I love this gospel with all my heart.

Elder Jake showing off the haircut he gave himself. Not bad!!

Well it's probably a good thing I decided to wait until today to write because we had some pretty awesome experiences the past couple of days. I'll start with the week before last though. On Monday we had a lesson with our investigator "A". He is still preparing to get baptized this month on the 19th. He is doing awesome. He always says how this church is what was missing in his life. He was prepared from the beginning.

Saturday we got to teach the "L" family. The dad is a less-active we have been working with. The mom is not a member and just had a baby a couple days ago. We are teaching the mom. They have a little girl who is maybe 7 and the newborn. They are sweet. "S" knows exactly why we are there. To get him back to church. One of the members of our bishopric, Brother Duncan (who used to be our old ward mission leader and who is so awesome), told "S" straight up that he is out next project haha! "S" knows that he needs to come back to church and I think this new baby will get him in gear so he can bless it and baptize his wife and kid when she gets old enough.

Now at some point last week we wanted Wili Wa's. Those are Slurpees at a gas station up here called Gas King. They are really good so we get lots. (I'm sure Jake's endocrinologist would be thrilled to know this! NOT! Haha!) While in there we talked with one of the workers a little bit. She said that she was Mormon but wasn't active. We asked her why and she said that she got baptized by missionaries and then got offended and left. We bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and a customer came in that she needed to help. We waited while she helped the customer. After they were helped she just gave us her name and number and told us if we could find out what ward she was in she would sit down and talk with the missionaries. She was in the other ward. We told the missionaries there and they called her. She said she would meet with them and not only that but come to church Sunday. How awesome is that? The Lord works in amazing ways.

Now on Sunday we were able to meet with "A" again. He is continuing to plug along. The next thing we are going to share with him is the gospel of Jesus Christ. On Wednesday we were finally able to get in with the "D" family. The mom is less-active and the rest of the family are not members. We weren't able to share a message with them because we were hanging out with her two boys (10 and 11) on the trampoline. (I'm sure Jake's orthopedic surgeon would be thrilled to know this! Such a naughty missionary, but I have to admit, I'm so happy he is able to do all of these things! It's truly a miracle!) We ran out of time but have another appointment set up for this week. We are going to share a message this time.

Thursday was amazing. Our last appointment of the day was with a girl, "M". She is friends with a young woman in the ward, Carlee. We went over to the Kolibar's house (Carlee's house) and taught her. This was our first time teaching her. She lost her dad a little while ago. I'm not sure how long ago. We went in with the second lesson, The Plan of Salvation. We went through the whole lesson. It was pretty different than most of the lessons we teach. Most of them are super serious and no nonsense. This one was different. The Kolibars are a super sweet family so we joke around a lot. During the lesson we would make a joke or two about relating the lesson to someone in the family in a funny way or something. It was a much more casual lesson. At the end we challenged "M" to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. We then asked Carlee what she thought about the BOM. She said she had just finished it the other week and prayed to know if it was true again. She said she woke up in the middle of the night one night and had a really good feeling about it being true. That was how she knew. She got a little choked up at that point. We then asked Brother and Sister Kolibar if they had anything to share. They talked about how much the plan meant to them and how they knew that Maddy's dad was in the spirit world probably taking the lessons. They bore amazing testimonies. The lesson became very serious. "M" was crying at the end. She is seriously so solid! This last Sunday she was going to come to church. Well Carlee ended up cutting the tip of her finger off at work, Carlee couldn't go to church. "M" still came though! She came with the Kolibars. I can't believe it. She has been prepared for this gospel and she knows it. I can't wait to see her progress toward baptism because I know it will happen.

Friday was awesome because the Elders in the Henderson ward needed to go to Calgary for a meeting and we had to drive them. So we got to go to Calgary and hang out up there for the day. It was awesome. We ate Chinese for lunch at an amazing place called Brothers, then dinner at Costa Vida. Oh man it was a sweet day. Then on Saturday we volunteered at Coldale. They had a parade and some booths that they set up to do stuff. Me and Elder Becker had the best booth by far! We got to help at the reptile booth. He got to hold a Ball Python for two hours and I got to hold a Bearded Dragon. It was amazing. Another missionary got pictures of us so I will have to get them and send them to you.

Sunday we met with the "S" family. Her kids aren't members and her husband is not a member and just now starting to allow the kids to go to church again. The kids are awesome and want to be baptized, we are just waiting for the dad's approval and them it can happen.

The past two weeks have been awesome. The area here is really starting to have some amazing things happen. I am so grateful to be able to be here on my mission and serve the people. I have made friendships that I hope I will continue to keep in contact with. I want to come back here and visit Lethbridge for sure. This ward is seriously amazing. They provide people for us to teach. This is the dream ward for missionaries. And I am blessed enough to be here.

I love this gospel with all my heart. There is no doubt in my mind that this church is true and that God lives and loves us more than we could possibly imagine. No matter who we are, He will always be there for us. That thought alone is what has made me who I am. I have Him to thank for everything in my life. Especially my family who loves me so much and who I love more. I will never be able to pay back the debt that Jesus paid for me. No matter how much I give, it won't be enough. I hope you can see God's hand in all of your lives and can recognize His influence and love for you. Never will you be alone in this life. Never will you be forgotten. Never will you be a hopeless cause. If Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah can make the change they did and go out and perform so much good for God, then so can you. Never give up. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our loving brother and Savior, Amen.

I love you all and pray for you every night. take care and be safe!

Elder Anderson