Week 62

(Note from June - I'm sorry, dear readers, about my inconsistent posting with Alex's updates this month.  As you'll see in the following posts, we had a water leak & minor damage in our home to deal with, as well as personal schedule changes that took a bit of time to sort out....  I appreciate your patience!  Everything is well, and Elder Annand is doing great - we should be finding out this Monday if he has a new companion and area, so stay tuned!)

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Hello there!

hey!  hey!  hey!

With the technology push for missionary work, there is a chance that our mission might get I-pads.  I don't know how slim the chances are, but I know the general offices of the church must first select our mission if we are to get I-pads and be a "test" mission for it. 

Wouldn't that be neat?  :D

I'm glad that you got the SD card!  No worries about the blog -  I know that it must take a lot of time to keep it up to date.

I haven't gotten the colored pencils yet, so hopefully they will come in today.  I will be ordering the new 2013 scriptures in English (Spanish can wait for another day) and have it sent to the mission home.  I'm excited!  :)

I've been teaching the mission preparation class Sunday morning with Elder Robles, and as a class, we are doing a Book of Mormon read.  I'm a bit behind (in Mosiah 18), but it is still great to be studying from the Book of Mormon everyday.  I remember being so stubborn before I joined the church, saying things about Mormons when I really had no idea who they were.  I am so glad for the missionaries and members who have taught me so much and helped me come to where I am at today.  This work is the greatest work to be apart of...  :)

Spanish Scriptures

Today we get a call whether or not we are being transferred.  I think I am heading out of Marysville to go somewhere else.  I received a District Leader call, so I won't be a Zone Leader anymore.  Though I am a bit upset to be leaving Marysville, I am excited to work in an area where the Lord now wants me.  I'll know who my companion/area is tomorrow (if I get transferred), and I'll be sure to let you know this next time I email.






Many of the investigators that we have are being put on hold for right now.  Almost every investigator had some sort of problem come up this past week, so it has been a little stressful.  I know I'm to learn something out of this.

That's so exciting how Scotty is doing in League of Legends!  He's finally getting as good as his older brother!  ;)   I miss that little booger - can you tell him to give me a write please?  By the way, I don't think I need anything.  If I do, I'll be sure to let you know.

The mission life is fantastic!  I have never been so close to the spirit and realized so many blessings before.  I am so glad to have this chance to be here in Washington serving all those around me.  I just finished writing a friend, and he mentioned that at the beginning of high school, I probably had no idea that this is where I would be - a missionary for the Lord Jesus Christ.  He's absolutely right!  I have no idea where I would be today without the church!  So much has happened in such a short amount of time - all of which I am so grateful for!  I love this church with all my heart.  I know that this is where I am going to be for the rest of my life!   :) 

Well, I love you all so much!  You are so great!  Hope you have a fantastic week full of love!

Love,

Elder Alexander J Annand

Week 61

Hey Family!   :) 

I love all the pictures that you sent me!  Haha, they're great!  Today has been a great P-day.  :)   It was our district preparation day today, so we played some sports out in the field this morning and spent time together as a district.  I did a soccer dive trying to save the ball and ended up scraping my leg pretty good - don't plan on doing that again.  

District Soccer Match

I sent the SD card home today (sorry)!  I did it first thing before leaving the apartment to do anything else, so you'll be sure to get it this week!  The only people I write through "snail mail" anymore is my recent converts and members who have become great friends over the course of my mission - so I'm going to use that as an excuse of my laziness to write...  :)

new shoes

I ended up going to the Nike store at the mall and bought some basketball shoes.

That's great that the house is slowly but surely coming under control.  How long is it going to take for the whole new project to be completed?  That would be neat if the kids painted their rooms!  No better time than now, I would say!   :)

Surprisingly, Washington has been very sunny.  One of these days, the clouds are going to come back, so I am enjoying every bit of it!  It's been pretty warm lately as well - people tell me it is somewhat humid here, but I don't really feel it - at least I don't notice the "walk outside and start sweating" type of deal that everyone tells me about....

Warm?  This is our morning temp in Phoenix right now!  Yikes!  =^)   ~June

I've seen the twistable pens before, and I think that would be just fine to send to me.   :)   If you send it directly to my apartment, you'll need to do it within the next 24 hours so it gets here on time.  I have a feeling that I am leaving Marysville, so I don't want it to show up when I am not there anymore.  Also, if you don't know about it - there is a new edition of scriptures!  I've been thinking about getting a pair for myself.  They cost about $50-70 dollars I believe - you can check out more about them at http://www.lds.org/scriptures/new-edition?lang=eng.

Well, I gotta get going.  I've been reading a book called "The Power of Everyday Missionaries."  A friend of mine bought it for me, and it is such an incredible book!  It emphasizes member missionary work, which would be perfect for you!  It's given me so many ideas, as well how I can help others and improve my teaching abilities. 

Check it out!  :)


I love you all so much!  Hope you have a great day and week!

Love,

Elder Alexander J Annand

Week 60

Hello,

Hiking on Mt. Pilchuck

I only have 10 minutes left before I need to head out to proselyte, so this is going to be a quick one!  Elder Robles and I went hiking today with some of our friends from the mission preparation class that we teach, and it was really fun!!   :)  

Friends in Mission Prep Class

We didn't make it to the very top, but it was a great experience nonetheless!  I'll be sending my SD card home soon so that you can upload the pictures onto the blog - my friend Sam really wants to be put on there so you'll have to add one of him!   :)

Sam Jacobsen strummin' along..

Attending church on Sunday is always the greatest spiritual recharge for me.  I love partaking of the Sacrament and thinking about how I can improve, and what I can do to become a better disciple of Jesus Christ.

Say whaaa?

Well, it sounds like the house is falling down!  

{We had a water leak that damaged flooring and trimwork... Thank goodness for insurance!  ~June}  

I really hope everything is okay!  How did the situation with the insurance agent go?  What's going to happen?
































Well, this week was great.  Elder Robles and I are very unified, and doing our best to teach as many people as we can.  We have quite a few investigators, but they are struggling to make it to church.  That's going to be the focus for this week!   :)

I love you all so much - so sorry that I haven't been sending emails that are super detailed - been a little bit short on time.  I hope for the best this week!  How's school, by the way?

Love,

Elder Alexander J Annand

Week 59

Dear family,

Yay! They did it! It makes me so glad that you were able to see President Wilcox and his wife.  They are such an incredible family. Super inspirational and a big example to me. It is great being able to work with President Wilcox and help him with the missionary efforts going on in the Marysville stake. I definitely wouldn't mind paying them a visit when you all come up.

April 2013 hike 

Today is very sunny, but we didn't have the chance to go hiking <to Mt. Pilchuck>, we postponed that for next week. Still excited for it nonetheless!











Sorry that this email is a bit short, I wanted to write more, but I only have a few minutes left. I wrote my mission president first this week, because I felt like he was getting too many snip-its from my family email (I would copy and paste from letters to you, haha).  This time, it was a bit more personal on the goals I am working on, how the work is going, etc.

Scenery when driving to our next appointment...

Anyway, I love you all so much! Hope that you have a great week! Sorry again that this is a short one!!

Love,

Elder Alexander J Annand

Week 58

Hello family!

Amber & Dillon, friends and students in the
mission prep class that Elder Robles & I teach...
(Love this pic!   ~June)

Today I am emailing a little bit late - it was our district preparation day today! We did our activity early so that we can have the rest of the day to ourselves. We played chair soccer and a basketball game called "poison". Even though there are only 6 Elders in the district, both of the different games we played are super fun, and I always enjoy the moments and memories made when we get together as a district.  :)   I also just finished cutting my hair o_o.  Yes, as a missionary, I cut my own hair! I bought a hair clipper kit at Wal-Mart a few months back and have been cutting my hair since, crazy eh? I haven't had too many people laugh, so it means I must be doing a decent job!  ;)

I am so glad to hear that the family had a great time on the camping trip! I am so excited for the pictures! The few that you sent me are great! Dad is lookin' good, Choma is being a Choma, and Scotty, Sierra, and Heather have changed so much! Weird to see that! I am so excited to hear about the incredible miracles that happened on the trip, CWFYL (Can't Wait For Your Letter)!   ... I tried doing one of the "mom acronyms" - not a fan...  ;)  And it makes me so happy that you realize the importance of the Sabbath! I definitely lacked on truly keeping the Sabbath holy back then. Your desire to come to church weekly will bring out amazing blessings that you never knew existed. Sundays, now, mean so much more than "partake of the Sacrament, go to classes, go home, nap, other daily activities." The mission has helped me make changes in "every day" life that I will make last forever - I love it!  

Breakfast at Jack-in-the-Box    July 29,2013

Think of this question, "Can the Lord promise us something, and not fulfill it?" Surprising to some, the answer is yes. Throughout the scriptures there are countless amounts of blessings and promises that the Lord makes with us. However, each promise has prerequisites that we must complete before receiving the blessing. For example, in Mosiah 2:41, we are promised to have "never-ending happiness" if we but keep the commandments of God. In other words, the prerequisite for "never-ending happiness" is keeping the commandments! I'm sure if you do your own study you will see how true these principles are...  Try it out!

Look up Doctrine and Covenants 82:10. The Lord is bound to bless us when we do what He says. What is the most common thing that He asks us to do in the scriptures? Keep the commandments! He will never skip out, or forget, or think twice about blessing us when we listen and take heed to the council that He has given. If we do not listen, as the scripture says, then we have no promise - the promise that the Lord has made is not valid. Always pay your tithing.  :)  More blessings await you than you can ever imagine. The famous scripture about tithing is Malachi 3:10.  Before my mission, I thought simply that the Lord would pour out His blessings upon us because we paid 10% of our income. That is true, but the scripture has a deeper meaning. Where does our tithing money go? To the temples! The truest and most pure blessings await us inside temples. When we perform ordinances for ourselves, others, and family members who have passed without knowledge of this beautiful message, we receive "never-ending happiness," along with a sense of joy, peace, and accomplishment. I LOVE the temple and cannot wait for you to start your classes.  :)

Teriyaki for Lunch!   (Yum!!)    July 2013

That is incredible that Brother Cooley will be ordained a High Priest! I am so proud and happy for him; he is such a spiritual giant and a great example to me!  I am glad that you enjoyed the class that Brother Homer taught - he definitely does have a gift to be so "in-tune" with the spirit. As a missionary, that is a necessary gift to have. I've had and felt times where the spirit has prompted me to do one thing or the other, but I am trying to develop a more consistent relationship with the Holy Ghost.  It's a lifelong process however, but doesn't hurt to start now!  :)

This week was fantastic. My personal studies are becoming so much more effective after studying chapter 2 in Preach My Gospel. I really feel the difference and see myself learning so much more that I can apply daily. Parker Marsden came to visit! Haha - it's weird to say his first name instead of Elder. We held a small get together and had a good time catching up.  Saturday, we celebrated the Peruvian Independence, so that was nice...  I ate cow stomach AND cow HEART! Knowing that I was eating heart was disturbing, and the stomach made me gag (but the cow heart wasn't as bad as you might imagine it to be)...

Anyway, I still have to write President Bonham and planned on writing a few other people. I hope you have a great week! Love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Alexander J Annand

P.S. I will probably send a semi-late email next week as well, Elder Robles and I are debating on going hiking at Mt. Pilchuck.  :)