Goodbye CCM!

Presidente Juarez and my comps

So In field orientation was last Friday and it was a lot of info all in one day. I shared Lukes miracle story with all the missionaries and I am sooo grateful for miracles. It really was frustrating me because none of the missionaries were participating and I felt like it was a private class with the teachers and I. 

 

Our last day of class was very sad. I love our teachers so much and I am going to miss them. To bad I cant take them as pocket tutors. On our last day we had a vocab field trip with hermano Valdez and he taught us words and we taught him English words. Then we taught our investagator Pamela for the last time. We got her story from our teacher and I cant wait to find and convert Pamela´s in Orgeon. 

 

Hermana HAWS

 

 

 

 

 

HRMNO VALDEZ

 

We read those two talks I sent to you all this week. They were very inspiring and I am excited to apply the new knowledge that I have. And now I am going to be the fourth consecrated missionary! They are great talks not only for a missionary but for life in general, although they are directly applicable to the missionary. They are long but worth the read so just thought I would send them. Print em and read them whenever you have time.  We learned from some bad examples this week of the importance of obedience. I just feel bad for these elders that are not getting the vision. Remember that obedience is the first law of heaven. If we obey god has promised to bless us and God does not break promises.

 

Sunday was awesome! I got to play the opening and closing songs, our district sang ¨ill go where you want me to go for a special musical number, and our whole zone wore white ties, under the permission of presidente Alvarado of course. Dont think that will fly in the states... haha! It was a great day though.

 

 

Goodbyes to the district

 

 

 That night we said goodbye to elder chidester and pearson who had to wait 10 hours in Columbia for a layover. I will miss my district they are so great! That is when I figured out BYU lost as well. One of the polynesian elders who signed for UTAH said that BYU lost. Sad news huh! 

 

This morning Elder Kupferer left and we had I nice goodbye at 2 in the morning. then at 6 we went running with Elder Johnson from st. George around the track. I love running! I ran bare foot because my shoes were being washed so I could pack them away. It reminded me of running with Amber bare foot up in Orem. Good times in the CCM and I will miss this training center a lot. 

¨

I love the Book of Mormon you guys. It is just the best book out there! I could read it over and over and that is what I am going to do. I am in Helaman right now and Nephi and Lehi dont get the pat on the back they should. They converted 8000 blood thirsty lamanites, really quickly tooo! That might just top Ammon´s missionary success story! Immediatly after he converts them all the lamanites begin to be more righteous than the nephites. Well read some BOM and you will be uplifted and edified. Set aside some TIME cause that is really what you need to get a good lesson to help you in your life through this book.

 

Now it is just Elder Perrine and I. We are going to contact and convert loads of people at the airport tomorrow! 

 

 

 

Storm rolling in

 

 

Love ya all and keep the faith,

 

Elder Allen

 

 

 

 

 

¡VIVA MEXICO!

Sept. 19, 2013 Hello, this is Nathans  mother. I forgot to post his email last week, so keep reading  past this post and you can read another week!

Hello Family!

 

INSIDE Fireworks!!! not very safe but okay! I liked them

Another week gone and I am about to get sent into the field! We keep losing districts and we are the ones about to leave now. So the weekend was MEXICO INDEPENDANCE! Saturday some LDS latino dance group put the fiesta on! We had tons of fun with the music and dancing and the culture was awesome. It was fun to watch the Mexican group of people just go insane with the fiesta. they showed an awesome video that was about the Mexico culture. We sang the Mexico National Anthem with the hand over the chest and the color gaurd! I FELT SO MEXICAN! We really have no culture in america which is lame. So we need to have some culture in our family and have some amazing traditions, OK! 

 

District with the stars of the night

 

 

 

Espana and I. Forgot to take off my other tag.....

Elder Cordova and I,  I played cordova in soccer he was on the Rangers team.

My comps and I with a mirror pic

 

 

Sunday I got to play the opening hymn and pass the sacrament! The meeting was amazing every talk. One of my favorite parts was a scripture that was read. I have heard it before, in fact I read it in my personal study just a few days ago, but it just struck another  string in my mind and made me really contemplate. It was ALMA 26: 27 ¡Paciencia! Something our family, specifically me, lacks. I thought of all the times I have flipped out over stupid things.... Forgetting to charge the boat, forgetting the key, forgetting the plug to the boat, losing a ping pong game and kickin the door in, trying to find a lost tube plug, the boat randomly stopping and not starting again, not having enough food to eat from wendys, the list can go on forever! ; My foot breaking, going to be late to an event, rachel drawing all over something, rachel pooping on a rock, James cutting two bottles of pickles, not being able to find the soccer game location, who took something.....

 

this got me thinking about Job, a man who was perfect in the sight of the Lord and in the faith. Satan comes to God and says that Job would fall away if God took everthing from him. So he does just that. Job loses EVERYTHING! We have nothing to complain about! He lost it all and yet stayed faithful and praised gods name.  In the end has more than before! He had such patience. In Mosiah the people who followed Alma and were baptised are brought into bondage. They were not bad people, but bad things happen to great people! This was done so God could "try their patience". Job 20:5 says that the wicked will prosper for a moment. That moment may be this whole life, but how NOT great will be their joy in the life to come!  I like how Shon H. puts it "Wherever you are... there you are!" And "When something goes wrong just laugh at it" :) I know that with that faith and patience all will turn out fine! After every time I freaked out, I felt stupid after because everything always worked out! Trust in God and it WILL ALWAYS work out..... I got the grades i wanted, the boat started, we found the plug, I can run again, its rachel and she will be amazing in the next life, It all works out. On top of that Christ suffered everthing that we go through so through him all becomes possible.

 

So dad guess who was the substitute teacher for my district the other day!? Sonya Valdez, I was introducing myself to her and said I was from provo. She said she was too and I told her we lived at the ropes course. She flipped out and said that my dad was an angel. LAter she explainedShe said that she had a sudden financial issue and wouldnt be able to afford her mission. She met with the bishop and they knelt and prayed together that someway someone would step in and help her. Not two days later. Dad ( I think I was actually hometeaching with you) was talking with the latinos and asked if we could help someone with the mission. It was this hermana  that you helped dad! She said that the mission meant the world to her and she was really emotional. She was a great teacher for our district tooo! Miracles do happen, prayers are answered, we just need to be living righteously enough to receive and act on promptings.

 

Sunday night was the EL GRITO! We all gathered at 11 pm for the grito. ¡VIVA MEXICO!, ¡VIVA HILDALGO!, ...... I felt like I was going to have to give up my American citizenship! After the grito we went home at about 11:30 and were told to hurry because the mexicanos get out the pistoles and shoot in the air and we dont wanna get shot! It really did feel like a war zone on the way back!

 

Two elders from our district left to CHILE today! It is about to get REAL!

Love ya all lots   stay tight like a dish and fight the good fight.

 

-Elder Allen

 

Everything is bigger in Utah!

Sorry folks, I - Nathans mother, forgot to post his email last week. So you get 2 in 1 today! Enjoy!

 

 

 Sept. 12, 2013

 

So because BYU beat the Texas Longhorns Texas is looking pretty small right now. That is soo awesome that we won. Elder Mangum actually pulled me to the side on sunday and I thought maybe I was going to have to give a talk because he is the zone leader,but instead he just told me that BYU beat Texas, dont know how he knew but that made my sunday even better than it already was! And appearantly he and Curt Henderson are like best buds on that football team.

 

My lesson in priesthood went really well I used the talk that you sent me mom by Boyd K. Packer. THAT WAS RIGHT ON THE DOT!! Thanks soo much you are the best and I just know I can always count on you!

 

So there is a worker here named Melchezidek and he makes these scripture cases out of leather. He burns the leather by hand and puts your scripture, mission, your name, and a really detailed picture of what ever you want. His examples looked sooo cool so i just couldnt pass it up.

 

Elder Anderson and Hermana McCormic grew up together and they said they have acutally ridden their horses through our property and eaten Asperagus and stuff. Mason Bailey emailed me and scott has been emailing too. It is crazy scott already has pics with his investigators that are getting baptised.

 

This week was amazing here at the MTC. I feel my spanish improving and my teaching too. The spirit taught a bunch of powerful lessons to our investigators this week and brought them to tears even. IT FELT SO GREAT TO BE THE ONE RADIATING THE SPIRIT! As I bore testimony in my broken spanish I just wanted the investigator to know what I know sooo bad. We taught about prayer and she did not want to pray because of all the things she had done in the past. When we finally were able to get her to pray the spirit was so strong and i just love getting on a spiritual high like that! Latter that night we had a devotional by President Pratt and he told us that we need to have a good attitude about everything. He said he love driving in Mexico because the adreneline really starts pumping and it is just not the same experience in Salt Lake. It was really funny but soo true. Dont complain about you circumpstance but be content with what you have!

 

Our District Leader Elder Skelton came down with laryngitis and has to be quarantined for like two weeks!!!! I feel so bad for him because of the stuff he is missing out on. OH! Someone straight up stole my crayons from our classroom over night. So appearantly all the guys that clean peoples casas and clases are not mormon and as the head boss told us.... it is their culture to take things..... So yeah i had to buy a new pack but I am just happy it wasnt my nice new shoes like the other elder in my district or a brand new computer which appearantly got stolen from a teacher.

 

and the green birds here are acutally parrots which is really cool.

 

I did not measure my self on the door way before i left by spencers room!!!! HOW AM I GOING TO KNOW IF I GREW ON MY MISSION??

 

VIVE MEXICO!!  THEIR INDEPENDANCE DAY IS THIS SUNDAY THE COUNTRY IS GOING TO BE CRAZY! I am excited. we have a little CCM celebration too and we had a practice singing the Mexico national anthem that was a cool experience.

The Leones are the mascot for the school. Let me tell you a lot of tears were shed when they turned this school into a CCM. IT was the life of the LDS education in Mexico. Turning it into A CCM was a fullfillment of a prophecy though which is awesome.

The water ran brown for a while and I accidentally brushed my teeth with it.... HOPE I DONT GET SICK!!!

 

 

The food has gotten much better here with nuttela and some beans and some good stuff so life is good.

 

It rained even more this week but we have gone two days without rain! I feel like it is a drought. One of the ELders in my district said that there was a tornado in PG and that it rained so much in PRovo that people were canoeing in the Univ. MAll pariking lot!?

Love you guys a ton and remember the church is true so just hold strong to the rod!

 

AMBER I cant believe how long it is going to be till I see you again! but it is for the best of reasons. Love you all,

-Elder Allen

Relampago everywhere!

Hello family! Another week has passed and here I am again! It is really going by soo fast. This week i swear we have already received like 10 inches of rain at least and there has been some awesome lightning storms and we are getting swamped! The thunder is different here too. It is like a dry crack and doesnt rumble like it does in utah. I love it though.

 

So I hurt my foot again playing soccer against some natives and it was really killing me. It is feeling better now and i just need to take it easy eh! We went to the temple again today and it was even better than last time! I actually understood a bunch of the spanish and I saw some awesome parts of Mexico! This one bus was just going along down the road and these little kids run it down and just jump on in the middle of this busy road! it was sketchy then they are just hanging on off the door. There are some cool Green birds here that I want to catch they look like parrots or something. My comps and I were contacting, our teacher outside, she was walking away and so we start chasing after her. All the sudden the heavens open up and just start dumping buckets of water on our heads. so we are runny for shelter but Perrine was introducing us to our contact on the run it was the funniest thing ever! I hope I get to teach someone again while they are on the run it makes missionary work even more exciting.

 

Congrats Braiden on the mission call! you are going to tear it up in Nebraska!

 

I cannot believe BYU lost their season opener!!! How embarrassing. It was prob. because i was not watching though. So in my casa, I am on the top bunk just like at home and I have been able to watch the rain at night which is really cool!

Mom I just got you package so thanks very much I have not opened it yet I am too busy right now but thanks for the stuff that will be in the package and I will be more greatful next week.

 

 

We got to listen to a talk by Ezra taft Benson this week called beware of pride. It was sooo good! I feel like that is the problem with me and with just about eveyone. It is the universal sin! He said Pride halts our progression in life. He said contention would not exist if pride were gone. Basically every problem come from pride. Even divorce and the BIG sins come as a result of Pride. Pride is the root of it all! So I have been researching pride this week and I am going to come off conquerer!

 

One of the devotionals I attended was on how to really convert. The essential component to missionay succes turned out to be the MEMBERS! There needs to be a member missionary connection that envelopes the work. This will multiply the results big time. So dad you should start that book of mormon placement challenge in the ward. Or even better spencer could start it. Ya know how we saw in Kents ward. ward memebers place two a week by volunteer. the speaker introduced this as the M&M work. WE all need to be in this with one heart, mind, and purpose.

 

OH! the other thing that really stood out to me this week was the first presidency preface to the himnos. It is awesome and you should read it at family home evening. Those hymns are soo cool! Memorize them, sing them, and love them,

 

 

There are a bunch of elders that I keep meeting that know people that i know it is such fun to make connections. Elder Williams is from Nephi´s ward in Plano. Elder Hink was great friends with Mason in Richfield. I played soccer agains Elder Cordova when he was with the Rangers,  and it has been lots of fun wrecking the soccer games here with him. There is an elder that is from Kirk Bagleys parents ward, forgot his name. A ton of elders going to Pocatello. And there are more just cant think of them right now. one of the elders here actually went to this school and played soccer for three years at this high school which was awesome that he was back as a missionary.

 

Sad news though. One of my  friends that was here went home this week. I was really really sad for him and for the people he could have taught. It also made me think of what I did wrong, how I could have been a better friend in  school or even while he was at the MTC. I really hope he comes back and make sure you all are great friends, you can influence those around you to serve missions and stay on them and change their lives.

 

I know that this is Gods work and I am soo happy to be a part of it. Pray for me to do well this sunday during my priesthood lesson I am going to need it. Preaching for 30 min in spanish could be a tad difficult.

 

Love you all lots,

 

Elder Allen

Estoy Aqui!!! I am here! Loving the CCM! Week 2

Distrito 10A!

Welcome to Mexico. slugbugs evereywhere!

We are protected by big walls with chain link plus barbed wire on top. Satan is not getting in here!

MTC CLASE all day everyday!

We went to the Temple today and it is HUGE and in the middle of Mexico city!

Our humble abode

Crazy thing is that there are palm trees and pine trees like right next to each other. I am really loving the weather down here too. Soaking it in!

Estoy Aqui!!! I am here!  August 13, 2013

So we had a crazy long day on the plane and in the airport. we ended up switching planes and going to California and I finally made it to the CCM/MTC! Had some costco pizza met some cool people and trying to start learning spanish.

 

So im safe and sound talk to ya on Monday!! Love ya lots

 

Elder Allen

 

 

Loving the CCM!     August 22, 2013

 

Today is my first PDay so I have a lot to write!

 

The weather here is amazing! It is crisp air and feels like it does in the fall in Utah. It is 70s durring the day and 50s at night  i thought it would be hot but no!

 

So ended up that my flight got messed up so they sent me to LA and then to Mexico and we were 6 hours late and got to the CCM\ MTC at about 11:30 at night! already breaking rules, i know, we arrived and got some cold costco pizza and then finally I got my nametag! I also got mi compañero Elder Perrine from Sacramento Cal. He is the only other elder that i have met that is going to Eugene. So I got all settled and we had a nice tour in  the morning but then a new missionary came into our district and said that we were to have a TRIO and that me and E Perrine had to move houses so we did and had to move all the way accross campus. So our new compañero is Elder Kupferer from Irvine Cal and he is going on his mission to Washington.

The majority of the missionaries here are going to south america, Chile, equador, paraguay, and all kinds of cool places. My district is awesome. We have a lot of fun together and maybe too much fun together.

 

We went to the Temple today and it is HUGE and in the middle of mexico city where everything is in shambles and then.... BOOM there it is! In the picture from front to back....

 

Every day we have to be at the clase at 7 in the morning and then we study till breakfast at 8. Breakfast is terrible! I was hoping for some delicous jams and jellies but we have had rock hard waffles for breakfast for the whole time we have been here and there is no syrup just chocolate syrup stuff. I think they are trying to cater to the americans but I am getting used to it. Then from there we go to learn spanish for about 3 hours with Hermano Valdez who has lived in Mexico all his life. He speaks all spanish and it is great. Then we have gym time for 1 hour then Lunch. Lunch is usually the best meal of the day. 

 

Next we have been teaching an investigator, Esmeralda. We have had 4 lessons with her already and they had to be between 20 and 35 minutes long and all in spanish. The first two lessons went decent but then we had a bad lesson that did not make sense and it was just bad. So we prayed and had read some Preach my gospel and decided we would just not plan the next lesson so meticulously but just teach by the spirit. Our last lesson yesterday went sooo well! I challenged Esme to be baptized at the end and she excepted. We were stoked afterwards even though it was not a real investigator. 

 

Elder Pearson came back from one lesson and said "Oh what a great lesson, she said she would read the book of mormon and we felt the spirit sooo strong! WAIT!!! I didnt give her a book of Mormon!" Yeah.... so when you invite someone to church like on the movie the best two years just remember to tell them where the church is.

 

Our branch President, presidente Alvorado, is awesome he is so genuinely Happy and loves everyone. He said two of his children died but I dont know how to talk to him about his family in spanish without making he relive the pain a hundred times so i can understand him so I wont ask. Our branch is pretty cool. So our first Sacrament meeting one of the Hrmnas was speaking about faith and we start to here Rachels favorite song, This girl is on fire, playing on just outside the CCM and it was sooo loud. Finally when we were all about to bust the girl speaking said "yes this girl is on fire" it was the funniest thing ever.  

 

 In my branch I have Elder Tanner Mangum. Recognize the name????!!! He is QB at BYU and will take Taysoms place when he gets back. He is big and I have been playing soccer against him. He played goalie and when I dont score on him then he picks up the ball and just throws it accross the gym into the other goal! it is insane. He is a really cool guy though.

 

So elders I have met so far that I knew previously

Alec Wooley, Brandon Smith, Elder Holt all of which I played soccer with, two for the Arizona trip.

Jordan Maw and Landon Snyder from Provo High. I also met Scott Adair and tyler something scotts friends from logan.

 

Hermanas

Warner, Giles, Louisa Orton from PHS, and hermana Morales from our Stake!

 

It so loud here at night. I swear people are getting shot ever minute! there are bangs and screams and barking dogs and all kinds of fun stuff. There is also a bunch of earthquakes here too. We already experienced one but nobody even knew it! it was just super small so it set off the alarms and we all evacuated just in case there were bigger ones to follow. That has happened twice now.

 

Today we went to the temple and it was hard to do it in Español for sure! I needed some major help but it was a great experience!

 

One of my favorite things to do here is to sing in español! The spirit comes so strong everytime. Sometimes it is funny to look at all these 18 year old boys and think that they are going to convert people, but then we sing a song and the spirit is there and then we teach amazing lessons in spanish and then I just know that it can and will happen. God knows what he is doing and his purposes cannot be frustrated! The book of mormon will answer all the questions you have if you read it and if you read it everyday you will not fall away from the church ever! God lives and I cant wait to bring the gospel to others and learn spanish at the same time. Love you all lots,

 

Elder Allen

 

 

Week 2  August 29, 2013

 

This week was AWESOME! I just love being a missionary. It is great to have all these people around you that are really so different but when it comes to the gospel we can be united and have the same purpose and just have such good experiences together. This week went by sooo quickly and I cannot believe it is Thursday and Pday again. Our new investigators names are Alejandro and Pamela. Pamela is a real tough case. Both our investigators are just our teachers but they put on the character of someone they met on their missions. Appearantly Pamela was a tough case.

 

Pamela is 18 and only let us in because she didnt have anything else to do. She does not pay attention at all in the lesson and her life seems quite pointless to her. We are trying to give her a purpose to life but she wont even listen. At one point in time she even started playing her IPAD during the lesson it is hard.

Alejandro is also 18 but he is like a golden investigator. He asks questions and pays attention and has been looking for churches he is just great.

 

Hermana Haws, acting for Pamela, is from Alpine UT and she is like a female Holland, seriously. She teaches with power and boldness. She told us basically that we need to stop focusing on ourselves and focus on the investigator. She said that up until now in our lives it has been me, me, me, me, me. We have never had to worry about some one else. She said we are still worrying about ourselves and that we are going to mess up while speaking Spanish. She told us to get our heads out of the box and learn to love like christ did and have charity. So I really took that one internally and I read a scripure in the BOM that says we need to pray for our hearts to be filled with love. So Elder Kupferer and I fasted a for that love on tuesday and I feel like we really did increase our love and charity for others. It was awesome because that night that we fasted We had a MTC devotional broad casted from Provo and Elder Anderson focused on that very subject of Charity and it was like it was straight for me and elder kupferer.

 

The broadcast was awesome. We made history apparently because it was the largest mtc broadcast ever to like 5 other languages and like 5,000 missionaries. It was great.

 

Sad thing was the day I fasted it was supposed to be pizza night but the ran out so all i ate that day was cold cereal! It was one of the easiest fasts i have don though because of my intentions.

 

Hermana Haws´ claim to fame is that she tutored Jimmer Fredette @ BYU and so she believes it is because of her that he is now in the NBA.

 

Hermana Valdez is our other teacher acting as Alejandro and he is awesome too.

 

The best part of the MTC is learning soo much about the gospel. SOOOO much study time and when you plan out that study time and you really get into it I learn a ton.

 

Is the Banana melon done yet?!?!?!? let me know how it tastes.

Love,

ELder allen