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.

Flor finally got baptized. what WOOO

so I have been FREAKING out the entire time we´ve been in internet, so I don´t have a lot of time. It´s transfer week, and Sheets, Del Rio, and my companion all got transferred. Sheets will be training in Juliaca (opening a sector), Del Rio is going to be a sister leader with HERMANA THOMPSON!!! (so happy for her) but they´re going to Abancay. I´m staying in Cusco, and my companion will be Hna. Tamariz. I don´t know her at all, but everyone says she works really hard. I AM SO EXCITED!

This has been a great week. Wanna know why?

1// Lilliana and John got married and baptized this weekend in Sicuani. I don´t know if any of you remember them, but they almost got baptized like 5 times, but it FINALLY happened. Do you understand how happy that makes me? I didn´t get to be there, but Sheets and Del Rio were there on a work visit, and took pictures for me. I AM SO FULL OF HAPPY FOR THEM!

Del Rio called me while they were at the reception, and half the ward talked to me. It was one of the most incredible moments of my life. My sweet convert Violeta told me she wants to get married in the temple with a worthy member, and her sister who was inactive, is now active because Violeta got baptized. She said "I am never leaving this church ever again." I bawled my eyes out. I am so full of happy right now 

2// Flor, who we have been working with forever got baptized by her uncle (the 2nd counselor in the bishopric) on Saturday. 

3// I am getting a new companion who loves to WORK. This will be so good. I am SO EXCITED I can hardly stand it. I am staying in my sector, and I do not have to pack any of my stuff to move haha. Also, I will hopefully not have to hear any more spanish disney music at 7 AM. I love disney, but really.... I cannot handle any more disney music. 

4// Vannessa Clavijo, my best peruvian friend in the world, her husband was baptized this weekend. I cannot even begin to describe how happy I am. I am SO HAPPY! 

I want everyone to feel this way. Man. I love life. 

Where we went fishing was a random restaurant with ponds full of trout. They pulled them out with nets, then fried them right there. SO FUN! We got a lil sick, but we´re fine now.

I am so excited about life. 

SO HAPPY! 

I´ve been studying the bible like crazy, and I decided Acts is my new favorite book. I love Paul. I feel like Him and Alma the younger are some people I can really relate to (aside from, you know, the trying to throw people in jail for beliving in Christ thing). Just their conversion (minus the angel). I´m carrying this testimony with me until I die. Never will anyone be able to change this. 

I´m here to stay.

I LOVE YOU ALL sorry this email is all over the place. My brain is working a million miles a minute. LOVE YOU ALL

1-- Hna. Hansen and Woodbury were stuck in our apartment for a couple weeks because they haven´t found an apartment, but they found one finally. They made me brownies, I made them popcorn.

2-- my seat every sunday

3-- Flor´s entire family (4 of them aren´t members, but came to support her)

4-- Flor, her uncle, and us.

1// Rio and I

2// THIS IS PAPA JOHNS!!! I was so happy... converted from sols, $3. THAT IS SO CHEAP!

3// Sister Leader Jerseys. In honor of the World Cup (which happens to be on my birthday.

4// I thought I lost my plaque in the street, but I found it stuck to my bed. So I wrote this on it in case I actually do lose it again .And ordered 4 new ones haha. I don´t know why I´ve waited this long to order new ones. 

1// our district "fishing"

2// they fished for us... I didn´t get to actually catch anything 

3// But I got to hold the dead fish. 

1// the most beautiful lil pueblo I´ve ever seen in my life. I miss Sicuani

2// the door to the fish place

3// this one is for dad. Got you a fish picture :) haha. 

I go a fishing

a year ago yesterday, I went through the temple. That was one of my favorite days of my life. I have been having reoccuring dreams that I get to the temple, they give me my clothes, but they don´t let me go inside. It is so frustrating. I get so emotional when I think about going, and I won´t get to for another 7 months. That´s hard, but I guess dreams of just being in the lobby will have to do for now.

I really miss the temple. WE ARE SO LUCKY to have a million so close. Take advantage of it. When will the new provo one be done? I want to go there.

I got bit by a spider in Quillabamba this week. I thought it was a mosquito until my leg swelled up and hurt like heck. I put some cortizone cream on it, and now it´s gone down. I should really remember to put bug spray on. Luckily we´re going to be in Cusco this week, so I will have a break from getting eaten alive. 

Transfers are next monday. I´m really trying to be excited. I need to stock up on ice cream.

I´m a week away from hitting 11 months. GET REAL. I just got here. I´m constantly surprised by how fast it all goes by. 

I keep getting emails from the missionaries in the states saying things like "we have iPads, iPhones, air conditioned cars, facebook, and blah blah TECHNOLOGY" and I´m just sitting here in my boots covered in mud thinking "there´s a zone leader who got a new brick phone and it has a CAMERA. 2 megapixels baby." yeah... we still live in the stone age here.wbut personally, I really like it. I don´t have to worry about losing anything or having the temptation of playing solitaire all day on my iPad. I just have, you know. my planner and scriptures. It´s really nice to be technology free. usually.

John 21:3 "¨(our district leader) saith unto them, I go a fishing (and all the district) said unto him, we also go with thee..." 

We´re going fishing today for Pday. I´m a lil excited, to say the least. Even though I´ve been fishing probably 25 times, and have NEVER caught anything. Except that one time uncle Hal baited the hook, cast the line, and let me reel it in. And, you know, church carnivals in the cultural hal. Just watch. Mission blessings will come, and I WILL catch a fish. 

This week we were in Quillabamba, if I didn´t already clarify that, and now there are 3 companionships there, so we stayed a day longer. I hate the heat. I decided that officially this week. I HATE IT. I would ratherbe incoats and have nothing showing but my lil eyeballs than be in hot weather tracting. If I were in Hawaii on the beach, that´s different. But I was in a skirt, shirt, with a heavy backpack and not flip flops, walking all day trying to find someone who would let us in so they can go to heaven. It´s very different than chillin on the beach. I love the cold. 

Well, I am learning quite a bit about myself and studying more effectively than ever before. I don´t know why it took me so long to realize this church is true and it does nothing but bless the heck out of us. I just, I´m full of happy and the spirit and love. Thank you all for every single word you send my way. Every package full of little american things, and real letters in envelopes with stamps. I cherish every single one of them. 

And now, I go a fishing :) hahaha. I love applicable bible quotes. 

1-- A weird plant thing I found on a tree in Quillabamba. looks like the rumor weed on larry boy. haha. veggie tales.... those still are the images I have in my head when I read bible stories. 

2-- crossing the bridge

1-- looking down on the sketchy bridge

2-- my pervian coin collection. Our pensionista´s son sold me 6 yesterday. he had doubles of everything

Travel

well, It was a travel week. To the land of fleas. Andahuaylas.

I got bit. 

I am tired.

I still love being a missionary. 

But, I really don´t have a lot to say this week. We´re going to Quillabamba tomorrow (super hot). I´m looking forward to sweating my face off. 

Love, Hermana Allred

1-- Panai pants and llama sweaters

2-- Mexican moustache

3-- Walking down the hill from president{s house to catch a taxi

1-- all the sister training leaders minus hna. huaman (she was taking the picture)

2-- This random lady we contacted showed us her Guinea Pig cage. IT IS A HOUSE FULL OF GUINEA PIGS!!! there are at least 100. she doesn{t even sell them, she just eats them. They are separated my gender, babies, and whether or not they{re preggers. 

3-- there is NO hot water in Andahuaylas, so we got creative. we used the water boiling thing that is normally used for tea haha. 

4-- Did I ever mention that there are lots of fleas in Andahuaylas? Last time I only got bit once. this time, 23. It{s fine... they{ll go away 

1-- one of my favorite foods. I forgot the name.

2-- The creepy cemetery in Talavera

3-- We 4 decided to do our personal progress. I never finished mine due to my extreme inactivation hhaaha. SOOO my kind Bishop and Young Women´s president in my ward are letting me finish it. The good thing about doing it late is that now I don´t have to do so many projects. Only 3! score. We´re helping the inactive youth do theirs too. 

4-- The ugliest dog you ever did see. These dogs are called PERUVIAN DOGS. they are awful. They are all over the place. 

1-- Saw Maribel again in the terminal while waiting for an hermana from Puno

2-- The terminal, where we spend most of our days chillin out maxin all relaxin all cool. We played "I spy with my little eye". In English. Hna. Enriquez is getting a lot better every day.

3-- the other side. 

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