This is last week's letter from Sister Anderson.
Thanksgiving was great. We went to a pie party in Vienna with a ward member for breakfast, and then had dinner at Jonathan Stewart's house. I made sure to get a few pictures for proof that I actually ate. :)
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| Sister Anderson at Thanksgiving! |
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| Sister Anderson and Sister Hanson |
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| Cute Picture when she first arrived to DC. |
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| Sisters and Elders singing at the Pentagon Metro Station. |
Okay, so just reading about how you are inviting the missionaries over is REALLY EXCITING!!!!!!! I am so happy! :) You should forward me their trade secrets so I can use them! ;) Because copy catting is the biggest form of flattery! Besides, we're all on the Lord's team anyway, so it can't hurt right? Hehe! Give them a big hug for me! Sister missionaries love hugs!!!
So sorry for not being more personal in my emails. I try! I just don't ever know what to say. I really try to keep the more positive things going so that you don't worry about me. But if you want more personal, here goes. Missionary work really is hard. Satan works so hard on you because he knows how important this work is. A few days ago, I was just letting every little thing get at me. I was annoyed with my companion, I was annoyed with the roommates for never cleaning up after themselves in the kitchen, I was annoyed with my sleeping situation (which we currently have new beds and are camped out in our little living room) just everything was getting me down. And on top of that, I was homesick. Not that I want to come home, but I miss you guys a lot! I was a little sad that I missed both sets of grandparents coming over for Thanksgiving. Holidays are hard away from home! They always have been-even when I was at school. SO all these thoughts were weighing me down and I remember looking at some pictures that I had printed off and thinking, "I'm done." I stopped myself immediately! I couldn't believe it! Why was I htinking that? I didn't want to be done! I LOVE my mission! I love being here! I knew that that thought was not from God. I allowed Satan to get inside me by letting all those negative thoughts and feelings get the best of me. I knew in that moment that I needed to pray. I needed to pray just as badly as I need to eat after I come home from church on fast Sunday. It was that bad. As soon as I got down on my knees, my internal battle came to a halt. Prayer is so important. It is vital in our lives. We need it to feed our spirits. I know that if I hadn't prayed in that exact moment, I would have continued to go down that road that Satan was dragging me down. No bueno. But I prayed for strength to get through the rest of the day. I prayed for more patience and humility. I prayed to turn negative situations into service opportunities. Heavenly Father heard my prayer and has answered it. And he continues to answer my prayers. As I continue to pray for patience adn all those things, I am able to be even happier at all times of the day. I am able to clean the kitchen without being bitter about it haha. Ever since then, everything has been looking up. And I'ms o grateful for that.
I hope that was personal enough :) I never know what to say in my emails. They mostly just stress me out because I never say all that I want to!
I thought of you guys on Friday! I told everyone about our Christmas tree tradition and they all thought it was great. I'm surprised you didn't get a big tree this year. We always get the biggest tree that our house can hold!
So we HAD to go shopping on Black Friday. ;) We really did! I promise, no rules broken! I'm still the most obedient missionary ever!!! Haha. We had to buy mattress covers for our beds. Don't want no bed bugs snackin on me any more! That is SO FUNNY about Brendan! I totally laughed out loud in the library! My companion thinks I'm nuts, but I don't care! :) "Don't let the bed bugs bite" sure brings on a whole new meaning...... thtat's for sure!
I'm sorry about Austin. I saw Janna's post on facebook. I've been praying for their family. That is SO sweet about him being called on a mission. He is going to convert so many souls in the spirit world!!!! He's going to be the best msisionary there. I just know it! But Oly 4th ward is not going to be the same without him. I was always jealous of him because he got to bring his blanket into church! :)
I'll be sure to have fun on my birthday. I get to celebrate it in the work of the Lord! That's a pretty great gift I'd say! I'm so lucky to be a missionary in the DC South mission. I love the people here. They are all so great.
The pictures are of the dinner group at Thanksgiving! Great group of people. The bald guy on the right is Jonathan. He's the one who hosted. He makes KILLER mashed potatoes. SO yummy!!! He puts blue cheese in them! :)
We had a miracle lesson! One of the members invited her really good friend to lunch with us and we taught him about service. It was really obvious that he was feeling the spirit. He opened right up to us! The member said that he never would have opened up to us like that in the past. Which just goes to show that the Lord is preparing his children to hear the gospel! :) It also shows the importance of member referrals. The people who are brought into the church by a friend is more likely to get baptized and stay active because they have such a strong support system. Pray for someone you can introduce to the missionaries! :)
I love you all! have a great week! I pray for you every day.
Love,
Sister Anderson
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