Moving North - - -

To:
momof6boys@ymail.com
Well Elder Omer and I had a great last week together. We had another person baptized. Can, he also got the Aaronic Priesthood. We did a lot of Chinese tracting, and found a lot of new investigators. So due to the fact Elder Allen knows no Chinese he is getting the boot to way up North to Timmins the most north area of the mission! So I will probably freeze. We went to Niagara Falls last week so my stay here wasn't in vain I got a picture of the falls. Plus I made Chinese friends. I decided I hate goodbyes too. Told a recent convert I was leaving and had to hear her cry, its so sad you make such great friends and then off you go. I miss the Tas so much and I am going to miss Sue too. They are such good friends and I will probably write them often. I got a great package from my mother! And I have been reading the books she sent me, they are a good read I read during my spare time. 30 min at meals and then an hour at night. I should almost be done with the first book today or if not after my long trip up north. Sad thing is now I have to drive again. And I don't think president listened to me when I asked not to drive in the winter! oh so up in timmens I am going to be follow up training. So that should be way fun.... Maybe there I can send pictures so that will be exciting you will be able to see pictures again. As for packages and stuff just send them to mission office for now. I don't know the address for my new home. All I know is its going to take 12 hours to drive there!
Well tell next time.
Elder Allen
P.S, sorry for my horrible skills at writing back to people i have been busy but I woke up early to pack this morning so I can write everyone back today! i love you all look forward to hearing from you

St. Catharines

Well this week has been great. We found six new people who wanted to learn more. Well it is hard not to just jump into work with elder Omer its great to be serving with him. Our first night here we had about 20 min. Tell we had to be in so rather then me unpacking we went staight to work. we went to what I thought was the middle of no where and we go to the street and see a person walking our way abnd he turned out to be chinese and ainvited us over to his house right then to teach him. yet that didnt turn out to be so hot, but it did turn out to be useful Eldedr Omer taught him in chinese about prayer. Then the next day we met up with him again and he brought two friends along with him! Oh yeah so I am the English missionary and Elder Omer is the Chinese, so we teach a lot. Sad story is we have way more chinese investigators then English. Mostly cuz we are on campus a whole lot where we are not suppose to be and he can contact in chinese cuz no one knows what he is saying so I just do nothing. I do laugh with the suprized chinese people at this goofy blonde hair blue eye missionary speaking nearly flawless chinese. I was talking to one this week and he told me my companion speaks better chinese then most chinese! We also picked up a new English investigator this week too, he is from Clagary. He said he knew some friends that were members but they never told him anything about the church. It made me think about how much I shared with my friends. its sad that we dont really know who is interested, but we sometime put no in their mouths for them. Progressing we have two china. Can who is getting baptized on Sunday as of right now, but as Elder Omer and I talked about it we think it would be good to push it back, so we can have time to really teach him everything else. Then we have Jamie who is a sweet girl who just seems so elect, but has a few hard struggles but she loves the prayer thing. She is just so good at it. The first time I met here she was like really excited about how she prayed and how it helped her. Its one of the best feelings to see people come closer to God. And well we had a great baptism this week, Su! She is just really amazing girl. She is going to be a great missionary someday. The night of her baptism we left it to go downtown to contact and she calls saying she just saw us and wanted us to come over. So we went to the bus stop and were talking when some people walked by who we contacted and she chipped in her testimony and how listening to us has improved her life so much. Then the next day she was confirmed and we were teaching like 3 people at the school library and she was there and joined us for a lesson. Then the person who we were teaching asked if we had any commandments and Su just says, yes we do but we are not talking about that today, maybe another time. Here she handdled it so well, like she studding PMG herself!
I am doing great with Elder Omer. he is really fun to serve with. And to be honest I love being Junior again! :) In his Language study I spend the hour cleaning our apartment which is really bad. I am just trying to get rid of the mold and gunk that is everywhere in the apartment. Today we are going to look for a new apartment though .I am learning a lot from Elder Omer, and I am working on my listening too. Well not just my listening but my body language in my listening. i am the worst at matching my body language to my feelings I almost feel sorry for those I talk to.
In my studies I started a new study of the Book of Mormon. I am marking a whole lot so my reading is going way slow. I started at the begging but I do that for the first 30 min then look at a lesson we are teaching that day and it takes me to a chapter in the Book of Mormon then I read that chapter and that normally takes me to the end of my study! Hopefully I can get the apartment clean this week so I can just extend my study during Elder Omer's Language study.
Well hope you enjoy my week as much as I did. Love you all!
Elder Allen

A new chaper

So Pawsay was Baptized this weekend in Kitchner with her friends there to join and support her. I am going to miss th Ta family so much. Another thing touched me this week and that was the sacrifice done by the Woodstock Branch. We really have amazing members here that help the missionaries so much. Brother Leigh has really stepped up to his calling with everything and is helping the work go forward. Sister Jones is just a fun lady, and is the perfect young woman's president. And she is a great help to us and the young women we are teaching here, Tamlasay and the Francis girls. And the Gomez family, a family who knows who they are. They understand the role of our father in heaven and will do anything it seems like to help investigators come closer to Christ. They sacrificed more then anyone could have every asked for this week to help Pawsay's baptism take place! Without them I don't know if it could have gone as well. So I wanted to thank them. Yet as much as I love this area, it is time for me to say goodbye.
I got a call from president this morning telling me it was time to pack my bags and i was departing this evening. Not sure who or how I am going to tell anyone, but It is here. There is a lot happening here and I know Elder Brown will do great carrying it forward. So as for me I am heading to the Hamilton Zone into a nice ward in St. Catharines Ontario, right by Niagara Falls. I will be serving Zebra, by that I mean my companion is a Chinese missionary and i will still be English, way fun if you ask me. I am way excited to see what the Lord has planned for me there. Oh yeah I also put in a picture of our district with a Zone Leader on the far left.
Hope you enjoy the Baptismal pictures. I love you all.
Love,
Elder Allen

80 Rockwood Ave 301B
St. Catharines, ONT L2P 3P2

What a Week!

Well ok so the Karen field is so white here and Paw Say is getting baptized this Sunday and we have about 8 others who are so ready, but just wont set themselves to do it yet. So we had a fun trip to Kitchner and we taught over 40 Karen people and then went home I added some pictures of it today! hope you enjoy them. I love these people so much and hope to be able to have enough money saved up to go back to Thailand with my Ta family in 2012, then refer some more friends I make there to the great missionaries in Thailand. Christmas is coming so soon and I am just way excited! The weather is getting cold, I brought out the scarf yesterday! We also came across this loaded community that gate was left open so we went tracting in there for an hour, wow, those houses where huge! We also had a great Zone Conference this week, It was mostly ran by the assistants, and was such a wonderful meeting. Also we went to the rememberance day service and that was way fun so I put some pictures from that on here too! Next week there will be white! :)
I love you all, and hope you have a great week.
Love,
Elder Allen

Birthday Celebrations

So much to tell, a few things I will leave out this week... in hopes my wishes come true and I will share it with you then and it will be one big great surprise. Well the week started off slow, then my birthday came up and I went to the Ta's where I think I had my second best birthday of all times the first one of course would be the one I had at home with Aunt Paula, My wonderful grandparents, my parents and of course the best brothers of all, and dont forget Rigo! However at the Ta's ma Paw Say made me a great Thai Spaghetti for my dinner and then we brought out the cake! Which of course was so good. Ta Mla Say got mad at me for not being happy, I really do stink at being happy when its all about me! Yet I put on the happy thankful face and we had a great time! After the cake we opened my presents. I had a new hat made by Paw Say and I got a new purple shirt from Karen State(look it up, its the best place on Earth). Then as is custom They had the singing time and we went around singing songs of worship! I have never had the Spirit at my Birthday Party like this one. And probably the best of all Paw Say asked me to Baptize her this month! :) So life is going great. Thank you all so much for everything you have been doing for me I love you all!

Love,
Elder Allen

Pictures! Yeah!

Pictures are worth a thousand words, at least to a Missionary mom. Derek sent these pictures in this weeks email. I hope you enjoy them as I did.

Week one of fun and joy-

Well, this is a week to remember for me, our Investigators were not able to attend church this week because of a funeral and work, but they will be there next week! We have set up something that is going to be super amazing. So next week is Fast and Testimony meeting, and after the Sacrament there is going to be a multi language musical number to start off the testimony meeting by the missionaries and friends a.k.a our investigators and a few members. We will be singing I need thee every hour! I am super excited for it and so our our investigators! This area is running itself, and I feel I am just blessed to be in it at this time! Mandy is doing the first step this week on her divorce so that should be done soon, if all goes well! :) which means she may be able to be baptized at the end of October too. But it depends a lot on her ex and how much he puts up a fight. It is in my prayers that it will go well, and Mandy and Bro. Fisk will be able to get married, but I know the Lord has his timing and he knows his children. So it will happen sooner or later. I just want sooner, I love that family so much! Briar this week asked if he gets to choose who baptizes him, and we told him of course! The kid is great already talking about going on a mission a year after his baptism! The Ta's are doing pretty good, they haven't received any answers to their prayers yet, but I don't know, they will be joining us in the musical number on Sunday!They gave us a lot of referrals one of them being her son and his wife here in town who we are now teaching! And like three others in the states who have all reported back as meeting with the missionaries and going to church! This family is so great they just really need to be baptized! The Francis are doing great as well, we read in Nephi this week about the plain and precious truths being taken from the bible and we believe that it helped her with her question about why the Book of Mormon is the "most correct of any other book" even the Bible! We met Matt's fiance this week, she was happy to meet us, they will be coming to conference but not so sure about next week but we meet with Matt on Wednesday so we will be inviting him then for sure! Andy is great he is way Masonry so kind about everything this week we are inviting him to sing the English part with us on Sunday, We believe he will accept! So then he will come to church too, and feel that revelation through it! We met Boni's father Brother Proulx, and his new girlfriend D.J. and her daughter Megan, who we are now teaching too! Boni was suppose to be at church this week but was a no show! So we will just talk about it on Tuesday when we meet with them. We picked up one of our former Investigators Steve this week, he has been going through some drama, but we should be seeing him next week at church too, which will be way cool.

Elder Brown and I are doing great. Staying out of trouble, mostly because of our busy schedule! He has gotten mad at me once, because I try to get everyone in when they are available and it cost us a lunch and dinner break at times... Sunday we finally had time to go and do a lot of finding, but we felt it was better to get a hold of the investigators we hadn't seen in a bit and see how they were doing so we did some drop bys. I am glad we did because it helped a few of them and it let us know what was happening with them. District Meeting went well! Elder Hales did a great job talking about our purpose and extending commitments. That was the main theme of the meeting.. But even though Elder Brown and I are busy we find a lot of time to just laugh, he is a funny guy and its way fun to serve with him. The Stratford Elders are great too, they are so hard working, and serve as a great example to me!

OK so here it is my first night and there is a Zone Conference call with the District Leaders to talk about this transfer, and we are asked to set certain times for a district meeting, and they ask who will give one this Friday.. the line goes quiet and Elder Allen in his mind its you say you will, and then I am thinking no way ho say, but then my mouth betrays me and says I will!! So this week in my studies I studied the importance of extending commitments in preparation for the blasted district meeting I set myself up for. The District meeting went well though, I surprised my self for being able to instruct my district for an hour. And have now set myself to role play a commitment a day with Elder Brown so its easier when teaching and also to improve on following up with people when I invite them to do something!

Well have a great week I love you all!
Love, Elder Allen

Well, Time to grow up Elder Allen.

So transfer calls are in. I have been made senior companion my new companion is Elder Brown, and I am looking forward to meeting him. We had a great last week of the transfer! We had 10 people at church, it is looking good and Briar is set for being Baptized on Halloween! I am so excited for him. Baptism is one of the best choices one can make, it really is the gate unto the path back to our Heavenly Father. It's the entrance and we need it done as it is taught in the scriptures. So Woodstock is blooming with miracles and I am so excited to be a part of it for at least one more transfer! I have also been called to be the District Leader, and am a little nervous for the calling but I know the Lord calls and helps his servants! I have another companionship in my district in Stratford and a wonderful senior couple, who are an inspiration to me in my district! I am so sad to say goodbye to Elder Gilbert but its time for him to go back to his mommy in the land of never ending P-Days! :)I just hope I can carry in his footsteps and build on the progress he has started in this district! The weather is starting to get cool again I wore my suit all day yesterday. The Ta family gave a wonderful present to us too it is a memory shirt, in their traditions there are certain clothes they wear in times of memory where pictures are taken and they gave us some! It is prob the coolest shirt ever! So here goes nothing wish me luck and have a great week! I love you all and thank you for all that you do!
Love,
Elder Allen

Wow! What a week!

I got a package from home. Holy smokes mom you didn't need to get me all of that! I believe this counts for my birthday and Christmas! Thank you so much though, oh how my horrible day was made better by it. Did I ever tell you how much I like Neal A. Maxwell and his imagery, and when I heard of this book I knew I wanted it. I have already read both of them in my free time, and I am working on my second way through Joseph Smith. Wow! What a book that is, I let Elder Floyd read it too, he likes it as well! I loaned out the atonement CD the day I got it, it was a blessing, I put it in the car so we could listen to and the member we were teaching came out and said she feels horrible she repents of things and then does them again and she feels like she is mocking Christ. so i pull out the CD for her to listen to I hope it helped her and I get it back this week and look forward to hearing it myself. the other one was great as well. Oh life is hard with Elder Floyd he, hates me so much. I cant stop singing, its the only thing that keeps me sane! I love singing hymns, but he hates it so much when I sing and tells me to shut up all the time. But I am doing my best not to sing, and have been doing my best in the field. Bless Elder Floyd, he has been tracking along with me and we having been kicking missionary number butts! Ha ha! Last week we got the highest number in our Zone and our Zone had the highest numbers in the mission! That is except baptisms and confirmations, but those come! I think we will be having one with a date within the next two weeks! I am looking forward to it! I am getting good at making food out of nothing! Haha! I wish I had ice cream, but that's a no-no in this area, because one of us loves ice cream and I wouldn't be able to keep it all to myself. I am such a push over! Ugh! My journal entries are rough, I didn't send last weeks, I put them in the envelope but never sent them off! Then I had a rough time this week writing in them! Oh but hopefully I will send them off this week! I may have to get the surgery out here on my mission... I a getting pretty good a budgeting money... I should be able to live off what I am given by the church! Its easier here without having to pay for my laundry! So I have started a laundry fund in preparation for when I leave! Haha! Wow I am just moving forward, next week I may get transferred or may not not sure, But Aug 2nd is a holiday so i will have to email on Tuesday of that week! President Brower is way cool guy. He came for interviews this week and we had a great talk. He is a great leader, and is very active and sets his goals high, which I like a whole lot! I am looking forward to the next year and a half working with him! Wow its crazy that I have been out here for over 6 months! Somebody asked me a question about music that I used to love listening to , and I couldn't remember anything about it for a while, its crazy how fast we forget about things after not thinking about them! Thank you so much for that package and as I said before that was my Christmas package and Birthday package! Your are the best family a kid could ever ask for I love you all and hope you all are doing great! Tell next time, stay safe and have fun!

Love, Elder Allen

Hard times

I don't know what to say this week my mind is blank... It was a really busy week, we actually worked! :) got out to teach 19 lessons and 19 hours of finding! which is pretty good, and we were able to have 5 member presents. Oh how it makes my day to have an appointment with a family in the branch and they pull out having an potential investigator there! Woodstock is amazing and way beautiful place I wish I could get my pictures to load on this computer! but they disabled the application to do such! Ugh! Well we are all out of ks for this month. My wonderful companion loves driving the town too much, checking out "fiery darts" around the town! Well, on the plus side there is only two more weeks in this transfer! :) Maybe there will be a transfer.... who knows! I mean I like Elder Floyd as a person he is cool but he isn't a hard working missionary and I am all out of ideas to help him. Its really hard mom, and right now I am fighting myself and not letting me get depressed about it! I have cried myself to sleep twice this week, because of his harsh words. Well yeah, so there probably nothing I can put on the blog but I am out here and still alive, and trying my hardest to do what I have been called to do!

Love, Elder Allen

Another Week in Woodstock

Well, this week was full of fun. We had a lot of service done around the area. Elder Floyd got a threat of being put in an ambulance! Haha! But it was a fun week! We did a lot of finding, but didn't find anyone to really teach! Also the Zone Leaders from Kitchner traveled with us so I got to serve in Kitchner for a day with Elder Romney! It was a joy and a pleasure! The Zone Leaders are way busy so it was a busy day, and I got to see the life of a Zone Leader! Sunday we taught Sharing time in Primary, the class in church for the little kids! I sat next to Hudson who is a cool little kid. He played with the watch Shanel gave and loved it. I let him wear it for primary! I didn't think the little guy could read, but ugh kids are way to smart. He thought that it was funny a girl signed the back of the missionaries watch! Our lesson was how Jesus went about doing good. And at the end we had them color pictures of something they could do good this week. Hudson and I made a picture of us going out to teach people about Jesus! I didn't do to well in writing in my journal this week! I also lost it this week on Elder Floyd. Poor guy! He got to learn how a metal hanger feels! My patience went, he thinks it is funny to spray my face with a spray bottle whenever... and well after 2 weeks I had enough, of nice asking and hiding the dumb bottle. So I started my slashing with the hanger, to the point of drawing blood off him and then I get the bottle of water in my gut where I have a bruise now. After the struggle we went to church! Oh joy! Sense then we have talked and he now knows how much I hate being sprayed in the face with water all the time, and knows when I ask nicely to stop he needs to stop. Its been hard for me this transfer. My companion questions everything about the gospel and seems he doesn't really want to be out here so It makes me not want to work, because I feel like a hypocrite out there with him. But pressing forward none the less. He is also all out of money so now I have to budget even more so I can survive even more with him eating my food. He thought all that money I got was for food, but I then told him how it was for my personal supplies. Ugh sometimes I wish I could just be mean and crack down the whip! But ugh I don't know, I really don't think I will be serving with him next transfer, but I still have 3 weeks left in this transfer! Hope all is going well at home. Hope to hear from you soon. Oh and this computer wont read my camera so I can't get my pictures up on here! Ugh grumble!

Love,

Elder D. Allen

I have a washer machine in my apartment so I wash my one short sleeve shirt every other day. All though this week it has been pretty hot! Like 90 degrees out side plus an extreme measure of humidity! Really its just like home in Houston for me but Elder Floyd is from Alaska and doesn't take that well to the heat. He isn't really from Alaska, its like me saying I am from Texas! That is just where his family is currently living.
We had Zone Confrence, and the mission is changing. Mission are now becoming more intence. The work is going to be calling for more diligence and obedience from missionary work. With President Brower opening up this new system of work in our mission early we will be ahead of the game. There will be more training of missionaries to make us better at teaching but with that we will be out in the field less, so we need to make the time we are out there even better! I am way excited! The first presidency is raising the work effort "bar" instead of the missionaries this time. So now we will have to work even harder. Elder Floyd is moving, he doesn't want to be out here or work. Lets just say he is trying my patience even more then Kurtis ever did! However I have not punched him in the yet. The sloppiness is annoying to me too, so now I do all the cleaning in the apartment from dishes and making beds. Yes, I make his bed, its one way I can keep him from going back to bed after he is ready for the day. We struggle to get out and find but we get out there! He is out to get the #s and not to help people. if there is one thing I don't like about being out here is the numbers we have to report, its the lesser law of missionary work! I feel it is there to help those who need something to push for. I am trying my hardest to do what is right. I am even talking to President Brower weekly for advice. My fear is Elder Floyd throwing in the white flag because he doesn't want to do the work and then going home and loosing sight of the church! So I am trying to get us to read the Book of Mormon together, but he just speeds through the book and doesn't think of it! The area is coming along, but the members are just distant, and the work is moving slow! I have been calling all the members to see if there was anything we could do to help them or even come over and share a message! However we do get fed, but that's about it... actually last week we didn't get any meals, which was pretty lame, but oh well this week I am going to do my best to build trust in the members! I had a couple of crazy stuff happen but they are in my journal entries coming home! I am living in my grandmas heaven. All of these houses are very old and Victorian! The Library is even very old! They don't tear stuff down here they fix them up! Woodstock is very pretty and wonderful, and I am loving it. I have made another old lady friend, we do service for her. She is pretty rich and lives in an ancient mansion, that her father built! I make cookies for people all the time, it's the best! I work through the stomach! Haha! I cant wait. Tomorrow I am going to Kitchner, and I will be working there for the day with a Zone Leader. Walking the roads of a huge city! I am way excited. The Zone Leaders are realizing there is an issue in our companionship and I think they want to work on us separately, because it is not common for a Zone Leader to do a travel(exchange) with just an ordinary companionship. So I got my patriarchal blessing in the mail this week! President Middleton had another sent to me because I left mine at home, and that was a good lifter for me. I am so thankful for all the mail I get from everyone and It means a lot to me! Well I love you, have a great week!

Love,

Elder Allen

A new place

Well, I am now in a city of 36,000 people!!! There are a ton of people to talk to! Nothing too exciting though, and no new pictures. Last week we had a lady come to us and invite us over for dinner out of the blue, so this week we are going over and teaching her the first lesson with her family.... missionaries love dinners and love teaching, could it get any better? Oh and not to mention the firey dart pool outside of our balcony. That being a water hole in the woods that we can see right off our balcony where the neighborhood teens go for a swim! So its a place to avoid during the day! I live on the 8th floor of an apartment building, next week I will have to post pictures! Anyways well The doctors appointment went well. I dont have cancer! I am just going to have pain for a while and live off ibprofen for a while! Well I love y'all! And take care now! :)

Love, Elder Allen

P.S. Letters are always welcome

Elder Derek A. Allen

600 Chieftian #805

Woodstock, Ontario N4T 1S1

Saying good bye

To our beloved Missionaries
We have experienced throughout our lives the tender miracles of an all-loving Father who strategically places people and opportunities in our path with Heaven's precise timing. Such is certainly the case as we reflect upon our glorious years in the Canada Toronto West Mission that brought each of you into our lives. As the sun begins to set upon this remarkable experience our hearts are drawn to you and your sweet influence for good that has become part of our eternity. For some of you, our association was perhaps very brief, lasting only weeks; while many of you have blessed our lives for months leading to years. Notwithstanding the length or brevity of our time together, our love and admiration for each of you is without clock or calendar. As Sister Middleton has said to so many of you upon your return home, "You have left your handprint upon our hearts." The legacy of our "mission" privilege together began long before any of us were born and will extend beyond our mortal existence. Giants preceded us. We stand on their shoulders and have become part of them. Giants will succeed us and it is our responsibility to continue to make our
shoulders available to them. President Monson has said, "The success of a mission (or missionary) is best known twenty or thirty years later by the devoted discipleship he (or she) continues to demonstrate individually and is manifest through ones faithful posterity," When Alma reunited with the sons of Mosiah, "...he did rejoice exceeding ...and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the know/edge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligent/y, that they might know the word of God." (Alma 17:2)Thank you for your goodness; your diligence; your friendship; and your love. Thank you for the testimony that burns brightly in your souls and illuminates the souls of others. We pray now for the gift of "memory" that not only the experiences that have inextricably intertwined our lives will not fade but,more importantly, the feelings that have changed our hearts will grow more brightly with each passing year. May the Lord fill your lives with joy and may you always be His.
With Love and admiration,
President and Sister Middleton

What great people and leader. I will always be grateful I was able to work with these people.

Well I am off to a new area!!!

This week was great, I got the call a little early due to my doctor's appointment today, so I knew I was leaving just didn't know where to! So I am going to Woodstock which is just between London and Kitchener, good part is I am still in the Kitchener Zone! also Elder St. Pierre, my district leader is now a zone leader! So a lot of fun movement and next week the new mission president is coming, President Brower. Then Siter and President Middleton are off to home base. Along with Elder Bishop and Elder Peck! I loved serving in Walkerton and the people there! It was such a blessing to serve there in their branch and I especially loved the music environment there. With the opportunity to have a musical number every week! Music is such a blessing to me in my life, and has helped me through hard times. it is easy to see how the Spirit can work through it. But like most great Spiritual tools, Satan has a grasp of it too, with a lot of popular songs today! But as we avoid that and seek for virtue we will be blessed with it! I love you all and hope you all have a great week! Hopefully I can give you all the excitement of Woodstock next week and plus the turn out of the doctor. Even though I really think its nothing! :)
Love
Elder Allen

From a great trainer Elder Peck to a wonderful companion Elder Bishop

I love Serving my Heavenly Father










My Companion Elder Bishop












Elder Peck and I















These pictures were taken by a family in the Walkerton Branch! To contact this photographer;








Dena & Gaetano Della-Fortuna ….& baby Emma :-)

681 Queen Street

Neustadt, Ontario

Canada

N0G 2M0

Yummy Treat

Well this week was a little rough but nothing can hold me back! We started the week of with a travel. Elder St. Piere came down to my area and we did some tracting and teaching! Then to finish of the exchange we went out to ice cream! Hope you like the pictures





I also included pictures of my apartment!







Then after travels Elder Bishop and I were back in the game. Wednesday was an interesting day. We did some service at the Farm, Due to the huge storm we got on Monday last week (which to tell you Elder Bishop and I were like 3 blocks away form our car when it started to pour rain where you couldn't see 5 feet in front of you, and the hail started to come too! We got soaked!) a tree came down so we had to cut it up. After the service we went down to Brantford and 2 1/2 hour drive south! So I could see a doctor down there! The doctor knowing the distance we traveled ordered an ultrasound for me the next morning so we spent the night with the Brantford missionaries. With my hard time sleeping it was easy to wake up in the morning, so I went to work in the kitchen so I made Biscuits and gravy all from scratch so everyone could have a nice tasty meal. Then off to an ultrasound! Oh and just my luck it was another lady doctor! Ugh that is my second one! anyways during the ultrasound we had a good conversation about me being a missionary which led into the gospel! She was well either being very nice or she was actually interested. She didn't live in Brantford but did live in a little town just south of it! So I gave her a pass along card with a website she can visit to learn more! It was one way for me to take an awkward Doctor's appointment into a teaching comfortable environment! Then after that, we were free to return home! Well we started tracting right when we got back. the next day we started off great we taught two lessons at the same time. we were in the park down town and both taught people we contacted, the one I talked to was a lady we actually were trying to meet there. The lady I taught is now a new investigator. Then I got a phone call with a new appointment, for the cancer center down in Hamilton, wow my heart sank when she said who she was. Then getting informed that it was just to check to see if what I have is the worst. It is just so amazing to see the Lord's hand in this. It all started with a little nothing, but we found a something, and if it is the worst thing possible well, we got it so early its the best worst possibility! Anyways back onto happy thoughts! The Family we are teaching has been sick this past week but we are meeting with them tonight! I am so excited for this and cant wait to see what happens! Thank you all for your support and prayers. Until next week!
Love,
Elder Allen

:(

Well this week has been busy but great! Elder Bishop and I have been working hard out in the flaming hot country! Its been like 90 degrees out this week! We had an answer to our prayers though! Well from the first week I got into this area of the great and wonderful Walkerton Elder Peck and I have fasted and prayed for a dear sweet family! Well Elder Bishop has now been here for a transfer and a half and we are seeing the answer to these prayers. We are now teaching a family! The mother and father and their 4 kids! The oldest kid is 11 followed by a 10 yr old. With the two youngest being 7 and 4! Ah it was a joy to teach them the Plan of Salvation. The kids were active in the lesson with questions and reading. They all wanted their own copies of the Book of Mormon! The oldest kid even committed his family to be at church next week! Sweet! He said oh yeah we will be at church next week! the mom is the one who we have taught before and she agreed along with the rest of the family to read Alma 32 this week together as a family! Just as the gospel is made to do! To bring families closer together! With this family learning together, and coming to know of the happiness the gospel brings together. It is clear how much closer they will come! The mother made a comment at the end how they dont gather around the table and stay there that long ever unless there was food on it, she herself was amazed at her kids and their learning minds! Then on Sunday there was a Canada Conference! President Uchtdorf, Elder Ballard, Sister Stevens and Elder Pace spoke to us! Oh it was wonderful they all talked about strengthening your own testimony and the role of helping others gain one after your own! Oh and President Uchtdorf spoke for 50 min! Yeah no joke, there was an hour left to the meeting when he got up and I was worried it would only be an hour and a half not the complete two hours, but nope he did it, and it didn't really feel like it! It flowed so well and kept me listening to the whole thing! It is such a blessing to have such humble, wise, loving church leaders who speak to us today what Jesus Christ Himself would say to us. Well thank you for all your support.
love,
Elder Allen

Woot Woot!

Well this week has been great. Elder Bishop and I have been looking for new people to teach, we didn't find any real progressing people but we did find a few potential people to teach. I got mail this week, ah its been so long since I have got a letter in the mail and after walking around out in 30 degrees which is like 80 F plus 100% Humidity, it was a great way to just lay down on my bed and read it and relax. Oh, and one day before we came in we swung out to the lake to get some pictures so I hope you have a great time looking at those. Then after a fun week of hanging out with Elder Bishop in the Walkerton area, we went to London for an area Conference. Due to this being President and Sister Middleton's last transfer we had three Zones at Zone conference instead of our one! I was also able to meet up with old friends as you can check out in the pictures! At the conference president Middleton gave a great talk on the difference of the Light of Christ and the Holy ghost! And Sister Middleton got me my Dear John cake. When an Elder gets Dear John-ed by their girlfriend or in other words gets dumped or their girlfriend doesn't want to wait for them anymore! So if they call Sister Middleton, read her the letter. She gives them comfort words and then the next Zone Conference brings them a cake of their choice. And as for me I chose a strawberry cheesecake! Oh yeah and man is it good! Oh and guess what Elder Allen wrote in his journal for about half of the week, hopefully this week it will be a 100%. I am like a new person not having to take that medicine! I have energy once again and its great. Sad thing is I have to go see another doctor because it looks like the meds didn't work, or I have something else wrong, ugh why is it always me! I also gave a talk on Sunday on member missionary work! Hopefully the branch will start working as a team and bring lost sheep back or bring new sheep in! As it has been told by President Hinckley member missionary work is the way to go! Thank you all for your support I love you!
Elder Derek Allen.