voices and see their faces when I read them. I love our family so much and I am so thankful for their support. 

 Last night was a pretty big storm. Our weather radio went off around 12:30 a.m. so we got up and sat on our porch and watched the lightning. That is one thing I love about it here. It’s so sweet when there is lightening because they are huge bolts and it lights up the sky. We sat up for an hour or so. The all-star team was going to have a practice game today but it’s still storming so not sure that will happen.

We had dinner at the Wildings (Justin and Amy’s friends) and it went good. He acts just like Justin and it’s pretty funny how alike they are. Then we will have a dinner tomorrow night and Elder James is gone! Pretty crazy.

Things are going great still. Sounds like y’all are doing good as well.  Anything I can do for ya?

Love you so much!   Have an amazing week!

Love Elder Anderson