I'm traveling again

we just got off a bus in Cusco and now we´re headed to Lima to do document stuff. Not sure what haha. no one tells us anything. But, I have a little bit of time to write you guys.

Things are good right now. I´m happy (but very very cold) in my sector. We finally have a house. We didn´t have a shower for 5 days... I showered more at girls camp than I did this week haha.

I will have more time on wednesday or thursday to write you guys, so I´ll say more.

I love you all!

well, we traveled a lot this week. Doing immigrations stuff... we ended up in Ecuador for a little bit.

 I´m exhausted, and now we have to get on a bus to Puno. I´m excited to be in the cold again, as weird as that might seem. Ecuador is HOT. 

While we were in the airport, we just got a really weird reality check... we will go home one day. I´m excited, but at the same time... Rent, work, school, awkward dating and the stupid emotional rollercoaster that is, real life where you don´t just teach people about Jesus all day. It makes me sick thinking I have to leave. I love you all, and I´m excited to see you, but the reality check was hard. I don´t want to leave.

I am loving my mission, and I loved being with Hna. Rasmussen for a couple days not having to stress about our sectors so much. It felt nice to be able to go on a trip without having to be in charge of everyone. We felt pretty free. 

I really don´t like thinking that there´s only 5 months left... real life is the worst.

I love you all

Hermana Allred

1-- makeshift shower

2-- it´s cold here. really cold.

1-- Africa. wait... this is Ecuador

2-- Rassmussen, me, and Coffey cruisin over the border.

3-- Tumbes (africa look alike) airport

4-- hna. Wahlen and I in Tumbes

1-- airport waiting... we did a lot of this this week.

2-- ecuador.

3-- we painted a lil girl´s nails in the plaza. she loved us. 

4-- inca ampitheater

5-- river

6-- jaguar camo shoes

7-- ampitheater in Tumbes

8-- the plaza

 

Avocado sandwiches for breakfast.

I got kissed on the cheek by a smelly drunk in a band tshirt. On the same day, I sat on a cat. My companion laughed both times. I didn`t hit the drunk in the back of the head this time... (I`m pretty sure I never told you guys about my first encounter with a drunk... I`ll save that story for when I`m home. The first time was worse.)

Overall, this week was really great. I love living with Hna. Rasmussen and Olivares. They are so sweet and I love them both to death. My mission has given me so many friends for eternity. I feel so blessed to have known them. 

We had our interviews with president this week, and it was so good. It`s always shorter than I hope, but it was good. He talked about expectant faith as opposed to wishful faith. That is something I struggle with. I`m working on it though. 

I love my companion. She is the kindest person I know. I feel like she should be from England. She likes Jane Austin, BBC classics, and drinks herbal peppermint tea without sugar. We get along so well, and I laugh all the day long. I just know she is going to get snatched away from me, just like all my other favorite companions. Hna. Tamariz, 1 transfer. Rasmussen 1 transfer, Nelson, 2 transfers... it`s a curse. But we will enjoy the time we do have together. 

Remember that billy boyd song from lord of the rings? Mist and Shadows or something.  well, we spent a good day listening to all her LOTR songs until we found it. turns out it`s just the last 15 seconds of a song. Boo. that song should really be longer. 

We found a golden investigator whose mom happens to be a member. We were going through a list of names the elders gave us. they`re super less actives who might have passed away, or moved. Most have passed away or moved, but luckily this lady still lives in Puno. and her 18 year old daughter Vaness accepted to be baptized after teaching her for 20 minutes. She is so excited. We just need to get her mom to church too so she isn`t alone. She already has a friend in the ward who is also studying medicine at the same college, and happens to live down teh street. Vanessa is so great. She was EATING UP the Book of Mormon because she always wanted to know where the Incas came from. Well, just read the first few chapters of Nephi, and that`ll answer all your questions. She is stoked, and so am I. 

We could really really use your prayers to help make this happen. Satan works hard, and I don`t want him to get this one. well, anyone, but especially her right now. Her full name is Vaness Mamani Cruz. Pray that her parents will also accept the gospel. 

I love my mission. Every week, I learn more about how to improve. God is so great, and so is Christ. I am converted, and I am never leaving. 

Go do some good, and help the missionaries! go with them to lessons. give them references of less actives or non members. feed them (but not too much because then they want to pass out on their beds for a couple hours.... and that`s not allowed.). 

I love you all. 

Love, Hermana Allred

1-- my comp and I freezing to death at the stake center while everyone else plays soccer. I still don`t play... cuz I don`t know how. and I`d rather play piano in the chapel. 

2-- planning at our desks. ha. We don`t have one. 

3-- Hna. Rasmussen`s pensionista feeds us like we`re elders... I hate it. Soup, main dish, and a dessert of sorts. I HATE FOOD SO MUCH. We were full for a good 2 hours. 

Drunk popcicles

This week has been nuts. I´ve lived in 3 houses this week. Each one, I stayed on a dirty mattress that smelled like B.O. and had a permanant dip mark from the elders... they closed a sector in another ward of Elders, and we get all their stuff. So it all smells, and is beat up. We´re temporarily staying in Hna. Rasmussen´s house, which is within walking distance to our sector. I missed that lil Hermana. She was my MTC comp and I love her. We talk about living in Cabins with our families, and camping in the spring in our next life, and don´t even get trunky. We work hard, and love our missions.

there are lots of drunks here. more that sicuani. they drink because they´re cold... makes sense I guess.

My new companion is Hermana Purse from Idaho. her blog is hermanapurse.blogspot.com She actually found my blog, and had seen all my pictures and read all my emails before she got here. So my weirdness is not a surprise to her haha. She is great. She reminds me so much of Mom. So soft spoken, loves to read, likes LOTR (she likes it a lot more than mom haha). It´s been a hard week adjusting to our brand new sector (we have no area book to go off of... starting from scratch) but we are loving puno. Our ward is so great. Barrio Victoria. The bishop loves us, the sisters are so excited to finally have hermanas in their ward, and man. THey all just want to help us. We have a lot of work to do, and I´m excited to do it.

Fun story for the week. I decided contacting in the cemetary is a good idea. Why? because it´s an easy way to bring up the Plan of Salvation. People are sad, and are looking for answers. Also, the cemetary is really cool looking. two birds, one stone. We found this lady picking grass by a moselium, and asked her if we could help. She immediately started crying and said her kids had all died and her husband left her. She was picking grass to feed her guinea pigs, because that is what she lives off of. My heart just broke... She has nothing, and I have everything, and still sometimes I´m ungrateful. She just talked to us about her life and let us help her pick grass. She doesn´t have an address, so we will just go back in the afternoons at 3pm to help her pick grass at the cemetary.

This has been a hard and great week. Good things are coming, I know it. 

It was so good to talk to you guys over skype. I love you all, and I didn´t even get too emotional this time. WOOOT. I´ll see your faces in 5 months.  

love love love,

HErmana Allred

1--  last district meeting in cusco

2-- saying bye to hna. Quezada. she got transferred too.

3-- THe Casa family. one of my favorites. 

1-- the pinterest lady´s house. she´s a member, and her house is my new dream house... I love every square inch of it. She collects all kinds of fun things. 

2-- she paints rocks shiny. 

3-- her loft

1-- her elaborate cactus collection

2-- Hna. Irvine and I on her balcony

3-- The pinterest lady, Ynes de Madrid. What a charmed life. 

1-- her perfect prom stairs. 

2-- I´m trying to learn quechua, but so far It all sounds like gibberish. Brings me back to my first months learning spanish. Noqu Panai Llapa Puka (I, HErmana Allred....) One day I will understand how to say "having been born of goodly parents"

3-- skyping with the fam. So great. 

Transferred!!!! and a new winter.... a cold one.

I feel like this week, the pictures will have to make up for the lack of words. I am so happy right now. I am leaving Cusco to train in Puno and open a brand new sector. They haven`t had hermanas there before.

Guess what that means. I will be with Hna. Rasmussen in the same district! she is my sister leader :) (my MTC companion) 

I am so full of happy, I can hardly stand it. I am so ready to ROCK these last 5 months and baptize the heck out of people. With my new mission daughter! I am so excited to train again. This time I actually feel like I know what I`m doing, so I won`t be all stressed out again. 

We went to Saqsayhuaman again today. I went a while ago, but this time was more fun because it was with people I love. I love all the hermanas in this zone. I`m going to miss them, but I`m SO excited to be with Hna. Rasmussen and a new daughter. 

I love my mission, and I`m so excited to get to work all day every day again. I`ve missed that. 

You all make me smile.

Love, Hermana Allred

1-- it rained a lot this week.

2-- waiting for our ward mission leader to open the door. 

3-- i shrunk. haha joke. The door is just too big. 

1-- comp and i

2-- look closely. there are lots of dogs. they were charging us, so we ran away.

3-- the incredible view. 

1-- Me, my granddaughter, and daughter

2-- glove shot

3-- they say that if you run up these stairs without stopping, you will have lots of luck. that`s probably why I got a transfer :). I ran up those things like Rocky. I have a video, but i don`t know how to send it. 

1-- my last bit of Cusco before heading to Lake Titicaca

2-- cristo blanco and saqsayhuaman

3-- entering into the tunnels

4-- spelunking

1-- the door leading to the coolest cave I`ve ever seen.

2-- I really love her. 

3-- we got a little hipster in the cave by saqsayhuaman. the lighting was cool.

1-- cave

2-- got yer hands in yer pockets, beanie falling off, awkward posture, big glasses, and something plaid. Must be a hipster. 

3-- VOGUE ha. joke.