January 27, 2014

Transfers are coming on Feb 6th. 

 

Hi!

 

Update on the weather for mom: it's warmer today! The snow is mostly melted! Thank goodness. :) The weather goes back and forth from week to week. It's crazy. haha. Last week, we got snowed in, and this week it's supposed to warm up a little and then the week after that goes back to fridged cold again. The missionaries are handling it well. We are well taken care of. Other than Sister Hansen biffing it, everyone has been great. All the sisters in the mission have cars with nice warm heaters, and the elders....well. They are on bike or walking everywhere. But they're tough. :) haha.

 

I live in a two bedroom apartment with another companionship. Sister Hansen and I lucked out and got the master bedroom and Sisters Lindmeir and Gray have the smaller room. ;) mwahah. It's a lot of fun having roommates. It's fun to get to know three missionaries instead of just one at a time. We all have so much fun together. We all laugh and sing and goof around the apartment together right before bed time. I have made some really great friends so far!

 

Chances are, I will be transferred soon. We had interviews with President Riggs and he flat out told me that it's time. Haha! I mean, he still needs to seek revelation and all that, but he still thinks I'll be leaving. I really have been getting pretty comfy in the Potomac ward. A lot of the members have started remarking that I've been here for a long time! HA they're sick of me! ;) It's okay though. I really hope that I am sent to a family ward. Sister Hansen thinks I'll be training a new missionary. We'll see what happens. Transfers are Feb 6th. They happen every 6 weeks if you were wondering.

 

Anderson Headstone--wonder if we are related!

We got to go to the Arlington Cemetary today. I loved it. We got to watch the end part of the changing of the guard. On our way to the tomb of the unknown soldier, we passed by a funeral. I feel kidna bad saying this about a funeral, but it was so cool. They had a band and a bunch of men all dressed up with their guns on their shoulders. I don't know who passed away, but I was grateful to be a part of that moment. It was really interesting. Just walking around the cemetary, I got to thinking about how grateful I am for all these men and women who died for our country. They died so that I could enjoy the freedoms that I have. If they didn't make the sacrifices that they had, I probably wouldn't have had the option of serving a mission. I am just so grateful. I really am proud to be an American! As soon as I get home, I've decided I'm going to dedicate a good part of my time to researching and understanding more about our nation's history. It just amazes me! I love it!

 



Julie and Sister?? at Arlington National Cemetery!



A few days ago I got into a really weird funk. I was just not in a good mood. The mission is a really weird thing. A lot of really good comes out in a person, but so does a lot of bad. I guess that's okay because there's opposition in all things right? Oh man. But Sister Hansen really helped me. Turns out I've been really stressed out. She showed me a missionary supplement handbook thing that addresses how to deal with this kind of stress. So I'll be fine. But it's been tough.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 

So this week was a bit slower....we spend a good chunk of time stuck indoors because of the weather conditions, or stuck in the doctor's office waiting for Sister Hansen to get her wrist situation all taken care of. She's in a cast now, by the way. Thank goodness! She only has to wear it for four weeks. She's doing really well! But yeah. Slow week in terms of the work. However, we still saw miracles! I couldn't believe it! We had two lessons this weekend with two new investigators! One man is from Ghana. His name is Eric. Most of the Africans that I've met have migrated to America to find a white wife.....So Eric has a friend back in Ghana who is a member of the church. He told us how he was talking to his frined about how he was meeting with the missionaries. His friend in Ghana got all excited, but then told Eric that he was NOT allowed to think of the sisters in "that way" hahaha. He told us how he decided that he wasn't even going to look at us so that he wouldn't be tempted..........I just about BUSTED up laughing. Luckily, we have a member of our congregation from Ghana as well so he talked to him a lot of the time. Oh my. But Eric has been really prepared for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We were teaching him and didn't even make it all the way through the first lesson and he cut us off to ask how he could become a member of the church!!!!! And because he refused to look at me, I smiled so big! And then he went on to ask if we paid tithing and if it was 10% of our income. Of course we said yes, and he said, "Good. I definitely agree with this." :D :D :D I made another huge smiley face as soon as he said that! Hahaha! (I've gotten used to making whatever face I want! It helps to have a blind investigator, or an investigator that refuses to look at you! Although, I know that I need to be careful. Haha)

 

We had another lesson with a man right after church. His name is Arthur. He has been coming to church on his own the past couple of weeks. He is so great. He's from North Carolina. He has been so prepared as well!!! I just feel so blessed! We have TWO NEW PEOPLE THAT WE ARE TEACHING!!!! I'm kinda bummed that all these people are showing up right when I have to leave the area. :( But that's okay! These people are starting their journey to come closer to Christ than they've ever been in their entire lives! :D It's so great.

 

So Sister Hansen is from California. And she is a crazy California driver. Like big time. She's got the "California stops" down to a T. And she's been driving with one hand lately because of her cast, and it's so scary. I don't like it one bit. And she gets annoyed whenever I say anything... Yikes. The funny part about it is that whenever I tell her about Crazy California drivers, she tells me about "Safe Washington Drivers" HAHAHAHAH!! They've stereotyped us as really cautious drivers that drive the speed limit....hahahahaha she told me that and I busted up laughing! I told her that I know PLENTY of scary Washington drivers, but they all stop at stop signs at least. ;) haha. Funny.

 

One of our members took us out to dinner at a cute mom and pop pizza shop. It amazes me how political everything is here. I mean, it totally makes sense because I live in DC area...but we got a pizza called "Barak my world".... Just not something you'd see in Washington state. Haha!

 

Okay that's all I can think of to write about! Thanks for all the pictures you send me! It's great to see everyone. And also, how does Brendan already look so big? I've only been gone for 4 months and he looks bigger somehow. Haha. I love you all! Have a great week! I pray for you all every night!

 

Love,

Sister Anderson