Hello Dad,
Well it is transfer week again, that is why I am writing you on tuesday. I found out that I will be staying in Clarksburg, but Elder Houser will be transfered to Cowin WV. I will now be serving with Elder Jason Hansen (not John Hansen). He came out with me so that will be very interesting to serve with him. I served around him while I was in the middle of the Blacksburg/Radford mix up. He was one of the Elders that we shared an appartment with in Dublin.
Lots of changes are taking place in the Mission. They are getting rid of a lot of the zones and combining them. So last transfer I was a Zone Leader over 16 missionaries, and now I will be a Zone Leader over 28 missionaries. I am really nervous!!! We are going to be driving a lot from area to area doing the new training that will be taking place here. Sometimes I wonder why the Lord chose me to be a Zone Leader in the middle of all this.
This last week we set Lee Milam with a Baptismal Date!!! We are really excited about it. We have been working with him for a long time and it is finally time for him to be baptized. He will be baptized on August 28th. Pray for him.
We also were able to find 4 new investigators this past week. One lady that we met is from Holland. Her name is Candita (Candeta). She is a really nice lady. We are going to be able to meet with next week. Then we found a man named Jim Elder. He knows a few of the members here and I think that is why he let us in, but hey, whatever it takes.
I don't really have any fun stories. We are still doing a lot of tracting. We were tracting in Grafton on Saturday and we knocked on a door, I started dry heaving when I smelt the inside of the house. I thought that I had a strong stomach after going to that house in Charleston, but this house was NASTY!!! I felt really bad but I just couldn't talk so we just gave them a card and walked away. I will never forget that smell.
I hope that you had fun at Girls Camp. I love you very much!!!
Love,
Elder Anderson

Hello Dad,
Well it is transfer week again, that is why I am writing you on tuesday. I found out that I will be staying in Clarksburg, but Elder Houser will be transfered to Cowin WV. I will now be serving with Elder Jason Hansen (not John Hansen). He came out with me so that will be very interesting to serve with him. I served around him while I was in the middle of the Blacksburg/Radford mix up. He was one of the Elders that we shared an appartment with in Dublin.
Lots of changes are taking place in the Mission. They are getting rid of a lot of the zones and combining them. So last transfer I was a Zone Leader over 16 missionaries, and now I will be a Zone Leader over 28 missionaries. I am really nervous!!! We are going to be driving a lot from area to area doing the new training that will be taking place here. Sometimes I wonder why the Lord chose me to be a Zone Leader in the middle of all this.
This last week we set Lee Milam with a Baptismal Date!!! We are really excited about it. We have been working with him for a long time and it is finally time for him to be baptized. He will be baptized on August 28th. Pray for him.
We also were able to find 4 new investigators this past week. One lady that we met is from Holland. Her name is Candita (Candeta). She is a really nice lady. We are going to be able to meet with next week. Then we found a man named Jim Elder. He knows a few of the members here and I think that is why he let us in, but hey, whatever it takes.
I don't really have any fun stories. We are still doing a lot of tracting. We were tracting in Grafton on Saturday and we knocked on a door, I started dry heaving when I smelt the inside of the house. I thought that I had a strong stomach after going to Yvonne Evans house in Charleston, but this house was NASTY!!! I felt really bad but I just couldn't talk so we just gave them a card and walked away. I will never forget that smell.
I hope that you had fun at Girls Camp. I love you very much!!!
Love,
Elder Anderson

Hello Dad,
Well it was a really hard week for us in finding new people to teach. We spent many hours pounding the pavement and knocking doors with little success. It wasn't just us either; the whole Zone struggled really badly. We have 8 companionships and we only found 4 investigators for the whole zone. OUCH!!
It is time for a change of heart. I need to be more focused on the work. I seem to have lost my faith and am relying on my own knowledge. I need to repent and turn to the Lord for help in his work.
Nothing really great is happening here in Clarksburg. We only taught 4 lessons last week. Our investigators are stuck where they are comfortable. They don't want to do anymore then they have to. It is really frustrating sometimes.
Again, I wish I had some stories for you but I don't.
Yes, I did get the new shoes on Saturday. In fact I am wearing them right now. They are a little different from my old pair but they still work. I have a question for you. I found a suit in a Thrift Store for $10, I bought it. It fits me really well. I don't think that I am going to be wearing my other suits anymore because they don't fit me at all. What do you want me to do with them? I sent two pants home already, do you want me to send the rest of the suits home? I don't really have room to carry them around with me. Let me know.
I love you very much. Thank you so much for running around and figuring things out for me with school and everything. Thanks.

Love,
Elder Anderson

Hello Dad,
Things are still going good in Clarksburg. We had a rough week finding people to teach and almost all of our appointments fell through. BUMMER!!! But we will work harder this week and hopefully the Lord will bless us.
Nothing has really changed for me. We have still been doing a lot of tracting and spending time trying to find people to teach. We are starting what is called OYM's ( Open Your Mouth) all it is is everywhere you go you open your mouth and share the gospel with those around you. It has been a challenge but it really helps you love the work.
We had a lesson last night with an excommunicated member of the church who would like to be rebaptized. He is going through a lot of problems trying to get back on the right path. All I can say is addictions are intense. Satan really knows how to use them against us. That is why we are counseled to stay away from anything that causes addictive behavior. One thing that we are trying with him is we are reading the Confrence Ensign with him and his family. It is amazing the power that comes from the words of the prophet. So much strength and hope.
We started asking around and we found three AC Units. The only problem now is the breaker keeps flipping. So we can only have a few lights on while they are running. We are so ghetto. LOL At least we don't sweat when we sleep.
Well, I wish I had some fun stories to tell you but nothing is really happening at this point. I love you all so much.

Love Elder Anderson

Hello Dad,
Sounds like you all had a great 4th of July. Things were a bit different here. They still celebrated Independence Day on Sunday, so we missed all of the good times, and it didn't help that it was a fast Sunday. Oh well.
Things have been going good for us in Clarksburg. We are teaching a few more people. This week we taught a man in Grafton, his name is Donald Edison. We took a member with us, her name is Sister Poe, she is from the Philippines (? spelling). It was a great lesson! He said that he was interested in coming to know if it is true. I have been praying really hard for him. I know that if he reads and prays with a sincere heart and real intent, then the Lord will answer his prayer. We left him a Book of Mormon and asked him to read the first two chapters.
Also this week I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Moreang. He is doing really great for only being out for two weeks. I think that he misses home. He is staying focused on the work and loves it. We tracted into a young girl named Tiffany and now they are teaching her!
The Ward Members are so great here. They are all really excited about the work and are always willing to help. We went and ate and the Gladwells on the 4th of July, and they noticed that the shoes that Elder Moreang was wearing were falling apart. She called us this morning and we secretly took him to JCPenny and she bought him new shoes, some short sleeve shirts, and some new ties. The people out here so love. She offered to get us something but Elder Houser, Elder Hegland, and myself are getting ready to come home. There is no reason to get new things. Plus, I just got new pants.
We have had some fun adventures this week. There are some members that have a huge rope swing the swings out over the road. We got to go and swing on that. It was so high. I thought that the rope was going to break with all of my weight. It was really fun though. Then later we were working next to a lake so we went over and got pictures of the dam. West Virginia is so beautiful!! I love it here.
We have still been doing a lot of tracting lately. Something very interesting has happened the last two weeks. I think that the Lord is pushing us into talking to people about Family History. It all started with Sister Haws giving us some Family History Pamphlets, then the next day I was reading in "Preach My Gospel" and noticed that in the "Finding" Section that the biggest portion is how to use Family History in finding people to teach. I got a really strong impression that that is what we needed to try. So, we followed the promptings and there are a lot of people that are interested in it. So now we are looking at how we can introduce people to Family History on the door step, and at the same time share the gospel with them. We have come up with the idea to teach them about the spirit world and the importance of Family History to bring the gospel to those who will be taught there. Then this morning I was reading in the June Ensign and there is an article about Family History in there, and as I read it I got the same strong feelings. This is definetly something that the Lord wants us to do. I have been carrying around my Pedigree Chart and the pictures of Vera Strong and of Mom's Mom. People really open up when you share them stories about these people. It has been really exciting!!
The work is going so good!! I love it so much and continue to love it more each day. The Gospel is true!!!
I love you very much. Thanks for everything.
Love
Elder Anderson

Hello Dad,
Things are going great here in Clarksburg. We found two new investigators in the little town of Grafton. We have still been doing a lot of tracting but every once in awhile someone will let us in.
Yesterday was Zone Confrence. My first one as Zone Leader. I was really nervous at first but it went really well. One thing about leadership is it helps you find your weadnesses really fast. I feel so inadequate sometimes. There are so many great Elders in this mission that could do a much better job then me. For some reason the Lord thinks that I will do a good job. I have never prayed so much in my life!!
My studies in the morning are probably my favorite part of the day. I love the scriptures so much!! Everytime I study with a question, that question is always answered through the scriptures. I have really come to form a testimony in prayer and Heavenly Father hearing our prayers. Everyday he answers my prayers and helps me become a better person.
This work is so much fun. I have never come to love something so much. It is pretty amazing how quickly you can learn to love somebody because you are sharing the gospel with them. The Lord really does bless you with Charity if you pray for it. I am really going to miss the people of WV. They are all really friendly and so laid back. I can't wait to come back and show you all my mission. I think you are going to think it is great as well. I am so glad that I was called to the Charleston West Virginia Mission. The Lord really does know where we are supposed to go.
Well I hope that everything is going well at home. I love you so much!!
Love Elder Anderson

Hello Dad,
Clarksburg is great. My new companions name is Elder Houser. I have served around him on my mission so I feel like I already know him. It has been a great experience so far to serve with him. We are living in a big house looking over the city of Clarksburg. It is really strange being in a house. It feels like we really are coming home in the evenings.
We have had some great experiences this past week. Just yesterday we were tracting a little town the missionaries haven't tracted in awhile. We talked with a women that we supposedly talked with at somebody elses house. She was very nice but said she wasn't interested. We started walking away and there was a man working in a garage just down the road. It was her husband. We talked (bashed) with him for a few minutes and the the spirit softened his heart. It is amazing because we talked with him for over and hour and his attitude didn't change until we shared a scripture with him from the Bible. We asked him about what he thinks happens to people that die without knowing the gospel. He said that he didn't know. We read him a scripture from 1 Peter that talkes about Christ teaching the gospel to the dead. He thought that that was really cool. It answered a question that he had had for years. The gospel is true!!!!
We have been doing a lot of tracting this past week. People are really friendly but don't want to talk religion. We did get a new investigator but it wasn't from tracting. It was actually and investigator referral. We taught a man named Lee and he brought a friend named Ginger. We taught them the Plan of Salvation. The lesson was so amazing bacause we had a member there. He was able to teach them the gospel in a way that they both understood. The spirit was so strong!!
Everything has been going really great for us. We are working hard and having fun doing it. I love this gospel so much. I love that if we have questions we can ask and receive. I love the spirit and the direction it gives us as we live worthy of that amazing gift. God really does know us and care about us. My new address is 790 Locust Ave Clarksburg WV 26301
I love you very much!!!