Awesome General Conference! (April 2013)

[This week I asked Kyle a LOT of questions.  We happened to be online at the same time, so we e-mailed back and forth.  These are all the answers.]

 

Momma!  How was your week?  How was conference?!  Temple in Cedar City!!!!  I'm for sure going there now!!  We didn't have any baptisms cause it was conference weekend. But we got three lined up for next week.  All of our investigators are doing super well.  We are focusing on the ones with dates though.  

 

Today we didn't do much for p-day.  Just bought lots of food to snack on and pretty much drew all day.  We buy what we will need for the next day.  It's just a lot more convenient to grab a couple eggs for the morning, I think, then just bread for dinner.  The stores are pretty much just like your basic grocery store.  Just a little smaller.  We have a lunch with a member everyday, which they usually like to give us lots to eat. TONS of Rice.  Ha!  I drew Joseph Smith and a cool name thing for Brian.  

 

There's just me and Elder Flores in our apartment.  Our apartment has two stories. Both about the size of the TV room downstairs. We have a sink and a fridge and a place to do laundry. We wash all the dishes by hand.  We have a microwave and . . . we have a shower and a toilet.  The water is freezing!!  WOOHOO! I have a picture I will send you . . . when I figure it out.

 

We usually have to wash our clothes by hand, but there is a lady in our ward who needs help money wise, so she washes them for us.  We pay her and she washes our clothes. 

 

We have a missionary credit card. We get money put on it every two weeks. We usually go to an ATM and get it all out at once and keep it at the house. 

 

We don't knock on the doors.  Everyone has gates with their front doors open.  So you just walk up and say, "BUENAS" and they come.  The people are always nice.  They really like talking, too.  We usually do street contacts though.  Well.  We find them in the street then later go to their houses.  I wish the members gave us referrals.  We keep telling them over and over again to give us some, but it never happens.  We have tons of appointments during the day so we are always walking to peoples houses. We have an hour a day set apart for only finding new investigators. During this hour, yes, we just stop people and get their information so we can visit another day.

 

A regular day is . . . wake up at 6:30.  Pray.  Exercise.  Eat some breakfast.  Shower. Personal study. Companionship study.  For the first 12 weeks of your mission there is a program you have to do.  We do that after comp study.  It's just kind of a getting started kind of deal.  Then we go to lunch.  Then go to all of our appointments for the day. At the end of the day we buy some stuff for dinner and breakfast.  Then we have a planning session for the next day and then we usually have about an hour to ourselves.  Sometimes we just go to bed cause were so tired.  But a lot of the time I eat and read my scriptures.  And then we go to bed and get to do it all over again the next day!  HA!

 

Speaking of which.  The other day we had divisions.  That's where me and Elder Flores split up and he goes with the district leader for a day and I go with the district leaders companion.  It's kinda interesting being in a different area for a day.  I was glad to be back with Elder Flores.  Ha!

 

I still haven't gotten your package yet. We usually don't get packages until zone conferences. Which are every 3 months. So it's probably sitting in the office waiting for me (I hope!) So I don't think it's lost forever.

 

But nothing to crazy happened this week.  Except for awesome GENERAL CONFERENCE!  We got a couple of our investigators to go.  I'm so glad we did.  It's like an instant testimony finder!  So we have a couple more baptisms, I think!  Conference was awesome, as you all know.  I was so so fortunate enough to watch it in English along with two other gringos in our zone and Patricia (my first convert!). It was awesome talking to her again.  Conference here is like stake conference. They all gather at the stake center and watch it in the big room.  It was awesome!!  In between sessions us Elders didn't really have much to do, so we just went to the store, bought some food, and chilled at the church.  HA!  But anyways.  Life is still good here! Hope all is well there and I love you all!!!

- Elder Anderson

  

More About the Gunman

Have you heard the saying, Days turn into weeks and Weeks turn into days?? HA! Crazy it's already Monday again!  We had a pretty spectacular week here in Campo! Thunderstorms here are awesome!  So loud and crazy!  Ha the other day we made homemade popcorn.  Turned out pretty awesome!

First I'll talk about the gun guy from last week.  He had his gun in a little fanny pack and didn't pull it out all the way.  But I saw that it was fake, so I wasn't too nervous.  They tell us in these situations to just give the guy some money and then tell the president and you get reimbursed.  I'm not sure why he didn't take my money.  He had a glove on so he must not have felt it.  I didn't mind though!  The two guys were huge!  Once they started beating him up, out of nowhere like 10 more guys came out and helped.  The gunman was a little twig.  Maybe 20 years old.  I easily could have taken this guy.

Everything was said in Spanish, but I understood everything because the only thing he was saying was DAME SU DINERO.  Pretty easy to pick up.  Especially when he was trying to get it.  We kinda just stood there in amazement as he was getting beat up.  This happens in video games and movies . . . not in real life!  Ha.

We didn't tell the mission president because nothing happened to us.  But we waited around for the cops.  I don't know how, but this kid got up and was all up in our faces because he thought we knew the guys who stole his motorcycle.  There were lots of people there by then, so nothing got too crazy.  It happened at about 7:00 at night.  Right after it was dark.  It was actually right by the church.  We had a meeting there and were waiting for the jeep to take us back to Campo. 

I was pretty calm through the whole thing.  If he would have started something, I would have punished him.  It hasn't really affected us too much because these things just always happen.  It's usually not a good idea to try beating someone up because almost always they have a group of buddies watching to make sure things go smoothly.

 

We had a sweet fast to help us find new investigators.  It's hard fasting cause all of our investigators offer juice.  Ha we had to turn it down like four times!  But it's okay.  We have an investigator named Henry.  He is like your ideal investigator.  Loved the restoration. Loved the Book of Mormon.  And he is coming to conference with us next week.  I think conference is live . . . I'm not sure. We're just going to the stake center which is about a half hour away to watch it.  

 

We have another investigator named Rosio.  She is so cool!  Single mother with two kids.  Today we bought her a hymn book and a complete Book of Mormon/Doctrine and Covenants!  It was so cool to see her face when she received it!!  Just another example that I really need to be more thankful for the things that I have. 

 

Personal study is probably my favorite part of the day!  It's for an hour in the morning.  Right now I'm in Alma.  Alma the younger is such an awesome man!  I wanna be like him.  He teaches with such power!  Like in chapter 5.  Perfect!!

 

Testimony meetings here are awesome!  There is never a silent moment.  EVERYONE wants to share!  And this week they just got back from the temple in Bogota.  The temple is about 12 hours away.  They were gone for four days and it's a pretty big chunk of change, so usually not the whole family goes.  They are so so thankful and it made me realize how much I take the temple for granted.  

 

The way computer time works here is kinda like . . . the houses are pretty small, but everyone has some sort of shop.  So yeah, we are in an internet cafe type deal.  There are about eight computers in here.  We have an hour.  We do it at the end of the day because we're all dressed up and at 6:00 we gotta go out to work again.

 

We had some sweet burgers for lunch.  They put beef, chicken, and all sorts of mess up in there. SO GOOD!  Also, when they have refreshments they go all out.  Ha not just your basic cookies and stuff.  We're talking sandwiches and soda! HA so good.  We didn't have a baptism this week, but it's okay.  

 

Another thing. Check this out for personal revelation.  Not too long ago I was reading in D&C 31.  I substituted my name for Thomas.  AND IT'S AWESOME! Give it a try!

 

But anyways.  Love ya Momma!! And until next week!!

 

Pero esta bien!  Mucho amor Mamma!!  Hasta proxima semana!

- Elder Anderson 

Fruit Looks Like Brains! (And Story of a Gunman)

Momma!

Always such a pleasure to talk to you!  Mondays are superb.  I kinda realized I'm not very good at answering the questions you ask . . . So here ya go!  HA!  We eat three weird fruits here.  They are called Mora, Lulo, and Maracuya.  Ha wait til you see the inside of a Maracuya.  It looks like brains!  But it's all super good.  We make juice with them a lot.  

 

We had one more baptism this week.  Her name is Rosa.  I don't know her story because she already had a baptism date when I got here.  But we are teaching her son tonight, so hopefully we can baptize him, too.

 

We meet in a normal church building, but it's in a pretty dangerous part of the neighborhood.  It's just in a ghetto part of the city.  But the church is right next to the highway so nothing bad is going to happen.  DON'T WORRY!!  But none the less.  I think there are more people in this ward than we have in Fairview.  And with new people constantly being added!  Ha!

 

Today was awesome! We went and played soccer with the ward.  Ha the ward parties here are so much fun!  Everyone dancing and eating some food, and chit chatting a little bit!  And soccer is so intense! But I was able to keep up just fine!  I got super crazy bad burned though.  OUCH. 

 

So I spilled on my pants a while back and had to wash them.  They got all stretched out, so I had a guy fix them.  They're pretty super skinny now!  HAHA!  But I like them.  Also Brian's suit pants were way big for me.  So I had him fix those, too.  Super skinny as well!  I look good though!  I got a haircut today also!  I am working on getting this photo situation settled so ya´ll can see my pretty face! HAHA.

 

But anyways.  Nothing too much more has happened.  Just your basic lesson teaching and learning more Spanish everyday!  Much love to you and everyone!  I hope all is still going well!  

- Elder Anderson


[This next e-mail is what Kyle wrote to Brian today!]


Dude. Plain weeks are boring. But I gotta tell you a story of what happened yesterday. But don't tell mom. We almost got robbed. Freaking. We were waiting for the jeep to come and this kid pulls up on his motorcycle. Comes up to us, pulls a gun out and tells us to give him our money. We said we didn't have any. But I had some in my pocket. Freaking kid reaches in my pocket. Grabs my money. Lets go of it like he didn't even feel it and then just keeps telling us to give it to him. We emptied out backpacks and everything. Freaking this is where it gets crazy man! Two guys came out of nowhere and started talking to him. I thought they were just going to tell him to leave but NO! They freaking grabbed him from off his motorcycle and beat the freaking tar out of him. Right there in front of me and Elder Flores. I mean. This is what you see in the movies and video games. Not right in front of your face! They knocked him out, stole his motorcylce, asked if we were ok, and were to never be seen again. Freaking wow! Crazy stuff man. Angels exist!

- Elder Anderson

70 Pushups and three baptisms!

It's good to hear everything is good!  Things are good here, too!!! We had three baptisms on Saturday.  Ana, Camilo, and Estavan.  Camilo and Estavan are brothers.  Ana is 50... Something.  HA!  I baptized Camilo!  Didn't even mess up!  It was awesome!  The Spirit is so strong!  Also when they get confirmed the next day.

My companion knows English pretty sweet so it helps me learn Spanish!  We can communicate in both languages so that's pretty awesome!  Sometimes I have a hard time understanding investigators cause they slur the words.  But for the most part it's coming!

Yesterday after church we got pounded by the rain! It was so awesome!!!!!!!!!!  The streets were flooding up, but it's cool because they have these huge vent things that drain all the water!  Crazy cool.  We're probably gunna get hit again tonight!!

So there is this thing called CAPTAIN MORONI.  It's a thing where if you baptize more then 10 people in 3 months you get it.  Me and Elder Flores are totally going to do it!  First transfer!  HA!

Oh YEAH.  Does the bank know I'm in Colombia? Cause I don't wanna try getting money out and have the cops come after me!

 

[I asked Kyle about some pictures I saw on the mission blog of elders and the mission president doing push-ups.]  I did a bunch of pushups.  Like . . . 70 I think.  I can't remember.  HA!  But we wrote down how many we can do no matter what.  Then a new goal.  And then how much we actually did.  I put down 35 pushups, no matter what, and 50 for my goal.  Totally smashed it doing 70!  HAHA!  But anyways.  It is significant to our goals for our investigators.  So we made goals of how many investigators we are going to get no matter what. That's what the compromisos is.

 

 But anyways.  Today was kinda a boring day.  We took a taxi across town to the office to get something for Elder Flores.  Then it was back to the apartment to.... Sleep.  HA! It's days like today where I feel fat.  Cause I get so bored so I just eat.  But then the rest of the week I know I'm skinny again. HAHA! 

That's awesome about RHETT!!!!!! [His friend, Rhett Bird, got his mission call to Spain!  He leaves July 24, 2013!]  I'm so freaking happy right now!!! YES!  I wanna write him so hook me up with his e-mail.  I can write Abdiel, too.  The rules are write Momma first.  Then President.  And if I have time after (which I always do)  I can write friends.  So yeah!

But anyways.  Nothing to much more has happened.. So until next WEEK!

Much love to all of you!

- Elder Anderson

Transferred to Campo

Take it easy on the cars!!!  [We hit a deer while driving to work in the Manti Temple on Saturday morning.  I told Kyle to obey the rules, even the speed limit].  And so far I'm obeying all the rules with exactness!   (I think.)

I'm excited to hear about how Alex will do [Kyle's cousin, Alex Larsen, is going to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to serve his mission.  He'll be speaking Hmong].  He will do great!  I heard some people speaking Hmong when I was in the MTC in Provo and it's a weird language.  But it would be cool to learn!

Yeah, I've been in 2 car accidents [Kyle told Brian about the accidents last week, but not me, so I asked him about them].  I didn't say anything about them because they were so so so tiny.  We just bumped into the sides of the other cars.  Driving here is crazy!!! No lines on the roads.  It's pretty scary at times, but pretty cool.

Kyle and Elder Flores

My new companion is Elder Flores!  He is a super awesome dude!  Our area is called Ceibas 2.  We live in a city called Campo.  Its pretty small . . . compared to Cali.  But it has a lot of farm land and cows, which is good to see again.  Brings me right back to home!  Our area consists of a lot of small towns put together.  It's kinda like Sanpete is setup, with about six miles in between each town.  So we spend a lot of time on the bus, which I don't like.  It's super super crowded.  BUT!  It will be good once I know Spanish a lot better because I will have a lot of teaching opportunities.  All the houses here are really small.  They are about the size of the basement family room.  But my apartment has two floors, so it's two of those.  Probably a little smaller.  My bed is pretty hard actually.  Ha!  I wake up feeling like an old man because my back hurts. BUT!  If the pioneers could do it, so can this guy!

We can't drink the water.  We have to boil it.  I think I'm getting a little skinnier because you can see my dimples pretty good now.  But not too much.  I eat a lot of bread because it's super cheap and it's super good!  I bought a jersey and some glasses today.  That's pretty awesome.

We have two baptisms set up.  Camilo and his brother Estavan.  They are 12 and 14 years old.  We are all really excited about it!! Me and Camilo are buds.  It's awesome!

You don't need to worry about me coming home, momma [I asked Kyle if he's still happy].  This is too awesome and I love it too much already! I mean, of course, I miss you and everyone, but, you know, I need to be here.

Keep on keeping on!  Be safe!  I love you!  Until next week!!!

- Elder Anderson


[Kyle's e-mail to Todd today]

It's good that things are busy [with woodworking]! It's about time you got to work! Haha!  Sorry I can't be there helping you.  But I think I would rather be here instead.  I really hope that thing works with this guy [working with a man to build furniture]!  What a great opportunity!  

 

I haven't really heard anything more about the strikes, but yeah, I got transferred!  My new comp is Elder Flores.  I make fun of him because that's flowers in English.  Ha! We are already good buds. And we make a crazy good team! We have a baptism this Saturday with a little kid named Camilo.  We are already buds, too.  We are all crazy excited for Saturday!

 

But anyways.  Mom told me about the car.  What's up with that?!?!  But anyways.  I hope all is still going well.  Much love to ya!

 

- Elder Anderson

 

Eat Like Champions!

Hey Momma! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!  Geez.  You and dad are just so lucky that I got to e-mail both of you on your birthdays!  Ha!  Hope it has been a good one!

 

We lose so much weight because estamos siempre sudoroso!!  HA!  We are always sweaty.  The members feed us like champions!  And we usually just have cereal and whatever else for breakfast and dinner.  We eat tons of rice. And meat. And Beans. And fried bananas. I like the bananas a lot.   And actually everything is just really good.  I think I might be losing a little bit of weight because I work out every morning and then sweat all day.  I think my face is looking skinnier.  But I won't know until 22 more months! HA!  

 

But anyways.  Not much has happened this week.  We confirmed three baptism dates, so that's good. We got another new companion though, so I'm in a trio again.  His name is Elder Jones from California.  He is pretty cool.  

 

We went up to a place called Three Crosses today.  That was awesome! Sweet view of Cali (it's up on the side of the mountain), and just totally beautiful.  The ride up and down was super scary because we took a really crappy bus up the mountain that was really steep.  But we lived, so everything is okay!  After that we went and bought some snacks and cards and went to the church with our zone and played.  It was pretty fun!  We spent the rest of the day cleaning the apartment and what not.  Nothing too serious happened this week.  

 

Any more details about your weeks? I would love to hear! HA!  But anyways.  Love ya much! 

- Elder Anderson

 

First Baptism!!!

Hello Anderson Family!!!

That's awesome to hear that you had another good week!  I had an absolutely amazing week as well!! Lots of teaching! But I love it! I can speak the language pretty well. But I have a hard time understanding people cause they talk so fast!  But it's okay.  It's still coming.

 

My first transfer is on Wednesday.  I already know who my companion will be and he is a cool guy.  He will be a good trainer.  Ha!

 

But anyways.  THIS WEEK WE HAD MY FIRST BAPTISM!  We taught Patricia once more and she was Baptized this Saturday!!!!!!!!!  :) Such an awesome experience. 

 

Elder Menendez, Patricia, Kyle, Elder Yapura

But anyways.  Other than that . . . I don't really have much more to write about.  It's good to hear that everyone is doing well. It's crazy to think that by the time I get back Ridge will be walking around and Luke will be talking like a champion!

Sunset in Cali - Typical Kyle Photograph!

Oh yeah. Elder Yapura.  He went home yesterday.  So it's only me and Elder Menendez for a couple days.  

 

Elders Anderson, Yapura, Menendez

Did I already say I washed my clothes by hand? That's quite the experience.  Ha!  But anyways.  Much love to all of you!

- Elder Anderson

 

Pouring Rain!

Ya'll are so lucky!! Only having to wait six days to hear from me instead of a whole week?!?! HAHA. Cali is totally awesome! I have already had so many awesome experiences.  I'm glad you got the pictures [from the mission president's wife].  Is it just me or does it look like I'm going bald? My two companions are amazing!! I am so glad that I got to be with them first.  I am already learning so much. 

Let me tell you about my week now!  After we got to the office, we had some lunch.  Then about a three hour mini training.  Then my companions showed up and we got in the taxi and off we were to the apartment.  I dropped all my stuff off and changed then we hit the streets.  I was super tired, but it was awesome! We went and gave a sister a blessing in the ward and then off to teach another lesson to an investigator named Patricia.  She speaks English, so it wasn't too bad.  Then after her we had a mini-district meeting. We have three other sisters in this area.  They talk really fast and I had no idea what was going on.  But! We finally went home, ordered a pizza and called it a night.

A couple other stories.  I consecrated some oil for a blessing in Spanish on Sunday! And when we taught Patricia again last week, I taught the first part in Spanish!

Having lunch at members houses is interesting.  You would think that the members would be nice and talk slow for me.  BUT NO! They laugh and talk as fast as they can. Kinda harsh.  But its okay.  The bread here is so good.   I'm going to be so skinny when I get home! Elder Menendez said he has lost 30 pounds already.  Crazy.  My other Companion is going home next week.  It's a good thing that Elder Menendez speaks English.  Well . . . Mostly anyways.

But church was good! We are all over the place during it.  Barely have time to sit down and enjoy the meetings.  On Saturday we had a big ward party type deal.  It was so fun! Preparing for it was super long, but it was still fun!

After church, we went back to the apartment and then had to walk a pretty long ways for our lunch... IN THE POURING RAIN!!! I loved it!  I was probably getting annoying talking about how much I was enjoying it.  But anyways.  Lunch was good.  Had some fish, rice, and plancha.  I haven't really tried anything to weird yet, food wise.  Just a lot of rice and meat.  They like beats and onions here, too. Which I don't mind.

But after that we walked back and then went and visited more of the members.  If you say you don't know Spanish it is basically like saying, ¨Talk to me more, and more fast. Please."  Crazy.  But eventually we walked back home.  In the rain again.  Good way to end the day!

But anyways.  I think that's about all of the major things that happened! So until next week! Speaking of which.. You were right about the letters.  They are crazy expensive so I won't be able to write home, only e-mails.  :(

DON'T BLINK!!!

- Elder Anderson

 

Letter from Sister Prince!

We are excited to be serving the Lord here in the Colombia Cali Mission with Elder Anderson.  He arrived in a world completely different than his own, tired, but ready to work.  After having an interview and training with President Prince today, and attending a zone conference, he has now gone off with the zone leaders in the Calima zone here in Cali to work.  He will be with them until February 26 when we have transfers and will be assigned to his first companion and area.

I have attached a picture so you can see that he actually did make it!



Elder Kyle Anderson with President and Sister Prince



Elders Anderson, Sican, Peart, and Galvez

If you are interested in following our mission comings and goings (and occasionally finding a picture of your missionary posted!) you may check out our blog at:  http://colombia-cali.blogspot.com.

We are grateful for your prayers and support.

Un abrazo,
Hermana Prince

I'm in Cali!

So uh . . . I'm in Cali!!  Never thought it would be like this.  The airport is clear out in farm country, so we drove for about a half hour to get into the city.  It's crazy hot here.  Not as bad as I was expecting though.  I had to wake up at 3:00 this morning and leave by 4:00, because our flight was supposed to leave at 5:50. Well . . . it got cancelled or something, so we didn't end up leaving until 9:00.  So we had a lot of time to burn in the airport, so we ate some food.  The flight over here was only like half an hour.  Nothing bad at all. 

 

I didn't feel any sort of earthquake when I was in Bogota.  That's crazy that it happened. 

 

I thought my Spanish was all right until I came here and people tried talking to me.  Speaking of which, when we were at the airport, we all talked to one of the security ladies.  It's a good thing we had some Latinos to do most of the talking.  There are four of us that came to Cali. 

 

Also speaking of which, I didn't receive a package.  It will come when the next group of missionaries come to Cali. 

 

That's awesome that working in the temple was a good experience for you!  I probably won't be able to go through the temple for 22 months!  But it was a cool experience going through the Bogota one.

We also had an AMAZING devotional on Sunday by Jeffery R. Holland on this being the most awesome generation for missionaries.  I will share my notes with you all in about . . . 22 months.

 

Give my love to everyone! And . . . Stay tuned for my awesome experiences!

- Elder Anderson

 

Memorizing Scriptures in Spanish

That's awesome that you have been able to have the kids this past week [because of Jessica's sledding accident].  I bet that made you pretty happy.  I feel so bad for Jess.  She is in my prayers everyday and I hope she gets better super fast!

That's good you got to meet Brian's girl, too! Don't let him get married til I get home, though! 

I wish I could've seen Rachelle with her cheeks [she had her wisdom teeth taken out]! That's crazy awesome that she went [to the monthly Anderson family home evening]!! And also crazy awesome that she finally got my letter! Ha I got both of the ones she sent me.  And I have sent one to her every week so far.  So be expecting!

I'm excited to see how big my mission gets [because of the lower missionary ages].  Speaking of which.... They are cutting my CCM time short, so I am leaving for the mission field next Tuesday! We get to go out on the streets to practice teaching this week and then after that, so long!

Ha the whole time while I was going through the temple today I thought about how that's going to be you and Dad! HAHA Good luck with it! I understood a lot more today, though.  So spiritual as always! 

Lets see.  A couple more things that happened this week.  I've been memorizing scriptures in Spanish.  The first one I did was Joshua 1:9.  Dice: Mira que te mando que te esfuerces y seas valientes.  No temas ni desmayes porque Jehova tu Dios estará contigo donde quiera que vayas.  The next one I'm working on is in D y C.  I don't have it yet, so I won't try.  haha.

Some Elders a while back did stupid stuff with their cameras, so they took ours the first day we got here.  They also took our candy cause they have problems with rats and it's not allowed in the rooms.  I still have access to it though. It just got moved to the kitchen.  I'm sure they will give me my camera on my last day with enough time to take pictures with all my companions.  So I won't be able to send pictures for a while.  But anyways.  Yeah.

Everyone here has gotten sick but me.  Kinda crazy.  I don't really remember much that happened this past week.  I'm just excited to get out of here.  Teaching the "Investigators" is going good.  Spanish is coming along really well.  And..... YEAH! Much love to all of you!

- Elder Anderson

 

Finished the Book of Mormon

Things are going so good lately!!! I look forward to P-days, too! Today is a normal day though.  We had our P-Day yesterday cause all the missionaries left.  I will tell you more about that later. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DAD!!! I hope all is well with work and whatnot. 

That is so awesome that you're going to be a temple worker! That's when you know you're getting old! haha! 

That is so hard to hear about Sister St. Jacques and Brother Russon.  I thought for sure she would have longer than that.  I'm sorry to hear that. 

Jess needs to learn to get it together [he's referring to her sledding accident]! And probably needs to take it easy.  Best of wishes to her and she will be in my prayers. 

It's good to hear you had fun at the play.  You deserved it.  You both are great parents!!

That's good you're losing weight.  Just like this language is taking it's time coming, so will the weight loss.  Just gotta be patient!  And pray lots. And read the Book of Mormon.  Tons of blessings come from that I promise!! Speaking of which, I finished reading it on Sunday! So basically I know what I'm talking about when I say it brings the blessings! 

Those dang colds!  Elder Peart still has a super bad one.  But I have stayed strong and healthy! I'm like the only one who goes to bed on time.  Its gotta be because of that.  HAHA! EXACT OBEDIENCE! 

I haven't gotten any letters yet though.  I'm sure I will get them sometime though! HA Have any of you gotten any of mine? I hope so. 

But anyways.  Now! About the rest of my week.  We watched The Testament on Sunday.  I love that movie!! Cry like a baby every time. 

All of the elders left the other day, so yesterday we had a day off kinda.  We started with the temple.  It is still hard to understand everything they are saying, but I can kinda recognize everything so that is good.  Then when we came back we had to change rooms?! So we had to pack everything up super fast and move real quick because . . . We had a day out on the town! Started off with the museo de oro! That's the gold museum!  SO AMAZING!!! Crazy awesome the history and stuff they had in there.  I took lots of pictures so you know what I'm talking about.  I'll have to send them later though.  Then we went to a Catholic church clear up on the side of the mountain. We had to take a tram up it was so steep!  Also got tons of pictures of that, too.  Awesome pictures there.  While there they had these little shop things where I purchased a little bracelet for 1000 pesos.  It was interesting exchanging dollars for pesos yesterday, too. But it was super fun.  On the way back down we talked to a woman and her husband on the tram.  Crazy awesome experience there.  First missionary experience!  But then we got back and I took some awesome sunset pictures.  Then we watched 17 Miracles.  Such a tear jerker! Then we went and played piano again.  I love the songs Elder Collins has. I am getting good at hitting the high notes in them, too.

So last night after everything we got three new North American Elders.  They came straight from the states.  No Spanish at all! Kinda funny, but I know what it feels like.  It will be good for them. We aren't allowed to speak English anymore.  Fun stuff there. 

But anyways.  Things are still good! Three more weeks til I'm outta here!! Best of luck and much love to all of you!  God be with you til we meet again!

- Elder Anderson

P.S. DON'T BLINK!!

 

Bogota is Crazy Awesome!

I think I owe you an apology for the last e-mail.  I didn't mean to sound like a meanie head when I said not to send so many questions.  I wrote a long letter to Rachelle, so you can read that for details.  If she lets you, of course.  But anyways.  You can still write questions if you want.  Just make it like... 10 or so.

 

This past week has been crazy awesome.  Oh wait. The reason that my e-mails are so bland is because I have a half an hour on the computer.  Rachelle's letters are so much better cause I have 3 hours to write them. So sorry for that, but that's the story.  

 

First off, there is an Elder here named Elder Collins, and he is crazy good at piano.  So after lunch we have a half hour and we go into the chapel, cause that's the only piano here, and I sing while he plays these beautiful arrangements of hymns.  I love it so much! The Spirit is so strong.  

 

I went to the temple again today.  It was absolutely amazing! AGAIN! And I understood a little more of what they were saying this time.  It's about half an hour from here.   Beautiful drive! 

 

The graffiti in Bogota is awesome! There is so much of it.  I love driving through it.  Speaking of which, the driving here is absolutely crazy.  Everyone just goes for themselves.  Ha lots of scary moments.  But it is still exciting.  The other day we had to go to the immigration office to do stuff. Long........... But glad its over with.

 

We watch devotionals on Tuesday nights. In English! They are absolutely amazing! I wish you all could see them, but they were given at the MTC in Provo so they aren't available.  They all just talk about how to become better missionaries.  I take awesome notes and stuff.

 

But anyways.  The language is coming along good.  It's going to be nice when I don't have to worry about it anymore.

 

I wrote home and it only cost 2 dollars.  Included in that letter home is a letter to Rachelle.  So it's not expensive at all so still be expecting them!!  Just... will take a little longer to get there than usual.  

 

It's good to hear that everything is good at home.  Know that everything is going good here too! I'm still loving it and am working hard to become the best missionary I can be! Much love to everyone and until next week!  

- Elder Anderson

 

Don't Write So Many Questions!

Hey Momma!!

I am doing so good!!  I am loving every minute of this mission thing and can't wait to get out in the field to try everything out for myself!  The food here is absolutely amazing!  I got a new comp when I got here.  His name is Elder Kristensen.  He is such an awesome and spiritual guy.  The flight here was so long, but I'm glad that it's over.

***  This is Julie.  I asked Kyle a bunch of questions again.  The following are my questions and his answers to them.  ***

 

1.    HOW ARE YOU???  J  How are you feeling about this whole mission thing so far???  (DETAILS!  Please be honest!)  I'm amazing.  Couldn't be happier!

2.    How was your travel day to Colombia?  Traveling was so long.  I got a lot of sleep in though!  It was pretty confusing not being able to talk to anyone on the plane to Colombia, but it turned out to be okay.

3.    How was your first day in Colombia?  Were you scared, nervous, excited, ???  My first day was awesome!  I was crazy excited.  No scared feelings at all.  It turned out being absolutely beautiful and totally insane!

4.    What did you do your first day?  We had a couple classes on our first day, but for the most part, we slept and unpacked everything.

5.    Did things go smoothly or was it kind of chaotic?  Things were way smooth.

6.    How is your Spanish?  My Spanish is coming along very well.  We are almost through the book, so we will have lots of review time.  Talking with all the Latinos helps a ton, too.

7.    What’s the weather like?  The weather is always sunny.  Lots of clouds, too.  It's interesting going out at 6:30 for gym and it being light enough and warm enough to get some serious street basketball on.

8.    Do you go outside much?  We are always outside, it seems like!  I love it so much.  Sure beats sittin' in a building all day long.

9.    Are you sleeping well?  I'm sleeping fantastic.

10.  How is your cold?  I'm all better now.  No more sickness for this guy!

11.  Is there anything you forgot to take that you need me to send you?  No, I've got everything.

12.  How long do you get to write e-mails?  I still get half an hour to write, so my answers might not be too long 'cause I'm trying to hurry.

13.  Can you write e-mails to anyone besides me?  Nope.  Only family.

14.  Can you write an e-mail to Rachelle?  I wish.  You will have to forward this to her and let her know that I can write her letters, but they will take forever to get to her.  I STILL LOVE HER AND MISS HER LIKE CRAZY!!

15.  What is your companion like?  My companion is really cool.  He reminds me of Brad Hardy.  We are already way close and super spiritual!

16.  How long has your companion been in the MTC?  We came on the same day.

17.  Where is he from?  Utah.

18.  Is his family LDS?  Yeah.

19.  Is he a convert?  No.

20.  What is your companion’s name?  Elder Kristensen.

21.  Who are the other elders in your room?  Elder Collins, Elder Massey, Elder Albrecht, and Elder Jensen.

22.  Do you like them?  Yeah, they are all cool.  Elder Collins is super yoked, so I do push-ups and stuff with him at nights.

23.  Where are they from?  All from Utah.

24.  Do you like your district/zone?  Yeah, they are all cool guys.  Spiritual, too.

25.  Do you have a district AND a zone?  So far only a district.

26.  If yes, how many people are in each?  11

27.  Do you like your district leader (and zone leader if you have one)?  Yes.  It's Elder Jensen.

28.  Do you like your teachers?  Yeah, I like them.  They speak some English, but not much, so it makes me learn a lot faster.

29.  What kind of classes have you been taking?  LANGUAGE.  I think you all are confused.  I don't have a choice of classes I can take.  They teach language and gospel in the same class.

30.  Are there sister missionaries in your district/zone?  No.

31.  Are any others going to Cali?  No, just me and Elder Peart.

32.  What is a typical day schedule like?  Same as the other MTC.

33.  Are you working out/exercising every day?  Yes.  Basketball and push-ups and crunches and stuff.

34.  Do they have an MTC Choir?  No.

35.  How is the food in the Colombia MTC?  AMAZING!  SO much better than Provo.

36.  I heard you eat lots of steak in the MTC and there is a lot of unusual fruit there.  Is that true?  Yeah, lots of meat and weird fruit.

37.  Are you ever hungry?  No.

38.  Do you get to go to the Bogota Temple?  Yeah, we went today.  Such a crazy experience!  I didn't know what was being said, but the Spirit was so strong, it didn't even matter.

39.  Have you made friends with anyone beside your companion and roomies?  Yeah, we're all friends here.

40.  If yes, tell me about him/her!  Everyone is friendly.

41.  Have you gotten any letters yet?  No.

42.  Is it ok to send you letters through dearelder.com or would you rather have a letter through the mail?  I don't know.  Either way.

43.  Are there spiders there?  No spiders or creepy things.

44.  Did you know some buildings don’t have complete roofs on them because it’s so warm there?  Cool info.

45.  How big is it?  It's small here.

46.  How many missionaries are there?  There are like 150 maybe here.

47.  How many Americans?  20 maybe.

 

If you get a chance watch, "Only a Stonecutter" and "John Tanner Story."  Great stuff.  I'm out of time.  DON'T WRITE SO MANY QUESTIONS.  I can't tell you about anything. 

 

Tell Tara Happy Birthday from me and my District.  I will have them write her letters.  There is tons of graffiti here and it's beautiful!  Sorry I can't say more, but I gotta go.

 

I love you all and don't forget about me!

 

- Elder Anderson

 

P.S.  Don't blink, RACHELLE!

 

Arrived at the Bogota MTC

I made it!! All I can say about Colombia is WOW!!!! It is so gorgeous here! I gotta keep this pretty short, but I get to write home again on Friday. So tell Rachelle I am so sorry about yesterday.  I wish you all could see this! Until Friday! Adios!

Phone Call from SLC and JFK Airports

Leaving the Provo MTC

Nice testimony momma! Through these past couple weeks my testimony has been very much strengthened too! Tomorrow is the big day. We are spending all of today packing and cleaning and just your basic house keeping needs of missionaries leaving. 

Yesterday was such an amazing day. It's a lot easier to fast in the MTC haha. And when you have a purpose.  I also went to the temple today.  Me and Elder Peart had to run the whole way there!! We were late cause I had to get some more shots (be expecting a bill in the mail) and we ended up being late anyways. But the session was still good! I don't know how much I like the video endowment session though.  I would much rather have it be the live walk through one.  Still a great experience.  I'm glad that I got to do one last English session before I go to Colombia and everything is in Spanish. 

Speaking of which, I'm leaving tomorrow.  So I will be calling tomorrow.  Probably pretty early.  Like 6 or 7 I'm guessing.  So you know. Be awake and stuff.  Make sure the whole family is there.  And if you feel inclined to invite Rachelle I wouldn't mind that one bit either.

Have you heard about the whole flu thing that broke out here? It's like WW3! We had to do everything we possibly could to stay alive and I've had a cold the entire time! So I'm pretty lucky that I didn't end up catching it. 

But anyways. I'll tell you more tomorrow when I call cause I can't really remember a lot of stuff.  Our district is pretty sad I'm not DL anymore, but the new guy will do a great job.  Tonight for class we're having a sweet goodbye party.  But yeah. Til tomorrow!

-Elder Anderson