Everything but the kitchen sink - Long Beach, California

This week was absolutely insane. I feel like I say that every week haha but it's true, missionary life is just crazy!!

This Saturday, Sister Jones flew home :(( We didn't get more than a days notice and she was out the door! I'm so glad I got to serve with her, she's an amazing missionary and I learned so much from her. I got transferred to Long Beach when she left (which totally shocked me btw haha) so now I'm in a trio for the rest of the transfer! I love both of my new companions, and one of them is Sister Davidson, who I served with at the Mormon Battalion! They're on the mission's social media team, so we have a lot to juggle between both of our areas, the social media team work and the family history team work haha. It's fun to get a taste of what they do though, it's really impressive!

THE coolest miracle happened this week! We have this friend Jay who was taught a few months ago before we were in the area, and he was on date for baptism, but had a couple things holding him back. We had been trying really hard to get in contact with him, and he was pretty insistent on not getting baptized. His heart was softened and he gave us a call on Thursday to ask if he could be baptized that Saturday! We had to figure a couple things out and unfortunately had to pass him off to the Elders in our ward because we got transferred the next day, but he is getting baptized this Saturday and I'm so excited for him!! I think it's kinda cool that the craziest miracles that I've seen on my mission are purely a result of my being in the right place at the right time, the Lord did all the work. 

We have a time slot blocked out at the Newport Beach temple every month for our missionaries to bring their recent converts and returning members to do baptisms, and we've been trying to get the mission hyped about going and utilize that tool more. One of the coolest parts about my job is that I get to help missionaries make the connection between missionary work, family history, and temple work, because it really is all one work! You can't have just one, they function as a whole. We have a few members we're working with to go to the temple trip, and that's been really fun. I love this work!

Missionary work is so great. I'm learning so much about how to rely on the Lord though all the unexpected twists and turns:)

Have a good week!! Smile at someone today! 

 Sister Anderson 

Downtown Disney for Sister Jones last pday!

Last hurrah in cypress :,)

Trio gang 

Family History ROCKS! - Cypress, California

Probably the biggest thing that happened these last two weeks is that we got a car again!! I was called as the family history team lead for the mission, which means we get to train missionaries and volunteer at a family history center far far away on Judea's plains. So they gave us a car! So far this calling has been a little stressful, it's just a lot to juggle on top of doing regular missionary work, but it's really exciting and I know I was chosen for it for a reason.

One of our goals for this transfer is to help our missionaries work together with members to share family history with people. Family history is such a great missionary tool, and it's something that everyone can talk about. So, I have challenge for you all:

For members: pray for an opportunity to share the family search app with someone you know, someone you meet, whoever you feel prompted to!

For missionaries: roleplay with your members how they can talk about it, so they can effectively share it!

I'm really excited to see how this improves our finding, and love for family history in this mission as we do this with our members!! My testimony of family history definitely has grown in the last few months. I can confidently say I had no idea what I was doing or why it was important before my mission, but now I love it and it's clear to me that the Lord has given us this tool to utilize at this time for many reasons. 

On that note, we had such a tender mercy miracle this week! We're working with a less active recent convert named Elijah, and preparing him to go to the temple for the first time to do baptisms next week! So, we brought him into the family history center to start his family tree. With limited knowledge of really any of his family members, we were able to do some work and within 45 minutes, we had four of his relatives ready to baptize, and had requested a few more. It was clear that the Spirit was touching him and he shared with us that most of his family members are unsupportive of him being a member, but he feels like he's been placed in this difficult situation so he could bless his family members in this life, and help them receive these ordinances in the next. He has grown sooo much in the last couple months we've been here and it's been truly incredible to see how the gospel has changed him :,) Yay for temples/family history work!! 

That's all I have time for today, but I love you all and lmk if you ever need anything! 

Sister Anderson 

The night we got our car

Valentines cookies from Suekay:)

Mini golfingggg

Sis Harrington, who we helped move and had to

say bye to :,( we've really grown to love her 

Barbara Bell, who is the sweetest little lady you'll ever meet 

Lunch with the Mortensens!!! 

Transfer 8 let's goooo - Cypress, California

 I feel like the last few weeks have felt pretty uneventful, but looking back there are some notable things ahaha. Here are the highlights: 

- we put our friend Suekay on date for baptism! She is so awesome, but she has a super hard time coming to church- she's 10 and doesn't have a lot of family support. Everyone please pray for her!!

- we had a couple of really fun pdays! We played the tortilla slapping game, we did a cake decorating competition, and we went to a super cool antique shop with an animal habitat in the middle! 

- Sister Jones and I got sick this week, so we did a lot of stuff from home for a couple days. I always thought being sick on the mission would be kinda fun because you get to take a little break, but it's actually the worst haha. I don't even want a break anymore, I'm so glad I'm feeling better and able to get back into the work! 

- something that has always been a weakness of mine is street contacting. I've always wanted to get better at it, and I prayed for opportunities to strengthen that skill this week. We were able to talk to so many cool people and get their numbers! Even though it was scary at first and still is, I'm really glad the Lord answered that prayer and helped me get better at talking to people on the fly. Ether 12:27<3

- Got transfer news, Sister Jones and I are staying together, in Cypress, on bike. Yay!

- I got to see Hermana Shell again!! Best day ever 

Thank you so much for your prayers, love and support. Let me know if there is anything I can pray for for you! 

 Sister Anderson 

Cake competition: who won?

HNA SHELL

coral bay gave me mad paralell parking experience lol 

zone pics:)

A surprise I found in my hymnbook this Sunday!

zone pics:)

Change is hard, but good!! - Buena Park, California

The past couple weeks have been WILD 

As a zone, we got a little nativity set from our mission and then picked a family in our stake who is going through a really hard time and delivered the pieces to them leading up to Christmas. We each got a piece and a day to drop it off anonymously, and then we went and caroled to them all together on Christmas Eve! It was such a special way to serve them:)

Christmas was bittersweet. We got transfer news (on Christmas Eve, of all days) and found out that both Sister Langi and I had to leave the area:((( It was pretty much the last thing we were expecting- we were so shocked. I genuinely love the MSA ward and Sister Langi so much and so many good things were happening in our area. We stopped by our friend Britt on Christmas morning and brought her and her son a little present. They came to church (yay!) but we had to tell them we were leaving and say goodbye (). It's one of those things that you always hear about, but until you experience leaving people behind like that yourself, you don't really understand just how hard it is. They're in good hands with the new sisters, it was just heartbreaking to have to leave all our awesome friends and members behind :( 

I'm now in the Cypress Zone in Buena Park (I live right down the street from Knott's Berry Farm ) with Sister Jones, who is also from Arizona! We're on bike, but this time with real bikes and not beach cruisers with baby seats haha. Biking has been kinda hard for me so far. My first night, it was pouring and we got soaked all the way through. Plus I had been up all night packing and cleaning and was already so exhausted. It was a challenge, but we made it work and it's already getting better. With the Lord all things are possible! We are sharing a ward with a companionship of elders, which has been so fun because we go to dinner appointments and stuff together all the time!

This week I've been studying in 1 Nephi, specifically about what Nephi and Lehi did to receive revelation. Some things I loved are that they 1. Asked questions and received answers 2. Acted on the revelation they received and then received more, and 3. Trusted in the Lord when they couldn't see the whole picture. I loved seeing these principles in action in their story and thinking about how I can be more like them!

Happy new year!! Love you all

 Sister Anderson 

Pictures!!

- this cute pedestrian sign we drove past all the time 

- saying bye to the best ward members:(

- accidental Christmas colors!

- HB zone on Christmas