Well hello there, how y’all doin?

We had a really good week this week. However it started out not too good. I heard from the missionaries in one of my other areas that a lady my companion and I baptized was not doing well at all, they said she had a week at most. She has cancer, I’m not sure what kind, but i guess it got really bad. So, I called up her brother in law, who she lives with, and he said that she had gone to the ER, because her calcium was really high, which was scary. Well to make a long story short, we went down there to visit her (it’s nice to not have a mile allotment). When we walked in, she was just beside herself that we had showed up. We talked with her a little while about how she was doing. Then her sister, who we had been working with basically since the first day of my mission, asked if Mark (her husband) and I would baptize her, which was just the most awesome thing. I had hoped that this experience with her sister would soften her heart a bit, and it totally did, it was obvious this was something she had been contemplating, and I think we were her answer to her questions. I am really glad that the Lord has all of us in mind, and he places things and people and circumstances in our path at certain times for a reason. And if we live worthy, we can be the answer to someone’s prayer.

The rest of our week was also good, we got a lot of other good things done, but nothing that even really matters compared to that last story. But I want to say thanks for y’alls (yes that’s a word) continued support and love.

-Elder Andersen

We had transfers last week, and Elder Corry ended up going home for surgery again, it’s too bad but at least he will get better. On Wednesday I got my new companion, Elder Clouse, from Gilbert AZ, second companion from there. He’s actually a spanish elder, and he’s here so that we can find out if there needs to be a Spanish area opened up next transfer here in North Little Rock. We had a great week last week, even with transfers we were still able to get a lot done. Its going to be a crazy transfer, but it will be fun. thanks for all your support and for all you do. Love y’all.

-Elder Andersen

Hey everybody! We had a really great week this week, had some awesome lessons, we were also home most of the week, which was an odd week for us! We won’t be home most of this week though. We met some really cool people who are just awesome. We have a zone conference this week, which should be awesome. We are really looking forward to this year and all of the awesome stuff our mission can accomplish! Hope y’all are doing well on your new years resolutions! Not too much to say this week, other than I love it here and i love all the people here too!

-Elder Andersen

thank you so much everyone for all the birthday wishes! I had a great birthday! the night before, we got to eat at the Ward’s, which was awesome, and then got lunch with the kenworthys and the petersens! and then a member took us to Texas Roadhouse for dinner! For a missionary, your life revolves around teaching and food, so it was pretty much an awesome birthday!  We also did a lot of traveling this week. We are doing great here, i’m really liking where I am at. I have really realized this last week, that on my mission i have really gained a lot of lasting friendships that I really wouldn’t trade for anything. I have done a lot of reading in the Book of Mormon, and there are some really great stories of lasting bonds, that I really didn’t notice before. I love y’all, hope you have a great new year!

-Elder Andersen

2012? is this our last happy new year? hmm

Well hope y’all had a fun Christmas and new years. didn’t do an email last week, i had just talked to my family on the phone, so i didn’t figure i needed to email, haha.

Well we had a fun new year, there were fireworks at midnight, (but only a few. mostly people are pretty redneck so they just shoot their shotguns in the air, it’s kinda scary when they shoot rifles, because you have no idea what could be coming your way.) We had a pretty fun new years eve! you’ll never guess what us fun missionaries did… we played cards. Ya not too much fun but hey at least we did something!

We actually got quite a bit of time to go out and proselyte this week which was fun, we have been working with a few pretty solid families. It was cool on Sunday because we have 4 missionaries in the ward and we helped the other companionship arrange rides for a family of 11 to come, it was awesome to see all of them walk in together. it was a pretty cool experience. We are working on getting everything set up for the new year, and I am making a DVD for senior couples encouraging more of them to go on missions, so that should be fun! Well, love y’all, have a great first week of 2012!

Well almost merry Christmas! its crazy how time flies and that we are almost at Christmas, it still feels like December just barely started. We have our Christmas Zone Conference this week. Its on Wednesday and Thursday and we have 100 DVDs to burn before Wednesday morning!  We have lots to do before then, but i for some reason am not worried that we will get it all finished. I have really grown to love the Christmas season, even though it seems like it flies by. On a mission i feel like Christmas is different, which it is, its not the traditional Christmas that i have had in the past, but its a difference that’s good. And even though I don’t get to spend it with family, like normal, its still good and still fun. I’m glad that i have had this chance to now have two Christmases away from my friends and family, because it makes me appreciate the past years just that much more. Love y’all. Have a great Christmas!

-Elder Andersen

of the year

Well, happy christmas season everyone! It’s so great how everything changes this time of year, there’s a lot of lights on at night, and everyone is in just such a great mood. I really enjoyed the christmas devotional, of course, i liked the video during President Eyring’s talk the best, y’all know me, and the movies. I hope all the other videos are as good, those would just be awesome to teach the gospel with. Well, I sang…. ya i know, crazy. We all sang (all 4 of us in the ward) in the Christmas program, and we weren’t even forced to! Aren’t y’all proud of us? It was funny too, Brother Wing came up to me before it and asked if I would help him work "spotlights" for the performers, haha, those were the sorriest excuses for spotlights, but it actually turned out a lot better than i would have thought, and I sang, so that’s saying something. We had a new office couple arrive this week, the Wards, they are way cool, nicest people ever. The Hogans go home tomorrow, so it will be sad to see them go, but we are way excited to have the Wards. Well this week we have, places to go, people to see, and miles to burn… and not enough time to do it all. Love y’all!

Well everyone, we had a great thanksgiving week. It’s finally getting cold here, and a lot of the leaves have fallen. I really want to say how grateful I am for everything that I have been given, as a missionary and otherwise. I have been doing a lot of car swapping lately and car-share forming and I have realized just how blessed we are to have so many cars and things of that nature so that we can work so much more effectively. We had a great week, and I really love where I am and what I’m doing. Thank you all for all of your love and support. I really don’t have much more time this week, but I wanted to tell y’all how much I am thankful for what I have. have a great week!

-Elder Andersen

Hey y’all, We did a lot this last week. Took some long trips, went to Oxford MS and found an apartment there for missionaries to live, and i got to go see a few people in senatobia on the way back which was great! We haven’t been to Jackson yet, i have no idea when we are gonna get over there. But we did get to go to a baptism Saturday night of a family being baptized in Hope, AR the hometown of William Jefferson Clinton! I know, the funniest part is no one there talks about that, its like taboo! I thought that was way funny.That baptism was awesome though, the dad hadn’t been active in the church most of his life, and he was able to baptize his wife and two kids, it was so awesome! We went down there with President And Sister Petersen which made it better too! Well, it seems like there is less time in each subsequent day, it’s crazy. We never get any time to relax, except today us and the APs decided that we weren’t going to answer any calls on P-Day unless it was president, people don’t really like that, but hey, otherwise we have no P-Day, so we actually sat down and played risk for 4 hours, it was awesome! Well, love y’all

-Elder Andersen

Hey everyone!!

sorry no email last week, we bout ran outta  time. I don’t know if i told y’all before, but my companion now is Elder Corry, he’s from Cedar City, UT,  ya, just add to the list of all the utahans, no idea how to spell that. He’s really cool, he is here to recover from tailbone surgery that he had about a month ago. I was gonna tell a story that happened last week but because i ran out of time, i will tell it now. So for transfers we had to pick up one of the new missionaries at the airport because he was a visa waiter and he was coming at a different time than the rest. So we go to the airport and we sit, and we wait, and we wait, and he’s not there, so we call president, he calls salt lake, they have no idea where he is, so we just are told to sit tight and wait for the next plane, and he’s not on that one. So then they find out that he made it to Dallas, so we wait for the next one… nope not there, so we go to president’s to eat, and go back at 7:45 and he is finally there, turns out he had missed his plane, trying to talk to someone about the church, and ended up on standby to get out here! haha, what a goof! It was funny but also kinda scary at the same time.

Well this last week, we went to Quitman and Jonesboro, and this week we have to go to Jackson (yay, my old area) and Oxford, part of my old area, so that will be fun, but i’ve got to go, almost out of time, but I love y’all and have a wonderful week!

-Elder Andersen