September 15, 2014

Dear family and friends,

So first off Granada Nicaragua. It’s super hot here. Everyone says it’s the hottest place in Nicaragua. We work super hard. My area is not in the city. It’s by a volcano called Mombacho. The people here are super kind. Everywhere we go they want to give us juice, water or food. It is a very humble area.

The food here is good. I eat rice everyday with tortillas and some sort of meat. The lady who feeds us is a really good cook. For breakfast I have some sort of bread with milk or juice. And for dinner either a member feeds us or we run to the store and buy a quick snack. We went to the store today and bought a few things for dinner so that should help. Also there have been no mosquitoes. I have only seen like one. The only other insect I have really seen was a scorpion the first day in our sink. Haha I use a bucket and bowl to shower......good times.  

I live in the back of a pulpuria. A pulpuria is a small store with everything you could want. They are everywhere in Nicaragua. They always have fresh bread so that’s a plus. 

The Spanish is coming along. I don’t know how well but it’s coming. In Nicaragua they don’t pronounce the s sound so that took a couple days to pick up. Then they use a lot of different words that is only found in Nicaragua. I have picked up on that a little bit to. My companions Elder Martinez and Elder Jimenez are really kind and help me with everything, especially my Spanish. They are some really great guys. We work so hard. Elder Martinez is our trainer and he pushes us. Every night I am so tired. But I love it. It’s helping me become a great missionary. They are both from El Salvador and Elder Martinez and I like a lot of the same stuff. He loves soccer and is really good He also really likes.......Duck Dynasty!!! Haha it’s so sweet to talk to him about it. They don’t speak any English though so it’s hard to go into depth about different topics.

We always have people to teach and to contact. Everyone is religious and everyone calls each other hermano and hermana. We can talk to anyone about religion and they listen. We also have quite a few baptism dates set up for the next month. During lessons I share my testimony and do the invitations. Sometimes it’s hard to stay focused when you don’t understand everything they are saying. The members here are great. They always want to help the missionaries. 

I’m beginning to enjoy myself more here. I am adjusting to missionary life and continue to work hard. The best thing for me to do when I miss home is work. These 2 years aren’t about me they are for the Lord and for the people of Nicaragua. I love you all. Have fun. This is my favorite time of year. Thank you for all the letters and emails. I received grandpa and grandmas letter this week. Thank you for sending the package as well. I love you!

Elder Anderson