life. We woke up @ 2:30 and then got to the airport. Then we got the opportunity to call home which i was super excited about :) But also it was really sad because i had to say goodbye again..
When i found out I was going to Thunder Bay I didn't realize actually how far away it is from where we were it. So that night we drove 5 hours and oh my goodness it was sooooo long. I found out that the ward boundary here is bigger than the state of Utah
I stay with two other missionaries. Elder Smith and Elder Johnson! All 3 of them that i stay with only have 2 or 3 months left in their mission. So to be honest it is really hard to know they are so close to going home. They always talk about what they are gonna first do when they get home and it makes me a little sad because i just left.
But it is okay, I am doing well. We have played some basketball and some soccer and that gets my mind off of things.
So the first day i got here, me and Elder Hawks went walking around trying to find people to talk to and wow was i nervous. He had me try to talk to this one girl that was just standing on the corner walking back and forth. I accepted the challenge. But before we got to her, a random guy drove by and yelled " GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ONE " (Pointing to the girl) not knowing what that meant i just kept going and was about to talk her. So i said "hello, how are you?" She said good and just walked away. I found out later that night that that girl is a Hooker..
Saturday morning my Companion got a call from a ward member giving us a referral! He told me that we were meeting with him that night at 7:00. His name was John Paul. Elder Hawkes told me that i was going to commit him to be Baptized and to read the Book of Mormon.When he told me that i got super scared and was not confident in myself at all. Right before we went Elder Hawkes had to go back to the house and get his stuff for the lesson. So i got on my knees and a said a Prayer asking Heavenly Father for help in this lesson. One of the most
sincere Prayers that i have said. When we got to the apartment his door was already opened. So we knocked still and he came to the door with a cigarette and he said " COME ON IN BOYS" very loudly. We got in there and he told us his whole life story and what he has been through. He has been shot, stabbed, 3 strokes, 19 DUI's, He broke his right hand 43 times and his left 15, his dad did not treat him right as a kid and so on. He told us that he was wondering why he is still here and that he is looking for a church to join. We taught him the Restoration and then we showed him a Mormon Message called "Mountains to Climb" ( I recommend watching it ) and the Spirit was so strong there. I could tell he felt it. After that I invited him to be Baptized one of the days in September. He thought about it for a second and then said "Yes." That made me so happy. Then after talking about the Book of Mormon for a little bit i invited him to read it and Pray about it. He accepted the invitation. I bore my testimony right then and man the Spirit was just so strong. I felt the love of our Heavenly Father for John. It was so amazing!
Heavenly Father really does love all of his children! He loves each and every one of you guys I want you to know that! This work is hard. It really is the hardest thing i have done. But i know with the Lords help i can do this. I want to thank all of you for all the emails I really enjoy hearing from each and everyone of you. Please keep em
coming It seriously makes my week!
Love,
Elder Anderson
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