Feliz año Nuevo!

Helloooooo everyone! Happy New Year 2013!

Wow, weird for me. It doesn't feel at all like new year's because it's hot here and well just, different! I will be making lots of goals and plans. The more I learn, the more I realize I have a lot to improve on haha. Sometimes, especially in the mission, I feel overwhelmed with all I need to do and with all the many weaknesses I have- How am I going to improve on so many things? But, I am going to make just a couple small goals, that I will be able to keep. So that way I can truly improve in a couple areas and then make more goals after that. 

This week, my little daughter has been sick! She's been having problems with her blood pressure it seems... On and off. But Thursday it got really bad and she was really dizzy and felt like she was going to pass out. So we went home for awhile to rest... Friday she was good and we were out working, but then later on she felt bad again so we had to go back. Same thing Sunday. Ohhh patience. It's not that fun being in the house! Some things are good, like I get to catch up on journal-writing. But after about an hour of that I want to go out! Hna. Zapata feels bad and she wants to be working too, but we can only do the best we can... We can't quite figure out why her blood pressure is going down so much, sometimes it's before lunch, but sometimes it's right after, and so we don't know if it's because of eating or what the problem is. But we have an appointment with the doctor Thursday so hopefully we can get that figured out! 

This past week, I think I have eaten more chocolate than I ever have in my life. Ew. Everyyonnee gave us chocolate for Christmas. Everyone! Needless to say, one of my new years resolutions is to not buy any more sweets ever. Ha.

So, we have a couple new investigators that are really great. One is Johnathan. He is 19 and the boyfriend of a member here. He is a marine, so he travels a lot and isn't always here, but he's been to church 4 times and he has a fecha for January 19th! The problem is he doesn't live in our sector :(  so he will probably get baptized in his sector, he'll have to start meeting with the Elders over there. But that's okay, the important is that he gets baptized. Hopefully we can go.  :) 

Another investigator that is great is Vivianna. I don't remember if I already talked about her, but she has an 11 year old son who is dying. He has a brain tumor and it's not looking good. :(  We know the Gospel will bless her and help her through this hard time and through all her life. 

We're also teaching a girl named Carla. She's 8, and her mom died recently. This year, I don't know how many months ago. She has an older brother who is like 12 or so. He is a member, but she hasn't been baptized yet. They live with their grandparents here, and their grandma is a member and she is coming back to church now. So, we will help them out too this month. :)

We are still trying to see Patricia and Anibal, we've heard from them a little bit but not much. Everything has been crazy with the holidays, so hopefully this week things will be a little more normal. 

This week, I am going to continue with my ''lesson'' about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  :) 

First, a question. Have you ever wondered why there are so many christian churches in the world? If Christ established one church, why do we have so many today? Today I am going to talk about something that's called the Apostasy. An apostasy is a time without a prophet, without the authority of God, and without his church on the earth. Apostasies happened various times in the history of the Bible, especially the Old Testament (see Amos 8:11-12), and one happened again after the life of Jesus Christ. Once Christ and his apostles were killed, there wasn't anyone left on the earth that had that Priesthood authority that is so important. Many people wanted to follow Christ, but through the passing of time, many of the doctrines that Christ established were lost or changed. Anyone who reads the Bible can see this is evident. Galatians 1:6-7 says, ''I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.''  While Paul, an apostle, was still alive, there was already this problem of people changing the gospel of Christ. Many people, years down the road, tried to reform the churches, because they knew it wasn't the way Christ established it. For that reason, there are so many churches today. People with good intentions trying to find the truth, trying to do their best. But we read in the Bible that there is ''One Lord, one faith, one baptism'' (Ephesians 4:5). That means, ONE church of Jesus Christ, like He established it more than 2,000 years ago. But this church, clearly, was lost over time, as the prophets had declared it would be. Sad, right? Confusing, right? But as I always say, God wants us to be HAPPY!  And He doesn't want us to be confused. Next week, I will continue with the Restoration and hopefully help answer some of these very important questions. :)  

Wellllll anyway, time to go! Have a fabulous day and fabulous new years eve!! Be safe everyone, remember 2012 and let's have a great 2013! 

LOVE YOU ALL.

Hermana Danielle Anderton

Hola!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

It doesn't really feel like Christmas down here, which is kind of a bummer but probably a good thing, because if it did, I would miss you all a lot more I think! Don't get me wrong, I do miss you, but, I'm just busy with a lot of things here so I don't have too much time to think about it. :) We are doing well, we had a good week. Christmas conference and singing in the school which was a really cool experience. I love the singing and the focus on the Savior... We really should remember Him all the time, not just at Christmastime.

Our investigators.. Have not been progressing so much lately. :( So that's been hard. But we are not giving up. We're praying for them and doing what we can to keep in contact with them. Also, we are continuing to find new investigators. One good one that we found a couple weeks ago is Felipe. He's 23 and more curious than anything else. He came to church yesterday, and really liked it. Then afterward he told us that his family is 7th Day Adventist and that he was going to keep going to that church with his family, and that he didn't want to dissappoint us but that he did like church. Well we talked for a bit and reminded him of the importance of following the direction he receives from God when he prays. We also invited him to invite his family to church, so they could experience it too! Of course we would love for everyone to see what it's like and be able to feel the Spirit and learn more. We'll be seeing him again this week so hopefully he keeps progressing! We saw Patricia for the first time in 2 weeks. We had called her a few times but she never answered, and we passed by her house once or twice too. I was getting really sad for a bit! But then we were out walking and she drove by! She was so excited to see us as we were to see her. Turns out we were calling the wrong number, and that's why she hadn't answered. She said she thought we had forgotten about her, and when were we going to come over? Yay! So we put a time to come by but then it didn't work out. Sooo, we are gonna wait until after the holiday because everyone is crazy busy, but we will try again with her. We are teaching this other great family and a few more people, this girl Carolina who is 15 and living with her grandma and uncle here. She went to church a couple weeks ago and really liked it, and said she wants to get baptized! We gave her a baptism date for January 12th and she accepted. The problem isss she went back to where her parents live and we don't know when she's coming back. Darn. She said she was going to live here for awhile, but she misses her family. So, who knows if she will come back. Hope so! So yeah, we have a few other investigators but I will update you more on them when they start progressing more...

I heard Holly Starr got engaged! Wooooo Holly! I miss you girl! Congratulations. Um, if you can wait til May to get married, I would really appreciate it! I want to be there!!!!!! But if not, I understand.... But really. May isn't that far away. :)

I MISS THE TEMPLE! My companion just went like 4 weeks ago, I am so jealous. She talks about the temple and I miss it so much! But, like I said, May isn't that far away and I will go again soon!!! But I am also freaking out a bit because people keep telling me things like I have no time left in the mission and it's almost over. And I'm just like ''nooooooooo!'' You could say I'm in denial.

Okay, this week: Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ Part 2.

So I talked about our Heavenly Father, about His plan, and about Prophets. This week will be focused on Jesus Christ, His ministry and Atonement. So we all know that Christ came to the world as the son of God, born unto Mary. He lived a truly perfect life, the only person in the history of the world who was able to do so. Everything He did, He did for us. He showed us His perfect example. He was baptized by someone with the authority of God (John the Baptist). He established His church- calling apostles and prophets and teachers (Ephesians 4:11-14), giving His apostles the Priesthood authority so they could teach the gospel and perform ordinances like baptism (Matthew 10:1). He healed the sick, loved, helped, served, taught, obeyed. Most importantly, He performed the Atonement, which I talked about in an email a couple weeks ago. He, miraculously, took upon Himself all of our sins, also our weaknesses, sicknesses, temptations, everything. He did this so we could be forgiven, so we could be happy, so we could live again after this life.

Let us all remember Him this Christmas season, and always. ''I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life'' -John 8:12.

I love my Savior Jesus Christ, and I know he lives!

Have a WONDERFUL Christmas, I'll be there for the next one!!!!

Love and light,

Hermana Anderton

                            Hermana Zapata and I Thursday when we sang at the school :)

                                              Catalina's baptism  12/16/12

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Holaaa

Hi!!

This week was alright, not as good as the last one but not bad... Catalina got baptized!! Wooo!! She is so cute, and was sooo happy. I forgot my camera at home so I will have to send photos next week.

Hermana Zapata and I are doing well. Last week I realized she like didn't talk hardly at all when we were out in the streets. And it was hard for me, I would try to make conversation and she'd like answer the question and then silence. I would try again and then she would answer and then nothing else. I was like uhh do you hate me? Haha. So I was worried about that for like 2 days but trying not to worry too much. Then finally I brought it up and she apologized and said she is just like that, quiet. She told me lots of stuff about her family and her childhood, etc, that she never talked with her family much and never felt like they wanted to listen either. So she is really closed off and doesn't talk that much. But she assured me that she likes me haha. Buttttt just the next day she opened up to me a lot! We now talk and laugh and have conversations and enjoy our time more. Sooo, yay. I am happy for that. I was worried it was gonna be a long 10 more weeks with her without talking! But yeah she's opening up to me already and things are better.  :) 

We are singing in 3 different choirs this Christmas season! One with the ward (which we presented yesterday at a stake activity), one with the zone of missionaries in the Christmas conference we're having tomorrow, and another choir that President Martinez chose to go to sing at a school! That will be Thursday. So, needless to say, lots of practicing. But it is fun, I forgot how much I like singing in a choir. :)  Yay Christmas!!

The people here are funny.. They are convinced the world is going to end on the 21st. Ohh geez. Three days of darkness and no communications... Ha. We shall see, I GUESS, but we all know that when Christ comes no one is going to know! It will come as surprise, so, whenever someone tells you the world is going to end/ it's the second coming, don't worry because we won't know the date. But family, if the world does end... Sadly I gues I will not be skyping you for Christmas! But weee I am so excited to see you both!!! One more week!!!!!! :)

Okay, this week, I wanted to talk about the message that is so important to my calling as a missionary and to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is what makes our church different than all the rest, and it is super awesome! It's called the Restoration. It is pretty simple, really, but I am going to explain it in the next few weeks so that way everyone understands. :)  But basically, we teach (and testify) that Jesus Christ established His church when He was here on the earth, that it was lost for many years, but it has been ''restored,'' or brought back again in these days.

The Restoration: Part 1.
It all starts with the knowledge that God is our loving Heavenly Father. We are His children. We lived with Him before coming to earth. He has a great plan for us, which we all decided we would follow. He gave us the Gospel, or the teachings of Christ (what I spent 5 weeks explaining- faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end) to help us in our earth life. Life is hard, we all know it! But with the Gospel we can have a better perspective, have hope, know our purpose in life, and have happiness. To teach us this gospel, or plan, God has always called prophets. A prophet is a man, called of God, with His authority, who communicates directly with God and then communicates with us, here on earth. Of course we have the Bible, of course we have prayer, but as well, Heavenly Father wanted us to have a Prophet. He helps us to know what we need to do and how we can find peace. They also testify of Christ. You are probably familiar with prophets in the Bible, such as Noah, Abraham, and Moses. There are many more in the Bible, and also in the Book of Mormon. But basically Prophets are really important and I am glad that Heavenly Father has given us one always to help us!

Well, this week will be full of events for me! Tomorrow conference, Thursday singing at the school, and of course working doing what I love, and looking forward to calling my two favorite people that I love so much next Monday. :)  Hope you all have a great week, and enjoy lots of crazy Christmas shopping for me and listen to the radio station that plays Christmas music 24/7 haha.

LOVE!!
Hna. Anderton

Proud Mommy

Well, I have my lovely little hija (daughter), and her name is Hermana Zapata! She is 23 and from Buenos Aires, Argentina. And she is great! She's not afraid to talk to the people and to teach and everything. She is already a great missionary and I am happy to be training her! We had a good week this past week. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we got into lots of houses and found lots of new investigators. Friday and Saturday were a little slower, but at least it wasn't like that the whole week. I would've felt bad. Some days or weeks are just slower than others, but you keep working regardless! So yep, we are doing well.  :)

We saw Anibal the other day, and he told us why he didn't like church that much the last week... He went to church on a fast and testimony sunday for the second time. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying but doesn't feel like he's gotten his answer yet. So to go to church and hear everyone talk about how they know this is true, and he still doesn't.. is kinda frustrating for him. Patricia didn't come to church and so her fecha for December 22nd fell through.  :(  Sad. She says she feels the Spirit more when we teach her in her house than she does when she goes to church. Grr. But, that is okay. When she goes more she will start liking it more, I am sure. It can be different the first time, maybe not what she was used to or expecting. But, we have an appointment with her tonight so we will see how she is doing!  Like I said we have found a bunch of new investigators, so we are going to start working more with them and hopefully this will be another great week!

Oh yeah, and I checked up on Dalila, the daughter of Domitila in Caupolican my first sector, and she is doing well also.  :)

ANNIE!! Is getting married on Saturday. That. Is. Crazy!! Anns, Love you tons. So sad I can't be there, but so happy for you and Russ. I hope you have a wonderful day and that you don't forget about your honorary bridesmaid down here in Chile.  :)

Catalina is getting baptized on Sunday!! She is so cute and WAY excited. Pictures next week!!  :)

Well this week I wanted to talk about the thing that is the most important in EVERYTHING that we teach, live, do, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Atonement. Joseph Smith said that every other doctrine or practice in the church is only ''an appendage'' to it. The word atone means to reconcile or restore to harmony. The Atonement is the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. He paid the price for all our sins, and only through His perfect sacrifice can we be forgiven of our sins and one day dwell in the presence of God. There are maaaannny scriptures and many things I could share. A study of the Atonement should be a study of our whole lives... But there is one scripture that I love that I would love to share today. It is found in the Book of Mormon. ''Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise'' -2 Nephi 2:8. 

I know that this is true, that the Atonement is real, that we can be forgiven of our mistakes and we can be HAPPY! God loves us, every one of us! 

I love you all, I hope you have a wonderful week. Family- SKYPE 2 weeks!!

Hermana Anderton

Two quotes that spiced up my week.

1. ''Hermana... I think there's something in our room.'' 

2. ''Hermana Anderton, the Lord has called you to be a trainer.''

!!!!

Okay, #1. Thursday, 6:02am. Obviously, sleeping. I wake up hearing something that sounds like paper crinkling, wasn't quite sure what it was but I didn't want to acknowledge the fact that it was probably not gonna be fun. So, I thought in my half-asleep state, ''maybe it's Hermana Barbosa... or maybe it's me...''  And then the quote by my companion, ''Hermana, I think there's something in our room!'' I said, ''I think you're right!'' We turned on the light, freaking out. There was DEFINITELY something in our room. Under my bed. A rat, most likely. Ew!!!! We never actually saw it, we were too scared to look haha, but we are basically positive it was a rat. We could hear it. Ew ew ew ew ew. Ew. So, of course at 6:10am we called our district leader, who didn't do much, but told us to call back if we needed more help. Then we called our zone leaders who live close to us, and the Elder told us we could pray. Yeah. I hung up on him. Haha, to give him the benefit of the doubt, he was sleeping and probably had no idea what we were talking about as we were like hysterically laughing and crying and standing on our beds wondering what to do. Haha. Well district leader called back and told us they were coming. Thank youuu. So they came and we went out to meet them, when we came back to the house the thing under my bed was gone, they couldn't find anything. UGH. Well, we talked to the assistants and they told us to look for a new house, because well, ours was super lame. And also they told us that in February they are putting 2 more Hermanas in our sector so we would need a bigger house anyway. Soooooo starting the house search for the third time in my mission... Didn't take long though. Bishop told us about Hermana Beatrice, who is this really sweet hermana in the ward. The missionaries lived in the house behind hers a few years ago, but they moved out when Elders came because her husband didn't want them to live there. She accepted immediately and went to work right away to clean up the house and paint and prepare it for us. So, we are there now. We have been soo tired this week, from moving and trying to organize and trying to work also, needless to say, I've been a little stressed. Especially because, as you all read from quote #2... I am going to train this cambio!!

So, I was extra stressed because my poor hija (daughter) was gonna come to the sector and we're like in the middle of moving because our house is infested. Haha but yeah we are basically all moved in. But yeah!! The assistants called me on Friday and Elder Tavernier asked me, ''Has President called you about your cambio yet?'' I said no, and then started freaking out because I was like, oh my gosh what am I going to do that President is going to call me!!?  And then he said no don't worry... ''Hermana Anderton, the Lord has called you to be a trainer in Independencia.'' Wooo!!  Ahhh I'm excited! But nervous!! There are 5 Hermanas coming this transfer, all are Latinas! Yay, another Latin comp it's about time! I've only had one! There are 2 from Peru, 2 from Argentina, and 1 from El Salvador. One, I found out, is like 37 ha! That would definitely be a different experience, if I were to train her. It would probably be weird! But I don't even care, I will love her no matter what. Tomorrow, I will be going to the Mission Home and picking her up! :)  Next week I shall let you know all about her!

I am super excited to stay in Independencia. It's a GREAT sector and ward. Happy also because the weather here is super mild, since it's close to the beach. It's not gonna be super hot this summer which is awesome. Oh yeah, with training, it is 2 cambios long so I basically know my next two cambios. Obviously things can always change but more likely than not I will be staying here until the end of February. :)  

In other news, my mom, Hermana Hamblin, has been called to be a Hermana that travels to teach and train and do exchanges with the other hermanas in the mission! She is like an Assistant of sorts. She is so great. This is her last transfer, she leaves in January and she will be finishing strong with her companion from the MTC, Hermana Oliver. They are great!

This week is the last ''step'' of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: endure to the end. This is probably the hardest and most involved step, as it really involves lots of things. Basically, once we have faith and repent, are baptized and receive the Holy Ghost, we need to continue doing those things for the rest of our lives. Preach my Gospel says, ''These are not just steps we experience once in our lives; rather, when repeated throughout life these principles become and incredibly rewarding pattern of living.'' This is true. I have seen that in my own life, that as I continue faithful in the Gospel it just gets better and better! There is a quote I found by President Monson, it says, ''We live in a troubled world, a world of many challenges. We are here on this earth to deal with our individual challenges to the best of our ability, to learn from them, and to overcome them. Endure to the end we must, for our goal is eternal life in the presence of our Father in Heaven. He loves us and wants nothing more than for us to succeed in this goal. He will help us and bless us as we call upon Him in our prayers, as we study His words, and as we obey His commandments. Therein is found safety; therein is found peace.''  If we don't endure to the end, what we have done in the beginning and middle don't mean much. I want to close with one of my favorite scriptures from the Book of Mormon. It says, ''Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: ye shall have eternal life'' (2 Nephi 31:20).  I love this Gospel. I know it is true. As we live it, we can be truly happy. Endure to the end, friends and family. Remember our trials are to help us grow and learn. Keep going, don't give up! 

Love you all. Please pray for me this week as I bring a little baby missionary into the world!! Haha!

Un abrazo,

Hermana Anderton  :)

So thankful

Hey everyone!! 

So, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Ours was pretty good. Nothing too special... I made us grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches with avocado, and potatoes. It was yummy. We also drew turkey hands on our whiteboard and wrote in them things we are grateful for. :)  I have a lot of things that I am grateful for right now!

For one, Patricia has a fecha (baptism date) for December 22nd!!! She came to church on Sunday and really liked it. She is soo great we love her. She is loving all that she is learning and just excited about everything. Keep her in your prayers please, that she continues progressing and we can have her baptism the Saturday before Christmas!!

Anibal didn't come to church last Sunday and didn't come to our appointment Thursday night. We were super bummed, and were kidna worried he decided he didn't want to keep going. Because he always comes, on time, to all our appointments, and when he can't or has to change he calls to let us know, etc. But finally on Saturday he called us and said sorry that he was really sick and didn't go into work or anything. He couldn't come to church yesterday, but he said he did want to get together so we have an appointment Thursday night. Please keep him in your prayers too! Oh PS I don't know if I ever actually said, he is 26 we asked him the other day. Just so ya know!

So I looove this sector and ward of Independencia. Transfers are this next week, and I am hoping I will stay here. We think so. It would be really weird if I left. Hermana Barbosa has 3 transfers here, but she doesn't want to leave either. What we are hoping is that they divide us but keep us both here, they are going to need to start opening more sectors for the Hermanas because more and more are coming!! So we are hoping somehow we can both stay. We'll find out Saturday!!

The BEST thing this week I think... Hermana Hamblin (my trainer!), Hermana Lissandrello, and Hermana Calsina who are in Los Alamos right now, stayed at our house last night because they needed to go to Concepcion today. So that was really fun, we did divisions with them in our sector last night, and talked a lot of course. This morning I even got to go running with Hermana Hamblin! But the very very best, is that I got to hear about all my converts, and they are doing SO well. Domitila is preparing to go to the temple, to be sealed with her husband who passed away last year. I didn't hear about her daughter, Dalila, but I will assume that she is going to church with her family, I'm sure she is. Gustavo received the Priesthood and he has been blessing the Sacrament at church. Lorena continues going out with the Hermanas to visit people, and Alejandro too. Alejandro received the Priesthood awhile back, and he BAPTIZED the investigators of the Hermanas earlier this month. Wow. I just cried, I am so happy. I think it is even better than baptizing, hearing that your converts are strong in the church. That they are happy and progressing and growing. I love it!!!!!! I got a letter from my dear Lorena, and actually got to talk to Alejandro on the phone today! He called the Hermanas from Los Alamos to ask them something and I answered it :)  He was so surprised. It was good to hear from both of them. I love all my converts soo much, and oh yeah David is doing great too, he's been to church every Sunday since his baptism and we gave him his own hymn book yesterday with a picture of his baptism day in it, and he loved it. ALSO, the Hermanas in Los Alamos stopped teaching Daniela and her family for awhile. Remember them? But, Daniela came to church last week and just felt the Spirit and knew she needed to start taking the lessons again. She told the Hermanas that she remembered what Hermana Anderton had always told her about listening to her feelings and following the Spirit, and she is now preparing again to be baptized. Wow, I love my life!

This week, in my gospel study, is the Holy Ghost! Jesus Christ, in John 3:5 said, ''Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'' Baptism by water is not complete without the second part, confirmation/the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The gift of the Holy Ghost is one of the most precious gifts Heavenly Father can give us. Through it we feel His love and direction, we can be led in doing the right thing, we can know the truth of all things. A quote that I LOVE, by the prophet Joseph Smith, ''It will whisper peace and joy to your soul, and it will take malice, hatred, envying, strife, and all evil from your heart; and your whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness, and build up the kingdom of God... If you follow the Spirit of the Lord, you will go right.'' We can all feel the Spirit of the Lord, when we pray sincerely and listen closely. Heavenly Father loves us, and wants to lead us every day. The Holy Ghost is a great blessing in our lives, and we should do all we can to recieve it and be worthy of it always.

Well, that's it for this week. Next week I shall tell you about cambios!! Have a great week, wow it's almost December!

Love you all so much.

Hermana Danielle Anderton

Hey everyone!

Okay soo yeah I don't have tons of time! Ahh internet time always goes soo fast. First of all, thank you to those who wished me a ''happy 5 years'' this week. I have been a member of the church for 5 years and it has gone so quickly. :)

This week is Thanksgiving! Hermana Barbosa and I don't know what we're going to do yet, but we want to celebrate. Maybe turkey sandwiches or something... :) Happy Thanksgiving to all, be grateful for your blessings!

Happy birthday to my dear friend Sestra Megan Moody!! Hope you are doing great out there in Croatia! Love ya.

Soo right now we have super good investigators. Have I mentioned that yet? I love them. We had an awesome lesson with Anibal. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and afterwards he was like ''That should have been the first thing you taught me..'' He loved it! And then we invited him to be baptized and he said ''If it was right now, I would do it immediately.'' I was only half-joking when I asked him if he wanted us to fill up the font. Haha. So he is good, but still wants a stronger answer. He said he wants a week to think and pray and read the Book of Mormon, etc. We said okay and I told him I wasn't worried at all because I know he'll get his answer. Still he said he was going to go to church on Sunday and didn't, and he didn't answer the phone when we called him Saturday night and Sunday morning. So, keep him in your prayers.

Patricia is just wonderful. We love her! She loves all that we teach her and wants to keep learning. She is so great. She wasn't able to go to church because her 5 year old son just started a soccer team and it's Sundays at 10am. Right when church starts. Boo. The good news is its every other week, because the other weekends her son's dad will take him. Sooo she should be coming this Sunday.

Renato, we haven't seen him or talked to him. Understandably he needs some time to help his fam. But we are going to try to get ahold of him this week.

There's this lady, Jocelin, who is like 28 and less active. We eat lunch with her every week and she has 2 kids, one of which is Catalina who is 8. They don't really go to church but we visit them to help get them to go, etc. Well the other week we shared something with them, her and her boyfriend who is the dad of her kids, and it like really hit her. Talked about being an example for your children and raising them in righteousness. The next time we saw her she was like ''Hermanas I need you to start teaching Catalina the lessons again because she's getting baptized.'' Catalina was so excited and wanted to do it this Saturday (the 17th). But she needs to talk to the Bishop, be interviewed for baptism, and probably go back to church a few times before she gets baptized. I don't know how long they haven't been going consistenly for. But so we will be preparing her for her baptism probably in December. :) Hopefully this will help her be firm in her decision to be active in the church, and her husband, Juan, will hopefully have more desires to get baptized himself. They are in the process of preparing to get married too so when that happens he can get baptized. :)

So, this week is step 3 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Baptism! We all know I talk about baptism a lot as a missionary, and now maybe I can explain a little more of why it is so important.

In the Bible Dictionary, this is some of what it says about baptism. ''Baptism has always been practiced whenever the gospel of Jesus Christ has been on the earth... Baptism is not optional if one wishes the fulness of salvation (and I add, baptism by the priesthood authority of God). Baptism in water has several purposes. It is for the remission of sins, for membership in the church, and for entrance in the Celestial Kingdom. It is also the doorway to personal sanctification when followed by the reception of the Holy Ghost. Baptism is a most sacred ordinance, which a person having received it, can remember throughout life as a reminder of their personal commitment to Jesus Christ.'' In Romans 6:4 in the Bible we read that through baptism, ''we should walk in newness of life.'' I love that, how not only literally are we clean from our sins and born again, we must choose consciously as well to start over. To be a new, better person. 3 Nephi 27:20 in the Book of Mormon says, ''Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.''

I am happy to say that it has been 5 years since my own baptism. I love it. I love thinking about it and knowing I made the right choice to follow my Savior Jesus Christ. Each day I try to be more like Him. I love Him, and I know He lives. His sacrifice, His Atonement, is what makes it possible for us to receive the remission of our sins and to be happy, now and forever.

I love this Gospel, and I love being a missionary to share it with everyone! :)

Have a fabulous week. Love you all so much.

Hermana Anderton

                             Saturday morning in Concepcion, community service! Wearing the famous
                  "Mormon helping hands" vests and my new 'do. :)  love y' all.

Hi everyone!!

Well we had another good week... Actually not as good as we have been having, but it's alright... They made a bunch of changes in the mission. My whole mission we have had to do 140 contacts every week. 15 lessons with member 15 other lessons... lessons with less active members and recent converts... Anyway they changed it so that we only have to do 50 contacts now, still 15 lessons with member... but we aren't reporting the numbers for the less actives or recent converts, and there's no ''standard of excellence'' as it's called, or mission-wide goal for other lessons. They want us to pretty much completely work with the members. Getting references from them of their friends and family who would be interested in the Gospel. AND for our zone only, President Martinez told us that this month of November, we aren't allowed to knock a single door!!! Soooo, yeah, it's different! Usually when appointments fall through, and back up plans and everything we knock. To try to find new investigators. But now we can't knock haha so we go to members' houses trying to get more references and working with them. It's been... interesting. But I know the best way to do missionary work is through references. We received more than 50 references from members last week, now we just need to contact them all! It's hard to do though because we want to go with the member to do it, so it's not just random missionaries contacting them but rather their friend with the missionaries. They're more likely to listen to us you know? But the hard part is these members all have lives, like working and studying or whatever, and they don't have all that much time to come with us to meet their friends. So, we will see how that works out, hopefully this week will be better...

Renato told us last week that he told the Catholic church he works at ''Don't count on me next Sunday because I'm going to the Mormon Church.'' Hahaha. We loved it, so funny. BUT, his mother-in-law passed away like on Thursday... So he couldn't come to church. They were doing everything for the funeral and all that. Sad. We haven't seen him since last Monday so hopefully we can see him soon.

Anibal said he was going to come to church yesterday but didn't. Weird, he always does what he says he will. And if he can't he calls us. So, we don't know what happened there.

We found this new great investigator, her name's Patricia. She's about 30 and a single mom of a 5-year old boy, Cristobal. The Elders in the sector next to us contacted her a couple weeks ago, and she said they could stop by. But she lives in our sector so they told her we would come. Well, we went on Tuesday I think? and she was home and she is great!! Her dad is also investigating the church, and he told her about it he said it was really great and he likes it a lot, and she should look into it. So she was really receptive and loved what we shared with her.We went back again Wednesday with her and she said she wanted to come to church too. Her phone was off when we called to remind her about church, and she only partly committed to go. But we are hoping to see her again this week! :)

Great news from Villa Obispo, Maria Jose and Jorge got baptized!!!! The young couple where Jorge's parents and sisters are members... Yayyyyy!! Soo happy. Hermana Shelton called to tell me all about it. :) LOVE IT!! Their family is going to be a forever family once they go to the temple in a year or so. :) That's what the Gospel's about!

Today I finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish!! El Libro de Mormon. Woooo.

Also, oh, I cut my hair like 6 inches last monday!!! Hermana Barbosa convinced me, and I LOVE IT. I don't know why I never tried anything different, cause I've had long hair my whole life. But I really like it and I don't even miss my long hair like I thought I would. :)

We saw President this past week and he told us there are TONS more missionaries, and especially Hermanas, coming to our mission. I. Am. So. HAPPY! I heard a few weeks ago, that the church usually receives 600 missionary applications a week, but that the other week they received 7,000 many of them being sisters. LOVE IT!! Pres. says that by Feb or March we will have about 270 missionaries, right now we have 194. He also said that we will probably have 50 more Hermanas. This is amazing!! He said that probably one Hermana is going to have to train two at a time, because so many are coming! Hahahaha, crazy. I am so excited. This Gospel is going to all the earth, and tons more missionaries are leaving to preach it. :) :)

This week: Repentance.

The second step of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, after having faith in Him...

''God sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, into the world so that all of God's children would have the possibility of returning to live in His presence after they die. Only through the Savior's grace and mercy can we become clean from sin so that we can live in our Heavenly Father's presence'' (Preach my Gospel, p. 60).

Repentance is a change of heart. It is recognizing we have sinned or made mistakes, and confessing those sins and asking for forgiveness. It is made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through repentance, we can feel clean, whole, and happy.

I am out of time!! But I hope you all are well, and have a great week! No time to send a picture of my hair, hopefully you can wait a week to see it. ;)

Love you all,
Hermana Anderton

                                               us on the micro (bus)

                                                    David's baptism :)

Hello hello!

Well, I tried to send photos but it's not letting me attach any files. So, you will all just have to wait I guess. The baptism went perfectly. :) David was so cute, he was all nervous but really excited too. The ward mission leader here is AWESOME, he did everything! Usually we plan the whole baptismal service, call everyone to give talks, we go to the chapel in the morning to fill up the font.. everything. But the one here is great. We just showed up! Anyway, Rodrigo Coloma (from this great family here) baptized him. He has helped David in this whole process, been his friend, answered his questions, everything. So it was great to have him baptize David as well. I wish I could send pictures of them in white and all of us out front of the chapel before the baptism! Next week I will try again. Anyway, it was great and Renato came!! Renato is that older gentleman we met last week, the one who had been to an LDS school and loves the church. But I'll tell you more about him later. So David's mom and sister came to the baptism too, they are inactive members, and they really enjoyed being there. I hope they were remembering their baptisms from years ago, and I hope they have a desire to come back to church. It was great to have them there to support!

After the baptism, I asked David how he felt. He said that he was really happy, and that he could tell it was something important that he had just done. :) Yes, yes it was.

Next is Renato! So he's super good. We went with Hermano Coloma (Rodrigo's dad) to teach him the other day. Turns out they actually know each other, so that was perfect. He says he still hasn't gotten his answer yet but that he still is going to pray and continue learning. We invited him to the baptism and he loved it. I guess he has been to various baptisms before too. We sang ''Soy un hijo de Dios'' (I am a Child of God) in the baptism and he sang without even reading the hymn book!! Afterwards, I heard Hermano Coloma ask him if he was Mormon or what haha. He couldn't come to church on Sunday because he actually works in the Catholic church...haha... But he wants to come so he's going to try to not go this coming Sunday so he can go to church. Hehe.

Next: Anibal. He went out of town because we had a long weekend, so he wasn't at church. But we talked to him Saturday and he said maybe we could get togther Sunday night when he got back. Well, we had Stake Conference Sunday and so after church we took the bus back home. While we were on the bus I tried pushing the little button to tell the bus driver we wanted to get off but it wasn't working, and there was another button but for some reason I just didn't push it. Which was weird cause we were in our sector. Hermana Barbosa got up and then pushed the other one, and then we got off. We had passed our house a little bit but not by too much. So we get off the bus and cross the street, and guess who we see standing on the corner? Yup, Anibal. We asked if we could get together later that night and he said yeah, ''It was for something that we found ourselves here'' Like randomly finding each other on the corner. It was cool. So we went later and taught him the chapel with Luis (another of the sons from the Coloma family). We had a good lesson with him, which he started by saying ''I read the chapter. But I don't want to get baptized.'' We just laughed and taught the lesson about how to recognize an answer from the Spirit, because that's what he's trying to do right now to know if the church is true. The Spirit was definitely there in the lesson as we all shared experiences, testimonies, and scriptures. We invited him to be baptized, if he has his answer, on November 24th and he accepted! Wooooo!! He told us this story about how three different times in his life he has just had ''coincidences'' with the church that he knows aren't coincidences. That make him believe that God wants this for him. One time he wanted to go find the LDS church to talk to the missionaries, and he was walking around in town and decided to ask someone if they knew where he could find the church. Out of all the hundreds of people on the street he could have talked to, he happened to ask a MEMBER of the church, who was glad to help him. :) Second, a couple years later, he decided to investigate the church again and the very next day the Elders knocked his door. That was about a year ago, and then the third time was yesterday, we didn't have an appointment with him and then we randomly just see him on the corner. It was great. He had tears in his eyes a little bit as he was sharing this all with us, and although he doesn't quite feel like he has his answer yet, we are confident that he will get it.

We have three people that will be baptized on the 24th!! As long as they all keep their commitments and obviously if they receive their answer that they know it is true and want to be baptized. But we have faith. :) Renato, Anibal, and Esteban. Woooooo let's do it!

So this week time to talk about faith! The first principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Faith is to have confidence in something or someone. ''Faith is a principle of power. God works by power, but His power is usually exercised in response to faith. He works according to the faith of His children'' (Preach my Gospel, p. 116).

''Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God'' -Ether 12:4.

''Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to His will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to Him'' -1 Nephi 7:12.

I know that Christ lives, that this is His church, and that He can do anything for us and through us, if we but have faith in Him.

Have a great week. And pray for my investigators, please!!

''Somos hoy llamados a servicio al dar testimonio de Jesus. Vamos a un mundo en tinieblas para proclamar la LUZ...''

Un gran abrazo,

Hermana Danielle Anderton

Quite possibly the best week of my mission

Ohhhh my gosh. SO many things to write about!!! This week was great. Super great. Well, it was kinda slow in the beginning. The first couple days lots of appointments fell through, plans A, B, and C, and so we did a lot of walking and knocking, trying to find people. But then on Thursday Elder Garrett, our district leader, came. He came to interview one of our investigators, David. David is 31 and super sweet. He has been coming to church for awhile now, the Hermanas started teaching him in July or August but he hasn't committed to baptism yet. He says he knows the church is true and wants to be baptized, but wanted to wait til like next year for some reason. Which is crazy, because if you know it is true and want to do it, why would you wait to receive blessings? Anyway so Elder Garrett came to do the baptismal interview that they always do with people before their baptisms to make sure they are prepared. We were worried it was going to be really awkward because he didn't even have a fecha (baptismal date) but anyway he came. And they did the interview upstairs in David's house and we waited downstairs. They were gone for a long time and when they came back, Elder Garrett had this HUGE smile on his face. We were like,  ''What? What happened?!'' And he was like, ''He passed. He's ready!'' We were like wait, yes we know he is ready but does that mean he's going to get baptized now? And, somehow when they were in the interview David just realized he was ready and decided not to wait anymore. So, he is getting baptized this coming  Saturday!!! Wooooo miracle!!! We are so excited, and so is David. :) Yay.

Next thing. Saturday, we were out working and we were looking for this lady named Amanda who the Hermanas before me had taught like one or two times. Well she wasn't there but her son, Anibal, who's like 26 or so was there and he just let us right in. HE asked US if we wanted to come in, haha. Well he is awesome. He met with misisonaries like a year ago and liked it but his family kinda gave him a hard time so he stopped investigating. But he was saying that he wants to know if it really is true, and so he wanted to learn more and go to church. So we invited him to church for the next day of course, and he said he'd go. And, he did! Okay, awesomeeee sometimes we spend months teaching investigators and they still don't go to church. So that was great!! We talked to him after and he really liked it and said he had questions, so we asked him when we could get together again and he asked if we could today. Ha. Usually when we ask that they give us a day like a week away and then forget about it haha. So we're seeing him tonight.

Next, after church, we had a cita with David but he had to do something so he canceled. So we ended up knocking a few doors close by his house and this man Renato, 65, just let us right in. He was so nice, and he told us how he loves the church because it has helped him so many times in his life. When he was young, he was a drug addict. One day someone invited him to church and he went, and after that day never did drugs again! After one day! Then, he went to a Mormon school, I guess the church had some schools here just like there are Catholic schools or Baptist schools or whatever. So he went and really liked it, they actually gave him a free education so he is very grateful for that too. Then in some other hard time in his life the church came back into the picture. Now, he is married with a family. He is just coming out of cancer. He was hospitalized for the entire year of 2009, and the doctors had basically left him for dead. He prayed and picked up a Bible that he had next to his bed in the hospital, and the verse he read said ''Ask, and it shall be given you.'' He asked to be healed and left the hospital the next day. Then, yesterday, he said he was in a really bad mood and some things were going on in his life, and we knocked on his door. :)  Haha, love it. We taught him a little and invited him to pray to know if it is true. He said he would, that he really wanted to know, and said ''Who knows maybe I'll finally get baptized.'' I then invited him, ''If you come to know that these things are true, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone who has the priesthood authority of God?'' He said yes. Then Hermana Barbosa invited him to be baptized November 24th if he had his answer. First he said that was very soon, but then right after he was like ''Well, God could answer me later today if He wanted to, so yeah, sure.'' Haha! It was great! He is just awesome and we are so excited for him, to help him get his answer and prepare to be baptized.  :)  Yay!

We also have Esteban, who is the husband of a less-active member, Hermana Cristina. He has met with missionaries for a long time. He has a fecha for November 24th also.  He came to church yesterday, but we have to make sure he is keeping all his commitments and really ready for that date. So, we will see.  :) But we are having LOTS of success, lots of miracles and tender mercies from the Lord. We are so happy to have people that we are working with who truly want to know if this is the Lord's church and if they should be a part of it. We love it, because we know it is true, and that anyone who sincerely wants to know and prays will know the same thing. We want everyone to receive these wonderful blessings Heavenly Father has for us, that's why we're missionaries!

Well, this Friday I complete ONE YEAR in the mission. What?! How did that happen?? I can't even believe it. It has gone so fast. I am sure the last 6 1/2 months will fly by as well, and I am hoping to enjoy every last minute of them.  :)  Sometimes I never want to go home. I love this! There is no greater joy that I have experienced than seeing God's children grow and change and find the Gospel. 

So, this week I decided I'm going to do something new in my emails. I realize I talk about ''The Gospel'' alllllll the time. But I also realize some people reading this might not know exactly what that means. Or even if they do know, it never hurts to study it more and learn more about it. ;)  So, this week I am going to start with defining the Gospel, and the next few weeks I will explain each part. 

''The Gospel of Jesus Christ as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith will bless our families, meet our spiritual needs, and help us fulfill our deepest desires... The purpose of the gospel is to cleanse people of their sins so they can receive the Savior's mercy at the day of judgement. Therefore, the work you (the missionary) do each day is to help others come unto Christ  by helping them receive the restored gospel, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end''  -Preach my Gospel.

And a quote from a member of the ward yesterday, translated into English obviously... ''This is the Gospel in my life- the light. That light that indicates to us the path we should take.''

This is the reason I am here. To share this amazing, wonderful, beautiful gospel of Jesus Christ, with everyone who will listen. I know it is true. I know God loves us and wants us to be truly happy, and the Gospel is how we can do just that.  :)

That's it for today. Love you all.

Hermana Danielle Anderton

Independencia

Well, I got transfered! Boooo. I am now in Talcahuano, in the ward of Independencia. It's a great sector and great area- Talcahuano is the very north of the mission, so I am close to Concepción and the office, and also the BEACH! Yayyyy. I love being close to the beach. It's still pretty cold here actually, whereas in Los Angeles it was already getting warmer. I will be HAPPY to spend the summer here in Talcahuano, if it works out that I stay. Because in some parts of the mission (like Los Angeles) it is ridiculously hot in the summer. So.. Cool! Oh yeah, I am with Hermana Barbosa now. She is great! She is from Washington and has two cambios more than me (3 months or so). She is super nice and a good missionary. We had met a couple times before. And we are happy to be here together! Something interesting happened with the cambios this time... Our district leader called us Wednesday night at like 9:50 and told me I was going to Victoria (which is in the south) with Hermana Mateos, the other hermana that Hermana Hamblin (my mommy) trained. I was like okay.. cool. But it didn't really feel super ''right.''  I figured I would get used to it and that I just felt that way because I wasn't super exited to leave Villa Obispo and Hermana Shelton. But, like 5 or 10 minutes later the Zone leaders called and said there was a change, and that I wasn't going to Victoria that I was going to Talcahuano with Hermana Barbosa. And then I felt the Spirit. :)  I felt like ''Okay, yep that's right'' and I felt peace. It was cool. I called the Assistants because they're both my good friends (Elder Tavernier and Elder Morales) and I asked what happened with my cambio and they said that President Martinez called last-minute to tell them that he received revelation and the cambios needed to change. So, that was really cool!  I know I am supposed to be here this transfer with Hermana Barbosa, and I am excited for what it has in store.  :)

Bad news is I'm sick. Boo. I haven't been sick in a long while, but Saturday morning I woke up with a bad sore throat. I hadn't been sleeping very well, for like 4 nights in a row because I think I was nervous about transfers ha. But yeah so Saturday and Sunday were really hard for me cause I was soo tired, my throat hurt and my body was like sore and everything I don't know it was lame. But yesterday after  church I got a blessing and afterwards had more energy, and slept well the past two nights so I think I am getting better now. 

Maria José and Jorge are great- Last Wednesday we met with them again and it was so good, and they have a baptism date for November 10th!! They are just so awesome, and ready. They basically just need to get work off Sundays so they can consistently come but they are awesome. I wish I could be there for their baptism, but at least I was able to meet them and help them a little. No, Lionedes didn't get baptized yesterday. He's not ready yet. We are hoping he will continue to stay with his sister in Los Angeles so they can keep teaching him and keep preparing him to be baptized maybe next month.

Well anyway, sorry this email is a bit short today. But I am almost out of time. I just wanted to close with a scripture from the Bible that I love, goes like this:

''Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.''  -Matthew 5:14-16.

Let your light shine, family and friends. Be happy. Love life, because it is a gift! As we are happy and love others, others will see our light and be affected by it. I know that Christ lives, and this is His church. That we can be truly happy in this life and have peace in the life after as we follow Him! Have another great week!

Love you all mucho,

Hermana Danielle Anderton

Everyone will want to know Him,when they look into our eyes.

"Este es Esparta"   "this is Sparta!"  Like in the movie 300. A street in our sector.

Jumping on a trampoline, Sunday after church while at a member's house for lunch in the "campo."

Heyyy!!

Okay so we had a good week! Lionedes is still unsure about this
Saturday... He is coming to church and meeting with us, but I think he
feels kind of pressured. He does want to be baptized... But we have to
make sure he is ready. His sister who is 80 and super faithful really
wants him to be baptized so she doesn't go alone anymore. And
obviously we want him to be baptized! But we need to make sure he is
ready and also that he will be able to come to church every week.
Because he lives in the campo and has to get permission from his boss
to leave every Sunday, cause he watches the house for them. We shall
see. But we are praying that it all works out!!

We don't know transfers yet, but will find out tomorrow. I am nervous!
Part of me feels like I may leave but another part really doesn't want
to yet! Also, I just went grocery shopping and bought a bunch of food,
so I hope I don't leave ha. For more reasons than just the food I
would love to stay. But, as always, I will do what is needed of me.
''I'll go where You want me to go'' says the song, and I say it too! I
have two traditions with my cambios since I've been in the mission
field. One is that I've been with all my companions for their
birthdays, and two is that I've been with each companion for two
cambios. Hermana Shelton's birthday is November 10th. So, do you think
I will keep the tradition of being with my companion for her birthday,
or being with them two cambios each?? I can't keep both!! Next week I
shall tell you all which one it is!

So this guy, Diego, just got home from his mission, here in our ward.
Remember la familia Salamanca, where I had my birthday lunch? Well he
is their middle son and just got back last Wednesday. So it was kinda
weird to see his family all excited and see him just getting back and
all. Ah! Family I miss you! But at the same time, I don't ever want to
leave. It's a hard mix of emotions, I hope you understand... I love
the Chile and being a missionary, and I can't imagine not doing this.
But when the time comes, I hope to accept it and be okay. Anyway, I've
still got time so I'm not gonna worry too much about that right now.
:)

So Chileans are funny and they are completely convinced that a
temperature change of hot to cold and vise versa makes you sick. Like
when it's hot out one day and the next cold, they always make comments
like they're sick because of that. Or if we're in a warm house and
then go out into the cold they always tell us to cover up our face and
neck so we don't get sick! Hahaha, it's so funny! They even cover
their faces with a scarf or shirt and like don't want to come out and
talk to us if it's cold and their house is warm because they think
they'll catch a cold. It's like, hellooooo hot and cold air doesn't
make you sick! Germs do! Soo funny. But yeah the weather has been a
bit bi-polar lately. But not me, I've been happy.  :)

Okay, coolest story of the week. There is this family in our ward, la
familia Rosales. They are great. Mom, Dad, there's a son Jorge who's
24 and he's maried to Maria Jose who's 20, but they don't live with
the family anymore. Then there's Carolina who's 19 and little Javiera
who's 6. Okay. So Hno. Rosales has been a member for a long time. But
he went inactive and married a non member. A few years ago, like 3 or
4, the missionaries went to visit him and met his wife and Carolina,
and the two of them got baptized and Hno Rosales came back to church,
and they got sealed in the temple and everything and they're super
happy. Cute, right? Well Jorge the son was already moved out of the
house when his mom and sister got baptized, so he didn't listen to the
missionaries and he still hasn't really made time to learn about the
church but he is super nice, and they have a little 2 year old Sofia
who is adorable. Well the family Rosales has wanted us to share with
their son and daughter in law for awhile now, but every time we go to
find them they're always working and it just hasn't worked out. Next
part of the story: Carolina just decided last weekend that she is
going to go on a mission!!!! She is super excited and she is going to
come out with us more to prepare and we are going to help her with her
mission papers. Yay! Well anyway so Sunday night we were walking to
our last appointment of the night, this less active lady who has been
coming back to church. And we wanted to set a time with Carolina to
come out with us. We were walking past her house and I asked my
companion if we should just go stop by to ask her so we don't waste
cell phone minutes calling her (yes Mom, I'm better about watching my
minutes now!). So we were deciding for a minute what we should do and
eventually we just decided that we would stop by to ask her. So we
knock and the mom is like super excited and she's like come in come
in!!! We were like okay we just had a quick question... Anyway, lots
of details sorry. So we sit down and talk for a minute, ask Carolina
when she can come out with us. AND Jorge and Maria Jose are there!!
They had just finished watching a movie as a family and weren't doing
anything. I was kinda dumb and after we had a time set with them I was
like getting ready to go and my wonderful companion was like ''Yeah we
want to set a time to go visit with you guys!''  (meaning Jorge and
Maria Jose). I was like oh yeah, obvio. Then Hna. Rosales was just
like, ''Can you share something now?? I mean we're all here together,
for a reason you were brought to our house!''  ....Okay DUH I am
retarded. Haha so we shared a scripture about teaching your children
the Gospel and how they will have peace. And they LOVED it. The Spirit
was so strong and Jorge said ''For the first time, something like this
really got to me.'' He completely felt it and even asked if we had
another scripture we could share!! Ahh Hermano and Hermana Rosales
were then bearing their testimonies of the Restored Gospel and about
eternal families, and it was so beautiful. We were completely led to
their house at exactly the right moment, and if I hadn't read that
scripture in personal study that day it maybe wouldn't have come to my
mind to share with them and probably wouldn't have been just what they
needed.  Anyway, we have an appointment with them tomorrow.  :)

There are no coincidences. I am 100% certain that Heavenly Father led
us there, to their house, at that time to share with them and help
them... There is nothing better than feeling like a complete
instrument in the hands of the Lord, to do what He would do, go where
He would go, and say what He would say. I love it!!!!

''I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I
do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath
commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an
instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and
this is my joy.''  -Alma 29:9

I LOVE THIS, and now I am out of time.  Have a wonderful week, everyone!!!

xoxoxo
Hermana Anderton  :)

Let us all press on,in the work of the Lord

Hola!!

Conference was so great!! It seriously went soooo fast here, I couldn't even believe it. You know what ELSE I can't believe?? That they changed the age for sister missionaries to 19!!!! Are you kidding me!!? I waited 3 years til I was 21 to leave, and now, they change it!? Ha, no fair. But no worries, I know I am supposed to be here now, not 2 years ago. I love my mission and I wouldn't change anything. :)  

SO, we have a baptism date!! For the first time in a lonng time! For October 20th. Yay! His name is Lionedes and he's the brother of a member in our ward. He is old... Well okay only 63, so not really that old, but he seems a lot older ha. He's come to church 2 weeks in a row now and wants to be baptized. Awesome. The only thing is we aren't sure how much he really understands, and he doesn't really live in our sector haha. So.. maybe he will be baptized in another sector. But his sister lives here and she is helping him. He's actually staying with her this month because he's sick. So we are teaching him for now.

Rocio and Amalia came to conference, too! Sunday morning. They loved it, but as far as we can tell it didn't change too much with them. We are going to go by their house later in the week to talk to them more about it. 

One thing that was really great is this member who has been inactive for 7 years, Elena, came to conference! It was so great. She was really active in the church for a long time, RS president, Primary president, went to the temple, everything. But then she started smoking again (she smoked before she was baptized) and then went inactive. We found her one day ''by accident,''  and have been visiting her along with other members in the ward. It was so great to see her at church, wanting to make things right and have all the blessings of the gospel in her life again. Yay!

The funniest thing happened the other day. We met this family and they were super nice and said we could come back to visit with them. So we were passing by to see if they were available, and this little girl opens a window on the ground floor. So here in Chile, like EVERYONE has gates around their houses. It's super annoying cause we can't just go and knock their door we usually have to yell (ALO!!) unless they have a doorbell. But anyway the little girl (she was like 4 or 5) opened the window and was talking to us. We wanted to invite their family to conference and we had an invitation printed out to give them. But her dad was in the bathroom (she told us) so we were like oh okay, can you come get this paper then? So she climbed out the window which was like 2 feet off the ground. Took the paper, and the tried to get back in the window but couldn't!!! So there was the huge locked gate, so we couldn't go help her back in, and her house door was locked. Her dad opened the window upstairs and told us he couldn't come right now, he didn't have a shirt on we could see his bare shoulders, so we were like okkay awkward he's in the shower. We were telling the girl, ''You can do it! Get back in your house!'' and laughing soo hard. Her brother who's like 7 was just sitting on the bed inside and didn't do anything! Which made us laugh even more. We finally were like yelling to him to go open the front door for his sister haha. Eventually, he ended up just pulling her in through the window by her arms. Haha. Too funny.

In conference they talked a lot about service! Let us all develop more love for our family and friends, and show that love by serving! Even if we don't feel like it, serve anyway. That is how we develop the desire to do it. At least that's my experience. Sometimes, with companions, I would have a thought like, ''Oh I could do this for them.'' And sometimes I was lazy or just didn't know if I wanted to do it. But every time I had a thought like that I just started doing it, and it made me happy! With time, I started liking doing it and even searching for opportunities to help out. I remember a quote by I think it was Sister Beckstead, that said, ''Never suppress a charitable thought.''  We should all be more like that, love one another as Jesus loves you.  :)

Well friends, that's all the time I've got for now. I will send pictures next week, I promise!

I know that God lives and that He loves us. Be happy, life is great! When you feel sad, just count your blessings and that will cheer you right up.  :)

Lots of love,

Hermana Danielle Anderton

General Conference

Helloooo, everybody!

WATCH GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!!!! Saturday and Sunday at 10am and.. 2pm I
think. You can watch it in any church building, or on lds.org.
Parents, you too. I would love for you each to watch at least one
session. I promise you will love it! I am sooo excited!!! This past
Saturday night was the Relief Society conference. It was really good
AND one of our investigators, Leila, came to it!!! We found her in the
beginning of our first cambio here. She is really receptive but takes
our lessons more in like an academic way than a spiritual way. It's
interesting. She believes in God but isn't super spiritual and so
sometimes it's hard for her to see the importance of all this. She
just likes to learn so she keeps meeting with us. She teaches high
school art classes, which is cool. But anyway, we always invite her to
church but she's never had a huge desire to go. But Friday we had a
good lesson with her and invited her to the conference Sat. And she
was like, Yeah! Haha and she came. It was awesome! She completely
CRIED even! I think that was the first time she's ever felt the spirit
like that. It was way cool. :)  But she left super fast after cause it
was late and her 6 year old son was with her. So, hopefully she will
start to progress more now.  :)

Sadly, Amalia decided to tell us she is not going to commit to going
to church more. She says she just doesn't have the desires to go to
church right now, the Church of Jesus Christ or any church, really. It
was super sad. Then she went on to bear her testimony of Joseph Smith
and the Book of Mormon. She said that she knows he was truly a prophet
of God, and that the Book of Mormon isn't a lie but true and holy
scripture. She knows that Joseph Smith was God's prophet and restored
Christ's church again on the earth. BUT... She doesn't  want to keep
going. Ahhhh. Some people, I will never understand. She's just scared.
Scared to leave behind her Evangelical church, because it's what she
grew up with. Scared to change. And so now, Rocio isn't progressing
any more either because well she's gonna follow what her mom does. But
Rocio knew way before Amalia that all this is true. It's so sad. But
what can we do? We aren't here to force anyone. We will continue to
stop by every now and then to see how they are doing and try to
motivate them to keep going. But that's about it.  :(

People in general just confuse me so much... When we say to them, Look
I know this is true, I know it because God has answered my prayers.
Listen to what we have to say but don't trust in what we say, ASK GOD
and He will tell you it is true.  Whhyyyyy don't more people want to
know???!!! How do they not understand? Ahh. It's hard. Because this
has brought me SO much joy, and is pretty much necessary for our
happiness in this live and our eternal salvation. Agh, I want everyone
to have this.

We have not seen very many fruits here so far, but we are still
working really hard. We are trying to keep positive and keep going,
knowing that we are doing the best we can and Heavenly Father will
help us to see the blessings/miracles later on.

I just wanted to close with the words to a Primary song, one of my
very favorites. It goes like this:

I'm trying to be like Jesus, I'm following in His way. I'm trying to
live as He did, in all that I do and say. At times I am tempted to
make a wrong choice, but I try to listen as the still small voice
whispers:  Love one another as Jesus loves you, try to show kindness
in all that you do. Be gentle and loving  in deed and in thought-  For
these are the things Jesus taught.

I love it.  :)  I know that Christ lives, and that He is the Savior of
the world. He loves us, so much, and so does Heavenly Father. Their
goal is our happiness and success. As we follow them, and strive to
become more like them, we will be happier. I am so imperfect, and have
so many areas where I can improve. Sometimes I feel insufficient for
my calling as a missionary. But I am doing what I can, and trusting
that the Lord will do for me that which I cannot do for myself. I love
this Gospel. I know it is true, and I will share it till I die.  :)

Watch General Conference. And watch it with a question, I know it will
be answered and that God wants to give us inspiration in our personal
lives.

Love you all.  :)

Hermana Danielle Anderton

You got a Friend in Me

Youuu've got a frieeend in me!... Hermana Shelton sings that to me all the time. She really is a great friend, and boy am I glad. If we weren't such good friends, this would be suuuper hard! We haven't been able to see a whole lot of fruits of our work here just yet... We're not having a bad time, just kind of slow. Sometimes we worry that somehow we aren't being the missionaries we are supposed to be. We wonder if the reason we aren't seeing the miracles is  because we're doing something wrong, or if we just need to learn patience. But the email I just got from President Martinez and the Priesthood blessing I got from my district leader, Elder Beatty this week, help me to feel more sure that we are being good missionaries, we just need to keep working and be patient! Sooo, sadly, not too much to report this week as far as progressing investigators goes. This week was kind of hard, because of the 18 and no one wanted to talk to us basically. Haha. I am glad this week is back to normal for the people here.

Saturday was a great day though! We were busy all day!! Going from one appointment to the next, for like the last 5 hours of the day. It was soo nice! We haven't had a ton of appointments in a day our whole time here. I LOVE feeling like I did on Saturday, where there is always something to do, and we're actually HELPING people instead of just walking around trying to do good things. I haven't had a day like Saturday since probably JUNE, because the whole month of July Hermana Haycock and I were in the house, and then like I said here in Villa Obispo we haven't really had days like that. But anyway, those kinds of days are the best. :)  

We taught Alejandra and Ernesto again.. Don't know if I mentioned them before. They are married and super cute. Have a couple kids that are older and they just adopted a baby girl. They are kind of rich and super nice. Alejandra lets us in her house no matter what she is doing, she is soo sweet. But we had a great lesson with them about the Restoration on Saturday. They are so prepared to hear the Gospel!! We are praying that we can continue to find them and have great lessons with them. :)  We haven't been able to teach Andrea or her family this week. Everything was crazy with the 18. But, we are gonna keep trying to find her!

So it has been really warm lately! Yay! Well actually, spring is super unpredictable, so some days it's warm and pretty and other days it rains randomly. But I am super happy that the sun is back! I know in summer time i will be dying of heat and wishing it wasn't so hot. But I think I will appreciate the heat more, and just be grateful it's not raining! Rain is the absolute worsttt on the mission. Yeah, I know I've probably said that before. But in any case, it's been nice out and it makes me happy. :)  Also the Chileans are happier, and they can't use the excuse that it's raining so they couldn't go to church. They'll just find other excuses, but oh well. I know that ''el que quiere, puede.'' Or, in English, ''He that wants to, can.'' So those who are truly faithful or truly want to know if this is true and who want to follow God will do it, no matter what the circumstance.

Annnyyway. Last story: a guy stopped us the other day while we were contacting and he was Evangelical... He was talking about how women shouldn't wear mens clothes and shouldn't have short hair like men. He said that he told a woman with short hair that if Christ came and appeared next to her and she cried over his feet, what would she wipe her tears with?  (Like how Mary Magdalene bathed His feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair..) Anyway, I just told him that I know that the most important thing is not what we look like, but who we are inside. I thought of a scripture from the Old Testament that I really love, it says,  

''The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.''  -1 Samuel 16:7. Of course we need to take care of our bodies, because they are gifts from God. But we don't need worry SO much about what we look like. True beauty comes from within, and it comes from having the Spirit.   :)  As we become better people, we will naturally become more  beautiful.

Well, I love you all. Hope you all have a fantastic week, we're going to! I hope to have more exciting news for y'all next time!

Amor y abrazos,

Hna. Danielle Anderton

Bad Planning

So...Whoever decided to have my birthday and 18 de septiembre the same week made a big mistake. We are dying here. SOOO much food! Ahhh!!! The Chileans show their love by food, which is nice sometimes, but also not so great when they get offended if you don't want it! For my birthday, a total of SEVEN cakes/pies were made or bought in my behalf. Woow. We thought we were gonna die. But don't worry, we only had a piece of 4 of them on my actual birthay (still way too much) haha. They are way sweet here. I am really grateful I was able to be here in this sector for my birthday!  I got a few phone calls from some of my missionary friends, and at the end of the day Hermana and Presidente Martinez even called and sang to me! That was really special, because I know they don't do that for everyone. :)  I love them so much. 

So this holiday is definitely HUGE here.... They get 5 days off and have been crazy since last Thursday preparing for it. Which is fun for them, but not so much for us. We haven't had the best time this week finding people in their houses or getting let into houses for the first time. Even contacting people in the streets is hard because everyoneee has something they need to be doing for this day. I think it's even bigger than Christmas here, in all seriousness. Haha. So, that's been a bit of a bummer not being able to find and teach a lot of people. We are going to enjoy more empanadas today, but are excited for tomorrow when we can stop eating altogether (we're considering doing a 40 day and 40 night fast, you know, like Jesus did?), and have people give us the time of day again.  :)

We did teach Rocio and Amalia on Saturday. Sadly, they aren't progressing as much anymore... Well they're still reading and praying but they are not putting God first. They went out of town Sunday morning and said they ''couldn't'' go after church. So lame. It's hard cause they were basically our only progressing investigators. But we're not going to give up on them completely. We do know that we need to find more investigators and not focus everything on just them. We are really excited to find more great people and be better misionaries and really help make a difference here. It's hard not to feel lame when we don't see the fruits of our labor. But we are learning a lot about diligence and being patient, waiting for the Lord's blessings. 

Parents, I seriously love you SO much. I LOVED your package, the videos, especially the long, beautiful video you  made me for my birthday, during which I cried basically non-stop. I love you both so much, and am so grateful for ALL you have done and continue to do for me. I will be home in not too long, hang in there. 

Well, that's all the time I have for today, sorry it's a shorter one this week. Love you all so much. Take care, be good, remember You are a child of God! And you can do GREAT things with your life. A quote that I wrote on a piece of paper and put on our wall in our room, that I heard from good ol' Brother Greiner, goes like this:

You are a child of God. If you remember that, you will stand taller, reach higher, and never be the same again.

I know that is true, and that we have divine potential. We can do anything, let's do it.  :)

Lots of love,

Hermana Anderton

 We are stayingggg!                                             Yup, cambio calls made us happy, we are not going anywhere! Yay! We were not ready to leave just yet. We have lots of miracles that are just waiting to happen with the work we've done laying the foundation this past cambio.

AMALIA CAME TO CHURCH!!!! Ohhh yes. It was awesome!! Rocio totally wanted to, but the younger daughter Antonella has a cold and Amalia didn't want to take her out of the house. The Chileans are kind of really paranoid about cold air, like it's gonna make you sick if you leave a house that's warm and go out into the cold haha. They are funny. She's not even THAT sick but she didn't want to take any chances... whatever. Anyway, so Rocio stayed home with her sister because the dad, Ariel, was still out of town. He ended up coming home at noon yesterday. BUT. Amalia came to church! She has come so far, really. In the beginning, she would always say stuff about ''In my church...'' or, ''I don't want you to feel bad if I don't get baptized...'' stuff like that. But now she is progressing so much, maybe even more than Rocio. They read the Book of Mormon all the time and they love it and know it is true. Amalia really liked church! And just like you would mom, she got there 30 minutes early haha! She called us and we were still in the house and she was like ''I'm out front!'' haha so we ran over there. But it was great. We had lunch with them yesterday, and she made cannelonis. Wow, talk about being just like my mom will you? She is from Argentina, and I guess there they eat a lot of pastas and Italian-like food. It was yummy! Different than mom's, but still good. Anyway after lunch we had this AMAZING spiritual lesson with the whole family, we taught about the Plan of Salvation. It was intense, the Spirit was so strong I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. Everyone felt the Spirit, and we all had tears in our eyes. Even Ariel, who is more quiet and not AS interested as his daughter and wife, could feel it and it was just amazing. We testified of the Gospel and how it was the only way to have an eternal family, through the Priesthood power of God. It was amazing. We talked about baptism and they said they would like to PREPARE for a baptism!!! But like, in the future. Well Ariel didn't say anything when we talked about baptism. But he didn't say no either. But the fact that Amalia said she would want to prepare for that in the future is amazing. Rocio wants to also. But since her mom is always like ''I want to be very very super sure before I make that commitment'' she is as well. Obviously, we want them to be sure of their decision and really want to do it. We definitely don't want them to get baptized for us or for anybody else. But with how much they have learned and especially the Spirit they have FELT, they have to know that it is true. We can't know everything about the Gospel before we get baptized. I definitely didn't, and I STILL don't. But I knew it was true, and that was enough for me to follow the Spirit and be baptized. We want to help them realize that too. That they don't know everything, but they know enough and that baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost is how they will continue progressing.

We found this GREAT new investigator, named Andrea on Saturday. We were knocking doors and Hna. Shelton really wanted to knock this one street. So we went and found this lady. She opened the door and let us in right when we got there. She has 3 kids but looks really young, she's probably in her thirties. She is married and her husband is great too, we haven't met him but he seems like he's great haha but he works a lot. She told us she has lots of desires to learn and grow and become a better person. That she has been reading the Bible lately and is really excited about it, and wants to know what Heavenly Father wants for her and for her life. Umm, hello you have found it my friend! So we are excited to teach her more.

Well, sad news, Hermana Haycock is going home. They still don't know what is wrong with her, but she is NOT getting any better and her health is seriously at risk. She prayed about it and feels like the best thing to do at this point is to go home and figure out what is wrong with her. She is sad, but knows it is right. She will be leaving this week. :( I will miss her! She is great. She told me the other day that Lorena and Alejandro are doing great. Lorena has a calling in Young Women's in the branch in Los Alamos. :) AND that now their younger brother is showing interest in the Gospel, and he can feel ''something special,'' aka the Spirit when they teach and when he prays and reads the Book of Mormon. Yeah!!!

So, this cambio is going to be awesome. My birthdayyyyy on Saturday! We will be having lunch with one of my favorite familes, la Familia Salamanca. They are so fun and funny and they are excited that I wanted to have lunch with them for my bday. It will be fun. :) Saturday morning we are going to do service at a member's house to help them out, work in the afternoon and at night there is a ward activity.

My zone leader, Elder Arjona, has finished his mission! How sad, but also exciting, for him. He is a great missionary and friend. He was my zone leader in Lebu when I was in Los Alamos. He is from Spain so will be going back soon! Our other zone leader, Elder Tavernier, is from California too, and he is ALSO leaving this cambio... But not to California (we actually go home at the same time in May), but to the mission office because he just got called to be AP. Assistant to President Martinez. He is kind of freaking out because that is kinda a big deal, haha but he is great he will do fine. So, that means that both of our Zone leaders are gone, and we will be getting two new ones. So they are opening the sector just like we did last transfer. Haha, kinda crazy, but we will help show them around.

18 de Septiembre is going to be super fun. Can't wait. ALSOOOOO GENERAL CONFERENCE IS COMING UP!!!!! So. Excited. AHHHHH I love it. I will get to be here for GC which means we will get to watch it in English! Because our chapel here is the Stake Center, so they will have a ''gringo room'' where the missionaries who want to watch it in English can. :) Yay. I mean, I can understand all of it in Spanish and when I watched it in April in Los Alamos in Spanish it was fine. But it's just not quite the same.

Anyway, life is good. We are happy, and working hard and having fun! Couldn't ask for anything more.

I love you, family, friends, and others who read my blog! :) Have a fabulous week, and remember, God knows you and loves you. Just as you would want the best for your children, he also wants the very best for us. Live the Gospel. That is how we will be truly happy.

¡Nos vemos!
Hermana Danielle Anderton

Maquinas trabajando means machines working  :)  Like we are machines. It's funny in spanish, not sure about english.

Amalia, Ariel (dad), Antonella (4) and Rocio (15). Yesterday at lunch! They are so sweet and are going to get baptized. Hopefuly sooner rather than later :)  

Sunday. Elder Arjona on the left, Elder Tavernier on my right. THey were our zone leaders and we shared the sector with them. They are both leaving!! Elder Arjona from Spain finished his mission, and Elder Tavernier got called to be the Asistant to President Martinez! 



  Lovely sunset