Lisbon, Portugal, Lapa Week 13

Olá familia e amigos!                             December 29, 2014 

I can't believe it is almost 2015! Time on the mission has flown by for me. I am loving it! I love it more and more every day. The year 2015 will be a great one. I will be on my mission the full year! I can't wait.l I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to serve the Lord. We are all so blessed to have the knowledge of the gospel! I have seen it change the lives of my cute recent converts.

Ever since the mtc I have been thinking about one word that is very close to my heart.. esperança.. hope! The gospel gives us hope. Hope for a better world. We know where we came from, who we are, where we are going. and we know that we have a Savior and loving Heavenly Father who want to help us every step of the way. My Grandma Marcia sent me this awesome talk called ´´Hope through the atonement of Jesus Christ´´ by Elder Neal A. Maxwell. It is awesome. You should all read it! I especially like a certain quote by Tolkien from the Return of the King that is in it. :) ´´It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they have is not ours to rule.´´ With hope we can help make a better world, one step at a time. We just need to try our best to help others and spread the light of Christ that we have with us. In these days the world will continue to become darker and more corrupt. Because of this, we need to stand taller than every before. We can spread the joy and hope that we have to the world. I also found a scripture that sums it up.... Ether 12:4. Read it. It is awesome. Hope is kindled!

This week I learned that, even when we do all that we can to help someone make that first covenant of baptism with the Lord, they still have agency- the capacity to make good decisions.. and bad ones. E--- was prepared to be baptized. He has his interview and everything! But he decided to party Saturday night and he wouldn't wake up to go to church Sunday morning. He is so, so hesitant to commit to the church and we don't really know why. He doesn't drink, doesn't smoke.. and he KNOWS the church is true. We do know that he is afraid of what his family will think. I will continue to pray for him. I have no doubt that someday he will gain the courage to be baptized and commit to the Lord.

As for a little language update.. I am still learning more and more every day. Recently I have noticed that I have started to think thoughts in Portuguese. I did a little before, but now it is pretty much all the time. I am getting better at forming phrases and speaking without having to think first. I can pretty much say everything I want now. My grammar is pretty horrible still though. I'm working on it!

Love you all. Feliz Ano Novo!

Love,

Sister Anderson

Christmas party with our recent converts. The are all awesome!

Our Christmas jammies, mom sent us.

My Christmas presents.

My cute pillowcase. Sister Cardoso loves her Cinderella one too!!!! Thanks Mom.

Cool view.

Christmas selfie.

Division with Sister Sorenson.

Christmas gifts Christine sent home and we opened Christmas Eve.

        

         Gracie loves the baby doll!                    Hannah loves the stuffed fish and book!

                

Dad and William doing his pirate puzzle.    Opening the toys inside the chocolate eggs!

   

  Daniel love the tie you got him from the British store!        Gracie enjoying the cookies!

                

Mom and Dad loved the earrings, keychain and chocolates. Christine is always so sweet and thoughtful!! She gave each one of us a handwritten, personal note as well. It made Christmas Eve very special. Christine made us promise to do a sub for santa family this year like we have in the past. We dropped our sub for santa gifts off right before we opened her gifts to us. She is always thinking of others!