🚄 Nach Salzburg 🚄

This week....
Transfer Calls, Tausch and World Wide Missionary Broadcast!!! 

We also Tausched with the Singen Sisters, and it was fun to work with another wonderful golden!! She is so funny! I love tausching and will miss it next transfer when I am not an STL anymore. 

World Wide Missionary Broadcast.... It was amazing to hear from the General Authorities answering questions that a bunch of missionaries have and to hear their advice and encouragement. Missionary work is amazing and they talked about our purpose: teach repentance and baptize converts. Plus it may have been cheesy the way they did it, but it was cool to see the inside of the office buildings where the General Authorities work. 

So you may have heard some changes were made to our schedules. Before we had a very strict schedule: work out from 6:30ish for a half hour, then personal scripture study at 8, companion scripture study at 9, language at 10, and then training (if applicable) at 11. Then lunch and proselyting from 12-21:30.  NOW our schedule is exercise, get ready, an hour of personal study, and a half hour of planning—whenever we feel works best before 10. Then from 10-21 we do lunch, dinner, proselyting, companion study, language study, etc. And we can go to bed between 9:30 and 10:30. This schedule allows us to have more freedom and flexibility but also requires more planning and diligence. 

From the Broadcast, the theme that I felt impressed the most by was how much the Lord trusts us as missionaries. He is now allowing us to decide how we will us our time, which of course some people could waste time more easily this way, but I feel like the Lord is saying, I trust you! I think it was shown pretty obviously this week with the missionaries but the Lord trusts us all as well, He has sent us here to learn and to grow, trusting that we will search for the truth, experiment on His word and then when we find the truth, hold fast to it. I know that the Lord trusts us to use His time wisely, to earnestly come to know Him. I invite you all this week to do something to come to know HIM better this week, maybe you haven't prayed in a while or read in the scriptures or served someone. Anything good is of Him.

I heard everyone guessed Austria but I was skeptical because of legal issues going from Switzerland to Austria but I will be living in Germany and serving in Austria because I am headed to Salzburg!!! I am so excited because my new companion was companions with my mom, Sister Whiting, and Salzburg is where Sister Whiting was "born" (her first area), so I am super excited!! 

Alles Liebe
Sister Anderson
Alpenländische Mission

note from Sister Anderson's mom:

"Casey wanted me to add that she did get to go to the temple Saturday and she thanks everyone for your prayers and positive thoughts.  She had a great time and is grateful that everything worked out."

Pictures:
Us and Schaffhausen sisters at Zone Conference  (where we watched the broadcast)
Sister Heller made heart spaghetti
Sister Heller, Martina and I played basketball today for P-day. 

Another week in Paradise

Hello world,

It seems like forever since I last wrote to you all probably because last week was so short... 

We also Tausched with Freiburg this week, and it was so much fun because we did a super tausch—four Sisters in one Apartment, PARTY!!! 

Last night I had my last dinner with the wonderful Familie Wenczels and friends so we took a picture, natürlich. 

So this week we helped out with a PV Aktivität (Primary activity for the 8-11 year olds). We decided to make them missionaries!!!! We had them write their names down and give it to President Monson (me with his picture in front of my face) and then we gave them calls and Books of Mormon in German and their mission language. Then we did Exercise and Personal study and showed then how to explain the Book of Mormon. Then they went tracting and Sister Heller and I were dressed up like grandmas and they had to give us the Book of Mormon. Then I asked to be baptized, and they showed me the baptismal font and explained it to me! 

On a spiritual note: Endure to the end! I learned a little more about this this past week through some emails I received, and an investigator we are working with, etc. 

The Lord has put us here on the Earth to learn and grow and to progress. Sometimes we get into a rut and our prayers become less sincere and our scripture study less effective. Our prayers and our scripture study are a two- way communication—we can speak to God, and He can respond to us. 

Our testimony or our faith is nicely explained by Elder Scott Grow in Prophetic Principles of Faithfulness, “I explained that a testimony is nothing more or less than the Holy Ghost bearing witness to our soul of the truthfulness of the gospel and of the restored Church. When we fail to pray and study the scriptures, the influence of the Spirit in our life is weakened, lowering our resistance to temptation. When we sin and become unclean, we lose the companionship of the Holy Ghost altogether. Without the ongoing witness of the Spirit, we can easily begin to think we don’t have a testimony and maybe never did.”

I know that sometimes it's hard to keep scripture study and your prayers sincere and effective but I know that when we do, when we pour our whole hearts into our prayers and when we study with questions and the intent to learn, the Holy Ghost will bear witness to us of the truthfulness of the Restored Gospel and peace will enter our hearts!

You all are amazing. Keep going. You can do anything when the Lord is on your side! 

Transfers calls are this Saturday. Any guesses as to where I will be going? I have to leave Switzerland (I am pretty sure anyway) so that means I have 6 zones out of 7 to choose from. Österreich or Deutschland.... 

We also have the Annual Missionary Broadcast this week... so excited, I heard it's going to be really good! 

Alles Liebe
Sister Anderson
Alpenländische Mission

 

A gorgeous house we doored

The Kinder at the PV Aktivität

The Kinder at the PV Aktivität

Our Tausch picture

The Wenczels

A funny door we doored!

 

Baptisms!!!!

Hey we don't have much time today, so I am really sorry about the short email, but the Elders had a baptism, and he is so cool. Angelo is from Italy, and so the baptism was partially in Italian, German, English and Spanish—with translators translating everything so he and his family would be able to understand. Super cool, wish I had time to write more.

Also had Zone Training and I gave my part in German. The AP's were there, which was fun, and I think everyone even understood me!! So that was cool!!! I will learn this language eventually. Ha ha!!! 

So I just wanted to tell you, we found a super cool guy on the street last Monday night. I think it may have been a blessing from our diligence, but maybe not. And we asked him what the meaning of life is, and he said,

“I don't know. I have been wondering that for five years now, and asked and all the churches are missing something, and science has disappointed me too. And I just keep praying to know.”

We gave him a Book of Mormon, and he asked, when he is done with some project thing in March, if we could meet up. I really hope he reads the Book of Mormon and prays to know if it is true. It was super cool because I could really bear true testimony because he spoke English, and he said he could tell we weren't just reciting script but we're speaking from the heart and he was excited to have something only translated once!  

We also went sledding today for Distrikt P-Day and these are the pictures below!!

Alles Liebe
Sister Anderson
Alpenländische Mission

 

 

 

☃❄It snowed!!!!!🌨⛄

Freunde,

This week we went to Germany. I may have already mentioned that because we did emails on the train but it was super fun to go on an adventure and to see some people I haven’t seen in a while!! 

Because it snowed Sister Heller and I took the wonderful opportunity to write Jesus lebt! Mormon.org everywhere we could! It was genius!! We even saw people looking at us as we were writing with our feet! Thank you Grandma and Mom for that idea (Remember when we would say hi to the mailman in the snow?).

On Tuesday before Distrikt meeting the Wetinkon Elders and we were waiting for the Zone Leaders and it had snowed, so we of course made snow balls and anxiously waited for them show up... yes we had a mini snowball fight before Distrikt meeting; it was fun!!

We also had MLC, which meant that we went to München  (Germany again!!!) to be taught by the AP's (Assistants to the President), President and Sister Kohler, and by the former Berlin Mission President. It was so much fun to see so many people I hadn’t seen in a while. I have friends who are in the office, zone leaders and STL's. It was so much fun! We even got to ride on a Ferry!! That was pretty cool! President talked about setting a new baptismal goal for our mission. Sister Kohler talked about persuasion, and the AP's talked about trying to improve constantly, not letting ourselves be okay with where we are. It was so good!!

         Sister Kohler talked about persuasion and in German there are two translations: überreden and überzeugnen. I always viewed persuasion as something bad or rude, negative. In the Book of Mormon when describing the devil, they use überreden which is negative, but when describing the prophets and when they persuaded men to do good, the translation is überzeugnen. Zeugnis is testimony or Witness and reden is to talk. Satan is very good at persuading people or überreden people to go against God's will, but we as missionaries need to testify and persuade (überzeugnen) through our testimonies that Jesus Christ lives! Persuasion is as good or as bad as your intentions for it. 

I also had a really cool experience with fasting this week. It wasn’t in what I fasted for, but how! Normally, I just skipped 2 meals so I would start my fast before I went to bed and then I would skip breakfast and lunch and then have an early dinner, but Sister Heller has always done a full 24 hour fast and I felt kind of guilty, so I did it with her. At first I didn’t know about it and the temptation was strong at different parts, but one thing I noticed as I went to Church suddenly, my stomach didn’t growl like a bear and I was weak physically but strong spiritually. It was an amazing experience! I can really put into words what it felt like, but I encourage you next Fast Sunday to fast for 24 hours and see what you feel and experience!

If you don't understand what fasting is or why we fast visit this link:

https://www.mormon.org/blog/what-is-fasting-why-do-mormons-fast 

If you want more in depth information on how you can be better at fasting visit his link:

https://www.lds.org/topics/fasting-and-fast-offerings?lang=eng

My challenge this week is to look at the Church's Self-Reliance Program. Maybe in there you can find a goal to work on and make it a New Year’s Resolution Becoming Celestial and you will become more self-reliant!

Alles Liebe
Sister Anderson
Alpenländische Mission

 

🎆🎉2017!!!🎉🎆

Freunde!

     I got the wonderful opportunity to skype with my family on Monday and it was amazing to see their faces again! I loved celebrating the New Year with our ward (until 9:30 when we had to leave to go home)! Sister Heller can’t believe it's the end of her black year (the year she is gone on her mission for the whole year) and I can't believe I hit my 6 month mark soon!!! This year is going to be amazing! 

    For me, I find the miracles and treasured moments are found when someone smiles to you and the last 10 people growled or when someone lets you tell them your message whether or not they have interest because the last 10 doors were slammed in your face. This week was filled with vorbei's (going by) on Potentials and genuine finding! 

      We had many small miracles such as a young woman getting super excited to see us, letting us in, making us tea and feeding us cake and allowing us to share our message with her. (Sister Heller and I thought we were in South America). Or when your two potentials let you in to share your message with the rest of their family and, although there is a language barrier, have genuine interest and want to learn more. We are now looking for a Persian Book of Mormon and other materials for one of our families! Maybe this applies to all missions, I don't know, but especially here, you find people who have come from all over the world—especially war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan, and from poorer countries such as Brazil or Hungary, but even just other parts of Europe like France and Italy.  I am nowhere near fluent in German and I can't speak these other languages at all and often their knowledge of German and or English is very limited, which causes a huge language barrier, but those who are honestly seeking the truth open their hearts and the Spirit can testify to them that what I am saying is true despite the language. It is amazing to see the Spirit work in the hearts of those you find.

     I know that the Lord is preparing His children, there are people searching for the truth, searching for a way home, but they know not where to find it. I have come to realize when we as missionaries pray to know where to go Finding and then go there and are diligent and don't let our hunger and fatigue get in the way, we find those people; we find the elect. 

     I just want you all to know, I know that there is a God in Heaven and He is the literal Father of our spirits! He loves us and wants us to return home. He knows what is best for us and has provided us with the necessary steps, a plan to return to live with Him. I know that this is His true Church, that if anyone is looking for the truth, you can look in the Book of Mormon. It is true, I know because I have read it! 

     Sister Heller and I have goals for this upcoming year and so we are focusing on bettering ourselves so we titled them becoming celestial...

     Set a goal to become better this year. What can you do to improve? Pick a Christlike characteristic (humility, patience, being charitable etc.) and set goals to improve and mark your progress. You will be amazed at what you will see!

 

Liebe Sister Anderson
Alpenländische Mission