We can choose to be happy.

I refuse to have a countdown. The other week we noticed a sign that someone had up on their roof that had a countdown for when Christmas was down to the very minute. Well I accidentally saw it and immediately knew how many days I had left on my mission then. Well that night I knelt down before my Maker and cried unto Him begging Him to let me forget how many days I had left. Well thanks to the great blessing He has given me of a forgetful memory, I have no idea what that number is anymore. #Blessed So things are going well.

This week has been full of ups and downs. I have noticed that the downs are much easier to focus on, and cause us to forget about the ups. This caused us some discouragement and adversity. One night after we got back to our apartment and were planning out our next day, we stopped and focused on what good had happened to us today. As we reviewed the day we noticed many different little miracles that we completely overlooked and ignored because we were too focused on the bad that had happened. We realized that we were missing out on all these good things in our lives because of our bad attitude and perspective. 

Since then we have been working on focusing on the good more than the bad and it has helped us a ton! We are much more enthused when going out to work. Canceled appointments don't get us down anymore. (And we had 7 this week, 6 being with an investigator). We have been much happier and have had tons of fun. 

When we focus on the bad, we feel bad. We allow ourselves to be affected and changed by the bad experiences that we have. But when we focus on the good things in life, we feel good. And we let those good things change us for the better. As we look each day for God's hand in our lives, we will have more joy in each step we take in this journey. We have not been sent down here to be miserable and hate everything. "Men are that they might have joy!" We can choose to be happy. Our agency starts in our thoughts. So choose to have good, uplifting thoughts! If you do, you will have a heart filled with gratitude and joy for what God has done for you. 

Don't worry, be happy!

Elder Anderson

I shall Endure to the End.

I've seen Christmas lights already. Man this is scary. Time is flying. The days are really short it seems. There is just no time left! I don't like it one bit! Nevertheless, there is still work to be done. And it has been promised that I will be given time to accomplish all that I am called to do. So there is time yet. Now bear with me and I will tell you of the wrestle I had with God this week.

For the past week we have been working pretty hard to pick up the work in this area. And for the past week it seem as if we have been spinning our wheels. We fasted twice this past week for help. And nothing came from it. At least not the things we had in mind. We have been stopping by a ton of people trying to meet them and see if they are interested in us coming by and teaching them. No luck. We have prayed harder than ever for those we are working with. No change. It's been so tough. Probably the toughest week of my mission.

That being said, we have a stake wide 40 day fast coming up for missionary work. What we think is happening is the same thing that happened to Joseph Smith when he was praying in the grove of trees. A dark force came over him trying to stop him from praying. Right before his revelatory experience of seeing God and Jesus Christ, Satan worked hard on trying to stop him. Satan knew what was about to happen. And he didn't want it to. He went to all lengths to hedge up the way. 

We think the same thing is happening here. Satan knows that we are going to have a 40 day fast in Med Hat and he knows what that will do for the work here. He has attacked our faith and hopes of anything happening. We have been worried this past week as to what is going on but we are now understanding of the situation. We know that this is the work of the Lord. And we know that no matter how hard Satan may try to stop us, we will win in the end. 

Even if we have to cross through the most trivial times of our lives, we are confident in saying that there will be rest on the other side of our trials. There will be joy and success as we are faithful to the bitter end. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have been blessed with. If I didn't know that God existed, then I would have given up long ago. But I know that He has a plan for us. And all things are done in His wisdom. 

That is why the last point of the gospel of Jesus Christ is Endure to the End. Because that is what we have to do sometimes. Endure. Which means to make everlasting and omnipotent. Relentless and unstoppable. All powerful and unconquerable. I shall Endure to the End. I pray you all will too. 

I love you all and hope you have a great week. Remember God loves you!

Elder Anderson

A note from Pam:  Most of you know that Jake has Type 1 Diabetes, which means he really isn't supposed to fast.  To me, this shows that he really is doing everything he can to bring forth the blessings of heaven.  Before he left on his mission, I really worried about him fasting.  Now I know better than to worry, for I have seen God watch over him every step of this journey.

This is where I belong. This is where God wants me.

Elder Jake's zone. He has expressed his love for these missionaries over and over again.

Man this is not real. I can't believe it. This is my last transfer as a missionary. I hate it haha. My new Companion is Elder Kelly. He is the greatest! He is from England right by the London temple. But he's not from London. Make it clear. Hahaha. He has been out 18 months.

He is probably one of the best missionaries in the mission right now. For sure. I am so pumped to be serving with him! And to be back in the 2nd ward and the YSA branch. There are some miracles in store for this area. 

We currently have one girl on date to be baptized in 2nd ward for November 27th. She is solid. Then we are working with a sweet family who has been making big progress and reading the Book of Mormon. We have a guy in the YSA branch taking the lessons right now and he is a great guy. We are excited for him. We hopefully found another lady to start teaching who lives next door to members. There is a lot of work going on in this area right now and it will only keep building. We are going to be busy for the next long while. 

This is truly what pure joy is like. I have found it here on my mission. There is nowhere else I would rather be than right here in the Crescent Heights area of Medicine Hat in Canada. This is where I belong. This is where God wants me. And this is where the blessings lie for me and my family. As I continue to work here, I continue to uncover those blessings and my joy simply increases. 

God is with us. We are walking along side Him. His work is great and marvelous. I cannot express my gratitude for all that He has done for me. I love you all a ton, but I am in love with my mission right now more than anything else. I have been called by God. I have been set apart by His ministers. I represent His Apostles. And I will go forth and "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19). 

I am now coming to the end of the greatest journey of my life and I want to let you know that I have never seen God more in my life than I have being in His service. Know that He loves each and every one of you. And know that I do to. Peace, be still!

Elder Anderson

If you are trying to find happiness or peace, then the best place to start is on God's doorstep.

Well we had a call come in today from a guy we are working with. For the entire time I've been in the area and more he has been convinced he will never join the church. He told us it's a great organization but it's not what he believes. Well he called us this morning and told us he started reading the Book of Mormon and realized that it is what he believes. He said that he has accepted all that he has read so far and now wants to be a part of the whole picture. 

It's amazing to me when I hear people who think that we are not christian or we worship the devil. Our church is the Church of Christ. It's the original church that was on the earth since the beginning. One thing that I love that our investigator said to us was "Whether or not Joseph Smith really talked with God, I know that he created a beautiful message." 

Whether or not the church is true, the message that we have is one that will bless you life incredibly. The lifestyle will bring more happiness and joy into your life than anything else. Even success is often a result of the teachings in this church. These things are facts. 

I don't know about you but it sounds like this is exactly what God would give us if He were real. And I know that it is exactly what He gives us BECAUSE He is real. The church is true. If you are trying to find happiness or peace, then the best place to start is on God's doorstep. 

Elder Anderson

Because of Christ, we have all the hope we need to move us forward.

I just have a really quick thought for you. And it's from a talk I read called the Donaldson Papers. It's incredible. Here's the thought. 

When Christ suffered for us in the garden of Gethsemane, he unlocked our path to repentance and to be forgiven. When he was scourged, he unlocked the enabling power of the atonement. This is referred to as Grace in the scriptures. And lastly when Christ was lifted up on the cross he unlocked our path to exaltation. So what does this all mean. Well we have access to all of these things through ordinances. Our path to be forgiven starts with baptism. As we are baptized, we start down a path that follows Christ. We become cleansed from all our sins when we are baptized. That is the first ordinance. The second is the sacrament. As we take the sacrament each week, we renew the covenant we made at baptism and that enables us to continue to be forgiven. The last one is the temple. The path we are now on leads to the temple. At the temple, we can become exalted. We make more covenants, or promises, with God that allow us to return to live with him again. The Atonement of Jesus Christ has given us the opportunity to live with God again. But we must partake in these ordinances in order to receive the blessings that come with them. And we must hold true and faithful to the promises we have made with out Heavenly Father in order to secure our blessings not only in this life but in the life to come. Without Jesus Christ, we have no hope for a better life. But because of Christ, we have all the hope we need to move us forward. 

I hope this is enlightening to you all. It was to me. I love you all and pray always for your welfare. I know you do the same for me for I feel it. Thank you for all you do.

Elder Anderson

I am a witness of God's miracles

   

Well this week we had an In-Zone ET (Emergency Transfer). So I swapped places with an Elder in the zone. This means that I am back with Elder Peci! I'm so pumped! He is so much fun! We now just cover one ward. They seem pretty cool from what I've seen.

I am sad to leave the other ward and branch. There were some incredible miracles happening in that area like I have never seen on my mission so far. One investigator we were teaching had a softening of the heart like I have never seen. It was incredible. The Spirit is absolutely amazing. Another kid moved into the area and after four years of not being active in the church decided he wanted to start coming back. We met him last week. He is now preparing himself to serve a mission.

The miracles were truly amazing and faith promoting for me. I want you all to know that God is a god of miracles. Miracles are not a thing of the past. They are not fairy tales or fantasies. They are real. Miracles happen every day. And I know that they have happened without you even know it.

A miracle doesn't have to be someone coming back from the dead. Or being cured of cancer. Or surviving a plane crash. It can be as simple as having just enough money to pay the bills. Or having just enough gas to get you home. Or even receiving a call from a friend who was simply thinking of you.

We should never underestimate how involved God is in our lives. A coincidence is a lot more rare than a miracle. Miracles happen a lot more than you think. Never forget God loves you, and never think he doesn't care about you. He's in your life a lot more than you can ever imagine. I have a testimony of it. I am a witness of God's miracles. You can be too if you open your eyes.

Elder Anderson

I am a child of God.

 

Elder Jake and Elder Gonzales with Sister Miles, the mission president's wife

I am a child of God. I want you to say that in your mind. This thought can do many things for us. What I want to focus on is the power it gives us over our adversary, Satan. In the book of Moses, Satan tempts Moses to worship him. This is how Moses overcomes Satan:

"13 And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?"

"I am a son of God" That phrase helped Moses remember which way he faced. He faced God and Jesus Christ. He remembered that he wasn't just a nobody. He was a son of God. Just like we are sons and daughters of God. If God is our Dad, what does that mean? Moses goes on to say:

"16 Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten."

We have been created after the image of God. We are after the similitude of Jesus Christ. We are more powerful that we imagine because of who we were created to resemble. And finally Moses says:

"21 And now Satan began to tremble, and the earth shook; and Moses received strength, and called upon God, saying: In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan."

Moses received strength. From who? Where did he get his strength? It was becasue of his knowledge. He was able to use the power of God to receive strength and overcome Satan. Moses knew he was a son of God. And becasue of that, he knew the God would strengthen him when he was in need of it. And the power of God has no limit. As we see in the next verse:

"22 And it came to pass that Satan cried with a loud voice, with weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; and he departed hence, even from the presence of Moses, that he beheld him not."

God removed Satan from the presence of Moses because Moses remembered that he, being a son of God, could call on him and receive strength and power. We were created to become greater than who we currently are. But in order to do this, we need God's help along with our Savior's help. 

The last scripture I want to share with you and I want you to remember is Phillipians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." All things. Not just some things. You are a son or daughter of the most powerful being in the universe. Never forget that. And never forget that He has promised to give you power when you need it. Even if that means every day. Especially if that means every day.

Elder Anderson

Jake wrote this about this picture: "We volunteered at a breast cancer run and they gave us this free stuff. It was pretty funny. They had bras hanging up on the building like Christmas lights. hahahahahahaha it was hilarious!"

Knitting class with the YSA ward