I love this.

Hellooo todos!

Well, this semana was an interesting one... For one, I was sick :(
Not so fun. Thursday at 3am I woke up with a really bad stomach ache
and was up the rest of the night in the bathroom.. Bleh. We woke up at
7 like normal but I could hardly stand up and I was dizzy and it was
just bad. We called Hermana Martinez and she told us we needed to stay
home. And I cried. I was seriously so sad that we couldn't go out and
work. There were people who needed us, and we were in the house!! It
was awful. We couldn't leave to go buy anything, so our amazing zone
leaders helped us out. They dropped everything they were doing, all
their plans for the day in their sector, and came out to Los Alamos
after stopping at a pharmacy to pick me up meds and gatorade. They
brought them to our house and gave me a Priesthood blessing. They are
so great! Elder Arjona from Spain and Elder Morales from Honduras.
Love them. I was so grateful for their help. My companion was an angel
also. She cooked apples for me and made sure I took my medications at
all the right times. She cleaned up the house and made sure I was warm
and comfortable. She was wonderful. Friday we went out to work but
half day, we left at 3. I felt tired and kind of empty in my stomach
ha but we had a good day. Then Hermana Gomez started to feel sick
Friday night. Anyway, we've been working and feeling better. I still
don't really want to eat but feel much better. When I was laying in my
bed and couldn't leave to work I was realizing just how much I love
this. I LOVE being a missionary. LOVE IT. To every day have the
opportunity to represent Jesus Christ and His Church, and to invite
others to come unto Him is the greatest thing ever. I love this I love
this! This week I will complete 6 months in the mission. Which  makes
me kind of sad because I only have a year left! Family, I know that
seems like a long time. But for me it goes SO fast and this experience
is so so special.

I've always had a problem with being so excited for the future that I
don't enjoy every minute. Unfortunately sometimes I still have that
problem here in the mission, even though THIS is what I was looking
forward to for the past 3 years. So I am realizing now that the
mission is short. Life is short. We need to enjoy life TODAY. We need
to be the person we want to become TODAY, NOW. We can't say we'll
become that person in a few months, or once this or that happens.
Because tomorrow never comes. Now is the time. Enjoy life, wherever
you're at. I am.  :)

Besides my 6 month mark in the mission, something else exciting
happens this week- My mom's birthday!! Happy birthday mommy, I love
you soooo much you are my best friend and the best mommy ever! Dad, do
something nice for Mom okay? Go have fun you two. And we will skype
the following weekend!!!!! So excited for that.

We are teaching some great people right now, and feel really confident
that they will be baptized in the month of May. Jenniffer, Luisa,
Lydia, and Veronica. Evelyn is still great and loves it, but we're
still waiting on Reinoldo. It's a pain, and I'm nervous because I
don't want her excitement to die before she gets baptized. But we have
had some really beautiful experiences and we are doing everything we
can to help them progress and receive answers to their prayers that
this is true. We love them so much and are praying for them. I will
keep you all updated!

Okay so now it's time for some funny stories.

1. Matias. He's almost 3 years old and the nephew of a couple we've
been teaching. Whenever we come over and sit down on their couch, he
pulls out el Libro de Mormon from under the coffee table. He knows
that when the missionaries are here, it's time for the Book of Mormon!
Haha he's soo cute! And smart. The other day was the best, he had his
Pinnochio book in his hand and I was asking him if I could see it. But
he threw it on the ground and picked up the BoM. Haha. Love it.

2. When I was sick Hermana Gomez's first thought was to make me a home
remedy something (she doesn't like pills). She called Elder Morales
and was like ''My companion's sick, what do I do?'' Elder Morales was
like ''Well I have a home remedy that you could make her but... No we
can't.'' Hermana Gomez was like ''Yeah we can't, she's a Princess.''
Okay it was so funny. They decided because I'm a gringa they didn't
know if they should give me their home remedies. Hahaha. It was so
funny. I was like what, why? Hna. Gomez calls us princesses and I was
like, you're a princess too! And she said (in English) ''I'm a warrior
princess. You're a princess princess.'' Hahaha. Too funny. Love them.

But okay, don't worry about me, I feel much better now and we're doing
great. Cambios are in one week!  We will see what happens. I love you
all so much! Remember to be happy, today! The Church is true.  :)

Amor y abrazos,
Hermana Danielle Anderton

Concepcion

Hello hello!

Today I am emailing from Concepcion, we had to travel up here because Hna. Gomez needed to go to the doctor. But don't worry she's fine. We came up with our Zone leaders because Elder Morales (de Honduras) had to renew his visa. So it's been a fun day! We went to the mission office and saw a bunch of other missionaries, and we ate lunch at Dominos! Mmmm pizza. It's been so long. And after we went to Lider, which is almost exactly like Wal-mart. It's been a good day. :)

I wanted to thank everyone who sends me letters! I seriously get so many, and I feel so loved. Sometimes overwhelmed too, because I feel like I need to respond to all of them, and there's not much time to do that! So I am sorry if it takes me awhile to get back. But know that I really appreciate your letters.  :) 

So yesterday church was awesome!!! We had 48 people in church, TWICE as much as last week! YES! And we had 4 investigators in church. It was great! We're kind of in charge of primary now... that's going to be interesting. The kids are kind of crazy, but it will be fun. And another opportunity to develop more patience. Ha. 

So the other day we were getting on a bus and this man shook my hand when I got on and asked if I was from the US. I said yes, hello.. and took my seat. After a couple minutes of travel he came back to where we were sitting and pulled out his license and told us to write down his address and name we were like ummm for what? He said he wanted a libro, any book from the US. Hahah umm okay... So I gave him a pamphlet on the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hey, who knows, they could have printed that in the US. But he told me welcome to Chile and to say hello to my family in the United States. Haha super funny.

Reinoldo might be getting new work, which would allow him to go to church on sundays and then Evelyn and him can get married and she can be baptized. So we're praying for that!  We're teaching lots of great people, I wish I could write about all of them but I really just don't have time. Sad but trust me we have great experiences and are helping people slowly but surely come unto Christ. It's great. 

Things are going well. Hermana Gomez and I asked for another transfer together, and today President said that we're going to be together for a little bit longer! Yay! We're super excited. But with cambios, you never know. Last time he told me on Monday I was going to be in a trio, and when we got the cambio calls Saturday that wasn't the case. So, you never know. But we hope we can be together to see the baptisms and fruits of all our hard work this cambio. Well, sorry this email is shorter this week. But I am doing great, working hard, enjoying every bit of this amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience. I love this. :)

Love you all tons. Thank you for all of your support and prayers. Remember to keep trying, keep persevering every day. And remember that Heavenly Father loves you and wants the best for you. Until next week.

Your favorite Hermana in Chile  :)

Danielle and her Companion!

Pulgas love Gringas- April 17th

Hey everyone,

So my email is late this week because yesterday all of Los Alamos lost
internet service like right before I was going to write it. Ha. So
anyway, happy tuesday!

Okay so Evelyn! We went during the day last week and found Reinoldo!
He was home for his lunch break and we got to teach a lesson to them
both together and talk to them both about their wedding/Reinoldo
coming back to church/Evelyn's baptism. Reinoldo wants to come back to
church, and said okay to the civil wedding now. And he's all excited
that Evelyn is learning about the Church and wants to be baptized, he
said now they ''speak the same language.'' Aw so cute. BUT the only
problem, which is a big problem, is his work. Seeing as he works 10-10
every day, he can't go to church, and when are they going to get
married? It stinks. So that's the only obstacle and right now we're
working on helping him find other work so they can move forward with
their happy family plans. Oh yeah, and Evelyn came to church on Sunday
:) Yay she is just so great.

Side note, I miss running. Hermana Gomez doesn't like to run, but even
if she did she couldn't right now because she sprained her ankle
really bad a couple months ago, and still wears a brace so yeah. Sad.
It's freeeezing in the mornings anyway, so it would not be super fun
to run. But I still miss it.

So my subject. I shall explain. Pulgas are also known as fleas. And
they are everywhere in Chile. Gross, I know. There are tons of stray
dogs in the streets and those pulgas know how to jump. They somehow
get into our houses, even though we don't have pets. And they love me.
Sooo that's been super fun. Haha random note, yeah I know. But pulgas
are just a part of my life now. Ha.

Mom!!! Got her job, so happy! I've been praying every day for 4 months
that she would find it and finally it happened. I feel so happy and
relieved, congrats again mommy :)

So the other day we were teaching this lady Anita. She goes to an
evangelical church, which are quite literally on every corner here in
Los Alamos. We taught her about the Restoration and asked her what she
thought about our message. She said, ''Yeah they teach me in my church
that Mormons worship a different God, and to close your doors if they
come to talk to you.'' Oh my gosh. I was so upset I almost started to
cry right there in the lesson. Ugh!!! I don't know why I'm so
surprised, there are plenty of Christian churches in the US that
preach false doctrine to their congregations saying the same stupid
stuff about us. But it's just awful. They are preaching against the
Church of Jesus Christ!! And trying to stop children of God from
hearing the truth. It's really sad. :( It's frustrating when we see
these Evangelical churches filled every night (loud music, yelling,
craziness) and Sunday in the Church of Jesus Christ we had 24 people
show up. It's discouraging. Ugh. But, I know I just need to work that
much harder. To share with people the AMAZING message of the restored
gospel of Jesus Christ. I KNOW it is true. I know it with my whole
heart, and nothing could ever take that away from me. I will work
every day of my life to build up the kingdom of God, and help others
come unto Him.

Missions are hard. That's for sure. But I love it. Anyway, love you
all, thanks for everything. Almost going to have 6 months in the
mission! How crazy. I am learning every day to forget myself and go to
work. Which I love.

Until next week. Be good. Be happy. The Church is true, and I know God
lives and loves each one of us. How great is that. :)

Love love love,
Hermana Anderton

Semana Santa- April 9th

Hello everyone,

Update from Los Alamos... This week was what they call ''Semana Santo'' and for some reason it was a lot harder to find people! Friday and Saturday NO ONE was in the streets OR in their houses. We don't know where in the world they were, but those days sure were difficult. Especially Friday. We were so tired and it was a super long day. Whatever, those days happen sometimes. At the end of this rough day, we had such a miracle. We had a cita with one of our investigators, Evelyn. She's 20 and lives with another 20 year old, Reinoldo, who's a member but not active. They have a baby who's less than a year old. They are soooo so cute we love them. Well we've been teaching them the past couple weeks and Evelyn is progressing really well. She always reads when we leave her homework in the Book of Mormon, and she's always excited to learn more when we come. She can recognize the Spirit when we're there and points it out. She says she can feel a tranquility in the air. It's great. So anyway we went Friday and were talking about if she was reading and praying to get her answer about the Church. She said she read a couple times (ha! NO ONE does that) to make sure she understood and remembered, but that she hadn't made the effort to sincerely pray about it. She told us she was watching the clock wishing it would be 7 o'clock so we would get there, it was awesome. You'd think, with the message we have, that everyone would be like that. But really they're not. Ha. Oh well. Anyway, we taught her about the Word of Wisdom and she said that wasn't a problem for her. Yay. Then we taught about the Law of Chastity because she's living with someone but they're not married. She said she knows they should get married, and she knows she would feel a lot better if they did. But the problem is they're saving money to have the wedding and a big celebration in November. So, we talked to her about getting married civilly in the chapel like, this month (she has a baptism date for the 28th) before her baptism, just doing something small, and then in a year from now they can get sealed in the Temple for time and all eternity and have their huge party then. She wasn't opposed to the idea, but she needs to talk to Reinoldo obviously. But it was so great. The idea is for Reinoldo to receive the Priesthood so he can be the one to baptize her. It will be so beautiful. But the problem now is that he just got a job and he's working every day to provide for his family, so he can't go to church. And he needs to come back to church to get the Priesthood... So this might be an obstacle. :( They are just so great and we want her so bad to be able to be baptized on the 28th. But we'll see.. Okay so after the lesson, I invited her to say the closing prayer and in it to ask Heavenly Father right then about the Book of Mormon and about the Church, if it was all true. We kneeled and she offered such a beautiful prayer. She apologized for the times when she has turned her back on the Lord, and she said she never wants to do it again. She thanked God for us, and for all the things she's been learning. She was crying at this point and her prayer was so sincere. She then said, ''I feel it right now, in this moment I feel it in my heart and I know it is true.'' She was like sobbing and I was too and the Spirit was so strong. It was amazing. It was SUCH a blessing to be able to be there in the moment she received her answer. Wow. It was amazing! She is such a doll and we're teaching her again tonight. This day was just a complete testimony to me of the scripture Ether 12:6. It says: ''Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.'' We didn't get the miracle until after a long, hard day that tried our patience and our faith. But we DID receive the miracle. It was so beautiful.

Easter Sunday was great. We had 32 people in church, yeah the branch is super small. But it was so good. We have some really strong members. We just need to help a lot more of them become active again. And obviously we want to baptize more. But the talks and lessons were great, I loved it. No one in the branch plays piano, which is sad. In my old ward of Caupolican, we had a ward with 60-70 attending every week and no one played piano except Hermana Hamblin. I had this feeling that I should practice more... And when I did, I was a lot better than I had been. I was definitely getting some help from on High there and shamefully enough I didn't practice as much as I should have. But I want to try to find time to practice here so I can play for our meetings on Sunday. It would help a lot.

Well, that's it for today. Hermana Gomez are doing great. I want to share my testimony that I KNOW that Jesus Christ lives. I know He is the Savior of the world, and the Savior of our souls individually. He loves us. This I know, for I feel it deep in my heart. I love being a missionary and having the tremendous opportunity to wear His name and represent Him and His church.

Love you all. Be good. :)

Hermana Anderton

Los Alamos!

Hello everyone! Wow, feels like a long time since I last wrote. So much has happened and changed haha!

First of all, I need to correct a mistake. The house in Caupolican is actually 23x9 not 14x9. We re-measured it cause we were like wait that can't be right. Haha. But still. Super small. Buutttt.. my house in Los Alamos is huge!! Oh my gosh I'm in heaven. It's so nice! It actually has more than one room! We have a front room where we do our morning study, then another room where we have the kitchen, then we have our bathroom and a bedroom with plenty of space. It's insane. I feel spoiled now hehe. So like I said, I'm in a little town. I love it!! Our area actually covers 15 pueblitos (small towns). 15!! Haha yeah, it's loco. So far we've only been to one other town, but this week we have plans to venture out and get to know two more. Hermana Gomez said about our sector, ''It's like Lion King, everything the sun touches is ours.'' Haha. So funny. But yeah it's beautiful here, there are forests at the edges of the little towns, beautiful beautiful pine tree forests. I love it! Reminds me of my favorite place, Yosemite. :) Hermana Gomez is so so great I LOVE her!! She is 26 and from Bògota, Colombia. She has 4 siblings and her mommy. They all joined the church with she was 11. One of the first things she asked me when she picked me up at the bus terminal was if I liked peanut butter. I knew at that moment that we would be friends. Haha. :) She is a super great missionary. We work hard together and see miracles. We have tons of fun together too. She makes me breakfast and just likes to serve me. It's so nice. She does speak a little English, and she wants to learn more so I am helping her. We are having tons of fun together laughing and doing well. We are teaching LOTS of great people!! Lots of families and I love it. Things are just great here!! :) General Conference was great. Usually, all the missionaries go to the stake center in their zone and watch it all together. There is a room for the gringos so they can watch it in English. But, our Branch President got a projector thing all set up so we could watch it in our chapel here in Los Alamos. We felt that it was better that we stayed here to support him and the branch. So that was a little bit of a bummer, I was so excited to see Conference in English. But, I understood most of it and it really wasn't that bad. I am learning more and more that it's not about me right now, and I am learning to be okay with that.

So other than that, umm it's freezing right now. In the mornings especially, the other morning I could see my breath INSIDE the house. Yeah, that's never happened to me before. Hahah. Brrrrr. But during the day it's still pretty warm. At nights it's cold too. Winters are rough here I've heard. And it's only fall now. Haha. I am learning to be tough. :)

Well, time to go. I looove love love being here, and being a missionary. The gospel is true and it blesses the lives of everyone who lets it. :) Be safe, be good, have a great week. Love you all tons.

Hermana Anderton