02/29/2012

WHOAH!!!!!!!!!! I CAN NOT BELIEVE TAWNEE IS ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that makes me feel weird. BUT SO EXCITED for her :::::::::)))))))) CONGRATS BABY SISTER!!!!!!!! I am only upsetted by the fact that well, I got NO DETAILS! I demand them asap! PORFA! I  must hear how dis all went down!! Ans Britt is back from PUERTO RICO! I need deets about that too! And how she is having a baby and how bear has a little grown man son now?! Remember how I still can't fathom that? I love them so much :) And MOM a new missionary came in that looks just like you and it made me miss you so much :( uygh I miss you. But I love you so. And I LOVE the political updates you know I die to hear  them every week!

I pray for Mitt all the time. whoa... TAWN IS ENGAGED.ps tawn that ring is tTO DIE FOR. I LOVE IT SO MUCH STOP BEING CUTE AND ADULT.

this week was great! My sister got engaged. And my other sister was in Puerto Rico and my other one had a baby and is a nurse and I love my mom the most ever. And Dayna is in WA with curt, super fun. I miss you all. That's about it...

oh and this is gonna be the best weekend ever. Stephanie is getting married Sat so she can be baptized SUN! So tawn that makes us both planning a wedding right now. It's like super stressful, very exciting

:) Then my sweet Miguel and Jorge are getting baptized Sunday!!! I can't put into words how much these people mean to me. You will see when you meet them. They have all of my heart. Miguel is the definition of golden and despite his wife and 2 daughters leaving him he turned to God and was crying sharing his testimony yesterday.

People can just feel this is the truth. We visited a woman named Melissa on our exchange like 2 months ago, and because it was an exchange they never really went back. We knocked their door looking for someone else and ended up teaching like 7 people in their house. 2 were superr strong in their religion and just bashed us and we left feeling "Why did we feel like we needed to go there?" there was a woman just chilling in the back who listened to it all and felt really good about what we shared.  She ran out the door yesterday saying "SISTERS! I have been looking and waiting for you!" I need that book, I am so lost and looking for truth, I am so confused, please help me. She has been such a miracle. Her and her husband (well bf, planning another wedding!) literally almost left each other because this church they are in are splitting them apart instead of helping them grow closer. She has had such a hard life and those couple min we were in that house, she knew what we shared was true. It was miraculous. That also happened with a man Arcenio this past weekend. taught in housefull of 5 people and he just  took it all in, came to church the next day and said "You have a new hermano in the church!" We invited him right then to be baptized and he said, "of course"- these are real people with real challenges and I can't even tell you what a thrill it is to see them change their lives for the gospel. Many of them are literally going hungry and have NOTHING, they all leave their families, cross the desert on foot, come to america to work, share a tiny apartment with 10 people and barely can afford to eat. Then they know when they hear the message why they are there. I have been so blind my whole life to how ready people are. ugh it's just the best

I love you so much, think about you all de tym. Please keep having super exciting lives and getting engaged and having babies. I MISS YOU SOOO!!!!

02/22/2012

OH MY! Megan is engaged!!!?? JAJA I am SO THRILLED! And it appears to be coming super soon with TAWN. AHHH! And Britt is in Puerto RICO!? WHAT!? Jealous. And she is having baby !!!! And he is okay!!!? and Bear is a mother!!!?? (that is still news/shocking/exciting to me) I bought da lil boys some things today I will have to get them in da mail. And mother I am calling your friend again tomorrow :) I have been away from the VC for almost a week which is super weird? You are the best missionary ever! And You should go meet Mitt Romney please. Don't worry the election won't be done when I get home so we can put up signs together like last time :) AND HAPPY 90TH GRANDMA!!! Tell her I love her so so much and I am so happy she .. is.. 90

Great week! I got the stomach flu on Friday and for some reason it lasted 5 days and haven't been able to eat anything or I would throw it up. Super fun. Especially cause I got to keep being a missionary through it all. Our area is doing to well to like rest so we just kept going which actually ended up working out okay. Cause we met some super ready people. Arcenio, who before we even mentioned the name Joseph Smith said, "Joseph Smith was an inspired prophet of God" and that "We need to ba baptized by immersion and authority like Christ was" - Believe it or not he is not a member, yet... Also a man named Santos who somehow got the number of the mission office and called cause he wanted us to come teach him. He accepted a baptismal date immediately but we might struggle with the fact that he helps people across the border (?) - (Maybe take that part out) - but he has been searching and he just loves the message. Luis prayed in Why I believe in front of the hundreds of people and it was lovely. He was thrilled on Sunday when he got confirmed and with the biggest smile said "I'm going to pay my tithing!" - Andres called and has been seeing 70-100 patients a day in Columbia but still finds a way to get to every baptism and church and read the entire Book of mormon in like 3 weeks. He is gold. Stephanie is SO EXCITED she is getting married and we are stressfully planning the wedding so she can be baptized the next day :) We went to the zoo with our zone in the city today and I saw an animal that reminded me of tawnee. It's my new fav. I am out of time, but I love you all mo den you know! I think about you all way too much. But you motivate me to be good :) <3 uuuuuuu Ps whitney houston died? And I misunderstood planking. What else is new Babylon? PS mom the christus is for YOU! And I am getting you all one when you get here I jsut couodn't afford to send them all! LOVE YOU! Sorry no time!

02/16/2012

FAMILLIAA!!! <3 Feliz dia de amor y amistdad!!!!!!!! was it goo? What'd you all do? I totally forgot. And we like made appointments with our investiagtors that are getting married (will explain later) and they were all dressed up and we naively asked what the occasion was. ja woops. But I feel like all this talk about la boda de Tawnee is a dream or something and couldn't possibly be real but I think maybe it is!??!! AHHH. How weird!!! But in such a good exciting way! And Luke and Declan have my heart already. I love them so much. I am worried about Declan he is in my prayers... And mom I love you you're the best, Did you get to meet mitt or what!? I have been dying to hear! You are his bniggest fan, than me.

AMAZING WEEK. God is so so good to us. First off, Renee was baptized on Sunday :::)) It was incredible. I was unaware I was speaking but they announced that I was (?) SO I just made one up on the spot? BUT it was miraculous, he has been in my prayers incessantly cause he is not only 29 and just out of open heart surgery, he also can't work and is literally going hungry possibly homeless, and the worst is he is extremely depressed. It broke my heart every time we meet with him. The day we found him he just looked so hungry for the gospel and I was confused why he wasn't being filled by it. He shared his testimony at his baptism and said that, "SOY feliz" not estoy pero SOY feliz. It was so beautiful cause it was at his baptism when he finally was full and happy :) and I love him so much it just overjoyed me as wellllll:::::::))))) Also, my whole mission I have had 2 dreams, plan a wedding, and baptise a family. Stephanie is the novia of a less active recently active member (they are 19) they have the cutest lil babe ever after Declan and Luke. We were SO NERVOUS to teach them the law of chastity while their little child was running around, but we prayed really hard and did it. Their commitment was like.. to get married... which is kind of asking a lot of 2 19 year olds. But not only were they like "yeah" but they moved their wedding up to March 3rd like it was nothing so she can get baptized the 4th!!!! And oh my, you had to be there. The little baby started clapping his hands and laughing so hard in joy when they agreed to be married. They are going to be the happiest little family ever and will be able to be sealed in the temple next year :) Now the whole less active family is striving to enter. So we are putting on the wedding for her with the ward and it's just thrilling and stressful but wonderful! She is so excited for her baptism too she tells everyoen! 2 other miracles and then I am done I promise, my very first upperbox at festival came into the VC last night and ran and hugged me and said, "SISTER ALLEN I AM GETTING BAPTIZED SATURDAY AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER IN MY LIFE!" It took me a moment to recognize her cause she looked physically different, just so full of light. She would not stop smiling the whole night. I remember being super nervous to invite her to meet missionaries cause her boyfriend was kjind of avoiding it. but yay! A few people I met from festival have come back to announce the wonderful news and por fin we can see the fruits of our labor at Christmas. This is the best work ever. if I can even call it work. it's so fun and happy. I love it. I love you all so so much and pray for you incessantly. Your exciting lives blow me away. But I so happy for you all :) MWUAH

02/08/2012

GRACIAS POR ESCRIBIRME::)) sorry I am so high maintenance, I just kind of love you all so much I get super worried? Like I had nightmares this past week but no I can breathe that I know you are all goooo' :) Oh my. I love you all and I also had 2 dreams (some may say I dream about home too much) about the lil babes and I already love them so much and feel lie I know them. Cause they could talk in my dreams. I miss them. And Superbowl I couldn't help but think of our crazy Mexican fiestas and Grandma and Mom trying to find some solace. and beautifully enough the baptism of our wonderful Mexican man LUIS! and Nadia who reminds me SO MUICH of Lindsey! It's cool cause both of the baptisms on Sunday were results of what happened in our intercambio. We knocked Nadia's house and they set a return appt and it was an inactive family who reactivated so the daughter was baptized. and OH MY you all know my love for Luis ya. He was GLOWING!!!!!!!! It unbelievable. He kept saying Allen Allen it's today! (everyone calls me allen  its funny) he just hangs out at the Vistor's center inviting everyone to be baptized like him. He came to the VC while we were on shift and started calling his friend and he threw the phone at me and said "here talk to him! (aka share the gospel) - his friend accepted the missionaries because of the change he has seen in Luis. Then this family that we taught in Garret Park showed up to the VC that same night, they said they refused to let the new elders in jaja and just came to the VC to be taught, Luis just testified to them and got the dad to accept partially a baptismal date for the 4th, I was incapable of that. AHANDTHEBESTPART! Andres drove for 2 hours and then wandered for 2 hours to see the temple before he left to Columbia. He was glowing!!! He just got baptized the day before and confirmed since he is leaving. It was the most incredible conversation of my life. He is truly an elect of God, he has spent his whole entire life serving in third world countries as a doctor without getting paid (his service just covers his expenses for being there) and his dad is a diplomat of Spain! He has such potential to be a huge asset to the church and effective instrument in the hands of the Lord. And all from a 20 sec conversation at festival. He immediately knew it was true. The best part was that he is doing his family history and he wants me to do his mother's temple work when I am done in July. I was so taken back and honored at the request. I love these people way too much. We found a miracle man who as we were seeking a potential, he was parked outside and he rolled down his window and called us over, he said he had to get out of the house who was strange considering he was only 4 houses away (clearly guided there!) we invited him to church and the next day he actually showed up and stayed for the baptism! And He LOVES the message he calls us like every day to ask about what he will need to do when  he is a member. Then Stephanie, the girlfriend of a member and the sweetest girl you will ever meet (also reminds me of Lindsey?) came to church and the baptism and the boyfriend's mom said, "your next" and she said "yeah"- and accepted a date for the 4th. THEN there was a man who we met and I guess didn't set a return appointment with him so he got on the internet, looked up the mission office number, and called to tell us to come by Monday night. PEOPLE ARE SO PREPARED! Sorry am I so overwhelming with my jambled stories? I will calm down. I just can't get over thesde awesome prepared people and how strategic God is! It's great. I love you all and wish you happiness n luuuv y paz. PS The date is the 18th! de Julio. Are you really all coming?! WHHAAA!? oh my goodness. these people will all be able to be real to you then! You will die they are so great! I can't wait to meet my little babes and see you all! I literally can't imagine it... I will faint maybe. Love  you. AND MOM I am SO THRILLED to call your friend! I prayed you would have missionary experiences! I don't know the sister you talked to super well but I kept following her around asking about your conversation it was funny. But she is the sweetest girl ever. Like you, okay bye love you 

01/19/2012- Sorry this is out of order- I missed one :)

FAMILY!!!! We have this new weird email thing and I can't respond directly to you all. Also it's weird and it won't show me emails from other people. So if anyone who reads this has emailed me and I haven't responded, don't be offended. So you can choose what to put in the mass email and what not. It doesn't  matter to me. Bear I literally had my jaw dropped looking at pics of the cutest little man I have eer seen on the face of this planet. Like/... is he for real? I have no words to describe how in love with him I in. I can't imagine how you feel. URH I am so jeal you get to hang out with him all the time! AAND BRITT!!! YOUR LIL BABE IS A BIG BABE NOW!!!!! He is getting so big and looks like a real huiman being in your pics!!! Are you just dying of excitement!? He's gonna be such a little stud like Luke I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET HIM!!! And ALSO WHAT ON EARTH WHY DID YOU SEND ME THE MOST CREATIVE THOUGHTFUL PACKAGE IN THE WORLD??!!! My roommates and everyone were just in awe at how thoughtful and cute it was. I can't start to express my gratitude into words. I mostly feel guilty that I still haven't had even a moment to shop for you all persoinally. Expect SUPER AWESOME gifts when I get home and have time to shop for you all. Seriously... why are you guys so good. i feel bad. I love you. So much

This week has been unreal. Like... UNREAL... I will just give you some updates. Maria, the mother of recent convert Ana, got baptized on Sunday. And ohhh myyyy it was so incredible. She actually has parkisisnsnsns (?) and... kinda doesnt have much time left.. I remember stressing out about it a lot one week, not wanting her to get baptized if she didn't really have a full understanding of what she was doing. Then I had this dream ( I am so latina!) I was her, and there is a lot to it, but I realize this is not about me! SO she got a special interview and was baptized in a chair and even though she is SOWEAK and can barely walk, she was GLOWING after. And her little granddaughter who just got baptized gave the talk and it was honestly the most spirit filled hour of my mission. Her non member sons came and are now meeting with the missionaries in their area. It was really stressful though cause the water and chair and everything had to be PERFECT or something .. not good.. could have happened. I was hypervhenalating the whole time. But it was beautiful. Andrew, the doctor from Spain who was simply FASCINATED by the short 20 sec message of the restoration while I was holding the "end of line" sign at festival, finally found a phone to call me at and waited for my call back for 2 HOURS cause he juist had to hear more! (he is going to Columbia Feb 8 ad thus doesn't have a phone) - his whole life he has spent travelling around the world doing medical service and just wanting to find the path God wanted him to be on, we have been emailing back and forth and I can't really teach him much over email so i just send him reading assignments. He said that is life suddenly has so much light to it, and that he has never in his life been so happy. It shows how little we actually do and the converting power is through the scriptures and the Spirit. He said, "Sister... I want to enter the temple one day, and I want to be baptized before I leave to Columbia" - AHHH! He is so great! I sent the missionaries the very next morning and he will be able to do so and have this happiness forever and ever and ever.Que mas. OH LUIS! the amazing miracle from festival!!! AHH he is getting baptized Feb 5th and calls be every single day at  the VC just to tell me how happy he is. It is incredible cause although it just sounds like "oh this person is getting baptized" it is SO MUCH MORE!!! They just have been seeking truth their entire lives and you see a legitimate PHYSICAL difference in them through the process of conversion, They feel REAL HAPPINESS. And the last man, Jose, who came to the VC claimed I said "something wonderful is going to happen to you soon" ( which is weird cause I don't remember nor can I see myself saying that?) came back and said that "At that point I didn't know, but I just got baptized today, and I had to come here and tell you". Oh my... this literally all just happeneding YESTERDAY!!! The stories are endless. Sorry I overwhlem you with them. I just... ugh, I have no words. God is just so GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ahh. Okay... I love you all mroe than you know. Please keep being awesome and having awesome lives and success

02/01/2012

Familiaaa

I am deciding if you deserve an email since not ONE of you wrote me this week! Okay, already forgiven. Only cause your lives are super exciting and busy, if they were boring, no excuses. <333 uuuu. Hows the babes? Is Britt home yet? Is Tawnee married? Mom I had a dream about you last night, I loveth you

Today is TRANSFERS and after being in one area all but one transfer of my whole mission, I have been changed. It was a rough goodbye. My fav member Francis which you should be SO EXCITED to meet, made a slideshow and played a song on his guitar called "amiga del alma" - it was the sweetest thing ever. I miss my ward already... but I am going to Glenmont with Sis Quintanilla! She is El Salvadorean and I love her lotz. and get this, so remember the crazy story I told you about incredible man from Mexico, Luis who came into the VC with tears in his eyes saying the church was so beautiful? And so I gave his info to the missionaries and then happened to be on exchanges in Glenmont for the first appointment with him when he accepted baptism? And then how for some reason the first week he couldn't find the church for 2 hours so couldn't come and had to change his bdate to THIS WEEKEND!? And how he begged me to get permission to come, but I couldn't, but now I am actually in Glenont and can go to his BAPTISM SUNDAY!!!!?? Yeah, millagrrooo verdaddd? I was just about in tears when we got our callouts and I realized I would be at his baptism. He has such a special place in my heart there really just aren't words.  I can't wait for you to meet him. I also got the best message I have received in my life yesterday. As I was packing we were listening to our messages on speaker, then we heard ANDRES (the Doctor from Spain- upper box from festival)- say "Hermana Allen, I borrowed this phone from a friend because I had to tell you the great news, they are letting me get baptized tomorrow, and I have never been happier in my life. " Both of our jaws dropped and then we screamed cried a little because he is just soooo elect and such a good person I can't explain how happy I am for him. He is only here in DC temporally (hence, no car nor phone) until he leaves to Columbia  to do another service research thing there and he is taking a 2 hour bus trip to come to the VC and say bye and see the temple as the newest member of the church:) You can not believe how golden this man is. He always prays for you guys and asks about my family soo much. He wants to meet you one day. Anyway, it's been a miracle filled week. Miguel came to a baptism on Sunday and said, "I'm next!" - it's so hard to leave him. It's so cool to see people who have just been hungering for the truth, but not knowing where to find it and then BAM they see the castle off the 495 and feel the spirit and know that's their answer. tawnee will love this story. A woman 2 days ago from HAITI came into the VC and said, "I've been meaning to come into here for a long time"- we play the Christus in french for her and then Sister FInaly tells her about the restoration. She was in tears after listening to the Christus and shared that she just the night before had a dream with that exact statue, and she knows this where Christ wants her to be. She also shared a story about a painting of people in a boat crossing the seas. Sis Finlay showed her the picture in the Book of Mormon of Lehi and his families crossing to the Americas and she said, "That's it!" - right then and there she accepted Baptism. I had no idea so many prepared people in the world were out there? Ahh I love being a missionary! So I love you alllll 4ever. write me plz

Hermana Allen

01/26/2012

Mis queriddaaass, como les extranooo!

wut is noo? dats cool. Britt is in VEGAS again, time number 88. Is she ever not travelling? Your  lives are all to exciting. Mom, secretly I wish every week that you give me updates on the election, cause we are sooo blind to it all here and I am DYING to know! I just see tons of people coming in saying either, "I want to learn about the church to which the future president belongs" - or, "I just wanted to find out if all this dirt on Mitt Romney's religion is true" - that spark has actually brought in tons of people many of which have accepted missionaries. The other day I gave a tour and they said, "Really? THAT's what you believe? Those are all good things!" They were shocked at how off the ads about Romney were. How are babies coming? I always think that the pics sent the week before can't be beat in level of cuteness, but they just get better? and mas cuter? loveit.

This week has been swellish. Lots of miracles como siempre. They like really haven't ceased, as Mormon would say. Miguel, young man from Guatamala has a child recently divorced, really struggling comes into the VC the other day and says, "I came in at Christmas time and gave someone my information, but no one has come by, and I felt so much peace here I just had to come by and see how I can feel that more" - we got down his info again, turns out he lives in our area!! We teach him like every two days cause he just can't get enough of it. Everytime we are done with our appointments he just lingers and doesn't want to leave. He said he had a dream twice where he asks God where God wants him to be and what He wants him to do, and always waks up after. But he says when he reads the Book of Mormon, he KNOWS it's true and that is God's answer. SO COOL! He was alcoholic, and has stopped drinking. It's hard, but he just feels so good about it. He will be baptized da fifth :) It was cool we had Juan (recent convert) come teach with us, and it was so cool to see him switch from being an investigator to a member present:) He teaches so well, his testimony is so solid. I have decided I will send you some of Andrew's (the doctor from Spain?) words by email cause you wouldn't believe how passionate he is about the gospel and the Book of Mormon. He said his DEEPEST desire is to be baptized. He will be on the 5th but he goes to Columbia after. There was a woman at festival staring at the temple crying and her son expressed his desire to go inside, so they upperboxed. The other day I am going through my cards and I felt prompted to call them of everyone. Turns out they live in our area and we never received the info. We set up an appointment for that night and they are so golden!  I loove da Evangelio!!!!!! These people are all real people that just hunger for this. ugh, it's great. SO... kind of not so good news, Hermana Perez (mi compa that looks like Sylvia!) slipped on some black ice and broke her leg :/ she got surgery and now is back in our apartment. Pobrecita. She has alread 3 accidents this transfer. I am not going to lie, it's really hard. Pres told us to keep to our exact schedule and not change enything, but it is SO HARD. It takes a lonnng time to get her ready in the morning and we wake up several times to  help her to the bathroom or something. Anyway, I am not the one with the broken leg so I am not complaining, I just don't know how to both keep on the same exact schedule and also take care of her. But I love her she is great:) Okay well, I love you all please be so safe n happy alll da ttyymm

PS are you coming to get me?! I read mom say that!!!!! ahh! cool! LOVE YOU!