The scriptures have never spoken to me like they do now.

Jake sent this pic that his companion, Elder Stewart, took with his camera

Hi all!

How's it going? It's been great this week. We taught our first investigator! His name is Ty and he is 17. He is a friend of a less active's and he wanted to meet with us because he wants to change his life around. He is awesome! He said a prayer at the end of the lesson. It was absolutely amazing! He is such a great kid and I know that the Lord has prepared him for us and the gospel. 

The other elders also found two girls who came up to them when they were eating dinner at a restaurant and they were asking them questions for two hours. They are going to teach them this week. We now have four investigators here in the area. It is awesome. None of us expected to have the work move along so quick. 

We have still been giving a lot of service. We are cleaning this family's house right now. They just want it to look good so they can get rid of it. It is full of trash and mud (which is actually sewage poop) from the flood. It is crazy how bad it is. We have found some disgusting, unspeakable things in there too. Horrifying. We are doing a lot of ice breaking here too. Everyone's sidewalks are covered in a thick layer of ice. We are going to lots of houses doing that stuff. It is hard work and we will sweat while doing it even when it's zero degrees out. It always feels good to do stuff like that. 

People are constantly coming up to us thanking us for the work we are doing here in the community. It is so rewarding hearing that we are actually making a difference. We are trying to work with the ward members more. We have given them handouts with our contact information on them asking them to give them to their neighbors so we can continue to get the word out. We are also helping out the members. We helped an older man move some stuff around in his house and take out some of the flooring. We helped another family put in the baseboards all along their basement and in all the rooms. 

The people are always grateful for our help and we are always happy to help. We get fed a lot still. Just the other day we got breakfast, lunch, and dinner from people. It is awesome. We helped this hospital move a lot of shelves to their basement and they gave us each ten bucks to their cafe so we got breakfast there. Then we helped with the basement and they fed us lunch. We had dinner with the Kabeary's again. We got Alberta Steaks. The beef here is awesome. All throughout Canada it's called Alberta Beef. The steak we had was from the bishops meat store. He owns one in Okotoks and is known throughout the world for his beef and cattle. 

Well it has been awesome so far. I love it here and love serving the Lord. The scriptures have never spoken to me like they do now. I get excited every day for personal study so I can read the scriptures. The stories in them are true and truly amazing. I know that we speak to God through prayer, and He speaks to us through the scriptures. If you want answers, read the scriptures. All things will be made known to you through them. I know this to be true. I love you all!

Elder Anderson

I know if you always turn to the Lord with your problems, he will guide you through them.

​

Hello!

Man I can't believe how time flies. It seems like just yesterday that it was P-day. We have ​s​till been busy with service. We get calls all the time from people who saw our fliers or heard about us. It's awesome! We have gotten an investigator from it too. We shoveled some snow for her and helped her clean her house. She has three heart attacks so it is hard for her to do anything like that. She was so grateful for our help she asked if there was anything she could do for us. Elder Madsen and Elder Roper asked if they could teach her about the message they had. She said yes and they have taught her one lesson and are going back for another. 

Me and Elder Stewart are trying to teach Spencer's friend. Spencer is a less active who has just recently come back to church. His friend said he would like to learn more about God but apparently he was high when he said that and is now not as interested. We are still trying to get in contact with him. We haven't given up. 

We have been going around now trying to post our fliers on all of the mailboxes. The more people who know about us the better. It has been warmer and that has been awesome. Just the other day we were driving around with our windows down enjoying the warmth. The ward members are still super nice. The Kabearys have had us over for dinner at least four times since I have been here. They are so nice. The dad is the one giving us updates on football. He is a Broncos fan so he's pretty stoked. Last night after putting fliers on mailboxes, we went over to the Swihearts. They gave us hot chocolate and let us visit with them. We were able to share a message. They are super nice too. Bishop has been out of town for the past couple of weeks so we haven't talked with him in a while but he should be back this week. Hopefully we can go back over to his Cow Palace and help him out again. That was fun.

  

Well, I just want to share with you one message. We have been talking about God's plan for us lately. One thing that has stuck out to me is trials. We came down here to face challenges. We learn and grow from them. I like to think of it like taking a test. If we were given a math test, the​n​ given an answer sheet, we wouldn't learn anything from taking the test. But if we were given the same test and had to work out the problems for ourselves, then we would learn a lot. We would learn how to do certain problems certain ways that can make it easier for us. When we learn these things, we can face the next problem with more confidence and understanding. Chances are, it won't be nearly as hard. Life is the same way. When we are faced with a trial, we should get excited. We should think with better perspective. We should think, "Awesome! God wants me to be stronger and this is how he will help me grow." When we go into trials with that attitude and perspective, we will find that not only will it be easier, but we will come out of it with so much more understanding and knowledge than we had before. Trials are how we will be able to live with our Father again. I know if you always turn to the Lord with your problems, he will guide you through them. You are never alone. Don't forget it. 

I love you all and pray for you always. Take care until next time.

With love,

Elder Anderson

​Here's a link to an article that talks about what Jake and the other elders in High River are doing to help clean up from the flood this past summer:

http://www.highrivertimes.com/2014/01/15/local-church-lends-residents-a-helping-hand

Here's a link to a touching video about an inspiring woman who has grown closer to her Father in Heaven through tremendous trials:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHDvxPjsm8E

​

​

The Lord knows us perfectly and knows what's best for us.

​

Hi all!

Man it has been awesome here! The weather has warmed up to around zero. (That's Celsius of course. I wouldn't be calling that warm if it weren't). We have been giving a lot of service. As I said, the flood has ruined a lot of people's homes and many still haven't moved back in. We have been doing a lot of shoveling snow. We have also cleaned a non-member's house. They were hilarious because they thought our entire mission was dedicated to cleaning people's houses. The lady would constantly ask me, "Andrew, (she thinks that's my name) do you have other houses to clean that you need to get going to?" They are crazy. We cleaned their house for two days. They were very grateful. They took us to lunch one of those days. 

We also helped do some flooring for a sushi restaurant. They paid us in sushi.  (What Jake means is that they thanked them with sushi.  Missionaries don't get paid, except with lots of blessings, which are far more valuable than money.)​ I didn't think I liked sushi, but it was great! They probably gave us over a hundred dollars worth of it. They are super nice too. I think some of their family members are LDS but they aren't. They are super nice though and we are going to build a relationship with them and hopefully try to teach them. The members here are awesome. They are super nice and feed us well.

My companion started his mission here. That was before the flood of course. He said when he was here before, the people were much more closed off and now​ they are​ willing to talk to the missionaries. He thinks because of the flood, they are much more humble and open to talking. Right after the flood, the church sent a lot of the missionaries here to help with the clean up. They all wore the yellow Helping Hands vests. When we are out and about that's what we wear.

This is a picture of one missionary's name tag after helping to clean up from the flood.
He is also wearing the yellow vest that Jake mentioned.  

People constantly stop us and thank us for the help we gave back after the flood. They say how the missionaries cleared out their basement and how they wouldn't have a place to stay if it weren't for them. That has really made it easy to talk to people about service. We go around handing out fliers to people on the street with our contact info on them. We just quickly tell them what we are doing and if they need any help with anything, they just need to call. We have also handed out fliers to the local stores and churches without info on them. 

This is a picture of the terrible flood that hit High River this past summer.  

It's funny, we went to catholic mass a couple nights ago. We wanted to talk to the Father there and tell him about what we are doing and ask him to spread the word. Every time we stopped by the church, he wasn't there. So we just decided to go to mass. We were able to talk to him after. He was super nice and appreciative. The only teaching we have been really doing here is to the members. We have taught a couple of less actives. (Less actives are members of the church who are not currently attending.)​ One of them is a kid named Spencer. He is seventeen and has just started coming back to church. He had a spiritual experience that he said was like a slap in the face. ​H​e had been drink​ing​ and smoking with some of his friends and about a month ago he had the "slap in the face". He has stopped since then and has been coming back to church. He is a great kid. He is excited to serve a mission. He already has an amazing desire to teach the gospel. He has been teaching his friends a lot. His mom wants us to befriend him and sort of teach him how to be a missionary so he will be able to better teach his friends. He is excited to go out with us and teach. 

It has really been a blessing being out here on this mission. I know it is exactly where I need to be. The Lord knows us perfectly and knows what's best for us. I have seen His hand in my life so much here on the mission and am grateful every day for it. I know I couldn't do this without His help. I would only hope that you all can see some of the many ways He has blessed you and that you always praise Him for it. When Nephi was on the ship he built, sailing across the sea, his brothers tied him up. For four days he was tied up. I'm sure he was never given a break from being bound and I'm sure they were tied very tight. When his brothers finally released him because they were afraid they would sink in the storm. Nephi said that his wrists and ankles were exceedingly sore and he was in much pain. However, the first thing he does after being released is praise the Lord. He could have complained or been angry. But instead, he praises the Lord. I hope we all can one day have the faith and perspective he had. I hope that even in times of trial we can still turn to our Lord and praise him. Nephi was blessed for his faith and obedience. I know that we can be too if we but strive to follow Christ. If we always remember this, we will never feel alone and lost. I leave you these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

With love,

Elder Anderson

A few thoughts from Pam:

Oh how I love love love Mondays!!!!!!  Here's the latest from our missionary, and he sounds so much more like his happy self this week.  Last week's email had me a teeny bit concerned (okay, so maybe I freaked out a bit!) but this week Jake sounds just like Jake, and I am so very grateful!!!!!  

One of my BIG concerns last week was that Jake didn't have a coat and boots.  The mission instructions said he should buy those items in Canada when he arrived, so we didn't send him with them.  Somehow after being there a week he still didn't have a coat or boots.  Here is the tender mercy that came to Jake this week regarding this situation:

The local library called us and told us that they saw our fliers and loved what we were doing. They said they have clothes that were donated for them to give away and said we could come check it out and take whatever we needed. I found a sweet Billabong jacket that fits perfect and is super warm. Then we went to Walmart and I got some rubber boots for like fifteen bucks. So now I'm pretty set. I just need a warmer jacket for proselyting. And by the way. The service we are giving is in civilian clothes. We just wear jeans, and jackets with the yellow Mormon Helping Hands Vests.

I know that our Father in Heaven watches over each of us so personally, and He is certainly watching over Jake.  Thank you, each of you, for loving and praying for our missionary.  It means so much to us!!!

We might just be preparing the people for future missionaries.

Just a short email from Elder Jake but we are so grateful to know where he is and what he's up to.  He also sent these pics, which made our day!!!

The view from Jake's front window.  Brrrrrrr!!!!!

Hi all,

Well I'm finally able to email. Mondays are my P-Days. Right now I am serving in High River. It's about an hour south of Calgary. It has been freezing. Yesterday it was -29 degrees Celsius. We went snow plowing. Serving in this area will be a little different than normal. There was a bad flood here back in the summer last year. Many homes were flooded. So instead of going out and looking for investigators, our main focus will be giving service. The past two days we have been handing our fliers talking about our service and shoveling snow. My companion is Elder Stewart and we are also sharing the area with another set of elders, Elder Madsen and Elder Roper. I haven't gotten a coat or boots yet but I have managed. A lady from the ward loaned me a coat until I can get one myself. The ward members are really nice. We have been fed really well so far. We have dinner appointments all this week too. The food is good. Really no different than Back home. Except no Mexican. We have a car. It's a Subaru Impreza. The roads are pretty icey but we manage. The town is small. We live with a member named Brother Baker. He is really nice. he lives on a farm. He has somewhere around 79 Acres. It's super flat here too. We can see the mountains of British Columbia from here. That's about the only thing that sticks up from the horizon.

Other than that not much has been going on. Hopefully we get some calls from people wanting our service. We are planning on helping people out with cleaning up after the flood. Even though it was seven months ago, some people are still not in their homes. Hopefully the service will lead to some lessons and baptisms but there is no way to know for sure. We might just be preparing the people for future missionaries.

Well that's about it. I'll try to write some written letters too. Glad to know all is going well back home. Hope to hear from you soon.

Elder Anderson

Picture of Jake and his MTC district at the Provo Temple.  (Jake is 3rd from the right.)

Another picture from the MTC.  (Jake is in the middle.  Haha!)

Jake and his MTC roommates.  He loved his experience in the MTC!!!

Jake's MTC district with his two teachers. 

Our Father in Heaven Loves Us Dearly

Hello all!

Man it has been crazy as always. We are being taught so much and teaching so much that I can't keep track of what I taught who. We do these things called role play. We pretend we are teaching investigators, but we are really teaching our teachers who are acting like an investigator from their mission. We will have six hours of class in a day, along with a few hours of personal study (which is basically class) then at least an hour of zone teaching (which is basically class). The information we are given is almost overwhelming. There is no time for anything else. Luckily today we have several hours of just doing whatever we want. We might start some fires and rebel a little. 

Yesterday we had something called In-Field training. That is where we go from classroom to classroom learning how to apply what we have learned about teaching. We learn how to work with the members of the church, how to find investigators, how to approach investigators, and stuff like that. The whole class is nine hours long. It was exhausting! Oh man we were tired for about the last three hours. And then after that we had some personal study, then zone teaching where we taught an investigator. After almost falling asleep the whole day, we got back to the room and had more energy than ever before. Sleep seemed crazy. We just hung out and shot each other with nerf guns. We also found a basketball hoop you can hang on the door in one of the vents in our room. We found that a week ago. We will probably break that out soon and do some dunk contests. 

We had a role play a couple days ago that was amazing. I was the investigator and Elder Lybe was the missionary. I didn't know who the person I was going to be was. Brother Crendall (my teacher with the brother going to Sierra Leone who has been reading off of Cody's blog) told us a little about an investigator from his mission. We had to become him. I prayed for the ability to feel and think what Rafa (the investigator) felt and thought. During the lesson I became this kid and was able to see exactly what he saw. When Elder Lybe was teaching, the spirit was so strong. His words were guided by it and spoke to Rafa deeply. He said exactly what needed to be said. What happened was that Rafa was about to be baptized when all of the sudden he decided he didn't want anything to do with the church. We found out that a week before his baptism he went to his mom with a Book of Mormon telling her he was going to be baptized and that he wanted her to read it. She told him he would be disowned if he made that choice. When Elder Lybe was teaching me, he talked about Nephi saying I will go and do the things the Lord commands. He talked about how the Lord will provide a way for us. That spoke deeply to me. It was exactly what Rafa needed to hear. I know that the Spirit is what does the true conversions. We only help the investigators recognize it and feel it. 

So I know you had a few questions. My companion Elder Pitts is from about twenty minutes away. He is from Cedar Hills Utah. I see Sister Howells here fairly often and say hi. Other than that I haven’t seen anyone else. The food is good but nowhere near as good as your food mom. Doesn't even come close. I am eating well though. My blood sugar is great. I have lows all the time, so I know it's under control. So you can see how I don't have the need to actually check my blood sugar. And obviously I am using my insulin all the time. I was able to rent a fridge for ten bucks and have it put in my room. All my roommates are using it haha. When I'm done with it, I can get my money back. As far as my flight, It's really early. Like I think maybe around 5 in the morning. Although all of the others from my district have it written as 2 in the morning. So I'm not sure what's going on with that. I'll have to check with the travel desk. 

The mission is great so far. We have already almost finished the trail mix. That is heavenly. The sun has been out the last few days. It's good to know it's still there. That's one thing I miss is the weather in SoCal. Although the cold hasn’t bothered me at all yet. Then again Calgary has been about twenty to thirty degrees colder compared to here so we'll see. 

Well I should wrap this up. I just want to finish by saying I know that we all have a purpose here on this earth. We all go through trials for a reason. Whether it's to help make us stronger, or to help humble us, they are always for a reason. Our Father in Heaven loves us dearly. And Jesus loves us too. He wouldn't have gone through what he went through if he didn't love us. Think about someone you love. Would you be willing to feel all the pain and suffering and sin they will feel in their life in order to save them? Jesus would. Except He did it for billions upon billions of his siblings. Don't you ever forget it. I don't want you to ever think that you are not loved by anyone. I love you all. But more importantly, your Father and eldest brother love you. More than you will ever know. More than you will ever be able to comprehend. If you ever feel alone. Pray. Talk to our Dad. He wants to hear from you. Then when you want to hear from him. Read the scriptures. He wants to talk to you. Always. He has blessings that he is dying to give you, but he can't unless we earn them. Be worthy of these blessings, for they will be tenfold what you deserve if you just seek Christ. Follow Him and you will have eternal live and eternal glory. It is worth it. I bear you these things and do so in the name of my Brother, Jesus Christ, Amen.

With lots of love

Elder Anderson

Merry Christmas from Elder Anderson

This is the best Christmas gift we will receive this year, maybe ever. Enjoy!

I only have 20 minutes so I have to make it quick. First of all, thank you so much for the gifts! You seriously didn't have to do that. I love them as does my district haha. They say thank you! It is so cool to be here for Christmas. We are going to be hearing from Elder Bednar today it sounds like. I'm super excited. We saw a video of him speaking a couple of days ago from a few years back. It was amazing. He talked about turning our hearts to Christ. Becoming selfless. I hope we can all remember Christ every day and recognize his role in our lives.

It has been crazy every day here. We are learning so much. The MTC is truly a great place and the spirit is amazing. I realize that I really didn't know anything about being a missionary. Jesus Christ is the reason we do what we do. Our only purpose is to bring others unto Him. We are here to make people become like Christ. I would like you to think about Christ as a baby. Just after he was born. Picture Him in your arms with his beautiful eyes looking up at you. Feel the love that this baby has for you. Now imagine what the future will hold for this baby boy. As you hold him, think of all he will do for you. Think of the Atonement and how he felt every pain, suffering, and misery in all the world. Think of the sin he had to experience because of us. Think of how his disciples fell asleep when he asked them to stay awake with him while he had to endure that. Three times! Think of how one of them even betrayed them. Think of how this baby boy you are holding will one day be whipped, stabbed, then nailed to a cross and left for dead. The baby boy you hold in your arms will do all of this. Why? I'll tell you. It's because he wants to spend the rest of eternity living with you in the Celestial Kingdom. He loves you so much that he is willing to go through all of this suffering so he can be with you forever. Now I want you to think about this throughout Christmas and the rest of your lives. What are you doing for him? How are you living your life? Your eldest brother gave away his life for you. All he asks is for you to follow him. We do not deserve any of this. We will owe Christ for the rest of eternity no matter what. The least we could do is to give him his one wish. That we will live with him for eternity. The only way to do this is to turn your hearts toward others. Become Christlike. I know if we do this, we will be blessed beyond measure. Our lives will be better. Our attitudes will be better. We will be happier. We will feel more peace and joy in our lives. But best of all. We will get to spend the rest of eternity with Jesus Christ. We will get to thank him personally and know he is proud of us. We had eternity to prepare for this, and we will have eternity to remember this. Don't spend Eternity regretting what we did on this earth. I know this is what God wants for us. This gospel is his way of showing his love for us. Don't forget that. If you want to show your love for him, then serve him.

I have to go now. I love you all and will write Saturday. Probably sometime in the morning. Maybe seven or eightish.

With love,

Elder Anderson

If all else fails, trust in the Lord.

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. 

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