September 28, 2015: Love You Grandma

Hola familia!! Thanks so much for your emails!! I really appreciated them. Tomorrow we have transfers; my companion is leaving the area and I’m going to receive another Hermana. I don’t know who she is, but she has been out a few months in the mission. I’m really bummed that Hermana Trujillo is leaving, she is super sweet and I really loved being her companion. She is super Christlike...I was hoping I would have at least one more transfer to have it rub off on me ha-ha. But it’s all good; I will have the chance to get to know another companion. I’m a little nervous, I don’t know the area very well and I’m horrible with directions....ha-ha. It will be an interesting week.

This week I learned that there is an African Safari in Puebla, Mexico. I decided I want to go there!! I’ve never really wanted to go to Africa, but I’ve always wanted to go on a Safari. Sooooooo, problem solved. I get to go to my beloved Mexico and get my Safari. Perfect!!! I saw the eclipse of the moon last night and thought of Dad!! It was awesome!! We found new people to teach this week and it’s been great. It’s been an eye opener in my mission to see that we really have the answers to the tough questions in life through the Gospel.

Well, right now I’m a little speechless; I’m still trying to digest a bit that Grandma is going to be gone in the next little while. So I can’t really get myself to write much. It feels weird though, because on Saturday I told my companion that something was off at home because I could feel it. When I saw the emails today, I understood why. It’s interesting how the Spirit can indicate things to us. Anyways, I know that Grandma Anderton will be really excited to see Grandpa again. I have no doubt that she has a one-way ticket to heaven. She was an example to everyone!! She always had just the right words and had lots of wisdom. I loved to talk with her about my deepest questions and concerns because she always said what I needed to hear. I will always cherish my memories of taking care of her on the weekends, especially when I lived with her the last 6 weeks before my mission. Best 6 weeks of my life!!! I will always be thankful that I got time to serve and get to know my exemplary Grandmother. She taught me to have a little more faith and really blessed us all with her laugh and love. She taught me so much and I’m so grateful that I could learn from her. She left a great heritage for me to follow and I am so thankful for her. Heaven will receive a truly special spirit soon. She was an angel here on earth. I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!!!!

I will just leave you with a scripture. Mosiah 16:8

 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.

I love you all so much!! I wish I could be there to give you all a big hug!! Thanks for all the support and love you give me!! I will be okay here, don’t worry about me. XOXOXOXO until next week...

Con todo mi amor,

Hermana Anderton

Hermana's Trujillo, Anderton on early morning run in Nuevo Casas Grandes!

September 21, 2015: Well, You Guy's Won't Believe Where I'm Writing From.........

Hola familia!!! Thanks so much for your emails and love!! I really liked my emails today. Wow, the granite countertops look really nice!!! Well....you guys won’t believe where I'm writing you from....NUEVO CASAS GRANDES!!! My area is Estacion. I came here on an emergency transfer on Friday. So weird, I really was mentally preparing to stay in Rio Nilo until the end of my mission ha-ha. I didn’t realize how much junk I had gained until I tried to pack my bags...a year full of stuff. I got rid of a lot of things. My new companion is Hermana Trujillo and she has been on her mission for 5 months. She is super sweet, I really like her!

Well, yeah....this week has just been strange. Casas Grandes is really beautiful!! It feels so green to me. But it is super small; I am used to lots of cars, people, and non-stop sound. When I went to sleep the first night...everything was silent. I couldn’t sleep ha-ha. But yeah, I think I’m really going to like it here! It is super different than Rio Nilo, but it’s all good!! I’m glad I went to El Centro last week to buy my stuff I wanted ha-ha. We had a blast there!! There weren’t as many people as the last time I went there. I sent pics. This week before I left Rio Nilo, we visited a new investigator. He had read the entire Lesson One pamphlet we left....and remembered everything! It was awesome! He was really excited to learn more and will progress really well I think. We had meetings with the President this week, we worked on our teaching skills and it was a really good meeting. I went to it 2 times since I was in Juarez and received it there and then again here in Casas Grandes. It’s raining a lot here, I feel like I’m in Washington. Yeah, I feel like my mission is passing like a dream, when the members here ask me how long I’ve been out, they laugh and say that I’m on my way home. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I miss you guys, but I’m not ready to come back. I love my mission!! But for now, there isn’t much to report about the people here....I can’t remember their names ha-ha. But yeah, I’m super happy here!!!!

The Bishop this week shared something I really liked in our coordination meeting. He told us this story, I’m giving you guys the watered down version:

There was a young woman who went to her grandmother’s house to tell her all of the problems she was going through and to escape the real world. Her grandmother listened closely, and then went to the kitchen without saying a word. She put 3 pots of water on the stove and then turned it on. When the water was boiling, she put a carrot in one, an egg in the other, and coffee beans in the third. After the appropriate amount of time, she took the food out and poured coffee into a cup. She told her granddaughter to pay attention to the texture of the food and take a bite, and a sip of coffee. "What are you trying to say?" the granddaughter asked. The grandmother replied, "Look at it this way. All 3 things were exposed to the same heat...but reacted differently. The seemingly tough carrot broke down and became soft and weak. The egg, which was soft on the inside, is now hard. The coffee beans on the other hand, flourished in the heat and turned into wonderful coffee. (I’m not suggesting we go drink coffee but for the sake of the story I’m saying coffee is wonderful ha-ha). So, you can decide which way you will react to the adversity in your life. Will you become weaker, will you become hard, or will you flourish?"

I really liked that story!! So are you a coffee bean, an egg, or a carrot?? And I will just leave you guys with this quote from Spencer W. Kimball:

Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?

If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.

If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil—all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls.

I love this quote. And it is true. Meet the challenge!! Life is not meant to be a cakewalk, but don’t forget to still enjoy life too!!!! I’m doing great here!! Next week, I will have a little more to write. This week just passed in a blur...sorry. Well, I love you all so much and am happy here. I love being a servant of the Lord! Have a great week!!! I love you guys!!!!!! Until next time....XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Con todo mi amor,

Hermana Anderton

Cathedral Of Our Lady Guadalupe, Ciudad Juarez

Not sure....

Last Lunch with District before transfer

Final Lunch....

"We Love Juarez"... Hermana's Estrada and Anderton

In front of the mission office

"Space Horse".....  Reminded Raegan of Dad?????

Hermana's Trujillo and Anderton

September 14, 2015: We crashed Richardo's date night!

Hola familia!! You all sound super great and happy!! I can’t believe that we are halfway through September. Well, today we are going to El Centro to buy lots of cool Mexican things. It’s almost Independence Day here, so there are lots of things really cheap down there. I’m pretty stoked. So, I have to hurry so we can be on our way. But thanks so much for all of your emails, I really enjoyed them and had a few good laughs. Thanks for all of your support and love, I really appreciate it!

Yesterday was the dedication of the Mexico City Temple! We got to go to the 11am session via satellite. Elder Holland and Elder Eyring were there. They had live translation, it was super cool to listen to and watch. The talks were amazing!! Elder Holland talked about the sealing power and just how important it is and then bore his testimony at the end in Spanish. Super sweet! I really miss the temple you guys!! I am so jealous that you guys can go!!  Elder Pieper talked about sacrifice and he mentioned my favorite quote from Joseph Smith about sacrifice:

“A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never
has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and
salvation.”

I really like that quote. I know that giving up something that we value and treasure for something that is of greater worth is always worth the price we have to pay. I know that every sacrifice we make for the Lord is one that will help us grow in our faith. We need to be willing to give all to Him that gave us everything...even when it’s hard.

Other than that, it was your average-joe week. We contacted a woman who wanted to know about the tree of life and set an appointment with her. I hope we find her there this week! We crashed Ricardo’s date-night with his girlfriend on accident. To be fair, we had an appointment. We knocked on the door and his girlfriend (non-member) was there and they were watching a movie. Whoops!! But it turned out okay, we taught the Plan of Salvation and we got pizza....ha-ha. We visited some new investigators this week. The son is 28 years old and has an auto-immune disorder and its attacking his liver. They wanted a blessing, so we took the Elders with us and then invited them to listen about the gospel so that they could enjoy more blessings and knowledge in their lives. They accepted! Yay! They have a lot of potential. Ummm, I’m drawing a blank for other events. And we need to get going, so I am going to finish up...

Just know that I love you guys so much and that I’m so grateful for all of the love and support that you guys give me. I love my family!!! I know that the temple is the house of the Lord and that we are so blessed to live where there are so many so close. I am super happy out here and am having a blast and working as hard as I can!! Well, until next week. I love you all!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO I will buy you guys some Mexican things today!!!

Con todo mi amor,

Hermana Anderton

Internet Cafe'...  writing letters home  ( a little blurry)

Eating lunch in the stairwell... 

September 7, 2015: 10 Commandments!

Hola familia!! Everyone sounds fabulous! The concert looked really fun, glad you guys enjoyed it. Thanks for the football updates. I can’t believe that BYU game it sounds like it was crazy! I love football ha-ha. Thanks so much for your letters everyone, I really appreciate them!! Feeling the love over here:) Ha, I miss you guys, thanks so much!

This week was good. The temps are starting to drop a little bit, but I still feel like I’m in a....ummmm....sarten???? The thing you cook eggs with. I am drawing a blank for the word. The sun just burns!! I’m looking more and more like a California chick....or a lobster. Not sure which ha-ha. Anyways, as you guys could see from my pics, we went to visit the animal exhibit at the university in our area, our branch president took us. I was pretty stoked about the bear. Edmundo received the Aaronic Priesthood this Sunday and is progressing really well. He has a Book of Mormon to share and is reading everything he can get his hands on. He loves everything. I’m so glad that Heavenly Father helped us find him. He is still awestruck from the Stake Conference last week. He won’t stop talking about it. This week with Dulce, we taught a primary class. Her kids wanted to invite their friends they were playing with outside to listen to us, too. So, we adapted the teaching to the kids ha-ha. We taught the 10 commandments with hand signals to teach them. Funny quotes:

-"What is commandment number six?" (hand signal)

- "Oh I know!!!! No volverás a matar!" (You won’t kill again)

- "Ummmm you shouldn’t ever do it ha-ha"

Another one:

- "What is the 10th commandment?" (hand signal that has you wiggling all ten fingers)

- "Oh! No hechizaras!" (You won’t cast spells)

- "Almost...."

Kids crack me up; love the 10 commandments they made!!!!

So yeah, that was fun. We found a few new investigators this week; they are really interested in what happens after this life because a friend of theirs just died. They had some strange beliefs, but they willingly accepted what we told them. I’m just so grateful that I know these things.

I’ve been thinking a lot about keeping the commandments and why it’s so hard for us sometimes. I think it’s because we justify not keeping them because of our circumstances. But Dulce told us a story that I won’t forget. I don’t know if I’ve already told you guys...but here it is, it happened to her a few years ago. She had just separated from her husband and had a baby and her 3 year old son. She didn’t have a job and was running out of money to buy milk, food, and diapers. She told her friend, who robbed semi-trucks and sold the products, that she was desperate. He invited her to tag along with him to make some money. She knew she wasn’t supposed to steal but she was desperate. She prayed that night and said, "Heavenly Father, I need a job tomorrow. I need money now. I don’t want to steal, but I can’t watch my kids starve either. So if you don’t let me have a phone call from one of the jobs I’ve applied for, I’m heading out with my friend tomorrow at 7pm to rob and get the money I need." At 11am the next morning, she had a phone call and received a job. She told us that she knows Heavenly Father listens to prayers and helps us to keep His commandments. And she is right!!!! We all know the scripture from Nephi:

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

I know that is true!! So let’s strive to always demonstrate our love for Heavenly Father and keep His commandments. We will be at peace with ourselves and receive all the blessings and help we will ever need.

Well, I love you all!! Hope that you all have a great week!!!! I’m doing great here and am so happy I came! Until next time...XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Con todo mi amor,

Hermana Anderton

The Branch President to Hermana's Estrada and Anderton to the local university to view an animal exhibit

Hermana's Estrada and Anderton