Elder Allen Week#11

I saw the Prophet this week! Well kind of. Not really actually. Due to a series of unfortunate seating arrangements in a stake center, and a poorly placed wall, I never actually did see President Nelson. A bit disappointing. But I hear I got a cameo on his Peru Ministry tour video so that rocks. And all said and done, It doesn't really matter I didn't see him, because I heard his voice, and definitely felt his spirit. He really is a Prophet of God. 

Not much really happened in a stuff we did sense this week. But the revelation I received and the amount I have grown, changed, and improved has been absolutely incredible. It started out with my first Zone Conference on Thursday, and it was absolutely awesome. Throughout the day, I could feel my testimony growing, and my desire, my fuego, for the work burning. These past 5 weeks have been awesome, and I have loved the work, but until now I didn't really feel that purpose, I didn't really know why I was here. But that's what I found this past week. I realized that what I do here and now, the way I spend my time, can and will have an impact on the eternities. Converting 1 soul doesn't just save them, it saves their children, it saves their ancestors. There are 1000s of people on the other side just waiting for one of their posterity to find the gospel, so they can have the chance to feel this infinite joy. My testimony on this work is truly stronger than ever. And I know that anyone that truly gives themselves to the Lord will see His hand in their lives, and will be blessed far more than anything we sacrifice. 

Small break before more spiritual stuff, It's funny how much everyone hates Chile. Sorry, Dad. And go Peru! Once again, sorry dad (Futbol). And speaking of futbol, that's what we did for PDay today, and my legs are killing me. And I am most definitely a gringo.

And thus we arrive to the visit of the Prophet. There is honestly way too much to write, I couldn't do it if I had all day. The messages of the Area President, and Elder Stevenson, were fantastic, and I learned a ton, but I'll focus on the prophet for now. His message was centered around 3rd Nephi, and I learned so much about this book, and about our Savior because of it. First of all, our teaching as missionaries should be focused on the same things focused on in Ch 11- Baptism, Doctrine, and no Contention. Ch 12- Be ye therefore Perfect is impossible until we are resurrected. If you compare this verse to his same sermon in the Bible, you will notice that in the holy land he only says be ye therefore perfect as my Father is, but in 3rd Nephi, it's also as I am. Meaning, we will never be perfect in this life. It's okay to make mistakes. But we should always strive to be better. Ch 15- The Americas are the inherited lands of the houses of Joseph, and we know from their promises that this is really where the gathering of Israel is going to take place. Ch 16- super bacan, there are other other sheep. And I really want to read their record of the Savior. Ch 23- Study Isaiah. Ch 27- What the Gospel is. And the Gospel is the Atonement. The Gospel IS Jesus Christ. If we turn to Him, we will be saved. 

That's obviously a very rough summary of what I learned, but what I felt is so much more important. He really is our living prophet, and we need to follow his words. Christ really is our Savior. He wants us to be happy, to have eternal Joy.

But yeah, to say the least, it was a great week. I love you all, I'm praying for you, and I miss you. Thanks for everything!

Elder Allen

Elder Allen Week#10 Hola Familia y Amigos!

It's been an absolutely awesome week, and it started with Companion Exchanges on Monday. I left with Elder Alegre at 6, stayed at their casa (So much nicer than mine). It was fun to see another missionaries style, and how he works. We walked a ton. Up a huge hill. But it's all good, I need the exercise. 

Elder Viera and I found a great family that night. They're awesome. The Paralta. The father took the first lesson about a year ago, and it didn't go anywhere, but since then he was in a bad car crash and lost use of one arm. It's pretty sad, but it's helped him become more humble. He's still a little ify on the lessons, but his family is fantastic.I'm excited to see where that all goes. 

Wednesday was absolutely fantastic. After only 4 weeks in the field, I got to take my first trip to the temple. We had to get up at 3:40 am on the downside. But it was soooo worth it. I love the temple so much. It's my favorite place on earth to be. You can feel the spirit so strong, and I received so much revelation. Man, I can't wait to go back. That day we also had interviews and a devotional with Presidente Stauffer, and he is fantastic. Truly a servant of the Lord, and he understands and cares for all of his missionaries so much. Not to mention that he's a great teacher, and I learned a ton from him. 

The rest of the week has been kind of a blur, not going to lie. We gave three Priesthood blessings in the span of an hour, so that was fun. It's hard Spanish, but I got through it. 

I got to watch a few sessions of Conference, and I'm looking forward to being able to study it more. I got to watch with Elder Jones on Sunday, and after that, we went on splits for a bit. It was fun to be able to take the lead in the lessons, but it was hard. 

Sorry, I don't have a ton to write about this week, but of course, I'll finish with some spiritual thoughts. 

This week has been a little rough for Elder Viera, he doesn't want to go home. He dies in January. The thing he says he's going to miss the most is the power to be able to promise blessings in the name of Jesus Christ, and that got me thinking of how wonderful of a gift and responsibility that is. It's crazy that God would entrust something like that to a bunch of 18-year-olds, but I'm so thankful for it. It's built my testimony a lot so far. 

One of the thoughts of Presidente Stauffer was on Peace. In life, it's really hard to find peace of mind. When you just know that it's alright. It's hard to explain, but I testify that it's real, and one of the best places to find it is in the temple. But more often, we will have peace of conscience. A knowledge and trust in the Lord that it will all be okay. That doesn't mean that times won't be hard, but it means that we have a rock we can rely on. And I am so very grateful for that rock, My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Sorry, I didn't write much this week, but I love and miss you all! Have a great week! Study Conference!

Elder Allen

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Elder Allen Week#9 First things first, 2 HOUR CHURCH!!! What!?!? I never thought that rumor would actually be a reality...

Second things second... That's about the only thing I got out of conference. Because of the Elections here, we couldn't use the chapel to watch conference, so we had to watch at the member's houses. Bad internet connection, loud children, and a few words in English then overdubbed by sophisticated Spanish does not make for a good learning environment. Luckily, I just downloaded the sessions in English. So next week I'll have a whole lot more to talk about I'm sure. 

Did I mention that I get to go to the temple on Wednesday?  Then on October 20th, The Prophet, President Russel M. Nelson is having a devotional with all the Lima missionaries on his way to the Arequipa Temple dedication? No? Well that's happening... hehe

The week was good. It went by really fast it felt like. 

Some drunk guys bought us some ritz and pulp, that was fun. barachos are funny. We contacted a guy, taught him a bit, to find out that He's a Buddhist, and said that even if we were right, he still wouldn't change. So that was fun. 

We went to one of the people we're teaching house, and he was super busy with his Jean making job. So we made Jeans with him for an hour. His name is Ciro, he's 21, and a really cool guy. He's not really progressing, unfortunately. 

I taught my first English class, that was fun. My lesson was planned around grammar, but what was really taught was Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, and pronunciation, so that's fun. 

Gerardo Valencia, who has been delaying baptism for two years, should be getting baptized this week. I'm not really sure though. He has a lot of doubts, but we're trying to teach him it's time to stop delaying and just take a step in the dark, to have that faith. The first time I heard him speak, I thought to myself, if I can understand him by the end of my mission I will have made good progress with my Spanish. He is so hard to understand. But hey, guess what?! I understand him now! A few weeks later! The gift of tounges is real everybody!

We went to a baptism for Camilla (Every girl under 15 here is named Camilla), who is a 9-year-old the other Companionship in the District taught. We were there 3 hours. She is terrified of water. And when she finally got under, It was only barely. And I mean barely. It was a miracle from God because if she didn't get under, I'm sure she wouldn't have tried again. But it's all good because her testimony after was so strong. She has a lot of faith for being so young. 

My favorite people of the week would have to be Louis and Francis. Louis is Venezuelan, and is working here, and trying to raise enough money to get his wife and 2 kids here as well. I'm sure you've all heard about the financial crisis in Venezuela, so yeah, there are a lot of them here. But they're so humble, so ready for the gospel. Especially Louis. He's got so much faith in our Savior. And Francis is a friend of Davie, he's awesome. He's a little bit of a character, and he was in a gunfight a few months ago. 6 bullet holes. He's pretty cool. A lot of things he'll have to change, but I think he can do it, he has a lot of faith as well. 

As always, I'll leave with some spiritual thoughts. 

First thing I learned this week was from Jesus the Christ chapter 3 notes, Judgement is based on circumstances. And that hit me hard. A lot of people in this world don't know where the light is, and they can't be judged as harshly because of that. That's a Just God. But, I and a lot of you are very privileged people. Good families, sufficient money, and the knowledge of the Gospel. I take this information to mean that we, I, have to be a lot better. I have some serious things that I need to change if I want to stand before my God guilt free.

I've also been studying what it means to serve with all my Heart. And what I've concluded, is that its the deepest desires, and intentions of your heart. There are a lot of factors that change how we act and who we are in certain situations, but the heart manifests itself in the small things. In the exact obedience. And the only way to change your heart is to develop a real and personal relation with the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is done by using His gift to us, the Atonement.

One last thing, Spiritual Gifts are real. And If we want more, we need to use and develop the ones we have. But also, we need to show gratitude for the ones that we have. Which means we have to know what they are. And I'm very, very bad at recognizing the things I am good at. So if you're like me, really think and give thanks for what you have. Ask someone what your gifts are if that helps. 

I know it's very out of my nature, but I really haven't been taking any photos. It's really pretty here with the lights at night, but it's too sketchy to go take some photos. Lo Siento. 

And wow! It's been a crazy week back at home! Congrats to Cam and Sav! And to Aaron and Colton! 

I love you guys with all my heart and soul, and I'm praying for every one of you. I love hearing from you! Keep it up! Hasta la Proxima Semana! 

Elder Allen

Elder Allen Week#8 Buenas! Que Tal? How's everyone doing at home or wherever in the world you are?

I'm doing fantastic, I really do love it here. Friday was our first training day, and it was fun to get to know president Stauffer a little bit more and to see my CCM friends again. Remember- Be an Aguila. Also, my zone was compared to Mordor. So that's nice. 

Zone Conference always rocks, I love my zone, a ton of great missionaries and fun people. We actually got a working microwave, so that rocks. Also, the running joke is that the gringos are actually from Cahamarica, a place in Peru with German ancestry, so that's fun. 

Not much really happened this week. I mean stuff happened, but it doesn't really feel that significant. I feel like I've been out here for ages. It feels like a second home. The streets of Peru are crazy. Our modes of transportation are Motos- A 3 wheeled taxi thing; Cumbi (Idk how to spell it)- A van that squeezes in 20 people who are all the right height for it except for me and the other gringos; and Bus- where the drivers don't stop for anything. It's awesome, I actually love it. It's always loud here. And the same song is playing constantly. I did hear some Muse once, so that was fun. Elections are on Sunday, so the campaigning has been crazy. Can't wait till that's over. (Side note, the timing of the election sucks because General Conference is that day, and it's a law that you can't have meetings that day. So I might not get to watch conference on Sunday. Which means it's delayed for another week, which means no sacrament for two weeks. Yeesh)

The food here is fantastic, My pensionista is a great cook. The plate is huge though. And I have to finish it all. But that basically feeds me for the day, so that's nice. 

My emails in the CCM were about what happened in the week because that's what was happening. But now that I'm out in the field, teaching people, helping others come unto Christ, my priorities are different. The whole week has been a blur. But I remember the people, and I remember the spirit I felt with them throughout the week. So most of my emails for the next two years will be people-centered, because its basically the same stuff every day. 

I have found my first Golden Investigator. Her name is Maria-Luisa. She found the Areanas missionaries and literally asked to be taught. We taught her lesson 1 on Saturday, and she came to church on Sunday. She's a single Mom of one, and she's awesome. I'm really excited for her.

Licet is a 20-year old that we have talked to a couple of times. She's really busy with school and work and doesn't really know what she believes. I think this message will help her a lot. 

There are so many more fantastic people that I'm teaching right now, and I really wish I had the time to write about them all. Now for some members-

David is a 25-year-old convert that is working on his mission papers right now. He's a moto driver and a huge help to us missionaries. I love the guy. 

Our pensionista family is the Medinas, and they are fantastic. Half active, half not. They're so fun and nice to be around. The 2&3-year-olds nicknames are China and Chino. That's fun. 

I don't have much more time, but I want to leave with a couple of thoughts and a couple scriptures that have really helped me this week. First of all, we're all going to go through hard times in our life. Every one of us. And the secret to getting through it is to rely on our Savior. And if you are struggling with anything, do what our Savior would do, and serve someone else. It'll help, I promise. Go read Mosiah 24:14, and Jacob 5:72. My favorite scriptures of the week. 

I love you all, and miss you all so much! Hold to the rod! I'll catch you all next week!

Elder Allen

Elder Allen Week#6&7 Ay Ay Ay, this has been the craziest week of my life. But It's been absolutely awesome.

Nothing really happened at the CCM before I left. We left Monday at 1230pm and got to the airport. The flight was supposed to be at 430, but it was delayed, and then it was delayed again, and we left at 1030. Meaning that we got into Lima at 430 Am, went to a hotel for an hour, and got up for the day. But that's alright, Elder Humphreys and I were able to place our fist Libro de Mormon at the Airport, we were talking to two ladies for about an hour and a half with our broken Spanish. But hey, we got the message across I think. 

Tuesday was such a long and boring day. We had to go get our Visa and Immigration stuff done, and that took hours upon hours, but that's all right. We got to the Mission Home (Kind of, it's really just a chapel and the AP's casa is across the street) And chilled for the rest of the day. And then fit 25 people into a house made for 10 max. It was fun. 

Wednesday is when the real mission began. We had interviews with President Stauffer in the morning, had some Shwarma, and then got our Companions. 

My Trainer is Elder Vierra, he's in his 20th Month, He's from Uruguay, and he's awesome. I'm the first Gringo that he has trained, so it's been a little hard on him, but for the most part, this week has been fantastic. We are in the Zone Pachucutec, in the Area Mi Peru. I absolutely love it here. It's nothing like Utah that's for sure. There are some paved roads, but it's mostly dirt. About half of the area is really poor and up on the hill, and the other half is in the valley (Idk, it's still on the hill but lower?). The people here are so humble and willing to talk to you. It's fantastic. The only problem is often times, they aren't home when you come to the appointment. But that's just how it is here. Esta Bien. 

I had my first Baptism on Saturday. She's a 14-year-old girl named Milady (Idk how it's spelled in Spanish) And she's awesome. It was an awesome experience, and I can't wait to get the chance to baptize someone that I've actually taught. 

Do you remember the 21st night of September?

My zone is fantastic. The district leaders are so cool, and about half of us are Gringos. and 4 of us are all new Gringos. Elders Humphrys y Martin are in the Zone, and In my district is Elder Jones. I didn't get to know him too well at the CCM, but it's been awesome hanging out with him and being able to talk to someone in English. He's a great guy. I've got on splits twice now with Elder Alegre, Jones's companion because their Area is just being reopened. He's awesome. Truly Alegre. He's from Bolivia, and such a fun guy. 

There have been too many spiritual and crazy experiences too write even 5% of them. But being able to testify of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer has helped me so much. My own testimony has grown so so much. We can really rely on Him for anything. He knows us, and He loves us. I know that's true. And I promise in His name, if you share this message with someone that doesn't have this joy in their life, you will know it too. 

One crazy experience we had was last night, we were up on the hill( The hike up there is comparable to the Adam's Canyon switchbacks, it's not fun. But hey, I'm already lighter, I need the exercise.) and we were looking for the house of an old investigator. And we could not find it. Anywhere. We asked many people, and were about to give up but decided to knock one more random door and ask if they knew. A lady answered and immediately said come in! It's freezing out there! (It was) We had no idea what was going on. Turns out she's an Active member but goes to the wrong ward. And she knew where the house was. What a crazy world. 

One other thing my testimony has increased on is the gift of tounges. My Spanish was not great leaving the ccm, but after 5 days here, I can say pretty much everything I need to say. The Spanish isn't nearly perfect, and I don't know a lot of the tenses, but I can follow basically anything that is said. And I know that's not by my own crazy lucky skill. It's a blessing from God.

This week has been long and hard, but it's been awesome. I love it here. I love serving the Lord. I love the food (My pensionista is great), and I love the people.

Today was chill, we basically just played soccer. I'm terrible. For now. 

I love and miss you all so much, and I hope that all is going well at home. Thanks for everything!!

-Elder Allen

Elder Allen Week#4&5
Elder Allen Week#4 Buenos Dias! 

It's crazy to me that I've already been out here a month! It feels so much longer, and so much shorter at the same time. This week was awesome! We've definitely got into a groove this past month, and not much new happens every day. It's just the same schedule- Wake up, get ready, eat, class, eat, class, eat, devotional/class, go to bed. It's not like its a bad schedule, it's just a little repetitive, and I'm ready for a change of pace. But I am going to miss my time here at the Mexico CCM. 

And here's the sad news of the week, four members of my district, my best friends, my family, are leaving on Monday. Nobody knows why, but yesterday we find a note on the door and Hma. Kim & Boyd, and Elders Nebecker & Phillips are heading out. We're pretty sure they're going to the Peru CCM for the week, but it's really sad. 4 of my favorite people are going to leave, and class is going to be so weird without them. It's going to be a long week. *Note for my friends soon to go on missions, get tight with your district, because they'll be some of your best friends for life. 

It is crazy that I'm already off to Peru in a week and a half. I feel so ready, and not ready at all. My Spanish has improved exponentially over the past month, but I still don't feel like I know enough. I'm really really good at saying what I know how to say and what I use a lot, but the grammar and the words I don't use often aren't really sticking with me. I'll get there though. I testify that the Gift of Tounges is real, because I took 2 and 1/2 years of Spanish, and didn't learn anything. And I'm a month into the CCM, and I'm a good enough speaker to get around. Long ways to improve though. 

My week was awesome, lots and lots of cool and spiritual experiences. We had our first TRC, which is where actual people come into the Arena (CCM) and we get to give them a short lesson. That was a lot of fun, I could actually understand what the lady was saying. My teaching skills have also greatly improved here, and Elder Humphreys and I give consistently good lessons, so that's awesome. 

The week honestly has just blended in together. On Sunday I was able to give Hma. Kim a blessing and everyone felt the spirit so strong, it was awesome. The new gym time activity is Volleyball, and every game I play I get better so that rocks. We played with the zone for like 2 hours this morning, it was tons of fun. I've officially been a part of my fist Tie Trade on the mission, got a sweet new floral tie from elder Tescher (He's the other District in our house, also going to Lima West, that district is tons of fun). Also, Go Cougs! Glad to hear that we started off on a good foot this season. Speaking of the Cougars, a guy in my zone, Elder Erickson has a full ride to play basketball at BYU, so I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of him on the court in a few years here.

As always, I could write books about all the Spiritual experiences of my week. But two of my favorites and ones that all of you can and should do are watch Elder Hollands Testimony: The Book of Mormon is the Word of God, and Elder Bednar's missionary address called the Character of Christ. The second one is a bit longer, but if you get a chance, please please please go watch it. He talks about how Christ turns outward when the rest of us turn inward, and that's how we need to strive to be in life. We can not afford to have our testimony planted in the good works of the church or the apostles. We can't have a testimony of these worldly things because when something in them changes, your testimony is tried. We all need to have a testimony, for ourselves, that Jesus is the Christ, He is our Savior and Redeemer. Once we know that, we will never fall away from the gospel of Christ. Build upon his rock. Elder Hollands testimony is just so powerful and reminds us of the truth of all these things. Please go watch those videos. I promise that they will help your testimony grow. 

Other than that, not much has gone on this week. I'm ready to get out into the real world. It started feeling real when we found out that some of us are already leaving. As a reminder, please keep sending emails and letters! I love hearing from you all! I miss you all at home so much, and I'm thankful for your prayers and words of encouragement, but if you really want to help, get involved in the work! Make a Mormon.org profile, talk to an inactive or a nonmember friend, invite them to church, invite them to come unto Christ. I promise if you do, your testimony will grow as well. 

Love you and Miss you all so much! Sorry, my photos haven't been sending, the computer comes up with a new problem every week. This week the files are "too large". Hopefully, I can get it to work down in Peru.

Also, just fyi, our district group email is called Los Toros de Los Pantanos in case anyone was interested haha. Hasta Luego!

-Elder Allen

Elder Allen Week #5
Buenos Dias! This is it, everybody! My last 4 Days at the MTC, and then I'm off to Peru! 

My time here at the Mexico CCM has been fantastic. I've met some of my best friends in my entire life, I get to see a beautiful sunrise every morning, I've been able to begin to learn Spanish, but most importantly I've come to grow closer to the Savior. I'm excited for my friends that will soon enter the MTC, but I wish you English speakers would have to stay in for 6 weeks instead of 3 because these 6 weeks have been fantastic. 

This week has been a lot of leaving to the field prep- tons of seminars and going over what we've already learned. But it's helped a lot. Got my flight plans, a 5-pound Spanish review book, a filter water bottle (now I have 2 haha). And most importantly, we got our colored dots!!! We're officially old! On Sunday night we said goodbye to the 4 that left early, and that was sad. Class is weird without them. But that's alright because we'll bee soon to follow. 

The days are starting to blend together, and I honestly don't remember most of the week. But as our teacher Hermano Galloso pointed out, it's important to stay excited about the work. The habits you make in the MTC will stick with you in the Field. But yeah, more volleyball, trying to take cabinets off the hinges, etc. 

Even though it hasn't necessarily been exciting, it has been a really spiritual week, and that's been awesome. We had Elder Pindrick (?) of the 70 come and speak to us, and that was really good. It was about using the Atonement in our lives, and how it can help us in all things. A girl had a comment about the symbolism of Olive Oil that I really liked. In Christ's time, everyone relied on olive oil for nearly everything, food, light, etc. But the process to make it involves putting the Olive under immense amounts of pressure. It's similar to Christ and His Atonement, because of that pain and suffering that Christ endured for us, we have a source of Light. I really liked that. 

I've started to read Jesus the Christ, and man is that book big. But it is awesome. There's so much insight, and it has already helped me strengthened my testimony on the Savior. I recommend. 

Yeah, there's not much more to write. Packing has been stressful, but I think it'll all work out. Next time I email, It'll be from Peru! I'm excited to get down there and to really start making a change, and bring people to our Savior and Redeemer. But I'm also thankful for my experiences at the CCM. And I'm looking forward to the challenges that are to come. I hope I'll have a baptism to write about in my next email haha. 

Love you all! Please keep sending Emails! When I get to Peru, I'll be able to print them out and read them! Stay Safe, and have a good week!

-Elder Allen

Elder Allen Week#3 Hola Amigos y Familia!

This was probably the most spiritual week of my entire life. On Thursday we were able to go to the temple again (got to see the old video, that was fun), and it was awesome! Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to go again while I'm here. On Friday, Elder Bednar came and gave one of the best devotionals that I have ever listened to. I could write a book about it. It was awesome. He didn't actually prepare a talk or anything like that. He led a discussion. The topic was mostly directed to Faith, and what Faith is. And all in all, he taught that faith leads to action, that with faith you can find the answers to your own questions. In that way, he taught everybody exactly what they need to know. He taught us that we don't necessarily need other people to answer our questions, because if we have the faith and put in the work, we will receive the revelation that we need to answer it ourselves. 

A quote from Pres. Bennett that I really liked is "If faith isn't moving those mountains, grab a shovel and start moving some dirt". It's important to do whatever the Lord asks of us. 

The other reoccurring theme of the week was the Restoration. In Bednar's devotional, he told us that the gospel is not restored (preterit tense), But that it is being restored (Imperfect/progressive idk). There is still so much that God has yet to reveal for us, and we have been told by many prophets that these next years that are leading up to the coming of Christ will have some of the greatest miracles God has ever worked. I don't know about you guys, but I'm excited for that. We also watched Joseph Smith, the prophet of the restoration, and had a discussion on him. I gained such a stronger testimony that he is a prophet of God. In the Doctrine and Covenants, it says that Joseph did more for the building up of the Kingdom of God on Earth than any other man, save Jesus. And I believe it. We also learned more about Emma Smith, and how even though she fell away from the church in the end of her life, that she still did so much to help build the kingdom. I love learning about the early days of the church. So many great people and prophets. 

Other than the feast of spiritual knowledge, the week hasn't been anything crazy. We're kind of just getting into the schedule now. I'm halfway done with my time at the CCM! That's crazy! We started playing a game called Guess the Latino- There are two teams in the district, and one person from both teams is the Latino who can only speak Spanish. You have to guess the other teams, so everyone just speaks Spanish so they cant find out. It's honestly so much fun. Some guys in my district picked a flower and planted it in a Mtn Dew can and put it in their room, so that's pretty awesome. Also, our anthem is Ye Elders of Isreal by the Lower Lights. 

And time is seriously broken. I've been here 3 weeks, but it somehow feels like 2 days and 2 years all at once. It's going so fast, but also so slow. It's really weird. 

There's honestly not much more to write except a little more about my district. My Companion is Elder Humphreys, and He's the District Leader. He's a fun guy, reminds me a lot of Dallin. Except he's from Texas, so yeah. You can imagine. I room with Elder Brown and Elder Manning, and they're tons of fun. Elder Nebecker and Phillips are pretty much Sean and Gus from psych, Phillips even tap dances so yeah. Despain and Peterson are awesome. Martin is a super funny guy, and Rockwood had longer hair than me before he came out. Hermana Boyd and I have like the same personality, but we're also like the completely opposite person, and Hermana Kim and I have this ongoing joke that we're related (She's Vietnamese (But actually Californian)) Because I found out that my Sweedish ancestors were also Kims. It's really hard to put these people into one line, it doesn't feel right. They're my best friends now, and they're all so unique and awesome people. I wish you all could meet them. 

The CCM is awesome. Three great meals a day, awesome teachers. We live legit the farthest from anything you can get, in casa 35. We're the oldest district in our zone now, so that's pretty weird. We're on week 4 now, it's crazy how fast (and slow) time has gone.

A few last things:

Go to https://www.missionarypackagemx.com and write me a letter. It's free, I can get them and read them any day of the week, and that way I'll have more time to respond and stuff while emailing. Pleaseeeeeeeeee  I want to hear from you guys. My district is 13F and mission is Peru Lima West (and if you know Spanish, write me in Spanish)

and lastly, I found a golden scripture. 1st Corinthians 11:14 - Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?-- When I get roasted by the Bible

I love you all so much! Sorry that the photos didn't work last week, I'll try and get them to all work now. If you want to hear more spiritual experiences from my week write me a letter and I'll get back to you, because I have a ton. Miss you all, hope all is going well at home! Til next week! Remember that God loves you!

-Elder Allen