Leaving Paracatu Pains...and Raw Birthday Cake Brazilian Tradition! Elder Hayden 21 yrs. old!

Hey friends, well some pretty bitter sweet feelings as I left my beloved Paracatu and the wonderful brothers and sisters with whom I worked and served with. I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to serve her in Brazil and I will certainly never forget these people or experiences. 

I'm in São Sebastião today visiting some members and so I will be brief, however I am well, I received my birthday package yesterday and I love it soooo much. We ate pizza on my birthday and then I was smothered with eggs, flour, and confetti as is custom her in Brazil! 

I love you all and will see you soon 

GOD SPEED

Bucket List Checkoffs!

Well folks, just a couple more weeks as a full time missionary as the Lord and my companion and I are making every second count! I've even been able to check a few things off of my bucket list this week: being bitten by a dog, getting stuck in an elevator with 7 people, learning how to use a lasso - ya that's right my companion is a cowboy. Anyway we are working really hard and the Lord is blessing us with spiritual experiences. God has a way of doing things in His own time, but we are hoping to have more investigatores at church this week and maybe even two baptisms! hoorah! 

Well, I'm soo happy to be able to invite people to come unto Christ and I'm thankful to be able to work with such awesome people. Elder Montes from Peru and Elder P. Rodrigues and Dos Anjos from Brazil. We are like brothers in the work and not to mention Sister I Silva and Sister Huff who complete our district. Such a blessing to be able to serve with them the People of this awesome city. Not to mention that we are going to make tacos today, alright! 

The Lord is at the Head of His work and if we trust in him we will see His hand. 

I am so greatful for the love I feel as I serve my fellow men. There is nothing better. 

LOVE YOU ALL AND SEE YA SOON!

èlder Anderson

Companions with 1st Generation Missionary 'Elder Rodrigues

Hello everyone Élder Anderson checking in here and I imagine that I will never again be checking in from such a long distance as my family is now in Alaska! wooooow look who's cool! alright, but really that is pretty cool. Well, I'm here in Paracatu with my new cowboy companion Èlder P. Rodrigues and man I'm I so happy to be on the mission. My companion is from Matto Grosso do sul and is a first generation missionary of six months. He is a really great friend and a great missionary. We are working super hard and I'm glad we are finding new people to help and baptize. 

I love the mission and all that I'm learning in Paracatu. It is the only group in the mission and I'm learning a bunch about the church and how to help my brother's and sisters towards salvation. 

I uploaded a few pictures for you to see of our district, lunch (we are pretty good cooks if you ask me) activities, and my companion. I'll show you the rest of the picture here in 3 weeks! :)

LOVE YOU ALL!

ÈLDER ANDERSON

Companions with Elder Patterson from St. George!

Hello my people! Sorry I didn't write you all yesterday because we had activity! it was sooo cool. Look on the "Brasil Brasília missao- Presidente Lundgren" facebook group to see the action. Soccer, dodge ball pizza- the works. I also went to the police station to renew my visa so that is good. I had an awesome experience yesterday night drumroll. .. I got to be èlder patterson's companion for a day! I sent a picture it was soo sweet. We taught the Restoration to some great investigatores at a family night it was sooooo cooool. I am loving the mission and I am super stoked for the last few weeks of work and we certainly have some people to baptize and reactivate and serve- I'm sooo stoked!

I love you all see you in a few!

We are going to have a celebration/activity on the 16th which just so happens to be my birthday- yah I'm in paradise! I LOOOOVE PARACATU! 

TCHAU!

Èlder Anderson

fotos: st.george power,. paracatu distict, my group, my companion Èlder P. Rodrigues!

Baptisms, Underwear and Bawling Babies!

Wow I tell you what my friends there isn't anything better than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This week was exciting we prepared two brothers to be baptized by their uncle (see photo beneath) and we enjoyed an elders quorum barbecue and a youth activity as well not to mention that most of the youth who attended the activity were baptized the following day. It was such a cool experience to walk with them to the church. Them with their families and parents. I had the opportunity to interview 6 of these young whippersnappers and it was an experience that I won't forget. One of the youngest even chose me to baptize him. It is amazing what the gospel can do in our lives the change for good that following Christ results. One of the neighbors of these kids was being is being taught by the missionaries and he has already taken a life and not to mention a bullet in his leg. His mother is a drug user and I imagine he never knew his father. I am certain if we will look at the promises written in the Proclamation to the World about the Family from 1995 we will see that because of the destruction of the family many a curse will plague the land. And that is what I love about the Gospel is that is blesses families! It is incredible and i am soo thankful for my family and that soon I will be able to see your lovely faces! hahah I'm very excited, but I admit it is strange to think that I will soon leave these people that I have grown to love so much. This week is we have transfers and I don't know if I will stay here or go to another area to finish. I guess we will see, but one thing is for certain I will never forget this place. 

Oh this week week Élder Montes and I went to go knock some doors and we knocked on this house that is super big like this guy is wealthy and to our surprise he came out to greet us. . . in his underwear hahaha, but he is super awesome, we visited them afterward and there house is soooo beautiful I mean the most wealthy house that I have seen on my mission, really nice and it is just the two of them they don't have kids. Well we are thinking to share a part of Meet the Mormons with them and invite them to church this week hahaha I'm soo excited for this last week of work WE ARE GOING TO ROCK!

oh one more story so we received this reference from our group mission leader of this lady who needed some help building her house and so we went to check it out. Her family is awesome and she has a little 1 year old called john luke and I made him cry in the first visit because took a dirty sock out of his mouth, but thankfully he forgave me and everything. man I'm going to have to work on my baby skills. I'm coming LINUS WESLEY

love you all

ÈLDER Anderson

When Disappointments Come Ask,"What does God Want Me to Do Right Now"?

Hey guys, I'm back in Paracatu and feeling good to finally have a p-day with more time to write you all ahhaha it has been pretty crazy the past few weeks, but they have been super fun, too. 

My companion and I are working a lot, but have been sad to see many of our investigators stop progressing. There have been times this week when I have thought after our plans had fallen through: What does God want me to do right now? I have witnessed many times this week that as I trusted in Him and His plans I was able to do His will and I could be an instrument in His hands. 

Saturday night my companion and i were seated near a park after one of our appointments had fallen through and even after knocking a few doors and not having success I remembered a lady we had met a while back who lived close by and we decided to go knock on her door. She began to tell us of her experiences with God and the miracles he has done in her life, but also of the longing to find a church were she feels good and where she belongs. We were able to share with her the book of mormon and I have never seen someone receive The Book with such gratitude and joy than her. She held it close to her as if it was the answer to her pains and daily trials of life yet even as we were reading from the book a crazy drug dealer with whom we had previously shared the book started yelling at us that the Book was a lie and the The Bible was enough and that there wasn't a need for more of the word of God. Thankfully he buzzed off, interesting how the enemy always shows up when the spirit is working. This was certainly a faith builder for me. 

Well I just can't tell you all how blessed I feel to be here in Brazil serving the lord with some of the most faithful people I have ever met. In our district of 6 missionaries 2 of us were raised in the church. These members in Paracatu are incredible and I know that I will never forget them. I was privileged to talk with President Lundgren last week in an interview and He told me he was really happy with me and what I have done to help my companions and the people in Brazil as a missionary. He said he was going to miss my group a lot and I feel really grateful that God gave me such a great mission President to take care of me for this 2 years, He has always been positive and helped me reach my potential as a missionary. We even talked a bit about post-mission life, but I won't get into to much of that hahah. But I'm thinking about following dad's Chiropractor track! haha

P.S. Look up "Brazil Brasilia Mission President Lundgren" on Facebook to see some stuff from the mission. I love you all and wish you all a very good week and remember to let your light shine!

Èlder Anderson

Hello everyone! 

Sorry about the really short letter last week. We were in Brasília and our time to use the internet was a bit limited. My companion and I were able to eat lunch with the President and it was super fun! haha Sister Lundgren even showed my "Contraband land" which is the where she keeps all of the american foods! Yum PEANUT BUTTER! TO bad we wiped that out in about a week. haha 

OH and more news, we are back in brasiília for zone activities and interviews with Presidente! haha we played a bunch of soccer today and even a game to 21 of basketball with the Presidente, We won of course. The president hit like 4 threes! He is pretty awesome and I'm excited to talk to him a bit tomorrow. Man we had a super sweet week last week at church as a district we took 24 investigators to church, however this week we let them have a bit more responsibility and go and only one went, ya so that was interesting, but we will not give up! We are going to work even harder this week! Because we are persistent! Man I was a bit tired this week, but I'm excited to help more people learn about Christ and I will help them!

LOVE YOU ALL

Élder Anderson

A Bit Bummed But Thankful

HELLLO is it me your lookin for?

jk howdydo folks I hope you all had a lovely week. Transfers have come and my companion and I find ourselves alone in Paracatu after Èlder Genaro and Sister Silvera were transferred. I'm glad that I have the opportunity to stick around and I know that this transfer of 5 weeks is going to be a great and a fast one! After these 5 weeks I will be leaving in the middle of the transfer to see you all in St. Geezy. YEEAAH haha well gotta make the most of it. Well my companion and I were a bit bummed because we had some baptisms fall through this week, but we are thankful that Ismael's dad is supportive and allowed him to be baptized on another date. Unfortunately some other investigators we had decided they didn't want to keep the Sabbath day and so we had to let them go. 

This week was a bit stressful, but I'm thankful that i made it through another transfer and I am so thankful for what I'm learning. The Lord is helping me see some things I can do to improve and I am willing to make changes to become a better missionary, friend, teacher and priesthood holder. 

This week we saw a lot of progress with Ivanete who was a woman who approached us in the street one day asking for help to stop drinking and follow God. We arrived at our appointment after she had visited the church a few days before and she was so willing to make changes in her life. She had purchased some medicine to help her stop smoking and we helped her make plans of scripture study and prayer to help her accomplish her goals. She is really cool and the other day we went with her to a the "good burger" close to our house and while we were seated there a man approached and wanted to share of our Grape Fanta to which we accepted and he went on to tell us how he wanted to stop drinking and change his life. Yah you can imagine what we were thinking or maybe what Ivanete was thinking because it was like the same thing that happened with her. I told the man, "well my friend you have found the right people if you are wanting to change your life." And I know that this is true. The Gospel changes lives. The Gospel is changing my life and I'm so thankful for the opportunity I have to help people make changes in their lives by living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. IT WORKS IT IS A MIRACLE. TRY IT!

Well we don't just teach people who have drinking problems, but it sure is great helping them out. We are so excited to have another awesome transfer. We have the opportunity next week to eat lunch with President Lundgren because of our fruitful labors this transfer and my companion is and I are so happy that were able to work so hard and receive some recognition as well. However I know that this is God's work and that He is in command. I am weak, but he is using me as a tool in his hands to do his great and marvelous work. And I'm thrilled to be apart of it. 

Sincerely, 

Élder Anderson

Trunky....Thanks to Mom....But Hangin' In There!

Hello one and all, Elder Anderson here a bit more trunky than usual thanks to mom, but hangin in. 

Well I am going to try and focus here as this young man vocalizes his excitement about the virtual game he is playing. . . oh public Internet stores. . . 

Anyway, this week was great my companion and I worked a lot. we are helping a young lad prepare for baptism and let me tell he is the biggest eight year old handful that I have ever seen and I love him to death. He lives with his grandma, but actually not, because he sleeps for days at His neighbors house who happens to be a member of the church and really her family is more of His family than his actual family if you catch my drift. He likes to run around in the street with his kite which is is his only friend he says. Whenever he sees us he becomes over exuberant with joy. He runs in circles with his arms outstretched and talks and talks and talks it is hilarious. Teaching him is a fun experience. He is so pure, but he seems to have matured more quickly, because of his family environment and sometimes needs the explicit version- the kid is learning to censor himself. 

While I was watching the General Conference from April during Èlder Andersens talk I felt that I should baptize him and it looks as if my companion and I will realize this desire this weekend. 

I love being part of the group Paracatu! The members are awesome and I am learning so much about the church and how it functions and is able to help people have their salvation providing spiritual guidance as much as material in the training of self-reliance and dependence upon the Savior Jesus Christ and His Gospel. These people have sooo much faith. They are passing through soo many trials and many don't have money to buy food, but they don't deny the faith. 

I know God lives, this is His church and His Gospel. In the names of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Élder Anderson

Priesthood Blessings

Hey folks, 

well it was great to see my family this on Saturday, what is left of 'em. . . yup the nest is getting pretty sparce, but at least the streak of handsome young men is still hanging by a thread. hahaha jk lil bros you all look peachy especially Isaac and his Captain America hair. By the way was the movie all that it supposed to be? Hope you enjoyed it. Anyway loved what you have done with the house and can't wait to whoop ya'll in pingpong in a couple of months. hahahaha. . . maybe not. 

Well This week we had a special mission conference with our dear mission President and were well trained in the work of salvation among the children of men in our dear mission and respective areas. Our mission President Lundgren shared some emotion when he told us of a phone call he received form èlder Costa recently informing him of a man he was interviewing to be the Stake President in Recife and that this man claimed to be baptized by èlder Lundgren many years ago. I hope to witness these types of miracles and blessing even when I have His age and that I may remember these people for the rest of my life. We were able to travel to Formosa this week as a group this Sunday to participate in a District Conference. It was a wonderful experience for us all, 4 men were advanced in the Melchizedek priesthood and we were approved to send the papers for a branch to be established here in Paracatu. I'm super excited. I was also very pleased to see many members from Planaltina de Goiás and rejoice with them. I didn't think I would have been blessed to see them all again. I love being a missionary. I was also pleased to talk a bit with Èlder Dias of the Area Seventy who spoke in the conference He spoke with such power and Spirit. I know he has a special calling as a testimony of the Savior. His final words were "My life and all that have are His" speaking of our Savior and lord Jesus and I felt honored to be in the presence of such a man. These men live the law of Consecration. I read a bit about when Howard W. Hunter was called to serve as an apostle and I know that these men give all for God. 

Well here are some picture of the mission conference my district and the bus ride to Formosa with Edgar's family. SOOO fun we played the ABC game with names from the scriptures and also 20 question with scripture personages. Everyone had a blast. we even sang some hymns!

LOVE YOU ALL GOD BE WITH YOU AND PEACE OUT

ÈLDER ANDERSON

Miracles Only Happen When We Show Our Faith and Act

Hey I've got some pictures for yáll. Uaí Só! That is a common phrase in the state of Minas Gerais. I think it is kinda funny. Man this week was a good one. We married Edgar and Cleonice and she and the kids where baptized Saturday. My companion was sooo excited and soooo nervous and soooo happy. He is such a great guy and it was very special for the both of us. I was able to baptize Sheliton and Maria Clara the 13 year old boy and the 9 year old girl. I was soo happy to get into the water again, I felt the spirit very strongly during the ordinance and also during the testimony of Edgar who really is like Aminidab in the book of Helaman if you want to the look that story up. When Nefi and Lei are preaching and then imprisoned and that angels appeared to while they were in the prison and there was one "less active" that called all the people to see what was happening. Yah that is kinda like Edgar. He was going to go on a mission, but with 17 years he moved to Paracatu and told a bunch a people about the church, but because in the time 2003 the church wasn't there he fell away for a time until he found out the church was in Paracatu. Today some of the church leaders in Paracatu are friends and neighbors whom he had told about the church. SUPER COOL, GOD IS GOOD

Well I hope you are all well and that you are witnessing miracles in your lives. I've learned as a missionary that miracles only happen when we show our faith and act. God is not dead, nor have angels stopped to minister upon the earth. Do not sleep through the Restoration. This is the most exciting period of time before the coming of the Savior. Our personal desires to serve and help others in the path of the Gospel will help us become prepared for that special day of His Coming!

LOVE YOU ALL

Ya so unless you here otherwise let's plan on Saturday for the Skyping, because Sunday I will be traveling. If not lets do next week? let me know otherwise. 

2pm your time work for you guys, let me know otherwise, I'll get back to you guys

TCHAU

Miracles and learning to do the Brazilian Fight-Dance

Well folks it is great to hear from you all. Glad to hear about the newly GRADS! Way to GO! and way to be beautiful as well! Loved the pictures dad! BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!!

Well this week was full of adventure, but where do I begin okay let us start at the begining. 

So on the first day of the week I got do something a bit different on p-day which was training capoiera with Augusto! Capoiera is a brazilian cultural fight-dance. I'll send pictures later because the computer is a bit wack. The next day my companion and I found ourselves at the police department again and yes we were able to help figure some last minute details with the truck that was stolen from the family we are helping and I tell you what when I saw that them drive up in that truck the next evening I lept for joy and clapped my hands and maybe let out a yell or two. We even got a ride home that ride- trust me doesn't happen to much.  . . "and walked and walked and walked. #pioneerchildren#primarysongs#mylife 

The next day we visited Alessandro the brother of a recent convert who happens to know the guy who owns the truck Edgar and they were work partners back in the day when Alessandro still had his leg and they worked in an insurance company. So cool to hear them talk about old times together and all the crazy stuff they had done #thisisbrazil#crazystuff ,but even cooler is to hear Edgar share his powerful testimony with his friend and them to have us invite Alessandro to be baptized and him accept! I love the Spirit that helps us do things that we know we should. 

We were stopped by a drunk lady this week in the street and ended up visiting her the next day and helped her go to church. We are now teaching her family and I tell you what there is nothing better than helping other families have eternal ones. I LOVE THE GOSPEL! IT IS SOOOOOO TRUE AND IS THE ONLY WAY FOR US TO GET BACK TO OUR HEAVENLY HOME. . . 

Anyway I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that through him and only him I may return to the presence of God with my eternal family. I know God lives and that He loves us. This is His Church that restored to the earth so that our families may receive the blessings of baptism, confirmation and other special temple blessings that seal us to our Heavenly Father. 

I LOVE MY MISSION!

I LOVE YOU ALL

ÈLDER ANDERSON

And God Sent a Lawyer....

Woah that is really deep was a just wrote on the title of these email. . . you know if you think about it really. . . anyway, but that doesn't have anything to do with why I wrote it the reason why I wrote that is because I have got a neeeeeeew companion! Yup I'm training a new missionary, what an opportunity!. And I'm telling you this guy is a rock star actually he is a lawyer and he celebrated his 26 birthday last Saturday! We totally suprised him with a little party, but what is even more cool is that he is friends with the other "Gaúcha" or "southerner" from Rio Grande do Sul and they ended up in the same place, they are both converts to the church and were both super excited. Way cool. 

This week arrived in our área on tuesday at 10:30 and went to the work the next day and didn't stop. My companion and I were able to help a family with some issues they were having with a car that was stolen from them when we arrived in their home and spoke with them about faith and how the Lord would prepare a way for them. During the visit a friend called the father of the family and said we would lend a big portion of money that was needed for the family to obtain the car which had been impounded. We all felt the spirit in this moment and I felt like a shock of electicity to my nervous system as God showed his hand because of the faith of this familiy. We had fasted that the Lord would hlep us know how to help this family in their dire need and God heard our prayers.  My companion and I found out on Sunday that this same man after having resolved the problem with the car suffered in the hospital with the kidney stone the size of a bean 7 milimeters. He said after arriving home he was in such pain and his young son of 13 years called his 3 brothers and sisters together to pray for their father. The next morning he was cured and at church with his family and even helped us visit other members that afternoon. I know that God does miracles and works according to our faith. My companion and I were able to see many miracles this week and I'm sure there will be many more to come as we work in the lord's marvilous work! 

LOVE YOU ALL

ÈLDER ANDERSON