June 27, 2009

Hey Everyone!

This week has been even better than the last. I have really loved this week. It was amazing. There was one little downer, but the rest was just happy all week long. We were there to see that family get baptized-and there was an investigator that came there-that we actually didn't know. He was there, and after we watched a church movie, and he just started crying during it. So amazing. He is so ready to hear the gospel. Way amazing. Then, we got to see the Gutierrez family in church, after going and giving their daughter a blessing, and watching the peace of the blessing just filling their home. It was amazing. The Lord truly is blessing us. It is so amazing. Then, we found this teenage girl about two weeks ago, and we have been wanting to get to know her family. Well, this week we went to invite her to English class, and Her mother came out and talked to us for a while, and then invited us in to talk to us. It truly was a huge highlight of the week. Finally getting in with this family-it was incredible. Well, then we were getting everything ready for transfers. THEY ARE THIS WEEKEND-WHICH MEANS NEXT WEEK IS GOING TO BE INSANE! And well, I had to run out to another area to do a baptismal interview, but we stopped at these investigators home on the way to talk to them and invite them to the baptism of some other people tomorrow. And they father looked at me, and said, ¨I recognize you. You were the first missionary to talk to me, to come and bring me the book of Mormon into my home.¨ I then remembered the day I found out about Blake, we went out to the area Villa Harding Green to work and find people-I said it was one of my most successful afternoons of finding people. Well, we got transfers, and I am still Financial Secretary, but I am now in the area of Villa Harding Green. I am so excited to work with him and his family. I cant even explain it. I love this work so much. Yes, it can be tough, and yeah, there are tough times. But there is so much to be learned, and so much to be done, that we cant let the tough times beat us up. We cant afford to let hard times beat us down as missionaries. We have to be ready at all times to give Our Heavenly Fathers Children their opportunity to hear about the Restored Gospel.The time truly is going so quickly. It makes me sad to see that a year has already passed. I don't even know how other missionaries can say that their time is going so slow. It really is just going faster and faster all the time. I am not a perfect missionary in any way shape or form. But I am telling you now, the Lord has a serious need for missionaries, and it truly is such a blessing and opportunity to be one of his servants in this time, and to have received my call to serve in THIS mission.One of the Hermanas in my district was having a really tough time this week. She is actually very known in this mission for being a successful missionary. She is amazing at what she does. But she has just been feeling down lately because her success has not been what she is used to. I thought back on a lesson I had learned a few months back when i felt the same way. If we can remember Zion´s Camp, and how the Lord sent them all out to battle, and they never actually fought the battle. Often times in life, we feel frustrated with things that didn't go like we thought they would, or should. But, we know that from Zions Camp, so many Church leaders were taught, and changed in ways they never would have had they never embarked in their voyage. Sometimes in the mission, it is the same thing. The work of the Lord needs to go forth. And sometimes he needs to reform US in order that we can be EVEN MORE useful in his hands. We truly need to learn what the Lord wants us to, where we are, and not be so worried about getting through it, that we miss what there was to be gained.I truly am so happy. I am loving my mission and will continue to do so.

Brett Chase Andersen

P.S. A few pictures more.

First is a picture of my new companion Elder Hilton from Sacramento California.

Second Our little mission clan-and Hermana Hansen is the only one cool enough to be part of it up to now.

Third Another picture from last week. we all sat on these posts that were conveniently placed. i thought it was kind of cool looking.
¨Lo haré siempre, y cada vez mejor!¨