sweating in the jungle. ew

1&2-- I just realized you couldn´t see batman in that picture. These ones are better.

Dearest people in my life. This week was a good one. We had 0 for all of our numbers this week. EVERY number haha. But, as I learned in my first transfer, as long as we are helping the other hermanas, it doesn´t matter what our numbers are. 

Quillabamba (key-uh-bomb-uh) was as hot as ever. I got to work with Hna. Ugarte, Irvine, and Rasmussen. It was so nice to speak english for a little bit. (i´m the only gringo in the house. 5 latinas) I love those girls so much, and I learned so much from them. The mission is hard, especially the first couple transfers, and I´m glad I got to be there to help. 

We also get to go to the doctor a lot for a girl that has bronchitis or soemthing. They still dont´know what it is, so we´ll be going more this week. We know that hospital way too well. 

I´ve been studying the bible like a mad woman lately. I started in Ephesians last  sunday, and I read all the way to the end of revelations. I skipped around a lot because it doesn´t really matter what order you read it in. I found so many scriptures for the work of salvation. Motivation for less actives, missionaries, families that have problems. I am learning a lot about how to respect people God has called. I have been having a really hard time with that, but God continues to teach me more every day. I love him for that. 

I love my mission, and I´m sorry I don´t tell you guys more stories. I feel like so much happens, and pday is always so rushed. SORRY. 

I´ll try to write a better email next week.

Love, Hermana Allred

1-- Hna Ugarte and I

2-- my lovely companion. I love her so much. 

3-- Hna. Irvine working out with a batman figurine as motivation.

1-- Hermana Rasmussen and I (the new one, not my MTC companion) they look alike, no?

2-- all the hermanas in Quillabamba branch

3-- my sweet companion and hna. Rasmussen

4-- the terminal in Quillabamba. this is how we roll on back to Cusco

1-- My sweetheart batman OBSESSED Hna. Irvine. We are in the same group (we both go home in October)

2-- Birthday dinner with Sister Morales at CHILI´S!!!

3-- Playin skip bo with my comp. We got stuck with 4 1´s for a good 10 mintues. Have I mentioned that I love her SO much?

4-- leftover NY steak and potatoes and skip bo. First steak in a year. I LOVE CUSCO

1-- Addict

2-- Del Rio and a bunch of other hermanas came to go to Machu Picchu, and Del Rio was telling one of her classic stories to everyone haha. I missed her lil mexican face. 

3-- Hna. Quezada´s cinderella shoes. haha. 

Pascua y semana Santa

well, this week was full of work. I loved every minute of it. I go home in exactly 6 months, and I was thinking... I need to make the most of it. I have 6 months left, and the rest of my life to think about what I did with it. Soooo I`m kicking myself into gear to have absolutely no regrets when I go home.

We had a record number of lessons this week, and we have 5 new investigators, who are ALL from part member families. We are working really well together, and we`re starting to get more involved with the members, not just less actives. We made a goal to know where every member lives, and so far, we`ve seen a lot of miracles come from it. references who are ready to be baptized already--- that never happens. Members are the key to success, so all you members, HELP THE MISSIONARIES. invite them to your house for a Family Night and invite a less active, or non member friend. Just get involved. we can`t do anything without the members. 

We didn`t have to leave our sector even once this week. MIRACLE. I did go on splits with my granddaughter (hermana nelson is training her... sooo she`s my granddaughter of the mission). She is so sweet, and has so much excitement for this work. It`s so fun to see the new missionaries work. They are so excited! I hope that doesn`t wear off. 

I am working harder than I have in a long time, which helps me stay distracted, and not get homesick. 

funny story:

we were thinking about moving to live with a member family, so we asked our landlord how long the contract is for, and he said 1 year, and seemed kinda startled. we decided we like having 3 hot showers and a big kitchen, so we`re not moving. but The next day, he ordered us 2 pizzas, and bought plants for the patio. Then asked us if everything was okay. He does not want us to leave haha. I mean, we are the best renters he`s ever going to have, haha. But seriously, he loves us. in a not weird way. 

Then someone tried to break into the apartment, so he had someone come change all the locks and reinforce them. I`m not scared because I don`t really have anything that he could steal that I care about that much. Just my scriptures and my pictures from the mission. I thought I`d use it as a teaching opportunity, so I put a sticky note on the landlord`s door that says "1 thesalonians 5:2.... GET READY!" (that`s the scripture that says The lord will come as a thief in the night.) haha. We just gave him a bible the other day, so I`m sure he`ll get a good laugh. 

ONE YEAR in the mission. can you believe that? I was in portland for 9 months, but that felt like an eternity. It`s going by so fast. 6 months left. can`t belive it. 

1-- we tracted in matching llama sweaters. 

2-- wall of pictures. I need more. 

3-- I forgot to take my 9 month picture, so here it is. 1 year... I`m WAY overdue haha. That is a frozen peruvian ding dong in my hand. 

4-- Easter morning, I accidentally knocked down a ceramic thing of Jesus and a sheep. all the hermanas in the house made dumb jokes about how he`ll be resurrected... nope. it`s a statue. It`s pretty broken. 

I will never be a nurse.

well, as you can obviously see in the pictures, I spent a lot of time in the hospital this week. Hna. Macahuachi is a missionary that was serving in Ecuador, but had to get surgery, so she came back home to get surgery and recover. We had to take care of her until she got released. She is now released (super hard for her), so we got to leave for a while to get stuff done. like shower.... and change our clothes haha.

We have been so busy taking care of her, that we had NO time to get anything done. literally none. We taught zero lessons, and were crutches for a number of days. (she´s too short to use the crutches from the office) I have learned so many valuable lessons of how to be a mom, and have real charity. One night she was sooo sick from the altitude. She called my name and just help my hand between hers and cried. It was 2 AM, but it didn´t matter. she said "don´t leave me" so i didn´t. I stayed there for 2 hours until she fell asleep. 

To any parent out there that has a severely handicapped child, a child with cancer or other types of diseases, or a spouse with the same problems, I truly 100% give my respect to you. It is hard. It´s hard to watch someone suffer and not be able to do anything. It´s hard to sleep in a hospital while nurses are running around poking people with needles (remember how EVERY time a needle comes close to me, I faint?). It´s hard to not have time to do anything for yourself. So to you parents who lovingly and selfishly take care of your family, thank you. You are stronger than you know. 

Luckily, my companion and Hna. Macahuachi got to watch conference in the hospital with the Assistant´s laptop while I escaped to watch it in English in the stake center. I don´t know why, but the first hour of the first session was switching inbetween Quechua, portuguese, and spanish. I didn´t get a lot out of that hour. It finally switched to English, and all the gringo missionaries cheered. I LOVE CONFERENCE. I heard so many things I needed. 

I don´t know why but when Elder... I forgot who it was... But he was talking about his wife and how she said "When I marry, it will be with a faithful return missionary." It hit me so hard. I WILL marry with a faithful return missionary. I will not settle for less. I understand when medical things get in the way of finishing, but there´s a big difference between choosing not to go/finish, and not being able to go/finish. I know what life can be like, and missions change boys into men and teach them so many valuable life skills. I know missions are not for everyone, but they are for me, and they are for the person I will marry. I love every single exhausting difficult moment of my mission. It has changed me. I am never going to go back to my old standards ever again. 

I love where I am. I am not going back. 

LOVE YOU ALL more than you know. 

Love, Hermana Allred

1-- Chopping off my awkward melt.

2-- surprise! it´s short now. 

3-- me, hna thompson (my daughter´s last companion), my daughter, and my daughter´s daughter. I am a grandma!!! haha. 

4-- Eating at PINKBERRY! (we have one of those now.) Nutella and coconut cone. I about died. 

1-- The baby section of the hospital. 

2-- Waiting with Hna. Macahuachi (I know... it´s almost impossible to even THINK her last name) to get surgery.

3-- our home for 4 days.

4-- the incredible view from our 7th floor "suite" 

1-- all ready to get her knee cut open.

2-- holy cusco. It is beautiful here. if you look closely, you can see cristo blanco. 

3-- our beds. better than the air mats we ususally sleep on. 

4-- the elders brought us breakfast. SO MUCH BREAD

1-- Norelly from Sicuani! The zone leader´s pension´s daughter. (did you follow me?) We loved her and she always came with us to visit people. We didn´t get to say goodbye to her either. We saw her walking out of the english conference classroom.

2-- take out for DAYS. 

3-- once again, Can´t get over the view

4-- Sacsayhuaman on the left, cristo blanco on the right.

5-- she got altitude sickness really bad, so they put her in an oxygen tube while she watched animal planet haha. 

Hey llama you´re so fat.

I have a serious lack of pictures this week. But I bought a new SD card, so I should be good for the rest of my mission. I got a lil tired of having to erase old pictures to take new ones. 

We are now the only sister leaders in Cusco because Del Rio went to Abancay with Thompson to be closer to the other sisters. I now don´t get to travel to Andahuaylas unfortunately (the only good thing is that I won´t get eaten by fleas). EVERYONE calls US now. We are the picker uppers and the dropper offers and the ticket buyers and the babysitters and the allowance givers. I don´t necesarily like it all the time, but I´m learning a lot. Like budgeting... man... I knew it would come someday. I HATE MONEY. especially when it´s not mine and i have to keep track of it. At least now I´ll be somewhat prepared for my future. I hate money. I HATE MONEY.

My new companion is definitely one of my favorites. I have lucked out with most of my companions, but she really is so great. For the first time in months, I have felt the spirit strongly in a lesson. We had a lesson with a member family, who happens to be where we will be to call home on mother´s day, and wow... We talked about the name of the church (D&C 115 3-5) and how we need to be a light for the world and really REPRESENT the church, not just show up on sunday. They all shared experiences where they needed to stand up for themselves and the church, and it was probably one of the best lessons I´ve ever had. While the wife was getting us dessert in the kitchen, we talked with the dad and kids. He told us a story about joseph smith and started tearing up, looked me in the eyes and said "He is a prophet of God and he restored the church here in the earth. I know it." I just looked right back at him and cried, because I know it. I know he was a prophet of God. He is an incredible man, and through him, we have all these blessings NOW. We can be forever families now. I know it.

Another lesson we had was with a reactivated familiy. We were planning on talking about Chastity, which kinda makes me nervous sometimes haha. I never know how they´re going to react, but we ended up talking about the word of wisdom. The Dad told us he had been an alcoholic for 14 years, and that it ruined his life. He said he never wants to go back to that. 

They are officially getting sealed April 17th. I am so excited for them. I want to be there so badly, but I can´t. I have been so temple sick the last few weeks, and When we watched the women´s conference, I just cried and cried. I want so badly to be in the temple just for an hour. But I know I will get to go back in less than 7 months, and I can´t wait for that day. 

I have had a great week, and am cutting my hair today. Hopefully it´s not as terrible as the last time... what can you expect for 2 dollars? 

LOVE YOU ALL

Love, Hermana Allred

1-- Llama Ring. I love peru and tax returns.

2-- Panai and Waike ring. (peruvian lady and guy)

3-- Our new pensionista (who lives downstairs) and her son. He likes bananas, and his mom bought him an entire tree. haha. They just ripened this week. We´ve eaten a lot of bananas. 

4-- Since it was transfers week, a picture of my new companion and I in the bus terminal with the district leader and his companion. We spent most of the week here. waiting. I´ve gotten really really good at waiting. I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE all day.

Well, we were GOING to go to Quillabamba this week, but there was a transportation strike, so we went to Hna. Nelson´s sector instead because it´s in walking distance. It was the best day and a half of my last 2 transfers. I got to go on splits with my mission daughter! We caught up on our lives, and studied spanish (because I actually understand the grammar now. mostly) I missed her. During the strike, people were throwing oranges and screaming and burning stuff, so we stayed inside until it was safe. more time to talk. Love that.

When people stopped throwing oranges and decided to work again, we went to Urubamba and Ollantaytambo. The hermanas there are such good examples. They taught me so much about what I should be doing better as a missionary. I want Hna. Chipunavi to be my next companion. She is a CONVERTED missionary. not just a tourist/"I want to be able to say I served a mission" missionary. I like that. 

I randomly remembered my setting apart blessing and how it said "the children of Peru are beautiful and their parents will open their doors to you". Guess what, it´s still true. EVERY single convert from my mission (other than the 83 year old part member family guy) has come from talking to a child in the street. I decided to stop knocking doors and getting rejected by "Catholics" (they just put the sign on their door but never go to mass). Instead, I am going to talk to every child I see and ask to talk to their parents. They can´t say no to their kids. 

We got 8 new investigators this week from just talking to kids. Also, there was one guy that had brand new puppies in his lil yard. That´s almost a child, right? I can talk to kids. adults are a lil more difficult. 

My favorite moment this week was when we talked to a lil girl with a broken finger. she was 4 and her name is Gabriela. She talked my ear off about all her friends and how we have to look both ways so we don´t get squished by cars and have to go to the hospital. haha. We held hands and walked to the park with her mom. she played while we taught her mom about the Book of Mormon. She said she believed us and wanted to learn more before she gets baptized. I love kids. Gabriela came back to our park bench and I asked her to join us in our prayer. I taught her how, and after we prayed, she said amen. We hugged, and split ways. We haven´t had a moment like that in months. I LOVE KIDS! 

I have been thinking about the person I want to be when I get home, and that requires changning some bad habits. I want to be an organized person, so I set a goal to not leave anything where it shouldn´t be. THIS IS SO HARD! I have thrown things wherever I want my entire life, then end up cleaning for hours one day. But, as a result, I don´t have to waste my pday cleaning. I WILL be an organized person when I get home. just watch haha. (I bet my family is laughing right now.) 

We are going to Chili´s right now to have a birthday lunch with our District (elder Samaniego´s birthday is tomorrow) and I´m about to get some real american food for the 2nd time this week. I´m in heaven. 

Love you all! be good. 

1-- my pensionista and I in the restaurant. She is the best and always has an essential oil for everything.

2-- me and my baby in her sector (her sector is where the plaza de armas is. this is just the back of a fountain) I LOVE HER and I want to be her companion forever. But we get along too well, so I stay with companions that challenge me and teach me things... 

3-- Hna. Chipunavi and I in Urubamba. She{s just... the best. 

4-- Hermana Smedley and I. We didn{t go on splits this transfer, I went with Hna. Chipunavi. 

1-- Ollantaytambo. This is their pensionista´s lil store. she is in Lima right now gettnig her Endowments out. I LOVE THAT. The 2nd person in their whole town to get their endowments. 

2-- no words.

3-- yee haw

1-- break the fast lunch. I LOVE MY PENSION! 

2-- It´s Carnivales here in Cusco, and children are spraying us with foam and dumping water on us ALL OVER THE PLACE... malcriados. 

3-- Hna. Hawkins and I at the Ovalo de Pachacutec

4-- comp and I

1-- Dinner at the Senior Couple´s house. American food. I about died. 

2-- The Hasslers. The best couple in teh world.

3-- oh just one of my favorite bands that I miss, but les esperaré