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