Week 36

Hello!

Cool lookin' mushrooms...

Is it p-day again already?!  Seriously, this past week FLEW by!  I can't believe that I am writing another e-mail haha...  Well I had another amazing week out in the mission.  I forgot my planner so I can't remember too much about it...  But, I remember that it was awesome!

I have been doing absolutely great, as always!  I can't believe that the end of February is already here, time to jump into March and celebrate my parents becoming older!  The weather is starting to warm up - I think last P-day it was super sunny out and the temperature got to around 55...  It was HOT!  Makes me think...  HOW AM I GOING TO COOPERATE WITH ARIZONA HEAT AGAIN?!  I'll just be a missionary here for the rest of my life!

Thanks, Mom, for praying for my investigators and I.  It really does help, even in the smallest of ways.  All of our investigators are doing great.  Something I've come to realize is that the time of the Lord is especially sacred in this short period I have to serve Him.  Sometimes, planting the seed is all I need to do, but there are those special occasions when there are people who follow the example of Jesus Christ and become baptized.


Baptisms!


We have about 20 different investigators, but I'll write about just a couple:

Elder Fiala and I have a baptism coming up in two weeks!  The 9th of March - I'm excited!  Her name is Maria, she has been going through MANY sorts of different struggles during her time that she has been meeting with us, but she sees that prayer and the gospel is helping her out in many different ways.  I'm so proud of her change and her willingness to see the different blessings of the gospel.  Hip hip HOORAY!

We have another amazing investigator named Jadid.  He is from the Dominican Republic and was a media referral we received from Salt Lake.  He is wanting to go to General Conference to see the prophets speak live... THAT'S CRAZY!  I can't believe he wants to do that!  I had no idea there were living prophets until I met with the missionaries, and now that he knows that there are - he wants to go and see them, AWESOME!!  The first lesson we had with him we were talking about different sorts of topics, why he was interested, what brought him to this point in his life, etc.  We were talking about the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and he pulled out a talk that he was reading by him.  I am seriously stunned by this investigator.  I know that I am blessed to meet him because of my obedience to the Lord.  I love Mosiah 2:24 that says something along the lines of "When ye are obedient to the commandments of the Lord, he doth immediately bless you."  How incredible and true!  What a promise!  Sometimes we don't see the blessings in our lives, but once we sit back and ponder about the different things the Lord has given us - for example, a family, good uplifting friends, a home, food, the gospel, etc. is when we know we are being watched over by someone up above.  He is there; He is always there, and I love Him for that!

Have a great day!

I'll be sure to send the SD card home today.  I have been withholding it so I can get as much things on one SD card.  It is about full, so don't worry about sending it back.  Just look at all the pictures and have a fun time doing it!  Thank you for sending me a new SD card, I don't know when it will come, but I'm sure soon!  I'm excited to look at all the different photos and videos that have accumulated over the time of my mission...  how many pictures and videos do I have now?  Just curious...  By the way, I don't go to the post office to mail.  I just slip it into the "letter box" at our apartment complex - I'll just add an extra stamp before I send it home.

Love you all... Hope you have an awesome and uplifting next week!

Love,
Elder Alexander J Annand

Week 35

Hello mama and family!

Things are absolutely great!  The mission life is where it's at!  It is seriously so awesome to be dedicating my life for two years to share something I love so much.  I can't believe how many awesome experiences are unfolding right before my eyes - it's truly incredible!  There is something about the giving of yourself that helps you see blessings in different ways.  I love the scripture in Matthew that says, "He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."  What a true scripture!  The words of Matthew couldn't have been phrased any better.  When we give of ourselves for the Lord - we truly find who we are.  It took me a little while to realize that, but I am glad that I have early on in the mission.  Blessings come time after time and I know it is because of obedience, charity, and being diligent in the things that I am doing.  But don't get me wrong, the mission has its difficult moments!  The key is to keep your head up and put a smile on your face - keep that positive attitude.  I learned that from an Ensign article I recently read by Gordon B. Hinckley titled "The Work Goes On." Read it!!!

Anyway, a little bit about my week...

One of our investigators, Maria, has been having trouble with a situation and is keeping her from repenting to the fullest.  This past week, she realized what she had to do - restitution!  I've come to realize that restitution is often the most important part of repentance, but it is often the hardest as well.  She has devoted herself to keep staying on the right track towards baptism in just a few weeks - March 9!  With that goal in mind, she is preparing by the three most important ways - church, reading, and praying.  I'm so happy for her and for her desire to suddenly change and decide to fully repent, forgive, read, pray, etc.  THIS is why the mission is so amazing.  To be apart of someone's conversion and watch them change right before your eyes is absolute incredible.

I went on exchanges this past week, and it was great!  I can't remember if I have explained exchanges before, but it is when I go to a different area, or stay in my own with a different missionary for a day.  I went to the English area, and we did a lot of recent convert/less active work.  It was nice to teach in my native language for a change, but Spanish is SO much more fun!  Maybe it is because I was specifically called to be a Spanish speaking missionary, but when I speak with people in their native tongue, I feel a stronger connection with them as I help them realize the blessings of the gospel.  What an opportunity it is to serve!  We also taught an excommunicated member who is wanting to come back to the church.  I loved something he said, "You don't realize the blessings of the church until you aren't a part of it anymore."  It made me think that I need to be more aware of the blessings that I have been given and to be grateful for them.  Sometimes I don't even understand that a trial I went through was actually a blessing in the making.  Time to try it out this next week, and we'll see how it goes!

Service rocks!

I can't remember whether or not I shared this experience in my last e-mail, but I had a huge testimony builder for me this past week.  One of our less active members in the branch called us a few weeks ago and asked us to help him move some stuff for his friend.  We obviously accepted and helped him move things out of the storage complex to his friends apartment.  It took a little bit of time, but the result was fantastic!  Arturo and Adriana were extremely grateful for the things that we did and asked us to share a quick message with them before we left.  We shared Mosiah 2:17 and emphasized on the importance of serving God, and left while the spirit was strong.  We were invited by them the following Sunday to have dinner, and when we arrived we were a bit confused to see about 10 people there.  While we were eating, Arturo was saying how thankful he is for the missionaries and the help they are always willing to give.  While everyone was finishing up eating, having their own conversations, he stopped everyone and asked us to share some more scripture from the Book of Mormon.  We did once more, and he was absolutely stunned by the Promise of Moroni.  I am VERY excited to continue teaching this young family and help them progress in the gospel!

I'm motivated to have a great next week!  I hope you all are too - stay strong and keep your head up.  Realize who we are - children of God!!  I love you all so much and hope that you have an amazing week!

Love,

Elder Alexander J Annand

Take 1 -- 3, 2, 1..... Action!

Here's a few P-Day video's Elder Annand took during October 2012.

I compiled them to make one longer video... 

His companion at that time was Elder Marsden.  I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for watching!

~ June

Week 33

Hello!



Elder  Annand and Elder Marsden,  Nov 2012

I apologize for not writing you last week, but we had another awesome week out in Lynnwood!

I had the most powerful lesson so far in my mission with one of our investigators, Maria.  She has quite a bit of a background - growing up without a father, making wrong decisions her whole life, and even being involved in things she shouldn't have been.  She finally decided to share her testimony in her own way, too!  She was saying how grateful she is to have met the missionaries and to receive the discussions and learn more about our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Her life is literally changing before my eyes, and the progression she has made since day one is incredible.  THIS is what I live for as a missionary!  To SEE and HEAR the people I teach thank me for what I am doing, for the change that they can see and feel themselves.  She couldn't stop crying in that lesson, and I am not ashamed to say I was too!  The Spirit was in the room testifying to everything that each of us said.  I am so honored to be apart of her conversion and am so excited for her to enter the waters of baptism the 23rd of this month!  She is also thinking about pushing the date forward!



Salt Lake City Temple, June 2012 -
hope Alex sends a pic of the Seattle Temple soon!

All the missionaries (in our mission) went to the temple this past week.  What an amazing experience!  I went in having a HUGE question on my mind, and came out with it answered.  I am so grateful that there is a temple of the Lord so close to our mission.  The opportunity we had to go to the temple was a great motivator and reminder for me about the covenants I have made with the Lord.  I'm forever grateful to be apart of the Church of Jesus Christ!

We had Hispanic Conference this week!  It was sooooooooooooo amazing!  It covered THREE different missions - Everett, Seattle, and Tacoma.  There were over 600 HISPANICS!  WOAH!  There were so many awesome things that we got to do - go to the temple (AGAIN!) :), firesides, and a talent show!  The talent show was great!  I got most of the acts on video, but I missed 2 of them, boo!  It was so awesome for me to get a feel of each of the different hispanic cultures.  I'm so happy to be speaking Spanish and serving state-side.  I was having a bit of a moment and was thinking about other young men serving in other Spanish speaking countries - they fall in love with that culture and area of people.  But since I am state-side, I fall in love with ALL types of Spanish speakers - Mexicans, Guatemalens, Argentinians, El Salvadorians, Peruvians, the list goes on and on.  I have met so many wonderful people and NEVER would have had this chance to do so if I didn't join the church myself two and a half(ish) years ago!  I can't believe that I'm coming up on year three in the church!  WOAH!

Elder Annand and Sisters
Salt Lake City Temple, June 2012

Love you all, keep being awesome!!!  Have an uplifting week and remember that Jesus Christ is always there - even in the hardest of times.  He KNOWS what we have been through and has felt every pain, affliction, and trial that we will go through in our lives.  He is with us, always...

Love,

Elder Alexander J Annand