Humildad

Buen DIA

Okay so this week was just a normal week. Literally we have just been doing normal things and working so so HARD to try to have progressing investigators. Literally it has been so frustrating for both my companion and I. This whole week I’ve been praying to know what we need to do to change or do better. And when I’ve been studying I read a lot about Humility and how we need to become like little children. I know that we have been doing our part, now we just need to be humble enough to follow gods will and ask him to help us. Because de verdad, we can do everything in Predicad mi evangelio, but if we don’t have the spirit with us or if we don’t recognize Heavenly Father does the converting, nothing will ever happen. Maybe we just need to have paciencia. 

Also we had interviews with Presidente Chaparro. He is the best. We talked alot about my new assignment and how I need to ACT. I took that as really acting on the promptings of the spirit. And doing everything possible to serve and help those around me. 

Also we had divisions in San Pedro. (un area that NATE had). I was with a new missionary from MEXICO. ahhh we talked a lot about Mexico and I’m pretty sure she things I’m crazy for how much I talk about Mexican food. Also I feel bad for her because everyone, I mean everyone, asks her when she is going to make them tacos. She lies and says she doesn’t know how to make them which I think is hilarious. 

This week we also found a couple DE DIEZ: Her name is Sara and she reads the Bible.  The day before we found her she had been praying to know what church is true. They aren’t married but when we asked them what is stopping them they said nothing. Literally her boyfriend said well I’m Catholic and Ella is Evangélica and we have been looking to find a church that we can go to together!!!!! But they didn’t come to church and this adds to my frustration. 

Yes, Argentina is a bit sad today. Poor Messi. 

Love you all! 

Hermana Allen

PS ONE YEAR IN THE MISSION THIS WEEK! WHAT IS LIFE! 

I made my companion French Toast.
She had never tasted it before.

P-day Sports Day

Waiting for the bus.

Dia de la Bandera

Dad. Happy fathers day! We had fathers day with a family in our branch and they mada ASADO! ahhh it was so so yummy. 

Bueno this week was weird. I felt like it was really long. We had to travel to another zone to do another training and then we had splits with the Hermana de Mosconi and Hermana Vacaflor was with me. (my ex compa) It was a bit hard because she got sick with the flu and i took her to the doctor and all that jazz. 

This week we found so many new investigators! but......only 2 came to church. But thats okay, the two that came was a miracle! We were so happy!! 

I really have no clue what to say. Hope you guys are enjoying your summer! Also word on the street is USA and Argentina are playing each other tomorrow for copa america. also today is a holiday in Argentina. Day of the flag or something. But everyone has there flags out and I feel really patriotic. Have a great week! 

Hermana Allen 

Argentina Day of the Flag

HOLA
Como anda che?
jajaja ....Dad muy Argentino!

Okay this week was a little frustrating not going to lie, but also really great. Frustrating because we had no time because we were in Salta for a whole day and had divisiones so our numbers were a bit low and also we had one in the iglesia  :( its been a bit discouraging but my companion says its normal because we travel a lot so I'm trying not to be too discouraged. Its just we haver found so many great people and the spirit has ben so strong, but nadie wants to come to church! I DON'T GET IT....agency sometimes.... 

BUT this week was SO great because I got to see two of my companions! Hermana Nuñez when we had reunion con presidente and HERMANA SMITH WAS MY COMPANION FOR A DAY! Ah it was so nice and she is so awesome! I LOVE HER. it was so fun to be a real missionary with her and not a couple of gringas in the MTC pretending that we know Spanish. Literally I'm so blessed to know her and so many people here in the mission. Im secretly hoping we will be companions next transfer? puede ser.

So today we were cooking lunch...making lunch? haha and I was doing laundry on our balcony, there were 100 bees just chillin afuera and they entered our apartment. Lucky we had a huge bug spray thing that Hermana Chaparro gave us to kill mosquitos, but it works just as well with bees just so you know.  

I'm not even going to say anything about the Hawaii pics. 

Con Amor

Hermana Allen

La Vida

Hola familia! 

Okay so I have time to write this week! So sorry for last week! 

Story number 1: I totes missed my bus stop from Perico to Oran. What was only a 3 hour transfer ended up being 8 hours and I was by myself...literally was kind of scary hahah but its all good! 

So the gun shot story. Last Sunday at 4am Hermana Herrera and I woke up to the sound of a gun shot. We both sat up in our beds really fast and just stared at each other, like did that really just happen? Then we heard a lot of men yelling and saying a lot of bad words and lots of motos and then a 3rd gun shot! We looked out the window about 5min after and there were about 5 cop cars and a SWAT team outside our neighbor’s house....hahah #missionlife. 

Sunday night we also had a really great lesson with Matias´s mom! She opened up to us and told us all about how her boyfriend wants an abortion and how she doesn’t. She prayed to God and knows that he is real! it was so sweet. She gave me one of her rings and was so sad that I was leaving. La familia Espinoza was a hard one to say goodbye. I’ll leave it at that. 

I’m now in Oran with Hermana Melo de Brasil. She is such a hard worker wow. I know I’m going to learn SO MUCH. This week was a bit hard. I feel a bit inadequate to be a Capacitadora (Sister Training Leader). I felt like I’ve been in my training all over again. Hermana Melo knows so much and I know so little hahah but I feel a lot better today! I live with two other Hermanas so that’s fun! We are in a branch, there are elders in our branch too....they are the leaders de zona.

Oran is huge, but in all of Oran there are 4 hermanas and 4 elders so our area is like normal sized. Its hard because Hermana Melo was saying the members here don’t have much confianza in the Hermanas and they have been trying to heal the relationship entre todos! There is for sure favoritism with the elders in our branch which has been, but its getting better. (the Hermanas in the past left the members with a negative experience). 

So you all asked what my duties are. hahah so Once a month we go to a conference with Presidente and he gives us and the zone leaders a capacitación, then we as leaders give the same capacitacion to the zone. But we are in charge of the Hermanas in 2 zones so we have to do it twice. And then we have to do divisiones with the Hermanas once per transfer. Oran is the mas difícil porque all the Hermanas are far, like 2 hours. SO most of our life is vejando  hahah .

This is one of the zones mas cerca de Boliva and the people here are the nicest by far. Its funny in my others areas siempre there are men shouting “eh chicas o hola chicas como le va?” but here everyone is “HERMANAS HOLA! HOLA HERMANAS!” jejej my first day I thought everyone here were members hahah but no they just know that we are missionaries and its so great. 

Thanks for the pictures of Nathan! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUD. Ask everyone. I’m pretty sure all day yesterday I was telling them that my little brother turned 8. Love you all! Have a great week!!! 

PS I’m going to do divisiones with Hermana smith this week!

and just got an email from Hermana Herrera saying that MAME DE MATIAS FUE A LA IGLESSIA! (Matis mom came to church yesterday)

Hermana Allen 

Saying goodbye to Perico, Juyjuy
La familia Espinoza

Saying goodbye to Perico, Juyjuy
La familia de Josue

HOLA so I have zero time. I’m now in Oran and I’m a Capacitadora (Sister Training Leader) and I’m nervous as heck!  My new companion is muy buena so far. Her name is Hermana Melo de Brasil. 

Ah leaving Perico was so hard. I received so many texts from random investigatores that aren’t that interested but they wrote me beautiful texts saying how much I’ve helped them (INCLUDING SUSANA CUEZZO)!!! 

Also gun shots outside our apartment Sunday night...but that’s a story for next week because I don’t have time!! Love you all! 

Hermana Allen

Hola

Well this week was so great! We saw many miracles, which made me so happy! I”m also very sad because I DONT WANT TO LEAVE! 

Miracle #1. We had a very spiritual lesson with Matias´s mom! Tuesday we wanted to have lesson with Candela y Guadalupe, but they were in their grandmas house......but we went anyway! When we arrived Candela was helping in the kitchen and Matias and Quada were doing homework. We ended up talking to their mom while waiting for them to finish. She opened up to us about a lot of stuff. (She is pregnant right now and doesn’t want to be) and just feels like she has a huge backpack on her shoulders. Matias kept dropping hints for us to start teaching it was funny... but we just kept listening until they finished homework. We then shared Mosiah 24:12-15 (which I share with like everyone) hahah and we felt the Spirit so strong and it was the first time the mama de Matias was actually listening to us! Matias said she has a huge desire to go to church, but doesn’t want to give up her occasional beer and vine. Hermana Herrera and I were talking afterwards and literally the Lord works in mysterious ways. Maybe Claudia is pregnant to help her keep the word of wisdom and to be humble enough to listen to us. She promised she is going to come to church... my ultimo domingo! 

Miracle #2. Lunch with people from POWAY. So the ex bishop here met someone from Utah on his mission and long story short they got married and he has now been living in the homeland for about 8 years now. Anyway we get this phone call and Hermana Herrera hands me the phone and says I don’t understand! I answer and say ¨hola¨ and on the other end there is this lady talking in English! I WAS SO CONFUSED. I literally thought it was mom or something and there was an emergency at home! it was the son of the ex obispo and his wife was talking. I couldn’t talk in English I felt so awkward but she asked if there is anything I missed from home so that they could make it. I wanted to scream MEXICAN FOOD!!! but instead I said, “oh whatever is good”.  They made us calzones with homemade chocolate cookies! It was so good! I can not begin to tell you how weird I felt during the lunch. Everyone speaks Spanish menos their two little girls and the mom kept talking to them, and seriously I wanted to cry because I felt so weird and I don’t know how I’m ever going to speak English like a normal person.

Miracle #3. FAMILIA CUEZZO CAME TO CHURCH AND MAGALY WANTS TO GET BAPTIZED. I’m kind of running out of time, but we haven’t heard from the Familia Cuezzo in about a month so we just dropped them because we thought they dropped us. But the husband de Gloria is sick with cancer so they didn’t have much time this past month to talk with us. At church I used the technique “hey this is my last week here so when can we come visit you?” and then Magaly shouts Hermana! No you cant leave! I want to get baptized! Literally I was so shocked. I’m pretty sure the last lesson we had with them, they were telling us that they couldn’t believe The Book of Mormon.   Miracle!

Sorry I wrote so much! I just love Perico! I’m so jealous of the next missionary that comes here! But hey there is still a possibility that I can stay! Thank you for the letters! Love you all! 

Hermana Allen 

PS sorry my English is sooo bad.

Hello family! 

This week was so great! Guadalupe and Candela got baptized, FINALLY! Ah it was so sweet to watch Matias baptize them. Hermana Herrera and I love the Espinoza family so much! We were a little sad because their mom and step dad didn’t come...but their dad came so that was still good. Literally I just had a moment on Sunday when I realized that I probably only have 2 weeks left in Perico.  I’m really sad about it.  I feel like I have more friendships with the members here than in my first area (probably because I can speak now. haha) but really I don’t want to leave or think about changing areas...so I wont for now ;) 

Ah I feel like a lot of funny things happened this week, but as always I can’t remember. I always think oh I need to write home about this and then I always forget.... sorry I’m so boring. 

I LOVED THE VIDEO OF ADAM DRIVING! AWWWW WHY IS EVERYONE SO OLD!

I don’t know if I’ve ever explained how I shower here, but you pretty much turn on the water and it fills up a bucket and then turn off the water, plug in the bucket thing to an outlet,  wait 15 minutes and then you have like a 3 minute shower while the water drips out of the bucket... anyway our outlet melted and we have had to heat water over the stove and then pour it into the bucket it’s great. haha

My companion wants me to learn “Chileano” so she has been teaching me words. One word that I love to say, and we have used so much here is “FLAITE” which pretty much means ghetto haha. So todo el timpo we are saying “Oh we are so flaite” or “That man is so flaite”.

Also every night my companion needs to use the bathroom and I swear every morning she says, “The baby cucarachas came out last night”.  She won’t kill them and I don’t know why, but yeah, only at night in our bathroom are there little baby cucarachas. 

Also one person asked if I was from Germany another person if I was from Brazil.  I just don’t get people sometimes. 

Hope everyone has a great week!

Count your blessings! Read your scriptures! And as always...

Eat some Mexican food!

Con amor.

Hermana Allen 

"A butterfly on my finger...that never happens in real life"
- Hermana Allen

The baptism of Guadalupe and Candela 

Selfie with Matias and his sisters