Week #2 at the MTC

Hola familia!

This week I'm really starting to get the hang of things. Spanish is coming better than ever. I don't know if I mentioned all the elders in my district or not. There's me and Elder Sivertsen, Elder Rickeburg and Elder Sivertsen, Elder Agyen and Elder Parker, Elder Larsen and Elder Neilson, and Hermana Peterson and Hermana Donnelley. We are a pretty cool district, 35e. 

The Sundays here are really cool. We have sacrament as a branch, and then priesthood as a district. it's really weird because for the first time in my life, there are no babies crying during sacrament. Sundays are very quiet and spiritual, and we get to have our "Sunday walk" which we get to walk around the temple with our district. 

Other than that, normal days are pretty cool. We normally get up around 6:15 and shower, and then have personal study until 7:30. then breakfast. Then we have morning class time and plan our lessons. We have lunch after that. I know Nick and Becca are really interested in how the food is, it's not that bad but it's not spectacular. Elder Sivertsen (my companion) had an upset stomach for a while from the food. After lunch we normally have gym time, where we play basketball or soccer normally. Then we have normal class time or teach our lessons, the dinner, and bed time. The days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days, it's nuts.

Elder Sivertsen and I taught a lesson about prayer to our investigator Gabriel. It was really spiritual, and the spirit told us to bear testimony as we spoke, and I could tell he was feeling the spirit. Our very first investigator, Luis, is now our teacher, that was the plan the whole time. It's cool because he can tell us what we did good and bad while we taught him, cause we didn't really know he was going to be our new teacher.

Spanish is coming better than ever. I'm studying a lot every day. Our district tries to speak Spanish a lot, but some elders aren't really getting the hang of it, so we're trying to help them. 

The package you gave me was awesome. I really appreciated the cookies and stuff, my roommates liked them a lot. And sometimes when we don't eat breakfast, we just eat cookies instead.

Becca: Yes I am getting "really good at Spanish and Spiritual things". That is the point of the MTC haha. And don't crash the 4runner, I like that car.

Nick: that's way cool you started school and like your teacher. Let me know how it goes and I'm jealous about your nerf war. I wish we had nerf guns during gym time. My spanish is coming along well.

There's no "green dot" anymore. You get an orange dot the day you arrive, but you can take it off the next day. You can tell who the new elders are if: they wear a suit other than sundays and tuesdays (for devotionals) or the don't have a belt holder for ID cards and keys.

Anyway I'll keep sending letters and look forward to yours!!!!

pictures will come soon.

Love, Elder Anderson

Elder Anderson & Siversten

The District

With friend Tanner Hansen

laundry day

My companion drew a picture of me.

Hello from the MTC!

July 18, 2015

It's been a long couple of days starting out here in the MTC. After you guys dropped me off, I got a bunch of books and spanish materials that were super heavy. I was the first one in my class room, so I studied some basic spanish with my teacher, Hermano Rowley. At like 2:00, all of us were there, and I got my companion. His name is Elder Sivertson, and he's from Kanarraville, Utah, which I guess is pretty close to Cedar city. He went to Cedar High and played tennis and ran cross country, and he's pretty fit. We have a lot of the same interests, which is pretty cool. He watched a lot of Spongebob in his day so sometimes we will quote it. It's kind of weird having someone with you at every moment, but I'm sure I'll be used to it in a week or so. 

We got settled in, and our branch is branch 35 and we are district e. There are 8 elders and 2 sisters in our district. Elder Sivertson and I, Elder Aygen and Elder Parker, Elder Nielson and Elder Larsen, Elder Sivertson (my companion's twin brother. He's going to Argentina too, but it's a different mission), and Elder Rickeburg, and Hermana Petersen and Hermana Donnaley. We're all pretty cool with each other and we normally have meals together. Our district leader is Elder Aygen (pronounced "agent" without the t). He is basically a spiritual giant. He is from Corona, Califonia. He played sports in high school (varsity football and basketball) but he quit his sophomore year to work jobs to save money for his mission. He is a great leader.

The gift of tongues is a real thing. Pretty much all the spanish I learned in middle school and high school is coming back. My third day here, we had to teach a lesson in spanish to a real investigator which was basically a train wreck. But it was cool. We taught him how to pray in spanish and we testified in spanish, on the 3rd day. I can't wait to see where i'll be on my spanish in a few weeks.

My first gym day we played basketball with a bunch of districts, and tornado with about 20 people. We played 3 games, and I won twice, and my companion won once. We're pretty boss. We never lose.

Anyway, my hour is up. If you want an individual email, email me and I'll reply!! Thanks for the letters, and yes, I short sheeted you nick. I had to keep the "I'm leaving on my mission today so I'll play a joke" tradition going.

By the way, I need ear plugs, they'd by nice. There are 6 elders in my room, all going to Argentina Mendoza. (4 of us are in the same district, me and my companion and Elder Aygen and Elder Parker.) 2 of them snore loudly.Some snacks would be cool too, yanno.

Jesucristo es el salvador.

Love, Elder Anderson