And then there were two

Wow so there were a bunch of missionaries that were supposed to leave for Taipei tomorrow, but none of them got their visas.... Soooo please pray that I will get mine haha. No offense to the MTC, but I don't want to stay here another week. I want to be in Taiwan!!

Anyways, this week was much better. Things are going so well. My teacher gave me a really nice complement this week because we were reading out of the Book of Mormon so we could practice our tones and she split us into two groups. She went with 3 of the Elders to help them and correct their tones and then she put me in charge of the other 2. I know my Chinese is not good, but she said that I speak with tones really well. That made me feel really good.

We got a new branch president this week and I know I'm not supposed to use slang, but the only word to describe him is LEGIT. Go google Gregory J. Newell. He has his own Wikipedia page and he is the real deal. Just look him up. He has too many accomplishments to describe. I love him so much he is just awesome. Oh and he is in Dubai right now, if that tells you anything about how successful he has been.

Man, I just love Sunday's here. The spirit is just so strong all throughout the day. Yesterday at our devotional we did "MTC and the Spoken Word". We had the guy that does Music and the Spoken word come and speak to us and we sang songs and such. It was really spiritual. The topic was basically Fear Not. There are so many songs that say fear not. "Fear not though the enemy deride" "Fear not, I am with thee" "Fear not and be just, for the Kingdom is ours". I love it. I really learned that no matter how hard my mission is or how hard life is, we have no need to fear, because the Lord is on our side. Who could ask for a better teammate than him?

In closing, this week I really was focusing on patience and I came across a scripture in Alma 26:27, "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."

Missions are hard. Very hard. I miss home a lot and I miss my friends and family. But I know that even though it is hard, as long as I have patience the Lord will give me success.

I love you all. Make sure to have patience in all your endeavors. From person experience, patience is the best way to receive blessings. I had to wait almost 2 years to find blessings from my trials and it was totally worth it.

Be strong and be true and Fear Not!!

Love Elder Anderson

Miles and Elder NG

Miles and Elder Brewer

3 weeks and then Taiwan!

Hello family and friends. It felt like just yesterday I was sending emails. The time flies here. I became our district leader this week. So that has it's up's and down's. Basically they rely on my leadership to get their mail twice a day. haha. But I interview everyone in the district to make sure things are well and such. Hopefully I can be a good leader and set a good example for my district. I still really like the MTC. The spirit is still awesome. But I cannot wait to get out to Taiwan in 3 weeks! I need real food! We have been talking to some of our Asian friends from Taiwan and China and I just love them. I already love the people in Taiwan. Asians are the best!

Chinese is still really hard, but I am loving it. It's so fun to speak with Marissa, Bryant or that Elder I told you about last week who is going to Idaho. On Wednesday, I made a goal that I am going to memorize 50 words a day. It is so hard. Especially having tons of class time so I cannot memorize during that. But if I keep it up, I will have memorized over 1300 words by the time that I leave the MTC. And yes, I have been keeping to that goal.

Yesterday at our devotional we sang Hope of Israel. It's amazing how the spirit can touch me through song. We sang the words, "Onward, onward, youth of zion; thy reward the victors crown. Hope of Israel, rise in might with the sword of truth and right; sound the war cry, "Watch and pray" vanquish every foe today." The spirit hit me so strong when we sang those words. It was incredible. All I could think about is all the missionaries in the world out spreading the gospel. It's truly amazing and I am so glad that I get to be a part of it. I love you all. Thank you for helping me get here today. Stay strong and vanquish the foe every day!!

Love Elder Anderson

MTC Halfway over

Hello everyone! This week was a little rough but it was still good. We are over half way done with the MTC so that is exciting! Oh so here is something cool: There is an elder in the room next to us that has studied chinese for 10 years. He literally sounds just as good as Marissa and Bryant. It's crazy. But guess where he is serving! Twin Falls, Idaho speaking English. Wow. Clearly there is someone there that needs to hear from him. Just like how there is probably someone in Taiwan that needed to hear this gospel from Kelsi, Marissa, and myself.

I think my chinese is getting better and I am starting to understand a lot of the grammar. Being obedient is key. I love studying the handbook because I feel like it really helps me become a better missionary. Haha and if someone is doing something they aren't supposed to, I just whip out my handbook and read them a section. Like just the other day, some Cantonese elder was telling my companion that his chinese is not good. So naturally this made me mad and my companion mad. So we noticed that his socks were orange and had patterns on them, his tie had pictures, and his hair was too long and we decided to shard some parts of the handbook with him. He didn't say much after that. I don't know if that was the best way to handle it, but if you are going to bag on my companion, be ready.

Elder Oaks came and spoke to us on Tuesday! That was super cool! He taugh us about the spirit and the Plan of Salvation. He said, "With the spirit, you will do miracles. Without the spirit, you will do nothing." I really liked that because I have been studing the gift of the Holy Ghost. It's interesting because we all have the gift of the Holy Ghost, we are entitled to it. But entitlement means nothing if you aren't worthy of the Spirit. We all have to be worthy and create a climate in which the Holy Ghost can always prompt us and we can always hear him. So I invite you all to make sure that every thing you do will create an environment in which the Spirit can dwell with you.

We watched the Testaments yesterday and I loved it. I could just feel the love that Christ has for me and for everyone. It was amazing. I know He loves us all. No matter how much we sin, He still loves us. I love Him so much because He made it possible for us to wipe away our sins and live with God again. This gospel has brought so much happiness to my life. I love all of it.

I hope you all are staying strong and having wonderful weeks.

I love you all!

Love Elder Anderson