Dear Friends and Family

Today (6-10-13) I hit my two month mark!  It's gone by so fast I can't even comprehend it!  The past few weeks have been crazy.  Transfers were this last week.  My trainer, Elder Wahlen, was transferred, which is very rare.  Usually trainers stay for 12 weeks.  Since he's gone and my new companion, Elder Burns, has never been here in Whittier, I now am a lot more responsible for things like planning and getting where we need to go.  It's sort of tough since I've only been here for 7 weeks now and it's my first area.  At first it was a little scary, not going to lie.  It's not too scary anymore though.  I know that I'm being led by the Lord and I know that as long as I'm doing His work, I'll know where to go, what to do and what to say.  The Lord provides a way.  Who can forget the courageous words of Nephi?  "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."  (1 Nephi 3:7)  How often are we asked to risk our possessions, or even our lives?  How often are the Lord's commandments things such as "Love one another"?  (John 13:34) How often does he ask us to simply show our love for someone who overcame the world for us?  King Benjamin basically lays out all that our Heavenly Father requires of us.  "And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promise you that... ye should prosper in the land... therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you".  (Mosiah 2:22)  Our Father in Heaven loves us all individually.  He has a plan for all of us.  If we will "Go and do" as Nephi, we are promised blessings.  May we all "Go and do". 

I'm very grateful for all your love and support.  I appreciate everything that has been sent, mailed, etc. I pray for you all each day and I love you all.  Remember that your Father in Heaven loves you as well.

Elder Sanderson

Week of June 10th

The internet is a pretty powerful resource when used correctly. We have the opportunity to have an hour a week to visit the Mormon.org website. They want to make sure that we are all used to the layout and what not so we can help investigators and members use it. We've also had the chance to share some Mormon messages with people. Mormon messages are a great way to invite the spirit into someone's home. I would highly recommend using them if you ever have the chance to share the gospel with someone.

Sorry for not saying anything about the package, I tend to forget to mention a lot of things when I write so sorry about that. The package was great! I loved the Book of Mormon especially! The talks were also awesome. If I didn't love you so much I would rebuke you for sending me an Elane S. Dalton talk. I'm sure you love her a ton but I have trouble relating to her because I'm not a woman. Just in case you cannot tell, I am just being goofy. It can be hard to display jokes in emails. But I digress. The package was great. I haven't had candy in a really long time to be honest. It doesn't really seem worth it to buy anymore.

The work is going pretty well. Some days are tough but that's just part of life. Especially missionary life. It seems like the hardest days are the days that end up being the most rewarding in the end.

I'll probably be sending that SD card home this week so I hope that gets home safely. I hope that everyone is doing well. I love you guys and I pray for you all every day.

Love,

Elder Sanderson