We were beyond THRILLED to receive our very first email from Elder Anderson. ENJOY!!!
Well it is my p-day today for about half the day. (P-day is a day off for the missionaries where they can write home, shop and see the local sites.) The temple is closed and won't be open until after we leave, so we won't be able to go to that unfortunately. It has been absolutely amazing here! When I was serving in the temple, I always thought to myself how there is nothing better than serving in the temple. I know now I was wrong. Serving in the MTC (Missionary Training Center) is truly the greatest feeling in the world! The spirit here is so strong and can be felt all the time. It is amazing how much I have learned while here. I have learned more in the past three days about being a missionary than I have in my entire life! As we learn about our purpose as missionaries, the spirit helps us understand things we never thought of before. Our mental capacities have expanded beyond what they have ever been. The amount of work they give us would be overwhelming in any other situation, but here at the MTC where the spirit is so strong, we are able to manage. But only just, haha. My companion is Elder Pitts. He is great. He is 18 years old and has a very great testimony and is very in tune with the spirit. There are eight of us total in our district and eighteen in our zone/branch. We are all getting along well with each other. The Elders in my district are super funny and we have a great time messing with each other.
Well it is my p-day today for about half the day. (P-day is a day off for the missionaries where they can write home, shop and see the local sites.) The temple is closed and won't be open until after we leave, so we won't be able to go to that unfortunately. It has been absolutely amazing here! When I was serving in the temple, I always thought to myself how there is nothing better than serving in the temple. I know now I was wrong. Serving in the MTC (Missionary Training Center) is truly the greatest feeling in the world! The spirit here is so strong and can be felt all the time. It is amazing how much I have learned while here. I have learned more in the past three days about being a missionary than I have in my entire life! As we learn about our purpose as missionaries, the spirit helps us understand things we never thought of before. Our mental capacities have expanded beyond what they have ever been. The amount of work they give us would be overwhelming in any other situation, but here at the MTC where the spirit is so strong, we are able to manage. But only just, haha. My companion is Elder Pitts. He is great. He is 18 years old and has a very great testimony and is very in tune with the spirit. There are eight of us total in our district and eighteen in our zone/branch. We are all getting along well with each other. The Elders in my district are super funny and we have a great time messing with each other.
So far I have learned that being a missionary is not just going out and baptizing people. It's not even teaching people about the gospel. Our goal and purpose is to bring others unto Christ. That is our one focus. We don't focus on improving our relationship with the Lord. We don't focus on improving our relationship with our investigators. We only focus on the relationship between our investigator and the Lord. We are here to change the hearts of everyone and bring them closer to Christ. When this happens, everything else falls into place. They learn to recognize the spirit and follow its prompting. They start to have the desire to live the gospel. We have learned that baptism is not as big or scary as sometimes we make it out to be. They are teaching us to ask our investigators in the FIRST lesson to be baptized. We try to teach them that they should follow the example of Christ and be baptized like he was. Being baptized doesn't mean they are making a commitment to become like Christ. It means they are WILLING to make that commitment. In the sacrament prayer it says that we are WILLING to take upon us the name of Christ. When we look at it this way, we can see that baptism is just our way of branding someone a Mormon or being able to boost our numbers. It is the first step on their path to following in Christ's footsteps. We have also learned a lot about prayer and the power of it. Lamoni's father was being taught by Aaron about prayer. The king finally fell down on his knees and told the Lord he was willing to give up all of his sins to follow him. He had so much desire, sincerity and real-intent that he was struck down as if dead for three days! When is the last we have prayed with that much power? Being sincere means honestly wanting and meaning what you say. However, having real-intent means being willing to follow any answers or commandments the Lord gives us. I learned that all too often we pray seeking a particular answer. When we do this, we will most likely not hear the Lord if he gives us a different answer that we weren't expecting. When we pray, we must be open to any answers that the Lord gives us and willing to follow his direction and guidance.
I have gotten your letters and Joan's package. I love reading them and hearing from you. I love the scarf and tie that Joan got me too. I will have to add her to my thank you letters. I have written two letters that I sent yesterday in the mail. The first was from day one, and the second was from day two. Although I was feeling a little homesick the first day, I was able to pray to my Heavenly Father and ask for comfort. I immediately felt better and thought of President Hinkley's dad saying to forget himself and serve the Lord. That is what I have done. I have given myself to the Lord 100% just like all the people in the scriptures did. It especially makes me think of Sister Cazanave's testimony about Shakrack, Meeshak, and Abendago (or however you spell it) and how they asked the Lord for help and said, but if not we will still love thee. That is how I feel about my mission. I am willing to give myself completely to the Lord and love him no matter what happens. I love you all and hope to continue to hear from you often. The scripture that comforts me most is D&C 100:1. I know the Lord will look out for you and bless you all without measure as he does to me every living minute. I testify to these things and bear witness that this is the true church and that we are all brothers and sisters of our Heavenly Father. He loves us and knows us better than we know ourselves. If we just trust in him 100%, I know that he will take care of us and always watch over us. Never forget that. If all else fails, trust in the Lord.
With lots of love,
Elder Anderson
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