Physically and mentally tired . . .

Ta-se Bem Familha!

So so good to hear from you once again! You are right about me being physically and mentally tired all the time. Last night, for example, I memorized around 150 nouns like eating stuff, clothes stuff, colors, places, just tons of stuff. Don't ask me how I did it because I'll tell you that I didn't do it. The Lord did pretty much all of it. It's not fair. Every time I try and do my part, he just continues to bless me!


Let me just tell you that I think your family night idea was super amazing with ya'll doing different clip art things about the gospel.

Tara - Yours was awesome and a lot more true than you know. It's all about "planting the seed". When it is planted and you continue to "water" it or "read scriptures, pray and stuff" then the seed will grow. Another analogy as a missionary I like to think of is this. When I'm out teaching people, I'm kinda like a water well. When I read scriptures, bear my testimony, pray, and things like that, I add water to the well. The Lord is the bucket. When I don't know what to say to someone, that's when the Spirit comes in and pulls water out with the bucket. If I didn't have any "water" the Lord wouldn't be able to help me.

Mom - Yours is perfect, too! It's not only the Book of Mormon that will help us. It's when we have desire and diligence. That's when the Lord says, "OK. Look. Here's a person who is trying and actually wants to know the truth. Let me help you." Perfect!

Heath - I like yours, too. There are definitely things in this life that could bring us "instant" happiness, but that happiness doesn't last. The way we can be truly happy is by doing stuff we're supposed to and then get this . . . we're promised to be in an Eternal state of REST and happiness. Sounds good to me! I'd give anything to rest for five minutes let alone Eternity!




Kyle - You chose my favorite scripture. It keeps me going and helps me almost every day. I didn't know it was the theme this year [for YM and YW] but that's awesome. We need to always have courage. I mean, look at Moroni, for example. He was the leader of an Army when he was 16! And basically every character in the Book of Mormon is way buff and juiced so they probably got that way from having courage, strength, and knowing they are NEVER alone.

Dad - Yours made me laugh. Way cool picture and way appropriate. I've learned here that personal revelation is super important and the biggest boost spiritually ever. When you can learn to listen to the Lord, wow. Can you say blessings/miracles?

We don't have a family night here, we just do class every day/night. On Sundays and Tuesdays we have huge firesides though. They're my favorite. I'm gonna miss those, too when I leave. Speaking of leaving, they say I should get my travel plans around the 12th or 13th so I'll be sure to let you know all about that.

And I definitely think that it's time for another package. What a silly question, Mods. It's always time for another package.

I'll be sure to take a picture of the verb card or maybe even send you one. You'll be surprised.

Sounds like what you did with my countdown chart is pretty legit. Don't forget to put stickers on every day!

Sorry to say, but now we don't call Kim any more. She wouldn't answer her phone, but at least we taught her a few lessons and "planted the seed". It was in English.

That poem you sent was awesome. Portrayed a lot of the feelings I've had already. I can't wait til I get to say for myself the last two paragraphs. But then I gotta start worrying about marriage. Instead of being here with a dude non-stop, I'll be with a girl. Good to think about. :)

Things are fun here still. Portuguese is still Portuguese. Hard some days, easy others, but always awesome. Just wait til you hear my sweet accent! :) I love you all and can't thank you enough for the prayers. Best family ever! I miss ya'll!

Love,

Elder Anderson

What the heck? Anesthesia? (e-mail)

Hey Mom, your probably sleeping by now, but what the heck? Anesthesia? You better be ok. But, ya I just like e-mails and letters so both would be preferred. So glad to hear about more dear elders too :) Elder Fairbanks was just playing basketball and tweaked it i guess [his back]. I told him hi and ya Elder Stewart is his comp. I hope that Madeira is my 1st area that would be so tight. I can't wait to go wherever though. I'll pray for Sharlee Neubert. That's really too bad but cool she's still serving. There are tons of crazy earthquakes going on and a bunch of people had to get re-assigned its crazy. But everything is for a reason, right? Love ya Mom and hope that whatever you have going on gets better. I'm prayin for you. Love ya much. Tell the kids hey :) and tell Dad he's awesome.

New e-mail address (e-mail)

Hey Mods, I had to get a new email address here, so tell everyone to start sending stuff to this one. So how are ya? I just wrote a really long letter so this e-mail might not be so long. You'll get lots of my words in the letter. The family night thing you guys did is a really good idea. I put my input in so it'll be good. I'm not really sure why you all of a sudden decided not to e-mail me anymore, but i guess you're probably real busy with work and what not. Tell the kids to keep sending their letters cuz I love them. Can you believe how fast that the time is flying by? I've almost been here 2 months. The days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. I'll remember that forever. There's a lot of cool things going on and stuff. I don't remember if I told you that I got to be a host missionary last week. That means that I got to be the missionary to bring in all the new missionaries when their parents dropped them off on Wednesday. It was a crazy experience and really sad too. All the Elders families were bawling and Dads saying their last "I'm proud of you's" and it was all just sad. But also fun to be the one showing them around and stuff. Can you believe the snow? I think that I need to get out of here because all of this snow is making me crave snowboarding so bad. Especially when the teachers here rub it in my face that they are going as soon as they get off work. Ha, jerks. But check this out. Elder Fairbanks pulled a muscle in his back about a week ago so he has to go to physical therapy for it. Nothing serious. But his comp doesn't want to leave cuz he likes studying more, so I go with him. We get to leave the MTC like every other day. ha! Its so amazing! They drive us in a little van to the place and then we walk about a block to get to his doctor. Then when we go in he goes and does his thing and I just chill in the waiting room or whatever for like an hour. With music booyah. I finally got to hear all my favorite songs and stuff again. Amazing. And I got to talk to real people, not just fake missionaries. They aren't real. It was weird to see people texting and just chilling on their cell phones. I miss that fast communication. But all in all it is so amazing when I get to leave these walls and taste some real air for a few hours. Makes me want to go to Portugal real bad. I'm memorizing words like its nobody's business. Last night alone I memorized about 150 words. The Lord really blesses those who try. Gotta love it. I have a question with my debit card. You said it won't work until you get the pin number. I'm confused because I thought I made the pin number up. Don't confuse me like this. Simple things should remain simple things. But for now I gotta go power chill. Tell everyone I said hi and I love them. I'll be getting on in just a bit too, so hopefully you write me back today ;) Love ya!

Berry Lemonade Jones drink . . .

[I'm sorry about the spacing in this letter! I can't figure out why it won't hold the correct spaces that I put in! ~ Julie ~]


What's up Fam!

Sorry about not writing last week, but I just had to use my p-day to take a quick snooze. My body is constantly tired. :( Guess I'm gonna have to get used to that right? I'm even not sleeping while I have a huge headache, so this letter should make you all super smiley!

First off, I challenge you all to try the Berry Lemonade Jones drink. It's the best! That's what my blue card buys me every day. The blue card is just like a money card. Every week we get $6.00 put on it and we can buy stuff from the vending machines or the bookstore with it. We also need it ot get into the cafeteria but that's pretty much it.

I also wanna tell you that I'm in love with the temple. I go there every p-day (Friday) at around 10:00 a.m. Amazing!

And Mom, don't worry about printing the e-mails. I'll figure out what I want to do about them later.

That's sweet that the children are attending EFY aain this year. That reminds me! There are a few Elders here that were in my EFY groups from 3 years ago! Funny we remembered each other, but tell them to have fun.

I think that you should send me Brother Hadley's address at the seminary. I love that guy and I'd love to toss him a line. He helped me out a lot during my high school years.

Portuguese is coming along. I have to memorize a "verb card" before I leave here with 625 verbs on it! I'm almost done though, so it should be easy. As far as talking to someone, if I mime out what I'm trying to say, I can hold a pretty sweet conversation with someone. It was so crazy teaching a Portuguese lesson for the first time, I'll tell you that much! Talk about wild!

And the balloon did float up when I opened that last box, it was way cool!

Me and Elder Ruiz get along super dooper. Everyone kinda looks up to us, I'd say, in our district, cuz he's native and teaching me lots. It's pretty cool. We still party all the time. One thing we do is what we learned about companionship unity. So, check this out. In Portuguese "gatilho" means trigger or to shoot. So, whenever we're messin' around and Elder Fairbanks says something dumb (or anyone) Elder Ruiz holds his hand like a gun to them and I say "gatilho"! That means they are dead cuz they said something dumb so they can't say anymore dumb things! Good idea huh!?!? I must say, I'm kinda turning into a pretty blunt person so maybe that's why I love this little game of ours. But hey, I was told I'd be blessed for my honesty. :) There are a few times though when I wish I could just chill for like five seconds alone, but nope.

Oh, I just thought of a quesiton or "pergunta" in Portuguese. Ya know my countdown chart? Where did you put that? I picture it being in the hall between the front door and the kitchen/laundry room where that weird long picture is of the house and flowers and stuff. You should put it there so people can see how long I've been gone!

I haven't had to speak in church yet, but I'm sure my week will come. I think I'll be ready. I'll send you home my talk for next week.

I think that USA is winning by like 20 medals olympic wise. Or at least that's what I hear from teachers when I'm walking by. But as soon as they see a missionary they instantly stop talking about normal stuff. It's stupid. Pretty much in the white bible, the first rule is this: Don't have any more fun. Rob and Dad can probably vouch (sp?) for me on that. That's why me and Elder Ruiz think it's so funny to hide people's name tags when they're eating. Gotta get by somehow!

It's funny, before my mish, I used to kinda "dread", if you will, listening to conference. Now, I have the opportunity to listen to them on the computers and whenever I have free time that's what I like to do. People in our church are smart. Don't get me wrong on this next part, because I like being on a mission and stuff, but just like the next guy, I'm excited about getting married, so I've been listening to those kind of talks. The Brethren have convinced me that I need to treat my wife better and I don't even have a wife yet! Just simply amazing! At this point in time it feels lilke my mission will never end and I'll never get married. But, I also thought that about my mission before my mission. So WEIRD that it's one of the next things I'm gonna be doing. Definitely before Heath [Heather]. Unless you marry someone before November 2011. :) Then I give you permission!

I'll work on getting those pictures you asked for.

That blows about the St. George house. :( But, that's their choice is not ours. Good quote, remember it.

Also, I love singing in the MTC choir! It's not just hymns, we're all over the place and yes, the Spirit is crazy strong! I'm not much of a singer, but the spsirit still overwhelms me when I open my mouth. It's not really fair how much he blesses me. I try to keep up and help him and do my work, but he never stops giving! Not fair! :)

Some stories now for you guys!!! Yay!! A guy in my branch presidency named Brother Aidukaitus (or something like that) told a sweet story in a Sacrament meetings. As we all know, in Portuguese and Spanish there are masculine and feminine words. To say "my whatever" you say either "meu" for masculine words or "minha" for feminine words. Both mean "my". So, he and his wife were driving and decided to practice when they need to say meu or minha. They'd see random stuff outside like a ball. So his wife would say "meu balo" seeing how it's a masculine word. So he said the word "pain" for some reason and his wife said "meu (word for pain)". He then said, "no, it's 'minha (word for pain)' cuz it's a feminine word. Isn't it proper that pain is a feminine word?" he asked her with a giggle. She replied, "no, but isn't it proper that "leixo" (means garbage) is a masculine word?" Ha ha! Funny stuff! She totally dissed men, but I laughed.

Me and Elder Ruiz are teaching this lady the lessons through the phone. She's from Ohio named Kim. It's so awesome that my missionary work has literally started!

One thing me and Elder Fairbanks like to do is really childish, but it's so funny. Every time we see each other, we "pretend" to kill each other, like pretend to throw grenades or have swords and it's the funniest thing ever. Let's say we're running around the track. I'll be lifting weights and he'll run up behind me and pretend to stab me and, obviously, I am committed, so I fall to the ground. Well next time he runs around he can't find me so he starts going slower and I bust out from around the corner and cut his head off. It's so funny cuz ya just gotta see us together. PB&J.

I finished the Book of Mormon! AMAZING! The only book I'll ever need to read. Just superb! Check this out . . . Missionary: Someone who leaves his family for two years, so that others will never have to leave theirs!

I love you guys. Kyle, prepare now. Tara, be awesome and keep being the boss. Heath, show some emotion.

Much Love,

Elder Brian Anderson

I told people to write you . . . (Letter to Heather)

Heath!

So glad to read that your first line was "I told people to write you, so hopefully you have more mail coming". Best news ever! ha ha! I hate getting "air boxed." I haven't had any for the past 3 days :( But maybe it's good for me? . . . No.

If I recall, I did send an email to Mods [Mom] last week, actually to Dad's email, but hopefully she got it.

Don't even say that Jess' new baby will be born on Kyle's birthday. The chances of that happening are only 1/365 so don't even think about it. My birthday is much more likely! :) And you wrote that I might not be there for the birth, but none of you could say that. Heath, let me ask you, why would I even remotely be glad I could say that? You're weird. But, I miss that weirdness!

I only have 3 weeks left here! :) I am so ready to leave this silly place! Not like I hate it, but I need some variety in my life. I need to be able to show some emotion! I need to see castles and arty things and cool people. And real people on that note.

There was some sort of catastrophe on Madiera, so I'll probably go there first. I hope I do cuz tht would be insane in the membrane! I wanna help and talk to those folks pretty darn bad. With this whole no English thing, I feel I can pretty much hold my own in a conversation, however I'm usually like 30 seconds behind what people say when I'm translating in my head. Ha! I'm awesome!

Keep on Keepin' on Heath! You have supernatural powers I think! You should probably go do something cool with them. Toodles!

Love Your Coolest Big Brother that is wondering what is going on in the real world -

Elder B-Rye Anderson

Excited to get out . . . (e-mail)

Oi! como vai?

OK, well I don't have much time, so I have to make this one even shorter than usual. I've been having tons of problems with the email address, so sorry but I'll write you a letter later today.
Thats way awesome about you riding the bull and stuff and I would still like the picture you took drinking (ha!) but whatever. Crazy Mom! Sorry (again) about the door ya'll had to fix [at Grandma Larsen's house in St. George].

I wish I could see Cambria's birthday party! That's way cool! You need to be sure and send me some sweet pictures.

I'm way jealous that you all got to go and see the Bar J Wranglers, but that doesn't compare, I don't think, to meeting Pres. Uchtdorf or Pres. Hinckley's son!

Things are going good here, and the language is... coming. It's kinda frustrating with not being able to use English and being able to say exactly what I want to say, but its good. I'm so excited to get out of the MTC though, because its all the same every day. Nothing changes. I look so forward to going to the temple every week. I'm really gonna miss going there once a week when I get to Portugal. I'm so excited to get back and go to the Manti Temple again. I suggest that you and Dad go as often as you can. Be grateful that you have that opportunity. You can sure make a lot of people who have already passed away really happy and I love it.

I'm excited to finally meet the people in Portugal that have been waitning for their whole lives to talk to me. Keep on smiling back at home, and especially let Tara know she's missed. Also, I haven't heard much from Kyle, so tell him I said "hey". Tell Heath I'm writing her back, too. I wish I had more time to write on this, but I'll give you guys a good letter. Hopefully you get it tomorrow, but if not, you should get it on Monday.

Oh, and ya the rainstorm in Madeira Island sounded crazy. I'm probably gonna be asked to help out with that when I get there, and that would be so exciting for me, because I wanna go there anyway! They told me that the people there speak their Portuguese with an Australian accent so think of how cool thats gonna be! Ugh, I'm so excited!

I finished the Book of Mormon on the 22nd! Wow I wish so much I would have read it more during my seminary days. The BoM has answers to every question anyone could ever have! It's amazing!

I gotta go now, so I'll start your letter soon. Let everyone know I love them and am thinking about them mucho a lotto. But for now, see ya.

Love your son,

Elder Anderson

Oh, and thanks for the blog . . . (e-mail)

Oh, and also, thanks for the blog thing. It looks pretty sweet! I love you, Mom. Keep being happy cuz I'm so glad you've been doing better since I left. I want you to keep it up. I love ya!

Yay! It's P-Day! (e-mail)

Gee! I'm surprised you haven't written back on this yet, but it looks like its p-day again! I got the shirts and the million pages and stuff. I'll have to answer most of your questions in a letter, cuz I don't have much time to write on here. [The following are answers to some quesitons we asked him earlier. In my letter to him I numbered the questions. 1-58!]

[36. What time do you wake-up on p-day?] I wake up at 6:30 everyday.
[43. In your laundry picture you were wearing a tie. Do you have to dress up on p-days also?] The only time I have to wear church clothes on p-day is when I eat and I do laundry right before so that's why.
[44. How are you hanging up pictures in your room?] I hang up pictures with tape.
[48. What are "missionary goggles"?] Missionary goggles are - you see the first girl and go for her just cuz she's a girl. No matter what her appearance is or personality. The goggles make them all look good! :)
[53. Have you written to Colton and other missionary friends?] I write to my mission buddies, yes.
[57. What's the difference between the Referral Center and TRC?] The RC is where I call people and teach them the gospel and the TRC is real live people that come to the MTC to get taught.
[58. Details about your mission companions . . . ] Elder Ruiz lived in Brazil growing up, but now his family lives in Layton. I'll look into getting you addresses. Elder Fairbanks is from Florida and Elder Stewart is from California.

I'm going to see what I can do about other missionaries writing Heath cuz there are a lot of them here who thinks she is cute.

I hope Ben stays true. I hope that it all works out, but no matter what he'll always be one of my best friends.

OK, well my time is running short so keep telling everyone I love them and thank Jess for sending me a letter finally. I'm so excited to be doing what I'm doing! Oh yeah, as of today on I can't speak English here so wish me luck!

I love you! I'll write a letter later tonight. Caio!!

Love your son,

Elder Anderson

Thanks for the Valentine's Day Package!

Hey Fam,

So, I just got done writing the email to ya'll. I hate it cuz I only get 30 minutes of email a week so it's pretty lame. That's why they are so short.

Still haven't received a letter from Rob or Cambria! And Jess only did one so let them know I wanna hear from them! And I sent a letter to their Ephraim address, but i think I'll just send them to our house unless told otherwise.

Kyle, get used to having a dude with you at all times. For only about 45 minutes a day Elder Ruiz and I don't see each other. That's for shower/bathroom break. It's kinda annoying but whatever. No wonder missionaries wanna get married so fast so they can have a girl at their side at all times instead of a guy!

Thanks again for the package! Totally rocked me! The balloon was a nice touch, too. I pretty much have no room to put all the food from these packages but I love it! Thanks!

The temple is my favorite! I appreciate it so much and am starting to realize their importance. I love it! That's why most of my pics are from there.

And the language. I wish you guys could hear the way I memorize stuff cuz I rap my little heart away. It's so funny, but it works!

Ha ha. Dad wrote that he chuckled in his last Dear Elder he sent me. That's funny. But I don't want any of you guys to worry cuz the home sickness is slowly starting to ease away. I like being here, just wish I could get to Portugal already. But hey, almost half way done with the MTC right? It'll be sucky leaving Elder Ruiz, Fairbanks and Stewart though. We're like brothers.

I hope these pictures gave you some things to smile about. I'll write on the backs of every pic I send so don't forget to read them.

Don't forget to send my debit card and drivers license sometime. Not like I have any use for them yet, but just a reminder.

So, get this. We all know Brazil speaks Portuguese too right? K so there's only six of us here going to Portugal so they put us in the Brazilian branch cuz they also speak our language. Our branch was so big cuz of all the Brazilians waiting for their visas. All-in-all at the MTC there were 420 guys waiting for visas to Brazil! So our branch had (I think) 86 people in it all together. Keep in mind that a normal branch size is around 28. But, just recently about 300 visas for Brazil got here! Now our branch is my district and the newbie district! I'm the old guy on campus now! But, now I'm sure to have to give a talk in Portuguese Sunday's, seeing how there's no one else left to choose.

I just want you all to know that Ben leaving here was the hardest thing that happened to me. I was literally seconds away from packing my bags and going home with him and his parents cuz it's so hard here. But, them I remembered I'm not here for me. I hope you'll all be nice to him about it cuz I love the kid. So please.

It's already almost been a month! What the heck!?!? I still remember like it was yesterday Mom and dad dropped me off! So crazy! The days seriously fly by like nothing I've ever known before. But, I think letters have a lot to do with that so keep them coming!

I gotta thank you for all the pictures! They made me so happy and I put them in my binder so I can see all your cute faces every day! So can the other missionaries. Which brings me to my next point. Heath [Heather], so many elders have said that you're super pretty and to tell you to write them! Who knew my lil' sis could be such a "guy magnet"? So, I'm just sayin', if things don't work out with Lane, YOU HAVE OPTIONS!!!!!!!!!! (Notice lots of !'s) But, I'm just sayin'. ;)

Tell Kyle I'm getting oober buff so he still won't be able to take me down in 23 months. Maybe I'm just getting fat?!?!? Either way I = happy!

It seems like there are a lot of "nerdy" missionaries here. Not being rude, cuz I think I'm a "nerdy" one too. I thought I would come and be "too cool" for this and hate all the people, but the truth is, if you think you're "too cool" then you shouldn't be here. It's definitely not cool to be a 19 year old kid walking around with another guy in matching suits all day, in another country, so I might as well stop trying to act "cool". I give my testimony like seven times every day. It's weird. But, I promise you all I will never have "missionary goggles" when I come home. Never ever never never ever! That I can promise won't change. :)

Oh yeah, while I'm here, every Saturday I get to go to a place called "referral center" to talk to people about the gospel. Real investigators too! But every now and then I'll call someone and they'll have a "ring back" on their phone. After not hearing music for a month these are like heaven! I even thank Heavenly Father for the opportunity to hear "music from outside". I miss music, but in a month I can listen again!

You wanna hear a crazy story? Well, every Thursday morning I get to teach a real investigator a lesson at a place called the TRC. So, I'm teaching this Indian guy about resurrection and he says, "what if, when I'm resurrected, I want to become a girl?" Talk about awkward, huh?!?!? I felt kinda bad cuz I laughed at that, but he was not joking so I explained to him why that couldn't work. He wasn't too upset (ha ha).

Well, as of now I'm dominating Elder Fairbanks in getting letters and pictures, so nice job! But, he said he's about to pull ahead so we'll see.

Keep praying guys. I know that it's your prayers that have kept me out here. I love you all more than you could ever know! Caio!

Love,

Elder Brian Anderson

P.S. Tell Tara her letter is on the way. I ran out of time to email her :(. I'm sorry! Tara, Love You!

Met Ambassador from Kenya (e-mail)

Hey!

I don't really know who reads this, but its gonna be to all of everyone.

So, I know you're all dying to know what happened with the ambassador right? Well, I'll tell you at the end of the letter :) Today is super fun cuz its p-day and I get to just power chill all day. After a sweet sealing session at our very own Provo Temple, I'm so excited for the day that I'll get to go back to the Manti Temple. It's gonna be good.

The MTC is transforming me so much! I only sing hymns even in my head, I don't ever call a group of dudes "guys" or "dudes", I say "Elders", I'm almost done reading the BoM, just tons of stuff I didn't think could happen to me. I guess the nickname for the MTC "Make The Change" isn't too far off.

I still love walking to the temple cuz thats as close to the real world as I can get. It's gonna be nice in Portugal not being surrounded by missionaries. I'll get to listen to music and do stuff besides sit in a classroom all day. But, I will tell you I haven't lost all sense of my music abilities... I'm singing in the MTC choir and its cool. I also sing to help me remember the language stuff. I make raps about Portuguese and it has helped me more than anything. Sound like something I'd do? Ha I'm awesome!

So, I'm still getting fat... I've gained 11 pounds. I'm still eating too! Prepare to really call me your "big" brother everyone!

K I guess I'll tell you about her visit now. Iwas sitting in my classroom just like any other day and they knocked on the door and told everyone to stand up. They opened the door and I could see her (bodyguards at the sides) and they were explaining to her some stuff. Then she walked in and I introduced myself to her and she was super excited to meet me. She had quesstions like why everyone is called Elder and why I'd leave everything behind to not get paid and stuff. She told me she wished I was going to Kenya after our talk. It was super intense and awesome! She had an assistant with her named Kevin. He had a lot of questions too and I answered them all.
There's a lot more info and stuff said and exciting stuff said, but the timer is running out for this email. So thanks mucho tons tons tons tons tons for the package! But I love you guys and there's more pictures and a letter I'll send tonight so you might get them on Monday or something. If you have any other questions I'd love to answer them. Days are flying by!

Love you!

Elder Anderson

Tomorrow's the Big Day!!

Hey Everyone,

I'm gonna have to make this one short and sweet. I dunno if you even go the last letter with all the pictures, but hopefully you will if you haven't. And more pictures are coming in the next letter, too. I'll make sure it gets to you.

So, tomorrow's the big day, huh? Kenya coming to talk to me! :) INTENSE!! I'll e-mail you on Friday.

This one really does need to be short so I promise I'll write more in the e-mail on Friday around . . . 2 ish? So, if you happen to be online we can kinda chat! I love you all tons, tons, tons! I pray for you always! I'm doing good and will talk to you all soon!

Love,

Elder Anderson

Oh, and the p-day shirt you sent was sleeveless. Can't wear those silly!

Ambassador of Kenya . . .

Oi, Familha! (Hey Fam!)

First off, hope you like the pictures. Second off, I have major news.

I got told yesterday night that the ambassador of Kenya is coming next week on Thursday the 11th to talk to me. She wants to know about missionary work and like, why I'm here, how much the church is paying me, why I'd leave behind my life for 2 years and other questions like that!

She's meeting with the general authorities (aka - President Monson, President Eyring, and President Uchtdorf) right before coming to talk to me. She had to get permission from Obama to do this. She'll be surrounded by body guards and police everywhere! I have no idea why I've been chosen, but maybe there's a reason I'm here at this time?

I'm not making any of this up - it's 100% true! I'm told I'll be representing every missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! They're making me cut my hair, shave, press my shirts, shine my shoes and everything!

Talk about pressure! I'm gonna be praying and fasting all week! I'll be sure to e-mail you Friday the 17th and let you know details of our conversation.

But other than that, same old same old! :) Me and Elder Ruiz party all the tme and I'm still getting fat. Life is good. Obviously, I still miss ya'll, but it's becoming easier to not think about it all the time.

Oh, I saw and talked to Ben yesterday. That was crazy! After not knowing anyone for 2 weeks, seeing one of your best friends is amazing! But our schedules are totally different so I only see him at eating times sometimes.

But what's going on in the world? All I know from outside these walls is that the Colts are playing Saints for the Superbowl. And that's only cuz I gave a kid .50 cents on my walk to the temple! Saints will win for sure. But how 'bout music? Movies? Other sports? Just anything! Oh, I need someone to send me the lyrics for "Fairytale" and "Amazed".

I heard Tara did really well in her volleyball tournament so nice work! That's so cool! I can't wait 'til I can actually be sitting in the bleachers watching you play! Amazing!

And Kyle's driving all over. Man, you better not hurt/remove one eyed Lawrence! [One eyed Lawrence is a puffed up blow fish Brian got on our trip to Hawaii. He has googley eyes and one of them has gotten lost! I hate that thing hanging on my rear-view mirror!] Keep him there for life!

I wish I knew something else to write about. My days are all the exact same. Oh, but you guys should read "Our Search for Happiness" by Elder Ballard together. I LOVED it!

Oh, and if ya'll get any "how's your brother/son doing?" from anyone I wanna know cuz there's probably some people I forgot to say, "hey, see ya later" to.

I fear I'm repeating some things in this letter from the last one.

Oh, check this out. On February 19th 'til I leave the MTC I'm not allowed to speak English anymore. Crazy? I say, "yes". So here's my testimony for practice . . .

Eu sei que (I know that) sobe Deus (God) es nosso (Heavenly Father) pai son celestial. Eu sei que Jesus Cristo es voces filho. Voces (He) ama (loves) nos. Da Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Ultimos Dias (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) es verdadeiro (true). Eu sou de o magnifico familha (magnificent family)! Eu ama voces muito ben (I love all of you very much)! En nome de Jesus Cristo, Amen.

There's some language for ya! Hope it's not too confusing.

Gosh I feel weird. I've never had anything come even close to this experience in my life! I don't think I've ever even been on my own for longer than two weeks, but look at me go!

Oh, and Heath [Heather], don't hit cats. That's very rude! But it's funny cuz no one likes cats.

I've taken plenty more pictures including the famous "me pointing to the map" so you'll get it next letter.

I'm so happy to know that lots of people are praying for me. I'm too blessed, but then again, if you open up your heart the Lord shall send blessings even more than what you think you're able to receive.

And Kyle, dude you gotta take a little more time on writing your letters. Slow down a bit so I can read it. The ladies will still be there when you're done, I promise! And do good work with that new girl that asked you to prom. Let me know how that goes. Midnight Tubing! I'm so jealous! The only exciting thing I can do at midnight no is . . . go to the bathroom. Nice drawing, by the way. Every backflip you do think about me. Tell Bro. Hadley [Brian's old seminary teacher - Kyle's current seminary teacher] I say "hey" and I am wishing I would have paid more attention in his class. Love that guy, I do. Peace out homie. Stay sweet.

You guys have no idea how much I miss Cambria! I have all the pictures of her hanging in my room. She's so cute! Can't wait to hear about her birthday party destroying a cake! Fun! I want all of you to go by Cambria right now and look into her eyes. You'll see heaven. I promise. And you'll see me teaching people of Portugal. No doubt about it.

There is something that would be nice to receive in a package or something and that's a small box of Tide. We have to keep "borrowing" from the other elders and I feel like I shouldn't be "borrowing" while on a mission. But whatever.

Just so you all know this letter is super long.

Jess and Rob, ya'll need to write me. Yes, the DearElder.com thing worked so keep doing it or write them or something. Compared to the other kids you're slacking. (Way to go other kids!) :) Plus, I haven't even heard from Cambria yet. :( That means sad face.

Whoever said "you never really know what you've got 'til it's gone" definitely wasn't smoking crack when they said it, cuz that phrase has become my motto. That and one I say "let's go do stuff". So cherish the little things in life and the people you're with. Let them know not just by words, but by actions too that you're crazy about them. That's something I've never really been good with. And I'm not even good with words when it comes to some things.

I'm eating the peach rings ya'll sent me as I'm writing this. I think that they are keeping my hand energized, so if you enjoy this long letter just thank yourselves. Blame it on the peach rings.

Oh, today I went to the temple and I did sealings instead of endowments. It's amazing to know that I took part in the act of bringing families together for time and eternity. Don't worry, I'm keeping my journal updated.

Tara, keep on takin' care of the family for me. You're the boss. I love you all and you're in my prayers. Keep bein' the crazy Anderson family everyone knows and loves. God be with you 'til we meet again. I love you guys.

Love your brother, son, uncle,

Elder Brian Lee Anderson

What's Up Dad? (e-mail)

I'm so glad I got that last handwritten letter from you. It changed my week. Things are good here but it's always hard to not miss home and miss all of you guys, but your letter helped me more than you know. Me, Elder Ruiz and my other roommates have a blast every day. I think we laugh more than any other district here. It's a non-stop party! (Spiritual Party!)

I did not know Tara moved into my room! Kinda sad knowing that it will be inhabited by a girl for two years seeing how it is the MAN cave! But maybe she chose it cuz she feels close to me. Who knows, but tell her to take care of my buffalo! :) And tell her that if she moves anything like pictures or stuff just please please please don't lose any of it. I'm the kinda guy that likes to keep everything cool

Tell Tara congrats on the whole volleyball thing. That's way awesome! I wish I could watch her but tell her I can watch her when I get home so it's all good.

Tell Kyle to keep the party pumpin'. I'm not allowed to do that anymore.

I'm running out of time so I'll write a letter and send some pictures to you guys. Thanks again for everything you've done for me Dad. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. You're a hero in my eyes. I love you.

Your son,

Elder Brian Lee Anderson

Hey Mom! (e-mail)

Hey Mom! It's P-day again! Look who gets to be on the internet for the next 15 minutes! I'm gonna send this now so if you happen to receive it at work we can chat. I'll write another one right after this just in case you don't get this one within 15 minutes.

Love ya!

I figured out my mission scripture!

Dear Family!

Tell the kids that I have an idea about letter writing. I'll write one letter per week to the whole family such as this one, and I'll get on my e-mail on Fridays to send them individual ones. :) But, they gotta write if they want a reply from me!

I figured out my scripture I want on my mission plaque. It's in Alma 57:21 about Stripling Warriors.

Pictures are gonna get printed today, so if I get them before I send this I'll send some! :) Plenty of pictures of everything.

Language is going . . . um . . . somewhere I guess. I'm not fluent, but I can introduce myself and such. I'm memorizing 25 Portuguese words a day and I have a headache every night. I hope it's just from information overload.

I've gotten letters from other people. Just the "hey, how are ya's?" and stuff. Bonnie and Aunt Marie both did Dear Elder and Grandma and Gina wrote me a letter that I need to write back. I I can't remember an address I need I'll be sure and tell you.

Once again, I'm surprised on how much I'm gaining weight. My start weight was 170 and after these last 2 weeks I'm 179 on an empty stomach. The food plus lifting weights everyday = me gonna be fat in 2 years!

I think I pary about 17 times a day for ya'll. I love all you guys much much!

I decided that I'm doing crazy good at writing you letters. Look how long this one has become already! It's gonna be cool calling you guys in like a month (whenever Mother's day is). I'll be sure to talk Portuguese. And English! :)

I think I answered all your questions so now I have a few things of my own to share.

THANK YOU FOR THE PACKAGE!

Hey Mods, Dad and Fam!

THANK YOU FOR THE PACKAGE! It was filled with all of my most favorite things! :) An you have no idea how bad I needed that watch, so I thank you all!

Send just normal everyday pictures. You don't need to complicate it Mom. Just send normal pictures.

But ya, I hung up the other ones you sent and they were good. Just send those kind. I gotta write this one way fast so sorry about the bad handwriting.

But, don't way that the bookmark isn't much, because it's everything. Tara's sorta grown to be a big inspiration to me and that bookmark keeps me going.

I went to the temple for the first time today. I gotta say that I like the movie version better. The session was way huge cuz of all the missionaries.

How can you put one of these :o) after saying it's quieter? Too mean! J/K Kyle, keep pumping the bass. Shake the walls.

I'm super sad that I had to miss Ben's farewell, but at least I'll get to see him in a few more days. :) I'm glad to hear he referred to me, cuz I tried to make a good friend. I'm way glad that Jonathan spoke about me. That's way tight! I just cried though. No big deal.

My p-day is on Friday. I can write and receive letters any day though, cuz they have a time every night set-up for it, so write away.

My first Sunday was good.

I'm writing in my journal.

If you could send me like . . . 3 more sweet shirts that would be good. Turns out I need more than I thought. Also, any candy/junk food coming my way = :) I've already gained 7 pounds so help me gain more!

And yes, I'll definitely leave tons of stuff and sell it here. I've gotten so much free stuff from missionaries leaving the MTC, cuz they can't have their bags weigh too much so they just give a lot of stuff away.

Here is a typical day in the MTC:
6:30 a.m. - Wake up
7:00 a.m. - Eat
7:30 a.m. - Classroom
1:00 p.m. - Eat
1:30 p.m. - Class
6:00 p.m. - Eat
6:30 p.m. - Class
9:00 p.m. - Plan
10:00 p.m. - Brush teeth/shower
10:30 p.m. - Sleep

Throw in a few firesides every now and then. And weird little meetings. But, also add in gym. We do that every morning for an hour.

Things are going great. I've had some times where it's been crazy hard and I miss people, but there's little things that make it better right away. Like letters and packages. And temple, teaching people and prayer.

I eat tons. The refuse to let me stay skinny and I love it!

It sucks that I can't even flirt with the ladies. (ha!) I try to avoid them all together just cuz I don't wanna end up like those people that met at the MTC and get married. Too awkward. Except there's one Sister that keeps finding me. So, I'm kinda scared, but she's a good person. Sue's super hot but I don't think I'm allowed to tell her. :) But, I promise I won't be a lame "what's a girl?" after my mission missionary. I'll be normal and in no need for "missionary goggles". However, I'll admit the first time we got to leave the MTC to go to the temple, girls along the way all seemed to look pretty good. :)

I love this work! Write lots!

Love you all!

They are more legit. . . (e-mail)

January 29, 2010

Hey mods/fam,

I'll answer all of your questions first.
1. [How often can you check your e-mails?] I can check my email every Friday cuz that's when my P-day is. But you can send me more than one letter a week, and turns out I prefer letters more than email, cuz there are always huge lines for computers on P-day and they aren't as fun, but keep both coming.
2. [Who can e-mail you?] I like letters so just tell them that.
3. [Who can you send e-mails to?] Anyone.
4. [Can anyone use DearElder.com to write you or do others have to send "snail mail"?] Anybody can use DearElder.com, but those letters don't mean as much as hand written, however they do get to me same day, so there are advantages and disadvantages of both!
5. [Can you print off your e-mails to save?] There aren't any printers so no I can't print them off.
6. [Can I send pictures as attachments in e-mails?] No I can't receive picture emails so just print them off at wal-mart and send them to me in the letters. I like those better than printed off ones anyway. They are more legit.
7. [If yes, can you print those pictures?] No printing pictures that I can't receive
8. [Do e-mails and DearElder.com count toward your competition with your companions?] Emails don't count towards it so tell everyone to write letters!!

You've got a letter coming so keep checking the mail! And also thanks a million for the sweet package. It was perfect and came at perfect timing! I loved it! And I hung the pictures up in my room too so thanks for those. Things are going great! You'll hear more about it in the letter.

Love ya.

Elder Anderson (your coolest son)

Hey Mods!

I wrote a super long message to julie@cut.net so if you can, do look at that. I didn't know you made a change. But it says I love you guys and I love it here. I don't really have any more time to write cuz I already took all my time. I love you though and I miss all you guys. And tell people to write me and send me tons of pictures! I think I can only receive email here from family. I love you! Ciao!

Elder Brian Anderson

First things first. . . (e-mail)

What's up Dad? First things first. . . I love it here at the MTC and my mission so far is going amazing. I have a way cool companion named Elder Ruiz. We get along great and laugh all the time. I'm in love with the food here and I love the Book of Mormom and especially Preach my Gospel. I always have it with me. Thank you so much for teaching me all that you have. It's been a blast living by your side my past 19 years and I know that we're gonna have plenty more amazing experiences. I dunno what Mom has told you but I am picking up some of the language pretty fast. I can pray and bear my testimony in Portuguese already and its so amazing. I know that I'm in the right place and doing the right thing. You don't need to worry about me. I miss you guys but I love what I'm doing. And we have Elder Fairbanks who always keeps us laughing. He's like the Mormon version of Will Ferrell. So I hope that things are good around the house and when I get back; I'll try to bring the noise level back up haha. But just know that I miss all of you guys. Oh, and there's over 2400 missionaries here right now. It's crazy, but I love it. Keep on keeping on Dad. Love you.

Elder Anderson

Send letters and pictures!

Hey Mods! I would rather get letters and type e-mails but whatever you wanna do is super cool with me! And you gotta send pictures! Tell and the kids that I said hi and that I love and miss them. I don't have much time this time cuz I gotta go pick up my laundry and do companion study with Elder Ruiz so answer back soon! Love YOU!

Elder Anderson

Looks Like I'm Gettin' These First Few Days Done!

Hey Mods! Hey Pops!

Looks like I'm gettin' these first few days done! I promise it's awesome and my first companion is awesome! His name is Elder Ruiz. He's from Brazil and I'm the Senior Companion :)

But the Dear Elder thing came super fast. I got it on the first night here, so thanks! Oh, and you need to send me pictures and letters cuz I have a competition with another Elder rooming with me named Elder Fairbanks and we're seeing who gets the most stuff so tell everybody you know!

But the spirit here is crazy strong! The second you drove away they threw me into a classroom and started teaching me Portuguese. I've almost memorized things you'd say in a prayer so I can pray in Portuguese. Miracles happen! I'm gonna miss home, but with as good of a companion and the other Elders I'm rooming with, I'll have no problem staying here. There's a lot of strange rules like no chewing gum during certain times and you can't have your hands in your pants pockets ever, and every time I have to introduce myself it's got to be in Portuguese. Eu sou Elder Anderson, en eu sou de Fairview en eu sou vou Porto Portugal. It's not hard to tell what that means. And tell Rob and Dad that the food definitely lived up to its status. It's amazing. Cruise all over again. I'll send you pictures of my comp Elder Ruiz and my other roomies Elder Fairbanks and Elder Stewart in a bit. The photo printer always has a huge line.

They force you to do gym but its a sweet part of the day, basketball, volleyball, 4 square, jogging track, weights, just everything. Good times and good meomories will be had. Tell the kids hi and to write but my address changed just a tad so look on the envelope. Tell Dad I love him and thanks for the example he's been. I love you guys.

Love Elder Brian Anderson