June 10, 2013 El Triunfo Temple Trip

Hey Mom Dad and everyone,

Man that sounds like an all of a sudden trip hahaha. I cant wait to go.

Man well this week was cool. We went to Choluteca everyday but Saturday and Sunday, and we almost had to go yesterday hahaha. On Tuesday last week I got to go on divisions with Harrington for the 1st time since the MTC hahaha. I got to go to his area because his comp was showing some stuff to the branch secretary on mls the church system to do all the tithing and stuff like that. Man it was really cool to remember old times and to be able to do everything for real this time with both of us knowing Spanish. Sorry there wasn't any time for photos hahaha. But we had a good time anyways.

Lets see that same day Elder Harrington's comp convinced an Inv we have had since I got here to get baptized on Sunday. Her name is Dora. Her sister had gotten baptized like a week before I got here, and Dora was staying with that sister watching her because she was pregnant with like 7 months. So we finally got her to get baptized yesterday and we also confirmed her hahaha.

Lets see its been really rainy out here lately. and when there is rain means that there isn't light. I think everyday this week the lights have gone out at lease once during the day. It was funny on Saturday Honduras was going to play against Costa Rica and just before that the lights had gone out for like 2 hours and like 30 min before the lights came back. hahaha That just shows how obsessed Hondurans are for soccer hahaha.

And this week was my comps turn to get sick. Saturday and Sunday we didn't leave the house. I ready like 60 pages of the BofM in those 2 days I have like 150 pages till I finish again. I have been reading a lot. I want to finish it this time and one more time in Spanish before I leave. I have my English triple with me almost everyday when we leave the house just in case we end up doing nothing hahaha.

Lets see so this weekend we are looking at lease 3 baptisms so its going to be a little bit of a crazy week cuz only 2 are from the same house and the other is from another. But it will be a good time. And what the Zl's are telling me is that I will probably train again these changes that are coming. So we we’ll see how everything works out. On Thursday this week the branch is going to be going to the temple. There are 2 families to get sealed and like 3 that are going to get endowed and a lot of people that are going to just go do family work. its going to be soooo awesome.

Well I love you guys have fun if you got to Santa cuz get me a black shirt hahahahaha. tell all the cousins I say hi and I miss them lots

Love

Elder Spencer Olsen Anderson

photos download very slowly sorry. next week ill get you some

June 3, 2013 El Triunfo Making Tortilla

Hey mom dad and everyone,

Well man this week was just another one of those weeks in the mission. touching doors getting sick same old some old.  Man I  honestly don't know what to say. Hahaha We have a new investigator named David. He is the nephew of a less active member that we are activating right now. He is progressing super fast. There really isn't anything big going on with him. He should be getting baptized this weekend. 

The Caceres family is going there. We went and talked to Javier the husband now that his wife is back from Nicaragua and everything. he says that he doesn't want to go through with everything right now because he doesn't have enough money to go through with a nice little party and feels bad if he doesn't put anything. so we were trying to tell him that he didn't need to worry about it but he said he didn’t want to have problems with members later on down the road and knowing this branch they will say something hahaha. but they are still we told Javier that he would be blessed with the things if made an actual effort to go to church. so we should start to see some results with them right now.

Man the big thing that happened was that I got sick. so bad on Saturday that we didn't even leave the house until like 6 and that's because we had too haha. but don't worry. 

man I have nothing to tell you guys this week. well next Wednesday is changes and I cant wait to see what happens I love you guys sorry for not writing much  

Elder Spencer Olsen Anderson

El Triunfo May 27, 2013 Schools out for the Summer!

Hey mom dad and everyone,

Hahahah Ya, I can feel you I cant wait to take a break myself hahahaha. At least in October I’ll be able to go and see your class ahhahah. Man the time is running away from me. Im looking at all the pics you sent and holy crap Justin Morrison and Easton Troyanek. I can’t believe how big they are. That’s so awesome for Garrett and Mitchell that they get to go on that trip. I would like to do something like that with them. And knowing Eliason, man he got them in over their heads. The Bishop is coming out with his leg completely broken this time. hahahaha. Skooter time.

For Connor the best shirts that I have seen and had are the Stratford shirts you have been sending me. They are light, comfy and wash very easily. Shoes just get something comfortable that’s all. He will always be able to find shoes where he is at but those boots are a must. And tell him with the suit not to wear the pants unless he is wearing the suit cuz they don’t last long. Don’t take a 1st aid kit, waste of space. I threw it out in Monjaras. Sewing kit super necessary. Don’t take like nice going out cloths. I never have used . Umm clippers for hair even if he doesn’t use them they will be good to help out poorer members with hair cuts and what not, cuz a lot of people don’t even have enough money to do that out here. And he if forgets something in the mtc he will be able to get it.

So on Thursday we had zone conference and I got to talk to Pres. Hernandez about you  guys coming down. So what he told me is that you guys can come down...... but he isn’t going to give me any days extra. He said that you guys could come down and pick me up and that he would give me to you guys in the chapel where we do changes on Wednesday the 16th. So what I figure you guys can do is come down the day before and stay in the Marriott here in Tegus. it is really close to the change chapel. I didn’t get to ask him too much but he said it was ok. So get the tickets ready so they can get my flight on the same as your guys return flight home so you  guys would come down Tuesday the 15th and you guys figure out how much time you want to be down here for.

Cool stories... well on Thursday  went on división en Choluteca with a missionary named Elder Vanegas. He is from Nicaragua. His área has the famous Choluteca river and bridge in it so I told him I wanted a pic down there.  so we went down and there were a few Little kids down there swimming and they were just being annoying. And then out of nowhere came this guy tatted up and said hey Elders what’s up? So we started to talk with him. Found out he was a member of about 15 years. He had gotten into drugs a little while back. but had put his life together. He told us that about 8 years earlier that he was headed out for a missión and that he had his calling in hand and was headed to the Dominican Republic. He told us that he is currently with his wife but they aren’t married, and that she isn’t married. So while we were there with him we set up an appointment with him and he said it was cool. Its crazy for small things that we do. They can turn into miracles for others.

Well, that’s what I got for this week. We do have a few more people that we are teaching right now. We have about 8 dates set right now. Things are starting to look really good for us right now. There are 2 weeks left in this change on the 12th. I can’t wait to see what they send me this change I sure hope that its another gringo. I would love that cuz I have only had one my entire mission. So that would be nice. Well I’ll let you guys go this week. Only 21 more to go hahahaha. I’ll keep you informed with everything about you guys coming down and everything.

Love you guys lots

Elder Spencer Olsen Anderson

El Triunfo, May 20, 2013 Elder Anderson

Hey mom,

Freak my weeks are starting to be the same. I can’t even remember what I did this week. hahaha. This letter is going to be really short. The big thing that is going on right now is that we are trying to find new people. All of our people are either getting baptized or dropping like flies. So we have been doing a lot of contacting. And I really don't like contacting hahaha. So we are trying to work with less actives and things like that to see if we can get references. That has been the big majority of our time right now.

We are still working with the family C It’s just getting a little frustrating. We can’t get Javier to church. He says he considers himself a member of the church already. His wife is still in Nicaragua taking care of her daughter who was just operated on so she has a little bite of an excuse not to go hahaha but we with get them there.

Man just 5 months left hahaha. But I'm doing good. Doing my best to stay focused. But you know its ok. I really don't know what else to tell you. I’ll try to have good story for you next week. Love you guys

Officially  Elder Spencer Anderson hahahahaha

 Hola yo me llamo Elder Anderson

So a few months, Spencer had a missionary tag made with his Mom's maiden name, Anderson.  He finally got it back.  I don't know if he is actually wearing it or if he just got it to bring home.  

On Saturday we went over in the morning to Alicia's house to help her to fill up her pila (water tank) with water and this is her system. She is a nearly 78 year old lady and has to work so hard just so she has water to wash and clean with.  

El Triunfo May 13, 2013 Pictures

So Before we hung up from our phone call with Spencer, I told him that he still had to write the next day.  I wrote him a quick short note, but he didn't.  He did better.  He sent pictures.  It was so good to talk with him, but I love the pictures!

 this is our baptism this last weekend hna alicia by me is one of her grand daughters

 this i toñito he is the branch sec and getting ready for his mish so i helped him upload this foto to his account

this is anadella sheis a cute litte 4 year old in the branch she has a peice of cabbage on her head 

  this is me my comp and elder amiso he just went home he is a way cool guy

 goobye honduras hello nicaragua

 i caught this tiny little gyrobo with javier jr like 2 weeks hahah

 this is javier jr with the gyrobo

El Triunfo May 12, 2013 Happy Mother's Day

What a great Mother's Day it was this year talking with Spencer.  He called us Saturday Evening to make sure everything was set up to Skype on Sunday.  He had made arrangements with the landlord to use his computer so we could Skype with him.  The plan was he was going to call around 12:30 or 1:00 pm.  We aren't finished with Church until 2:00 pm, so we left early so we could talk with him.  We got home and he was waiting for us to Skype him and we were waiting for him to Skype us, so I ended up taking a little much needed nap.  He finally emailed us to Skype him, so we did, and by then he had an appointment to go to, so he was going to Skype a little while later.  So Mom got a longer nap.  It was nice.  When he finally was able to Skype, he discovered that the computer he used didn't have a microphone, so he had to use a headset.  I kept telling him he looked like a traffic control person.  It was a nice visit.  We learned so much about where he's living and how things are going.  We pulled up Google Earth and found his house, church, and town center.  Things are going well and he has a couple of families he is working with.  He did have a baptism the day before.  He was a little nervous that the Hermana was going to show up, so they went and picked her up.  It all turned out fine.  He talked about the food he is eating and he is cooking for himself more now than ever before.  He talked about the Circus investigators.  They are doing well, but he doesn't think they will get baptized before they leave town.  But they are interested in the Church.  

We talked a lot about the things we need to do to get Connor ready to go.  He loves his Ecco Shoes and he likes the new white shirts I got him for Christmas from JCPenny.  He doesn't like the suit pants I got for him because on all of the pants, the waistbands have come apart.  We talked about his watch issue.  He figures he has 8 different watches on his mission.  He talked about his schedule for the week and they go to Choluteca 2 times and week.  He likes to go to Cholu, but it costs a lot of money in bus fare.  We also told him that we want to go to Honduras to pick him up so we made a few plans.  We hope it all can work out.  When would we ever be able to do a trip like that again.  He is excited for us to come.  He just hopes he can serve in Tegucigalpa before he comes home so he can show us around the city.  

It was just a great day to talk to him.  He is always happy and always smiling.  He is a good kid and has grown a lot while he has been out.  He plans on coming home and working at Harkins for the Holiday Season and then go to BYU-I in the Winter.  It will be nice to have him home for a couple of months before he leaves again.  

 The first call.  We talked for about 1 1/2 hours

He called back just before he went to bed to say good bye.  He was out of phone card minutes, and the headset wasn't working anymore.  So he could hear us but all he could do was type his answers.  It was so hard to say good bye.  I think its harder to say goodbye through Skyping because he can see you.  On the phone, he can just hear you and it's just easier.  That's ok.  It was a great Mother's Day!

April 30, 2013 El Triunfo Great Pictures!

Hey Mom Dad and everyone,

Well it was just a normal week... We spent the entire week getting Javier and Edith ready for their baptism. But there was a little inconvenience there on Tuesday. Monday in the morning while we were play basketball in the stake center the Zl's got a call and told me that me and Elder Harrington had to go to Tegus to renew our residency together. SO my comp stayed with Harrington's comp and him and I took a 6am bus to Tegus to make it to the office on time. So we went up and it wasn't just us that were getting it retaken out it was like 15 other missionaries. So it took forever. We almost didn't have time to go to get food . But we ended up going to PriceSmart next to the office and Harrington and I shared like a Costco pizza. It was great. And then we went home. So while I was in Tegus I told my comp to call the citas we had and let them know that we weren't going to be able to pass by and to explain to the Caceres family that everything was going to good for their baptism and wedding. But he didn't explain that very well. So when we got there the next day and went to their house on Wednesday, Edith told us that she had planned a trip to go see her sick daughter in Nicaragua and that she wasn't going to get back till like Sunday night... That was because my comp didn't explain that everything was going good. 

So she left on Thursday and we kept preparing the rest of the family and we passed the baptism and everything for Monday and we thought that that would work out great for the papers to give them a little more time to get everything set up. So Sunday Javier couldn't go to church but his littlest daughter did and Edith was still with her daughter in Nicaragua. So we were getting a little scared that Edith wasn't going to show up on time because after church we called Javier and he told us that she wasn't home yet, because Elder Lawson and his comp came out to do the interviews and everything for Sunday night. But when we finally got there on Sunday night with the whole crew Edith was there and I felt so relieved. So he did the interviews and everyone passed that was ready. So we went back to the house and we made plans to make an old fashioned kids lunch. chicken fingers french fries and an apple hahaha. So on Friday I had bought 2 chicken breasts and 4 potato's and all the stuff to do it. It ended up being like 4 pounds of fried chicken fingers and I cooked it all in less time then the 1st batch of french fries but it all turned out really good. 

So then on Monday we took it like a normal work day so that we could have today as pday... But what happened was that when it all came down to it the office elder that was in charge of getting the papers to me didn't send them to Choluteca till 3 in the afternoon and it takes 3 and a half to 4 hours to get to cholu and at least another hour to get to my area... so it didn't happen. Man it was hard to take. But I was showing less frustration and calmness cuz I have a new comp that worries just about everything. But so what in the end is going to happen with them is that Javier is starting a corn field and put up all the money and has all the workers and as soon as he plants he has to keep a tight eye on the field for like 10 to 15 days till the 1st sprouts come up because there are a lot of pigs and crows around and they will eat the corn so he has to do that so we are going to try to get them on the 11 of May but, if not, for sure the 18. It’s not a fallen baptism but just delayed for the time being hahaha. 

So now with the coolest thing I think I will ever do as a missionary.... So last Sunday 2 weeks ago. 5 people showed up to church. I looked at my comp and said he didn't know them. So when I got down from blessing the sacrament I went over and talked to one of them. And come to find out they were a circus hahahahaha. Actually the owners are already members and they brought a few of their acts with them to church. So later that afternoon there was one guy that is really interested in the church and wants to change. We talked with him for a little bit. His name is Gonzalo. He has a girlfriend/wife kind of deal and she is pregnant. But last Sunday we only were able to talk to him. So on Saturday 3 days ago we went over to the circus again and we were able to talk to his wife and they both ended up going to church on Sunday. Her name is Bessie. And her sister is the owners wife. So we started talking to them and they are looking really positive. The big thing will be to figure out how to convince them to get married and baptized before they leave Triunfo. But we currently have an investigating family that are clowns, well Bessie is a dancer. Gonzalo is a clown and Bessie has a 6 year old son named Julio who is also a clown. They are great people I really hope everything goes good. 

Well I'm doing great. Got changes tomorrow and we already know we are not getting changed. But hopefully this next 6 weeks passes quickly hahaha. 

I love you guys

Elder Spencer Olsen 

here is my zone 

biscuts and gravy with elder lawson

this is the supermarket i buy at  la despensa familar  

 this is edit and one of our inv daughter not edits

 here is the sandlot field i played on hahaha all those guys were playing bare foot 

 this was the ront room of the 1st house 

  this was the baptism i had when i got here Yojanna 

elder cater was here at the beging of his mish hahaha 

this is sister smart she is the mission nurse she is way cool reminds me of the old ladies in the ward