Safe and sound in Cusco :)

We made it! barely haha. This has been the most confusing two days of my life. I met hermana Rasmussen in Atlanta. She didn't know I was going to be flying with her, so I surprised her at the gate. We had so much fun on the trip here. When we got to Lima at dark thirty (our flight was 3 hours late), a guy from the church (i think) met us there and herded us to the van. I had no idea what he was saying the entire time, but people kept saying "abuelo" and um... that means grandpa. I just kept thinking "I'm pretty sure my grandpa isn't here, why do they keep talking about him". An embarrassing 12 hours later, they tell us they're actually saying "vuelo", which means flight. I love Spanish.

They think it's ridiculous that we each have 3 bags. Whatever. (LILLLYYY). Then came our next adventura. DRIVING ON THE STREETS OF PERU! ugh. There are NO rules here. They just drive wherever they want, as fast as they want. Yeah. I just closed my eyes and prayed that we wouldn't die. We spent the night in a really nice hotel next to the airport. I'll send pictures on P-day (we only have 30 minutes to email family now, so my emails are going to be relatively short. That might be a blessing to some of you haha. The driver said something about a 5 pm flight to Cusco, but we weren't really sure, and he said to relax and not worry about anything. Next thing we know, there is a knock at our door at 9 am saying to bring our bags to the car and VAMOS! I'm used to surprises by now haha. We threw on the first clothes we could find, then remembered that we packed our toothbrushes in our bags we had already sent downstairs. Entonces, our breath smells real bad. Esta bien. No one else in this country brushes the few teeth they have left. Hermana Rasmussen said "no makeup, smell real bad, teeth not brushed, steezy hair... let's meet the mission president" 

We got to Cusco, and some guy kept trying to help us with our bags, but um... everyone wants our money that we don't have, so we said "NO NO NO NO NO no tengo dinero" and he said "no no no no no es voluntario" and then we just got REALL confused and he ended up taking our bags and the Elders that picked us up paid him. Lo siento elderes. We met our mission president and his wife (they leave in 2 weeks) and we were on our way to the mission home to eat. REAL FOOD! it was sooo good. We interviewed with the president, went over rules and things, then they dropped us off at the office to just relax. They said the altitude messes up your body, so it's better to take it easy. SCORE. 

Entonces, I am safe, I love this country, there are little niños everywhere, and I LOVE ALL OF THEM. Not so much the dogs... they can go.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! :) write me letters and stuff. 

MWAH!

love, hermana allred

Tejas week 2 or 7 or however many I've been here.

Well, my dears, Let me start by saying, it wasn't Texas that needed me. I needed Texas. 

I was praying last night to find out what it is that God needed me to do here, because I have been feeling like a slight failure as a missionary, and God very clearly answered by saying "This is a trial of your FAITH". WHOOMP! there is it. We have had a lot of struggles this week with appointments falling through, and sweating our faces off, and being dehydrated, and feeling like nothing we do is working, and NOW I know that this was God's way of testing me before I get to Peru. He wanted to see if I would keep going when it's consistently 105 degrees outside. He wanted to see if I would keep knocking when, day after day, appointments fall through. It was one of the hardest weeks of my life, but I made it, and we laughed and had fun along the way. Satan, get thee hence! You're not raining on my parade.

MIRACLES OF THE WEEK!

1// We had a Zone conference with Elder Golden of the 70 and dang.. he put us in our place. Let's just say the bar has been raised significantly for our mission. The mission president asked my companions and I to sit at their table for lunch! We got to eat food with a member of the 70!!!! So cool. (my companions are the ones on either side of me. My president is on the far right, and Elder and Sister Golden are on the left)

2// Lily. She is the craziest old lady I have ever met. She is 88 years old, from Mexico, and she learned to speak English from black people, so she has a really funny accent. She says "whatever" allllll the time and it always cracks me up. Usually when she's feeling the spirit, or we tell her we love her. Before I came here, they couldn't get in the door with her because "she's always busy" haha. she's cooking for her 60 year old son. She's not busy. BUT we miraculously got in the door this week and her son wasn't home. We talked to her for a long time and I think she finally feels something. She's been going to the Evangelical church with her son the last couple weeks, but she knows our church is true, and she just follows her son. when we see her next, we're going to invite her to be baptized this Saturday. She has been going to church since February, but has been stubborn with authority lately. IT WILL HAPPEN! Stay tuned for more miracles with her.

I went on exchanges with Hna. Koerner on Wednesday. SO MUCH FUN! It was cool to see how different people are when it comes to planning and teaching. I learned a lot from her. She's so so nice to everyone.

My birthday was fantastic. The night before, we went on a detour to see the temple :) We took a few pictures and I'll send those in the next email.  We did all our studying and training in the morning, then we went to practice our song for the ward talent show (oh my goodness... that was hilarious. more on that later), after that, my companions said "during exchanges we set up an appointment to have lunch with a family from Chile" Little did I know, that that was code for WE'RE GOING TO CHILI'S FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! :) They paid for it and everything. Best surprise ever. We did weekly planning after, then a million appointments fell through, even Wendy (the one we found on the stairs last week) which is fine, it happens, and it was my birthday so I wasn't even about to get upset. 

THEN we knocked on an investigator's door just to check up on them, and guess who walks up to the door! The husband. MIRACLE. He told us later in the lesson that he was planning on going to the store, but felt like he should come home first. We taught him about the restoration, and just happened to have brought the Restoration movie for the first time since I got here, and I SAW HIS HEART SOFTEN! He said everything happens for a reason and really opened up for a second, then BOOM! he closed it HARD. He just kept saying over and over "Soy Catholico. No quiero cambinar" (I'm catholic. I don't want to change.) GRRRRRR! I was getting infuriated. I just bore my testimony and cried a little bit cuz that's what I do, and he said he likes listening, but doesn't want to change. He's going to want to change... I know he is. in the words of lily, "whatever". :) 

We were all really really upset with how frustrating our week had been, so we went home for dinner and felt bad for ourselves, laid on the floor under the fan to cool off our pools of sweat (ew.), and left for the talent show. Just so you know, everything in latino culture starts late, and ends even later. If it starts at 6:00, it really starts and 7:30 and ends at 9:30. Good thing it was the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. So many off key musical numbers, and hilarious skits, and lots of cultural dancing. Even the Bishop got up and sang a solo. I LOVE hispanic culture. (minus the being late for everything... that's hard to adjust to) After, we went into the kitchen to (I thought) snatch leftover fruit, and THEY HAD A CAKE and Bluebell icecream for me :) I have the best companions in the world, and our week ended with Bluebell, so I can't complain (Bluebell is the BEST icecream on the planet. Someone find some in Utah so I have hope when I get home).

Weird things about life in texas

1// I used to complain about being cold all the time, now I'm sweating to death, so I'm pretty sure God has a sense of humor.

2// I've been bit by so many ants. Right now, I have 6 bites on my left leg, and 4 on my right. It must be my sweet sweet blood. :) thanks Dad.

3// Everyone asks me to pray. I'm pretty sure it's because they like hearing me struggle... I still have no idea what anyone is saying in lessons, so I just nod my head, and catch what I can. Sometimes it gets awkward when I smile and they're talking about something really sad. I HAVE NO IDEA! It all sounds the same. My only indication of a sad moment is when people cry. Other than that, I'm lost.

4// Since no one answers the door, I've considered putting a sticky note over the peep hole. I KNOW YOU'RE HOME!!! ANSWER THE DOOR! :( 

5// All old ladies think i'm 15. Probably cuz I'm pasty white and I've sweated off the weight I gained in the MTC. Despite all the food they're giving me, I'm just withering away into nothing. 

6// speaking of, I sure have learned how to eat. It's rude to not eat peoples food, so I just feel like an overstuffed sofa all the time. My poor belly is getting pushed to the limit. At least it's not guinea pig (yet). All these sweet mexican ladies teach us how to make mexican food :) I love it! I can't wait to get home and be able to make it. I'm starting to enjoy cooking again. Now that it's not my job haha. 

I am happy, I love texas despite the heat, I love the people we teach despite the fact that they forget every single appointment, and I love my companions so much (no despite on this one. they're great.).

Just so you know, a little birdie told me I got my visa, but I have to wait for the President to call so I know it's real and WHEN I'll be going to Peru. It's very very soon though. STAY TUNED!!! :)

Love, Hermana Allred

I got my visa! it's official. I fly to Georgia tomorrow at 8:30 AM, then catch a connecting flight to Cusco!!!!! WHAT!? 

My MTC companion Hermana Rasmussen got her Visa too, and we'll be meeting in Georgia :) I WILL BE IN CUSCO TOMORROW!!! This feels like a really weird dream. I'm FINALLY headed to my mission. I've loved my time here in Texas, and feel very grateful to have met all these wonderful people. Now let the culture shock begin :) 

We're celebrating by eating bluebell ice cream and ordering pupusas from a restaurant :)

If anyone has sent me mail or packages and I haven't gotten them yet, my companions will send them back to you so they don't get lost :) My Peru address is on my blog (leannallred.blogspot.com) and my facebook page. I don't remember what it is haha. 

LOVE YOU ALL! 

Love, Hermana Allred

Texas, What what?

Howdy ya'll. yeehaw! I'm in Houston, TX (Hafer is my area). Home of the nicest people on earth and the best food. 

ADDRESS!!!! SEND LETTERS!:

18203 westfield place drive #618 

Houston, TX 77090

Mission Blog:

http://texashoustonmission.blogspot.com/

Let me take a minute to break down this past year. Wait, what? That was only a week? you little liars.

We got on the bus to SLC at 3 AM and flew to Dallas at 6. When we landed, this very very very nice guy came up to our group and told us he'd buy us breakfast. WHAT? There were 25 of us and were all very hungry. He's from Salt Lake, and just likes doing that for missionaries when he travels. So there we were, all 25 of us, just standing in line at the tiniest McDonalds in the world, ordering breakfast. Those poor workers... THEN! Guess what happened. I saw my 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Hogle!!! What the heck? Her family owns Hogle Zoo. My companion and I talked to some people about the church and (to be said in Elder Calhoun's accent) GUESS WHO PLACED HER FIRST BOOK OF MORMON! This Hermana. That's who. Another Hermana had been talking to him, and I came in to ask him a bunch of questions about himself, and he asked about the Book of Mormon play, and I said nope, that's not us, but would you like to read the real thing? And he said yes. So I gave him my handy dandy pocket sized BOM and he said he'd read it. MIRACLE. It conveniently had tabs on my favorite chapters. golden. 

After our 30 minute flight to Houston, we got our stuff and waited for President Pingree. He is so welcoming and I love him already. His whole family is great. We did a lot of training, ate a lot of food, and spent the night at the mission home in a REAL BED. 

The rest was kind of a blur, but we got our companions the next morning after breakfast, and were off to work! I'm in a Trio with Hna. Villanueva and Hna. Carter. They are both amazing and so patient and caring. Hna. Carter is the kindest person I've ever met. she's been out 7 weeks. Hna. Villanueva is fluent, so we kind of rely on her. She's been out 10 months.

The first day, we went to a lady's house and made tortillas with her and her daughter. I didn't know we'd be eating, but oh boy we did. I got so full. THEN we had a dinner appointment where she fed us KFC, and I thought my stomach was going to just explode right there. I'm glad I made it out alive. It's all so good, but my stomach is soooo tiny :( I can't handle all this food. I pray super hard before every meal haha.

I'm in love with the skies here. It looks like a painting. There are fire ants everywhere, and I'm pretty sure one bit me. If I die, you'll know why. We have to put all of our "sweet smelling" trash in the freezer and throw it away when it's full so the ants can't get to it. candy wrappers, apple cores, you name it. It helps keep the apartment smelling clean :) An Elder in the mission told us about this tuna and honey sandwich his Dad used to make on his mission, so I tried it, and it's actually REALLY good. I've eaten it a few times already.

I saw a frog in the middle of the road. That was weird. I picked it up and got a picture. I've never seen a frog outside of a tank! The rain here is nuts. One second, the skies are perfectly clear, the next, gale force winds, then BAM! it's dumping buckets of rain. We walked from the car to a member's apartment, and we were SOAKED. it was probably 20 yards. I love texas :) It makes for fun memories. 

Okay. now for church things haha. 

The field is so different than the MTC. In the MTC, we teach lessons... all the time. There are very few moments where we live a real mission life. Here, there's a lot of surviving going on and lots of finding. We have a few investigators, but most of them are backing away from baptism. A few of them had dates, but either moved, or just won't answer our calls or answer their doors. I joked about putting post it notes over the peep hole so they'll open the door, but I was partly serious. It's frustrating sometimes. So many appointments fall through, but we just keep knocking until someone listens :) We don't give up very easily. 

We had a MIRACLE happen the other day. Yet again, an appointment fell through, but a girl named Wendy was sitting on the stairs with her baby. She spoke spanish and english fluently. Um... can you say perfect? I can speak one of those languages! English haha. She is so well prepared, and said she's been studying the bible and is scared about not being saved. We answered a few of her questions about life after death and told her about eternal families and her cute little face just LIT UP. She said "I will be waiting for you guys on Tuesday". This may just be greenie naiveness, but I really have a good feeling about her. Our mission president said he had revelation that the Lord prepared tens of thousands to hear the gospel in this mission, and we just have to find them. I believe we found at least one of them. I really like her. PRAY that this lesson on Tuesday will go well and that she will recieve the gospel. I really want to help her. 

We got a recent convert/less active to come to the church for the first time in 3 months! He was the one were we ran to his apartment in the rain. I think he felt bad that we got soaked, so he let us in haha. He has such a strong testimony, but I think it's just hard for him when the rest of his family aren't members. 

Our ward is the Houston 6th ward. We have so many sweet people in our ward and they love to feed us. If I get chubby, just know it's from the members loving us too much. And you should all love me too. haha. I have no idea what anyone is saying, pretty much ever, so in sacrament meeting, apparently they asked me to get up and bear my testimony, but I didn't understand him, so I just sat there staring into space. Then Hna. Villanueva told me to go up. Luckily my testimony is one thing I really can say in Spanish, so I wasn't too worried. I just wish I could have a conversation about something other than Gospel topics. 

oh yeah. in case you didn't already catch that, I'M SPANISH SPEAKING! I feel so lucky because so many people from the MTC got reassigned to English, and I would hate to lose the little Spanish I do know. It's such a blessing. I don't know how long I'll be in Houston. Just until my Visa arrives. It will be at least 6 weeks cuz they won't take me out of the mission in the middle of a transfer. The mission president's wife told me to plant my heart in Houston and make sure to not just wait around for my Visa. I'm here for a specific reason, and I need to continue to search for that reason. 

Funny moments:

1// We have a favorite family with 4 daughters and 1 son (he's milo's age :( ) It makes me feel a little more at home cuz they're around the same ages as our family. I MISS YOU GUYS! but I'm so happy here and I'm working hard :)

anyways...

We had the following conversation with the youngest daughter (she's around Kitty's age)

us "What did you learn at Church today?"

her  "That Joseph Smith wrote the Bible" .... 

Sister Carter "Oh boy." 

Now we know where all these very very false statements come from. The mouths of babes. We have a lot of work to do haha.

2// We like to greet people, and Hermana Carter happens to be a very bad judge of race. She said Hola to this kid, to which he responded in a very heavy accent, "I'm not hispanic, I'm Asian." That was rough. I covered her by saying we speak Spanish. I don't think it helped.

3// Hispanic people cannot carry a tune in a bucket. They sure do try. very very loudly. Sacrament meeting was interesting. 

I can't think of anything else :( Dang it. I actually have time to talk to you all. 

Oh yeah. My birthday is on Friday. the big TWO OH :) feel free to write me a letter or send me pictures of you. I don't have very many and want to show you all off. 

18203 westfield place drive #618 

Houston, TX 77090

Yo se que esta iglesia es verdadera, y yo se que Jose Smith fue un profeta de dios. Estoy agradecido por todo mi bendiciones y la opportunidad a ser un misionera. Esta obra es marvillosa.

LOS AMO!!!

// Hermana Allred

REASSIGNED!!! :)

Dear Friends and Family,

 

My Visa hasn't arrived yet, so I have been reassigned to the Texas, Houston mission. (insert freak out here) I got my itinerary in the mail on Thursday, and I leave this coming Wednesday morning. I am so excited! But I haven't exactly packed for Houston weather.. so that will be fun. Imma melt to death.

 

My companion Hermana Rasmussen got her reassignment on Friday night, and she left Saturday morning for... guess where... SLC West mission! She wanted to stay in Utah, so this is perfect for her. Hermana Routson got reassigned there too. Hermana Thompson left this morning for Colorado Springs. All the people in my district left this morning or on Saturday. I AM ALL ALONE! I'm just floating around in the other districts until Wednesday morning.

 

My companion for the flight is a girl going to Cusco too.We're actually super good friends! She and I met over facebook and we went to the Oquirrh Mountain temple together and shopped for mission clothes. I love her and I'm so excited that we got reassigned to the same mission. I have no doubt we'll be able to contact some people in the airport :) WHOOT! converting all of Texas.

 

FAMILY! I will be leaving the SLC airport at 6ish AM and landing in Dallas for a layover at 9:00am Dallas time. SO! Keep your phones on LOUD so I can call you and you'll pick up. remember... This is the only time until Christmas that I will get to talk to you, so you'd better all be there. I'll call Dad's phone cuz that's the only number I have memorized haha. Also, I don't know where the girls are right now, but I'm calling Mom too, so if they're in Vegas with you, then make sure to have them around so I can talk to them too :)

 

I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! I'm happy. I'm safe. I'm exstatic to serve the Lord and have hot showers for a few more weeks hahha. 'Murica.

 

Love, Hermana Allred

No Visa, temporary reassignment, and I LOVE MY LIFE!

Dear people,

 

This week... I have changed. For anyone who has served a mission, this feeling I'm feeling right this second is heaven. I am literally IN HEAVEN every minute of the day. Of course, there are days where it feels... not so heaven-like, but these past couple days have drastically changed my life. I am so grateful for every person in my life.

 

News:

1// still the Sister Training Leader with mi companera. I'm loving talking to these girls about their lives and going to leadership meetings. I genuinely am in love with every person in my zone and leaving them is going to be SO hard.

 

2// I don't have my visa, so I'm being temporarily reassigned to a State side mission until it arrives. I find out where on June 6th or 7th. this means... I get to spend my birthday in and English Speaking country where birthday cake is available! YAY!!! :) (it's June 14th btw)

 

3// An Elder in our district left this week for medical reasons. It was really hard to see him go, but we're trying really hard to make him come back out as soon as possible. We don't want him to get comfortable at home. He has an amazing testimony, and people NEED to hear it.

 

4// We got a new district last wednesday.They're all going to California, spanish speaking except the girl from California who is going to Colorado. They're all adorable and obedient (Which I am very grateful for. it makes my life SO much easier)

 

5// All of our Elders in our district leave this Monday. We are going to miss them all so much and we KNOW we will keep in touch long after our missions. They are a third familiy to me and I will never forget the things they have done for me and how much they have helped grow my testimony. I love this district.

 

Funny:

1// Our speaker didn't show up for relief society, and the MTC presidency wives ended up speaking. When we got to class after, we convinced everyone that we played heads up 7up with all the sisters instead... they believed us for a good 20 minutes until a logical elder convinced them otherwise. 1,200 sister missionaries... HAHAHAHHAHA. what a joke.

 

2// Sister Thompson convinced Elder Jessop that she could read braille. She can't. He figured it out 3 weeks in haha.

 

3// My substitute teacher looks and dresses like Marcus Mumford. I'm glad he's a substitute. He's very distracting. I love and miss my music. BUT I'm staying focused and just escape to a room to play piano when I start to miss it.

 

4// Elder Jessop got an ingrown hair on his toe, so Elder Nelson tried to perform a ghetto surgery on it in their residence. It got infected, and they took him to the doctor. He just looked at it and said he didn't know what it was, then gave him some HUGE pills, which happened to be the exact same pills that they gave sister Thompson when she got bit by the spider. I'm questioning whether or not he's a real doctor. Oh yeah. They gave him a shot on his bum and he was limping for the rest of the day.hahaha. I'm never going to that doctor.

 

Other stuff:

 

1// I never want a smartphone again. It is such a waste of time. I think of all the moments I wasted looking at Instagram and Facebook and twitter and pinterest... UGH. Such a waste of a life. I never want to waste my life with technology again. I want to experience life. Not just pass time.

 

2// I FOUND VAL... AHEM Sister Garrett. We've seen each other 3 times since we've been here. All 3 times were miracles. We have 100% opposite schedules, and I happened to be running late and miraculously remembered to bring my camera (i never do), and WHAM! I ran into my best friend in the world. Well, more like she bolted up to me from behind and squeezed my guts out. She's tiny, but she sure is strong. I just want to hang out with her and tell her about all the things I've experienced, but we're so busy ALWAYS and our P-days are on different days. Hers is on Thursday. BOO.

 

3// I lost in the plank war again. This is my week. I can feel it.

 

Spiritual stuff:

 

1// We only get to call home twice a year, not because God doesn't want us to talk to our family, but because he wants to call the REAL home first. He is available 24/7 and can comfort us in our hardest trials. ALWAYS.

 

2// When times get hard, we have two options. 1// Let fear consume you and run your entire life, or 2// increase your faith, and come closer to God.

 

3// DO NOT SETTLE FOR LESS THAN FOREVER! Nothing is worth giving up having your family forever. My district was eating breakfast at the temple today and we were planning on doing an endowment session, but one of the sealers was eating next to us (his name was Brother Bacon.. HAHA) and he told us to come do sealings with him. Most of my district had never done them before, so it was really really powerful. I was crying like a baby as usual, and I could literally feel the spirits in the room with us. I can't even begin to describe everything I was feeling, but the moral of the story is, do not settle for less than a temple marriage. Nothing is worth giving that up. Nothing. GET TO THE TEMPLE! I cannot wait for the day when I can start my own family in the temple and the many many years ahead. I WILL serve a million missions with my husband, we will love our kids like crazy, we will teach them about how much God loves them, and I will never let them forget who they are.

 

4// We watched Sister Monson's funeral on Sunday. The love they had for each other blows me away. She packed his suitcase every single time he went on a trip. She was the prophet's wife for goodness sake. She had to stand on her own while he took care of the entire church, and she did it well. My goodness.. I look up to that woman like crazy. I love this gospel. I want a marriage like THAT. 60 something years of pure happiness. And obviously eternity.They were talking about how it's not sad because she died, it's sad because we miss her. someone said "Death is a beautiful door to an even more beautiful room" VERDAD! I'm not even scared to die, it's just the getting dead that scares me haha. I wanna skip that part.

 

5// "Humility is not thinking less OF yourself, it's thinking less ABOUT yourself."

 

6// I have started reading Jesus the Christ, and dang. That has 100% changed me as a person. The atonement is REAL, it is available to every single one of us, and we need to show our appreciation for what Jesus did for us by REPENTING! If we don't, it's like slapping him in the face. He suffered so we don't have to. All we have to do is repent. that's IT!

 

 

I have had so many incredible moments teaching this week. I can't recall exactly what was said, but the spirit was palpable and I can feel God directing the lesson every time. And the times where we don't let him, they fail epically. I'm not doing anything as a missionary. I'm just living in a way that God can take the reins and teach these investigators.

 

Chris: He is on vacation in California, so we haven't taught him this week.

Gregorio: He is progressing and growing in his faith. He brought his wife to church!!!!! they prayed together :) They are becoming closer as a family and his faith blows me away. He is a golden investigator and I love him with all my heart. We challenged him to follow the Word of Wisdom on Monday, and he said it'll be difficult because he's Mexican, and that's a part of his culture, but he agreed to try. I'm so so excited to see how it goes. I know it'll bless his family and will enable him to be baptized. HALLELUJAH! :)

 

My companion and I love each others guts, and we are dreading the day that we have to leave each other. I don't want to ever say goodbye. We have learned and grown so much together. One and a half weeks left. Let's make the best of it.

 

I'm working really really hard and the language is coming slowly, but surely. It's a miracle how fluent I am in lessons, and how terrible I am outside of them haha. Also, I have no vocabulary outside of church and kitchen topics. I'll work on that.

 

I have so much to say, but no time to say it. I love you all.

 

BE GOOD! Stay clean, and give em Heaven :)

 

Love, Hermana Allred

 

p.s. I'll send pictures later today.

OH! also, I will leave the monday after I get my reassignment most likely. And I get to call from the airport for a little bit. But I can't talk for too long. I'll let you know more specifics next week when I get my travel plans :)

Locos Pantalones en el CCM

I have 12 days left here and I'm not happy about it. I am in love with the MTC and all the people in it.

 

My companion and I must have known each other in heaven, because we click SO well. I can't even begin to describe how much I love her and her incredible spirit. We work through problems calmly (something I'm not used to) and everything about us just meshes so well. She's planning on applying to BYU Provo when she gets home so DAD! Hoook her up :) I would really really love to have her in Utah Valley.

 

We got called on Sunday (they warned us beforehand this time haha.) as the Sister Training Leaders for our Zone, which means NO MORE PRANKS :( We've been trying really hard to be a good example for the new district that comes in today. (Val isn't in my zone unfortunately. I hope I get to see her today!) We get to do the orientation for them today and tomorrow with the Zone leaders.

 

instead of pranks, I'll tell you about all the funny things that happen to sister Thompson

 

1// she fell FLAT on her face on the way home from the temple last week. She just fell right over. No tripping involved. Just falling over. After it happened I just laughed and said "I don't know how to feel". She didn't appreciate that.

 

2// She got bit by a spider and her arm swole up to twice its original size. I'll send a picture later today.

 

3// She was playing piano in sacrament, and they were the most random songs and had a million flats. The kid didn't ask her to play until right before, so she was stumbling through the whole time. After, the Branch counselor got up and said "Were you playing out of the English Hymn book" (the melodies are a little different usually) to which she replied "um... no. I just suck. Sorry." HAHAHHAHA Way to call her out in the middle of Sacrament. Luckily she has an incredible ability to laugh things off so it didn't bug her. I love that girl.

 

I don't have my Visa yet. I'm not getting my hopes up for getting it before I leave. And really, I'd be okay if I got reassigned for a couple months. It's like I get to serve two missions in one! I'll be here until Monday June 3rd, so if you're sending letters or packages to me, make sure it gets here by NEXT FRIDAY May 31. The mail room is closed most of Saturday and all Sunday so I can't get my mail.

 

Every Sunday they have films after the devotional. We usually go to Legacy or the Testaments because there are love stories in them and it's funny to watch all the missionaries get awkward when they kiss. We all lose our minds and wonder if it's appropriate to be watching it haha. Oh the life of a missionary. I truly LOVE it.

 

Elder Nelson (the blonde one) and I have plank wars every time we go to Gym. Last time we lasted about 15 minutes (we did side planks inbetween), and I was SOOOO close to beating him last time. I just gave out. I WILL beat him before we leave. Just you wait. My abs are killing me.

 

I forgot to grab my spiritual journal, but I had SO many good experiences this week. I never understood why missionaries would talk so much about their investigators in their emails, but now I'm realizing it's the only thing I want to talk about. God shows us in every lesson how much he LOVES his children.

 

Gregorio is getting baptized next SATURDAY!!! :) (he's not a real investigator, but I'm just as excited as if he were) We taught him of the importance of attending church to show God our obediance and why the Sacrament is so important. His kids LOVED primary and want to go every week. We promised him that attending church will bless his familiy and he will be able to find a job if he continues to have faith. We didn't have time beforehand to plan for the lesson, and the entire lesson was guided by the spirit. I'm starting to recognize the spirit more and more every day and it's SO obvious when I'm not being completely obediant because everything goes wrong. Miracles truly happen when you're 100% obediant.

 

One of our lessons with Cris went so well. He has been hard to get through to him because he just seems so content with his life being average. He used to party all the time, then realized he was miserable (YAY CRIS! That's the most imporant step :). He still drinks socially, but doesn't party. We finally broke through to him and taugh him a lesson about baptism. He realized he needs to repent of his sins and I promised him that if he prays sincerely about the Book of Mormon, that he will know the entire church is true. If the Book is true, Joseph Smith is a Prophet, The commandments are real, the gospel is true, EVERYTHING IS TRUE. He just has to have a desire to know for himself. We teach him next thursday, so we'll see what happens.

 

During that lesson, I felt like I was fluent in Spanish. I didn't have to think about what I was saying once. What a blessing.

 

Earlier in the week, I FINALLY cried. Not about spiritual stuff, cuz that happens every day. I was in the middle of TALL (it's like rosetta stone but with Gospel related topics) and as I was trying to congugate some verbs, my frustration went through the roof, and I just CRIED my eyes out in the other room with my companion. I had been holding in my feelings for 4 weeks, and I guess I just needed to explode for a good 30 minutes, then get back to work. That's exactly what happened. We taught a really good lesson right after that, and I've been fine ever since. Spanish is difficult, but it's not Mandarin Chinese... that's just what I have to keep telling myself. I will get it eventually, but right now, I need to be happy that I can fumble through lessons.

 

In TRC (the place where we meet with members who speak spanish) we met with the sweetest little old lady I've ever met. Her name was Sister Applegate. She learned spanish while her son was on a spanish speaking mission and didn't know why she needed to learn it, but she did it anyway. She has an illness and doesn't know how much longer she will be alive, so instead of traveling like most people would do, she is serving the Lord at the MTC because she wants to help prepare the world for the second coming. In her (translated) words "It takes many hands to push the rock down the mountain." So true. I'm a small part of this incredible work and I want to be exactly like her when I get old. She told us she was going straight home to tell her husband about our visit. I cried the whole time... Her spirit is amazing.

 

My favorite thing she said was "I have a nerve in my face that makes my right eye twitch. Don't worry, it's not sexual harassment. But the left one is." and then she winked at us. HAHAHA. I love her so much. I hope we get to teach her next week.

 

My district is one of the most incredible groups of people I've ever met. Every single person contributes so much. It kills us all that we won't see each other for TWO YEARS. We're already planning a trip to Bear Lake in May 2015 :) So excited. We are best friends. I am so glad I came here and that I failed the spanish exam over the phone so they put me in beginning spanish. My experience would have been VERY different if I had gone to Peru first.

 

I could go on forever, but I'll keep it relatively short.

 

Brandon: I promise I'm writing you back. I just only write letters on P-day cuz that's when we're allowed to.

 

Val: YOU'RE IN THE MTC! haha. so obviously you wont' see this. but if you do, COME FIND ME! My classroom is in 9M 3rd floor.

 

Dad: I wrote you a letter last week, but I didn't have time to write all the other letters for the Allred house, so I haven't sent it yet. It's coming!

 

Mom: I couldn't find your address until yesterday, so your letter is on the way :)

 

Brittany: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I almost exploded when I saw the pictures you sent. I'm so so happy :) I showed you all off to my district. Everyone wants to date Tara and Amy (they know jennie and brittany are taken). Most of them are 18, so um.. I have a lot of men for you in two years AMY! :) They're so sweet. You'd love them.

 

Jennie: WRITE ME BACK! :) I want to know what the heck is going on in your life.

 

Amy: I got your graduation invite! So excited for you to start college! when it gets really hard, write me a letter, then go to the temple. Cuz the temple is the safest place on earth and i love it.

 

Kitty: My companion thinks you're adorable :) Milo too. How's daddy's house?

 

Holly: How did your chior thing go?? Daddy told me all about it :) I'm glad you got to be with your friends.

 

I LOVE YOU ALL! I have to go :( Picutres will be coming later today.

 

Love, Hermama Allred

 

Do you wanna know why I'm crying?

Cuz I'm a girl, and girls cry a LOT! (I hope you all got that reference. if not, go watch my wisdom teeth video.)

 

I've been a spiritually emotional WRECK this week. So many good things have happened, I don't even know where to start.  (fair warning, my missionary mode batteries are FULLY CHARGED and i'm not afraid to talk about the gospel. so get ready)

 

First of all, SISTERS! all 500 of you. haha just kidding. there's only 6. I LOVE YOUR LETTERS! I love your sarcastic witty comments and updates on the fam from your point of view cuz guess what... I am in a spirit paradise and I don't even know what's going on out there. so um... tell me more. Hand written letters are my favorite, but send me Dear Elders too cuz the other people in my district get mad when I get a lot of mail. HAHA. just kidding. that's mean.

 

Okay. SO! I'll start with the fun stuff then move to the spiritual stuff.

 

The pranks have continued on Hermama Routson and our District.  

 

1// The free bin is always overflowing with fun stuff on monday and tuesday when the missionaries leave and their suitcases weigh too much. I found two giant bottles of Calcium pills and Hermana Rasmussen and I have been hiding them in all her things. I put a bunch in her suitcase thinking she wouldn't see it until we left the MTC, but BOO she found them today. I was thoroughly bummed out. but then I hid some more in her shoes and felt better. Also, we found a TON of packing peanuts and filled her entire bed with them.

 

2// We played a game with our district to try to speak more Spanish with each other called Nativo. I dont' want to explain it cuz I'm running out of time, but the winner got some giant caramel filled cadbury chocolate eggs. WELL. In the free bin the other day we found some plastic easter eggs and pink frosting. Naturally Hermana Rasmussen and I came up with the idea to fill the plastic eggs with the frosting and replace the chocolate eggs with the plastic ones. GENIUS I TELL YOU! Well, we all voted for Elder Iman because he loves jokes and we know he'd laugh. and he didn't even laugh. BOOOOO! such a disappointment. Apparently one of the elders tried to sneak one and messed up our rewrapping job. ruined the whole thing.

 

3// we found this hideous stuffed bunny in the free bin and decided to hang it by the ears in one of the showers. We weren't there for this, but one of the hermanas in our zone told us that a girl opened the curtain and got freaked out and screamed "ahhhh  deamon bunny". Then she threw it on the ground and ran away. A bit of an overreaction to a stuffed bunny, but I'm glad our prank worked :)

 

Okay now the serious stuff.

 

This week has been SO amazing spiritually. It's like I'm in Sky High except instead of weird super powers like turning into a hampster, everyone here has the power of God to help people be happy and live with Him forever! Way better, I think.

 

Janice Kapp Perry came to the MTC (the lady that wrote A Child's Prayer and a million other songs) to speak in Relief Society. WHAT!? It was so incredible. We sang a meledy of her songs and wow... the spirit in that room could convert any Athiest in the world. I was a wreck. Cuz, ya know, girls cry a lot. THEN! guess what.. She wrote a song for sister missionaries and wanted us to be the first ones to sing it. How appropriate :) I was bawling once again. Good thing I only packed waterproof mascara. This girl plans ahead. That was the most powerful moment of my life (there was another one after that). I could FEEL the power we have as missionaries and the number of lives we are going to change as a result of that power. If all of us had only one baptism, that would be somewhere around 1,000 new members. 1 BAPTISM EACH just from the MTC RIGHT NOW. Not to mention the other 60,000+ missionaries in the world. What an incredible feeling.

 

Russell M. Nelson Spoke! (I forgot to put this in and I'm almost out of time, so I can't write more) SO GOOD!

 

We have 2 "investigators" right now. Gregorio who has a wife and 3 kids, and Cris who is single and used to party all the time. I LOVE teaching them both. For very different reasons.I really wish you all could feel the love that God feels for his children. As a missionary, I get to feel it every day. I look in their eyes and feel their pain, root them through their trials, and congratulate them on their success. It's such an overwhelming feeling of Love. Everyone should serve a mission if they can. It's such a blessing. SO HUMBLING!

 

READ THIS WHOLE STORY! MIRACLES HAPPENED!

 

1// Gregorio is so sweet. His love for his family is incredible and every time we teach him, he asks such good questions and prays with such a sincere heart. In our first lesson, we got to know him really well and taught about the restoration. I had just barely memorized the first vision in spanish and hadn't gotten a chance to use it in a lesson. I was nervous to say it, but when I did, the words just flowed so perfectly together and I BAWLED my eyes out. God let me know exactly when I should say it and when to hold my tongue and let my companion speak. The first vision is so POWERFUL in Spanish. The language is beautiful, and the story is just... wow. Everyone should memorize Jose Smith's words. we invited him to pray at the end, but he said he wanted to practice.

 

Our next lesson, he agreed to pray. As he was praying, I was imagining all the people in Peru who will be praying for the first time out loud and I, once again, bawled my eyes out. I had so much love for him and I was so happy that he had the desire to speak with God. The feeling was indescribable. (p.s. my english is getting really bad, so um.. forgive me if it's hard to read.)

 

Our third lesson, ANGELS were present. I won't go into detail about what happened, but I felt angels in the room helping us and at the end of our lesson, I was going to show him a scripture about how God loves us and helps us with everything, but I stink with numbers and accidentally gave him the wrong reference. Alma 32:16 (GO READ IT) which is basically saying GET BAPTIZED! I wasn't even going to mention baptism cuz i was scared it would scare him off, but after I realized it was the wrong scripture and that God wanted me to ask him to get baptized, I looked up at his sweet smiling face and asked him if he would follow Jesucristo's example and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood of God. Guess what he said....

 

HE SAID YES! I was so happy that I couldn't even cry. I have never in my life felt the way I felt at that moment. This was the first time in my time here at the MTC that I have seen the power of God in the lesson. HE knew that scripture was what he needed to hear.  I know this investigator is really my teacher, but I just know that the spirit guides us in everything and that without God, my Spanish would be terrible.

 

With God, I can not only speak Spanish, but I can teach an entire 40 minute lesson about the gospel and how much he loves his children. WHAT IS THAT!? that's a miracle, that's what it is. I would not be able to do anything without him. I am learning more every day about how weak I am and how much I need to rely on the Savior to make it through my trials.

 

I feel so blessed to be where I am, and if ANY of you are thinking even a little bit about going on a mission, DO IT! The blessings that you and your family recieve from it are indescribable. I've seen it in my life and I know it's very real.

 

goodness i need more time to write this email but I have a feeling I'd just go on forever about my investigators and you'd get sick of hearing about it. If you wrote me a letter and I haven't responded, it's cuz my desk is super disorganized and i can't ever remember who I've already sent a reply to.. so write me on Dear Elder and say "hey you. yeah you forgot to write me back. hurry up." and I'll definitely write you back.

 

Dad: I have a letter ready for you, I just have to find my stamps. WRITE ME ABOUT YOUR MISSION! I love hearing stories.

 

Mom: I have a letter for you too. THANK YOU for the package. I'm using the nutella for my toast in the mornings. All the other missionaries are trying to snatch it, but some things in life just aren't meant to be shared.

 

Brittany: SEND ME PICTURES!!! :( I'm so so sad every day when I don't have a package from you with pictures of Mr. M and you and the rest of the family. I miss you all and I only have a couple pictures. Also, I'm holding out on a letter because you said you would send me your address and BOO you didn't :( I have no idea where you live. HELP

 

Val: I got your Dear Elder and I have a few things to tell you

1// FORGET about the hangers. there are a million here and it's a pain to bring them.

2// bring my black military boots. they should be on the top of my box of shoes at your house. PLEASE! and thank you :)

3// I WILL STILL BE HERE WHEN YOU GET HERE and there's a tiny chance that you could be in my Zone. PRAY really hard.

4// bring your cute white boots that you and frieda both have and if you don't want to bring them to Argentina, just send them home. I promise you'll wish you brought cute shoes for the MTC. your wardrobe will get boring real fast.

5// bring a small bag (your brown one that you always have) you can't have big ones in the lunch room and it's real annoying.

 

I'm OUT OF TIME! BOOOOO! I have so much to say. The computers here don't work with pictures, so I'll send them later while I'm doing laundry.

 

I LOVE YOU ALL! please be safe and tell everyone I love them.

2// flying in the hallway on a magic carpet ride

// my room! don't anybody come and stalk me...

 4// my BFF. MAIL

 1// our district decided to hang out outside during language study because it's perfect weather and we hate being cooped up inside all day. It was a good day :)