Elder Allen Week#17 Yeah, first of all, sorry that nothing much changes in these emails. The life of a missionary isn't super exciting. I mean it is, but it's the same exciting things every day. And I feel like I'm running out of things to write about. But yeah, It's been a good week!

First things first, was Monday night. It was crazy. We started a Visita Trabajo after emailing, and at 730 we get a call that Elder Jones and I need to be at the offices at 10, so Elder Alegre and I called the other Elders, but their phone wasn't working. Somehow, by the mercy of God and an answer to a prayer, we found them contacting a guy about an hour of looking. Elder Jones quickly got his stuff together, and we called a member with a car and asked if he could drive us. He could, but he didn't know where it was. So we looked it up on his poor quality phone, but the phone died halfway through the drive. So we got off on the wrong exit, and drove around Los Olivos for 30 minutes, asking random people on the side of the road where to go. We got there eventually, but it sure was an adventure. 

And as always, there's a lesson in that. Keep your phones on. Don't let Satan distract you and get you off guard, lost. Be ready to receive this revelation from God, and to go where he asks you to go. Don't lose your Liahona. 

We had to go to Lima to get our Visas, but hey, I'm legal now! So that was a fun and crazy trip. 

More updates on Family Villegas, they are really and truly elect. They're so ready for the gospel. Excited for their baptism, always keeping their commitments and ready to come to church. For December, we have a Family Night every day, and they even called and asked if they could do one! So we have a family night with our investigators, who are going to bring more non-members! They really are great, pray that all will keep going well for them. 

We had Zone Conference this week, and that was really good. But the most exciting part was I finally saw Elder Litster! It was good to catch up with him and see how he's doing. Weird to feel two worlds collide. 

We've been finding some really good people lately, one is Familia Abarca. They live in the same block as the church, but surprisingly have never talked with the missionaries! They're really receptive to the message, And I think they're going to progress as well. 

I also did one thing that you never should do here in Peru- Tell the lady that feeds you that you're switching back to your old pensionista- haha. Peruvians really like their food. It's all good though. And are you ready for a funny story- Elder Jones and I were on splits for an hour or two, and to start proselyting we say a prayer, ask for guidance where we should go and who to talk to. And the first door we knock, a guy answers and says the sisters are here, but we could come back in ten minutes. So we were like yeah! Cool! Two newish gringos are about to teach a lesson. So we come back and knock on the door, and the man says that the sisters are still here. The first time around, we thought he meant his sisters. But we look in the house, and sitting there on the couch with their "Bible" open is two Jehovah's Witnesses with a death glare on their face. We said we'll come back another day, and died laughing when the door shut. Pretty crazy. 

One of the things that we learned at zone conference was taught by Hermana Stauffer- and she asked us three questions. Where is your heart? What is your Treasure? Is your mission (for you it could be the gospel) your great treasure? And these really hit me. It's like the scripture, where your heart is, your treasure will be also. If your heart isn't in this gospel, your treasure isn't either. Make sure you have your priorities right, and just live what you know. The simple things. Reading, praying, going to church. Do what you need to do to grow that seed, to change the desire of your heart. And the rest will come easy. 

Thanks for all the prayers and for the words of encouragement! 

Elder Allen

Elder Allen Week#16 Hola! 

It's been a good week, this email will probably be a bit short, not much has changed since last week. On Tuesday Elder Jones and I had a visita de trabajo, which meant two relatively new gringo missionaries spending the whole day together, it was pretty crazy, but we got some good work done. We're about to finish our 12 weeks of training, and it's pretty crazy how fast the time has gone. 

Familia Nieto keeps having problems, so no new updates on them really. But on the bright side, we found another really great family of three! Familia Villegas, they came to church yesterday, and have been keeping their commitments. I contacted Hmna Maribell on the street with my favorite manera, cual es su favorito plato. So that was fun. Her daughter is 16 and has two kids, so that's pretty crazy. They're ready for a change in their lives, so I think they'll do well these next couple of weeks. 

We somehow had 8 of the people that we are teaching come to church, which is crazy. Especially because church is at 830 in the morning haha. We haven't seen much success in the way of Baptisms and Confirmations, but we've been doing well otherwise. As long as you are obedient and work hard, the blessings will come. Not in your time, but they will come.

This week we watched a video a couple of times with the people we are teaching, and it's one of my favorite video's/ talks of the church. It's the Music of the Gospel, by Wilford W. Anderson, and it's all of your homework to go find and read it or watch the video. I think for a lot of people, especially the youth of Utah, we tend to dance without the music. And that's a hard thing to do. So go read the talk, and ponder it. Think about what you need to change to hear the music. A question that relates to that pretty well, is are you living the Gospel because its good, or because it's true. Any reason to live the gospel is good, but it's so much more real, and so much easier when you realize that this is all true. 

But yeah, that's basically it for the week. Sorry, it's a bit short, hopefully, something exciting will happen next week we'll see haha. Love you all! Thanks for the prayers! 

Elder Allen

Elder Allen Week#15 Que tal todos? Yo espero de ustedes tuven una bueno semana! It was a great week! I learned a ton, and It´s already really helped me to be a better person and a better missionary. First of all, Tuesday was one of the craziest days of the mission. We had Divisionones with the Zone Leaders, so I was up in Pachacutec with Elder Quispe for the day. It was good, and the plan was to meet up and Elder Viera and I head back down to Mi Peru that night, but they got here super late, and we ended up having sleepover round #2. It was crazy, but it was fun.  What I learned that day has helped me a ton this week. Attitude. Choose to be happy. Choose to see all the blessings that you have. The gospel can't make you be happy, you have to let it make you be happy. And that change has helped my mindset about basically everything. So if you're not happy now, change something. I know from personal experience that it works. The other thing that I learned was that our Church leaders are literally called by God, and we should follow them without hesitation. Whether it's your deacons quorum president, the bishop, your dad, or the prophet, they have been called to help and direct you.  We can work until 10:30 every day now, so that's crazy. I think that one of the sacrifices the Lord wants me to make is sleep, so that´s rough, but at least it´s not anything too hard for now.  And now we are back to Familia Nieto. It was a rough and crazy week. And they didn't end up getting baptized. Tomorrow though. We´re shooting for tomorrow. There were some difficulties with the kids' father and some poor circumstances, and it just didn't work out. We tried so hard, but it´s alright. Satan is trying hard, but we already know that the Lord will win. Always.  Sorry, its kind of a short email, but that's pretty much the week. And happy birthday Maya! I can't believe that you´re going to be 13! Good luck mom and dad with 3 teenagers now.  Some other advice that I got from my Companion this week has helped me a lot. Living in the church for my whole life, I know the doctrine. I know everything in theory. But it´s a little hard for me to apply it and remember it in my own life. To see the blessings. Something that my comp told me would help is to write down these experiences and my testimony in relation to a gospel topic. And once you can apply the gospel in your life, you´ll really be built upon the rock of Christ. It´s a whole lot better than the sand. I would know because there's a whole lot of sand here in Peru.  Thanks for everything, and I love you all! Elder Allen I hear there's been a bit of confusion about my email, so its allen.trevor@myldsmail.net ReplyForward

Elder Allen Week#14 Hey!

It was a good week, not much crazy happened. Other than the fact my Zone Leaders just baptized a wanted drug and human trafficker this weekend. True story. Super funny. Not quite sure how. Speaking of the zone leaders, we had a Baptismal Interview for Familia Nieto on Tuesday, and they couldn't get back to their house in time, so they got to stay with us for the night. That was a ton of fun, Elders Quispe y Nance are awesome. 

We were supposed to have the baptism for Familia Nieto this Saturday, but everything crashed down on that. Satan is real guys. They all passed their interview, all have the desire. But the baby of 6 months got pneumonia for the second time and Hmna. Naomi couldn't leave the hospital at all for over a week. We fought and tried as hard as we could, but it didn't work out. This week though. They really are awesome. Naomi is a single mom of 4, and Carla and Aron are at baptism age. I'm excited for them. They're ready for this change in their lives. 

For the service of the week, we carried a pile of at least 500 bricks up a floor, that was painful. Elder Jones, the other Gringo in my district got bitten by a dog this week, so yeah that's pretty funny. But yeah, it's been a good week. Todo tranquillo. Not much changed, so this email is going to be a bit short. 

On Saturday we got a text from President Stauffer saying that we were going to work until 10:30, which literally never happens. The whole mission is struggling. There are a lot of inexperienced people like me, and there's not a lot of faith. Satan is working hard on the people here. But we already know who wins the fight, so we'll make it through. 

Today was awesome. My best pday yet. It was pday de Zona, and they didn't tell us where we were going. All 14 of us got in a cumbi, and we were on our way. We went to a cave on the beach. It was awesome. So pretty. The cave was a ton of fun. It was fun to be hiking and out in nature again. I'm sorry that none of you are probably ever going to make it to Pachacutec Peru because it was breathtaking. 

When President Nelson came to the mission, his wife spoke first. And part of what she talked about is this line- The fight against Satan is real. And that is one of the most true things I have ever heard. He is working hard guys. Really hard. These are the latter days, and if you don't prepare, he will find a way to take you down as well. Put on the Armor of God. Study and apply what you read in the scriptures. Really pray, pour out your heart. Go to church every week. Listen to the words of the Prophets. Serve others. Try to be more like Christ. These are the latter days. And that seems more and more real every day. Don't forget who you are.  Be a power for good, not one for evil. And especially not someone who just sits on the fence. No man can serve two masters. 

Thanks, everyone! I love you all a ton! 

Elder Allen