Hello family! Idaho sounds pretty normal. Well I'm glad the house will be in good shape when I get home! Is my weight bench still there? I need to get in shape.. So about school. Well before I left I applied for a deferment and so as far as I know I'm starting in September already.. But just in case I'm not, yes I would like to go to school in September I think. Yikes school. Has march madness started yet? So Rachel and Justin are moving to Washington huh? Darn, I wanted to visit Boston! Oh well... Well for me this week was pretty good. This week is transfers again. I most likely will not be transferring since it's almost positive Elder Mariner is, which is fine with me cause I've only been here for 6 weeks, and it's no good to have a 1 transfer area. We had quite a bit of success with our teachings this week. We have one investigator, Vilmar, who is doing really well. He is an unbaptized member, meaning he was blessed as a baby but never baptized. His parents were baptized quite a few years ago in one of the other wards here in Bacolod, and then they moved here to Magsungay ward and never went to church. But Vilmar is 18 and wants to be baptized. He's read the whole Book of Mormon and is way good. Things are also going all right with the rescue. We had some really cool lessons this week with some, and one of them even came to church for the first time in 12 years! Way cool. It was good to finally see some success in that area, cause a lot of the less actives we visit are way hard and some won't even let us teach them. Then there are ones that are not quite as hard, and will let us teach them, but still don't repent and come to church or read their scriptures or anything. But this week we found some good ones that actually have a desire to change and come back. Really cool. Pretty much that is the most exciting thing that happened this week. We ate a lot of food since Elder Mariner will be transferring haha. I'm addicted to this native food called alupe, it's like coconut milk and shredded coconut mixed with this stuff called kamote kahoy, which is like a root lookin thing they eat here. Anyway it's sweet and way tasty and I'm gonna be way sad when I get home and can't eat it anymore. I guess thats all for me this week. If anyone wants specific souvenirs let me know cause I'm running out of time haha. Mom, I got your tablecloth, so no worries there. Maybe you want 2 just in case? I dunno. All right well thanks for everything, love you all! Love, Elder Andersen

Hey everyone. Well this has been another fast week. The time is ticking! Things are going all right here. This past week we only worked 4 days because we had all these trainings and meetings and fun stuff like that. The work... well it's getting there. It's just harder working with inactive members cause they're a lot harder than investigators, but I like it. We're really just going hard and getting out there and visiting as many members as we can and teach them. Luckily, this area is not very big so it won't take too long to get to all the members. The hard part is teaching them all and getting them all active again. Elder Mariner and I are doing just great so no problems there. I've been able to have some cool experiences this week interviewing people for baptism, it's just so cool to see when people are truly converted and have so much faith. I interviewed a woman yesterday and we were talking about keeping the sabbath day holy and she said she has been coming to church every sunday even though she and her child don't have enough to eat and things because she believes that if she keeps the commandments, Heavenly Father will give her extra work throughout the week so she can have enough money. Way awesome. If only every member here had faith like that. That's what we're trying to do here. But one of the things I've learned on my mission is you can't help people get more faith than you have, so I'm really trying to work on mine, and everything else as well. I'm sorry this email is short, I just don't have much else new to tell you all this week! Love you all! Thanks for everything! Love, Elder Andersen

Hello everyone. Well sounds like I'm not even going to recognize the house when I get home! But I don't remember reading anything about you doing anything to the basement, so I'll still have my lair hahaha. Andrea's pregnant? Since when? Dogs can be overweight? Lot's of new things are happening with you all. As for me, nothing really new happened. Still just working hard on the rescue and really trying to get people to come back to church and everything. We had stake conference yesterday, it was pretty good. The stake center was stuffed to the max, which I didn't know could happen with Filipinos! So that's a good thing though, but there were a lot of people that weren't there so I wonder what's going to happen when they all become active again! I encountered something new this week. Last night we were at this members house visiting them and some guy walked by the house and the member called him in and was like Elders this guy loves to read the Book of Mormon, but he's not a member. So the guy came in and sat down and we talked to him. He has read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price and whatever else, and of course the Bible. He goes to the public plaza and preaches to people and debates with pastors and stuff using the Book of Mormon! He said sometimes people ask him to baptize them and he says, "I can't, I don't have the authority. You have to go to the Mormons, that's the true church." Also he had such an amazing understanding of the scriptures and like prophecies and the great apostasy and everything. He was going off about how there is only one true church and the reformists and then he kept referring to the Jews and Gentiles, it blew me away! This guy has a better understanding of our church than 95% of the Members in it here, and he's not even a member! He said he knows the Book of Mormon is true, the Church is true, Joseph Smith was a true prophet, everything. He even mentioned Joseph Smith was shot because he was running for President, and people didn't want him to etc, and so he was persecuted and eventually murdered. I can count on my two hands the number of members I've met on my mission that know that. I asked him why he wasn't a member, and why he is denying himself essentially candidacy for the Celestial Kingdom. He replied he's still a little tough but he's working on it. Cause he was already baptized into his former religion that has now fallen apart, but he said he's just not ready yet. Way crazy. So we're gonna try and really help him out. He's never been to church before so we just want him to try that first. But yeah, that's my cool experience for the week. Things are going well with the work. It's still just as hot as ever. Mom, whats your recipe for chocolate pudding, I lost it? OK thanks for everything, love you all! Love, Elder Andersen

Hey Family, this week has been all right. Good things are starting to happen here in Magsungay. Elder Mariner and I are doing great and it's a lot of fun. President Monson's daughter, and sister Wixom of the Primary general presidency, along with Elder Jon U. Michael Teh of the seventy came and did a fireside in Bacolod, but we weren't allowed to attend. Bummer. Oh well. The work this week was fine. We're just really pushing the rescue. The are presidency said they don't care if we get any baptisms as long as we are bringing people back to church. I think it's awesome. It's a lot harder working with them though cause they hearts are harder, but I can feel and see how much the Lord wants those of his children to come back. It's been a little frustrating the past couple of weeks cause people keep promising us they will come to church and then they don't. Way lame. But it's all right, we are just going to keep on working with them and help resolve their concerns. A lot of them are shy because they have been inactive for so long, it's hard for them to come back. Especially if they have returned to word of wisdom problems and other things. A lot really depends on us to let them see we really care about them, and we love them no matter what their problems are. Despise the sin not the sinner. We found a couple new investigators this week. The mom's name is Vicky. We met her cause we bought some stuff from her store. She has a little store and then a carinderia ( "The Carinderia is a local eatery selling and serving and viands with wooden benches. It's also known as a "turo-turo" wherein customers literally point what they want to eat from an array of cauldrons.The carinderia was considered as a respite of travelers having originated as a quick food service in busy crossroads. Today, carinderias have evolved according to the needs to Filipinos there are now variations including the travelling carinderia and the high-class carinderia.") She is way nice. She has a little brother that is a member in Manila, so she said she was interested in listening to us. We taught her a quick lesson and it was pretty good. We have another appointment with her tomorrow, with free food :) Can't beat that! All right well hope things are all going well with you. All is well in Zion? Joke. Ok well love you ALL. Go hard. Love Elder Andersen

Hey family, this week has been pretty good. Elder Mariner and I are having a good time, he's a lot of fun and he makes me laugh  way hard when he tells me about Samoa and everything he did back home. He's way good at rugby! He's way shy to talk about it and wouldn't tell me anything, but I found out he was on the Samoan national rugby team (under 19 years age) But still way good! The work is slowly getting better. We don't even try to find new investigators, since we're focusing so hard on the rescue. Investigators just sort of come to us from using the cmis list and stuff cause there are a lot of part member families and stuff like that. So it's getting better. Still got a lot of work to do though. Yeah apparently that earthquake caused some major damage over in Negros Occidental. There was like a landslide and stuff. More than 40+ people died. Some of our missionaries got pulled out of their areas for a while too, but everything is fine. That side of the island has really been getting hit hard by stuff lately. earlier in the year they had terrible floods that destroyed so much and a lot of people died, then this earthquake. I feel really lucky to be on this side! So things are going well though. Sorry I don't have much time to write, I  always say that but time is short, only 5 months left! But I really do read your emails and thanks for them. love you all. Love, Elder Andersen

Hey family. Well first off, Yes I am in a new area! I'm in a place called Magsungay. Right in the city! It's been weird having to ride in jeepneys and going to malls and stuff to do shopping, and having places to eat like Mcdonalds and stuff haha. But things are good here in this area, it's part of Bacolod, but it's not right downtown so it's not all nasty and dirty and stuff. There are four of us assigned to this ward. My companion is Elder Mariner. He's from Samoa, and he's big. One of his thighs is as big as both of mine put together. I really like him a lot, but he's having a really hard time and might go home early.. We've been trying to do everything we can to get him to stay. He only has 4 months left. He doesn't really want to go home early, and President Tobias doesn't really want to send him home, but I dunno. Elder Mariner is super funny though. He always tells me these way hilarious stories about Samoa and I die laughing. If he trusts you and likes you he's just like a big teddy bear, but if he doesn't like you, he is way mean and wants to kill you. He broke his hand a couple weeks ago cause he got really mad and punched a wall haha. But we get along just great. I just really want to help him. Like I said, there are four of us assigned to this ward, which makes it the smallest area in the mission. Definitely a switch up from my last area. Also people are way good at English here. We've been doing a lot of work with less actives and part members, as well as unordained members. In our side of the area there are only two active members, and the rest of them are all inactives/less actives. The other two elders in the ward have the side with all the active members. It's all right though, we'll get the ones on our side active so that the ward will be strong. Thanks Dad, for what you told me it is so true. I have seen it happen. Just don't ever get up on them, you never know what effect you can have on them. But I'm trying to work hard and do work here in Magsungay, which literally means "to horn" because sungay is horns, like on a cow or a bull and stuff and Magsungay is the verb form of that. Cool language lesson. All right well I better get going before Elder Mariner starves to death, that guy eats like no one I have ever seen before! Two nights ago he ate at least 15 cups of rice! All right well I love you all and am thankful for all that you do. Oh P.S. if you could send this to Bishop Huntsman (that's weird) for me that'd be cool. He emailed me a really nice, encouraging email. P.s.s. it is earthquaking right now! Based on my internal richter scale I'd say it's about a 4.5. Don't worry, the building is not falling down, and no one is screaming... yet.  Ok well gotta go, Love you all! Love, Elder Andersen

Hey family! No I haven't transferred yet, on Wednesday I will. Just finishing up my last couple days here in Caduha-an. I have mixed feelings about leaving. SInce I've been here for 6 months I've really gotten attached to the people here, not just the members, just like everyone! The neighborhood kids we play basketball with, the little neighbor girl that always draws me pictures and I give her candy, the deaf guy next door that fixes peoples' tires, etc.. But I am exited to go to a new place and meet new people, and it seems that every time I transfer, I have learned and grown so much more. I really love it here. This week we had zone conference. It was based on D&C 88:119 about organizing a house of order, prayer, etc.. We had 3 trainings. One about organizing our apartments and keeping them clean, one about organizing our area book, which is where we keep and update all the information for our investigators and stuff like that. The third was about organizing our planning. Pretty self explanatory. It was a good conference, probably one of the best on my mission. The Bacolod Mission is doing great! Last quarter it was the top baptizing mission in the Philippines, and the 3 quarters before that it was 2nd. Pretty darn good for having 16 missions! President Tobias was pretty happy about it. He goes home in June! Time flies! Well I don't have much else to write this week. Next week will have a lot cause I'll be in a new area. Today Elder Capinpin and I went to a white sand island. Way cool, and way gorgeous! The water was so clear and blue, and the sand was so.... white! Haha. Well fam I guess that's it for me this week, thanks for everything! Love, Elder Andersen

Never saw anything like this in America!