Are we ready to do what the Lord asks of us?

Oh my goodness! It has been so cold!  Saturday was less than -40 with the wind chill as was Sunday. We aren't supposed to go out if it's colder than -40. We didn't do anything in the morning but it warmed up to the 30's so we went out and helped people move some stuff. I went outside Saturday morning and my hair froze. Literally frozen with ice in it. We did a stop by where we were in our service clothes and were asking members if they needed help with anything. We got out of the truck and walked to the door. The member wasn't home so we ran back to the truck. We were outside for less than two minutes and we thought we were going to die! It was insane. Luckily it is warmer today. Barely. 

So the craziest thing happened. President called Elder Roper and Elder Madsen. He said an Elder down in Cardston went home early and he needed to replace him. He told Elder Madsen he was going south to replace him and that Elder Roper is now going to join me and Stewart. We are moving into the other Elder's place. They live with a member, but the member is renovating their house so the member doesn't live there right now. It will just be the three of us in their shop. It's pretty cool. The place is really big so it will be nice to now have some room. Brother Baker's place was really cramped but he was awesome and I'm going to miss him. We are pretty excited. We now have two trucks for the three of us. It's crazy. 

Well, as far as the work goes, it's been alright. There is a lady who is a friend of a family in the ward. We met her at the Chili Cook-Off. (By the way we got to be the judges of that. It was pretty awesome, until the next morning). We talked a little with her. She is divorced with a kid. She is super nice and really likes the members. We asked her if we could come by and teach her and she said yes. She is really busy because she is looking for a place to stay but she said she will have us over for tea. That's going to be a little awkward. (For those of you who may not know, Mormons don't drink tea or coffee.) Anyway, we are pretty excited about teaching her. She seems perfect for the church. She recently lost her dad so we might talk a little about the Plan of Salvation with her. We'll see. We don't have an appointment yet but we have her information. Her son is 7. He's pretty cool. 

We had a move this week that was insane. The people called us and said they found a place they can move into and so they needed our help. We showed up not expecting half of what we found. They needed every belonging they had moved. And they didn't pack hardly anything. They didn't take out their drawers in their dressers or anything. It was so crazy. Luckily they had a trailer that we moved everything into to move. Then when we got to the new place, we had to move it in all throughout the house. Upstairs, downstairs, in a room down a hall that is too small. Everything you could think of. It was brutal. We are going back this week to get more stuff out of a storage place and finish. We aren't exactly looking forward to that to say the least. 

Other than that, it's been great. We are still keeping real busy. The Bishop is so awesome. He shot an elk the size of Alaska the other week. He owns a meat shop here in Okotoks so he told us to come by today and get some sausage. He is one of the best cow breeders in the country. He is famous for his beef. It's pretty cool. He gave us some elk pepperoni last night. That was so good. The members we are staying at now have a freezer crammed full of elk and moose and beef and they said we can have all we want. We have elk burgers all the time. It's so good. 

Well I hope all is well back home. I just read about the Strippling Warriors. I think it is amazing how they were prepared to stand up to the challenge that faced them. Their parents made a covenant with the Lord that they would never take up arms again. When the Lamanites were coming to attack them, the young men stood up. I love how they were prepared. Helaman didn't need to send them to boot camp. He didn't need to humble them or anything like that. They were ready to go right then. Because of their preparedness and obedience, the Lord blessed them. They were able to fight against the vicious Lamanites without even one of them dying. When the call came, they were ready. 

Are we ready to do what the Lord asks of us? Are we worthy as priesthood holders to go out and give a blessing to someone? Are you worthy as women to go visit someone in need and testify with the spirit about the gospel and the blessings that come from walking in the footsteps of Christ? Are the young men prepared to go on missions? Are the young women prepared to go to the temple? Are we like the Strippling Warriors, ready to serve our Heavenly Father the moment he calls on us? If not, what do we need to change? We will be blessed for following Christ. We will see the Lord's hand in our lives, just as the Warriors saw it in their lives. I hope we are all preparing ourselves always. No matter where we are in our lives. No matter how well or bad we are doing. We can always become better. We can always improve. Take care of yourselves and the people around you. 

Elder Anderson