Happy Day!

Trevor graduated from Desoto Central High School on Saturday. We were very proud of him. And the graduation was amazing--302 graduates and from begining to end it was 1 hour and 5 minutes! Trevor was very selfless in going to his own graduation and walking across the stage. He only did it for his mom. He wanted to be at the Forever the Sickest Kids concert!!

From Pontevedra

So I am doing fine. i had a bunch of awesome emails this week-really good ones. I am sad that I won´t be able to write all I want to, but that´s alright. So this week was interesting. You all know how last week I had weird worries about kyle getting hurt and stuff? Well it got bad last monday night, to the point where I couldn´t concentrate and so Elder Pruitt gave me a blessing. It was an amazing experience. I will just say that I have no worries at all anymore. And I have been shown once again that God loves me and wants me to be happy.

So Good week, we thrust in our sickles with our might up till thursday. Then... we had our day of miracles. Let me explain, ever since I have gotten here we have been giving out tons of cards with our number on them. Also we have had countless people tell us that they would call us. Also we have had many investigators and members tell us that they would call us when they could meet. So with all of this amazing potential succes, we decided to excercise our faith and be ready to make the miracles. We stayed home thursday, friday, and most of Saturday waiting for them to call. If they did call, we would have been perfectly prepared to help lead them to salvation. We did our part, and that´s all anyone could ask. But don´t worry, I got a lot done for myself too. I took a few naps(we have a loud ringtone) And read a whole bunch. I received answers to a lot of questions I have been having and really just got a great spiritual boost. I love making miracles.

I´m just kidding, Elder Pruitt got pretty sick so we stayed in a lot. It was intensely frustrating, I think us being set apart as missionaries, we are extra blessed with an intense desire to be doing the work, and unfortunately when we are sick that doesn´t go away. But he is all better and we are ready to kick this week in the face. Also, we got another new investigator last week, which makes 2 weeks in a row of a new investigator. I think we are closing in on Argentine kind of success. But this new guy is awesome, his name is ramon, which now that that is kyles new area, makes it awfully portentious.(I think that´s a word, I´ve been using lots of eloquent words lately-I am getting carried away with my Spanish synonym dictionary(they don´t have a word for thesaurus))

So he is tight, has lots of problems, but wants answers. And he told us he is willing to follow every step we give him to change his life, as long as he sees results. That is awesome cause the one thing we can guarantee is if you follow the steps, you will get results. So that is exciting.

Interesting news,the Ap´s or Assistents to the President are coming to pontevedra to do exchanges with us this Saturday. It was kind of scary at first cause when you hear that you automatically think that they are coming to see what the heck you are screwing up. I mean, our numbers aren´t the greatest. But then I thought about it. I am super excited for them to come now, because I want to 1. Show that we have been doing our very best here for almost 3 transfers now 2. show my personal growth that I have done here, I have really gained a lot in my contacting skills, and courage to do them and 3. Learn as much as I can from whoever I am with. I am really stoked and can´t wait. Also, since my companion has 4 weeks left in his mission, we think I will be the real focus of this thing. A little scary, but I can handle it.lol.

So I love you all and have great stuff coming. Thank you for all of your prayers and support and I love you all. Last night we had an amazing lesson with A member, an investigator Luis, a strong member of the church and his less active family, and a returned missionary who served here and his new wife, and did a FHE with all of them there. It turned out amazing, a super fun, super spiritual thing. Also I got to know this returned missionary and am convinced that he was one of the best missionaries in the mission. And I saw the blessings that he had, and I really stepped up my desire to be like him, to know that you have made an impact, that people will remember you and thank you, and that you have internalized everything you taught. We taught the lesson and hijacked President Uchtdorf´s Nehemias lesson, but applied it to the family, how we are doing a great work, and can´t let anything stop or distract us. And I loved how it felt when I could add my living testimony to how important the family is. That is my favorite principle to teach, my favorite contact theme, everything. I love you all. And I love all my friends too. Thanks for everything.

Also Dad´s email for us about getting near the halfway point was awesome. I am totally printing it out. Also mom thanks for the pictures, they will be very useful.lol. -Elder Anderson

Just so you know--i don't edit these for spelling, capitalization or grammar. They are just the way I get them!

News from the Philippines!

Sorry I haven't put letters up from Brett and Kyle for a while. Here are the latest words--

So I am writing to you from a random internet shop in Ramon, Isabella. Yes, I got transferred. Yes, my companion is way nice, Elder Hernandez from Batanges (it’s still on Luzon). Yes, I have a really nice ward. It’s huge. They actually have organizations and things that function. Also the members are really nice. The first night we were here my companion took me to meet the loudest of them. Only he told me they were investigators. And they had some really hard questions. And then they all laughed at me and tried to make me feel welcome. Didn’t work. Jerks. No, that’s just a joke. I really like them. They’re way friendly and joke a lot, they just talk really fast and sometimes throw in Illokano so it’s hard to understand them. Then they ask me why I’m so quite. We also have dinner appointments scheduled for every Thursday through Sunday night, and that’s not including all the members who told me just to let them know and they would fix us dinner. It’s awesome. They’re super friendly.

Also, I would tell you that I’m a district leader now, but that might come across as me being proud. So I won’t mention it and strenghthen my humility skills even more.Yeah, I’m freaking out though. I have to interview someone for baptism tomorrow. So I would appreciate it if you could throw in a couple prayers.

It’s actually not bad. I don’t even have to teach a district meeting for another week because we have Zone Conference this one. The only problem is the missionary who was before me. He served in Ramon a long time ago, and then got called to be AP. Then for his last cycle he got to pick where he would be assigned. He chose Ramon. The thing is, he’s got skills. I looked up to him. All of the members basically worship him. And I have to fill his shoes. Kind of got shafted on that one. They threw him a party Saturday night (he came back and toured the mission with his parents after he picked them up from Manila). It was ridiculous. They had games, and dances, and performances from every organization. All for him. They were basically singing his praises. Even our investigators love him. When I go to them and introduce myself they all just asked “Where’s Tevi?” Then they sounded really sad when I told them he went home. But then we invited them to his party on Saturday, and (lucky for us) he went to church on Sunday as well. So we got a lot of investigators to show up. It was crazy though. They were all outside after sacrament, taking pictures, getting autographs, like he was a movie star. I was just thinking “he was with you every day for the past three months. He’s only been gone three days. Am I that bad a replacement?” It’s fun though, cause I found one of his fellowshippers that is a young man who didn’t get a chance to talk to him (he didn’t even look at me either). So we stood at the back and scoffed. I’ve got a friend.

I’m doing well though, and glad you appreciated the package. Also, trentin got called harry potter when I showed some members pictures. I laughed. Then they said trevor looks like Jesus. I didn’t laugh.

Also, we taught a guy who just got back from Saudi. His job there was a taga-templa. In tagalong, taga means one who does the verb that follows for a living. Templa means to mix. Yes, his entire purpose in Saudi was to mix tea for the king, and all the random presidents and diplomats that went there. He’s a cool investigator. And the juice he gave us at the end was mixed very well, if I do say so myself.

Sorry it’s short, I’m running late. I love you all. Bye.

Music!

Brett wrote these songs before he left on his mission. He asked me to put them on his Facebook but I could never get it to work. My amazing daughter, Allison, finally helped me upload them this week. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoydeg_7PTA&feature=email
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GJ0_BzIaTQ&feature=email

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Mine grows in hay bales this year!Basically you get the bales to start to decompose and that creates the base for your garden. No tilling, no loads of top soil, no digging on your knees! After about two weeks of getting the bales ready it was time to plant.

I planted several varieties of tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, parlsey, oregano and basil from plants. And cucumbers, cantalope and cilantro from seeds. The cucumbers came up in less than two days! The cantalope came up in three and I am still waiting for the cilantro seeds to come up.

Now I just need some sunshine! I have plenty of water:) I'll let you know how things progress throughout the summer. I have great hopes for this small little garden of mine.

What's for dinner, Mom?

I haven't posted a recipe for a while. This was last night's dinner. And since everyone always takes seconds, I know it is a winner.

Chicken Bog

1 (3-pound) chicken, quartered
1 pound smoked link sausage
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 teaspoons Seasoned Salt (recommended: Lawry's)
2 teaspoons House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 bay leaves
8 cups water
3 cups raw white rice

Slice the sausage into 1/2-inch pieces. In a stockpot, combine the chicken, sausage, onion, butter, seasonings and bay leaves. Add the water, bring to a boil, cover, and cook at a low boil for 40 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool slightly. Pick the meat from the bones, discarding the bones and skin. Add the rice to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring well. Boil for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the rice is done. Remove the bay leaves, and return the chicken to the pot.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.