June 29, 2015: "So we trapped it in a container and then......"

Hola familia!! Everyone sounds like they had a grand adventure this week. I couldn’t help but laugh at the misfortunes ha-ha. We heard about the ruling on same sex marriage and it’s turned out to be a great contacting source because everyone asks us about it. Yep, we are going to be handing out a lot of Family Proclamations. That’s one of the benefits of living on the border; everyone wants to talk to the Americans about the US...so this has opened a great proselyting opportunity for us. I am disappointed about the ruling, but I know where I stand.

This week was soooooooooooo much better than last week ha-ha. We have been super busy, there is not enough time to accomplish everything we want to do in the day, and I love it!!! It has been really rainy this week and the temps dropped to the low 90s, it was wonderful. We did get soaked though....when it rains it pours!!!! We were soaking wet when we got to lunch on Saturday. We looked like drowned cats. But it was super fun!!!! We contacted a lot of people and found a man who goes to Vegas a lot to buy cars. He spoke English with us....but I COULD NOT speak pure English. A Spanish word came out at least every few sentences. I think he spoke better English than me. He had a good laugh. I don’t know what’s happening to me. I need to practice my English ha-ha. Another woman, Luz, is now a new investigator that we contacted in the street. She has been prepared for us!! We are teaching Ricardo’s mom now too. We are planning for his baptism this Saturday....and also plan on watching fireworks from El Paso on Saturday. Cambios are this upcoming week on the 7th. I’m nervous. I love Rio Nilo and don’t want to leave....but I’m the Rio Nilo geezer. So who knows? I love the ward here, they are super great. I wish you could meet them all!!! Oh we killed a cucuracha in our bedroom! Gross. We were getting ready to sleep when Hermana Diaz suddenly darted out of her bed and ran to turn on the light. There was a cucuracha just chilling in her bed. Well, we knocked it off of her bed and onto the floor...but there wasn’t enough space on the hard floor to smash it since our mattresses take up most of the room. We put those on the floor so it would be cooler to sleep at night. So we trapped it in a container and then drowned it in bleach. It was a terrible way for him to die, but that was all we could think to do. Hermana Ferrell was screaming like a little girl. It was super funny. I am more scared of spiders than cucurachas, but they are still gross. I really hope that we don’t find any more in our house. Overall, this week has been pretty good for us! :) We are going to work hard this last week here and see where we are going to end up next week!

Well, I just think I will let the following document speak for itself. I know that a lot of crazy things have been happening in the world. But in the end, if we just obey what the prophets say and defend the truth, we will be okay. We need to keep calm, pray, and keep our eyes on the prophet. I believe in the family the way God established it. Here is a quote from L. Tom Perry from his last conference...and then everyone could review The Family: A Proclamation for the World:

"We want our voice to be heard against all of the counterfeit and alternative lifestyles that try to replace the family organization that God Himself established. We also want our voice to be heard in sustaining the joy and fulfillment that traditional families bring. We must continue to project that voice throughout the world in declaring why marriage and family are so important, why marriage and family really do matter, and why they always will."

The Family: A Proclamation for the World

I love you all so much!! I am so grateful for the family I have! Thanks for all of your love and support!! I am grateful for all you guys do for me!! I hope that this week goes better than last week!!!!!!! Well, until next week!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXO....oh and Hermana Luly says hi...she just walked in to the internet place.

Con todo mi amor,

Hermana Anderton

Scene of the "Cucuracha Event"

"The Capture"

"The End"

Hermana's Ferrell, Hernandez, Anderton

1 year....

The one year pancake face...???   Hmmmm?  Not sure what it is!

The one year flex......  (family pose!!)

June 22, 2015: And that my friends is how I was pooped on by a bird!

Wow, time is flying!!! Everyone sounds like they're doing great!! I'm so happy for all of you! It sounds like you're all busy too!!! Life just keeps rolling. Yeah, I can't believe I hit my year mark this Thursday. The MTC feels like yesterday. But whatever, I'm having a good time :)

We are busy and had an okay week. I will share the funny thing first. We were contacting a woman and her sister in the park and then suddenly: PLOP!!!! And that my friends is how I was pooped on by a bird. That is the second time that's happened to me ha-ha. It was on my bag too. When we got to Hermana Luly's for lunch, I went out back and scrubbed that thing clean. There are lots of pigeons here. But it was worth the sacrifice, they were a little shut down to us, but after laughing at me, they opened right up and it kept the conversation going to so we could invite them to church. God moves in mysterious ways.  (Dad's Note: When Raegan was very young she always chased birds in the backyard hoping to catch one......   bird revenge!!)

Other than that, we are preparing Ricardo for baptism, and trying to help and strengthen our other investigators to progress. We had a lesson with a member present with Ricardo...whose name is Ricardo, too. I don't know why we found that so amusing...probably because everything is hilarious in the heat ha-ha. We are talking to everyone in the street. Around 12 to about 4 there is only us and the stray dogs in the street because it’s really hot! But the few people we find, we talk to. Around 7, it cools off a bit so its bearable and people come out of their houses and we get busier. This week was a little bit slower, but I got my exercise in and had a blast talking to people. My companions are great and we are having fun and working the hardest we can. We often talk about our goals and are always encouraging each other. I'm glad I have the companions I have and that I get to work in this ward still. I love it here!!!!!!

Well, my thought for you guys has to do with Father's Day...PS, HAPPY DADDY DAY TO MY WONDERFUL FATHER!!!!! Anyways, yesterday, we showed "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father" to a lot of people. It's a really cool video. Check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5FxdCgD-qI

It talks about the role of a father in the home, and then compares it to our Heavenly Father. It almost makes me cry. I know how much my dad loves me and takes care of me, so just imagine the love our Heavenly Father has for us!! I know that his precepts and ways are the right way. And that He only wishes for us to be happy.

Pues si vosotros, siendo malos, sabéis dar buenas dádivas a vuestros hijos, ¿cuánto más vuestro Padre que está en los cielos dará buenas cosas a los que le piden?

“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good thing to them that ask him?”

I believe in a Heavenly Father who loves His children. I know that the trials, opportunities, successes, and everything we have is thanks to the fact that He is our father. I hope that we can all feel His love and a better desire to serve Him. I choose my Father.

Well, that's it folks!! I love you all so much and hope that you have a great week! Thanks for all you do!!! I love you guys!!!!! Until next time....XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

CON TODO MI AMOR,

Hermana Anderton

This week the pictures home all had to do with "graffiti"

"Be the Change You Want to See in the World"

June 15, 2015: We Are Teaching Hermana Diaz a LOT of English!

Hola familia!! Wow, the wedding looks like it was a blast! And PERFECT!!!! Thanks so much for sending the pics. They looked so happy! Weird to think that my sister is a married woman...I feel like it was yesterday that we were playing Barbies. And I have a cuñado. Strange!!! I hope that it was as fun as it looked in the pictures and that everyone had a great time and ate lots of cake. That is always my favorite part of weddings...the food ha-ha. PS, I got my package last Monday, thanks so much!!!! It was perfect!!

Well, this week has been great! We set a baptismal date with Ricardo for the 4th of July...fireworks from El Paso and a baptism. And a MIRACLE happened yesterday, Veronica came to church!! I can’t remember if I told you about her....but seriously it was a miracle that made my Sunday. When we first met her, I thought she was going to eat us alive. But we went back to her anyway ha-ha. I really like her but she’s a tough nut to crack. There is just something about her, she’s really confused and is looking for the truth but puts up a tough front. She asked a lot of questions at church and the members were very helpful in explaining things. She is going to give us our lunch next week, too. We have really gained her confidence and she has her interests spiked high. I love the challenge of teaching her. Mundo is progressing nicely too. We had a lesson with him with Hermano Garcia and it went really well. We had some pretty interesting street contacts. I’m so grateful for the spirit and that it tells us what to say. We have been really busy and having lots of fun while working hard. I really love my companions!! We get along well. We are teaching Hermana Diaz a lot of English, and trying to make her like it ha-ha. She pronounces words really well; she just forgets what it all means. Well, that’s about all I remember from my week right now. I’m sure there are lots of other things that happened. I’m so grateful for journaling. I’m excited to read it to you guys. Hmm, anyways, I’m just super happy here. It’s so hot you guys!!! I will never take air conditioning for granted ever again. But even with the heat, I’m content.

Well, this week I have been thinking a lot about God’s grace...and well I love the conference talks and finally have them in the magazine so I’ve been reading them. I want to challenge you guys to read Uchtdorf’s talk called the Gift of Grace. But anyways, I’m going to tell you guys my two favorite parts from the talk:

But the grace of God does not merely restore us to our previous innocent state. If salvation means only erasing our mistakes and sins, then salvation—as wonderful as it is—does not fulfill the Father’s aspirations for us. His aim is much higher: He wants His sons and daughters to become like Him.

Salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience; it is purchased by the blood of the Son of God.

We need our Savior to progress if we want to get anywhere. We obey the Lord out of love for Him, but we will ALWAYS need Christ, without Him, it's impossible. And once we progress, we shouldn’t go back. My mission has been a great teacher to me about using God's grace. We all know I’m a bit of a "Get out of my way, I will do it myself." type of person. And maybe that determination isn’t a bad thing; it’s an attribute that just needs to be refined. I’ve really learned out here that I can’t do everything myself. And when we get in tune with the grace of God, we can work wonders. I hope that we can all appreciate more the grace of God in our lives by working hard and appreciating the grace He gives us daily!

Anyways, I love you all so much!  Thanks for the unceasing support and love. I can feel your prayers always...and it’s a strength to me. I love you guys sooooooooooooooo much! I am so grateful for the family I have. I hope that you all have a great week!! Thanks for the pics!! Until next time....XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO #livingthedream

Con todo mi amor,

Hermana Anderton

Hermana Diaz, Ferrell, Anderton. The Rio Nilo Trio!

Juarez Sunset

Simba died....  Now featuring Rafiki!

June 8, 2015: "I Will Help At Home, But I Can't Always Do That"

Dum da da dum!!!! Dum da da dum!!! (imagine that to the song that everyone always hums when people get married ha-ha).  Wedding is this week!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOO!!! Mom, don’t panic ha-ha. I hope that everything is ready to go! You all sound super busy and content!! Que bueno!! Thanks for the pics. I also expect lots of pics this upcoming week from the wedding!

This week has been good! Super-hot...I’m ALWAYS sweating. It’s gross. But we are having a blast and working hard! We have had some pretty cool experiences. We found a man outside of his house cutting his tree and we just started talking to him. His mom had just died so he has a lot of questions about life after death. We gave a very watered down version of the Plan of Salvation and left the pamphlet with him after we took his telephone number. He lives in the area of the Elders, so they have a golden reference! It’s amazing how God prepares His children. On Saturday, we had a sisters’ meeting and the primary was having a big activity in the same chapel we were in. They wanted to say hi to us, so they came in to shake our hands. There was a really cute 7 year old who took a special liking to me...probably because I am blonde and according to her, look exactly like Barbie. Anyways, each child picked a missionary to talk to for a few minutes. She was at my side before they even finished the instructions ha-ha. We were supposed to talk about how we demonstrate our love for the Savior. She was so worried and thought she had to save all of the kittens and puppies in the world so Christ could know she loved Him. We decided though in the end that helping at her house and obeying her parents was good enough. But she was just so cute! Quote, "I will help at home, but I can’t always do that." I asked her why. "Because sometimes I have to go to school, so I can’t be home all the time." I told her that was justified. I loved the thought process!! I saw Hermana Patlan and Juanita on Sunday! They came to our church!! All fancy in their dresses!! It was a good little visit. I will be returning to Juarez to visit them!!! We taught the oldest daughter of Maria de Jesus for the first time yesterday. She lived with her grandma, but has been having some problems so she was living with her mom this week. We taught her about the Book of Mormon and gave her one. Jaquelyn, her little sister, taught her how to pray. It was super precious!!!! We are going to read the BoM with them. We bought Maria the discs so she can listen to them when we aren’t there since she can’t read. I think that will be the key with them. The BoM is a powerful tool!!! So yeah, we are hard at work!! We are also encouraging the youth to enroll in seminary and the Young Adults to enroll in institute. Nobody seems too excited about it when we talk to them....WHAT?!?!?!?! But we are going to get them excited!!!

So that’s going to be the basis of my thought for you guys this week: why is it so important to go to institute and seminary?? And for you older people out there...to study the classes for Sundays? Because we will never stop learning about the gospel!!! There’s too much!! I’m so grateful for all the time I spent in my classes, it helped me gain the testimony I need to do the things I need to do!!!! I loved seminary and institute!!! I learned so much!!! I also will never forget the way I felt during some of those critical lessons about the Atonement...WOW!! I know that as we study the scriptures, we will be filled with better understanding and find all the answers we ever need!! SCRIPTURE POWER!!! Seminary, institute, and church are the places we get to go to discuss them with other people as guided by the Spirit. Make it a priority!!!!!! Understanding the scriptures is so important...and I love them so much!!! My scripture quad is one of my most prized possessions. This is from 2 Timothy 3:15-17:  

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Well, I’m super excited for Madison!! I can’t believe she will be a married woman in 5 days! Enjoy the wedding, and everyone can eat my half of the cake ha-ha. Take lots of pictures and have lots of fun!! I’m so proud of you all and everything that you’re all doing!! I have such a wonderful family!! I love you all more than I can ever express! Thanks for all your support and love!! I hope everyone has a great week!! Well, until next time....XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

CON TODO MI AMOR,

Hermana Anderton

El Paso is thata way!

District Pizza Party!!! whoo!

The caption on the picture was: Lo Estrano Mucho!

Hermana Luly...  Thank goodness for Mission Moms!

District Selfie!! No Raegan!

Yes, I'm exhausted!

June 1, 2015: It's Hotter Than Airshows With Dad!

Hola familia!!! Everyone sounds great :) I can't believe Maddie's wedding is so close!! And I'm so excited that she is entering the temple tomorrow. It's so true with Ric and Sharon's situation, Heavenly Father knows what He is doing. He has a plan. Everything happens for something. I was laughing super hard about that story about Grandpa. He was such a good example. I sure miss him. Thanks for sharing!!!

Well, this week has been fun and different. Trios have a different dynamic...and all three of us really like to teach ha-ha. But it's been a really fun change. Hermana Diaz is hilarious; she's a good mix with our companionship that we had last transfer. We all get along really great. Just a heads up, I will be a chronic traveler to Mexico; I will need to visit all my companions I've had and this branch I'm in! I love my area!!! I'm so happy that I get to stay...even though I've been here forever. When we showed up to church yesterday, the members that we didn't see during the week about fell over to see I was still there...but they were excited too. Hermana Gonzalez attacked me with hugs and kisses. I won't lie, about two weeks ago I was feeling really restless and wanted to bust out on a change. But this week, I've been counting my blessings. I love Rio Nilo, and the members here are my family and the investigators we have are great. I will definitely come back here to visit!!!! So my 2 cool experiences from this week are these: I saw Hermana Patlan and Juanita this week!! We were walking in the street and I saw them...I thought I had heat stroke, but nope...they were real! I took off sprinting after them. It made my week!!!! I almost cried! It wasn't coincidence we ran into them. It put quite the pep in my step after when we went back to work ha-ha. I love missionary work!! We also found a family to teach this week. We were looking for an unfindable street...and were walking around a lot. It was super-hot and I just thought, "It can't be this hard to find a street!!!!! It's hotter than the airshows with Dad. Where is this place? Heavenly Father....I hope that there's a good reason we are still walking around." And there was. Out of nowhere this family showed up. We asked for their help. Turns out that they live on the same street we were looking for. They let us in for water and we had a lesson with them, and they are our new investigators. They are awesome!!!! As I stated before, Heavenly Father knows what He is doing in His work. I'm not sure how, but we always end up where we need to be!!!

This week we had a mission-wide meeting again. And in the end, I had to stand up and talk in front of everyone about an experience from August...the President put me on the spot. He was telling the trainers to let their companions talk, even if they don't speak very much Spanish. He then said, "Hermana Anderton had a very beautiful experience when she first got here at an open house activity." I felt my face flush because I knew he was going to make me stand up then. I don't really like speaking Spanish in huge groups. Anyway, I stood up and told them about when we had the open house my 3rd or 4th week here and about how I didn't talk as much as I thought I did. I wasn't participating very much and felt a little useless because I couldn't speak. The President was there and cut off whatever it was that we were doing and said, "Hermana, you are going to bear your testimony in English so you can participate." Nobody there spoke English in the room, but the President told them to pay attention to how they felt. I started bearing my testimony and the women in the front cried...and the Spirit was really strong. That was the first time in my mission I felt like I had done something. Anyway, the point of that story is this: That everyone has something they can offer to the work...even in their weaknesses. Maybe we aren't going to be the most beautiful with our word, maybe we aren't the star-pupil of seminary....but missionary work is for everyone!!!!! Share what you know and what makes you happy!!!!!!!!! My mission has been such a blessing in my life because I've had experiences I will never forget. To anyone teetering on the decision, GET YOUR PAPERS DONE AND GO!!!!!!!

I love you all and hope that this week is great! You've all got lots of things to do!! Thanks for all your support and love!!! I love my family!!! Until next week!!! XOXOXOXO

CON TODO MI AMOR,

Hermana Anderton

Hermana's Anderton, Diaz and Ferrell.  The Rio Nilo Trio!

Dad Loves Captain America!!!

I'm going to go visit the pyramids someday...  hint hint