Hurricane Hillary can't stop the work of the Lord😤 -

 This week was jammed packed with cool stuff, tons of mission memories!! 

- We got to hear from an apostle!! We had Elder Gary E. Stevenson come and speak to our whole mission, and he took the time to personally shake all of our hands. It was incredible

- Cheryl got baptized!!! It was a beautiful day, I'm so happy for her :,) I loved getting to see the light in her brighten as we taught her. She's one of the happiest people I know, I love her sm 

- We got hit by a hurricane and an earthquake in the same day! We really only got a little rain and some wind, and I didn't feel the earthquake much, but STILL it's kinda fun to say! 

- we had some miracles finding some cool people this week! We ended up having to pass them both off to other missionaries, but I feel like those experiences were exactly what I needed to have the motivation to keep working hard to see the miracles that I know are waiting in our area! 

- Went on exchanges with Sister Harding, she's a beast and is just the kind of person that you love being around. We both were tender mercies in each other's lives in training in HB, and it was so fun to spend the day together. Dreams do come true! 

I feel like I just received so many love notes from God this week. He is so aware of me and everything that means something to me/makes me happy. I know He loves me and He loves you. Our mission president gave us a challenge to study our patriarchal blessing once a week, and I want to extend that same challenge to you! It's really helped me remember my divine worth and potential and face the storms of life with greater certainty and faith :) 

 Sister Anderson 

Hurricanes give you nice sunset clouds 

Temple trip! 

Cheryl's baptism!!! 

Service at the Islamic Center!

Service at the Islamic Center!

Elder Stevenson making a heart for us!! 

Painted BoMs with the district:)

- Long Beach, California

Sorry I haven't written an email in like a month! I was kinda going through it haha but it's all good now. Something that I love so much is how much hope and perspective the gospel gives us through our challenges. It really has helped me to know that the Savior knows and loves me perfectly, and that trials don't last forever. We are made to have joy in this life, and while the ups and downs are necessary, we aren't meant to stay down. There is so much more good that life has to offer us! 

I think sometimes we can spend so long feeling stuck, or not knowing what direction to take, or just trying to figure out the problem and identify a solution. I know I've felt that recently. I came across a quote from Elder Holland that was intended to be about serving others, but the principle applies here too. 

He said something to the effect of: "don't be immobilized wondering whether you should do the backstroke or the dog paddle. Just jump in and swim!" 

We really don't need to spend so much time worrying about what to do and how. We know the next step, and that's enough for the Savior to pull us out of that rut and put the path in front of us AS WE GO. We have to be in motion in order to be led. So, that's something that I've learned that has helped me recently, and I hope it will help someone else too

Other than that, missionary life is awesome, as always. We have a super big, super fun zone, and a great area with amazing members. Whitewashing was slow at first, but it is starting to pick up and it's been really fun. Lots of miracles!

I'm out of time as always, but I hope you all have a fantastic week!! 

 Sister Anderson 

Sister Dalton and I are learning how to crochet in our free time 

The Tagolog branch in our stake had a filipino cultural celebration:)

Zone service 

Visited the yorba Linda temple grounds!! Not much to see yet haha 

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 

Facebook Good-bye post - Mormon Battalion Historic Site

Well, my time at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site has officially come to an end. I don't think I ever expected to feel such a strong connection with this place, this story, or these people, but it truly has become so special to my heart. I have loved serving on this sacred ground every day for the last six months and I will forever look back on it with fondness. This is a place where I have learned so much about myself, about the Savior's infinite grace and goodness, and about how He views and values each person that I got to meet there (and all of His children!) The Battalion's story of service, sacrifice, and faith in Jesus Christ has inspired me to strengthen those qualities in myself and has made me a better missionary and disciple of Christ. Their story truly is so inspiring to me. As I continue my mission in Anaheim starting this week, I will take with me what I learned and I know the love of the amazing people I served with and the "Mormon Battlion in the sky" will carry me. I'm so grateful for my time here and everything that it's taught me. I'm grateful for the Lord's hand in my service here. I love my Savior. I'm so infinitely grateful for His Atoning Sacrifice that makes second chances and eternal glory possible. I know He lives. I love living this gospel. It brings me so much JOY! God is so good:)

If you're ever in San Diego, stop by and say hi for me;) I promise you'll fall in love with it too!