perfect, peaceful moments

Hey everybody!

Thanksgiving was wonderful! We only had two dinners and the elders had
five!! I don't even know how they rode their bikes because I could
barely do it after eating only two. We started the morning by doing
some service over at the church with our elders and the zone leaders.
They had us clean the bathrooms and chapel really well and then we all
went to Denny's for $2 pancakes. Our first dinner was with the Nash's.
Their daughter is serving a mission in Colorado and has been out on
her mission for three weeks now, she left the week I came. They are an
awesome family and really take care of the missionaries. We also go
over there every Sunday night for treats and a spiritual thought.
They've had that tradition going for 11 years now and they are a
really great family. We headed over to visit the Werners/Wilfleys
after for some pie and spent a while with them. Sister Werner is the
cutest and i love being with their family. Her three brothers are
these huge college football players and she has the cutest kids.
Dinner with the Castillos was next and they had the best dinner by
far. It was so good and I still want more. We showed them a Mormon
message about being thankful and had an awesome discussion with them
about being grateful. All the time now, as we are talking with people
I just zone out for a second and look around and realize how blessed I
have been the past 18 months to have shares such special experiences
with so many people. I just feel at such peace as I look around me and
can recognize the spirit so strongly. This has been an amazing time of
my life! The happiest by far.

I can't believe I haven't told you guys about Jenny yet. Jenny is a
returning member. She has four kids and her oldest two kids just got
baptized in August. She has dreads, tattoos, is all natural and
organic, and seriously the coolest person alive. I seriously love
their family. We go over to Jenny's a few times a week and help her
out around the house because she's basically a single mom right now
while her husband is going to school down south to be a nurse. Jenny
called us late Wednesday night and told us that her and Robert were
going to be legally married by the bishop and she wanted us to be
there! They had a ceremony about eight years ago, but there were never
any legal documents signed and Bishop told her that this is something
she would have to do before she went to the temple! So that night us,
her four kids, the bishop, Roberts and her met in the relief society
room and they were legally married! Jenny is really trying to get to
the temple and we were so pumped when we heard that she is one step
closer.

Coral is a less active returning member who we have started to work
with more. She is really trying to get back in to church and knows
this is where she needs to be. She's been a member for two years now,
but a lot of her extended family are members. Coral has made
incredible progress this week. Sister spears said she never used to be
as open as she is now. Even in the few times I've met with coral, I
feel like she has such a good heart and just wants to do well. She was
able to meet with bishop this week and discuss her progress and her
biggest problem is having too much time on her hands. She has no job,
no car, no family real close and no internet. So she has a lot of
spare time to do things she probably shouldn't be and knows she
shouldn't be doing. Bishop invited her to think about having more
contact with us and ever since then, we have had some really good
lessons over at corals. As I was studying on Wednesday morning, I was
praying about coral and what we could do to help her and I really felt
strongly like introducing her to family history and indexing would be
a good use of her time. A good wholesome thing to fill her time with.
She wasn't too thrilled with the idea at first, but we are hoping that
as she begins to do it, she can learn to love it and feel the spirit
as she does. She really loves to serve, so even though she doesn't
have much, she offered to feed us lunch twice last week. The whole
time we were there for lunch I just kept thinking to myself, "this is
exactly what she needed. A way to focus on other people." It's so cool
to see first hand mosiah 2:17 come to pass, "when ye are in the
service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
Sister Simmons is a returning member as well. Her daughter Kaiya just
got baptized a few months ago and that had really been a major turning
point for their family! Sis Simmons has been a member her whole life,
but has been in and out of the church for years. She has been working
so hard to get her life on track and was able to receive her
patriarchal blessing yesterday morning! It was such an amazing
blessing for her and she said that the patriarch was so spot on, it
was crazy. It's so cool to see all of these people really trying to
work hard to come back to what they know is true and right.

Wednesday afternoon, after our district meeting, we rode our bikes
over to this little Mexican restaurant called La Fiesta. Wendy
Metrogen, one of my recent converts from Loomis, met us over there and
we had lunch with her! It's been almost a year since I've seen her and
was so good to see her and to just start where we left off. She is
really working hard to keep going to church and still receives weekly
visits from the sisters. I was so happy to hear they she was doing so
well. She's really looking forward to meeting mom and dad when they
come out here!

This Saturday we have a baptism for Emma. Her grandparents are in our
Ward and we received permission to teach and baptize her in our Ward
because her dad goes to school and works full time. She's 12 years old
and is pretty excited about being baptized. She has a very similar
story as I do with our parents divorces being similar and her being
raised by her dad. I felt a real connection with her right as I met
her and I feel like I know a lot of what she is going through. We have
been reviewing the lessons with her the past few weeks so that she
feels ready and hopefully we can pull everything together by Saturday.

The Castillos are this awesome recent convert family who was baptized
a year ago in December. The elders were riding past their house one
day and started talking with them and they were so prepared! Their
whole family was baptized. Wife, husband, and Junior their 15 year old
son. The Castillos are seriously amazing people! They are going to the
temple next weekend to receive their own endowments and be sealed.
It's going to be such a special day for them!

Friday morning a less active woman in the Ward, Karen, invited us over
to help decorate her Christmas tree! It was so fun and I love that
members involve is in their Christmas traditions. Karens conversion is
all thanks to Donny Osmond. There are so many women who are in love
with Donny who joined the church. She has every single one of his CDs
and has met him at a lot of his So Cal concerts. So of course, we
decorated the tree while listening to The Osmonds Christmas cd.

Two move outs, two move ins. I told you that Our investigator Taylor
had moved out, but one of our recent convert families the sisters used
to work with moved out as well. So we have been struggling to find new
investigators. But it was amazing to see this past week, as two people
in our teaching pool moved out, two women moved in. The first is Lisa.
She just moved here from a different Ward and is an investigator. She
worked out of Orem for a phone book/advertising  company for a really
long time before she got lung cancer and would be in Orem two months
out of the year. She would go to our church every Sunday and would
help out with any of the service projects they had going on. She took
the lessons while she lived back in Oregon, but never joined the
church. She really just likes to church hop and says she hasn't found
one that fits yet, so hopefully this time around something will click.
She is basically a member though because she will come to church and
shares the gospel with her friends. One of her Russian friends from
Sacramento is going to come to church with her because he's really
interested, so hopefully something will come of this. The other move
in is a lady named Hannah. Hannah just moved here from Boise and is
also not a member, but might as well be. She met with the missionaries
in Boise and showed up at our Ward Sunday because she had just moved
in. She lives in a trailer on the back of her truck and so she is
never in one place for very long, but we are hoping that she shows up
at church again next week so that we can teach her.

I hope you all have heard of the new Christmas video called "He is the
Gift" that the church just released. It is absolutely amazing and I
can't get enough of it! We have been sharing it with the members of
our Ward and inviting them to prayerfully think of someone who they
can share it with. Every time I watch it I have one of those moments
like what I was talking about the beginning, where I kind of zone out,
look around me, and everything for that moment just seems so peaceful
and perfect. Like I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. The church is
really pushing this video and I would invite all of you to share it!
It's a very simple message that anyone of any faith would enjoy. A
good reminder to us that Christ is the gift and we should make a
commitment to discover more of his life, embrace his example, and
share the gift of our knowledge of him with everyone around us.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! This could really be the last
week to send me letters, so send them while you can. :) I love you
all! Read, pray, be active, forgive, and remember the Savior in all
you do.

Xoxo,

Sister Allen

good friends help you keep your covenants

Hey, hey! 

I was out of my area two days this past week for exchanges. Tuesday in Red Bluff with sweet Sister Trease and Thursday in Corning with Sister VanDuren. I don't know if you all remember me talking about David Castleton. Sister MacDonald and I met him in Yuba City, he had been inactive in the church for about 20 years and he waved us down Sister MacD's first week in the field. Well David has been active in the church ever since that day. I found out that he was living back in Los Molinos with his new wife, Reba. Los Molinos is Corning ward boundaries and on Thursday I got to go over to David's and meet his family! Sadly David wasn't there, but everyone else was and it was so cool to see how much David's life had changed since he decided to come back to church. He has been sober for a long time now and bringing the gospel back into his life happened at the perfect time. God's timing is always so perfect! 

The Redding Sisters called us and referred us to one of their recent converts who just moved into our ward. Their records had no trailer number, so we drove through this huge trailer park looking for a red headed, 10 year old boy named Collin. We drove all around the park looking for him and the last street we turned down, there was a little boy with a baseball cap on. We couldn't see the color of his hair, but he seemed around 10 years old, so I rolled down the window and asked if he knew where Collin lived. He told us that was his name and sure enough, there was a little red hair sticking out from underneath his baseball cap. We introduced ourselves as the sister missionaries in the Anderson Ward and sadly his mom was sick and we couldn't meet her. His aunt and her boyfriend were there and they are both non members. They asked which church we belonged to and told her that Collin and his sister Mary Jane had been baptized in March. She told us that she was visiting from Ohio and was trying to find a church to attend here in Anderson. Her and her boyfriend had googled "churches in Anderson" the night before and chose a random one to attend. She said that she wanted to try our church and that she would see us at church next Sunday! I really hope that her and her boyfriend come next week! It was a miracle Heavenly Father even allowed us to find them. 

Saturday night was the Chili Cook Off. After a major down pour and 50 mph winds, we weren't sure how many people were going to show up. An hour later, the whole cultural hall was full with 200 people, 25 different kinds of chili, and at least 15 different corn breads. It was such a good turnout! At the end of the night, Brother Walton, the MC, gets on the mic and starts yelling out for Sister Comstock and I to come up to the front of the room. He then goes on to announce that I have a rap prepared for them and I will be performing it right then and there....uhhh...i never agreed to that, haha. So all these people are staring at me and waiting for me to rap, so i just did it! My face was on fire for about 20 minutes afterwards, but I got up there and rapped the restoration for everyone. I guess that's one way to get people to remember me in Anderson! 

Last Monday I got a random email from a missionary serving in Peru from the Anderson ward. He referred us over to his nonmember parents saying that he was really sick of being the only member in his family and going to church by himself. We contacted them on Saturday during the giant rain storm and they fed us some homemade chili to warm up. They really know nothing about the church or what their son is doing in Peru, so we offered to teach them the same lessons that their son is teaching in Peru. We didn't get a yes or a no, but they said we could definitely come back anytime we were in the area! We are really hoping to teach them.

I am almost through the Book of Mormon for the fourth time! I wanted to finish one last time before I was done with my mission and I think I am going to be able to do it! This time through has been so different and I really have taken in so much more. I feel like I can actually picture the stories in my mind and everything is so real to me. I absolutely love the Book of Mormon! 

This week I read in Alma 53 and received some awesome revelation. Alma 53 is when Helamen pulls together the 2000 young stripling warriors to help him in the war against the Lamanites. The 2000 stripling warriors are the sons of the Ammonites, or the Lamanites who were so converted that they buried all their weapons of war and made a covenant with God to never raise up their weapons against another person again. In Alma 53, these men who have made this covenant see the sufferings of their brethren and truly desire to help them fight. They are "moved with compassion and were desirous to take up arms in the defence of their country." But then Helamen steps in. Helamen realizes how incredibly important and vital keeping your covenants is and does everything to help them keep their covenants. Their sons, who haven't made this covenant, step up and fight in place of their fathers. Good friends help you keep your covenants. Surround yourself with friends and family who will help you be the best person you can be and make sure that you become someone who allows other people to keep their covenants when they are with you. 

Alma 53: 10-18, "10 And now behold, I have somewhat to say concerning the people of Ammon, who, in the beginning, were Lamanites; but by Ammon and his brethren, or rather by the power and word of God, they had been converted unto the Lord; and they had been brought down into the land of Zarahemla, and had ever since been protected by the Nephites. 11 And because of their oath they had been kept from taking up arms against their brethren; for they had taken an oath that theynever would shed blood more; and according to their oath they would have perished; yea, they would have suffered themselves to have fallen into the hands of their brethren, had it not been for the pity and the exceeding love which Ammon and his brethren had had for them. 13 But it came to pass that when they saw the danger, and the many afflictions and tribulations which the Nephites bore for them, they were moved with compassion and were desirous to take up arms in the defence of their country. 14 But behold, as they were about to take their weapons of war, they were overpowered by the persuasions of Helaman and his brethren, for they were about to break the oath which they had made. 15 And Helaman feared lest by so doing they should lose their souls; therefore all those who had entered into this covenant were compelled to behold their brethren wade through their afflictions, in their dangerous circumstances at this time. 16 But behold, it came to pass they had many sons, who had not entered into a covenant that they would not take their weapons of war to defend themselves against their enemies; therefore they did assemble themselves together at this time, as many as were able to take up arms, and they called themselves Nephites. 17 And they entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites, yea, to protect the land unto the laying down of their lives; yea, even they covenanted that they never would give up their liberty, but they would fight in all cases to protect the Nephites and themselves from bondage. 18 Now behold, there were two thousand of those young men, who entered into this covenant and took their weapons of war to defend their country."

I love you all! Thank you for all your prayers and love. 

xoxo,

sister allen

busy busy

Hey everyone! This week was incredibly busy and I have been signing up for classes, so i'm sorry this will be a short email. 

There's this woman that we work with named Elizabeth, she was baptized seven years ago into the shasta lake Ward. Soon after her family was baptized, she found out that her husband had been hurting her kids...long story short, the church sided with him and not her, which resulted in her losing custody of her kids. She never went back to church, but her testimony is incredible. About six months ago, the sisters were contacting people on her street and sister Lyman felt prompted to talk to Elizabeth. They found out she was a member and we have been going to visit ever since. Elizabeth lived with her fiancé and is pregnant right now. We went over two weeks ago and literally twenty minutes before we went over there, her fiancé told her that he had been being unfaithful and just the day before she had found out that her pregnancy wasn't viable. The baby's heart wouldn't be able to function properly on its own once it was born. I asked her if she wanted a priesthood blessing and the elders came over with us on Wednesday to give her one. Elder Jones offered the most beautiful and heartfelt blessing I have ever heard. The spirit was so strong, peaceful, and sweet. Very few other times have I felt so engulfed and filled with the spirit. He talked a lot about using the atonement and understanding that everything happens for a reason. I just sat there on the couch listening and feeling so much love for Elizabeth. I had a thought run through my mind, during the blessing, where Elizabeth was back at the church four or five years from now and was teaching primary and relating her story to people who really needed it. She is seriously an incredibly strong person and is handling everything with such a good attitude. The whole experience helped me understand how real the atonement is and how important the priesthood is in our lives. 

The dinner fast went well this week. Every single night we had dinner with someone who was inactive or an investigator. Monday night we went over to the Mueller's and they invited their next door neighbors over. We have been trying to work with Brad and Lily for a while now and finally were able to invite them to read the Book of Mormon together. Brad grew up going to the church and his mom and stepdad were sealed in the temple, but he was never baptized. His 8 year old daughter has come to a few of the activities for primary and we are hoping that they will desire to come to church soon. Wednesday and Thursday we spent over at the Cramer's. Sister Cramer is incredible and a less active. Her two kids, Mike (15) and Moriah (13) are not members as well as her husband. They are the coolest, most down to earth family and we really are trying our best to introduce them to church. Thursday when we went over, Sister Cramer's brother and his family stopped over on their way to the Redwoods from St. George. They have two boys on missions right now and it was awesome to be able to spend some time with them. All in all, we had a successful week.

Friday we spent the entire day in Palo Cedro for our zone "blitz". All 24 missionaries in the Anderson stake covered 12 different areas in the Palo Cedro ward. We visited inactive members, active members, and investigators so that the Elders in that ward could have more success. The Lord was definitely watching out for Sister Comstock and I that day because we had to turn right and left off onto dirt roads of a two way highway and there were a couple close calls. 

I honestly can't even think about what happened this past week! My mind is such a blur and it doesn't help that I have bad allergies right now (i've been taking lots of claritin). All I know is that things are going great here in Anderson. We have been incredibly busy. Literally every hour of our day we have a lesson. We just really need more support from our ward so that the people we work with can feel loved, included, and want to be at church. We have so many people showing up to church each week and so many people having that desire to meet with us. My heart is so full with gratitude that the Lord has allowed us to have so many people to work with. 

I studied Jorg Kleginbat's talk from conference in depth this week for personal study and I would invite all of you to look over it. I made a list of things that I am going to work on to continue feeling comfortable approaching God's throne with confidence. "Acknowledge and face your weaknesses, but don't be immobilized by them." 

I love you guys! Thanks for everything! 

xoxox,

Sister Allen

 sister comstock and I learned how to make bread this week and it resulted in a flour fight...

just what I needed...

Dad, I can't believe that you counted and I only have 66 days left...ahh! 

We had interviews with President Marston this week and my love for him just grows stronger the more time I get to know him. I was so grateful to have that time to talk with him and to listen to his council. He stopped in the middle of our conversation and told me that he felt like he needed to tell me the following: "I just want to thank you for being an attractive sister missionary. Don't take this the wrong way. I just thank you for being someone the Lord and this church would be proud to send out and have represent them." It made my week! I am so grateful for inspired leaders who lead and guide this church. 

So I am sure that you saw me talking about Jesse Lewis' baptism on Facebook. I totally forgot to tell you about her last week! Jesse lives in Bella Vista, near Redding, and was being taught by the Palo Cedro Ward Sisters. Two weeks ago the Palo Cedro Sisters were transferred out of that ward, so they now just have one set of Elders. The sisters called us on transfer day and told us about Jesse and that they wanted us to take over teaching her. What a blessing it has been to teach Jesse! She is incredible! Her testimony is immovable and so strong in this gospel. Her husband is agnostic and neither of her two children are baptized, so she is now the first member in her family. Every single person around her has been asking what is so different about Jesse lately and she knows that this gospel has not just changed her on the inside, but also changed her countenance.   Jesse was a testimony to me that the Lord is preparing His children. He knows what they need and when they need it. Jesse met with missionaries in Oregon 12 years ago and then two months ago, the sisters knocked on her door and everything just clicked this time around. I feel so blessed to have been able to help Jesse on her journey and know she is going to do amazing things in this church.

Sister Ward called us this week and told us that her foster daughter, Chris, was coming to stay with her and might be interested in taking the lessons. We went over three times this week to teach her. Chris has been abused emotionally, verbally, physically, and sexually almost all her life. She is still struggling with abuse and addictions. As Chris sat there and cried to us about the things that she has to deal with, I felt so guided by the spirit as I told her about the Atonement. I asked her what she wanted for her life and testified that the only way that she can be truly happy forever is by embracing this gospel. I was able to share some of the experiences I have had in my life and how I never thought that I would make it through, but because of my Savior, I was able to overcome the heartbreak, pain, guilt and anger that I felt. My words were so guided as I expressed to her this importance. There is nothing that I love more to teach than about the Atonement. This is why I came out here, to be a witness for people that they can change their lives. It doesn't have to be how it currently is and anyone can become changed. Chris is leaving to go back home on Tuesday, but we are hoping that she takes the things that we were able to teach her and applies them into her life. Whether it be now or down the road, at least she knows that there is a way to get out of this cycle and there is a way to be made free through the Atonement. 

President Marston has asked us to focus more on having dinners with nonmembers and less actives. It is amazing to see that as we have been praying to have these opportunities, the ward is stepping up and allowing us to have them. We didn't have dinner on last Friday and so we decided to call a Less Active part member family who we always try to meet with, yet it never seems to work out. The mom immediately said that she would love to have us over and while we were there, we were able to really build a relationship we have been trying to for a while. We shared the new Mormon Message called "You Never Know" and the mom loved it! She asked us to share it on her Facebook wall and then she shared it on her page with all her nonmember "mom friends". So cool! Yesterday night we had dinner with the Sargaent's and they invited Sister Zitar, a less active woman we have been trying to get a hold of for weeks, over for dinner. We were able to discuss the sacrament and be very straight forward with her that we needed her at church. She needed to be there to take the sacrament. With her insomnia it is hard because her sleep schedule is reversed, but she committed to try and make it there this week. Every single night this week we are having dinner with a less active, part member family, or non member. It's going to be so awesome! We are praying that we will be able to find something for each of these individuals that will touch their heart and increase their faith in the Savior. 

I am so grateful for my time out here on my mission! There is literally nowhere else I would rather be. I know that I say that a lot, but I really mean it. As I have been reading through Alma the last few weeks, I am so grateful for the example that Ammon and Alma give us to follow as strong disciples of Christ. Alma 26 was such a strength to me this week. "...I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land [of the California Roseville Mission], for which I will praise his name forever." Everything I have been blessed to experience on my mission has been through the strength and power of God. Every miracle wrought has been because of Him. I am so grateful for a loving God who has allowed me to see His hand in my life. "Now when [my heart was] depressed, and [I was] about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted [me], and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the [people of California], and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." There have been times when I have wanted to just give up and go home, but the Lord has comforted me and been there for me through it all. I have been able to have success because the Lord was always there for me. I just wish I could express in words how much the Lord means to me and how much love I have for everyone that has supported me on this journey. I love this gospel! I love knowing the truth and sharing it.

I love and miss every single one of you! 

xoxoxo,

Sister Allen

spiritual questions receive spiritual answers.

Last Saturday night is when I found out that Jessica was going to the temple. P. Marston called me back late Tuesday night to let me know that I could go as long as I found someone to take me there and back. I prayed and prayed Tuesday and Wednesday that Heavenly Father would allow me to be there in the temple with Jessica, if it be his will. I messaged person after person on Wednesday and no one seemed to be free. That night I finally got desperate enough to post a fb status about it, as I'm sure you all saw. Literally ten minutes after posting the status, my prayers were answered and the Weavers, a recent convert family from my Chico Ward offered to drive me all the way back up to Anderson on their anniversary and the day they would be sealed! Talk about gracious. The temple was an amazing experience. As I sat there in the session waiting for it start, I just sat there thinking about how blessed I am to be where I am. I don't want to be anywhere but here. As I watched Jessica, I kept thinking to myself, "this is what it is all about. this is why you are doing what you are doing." It was a beautiful experience to see Jessica in her temple white and just a little over a year ago, she was sitting in baptism white. I love this work! There is nothing more fulfilling or worth our time than the work of The Lord. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father allowed me to be there for Jessica's special day! 

Friday morning we got to watch a special pre screening of "Meet the Mormons". The Missionary Department in Salt Lake sent us a DVD copy of the full length movie to the mission and the councilors in the mission presidency traveled around to each zone to show the film. I have got to tell you that it is AMAZING! I was so impressed with the movie! Go see it! It so worth it and don't forget to take your nonmember friends with you. :)

Was conference awesome or what? Honestly I can't believe that this will be the last conference I watch as a missionary. I got so emotional every time they prayed for the missionaries and our family and friends. Not much longer will that apply to me... Enough of that though, seriously one thing after another was testifying to my heart. We watched every single session with either a less active, recent convert, or investigator. Friday night we got a call from the Gifford family telling us that their daughter Jenalee (the same one who is best friends with taylor who just got baptized) had a non member friend staying the night and would be watching all four sessions of conference with them. We went over there Saturday morning, then watched the afternoon session with a returning less active Rochelle at Sister McArron's home. Rochelle has been a member for around 20 years, but hasn't come to church in a loooong time. She comes almost every week now and is working REALLY hard to try and quit smoking. Rochelle is hard of hearing, but thankfully we found a way to put captions on the TV and she was able to understand the whole afternoon session of conference. Her pen was to her notebook that entire time. She received so much inspiration which was a real  lessing, because she has a very hard time understanding things that go on in church and in our lessons because we just can't seem to talk loud enough. This was her first time ever watching conference and I think she's hooked. After conference on Saturday we went over to contact a less active that one of the members in our ward referred us to. Sister Taylor has been being visited by the  lders, but she has a house full of girls, so they have never been able to go in. Sister Taylor let us in immediately. She has three foster kids and a bunch of grandkids that she takes care of, so it was hard for her to get to church or even pay attention to general conference. I felt like I should offer to have us come over the next morning and said we would bring some conference bingo to help occupy the kids. The next morning the kids loved it and Sister Taylor was actually able to get something out of conference! The kids all kept asking why they hadn't gone to church in such a long time and I think the pressures on for Sister Taylor to get them to church! Sunday afternoon session was at the Whitmores. They fed us a huge lunch and we were able to help them realize how important the temple was. Ed admitted that he was nervous because he thinks he doesn't know enough yet, but we reassured him that the best place to go to learn is the temple! Anwyays, conference was seriously amazing! My favorite talks were by Elder Holland (of course), Tad R. Callister, and Elder Klebingat of the Seventy. Go watch them if you haven't already! Also, the talk by Elder Ballard about the "ship of Zion"....wasn't that one good? There were too many good talks! 

"Acknowledge and face your weaknesses, but don't be immobilized by them." -Klebingat

"I may not be my brothers keeper, but I am my brothers brother." -Holland 

This conference has helped me rededicate myself to be a little better and to stand strong in my beliefs. Reaffirm for yourselves that the gospel is true. Gain a testimony of Joseph Smith. You need a strong testimony of this gospel now more than ever. Remember that following the prophet will always be the right choice.

Here's a challenge for all of you. Do me a favor this week. Get on Facebook and share at least one thing you learned at General Conference. Every single one of you. Please. That's my only request!

I love you all! Don't forget to say your prayers. Especially morning prayers. Each of us needs that added spiritual protection before we step out into the world. I loved that suggestion from the apostles.

Have a good week! 

xoxo,

Sister Allen

An email from Sister Allen

continue in patience.

Happy Monday! 

Yesterday was one of the most uplifting sacrament meetings I have had on my mission. The talks were wonderful and the third hour lesson was amazing. As I was sitting thinking while the sacrament was being passed, I had many thoughts come into my head that reminded me how important and sacred that ordinance really is. My attention kept getting drawn away other places and I would say to myself "Im sorry Heavenly Father, I am trying to focus." and then my attention would be pulled somewhere else. I kept wondering to myself why it was so hard for me to pay attention to this sacred ordinance and praying to myself to know how I could be more attentive during it, and my answer came during the first speaker. Sister Schaefer got up and begins with "I would like to talk today about the importance of partaking of the sacrament..." I got the chills. It was an amazing talk! I'll share a few of the stories and things that she said. She said that she was in an institute class one time where they talked about the sacrament and it has stuck with her her whole life. Her institute teacher asked them to each sit quietly for 10 minutes and pray for the entire time, focusing on the Savior. She said that during the first 4 minutes it was pretty easy to stay focused, but then her mind started to wander on "did i lock my front door?", "did i remember to turn off the stove?", etc. She would find herself trying to refocus, but then someone would cough or a phone would go off and it became extremely hard to focus and then the time was quickly up. The teacher then asked them about their experience. Only a few of the students were able to stay focused the entire time. He related this to the sacrament. The sacrament takes about 10 minutes and we should be completely focused on the Savior. Nothing should draw our attention away from Him. He invited the students to try sitting with their eyes closed and relaxed the entire time, praying and remembering the reason they took the Sacrament. Can you be silent, stay focused, and remember Him for just 10 minutes? He remembers us always. 10 minutes is nothing compared to that. The sacrament is a time when we should have a personal interview with our father in heaven. If you dont have anything to say to him, bow your head and close your eyes anyway because other people may be having their personal interview with Him. Sister Schaefer also mentioned that it is important to stay focused on yourself and not other people and whether or not they take the sacrament. That choice is between them and the Savior. They can make it for themselves and they shouldn't be afraid to not take the sacrament. I wish I could share her whole talk with you. It was truly uplifting and exactly what I needed to hear.

We talked a lot about the Atonement in our third hour combined lesson yesterday and it was amazing! Sister Hoag, who I really look up to, gave an amazing lesson using Elder Bednar's talk "Bear Up Your Burdens With Ease". It was too good not to share. She started out by asking us what some of the burdens, trials, or hardships we face now a days in our families. People gave answers such as addictions, drugs, pornography, financial troubles, divorce, etc. Mosiah 24: 13-14 reads, "And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage. And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God; do visit my people in their afflictions." 

Sister Hoag shared this incredibly powerful and profound quote about the Atonement that had me in tears. It is a little intense, but it is made me so incredibly real for me. “Well, my dear [brothers and] sisters, the gospel is the good news that can free us from guilt. We know that Jesus experienced the totality of mortal existence in Gethsemane. It’s our faith that he experienced everything- absolutely everything. Sometimes we don’t think through the implications of that belief. We talk in great generalities about the sins of all humankind, about the suffering of the entire human family. But we don’t experience pain in generalities. We experience it individually. That means he knows what it felt like when your mother died of cancer- how it was for your mother, how it still is for you. He knows what it felt like to lose the student body election. He knows that moment when the brakes locked and the car started to skid. He experienced the slave ship sailing from Ghana toward Virginia. He experienced the gas chambers at Dachau. He experienced Napalm in Vietnam. He knows about drug addiction and alcoholism.

Let me go further. There is nothing you have experienced as a woman that he does not also know and recognize. On a profound level, he understands the hunger to hold your baby that sustains you through pregnancy. He understands both the physical pain of giving birth and the immense joy. He knows about PMS and cramps and menopause. He understands about rape and infertility and abortion. His last recorded words to his disciples were, “And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20) He understands your mother-pain when your five-year-old leaves for kindergarten, when a bully picks on your fifth-grader, when your daughter calls to say that the new baby has Down syndrome. He knows your mother-rage when a trusted babysitter sexually abuses your two-year-old, when someone gives your thirteen-year-old drugs, when someone seduces your seventeen-year-old. He knows the pain you live with when you come home to a quiet apartment where the only children are visitors, when you hear that your former husband and his new wife were sealed in the temple last week, when your fiftieth wedding anniversary rolls around and your husband has been dead for two years. He knows all that. He’s been there. He’s been lower than all that. He’s not waiting for us to be perfect. Perfect people don’t need a Savior. He came to save his people in their imperfections. He is the Lord of the living, and the living make mistakes. He’s not embarrassed by us, angry at us, or shocked. He wants us in our brokenness, in our unhappiness, in our guilt and our grief."  (Chieko Okazaki, Lighten Up) 

Alma 7:11-12 then tells us all of the many things that Christ suffered for us. So we know that the Atonement is so great and most of us cant ever express in words how much it means to us...so what prevents us from using the Atonement? Ego, pride, fear, anger, inadequacy, shame, judgement. Shame and guilt are two very different things. Guilt can be a tremendous motivator. With guilt you can hold up who we are against who we want to become and turn to the Savior. Most of us feel shame though. Shame is feeling "I am bad and will always be bad. There is nothing I can do about it." For women, shame usually stems from a web of un-achievable dreams. For men, shame usually comes from being weak. No change comes from shame. Guilt creates lasting change.  The antidote of shame is empathy. Empathy is what fuels connection. Rarely does an unmeaningful response make something better. A connection is what makes things better during a struggle. For example, instead of saying, "well thats too bad, that sounds hard." We say, "I don't know what you are going through, but you are not alone." The Savior is the one who can empathize completely and perfectly. He says, "me too. you are never alone." I was so grateful for this profound explanation about the Atonement. My testimony of the Atonement was strengthened immensely this week. I know my Savior suffered for all of my individual burdens, trials, and I know He suffered for all of yours. 

I read a talk this morning titled "Continue in Patience" by Elder Uchtdorf. There is a Mormon Message from this talk that I have watched more than a dozen times, yet I had never read the actual talk until today. I think we all understand patience differently, but most of us just think that it means to wait around for something or someone without complaining. This talk gave me a whole new perspective on patience that I love. So here are some of my notes from this morning of things that I loved. Patience is the ability to put our desires on hold for a time. Patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace. Patience is not something you can just obtain by asking for it, you have to work for it. It is an action word. It takes steady and consistent work-patient persistence-helps you learn. Patience is far more than just waiting. Patience requires actively working toward worthy goals and not getting discouraged when results dont appear instantly. Be patient with those you serve, they are imperfect, and like us, make mistakes. They, like us, want others to give them the benefit of the doubt. Never give up on anyone and never give up on yourself. Sometimes it is in the waiting rather than in the receiving when we grow the most. The promises of the Lord are not always swift, but they are always certain. So 1. courageously trust the Lords promises and His timing, 2. Act towares each other with the same paitence and compassion we seek for ourselves, and 3. continue in patience until we are perfected. Patience is something we can all obtain as we actively wait and endure well. 

Taylor was baptized on Saturday and it was a great day! Her dad was able to come and support her, which was truly a miracle. We had an incredibly spiritual lesson on Friday night as we talked to her about baptism and confirmation. She told us that she was very nervous and I had felt strongly all week that we needed to discuss why she was being baptized. Taylor had mentioned that her parents had asked her why and she couldn't give them a straight answer, so we wanted her to realize why it was so important. The spirit was so strong the entire time and by the end of the lesson, her nervousness was gone and she knew exactly why she wanted to be baptized. It felt like the right thing and there was nothing but good feelings that came to her when she really thought about it. It was an amazing day and I am so grateful for sweet sweet Taylor and the example she is. 

I can't remember if I told you all or not, but Sister Byrne finally got her visa to Brazil and left two weeks ago! I got an email from her this week and she is doing great! She had to go to the MTC in Brazil for two weeks before being sent out to the field again. She met Elder Holland and gets fed fresh mango juice, so sounds like she's going to be alright...

I am so grateful for my mission. This morning as I was thinking of the faith-building experiences I have had so far on my mission, I couldn't help but think that the Lord's timing was so perfect. I left on my mission at just the right time. If I would've left later or earlier, I could have missed out on so many experiences that I had and my mission would be completely different from what it is. I would not have had the companions I have had or served in the areas I have. It would a completely different experience, yet because I came when the Lord needed me to, I have had the most unique and uplifting experience I could have hoped for. I am so grateful that we have a loving Heavenly Father who guides our lives. He knows whats best. Patiently, actively wait and he will take care of everything.

I love this gospel. I am so grateful for all of you. Thank you for your love, support, encouragement, prayers, and kind words. You all mean so much to me! I can never ever express how incredibly grateful I am for this gospel and a loving God who has restored this gospel to the earth to be shared. 

Love you all with all my heart,

xoxo

Sister Allen 

An email from Sister Allen

Everybody, 

Its been a great week here in Anderson, California. Very hot. We have still been so busy and it has been such a blessing. We are racing around Anderson like chickens with our heads cut off. Its been a whirlwind.

Ashlee, our recent convert who was baptized back in April, turned 21 this week. Someone in the ward kindly suggested that we should throw a party for her at the church and she was set. Ashlee is super sweet.She is 21, but is at the mentality level of a 11-13 year old and has a rough family life. She is the only member in her family and has been passed around to different foster homes her whole life. Ashlee lives with her mom and step dad right now, but they dont really support her like she should. She hadnt had a birthday party in 5 years, so we were more than happy to put one together. It started out as just a small get together at the church, but ended up becoming a ward get together. We had karaoke (that ashlee was literally glued to the entire time...haha), a cotton candy machine, fun games, all sorts of super cute decorations, and a photo booth. A lot of the ward showed up to support her and it was "the best night of her life" she said. It felt really good to serve her in that way. The day of her birthday she ended up taking her parents out to Sonic to get an ice cream because they didnt have money, but she wanted a treat on her birthday. She is so sweet and deserved the party that we were able to pull together. It felt so good to do something good for her. She told us at the end of the night that she was so glad she could to spend this night with her "best friends", sister lyman and I. It was so sweet! 


Shay had a scary incident this week. We got a call on wednesday afternoon from Shay's daughter, Anna, telling us that Shay had been admitted into the hospital for a possible stroke. We called the Assistants to the President to get permission to go out of our zone to see Shay, but they didn't think it was a good idea. Sister Lyman and I both felt strongly that we needed to go, so we decided to call President Marston one more time to see if he would answer. He answered within a few rings and before we even had finished telling him the whole situation he said "Go, go. She needs you and that is most important." Sister Walker drove us up there and within fifteen minutes the relief society president and two other members of the ward were there in her hospital room. Shay ended up staying in the hospital until Friday night and they diagnosed her with Sarcadoisis (sp?). Her doctor told her that beginning from this time forward, she would have to quit smoking cigarettes, marijuana, no caffeine, etc. Basically the doctors order was to keep the Word of Wisdom. Shay has been cigarette and marijuana free for 6 days now. As I was thinking about this whole situation, I just kept thinking to myself that God did this to her for a reason. It made me think of the story of Alma the Younger's conversion in Alma 36. At the beginning of the story, Alma is going around doing things that are against the commandments. Denying the church, denying Christ and then the angel appears to him and he is struck dumb. This is the major turning point. He is out cold for a few days and is brought to the knowledge of Christ and is redeemed of his sins. After his conversion, Alma is so converted that he ends up bringing thousands of people to the church. He becomes a powerful missionary and passes on the gospel to generations of posterity. This story compares to Shay 100%. Pre-hospitalization, Shay was not making the best choices and breaking the word of wisdom, she was trying to do it all on her own. Hospitalization was a major eye opener for her. She realized that she needed to take care of herself more and needed to become fully committed to the gospel because she knows how true it is. Now, post-hospitalization, she is being the person that God needs her to be. Her will is more in line with His and she is willing to do anything to receive the blessings of the temple. She is the one who will help her grandkids gain a relationship with God and can pass on the gospel to the next generations of her family. Keep Shay in your prayers! She needs all the strength she can get. Smoking causes major withdrawals, but we are hoping that it will all pass through her system quickly. 

I think Heavenly Father made this weeks theme service. I learned a lot about service this week
and we were given so many opportunities to serve. I think that we sometimes only think of service as doing something for others. Usually someone in the community or the community as a whole. I was thinking about when I get home. I probably wont have the same constant opportunities to serve random strangers, less actives, or investigators all the time, but I realized that one of the most important places we can do service is in our homes. We learn in Mosiah 2:41 that when we are servings others, we are serving god. That being said, if we serve our families, we will make a more god like environment and our homes can become the next most sacred thing to the temple. We are told in the Bible Dictionary under temples that "only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness." Elder Rasband said in the most recent conference that "focusing on serving our brothers and sisters can guide us to make divine decisions in our daily lives and prepares us to value and love what the Lord loves."  Making divine decisions and becoming Godlike through service will create a celestial and sacred environment for our family relationships to be cultivated in. Remember, we are all going to be stuck together for eternity. :) Thats a long time, so you better learn to love these people! So next time mom or dad asks you to wash the dishes or clean your room, remember that life is so much better when we just serve one another. Just do it.

I love you all. I hit my 14 month mark tomorrow. Its really not cool how fast this is going by!

Dont forget to Pray and read your scriptures this week.

xoxo,

Sister Allen