Hello Everyone.

Whats up everyone,

Im still safe and sound here even though there has been a couple shootings from gangs here. hahah Nothing to worry about. It is in another area. HAHAHA. Well Im doing great here, were are still working hard aand having sucess. This saturday we are going to have 3 baptisms. We felt that one guy wasnt ready yet. So We are thinking next week. We are also going to be having transfers this week. I dont know whats going to happen. It depends on if Elder Russell leaves. If he doesnt he will spend 5 transfers in this area to finish his mission. So I hoping he will leave because trust me he will loose all his desire to work. But it is in the lords hands. I know that for sure. Well I ate great this week. Elder Russell and I made super think Rice Krispie treats, Brownies with peanut butter on top, and Today I finished it off with a 2 dollar california steak. WOOOhOOOO. I love the Capital. We are also having much fun with the other elders in our zone. We have P'Day eve and sleep over at the Zone Leaders house with the other 2 missionaries too that live there. I really am making some great friends here. We also have sweet activities that the zone puts on. The work is aweosome here. We are contacting and then getting rid of the weak people. But we really are finding hidden gems. We found a 22 year old man contacting the other week. His name is Elvis. He was taught by the missionaries over 2 years ago but was lost when transfers came and the area was whitewashed. He is awesome and loves the gospel. Well today is a thing called Carnival. It means everyone goes to the center of the capital or the campo for 3 days and get drunk. They all dress up it costumes. It is very similar to halloween but without candy. It is going to be a huge party. Well thats about it. Im really excited for Drew nad for Terese and I wish them the best of luck in there marriage.

Peace Out,

Elder Spud

I love my Life!

Well everything is great here in the Ghetto of Santo Domingo. My area is very nice compared to the others in the Zone. Elder Russell and I are still continuing to meet our goals. We now have 6 baptismal dates. 4 on the 1st of March the same Day as Andrew´s wedding. And we also have dates for the 15 and 29 of March. We are really seeing the fruits of working hard. We are working hard trying to get members in our lessons and it has paid off. Those people are way more prepared. I also have a story that I would love to share with you all: A little bit over a week ago we were walking down a street and a guy stoped us and said in English ¨Why dont you guys ever stop here and talk to us¨, and then my companion said because we have never been invited. We talked with him and learned that the place we were in was a home or clinic for drug addicts. They go there for help and live there. The man we talked to was Nestor. We is the oldest one there and is the leader of them all. He is pretty much a staff member. We talked to him about what we do and he loved it. So he invited us to teach everyone the next saturday. So this last saturday we went adn taught an awesome lesson with them. It was one of the better times I really felt the spirit in my mission. It was quiet and all eyes adn ears were focus. THey want something to hold on too and Jesus Christ is the key. He will never leave us and he is our biggest suppot. We had grerat interactions with them and they help us teach the lesson. Because they learn more if the teach themselves. THey all shared their feelings on hte matter and we really began to understand the importance of Prophets and how badly needed was a restoration of the Gospel. Being filled with the spirit I bore my testimony of Jospeh Smith and how this is the church of Jesus Christ. I could feel the power and the influance of the Holy Ghost as I fought away tears and bore my Testimony to 19 drug addicts whos lives are in a despret need of repair. I was really humbled for the good choices I had made in my life before my mission. I am so thankful for all my Family, teachers and Friends that helped me stay on the right path. This is such a beautiful Gospel. I know I need to appreciate it more adn wok harder to bring others to the Gospel. We will continue to work with those men adn try to put them on the right path. This is such a beautiful message and I am so deeply grateful to my Heavenly Father for the opportunity to be here in the Dominican Republic. We have awesome investigators who really are understanding the importance of the restoration. We are teaching to young men who can teach us the lessons better than we can. The really remember everything and are excited to be baptized. Also We are working with an older Lady of about 55 years old. She had been with many missionaries before and never commited to baptism. She now has commited adn we are trying to help her see the blessings of being a member. She cant help but smile. This last week we have found some great futre investigators. I really learned the importance of following the spirit. And following my feelings. We meet to wonderful families because I had stoped and said ¨Lets go back behind here¨ It really is amazing how just going a little fathre or backtracting a couple of steps we can find hidden treasures. We found a family of a husband and wife and a 20 year old son. THe son had been with the missionaries before but the area was white washed and he was lost because no records were kept. We told us he loved the visits and had read teh Book of Mormon. He really has excitment to hear from us again. We also found a nice beatiful big family behind some bigger houses. This house is halfe underground adn half above. The fatehr was very inteested in the family adn about this special message. This has been a great week and we are hoping to keep up the good work.

Have a great week

Elder Spud

Hey Everyone

Hey Everyone,

 

Im writing today because we had p day today instead of tommorow. Tommorow are interviews with the President. Im really excited. I always love to take to the President and have a little more excitment to go work a littler harder and a little longer. Right now I love my area. Elder Russell is really coming around. I heard from the assistants that the President was scared putting me with him but that I could also help him turn around. I think the latter is working. This week we taught the most lessons I have taught in my mission and we put 2 baptismals dates. My legs are starting to get weary but I know that the Lord will give me stregnth. He always does. Elder Russell and I are really working well together though, we love to talk and joke around with eachother but we know when its time to be serious. I think thats why we are working well together because we are having fun and also becoming sucessfull. Today we played a little basketball and talk with the Zone to get a little more united. There are 3 of the 5 elders in my group that are in my zone. I think thats really cool that they can be with me and we can share stories and sucess. Also my old Zone Leader is in the Zone. I really look up to him and I learned tons from him. Well we watched the World Wide Leadership broadcast and I learned tons. I learned of many things that I can use about the family. The Family rarely exists. Usually it is unmarried couples with children or no man at all. It is hard for the work to progress because we need men to be holders of the priesthood and also for them to be married by the law. Their is something here that they call " Married by the Window" this means that they are Husband and Wife but with out the civil papers. So technecally they arent married and so this is a goal for many families to get married.  This next week we are going to try and have 3 more baptismal dates. Well I love spanish and love the people. I can talk with anyone now and have got nice compliments. Actually people have said that I have better spanish then Elder Russell, but I dont think so. I still have tons to learn. I love reading the scriptures. Especially the Book of Mormon. It really is beautiful and I find new things every time that I read it. Well I what you all to know that We are working hard here and we are trying hard to reach our goals. I hope you all have a nice week.

 

 

Elder Spudwick

---

Shed those extra pounds with MSN and The Biggest Loser! Learn more.

Hola.

Well everything Is great here. Im having an excellent time here in my mission. The work is a little slow here but we are working hard to speed it up. We have 1 baptismal date right now and we are going to try to get 3 more this week. We also had 8 investigators in church. Whooooohoooo. Well thats the hardest thing in the mission, getting people in the church. But we are working hard. A lot harder then he has. He's used to all day p-days and all day no work sundays. Thats not going to fly under my watch. HE is very cool though i think im having the most fun with him. He is a psyco though. He is super hyper and is exactly like Jim Carrey the actor. hahaha. Today for pday we went to the zoo. Lets just say I went inside the rinocerous pit and took a picture. Ill show you. Dont worry im ok./ Im just being me. I also got a rock thrown at me by a chimpanse named Toby. This monkey also does bacd stuff with his hand and it starts with an M. It was funny. I also played tug of war with a Jaguar. That also I have pictures. hahahah. Dont woory im still have all my limbs. But I also 170 pounds of pure muscle. Im gaining a little. I think Ill gain more in hte capital too because they actually have things to buy. I do mis the good old Nizao though. I was talking to Elder Gonzalez last night and they are going to baptize 2 people on the 9th that we were teaching. So that is cool. I love everyday of my mission and am really seeing how the lord blesses us. It is awesome if we can just think of the little things. Im also learning of how hte lord works in mysterious ways. I love you all and I hope i can get some pictures up soon.

Elder Anderson

Hola de Los Alcarrizos

Well Im really enjoying this transfer so far. My companion is Elder Russell and he is from Flordia. He is a really weird but fun person. We talk a lot about tons of stuff. He has 2 more transfers after this one so he is fairly old. I think he is alright but i have found out why the other missionaries think he is crazy and a tigre. But i wont go into that because that isnt important. All I can say is that im having a great time and i think he is my most favorite companio than any other companion I have had. The only problem is that he hasnt worked that hard for most of his mission. So Im changing that. Our first week was the hardest he has worked in 6 months he said. We have a huge area in Los Alcarrizos. My area is called, Los Alcarrizos 2. We are in a stake now adn we are working in the same ward as two other missionaries. Almost all of our zone is americans and I like that a little more. I have 3 other missionaries from my group here in the zone. It is aweosme. Also my former Zone leader has a son in the zone. he is a trainer. We call the companions of trainers, sons. It is the capital and there are tons of people. Practaclly living on each other. What is amazing is that it is quieter that Nizao.We have everything pretty much within 20 minutes away. Huge superstores adn tons of other stores. I can live very well here. hahah. And that is amazing. We live together in a 2 man house. It is huge. So we have our bedroom, a study room with 2 desks, A clothes room(litterally just for clothes and our shoes there is nothing in our bedroom but beds adn our fans), and then we have a kitcken, and also a little room for laundry, We also have a big open room in the front wear we eat. It is neat. Ill take pictures. It is actually very clean. I was surpized. The light is the same. off and on. but it usually comes back at 10 in the night. Well the water is differant. We take bucket showers here. And it is freezing cold. It is very cold in the mornings and I have been shivering in the night. This wont last long though. So in hte morning it is very cold with bucket showers. But it does help to wake us up and get ready for the day. Our area is huge. The first thing I did when i got to the house was go through the Area book. It wasnt good putting it in the least. It had stuff from 4 years ago adn most of the investigators sheets didnt have address. We dont have any baptismal dates here but this week we are going to put one with an investigator that was being taught by elderRussell and his old companion. I told Elder Russell that we were going to make miricles adn that we were going to work hard. I am slowly changing him and we are really picking up the work for what we were left with. Yesturday we had Zone Confrence with President Bair. It was awesome. I learned a lot and have a ton of excitment to go and preach this work. I learned that we are ¨salesman¨ of a product bigger and better then a mercades benz dealer or of tiffanies jewelry. SO we need to act and look like we are selling that. This gospel is without price but the benefits are worth eternal gladness. We need to raise the bar on baptisms. The president take about the confrence talk by Elder Perry about the high jumper. We have constantly been at about the same baptisms for a couple years, and now this is the year we are going to bust it out. So we are focusing on baptisms. But how do we get baptisms. The president spoke to us how the members are the key. The key to the sucess of the work. They need to be in the lessons, they need to help them come tochurch. They need to baptize the people. They need to help them go to the telmple and recive their endowment. I really belive this is true and i have been really trying to follow it. But this is the second time the president has said this so Im going to try adn have everyother day have lessons with members present. This will help the work grow faster and will also help with the retention of our investigators. Last night we spent the night at the zone leaders house because we played basketball in the morning at the stake center. It was fun. After we ater at PIZZA HUT!!!!!! haahah It was amazing. Well thats about it. Im as happy as I can be. Im a missionary.

Love,

Elder Spud

New Area

Hey,

Well I have been transfered form the awesome Nizao to Los Alcarricos in Santo Domingo. I dont know to much because I just got here an hour ago. But what i do know is that it is much bigger than Nizao, one of the barrios here is twice as big as Nizao. But Im really looking forward to that because that means more people to teach. My new companion is Elder Russell. He is from Flordia. Im going to work him to death adn also be super flecha, or obediente. I really have a good feeling about this place. The area is a little dead because of the missionaries here before but I think it was just because they were lazy. The goals here arent very big and for sure We are going to raise them adn make miricles happen. When i first got here I looked at the Area Book and said we are going to do great things here. I know I will miss Nizao and it was hard to say goodbye to everyone of our investigators. But one day I will return adn I can only pray that they will make teh big step and be Baptized. I have confidence in Elder Gonzalez my old companion and adn also in the members there. Im so grateful for this life I have and for this opportunity to be here in the Dominican Republic. I love my Savior Jesus Christ adn for his example to me. Im trying everyday to be a little better adn learn a little more from his adn his prophets. Well I need to go but I love you all and hope you all have a great week.

Elder Anderson the Man

Saludos de La Republica Dominicana

Hello Everyone,
Im doing great here. Im on a mission. This week was awesome, we had 6 investigators in the church on sunday. Dani and Altemis a family came together. They loved it. Also Raudy and his Kid Raudito came for the 3rd time. We also had Daniel and a new investigator Wilson in teh church. We had an investigators class for the 2nd hour in church and they were all participating and learned much from the lesson. All of them are either family or friends. I think that will help them as they progress in the gospel. I love the family of Dani and Altemis, They have a baptismal date for February so im a little bummed that I wont be there but Im really excited for them. We had a great lesson on the Word of Wisdom. Dani drinks so we focused on him and his problem with Alcohol. He said he would fulfill his commitment and wants to change. Altemis drinks a little but what is really neat is that 6 months ago she quit drinking coffee on her own. She KNEW it was bad and so after a while through much pain she quit. Yesturday we found out that they were reading the new manual of Joseph Smith. I am really excited to see where they will go in the gospel. Raudy and his son Raudito are always in the church but the wife Lidi came the first time adn hasnt come back. This wek we are going to put a goal with the entire family to be baptized. The uncle of Raudy is Daniel. HE also has a baptismal date. We have a new Investigator we are teaching. His name is Wilson. He is in a wheel chair adn his body has been disabled for his whole life. His brother adn 2 sisters are very active members. He has been coming to church for years but noone has known that he wasnt a member. Ravel his brother asked us to teach him. We gladly accepted. Wilson is really neat and has a ton of excitement for the lessons and cant wait for the next one. I have also been through something new as the Sister of Perla one of our investigators died in a car crash and also The father of 2 of our investigators which is also the grandpa of a less active member passed away. This is something new for me to deal with but I really belive the lord works in mysterious ways and thta he is humbling them adn helping them to remember him. Today adn tommorow we will visit them repectivly and remind them about the plan of salvation. I have learned so much about this plan and how beautiful it is. It is a blessing to have this knowledge adn this plan at our fingertips. I am really seeing the importance of this work adn how we have much work to do. NOt only for the people in the world but for the people who have passed on. It really is neat how I am progressing in the gospel and am starting to figure this life out. Also one of our recent converts Morena is getting divorced from her husband. It is really hard for her and also for us. Im so grateful for this gospel and how we can be happier with it guiding our lives. Well This is my last week in the famous and awesoem Nizao. I will be transfered this next Wendsday the 23. I will deeply miss the little town of Nizao and all the friendly people and investigators. I did what I could do here and now I will have another test and opportunity to serve the Lord in another enviornment. SO my next e mail will be in a diffrent place and with a new companion. I loved having Elder Macy adn then Elder Gonzalez. They were really neat companions. Well I hope all goes well and dont frezzzzzze to much hahahha. Im postitive i will sweat tons for each of you today. hahah.
Oh ya I was pushed the other day. Im surprized I didnt beat the heck out of the drunk guy. So far I have been pushed, spit on and I have been called bad words billions of times in spanish and also in english. ( they know the bad words from movies).

I love ya.

Adios

Elder Anderson

Saludos

HOlA!!!! Well my time in Nizao is coming to an end, but the work is exploding now. I really dont want to leave but i cant spend anymore time here. This week we put baptismal dates with the Family of Dani and Altemis. They are awesome. We found them because their daughter was a reference. She isnt really progressing but her mom and dad are. They are awesome. They are reading and understanding the Book of Mormon. We had a great lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and put a goal for a bauptism on February 9th. They are really excited about the Church and want to know much more about the Gospel. We also put a baptismal date with Adrianni. She was a referance of a man in our ward. She is always reading the Book of mormon adn following her commitments. She has gone 2 church 2 time in a row.But we did have a little bad news. We were going to have a baptism this last saturday with Daniel but he came to us all dressed up in sunday clothes and told us he was realñly sick. Its pretty cold here now( For Dominicans!!!! hahaha) He has athsma and it was really bad for him. We gave him a blessing and said everything was okay adn that we would talk about another date for him to be baptized. That night he said he wanted to cry and could sleep because we wanted to be baptized that night. We are working hard with another family here Raudy and Lidi. We were going to put a baptismal date with them this week but they didnt go to church adn we didnt feel right to ask it. We think they need more time. We also had 2 inactive members come back to church. The other Elders in our house are working with the less actives too and had 6 of them in the church. I really feel that something big is happening in Nizao and will happen very soon. We also had a new reference that lives really far away it is 20 minutes from our house walking. That is a huge distance in Nizao . They are awesome. They are a family and have 6 little girls and 1 Boy. The mom, Belky, went to church but the husband Rademes couldnt because the people who own the land they live on was in town to check on things. I really have a great feeling with them. They read the Book of Mormon together and that is a great sign. It sure is worth the trip. We are going to put all the appoinments with them in the morning because we then can use the bikes of the other missionaries. We have been so blessed in this area with great investigators and recent baptisms. Im so grateful for the help and refenences of the branch here. God has helped us such much to find a place for us in the hearts of our investigators. I have grown so close to them and feel that I am a part of their families. I can honestly say that I love this work adn the people. It is wonderful. Im learning so many secrets about life and about being a diciple of Christ. I have learned so much in my little time as a missionary adn that will bless me for my whole life. The things I have seen adn felt in my life I cannot deny that this is the Church of Christ adn that it was restored. I can only describe it as Perfect. Again I love this Area and I wish I could have more time. I dont feel that my work is done. But one thing I have learned is that we need to trust in the lord. I know that a Tesamony goes a long way and that I can still be with the people who I love throughout the eternities. I can only do so much but God does the majority of everything. I can only dream about what lies ahead of me and who else I can help bring in the the Fold. I love my Savior and we are working hard here adn being as obedient as we can. Obedience brings about Miricles.

Elder Spencer Anderson

Ps. I saw something sweet the other day. I saw Chickens get their throuts slashed adn prepared for selling them. HAHHAHAH It was disgusting. An 8 year old was doing all the slashing to. Have a great week.

Hello!!!

Hey Family, Im doing awesome here in Nizao. It was really neat talking to my parents and family. It was really hard to speak English because I dont speak that much English any more. Im losing it. hahaah. Well Im doing great. We ate Christmas Dinner at Morenas house a recent convert. Then For New Years Dinner. We ate at an Investigators house. We are going to put a date for baptism with their family this week. Also we are going to to put a date with a lady adn one other family. I really have a feeling that my work here wont end when I leave but Nizao with grow very rapidly. I know that IN a matter of time Nizao will flurish with members of the church. We didnt get to work as much as I wanted this week because of rules adn of Christmas and New Years but we finished very strong. I love this Gospel so much. Right now Im reading Jesus The Christ by James E. Talmage. It is amazing. Im learning so much about my Savior adn his ways adn teachings. It has helped me tons to apply those principles to my life. Im so blessed and I want to give gratitude to everyone of you. I love you all so much And hope that we can all enjoy the blessings we have recived. I am so impressed with my family adn my friends for the example they are to me. I pray for everyone of you everyday adn I hope that together we can spread this great message of joy adn love. I hope you have a great week, I know I will,hahahaha. I love you all adn try to stay warm, I know I sure will. It is a never ending summer of heat here. Adios

Elder Spud