Hurricane Irma - We all are safe

Saturday, 9 September 2017

Dear Parents,

Hurricane Irma has passed us and we are all fine.  The storm went farther north of us than they first predicted.  The result was that we experienced a tropical storm and not the effects of a hurricane.  We are very grateful for all of the prayers on our behalf.  All the missionaries are safe and sound and we are already back to work.

 

Queridos Padres,

Queremos comunicarles que el Huracán Irma ya pasó por la Republica Dominicana y todos nos encontramos bien. La tormenta paso hacia el norte del país como lo habían predicho. Por lo que los únicos efectos que pasaron en nuestra misión fueron lluvias y vientos. Gracias por todas sus oraciones, todos los misioneros se encuentran a salvo y ahora esta cada uno en sus áreas predicando. 



 

Queridos pais,

Queremos informá-lo de que o furacão Irma já passou pela República Dominicana e estamos todos bem. A tempestade se moveu para o norte como eles haviam predito. Portanto, os únicos efeitos que aconteceram em nossa missão foram as chuvas e os ventos. Obrigado por todas as suas orações, todos os missionários estão seguros e agora todos estão em suas áreas de pregação.





Sincerely,

President José M. Santos

Misión Santo Domingo Oeste

República Dominicana

Missionary Safety: Hurricane Irma

We received this letter from the Mission President on Tuesday, September 5.  We are so grateful for the comfort it has given us through the following few days as we watched and anticipated every move Hurricane Irma made in the Caribbean.
Thank you all for you thoughts and prayers during the last few days.  We are looking forward to hearing from him next Monday!  ~ Paula


Dear Parents,



As many of you are aware, the Caribbean is expecting a hurricane. We are taking all the precautions necessary for the safety of all of your sons and daughters.  Our area is said to not be in the red zone. As of now, we are expecting rain and stormy weather.

We had a meeting with all the mission leaders and have prepared them to execute emergency plans. We provided them with all the tools and information necessary to be prepared should the storm affect their area. We have notified all missionaries that they need to have nonperishable food and water for the duration of 2 weeks minimum. We have informed them that any extra expenses at this time will be reimbursed. Certain sets of missionaries have been relocated to safer areas to avoid the harsher areas of the storm. They will be staying with other missionaries in a more secure area. Leaders are in charge of calling their assigned missionaries every certain period of time. Bishops and Stake presidents are also aware of the situation and will be attentive to the wellbeing of the missionaries serving in their areas.

Please know that we are doing everything in our power to keep our missionaries safe. I will follow up on their safety as soon as the storm passes. We would appreciate your prayers, as usual. Your missionaries will be communicating with you on their normal preparation day.



Sincerely,



President Santos

Santo Domingo West Mission, Dominican Republic



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Queridos padres, 



Como muchos de ustedes saben, el Caribe está esperando un huracán. Estamos tomando todas las precauciones necesarias para la seguridad de todos sus hijos e hijas. Se dice que nuestra mision no está en la zona roja. Al momento, estamos esperando la lluvia y tormentas.

Tuvimos una reunión con todos los líderes de la misión y los hemos preparado para ejecutar planes de emergencia. Les proporcionamos todas las herramientas e información necesarias para estar preparados si la tormenta afecta su área. Hemos notificado a todos los misioneros que necesitan tener alimento y agua no perecederos por un mínimo de 2 semanas. Les hemos informado que los gastos adicionales en estos momentos serán reembolsados. Ciertos grupos de misioneros han sido reubicados en áreas más seguras para evitar las áreas en riesgo de la tormenta. Se quedarán con otros misioneros en un área más segura. Los líderes están a cargo de llamar a sus misioneros asignados cada cierto período de tiempo. Los obispos y los presidentes de estaca también estan conscientes de la situación y estarán atentos al bienestar de los misioneros que prestan servicios en sus áreas.

Por favor, sepan que estamos haciendo todo lo posible para mantener a nuestros misioneros a salvo. Daremos seguimiento de su seguridad tan pronto la tormenta pase. Apreciaríamos sus oraciones, como siempre. Sus misioneros se comunicarán con ustedes en su día de preparación normal. 



Atentamente, 

Presidente Santos 

Santo Domingo West Mission, República Dominicana

September 4, 2017

Dear Mom, 

This week was awesome! We had some good lessons, we found some good people, and we had a lot of fun!

We had Zone Conference this week, and I don't know if I already told you guys, but this transfer I'm a district leader, so we got some training about that, and we also started a new Book of Mormon contact challenge, and a challenge to read the BOM as a mission before the end of the year.

This week we also went on splits with the MTC, and I got to leave with a kid from Grantsville! So that was pretty cool! Also, we got a new ward mission leader, and we were able to meet with him, and the rest of the ward council to discuss our needs and I'm very excited about the leadership in our ward!

We also made guacamole this week, one night we couldn't get much sleep because cockroaches kept coming into our room, and another night because the place next to us was blasting music all night! But, what can you do? 

We have two REALLY great investigators right now: Joel and Erick. Joel is super awesome and he goes to an American school, so he speaks perfect English, and his family is great too! They're really receptive, and I feel like they're going to make a lot of progress! Also, Erick is the husband of a member, and he's a super smart guy, and is excited to learn too!

Anyway, hope you all have a great week! Love You!

Love, Elder Anderson

August 28, 2017 ~ Week 55

These past two weeks have been really fun with Elder Heaton, and we've been working really hard! The biggest problem that we have is that we used to have a lot of investigators, but we just baptized the great majority of them, so now our job is to find find find. We did a lot of contacting this week, and found quite a few people. Some of them have a lot more potential than others do, but we'll see!

We have also been focusing a lot on our recent converts because there are a lot of them here. We've been working a lot with ward leaders to make sure that the recent converts have the support that they need. Home and visiting teachers, callings, etc. 

The eclipse sounds like it was pretty amazing! Sadly, we weren't able to see it at all here, but oh well. I'm glad that you guys were able to see it! Sounds like it was quite the adventure with the traffic and everything! 

I hope that everyone is doing well with school starting and everything! Everyone is so old now! Haha, but things are great here! There's not really a whole lot that happens day to day, but everything is good! Also, I've started sleeping in my hammock, so that's fun! Anyway, that's everything for now! Hope you all have a great week!

--

Love, Elder Anderson

August 21, 2017

Hey Mom! This week was great! So, it turns out that my new companion isn't Elder Hilton. It's Elder Heaton! And that's awesome because he's from my group at the MTC! So we have the same amount of time in the mission, he's from Ogden, Utah, his name is Tanner, and basically we're the same person! I'm also very happy because he's an obedient missionary, and he likes to work hard (unlike some of my past companions) and even though I'd be surprised if we spend more than a transfer together, I know that this will be a really good 6 weeks with him!

This week was pretty normal, we're focusing on finding right now. Don't have a lot of current investigators, but we'll find some! We're teaching one guy who has a really cool house on the beach! I'll send some pictures!

Love you guys! Can't wait to see pictures of the eclipse!

                           

                                                       

                        

Wedding, Baptisms, and Confirmations

This week was absolutely nuts, but I´m glad that we were able to work like crazy this week so that I could give my comp the perfect end to his mission. Working til the end! So, we had some frustrations early on as far as the government, and the whole process of getting people married, and there was also a miscommunication with our ward mission leader, who was going to talk to the ward about getting together the money to help the family get married, but he didn't really communicate that very well, so we got stuck in a hard spot right before, but we were able to gather up enough, with a small contribution from us to be able to get them married!

So on Friday, we drove down, and gave the documents, and paid the money, and they were officially husband and wife, then we got the baptismal registries signed because they were living the law of chasity, and on Saturday we had their baptism. Also a crazy day! In addition, a kid we've been teaching named Anthony got baptized! The baptism was a special experience and the coolest one was Sarah´s. Me and my comp both baptized her, and I said the blessing. It was cool, because we could tell that she was kind of scared, but we carried her down, and my comp held her, and as I started to say the prayer, she just looked at me, and she didn't seem like she was scared at all, she had so much trust. She is such a special soul, and is so happy, and is really just an example to us all. Compared to a lot of people, she seemingly has nothing, but she loves God, and is so innocent, and that's why she's so happy, because she knows what actually matters. When she prays, she prays for others. Those who don't have food, for the missionaries, for our families, even for those who can't walk. And I don't think she's even referring to herself when she says that. She's simply thinking of others.

Then on Sunday, we had the confirmations, and we asked members of the ward to do them. There were some very special blessings that were pronounced and I know that if they continue to live the gospel that those blessings will be realized. They are such a wonderful family and I'm going to do everything that I can to ensure that they continue to be nourished by the word of God, and continue in the path that they've now begun. 

Anyway, it was a great week here in El Café! I'm ready to get my new comp on Tuesday morning! All I know is that his name is something like, but not necesarily Elder Hilton, so we'll see! Haha, I love you all, and I hope that as school starts, that you all do well and enjoy the wonderful thing that is learning! Love you, and have a great week!

--

Love, Elder Anderson





                                                               

August 7, 2017

Hey Mom! My year mark here was great! I burned a shirt, and I´ve been able to contemplate the fact that I've been here for a whole year already. Also, I can now look at my journal and see what I was doing exactly a year ago, so that's pretty cool! Things here are good! We've been working towards the marriage of the Salazar family, and there were some challenges that were presented. Principally the lack of organization in government here, but we've finally gotten the birth certificates and everything is going to work out. We had baptismal interviews for them, and right when we went onto their street, someone started blasting super loud music. Like, SUPER loud. So we ended up having to call a member and asked if we could have the interviews over there. But! "Every problem has a solution, and every solution takes time." So we've been doing a lot of problem solving here. Now we just have to get that wheelchair for Sarah. Our other investigators are doing okay, but this week we're going to focus on finding, and looking for references so that we can build up our pool of progressing investigators.

So, I've got about a week and a half left with my current comp, and then he'll be headed home. It's cool to be here in the capital because I get to see President Santos more. Not a lot, but more. 

Thanks for the email! I love you guys, and I hope you all have a great week!

--

Love, Elder Anderson