It was great to see my family on facetime this week! I have 2 stories to tell over this letter today: one of a really sketchy situation right outside our window last night and the second of a really awesome spiritual experience.

     So last night I was writing in my journal before bed @ about 1015, and I heard some guy honking his horn for like 10 minutes straight. I didn't think much of it because we kind of live in the sketchy part of Gillette, so I looked out the window to see what was going on. When I looked out I could see this car just sitting there impatiently waiting to pick up someone in the apartment. Then this guy came out of a different house and walked right up to the car and started banging on the window of the driver. He was really mad about all the honking and they started to yell and everything got really heated. They started challenging each other and I thought it would turn into a fight. then the people who the driver was honking at came out and got in the car. They were probably both on drugs or something and it was a good thing that one of them was in a car otherwise we probably would have had to call the cops for our neighbors. But yeah it was just like watching a football game, rooting and cheering for the underdog the (guy outside of the car) but hey we live in the best part of town for missionary work because everyone really needs the gospel in their lives.

      When church was over we were waiting around in the church to get our meal calendar when this lady came into the church confused and looking like she really needed some help. We met with her in the bishop's office and she said that she didn't have much but she wanted to quit drinking because she knows it is really bad for her and she just wanted some support. We told her that she came to the right place. she didn't want to go to the catholic church. Anyways she was crying and said she really needed help, so the ward really stepped up and had her over for dinner and gave her some cloths for her baby and just were awesome. I know that this church is true and that it is Jesus Christ's only true church on this earth. No other church has the priesthood. I know that when we gave her a blessing that she was touched and felt immediate comfort. I have a strong testimony that joseph smith was a true prophet and that through him the church was restored. I know that we can be forgiven of the mistakes we have made and we can be helped with the trials we are facing through the savior's atoning sacrifice. Jesus christ lives and he loves us so much and I am so grateful for that.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen 

I love you all and thanks for the amazing Christmas! Best present ever!

Love, Elder Anderson

Hello everyone!

This week was pretty good! We are on fire right now in Gillette! We have this board in our apartment with like 200 less actives and we are trying to find out if they are interested or not and we will give this list to bishop when we are done.

 Also we are training this week on inviting new investigators that we meet and inviting them on the first lesson to be baptized. It is pretty scary to ask the zone to do stuff sometimes, but it is really fun to see all the missionaries and to be here in Gillette. 

We found 5 new people this week and one of those accepted a baptism date of Feb 1. We have this investigator who is really old and can't come to church very often, but he really wants to be baptized. His name is Dennis. That would be really awesome if you could pray for him. He lives with his son who isn't very nice to him and doesn't have the patience for an old man. 

It's pretty short today, but I will see you all on Christmas, I am excited!

Love Elder Anderson

A Visit to the Coal Mines!

Discomfort creates humility!

November 17th, 2014

Something awesome happened this week, the snow that came created many opportunities to help more people. Yesterday when we went to Lusk. We had about 30 minutes before a lesson and we had some shovels in the back of the car and we decided to shovel some fresh snow. We knocked on a door and asked if we could shovel her driveway and her walk. She looked shocked and told us she would make us some cookies (she was about 70 or so). We shoveled for about 20 minutes and she came outside and asked if we could come in to warm up. We came in and she told us that she was to thankful for us, because she had recently had back problems and fell against a wall and split her head open. She told us that we were sent to her from God because she had been praying for someone to help her. Elder Oswald and I probably shoveled 10 driveways this week and got lots of hot chocolate and lots of very friendly people to come back and to teach. Many people were thankful for us and one actually came to church because of our help. 

Elder Oswald is doing pretty good, this is his last week in training, and after that he will take over the area and I know that if he works hard he will do just fine. Elder Child and Elder Beare are doing really well right now. They are teaching lots of people and are having lots of success. We found Amy, our investigator who was supposed to be baptized a couple of weeks ago, & she will be ready to go either this week or the next. Also We will have 2 more, one in December, and on in January. Thanks for all your prayers and your support!

Love Elder Anderson   

November 24th, 2014

If you haven't heard yet I am in Gillette now. I just arrived like 2 hours ago and we had to drive our own car here instead of getting picked up by the transfer van because the roads were icy and snowy. On the way here we almost slid off the interstate because of the icy roads and of all the weight in our car, but we made it safely. 

I am the new zone leader here and I am learning all I can.

Love Elder Anderson 

December 2, 2014

Hello! sorry I was not emailing yesterday, I was in Rapid City for a mission leadership council so we can present our trainings at zone conference. Every month all the zone leaders from around the mission drive down to Rapid City, even if they are from Fargo, and we show up for the leadership meeting. But we also get there on Monday so we can have p-day together in Rapid City before the meeting starts, so there was like 30 missionaries that showed up and we all went ice skating downtown! In this mission where everyone is so spread out this is the only time we can do this so it was pretty fun. 

Being a zone leader is very different than anything else. I am a little nervous about the whole thing , but I have a great companion to help me!  I love being with Elder Brownlee! He is such a great missionary and he works super hard! He loves to tract and find people on the street and I am so happy about that! Together we make such a great team as we work hard and to do the Lord's work. We have many things in common. We are teaching effectively and we have great studies. One thing I am nervous about is the training we will give in ZTM. But I know that it will be good for me, just like the first couple of district meetings I gave when I was a district leader, discomfort creates humility.

One thing that we are doing in our area right now is working with the list of 400 less active member list our bishop gave us to go and see. We are down to like 300 now. One thing we are training our zone on is about this christmas season and the #he is the gift initiative. It is the perfect time to talk to people about Jesus Christ because that is what the season is about. I don't know if any on you have seen the video "he is the gift"on the website christmas.mormon.org  but it is a sweet video about Jesus Christ and how we should share it with other people. Think of how you could share it this season. 

It's good to see that you all had a great Thanksgiving! I wish I could have been there, but I know I am supposed to be here right now. Keep sending email and pictures and stuff. I love to hear about all that is going on back home!  By the way I am still in oil field and coal mining country, just north instead of south of the mines and about the same distance apart. I am happy to be here and loving it here so far. I love you all have a great week!

Love Elder Anderson