January 31, 2011

hey everyone!

thanks for all the bday shoutouts and everything. so i got my new companion elder retamozo this week from lima peru. hes not a greeenie, but has 11 months in the mission. ill have to wait to have my kid in the mission ha..but already this week our companionship has struggled a ton, and ive ahad alot of problems with the stuff he pulls..we had a good talk last night though and i think we sorted alot of it out, but i can already tell that this is going to be a long six weeks. im definitely alot more grateful for my past companieros that ive had now though. if nothing else, im going to learn a whole bunch of patience this change. on a brighter note though, we went to hanchipacha again, and it was pretty sweet! we got to ride through the mountains on the semi again and it was just as cool as the first time. we went to teach the other members of the same family but when we got there they were working in their farms, so we just helped them for a couple of hours..its in the pics. it was a ton of work, and i cant believe just how hard these people work! were still working hard with all our investigators, and some of them are really continuing to progress which is amazing. not much else, but it keeps raining a ton here, and i think im going to have to buy some boots or something so i dont trash my shoes..thanks again everyone for the great emails, and please pray for me that i can have the patience to get through this change!
with all my love, 

Elder Anderson!

Cody working in the fields with his investigators

January 24, 2011

Hey Everyone!

we had an absolutely amazing week here in pitumarca! first of all, president calderon came to pitumarca to dedicate the city. it was awesome! we drove up this hill so we could see all of the city, and then he said a prayer to basically bless all the people here that they can prosper and grow in the gospel! it was a reallly neat exprience and i definitely think the prayer workd because we´ve had more success since. when president came this week i was really neat because it was the first time where i really got to talk with him and get to know him. he is really cool and was able to give me some great advice for being out in the mission field. plus weve been working hard and been doing what we need to do so he was pretty happy with us. i think he has alot more trust in me now which is nice too. this week is the week of changes, and my companion has a change so it looks like ill be getting a new one tomrow night. i dont know who itll be yet, but rumor going around is that im going to train a greenie! that actually kinda of scares me, bcause thats a ton of responsibility and im not sure if im quite ready for that after only 3 changes, but i guess ill find out tomorw. it would be neat at the same time though to be able to show someone the ropes and help them to learn all the important stuff in the mission. as i said before, we are having some success now in piumarca, and are really finding and teaching some great people. we have one couple, atuar and rosmeri that absolutely blow my mind with how much theyve changed in 2 weeks! two weeks ago they were on the verge of breaking up, and he was going to leave her and they have a kid and evrything. after only 2 weks of coming to church and learning about the gospel they are one of the happiest families ive ever seen, and they cant smiling! the story of how they came to want the missionaries help is absolutely amazing too, but unfortunately i dont have time to wrie it all. after the mission ill fill you all in..but im happy to say they now have plans to get married in February so ill keep you updated with them..oh and as you can see in the pics, yes im taller than the doors here! it really stinks too because ive nailed my head on just about all of them! if you see me walk through doors bent over when i get back now you know why...oh and as far as packags go i called the guy and he said its not to big of a deal if i get more than ten but he said just dont go too crazy..anyways thats all i got for this week, but i love you all and im doing great..thanks for the support! 

Elder Anderson

This is Cody's backyard and that small building in the back is where they have church

This is Cody's mission president 

January 17, 2011

hey everyone! 
So i dont have any awesome stories about riding through the mountains in peru on a semi this week, but it was still a really good week for the work. like i said a couple of weeks ago, pretty much all of our investigators left pitumarca for a couple of months, but this week with the help of the members weve got some new awesome investigators. were teaching 3 couples right now that are all really interested. 2 of them arent married but are living together and have a kid, and are going through some hard times. weve taught them a couple times though, and now they are coming to church and starting to turn their lives around...its really cool to witness their progress. yesterday was a great day at church too, because the chapel was completely full of people, with 11 of them being investigators! i gave one of the talks too, and it went amazing. i didnt even realize it while i was talking, but i had no problems with my spanish in the talk, and i can finally talk in spanish without having to think of what im going to say. tomorow our mission president is coming to pitumarca because its growing soo much and that we are having progress. hes going to dedicate the city and stuff which should be awesome..im not exactly sure what dedicating a city consists of but ill let yoiu guys know next week..not much else new to say though here. im doing great and enjoying my time here in peru a ton! im glad you guys got my letters, but im sorry yours got ripped dad! i love you all and hope you have a great week!
Elder Anderson

This is where Cody lives. Notice how he is taller than the doors haha :b

January 10, 2011

Hey Everyone! 
SO this week i had the best experience of my mission by far! this saturday we had 2 baptisms in a tiny city about an hour and a half from pitumarca called Anchipacha. to get there though we had to ride on a big semi with an open truck bed, but the coolest part was that we rode on the roof of it strapped in with our backpacks!!! its in the pics..but we cruised thru the peruvian mountains on top of this truck, and it was the most beautiful coolest experience of my life..then when we got to this city it was just all open farm land with huge green mountains and a few houses..after the baptism interviews we went to the river right next to their house and built a dam so we could enough water to baptize! it was a ton of fun, and afterwards it turned out really good..as you can see in the pictures the baptisms were absolutely beautiful, and it was amazing to get the chance to baptize Jose there. the water was freezing but it was definitely worth it and honestly i didnt even feel the cold much because it was sooooo spiritual..jose and his dad ciprian are oficially the newest members of pitumarca, and should be great leaders of the church here..as far as farming goes we didnt get the chance to do anymore this week because we were busy, but we´ll probably do some more this week. right now theyre planting seeds so its alot of moving dirt with tools that are from 2000 years ago..i still have called to see if its 10 packages in the calendar year or in just a year yet though sorry but go ahead and send them dad and ill call the guy tomorow. ive gotit in my agenda to do. well that was my amazing experience for the week so now i got to get back to work so i can have some more! love you all and appreciate the great emails! Love Elder Anderson!!! oh and to the lunas..thanks for the christmas card! the family is looking great! make sure to tell trey to eat more though haha! i havent even seen a person that skinny here in peru!
Elder Anderson

They had to build a dam so that they could get the water high enough to baptize them

January 1, 2011

Hey evyone!

I hope eveyone had a great christmas, and enjoyed he hollidy season. i had a good one here, but its really nothing special in the mission and especially in peru because they celebrate it like its a big party nothing else..oh and with  ton of fireworks..but it was really nice talking to everyone, and it was definitely the best part of my christmas! oh and i got your package grandma so thanks a ton! ive been snacking on all the goodies this week and its been great. thanks for the pics of the family and he lttters from everyone too..it was really cool to get those! as far as the missionary work, its really difficult right now in pitumarca. schools out now, and pretty much everyone lft to go work in diferent cities, including a ton of our investigators that were progressing good. were pretty much starting from scratch. plus everyones working in their farms all morning long and isnt in their homes so we cant really contact them during the day..the plan now is to just help them in their farms in the mornings and then teach them in the afternoon. basically im going to become a farmer out here in pitumarca. the pictures with the machete were from a project we did where we cut up a tree into firewood. it was prety fun actually i thought..not much else though, we´ve just been trying to figue out a way to work more effectively since all our investigators left...i cant email until next monday the 10th i think so ill talk to you all then! i might get the chacnce to email monday though, im not sure so i talk to ou whenever i can! love you all! 

Elder Anderson

This is a straw house that they just found while walking around

Cutting up firewood for an investigator