Elder Allen and Elder Dial

Evan is celebrating his 1 year anniversary of diabetes.

I talked to Sister Hardy and asked her to make his favorite dessert...DIRT PUDDING! She is one sweet sister!

We didn't email on Monday because the library computers weren't working and yesterday we were in Riverside all morning for Elder Dial's doctors appointment. Riverside is a lot better looking than Moreno Valley!

 

 We saw wild DONKEYS!!!!!!!!! They walk around the mountains here and we might go donkey hunting some P-Day with our NERF guns!

 

We went to the temple this week and it is such a cool temple it is pretty big and I had a great time there. After the temple we ate at a place called Cafe Rio and it was pretty good but the pork was a little too sweet for me. I got a burrito and they are huge! Bigger than Chipotle's too.

 

Earlier last week we blessed a ladies home in a trailer park and it was awesome! It was a mom and her daughter at the daughter's home. They told us so much stuff like how the daughter, Alma, wants to quit smoking and drinking and we took her cigarettes that night! We have been back multiple times and are teaching them and her two sons who are really cool! They are on date to get baptized at the end of the month but might have to move it back if they don't come to church.

 

Last P-day I switched the Gshock watch I bought when I first got here for a different one because some of the paint scratched off.  That watch was $110 and I switched it for a $150 g shock and only had to pay $2 difference because there was a coupon they gave me. This on is cooler because it is like Ethan's where it is solar powered and stuff like that.

 

I am running a little low on stamps too so maybe send some at the beginning of next year.

 

Has it snowed there yet? Take pictures when it does and send them here because it has been 70 degrees here all week.

 

I started driving and learning the area because you all know how good I am with directions lol

 

We have knocked on doors with dried blood on them. Cops were running around the other night looking for a guy with a machete. There were also 2 shootings this past week also. So it gets pretty crazy out here but I know I am safe!

 

At church on Sunday a member of the 70 came, Douglas F Higham, and spoke to our ward. He served in the state of Washington Spanish speaking and hasn't spoken it in 40 years and gave his whole talk in Spanish and it was really good!

My Spanish is improving but I am not sure how my speaking is. I still only say very little in lessons. I understand it really well but when I speak it is a bit harder. I did have a dream the other night where some people were speaking Spanish and it was weird.

 

Well I got a call from President Smart while walking out of Walmart on P-Day and told me that Grandpa Allen passed away. I cried because I knew I wouldn't see him when I got home but I know where he is and it is a lot better than here. I didn't know much of the details till I just read some of the emails and it is best that he didn't live in a nursing home hooked up to machines. I will miss him.

 

Well we got work to do today so I will be back next week and I can't wait to Skype on Christmas!

 

Elder Allen

 

Oh ya can you send my likin park song I played on the piano out to me?

California is so different than Delta!

This week has been awesome! Elder Dial warned me that the work that we did this week doesn't happen very often. The mission goal is to have 20 lessons a week with 7 member present lessons out of those 20. It is also normal to only get 2 to 4 new investigators a week. Since we have started blessing homes we have been finding tons of people! Last week we got 12 new investigators and this week we got 18! We also had 27 lessons and 9 were with a member! We have been going to the ghetto and the field is super white and ready to harvest. We just need to pick the wheat from the tares. 3 of the new people we found this week we met them on the doorstep and blessed there home and asked them to be baptized on the 23rd of December and they accepted! I love missionary work!!!

 

Here are all the notes I wrote down:

 

We had our zone meeting on Friday and after wards we ate at Chik Fil A and I got 24 nuggets, fries, a drink, and an amazing peppermint shake! I spent $17 and I won't do it again. That's a lot of money! It was really really really good though.

 

Since we have been doing a lot of work around in the Ghetto I have been getting known around there. We ran into two black guys and said we were representatives of Jesus Christ and they looked at Elder Dial and said are you Allen? He said no and pointed to me because I have went on exchanges there and blessed some homes without Elder Dial. It was super funny though because these two gangsters knew my name. The ghetto is awesome!

 

I don't know if I will be able to send presents because I don't have lots of money. I will try and do something though!

 

We have been listening to Cee Lo Green's Christmas CD and it is sooooo cool you need to get it!

 

We helped a member hang lights this week and I was in a tree in my shirt and tie and it was super fun! I also got some pictures of some crazy lit up houses we stopped by too.

 

One of our members are in need of money so they sold food in front of there house and at our dinner appointment that night she told us to go over there to eat and she would pay for us. Me and Elder Dial ate so much food! We had about 10 tacos, 6 quesadillas, and a hot dog each! It was really good!

 

One thing I really want to say and tell everyone in the branch. A lesson without a member there who testifies and teaches with the missionaries is almost a waste of time. Members are so essencial in this work. Help out the missionaries there so I can come home to the Wauseon WARD!

 

This story is cool. We blessed an older womans home and got a return appointment with her. When we went back she had her daughter there along with the daughter's husband. They just lost their son. He was a marine. We taught the Plan of Salvation and I even cried at the end when I testified of the happiness it brings. They accepted Book of Mormons and said they would read and I gave her a blessing of comfort. It was the most spiritual lesson I have been in and I loved it.

 

I want pictures of all my family! Including Aunts and Uncles!

 

I had really good enchiladas this week covered in beans and they were amazing! The next day however I was on the toilet soo long. All I can say is I destroyed it!

 

On Christmas we will be skyping at a members house and we won't be emailing that week. I want to see everything on skype! My chickens, Mazie, the Cats, and I guess you guys too.

 

Mom I will try and best describe a P-Day. Today we woke up at 5 and worked out at the Zone Leaders appartment then came home and got dressed. We went to Best Buy to get Elder Cook a GPS and then came here.  After this we are going to Walmart, the mall, and then to Burlington. We have a Zone activity at 12 which is baseball and then after that we will come home and I hope to write a ton of letters because I am falling far behind on those. By the time I am done with that we will have dinner at 6 and then work the rest of the night. P-Days are super busy!!!!!

Elder Allen's church building

It looks so different from our buildings in Ohio!!

 

The Dirt Pudding was awesome thanks a ton mom for sending that to Sister Hardy!! She is one cool lady!

 

Fresh and Easy is a grocery store

 

Well I got to go!!! Thanks for all the mail I get from you guys it is awesome!!! I love you all

 

Elder Allen

 

This was taken on Thanksgiving Day

(Sent to me through email from a Sister in California)

This past week was SUPER fun!

How was Thanksgiving for everyone? I heard some funny stories and I wish I was there! My Thanksgiving Day was awesome! We woke up early to play football in the morning and we played for 5 hours with 2 other zones in our mission. All of us were so sore the next day it was hard to move. I don't want to get old! After that we had a dinner at a younger couples house and that is where they sent the picture from where I was in P-Day clothes because we were allowed to wear them on Thanksgiving.  We had some great turkey there and some rice that had carrots, hot dogs, ketchup, mustard, and some other stuff in it and it was really good! After that we went to another dinner at 7 and had tamales  chicken, beef, and some other stuff and when I stood up I thought I was going to have a heart attack, no joke, I had a sharp pain in my chest. I don't want to eat that much again!

Day 100 was Black Friday! We went out at 5 in the morning and put our money together and got a 56 in LG flat screen TV that came with a PS3 and 4 games! Just Kidding! So who went shopping? I know AJ did! What were the great deals and did Amazon have anything special going? Black Friday is probably my favorite holiday out of the year, so I want stories!

Well Mom sent me the best package I have gotten yet! I got dehydrated eggs that taste really really really bad (definitely a survival food), some protein bars, the military scriptures that I really wanted and I will send a picture of what I did with them, a gift card to Walmart (bought 120 eggs yesterday with it!), and some other stuff that I can't quite remember, cuz I probably ate it.

I need to write a ton of letters and I didn't have time yesterday so I am planning on doing it next P-Day. I am saving all the letters that I get so I know who I need to write!

We met a crazy guy in Walmart who believed Jesus was a sinner until he was baptized and didn't even believe baptism is important. I don't understand some peoples train of thought!

We had transfers this weekend! Elder Kaneao and Hosmer got transferred out along with Sister Fankhouser. The new missionaries that are here now I hear are cool so I am excited to meet them!

I also got a guitar from Elder Dial and will try and learn in my free time that I don't have so Cyrus send me some tips!

Well we also had an amazing week with finding and teaching. One of our investigators asked us to baptize him! Also one family that we taught on Saturday came to church the next day! We also found 12 new investigators which is awesome! The Lord is defiantly preparing people and December will be full of baptisms! I love missionary work and being out here serving these people!

I love all of you!

Elder Allen

Elder Allen getting ready for a baptism

 Another picture of the font

Well this week has been a little sucky and pretty good all at the same time! I have been having a blast all the time though because California is super awesome! There are going to be some funny stories in this email so I hope you like it!

 

The first story happened on Friday. I was talking to people in Walmart parking lot because we have to talk to 10 people a day. I gave this one guy a pass along card with our number on it and said if you need any help just let us know. At dinner that day we got a text saying this guy needed help moving. I don't want to write out the whole conversation so I will summarize it. We set up a time to help him on Saturday at 7pm and he told us he was gay and we weren't too worried about it.  By the end of the night he sent us a message saying maybe we shouldn't help him because he thought I was super hot and he said a ton of inappropriate things and it was the gayest thing that has happened to me! We definitively didn't help him!

 Circle K???

 

The other story was Saturday night we went into circle K to get a drink and this black guy who was so incredibly drunk and high came up to us and was mumbling something to us and we couldn't understand. We eventually found out he knew we were Mormons and said he wanted a million dollars. We laughed and said we didn't have that much money. He said ok and we went to get our drinks. He then came over to us and asked if we believed in God and we said yes and he then said then why can't you give me a million dollars? We just said again that we didn't have but $3 on us and he said oh and walked away. It was super funny!!

 

Last night me and Elder Dial went on splits with some members because we needed 10 more lessons to meet our weekly goal.  So me and this returned missionary who has been home for 3 months went to a super ghetto area and knocked on doors. Now our mission president has taught us a new door approach that is super effective. We go to a door and we say we are representatives of Jesus Christ and that right now we are going around blessing peoples homes and families. It will just be 5 or 10 minutes can we come in. It works really well! We go in their home and bless it and mention everyone's name individually and right after ask them to be baptized. No one accepted baptism last night but we got a lot of return appointments and we blessed 8 homes. It was the most fulfilling work I have done in my whole life! I love missionary work!

 

So now I am going to write down my notes.

 

I need contacts soon and don't know how to get them

 

I ate pig skin! it was basically soggy pork rines. Not too bad.

 

It has been about 70 degrees here except today its 60 and a little chilly

 

Me and Elder Dial have been listening to Christmas music and wearing our Santa Hats everywhere its super funny.

 

We have 3 progressing investigators. 2 are an older couple and they are pretty ready for baptism and the other is a guy who doesn't know much and is a little feminine but he is progressing too.

 

I want to go to a couple thrift stores today because I love them!

 

I can't believe Ethan is on Honor Role! Is it your first time? lol I love you Ethan and miss you a ton!!!! Write me soon! PLEASE!

 

I am pretty sure any wrapped present will count as a gift in me and Elder Dial's competition. Thanks Lizzy!

 

Why is everyone moving? Tennessee and now Rhode Island this is crazy!

 

Well my time limit is about up. I love all my family and I really appreciate all the support you give me while I am out here.

 

Love,

Elder Allen

This is Elder Allen's mission

 These are some of the stakes he is living around.

 This is his stake! (area)

Well sorry my email is a day late. We thought since it was Veterans Day that the library would be closed but I don't think it was. It has been a good week, but I am a little sick right now. It started yesterday and I hope it doesn't bother me too much.  Well here are the notes I wrote down!

I got the Shirt Stays Mom and they are awesome! Thanks a ton!

What am I going to get for my 1st Diabetes Birthday? It is Nov.29!

One cool things I noticed is that we have 3 Marquez families in our ward. So Jill and Cisco need to move out here to make it 4!

One cool thing people could send me is Book of Mormon action figures! They are cool!

I went on exchanges this past week with Elder Cook on bike and it was super fun! We are both new (greenies) and we had a great day! When we would go to talk to people and say we are representatives of Jesus Christ, some would say "No hablo ingles" and I would say "Yo hablo espanol!" and they would either look really bummed cuz now I could tell them about the gospel or really excited because I'm white and can say 3 words in Spanish!

I SAW SOME CHICKENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm sure he was so EXCITED!

I want to go to the thrift store sometime on P days but we are so busy doing other things so that stinks.

Hey Dad could you send me the book called "The Book of Muscle?"

I'm not too good about testing myself but Elder Dial is defiantly improving.

So I have ate a ton of different food but the weirdest is probably pigs feet with hominy   It was really good! No joke! Some other things that I might eat in the future is tacos de legua (tongue tacos) and menudo (intestine) apparently they are pretty good. We get fed really good here!

This is his church building

 This too...

 and this too!!!

I have attended lots of baptisms of other missionaries here and even spoke at one this week which is really cool!

We have given lots of blessings on people and over there homes which is really cool.

Don't send packages to the Hardy's because I get them later than usual.  I got Robyn's package and wrote here a quick letter and then I got Morgans later that night and didn't have time to write a letter. But I loved the packages and have eaten most of the junk food already but next time pick out some healthier food so I don't get super fat in these next 2 years!

He says he loves the palm trees.

 Elder Allen & Elder Dial

 More palm trees!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was pretty cold on Saturday and got down to 56 degrees but yesterday was incredibly nice at 76 or somewhere around there.

On Thanksgiving we are planning on playing foolball for a couple hours which will be fun and then we will just go to a bunch of members houses and eat a TON!

Carmen Arevalo was the hermana that I baptized.

Thanks so much everyone for all your support and help that I get from you.  It is amazing out here and I am loving every day!

Gracias

Elder Allen

For all of you who think about Evan and his diabetes!!!

His A1C (3 month test of blood sugars)  It was 5.8 which is REALLY good.  It is AMAZING for him to not be on insulin and still doing this great.  He just got this test done this last Monday. One year ago he was told he had diabetes and his A1C was 12.7 and in 6 weeks got it down to 7.2 and it kept going down and he is still doing so good. I know its because his Heavenly Father knew how bad he wanted to serve his mission!  Some people don't understand this when I tell them but as a Mom I know how BAD he wanted this and nothing was going to stop him from doing it!  I have had people ask me if he was pressured into going and I can say not at all.  He is such a great son!  I love him so much!

I Baptized!

Well hows it going? I have had lots of fun this week and we did lots of work! We actually had a baptism this Saturday and I did it! I didn't even mess up either! I am going to do the usual and write about all the notes I wrote down this week.

 

I got mints in the package and that was awesome cuz I was going to ask for some!

 

Sorry about the letters again I am defiantly going to send a bunch out today, I promise!

 

I saw a lizard this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanted to catch it so bad and get a cage and everything but they are so crazy fast!  Elder Dial said I will see them all over, so I can't wait!!!  Also apparently there are wild donkeys around here too.

 

On Halloween night we had to be in by 6 or at an organized zone activity. So we watched the other side of heaven at the stake center and then had a huge NERF battle in the gym and it was AWESOME!!!

 

Hey could you get the BOM CDs in Spanish? they are on the church website for like only $11!

 

Also I got the little scriptures you sent but did you have extras? my little book of Mormon is pretty much destroyed so could you send the extra ones you have cuz apparently they are hard to get and I could sell them to the missionaries here lol

 

Could I get return address labels to the mission home?

 

I am planning on sending the pictures today too.

 

Some of these next comments will be answering some of the ?s in your emails

Elder Dial is the one that drives because I am not supposed to drive for the first 3 months

 

It is so funny that Mazie is in heat! hahhahahahaha

 

Hey could you check at the goodwills for the skinny ties with flat bottoms? I got one here and it is so cool!

 

So NYC with Paolo and his family was fun! That is super cool! I think California is cooler though lol

 

I loved the package you sent mom.  I missed my basketball shoes. It was funny you sent it to the members house though. My address will be at the bottom.

 

I will put my A1C in the letter if I get it done today.

 

Walmart cards should be fine THANKS!

 

I just don't need a mattress pad at the moment k mom : ) If I have a gross mattress in the future then I will got buy one

 This is Elder Allen's food cupboard and the bottom shelf in the frig is his because it has 2 coconuts on it!

 

I haven't grocery shopped in a while but we are going today and I will try and stay under $20 but you know me at the grocery store right mom!

 

Church is getting easier to understand what they are talking about but it is hard to make any comments

 Nice work out room in his apartment!

Me and Elder Dial are getting along well and working out in the mornings really hard!

 

We have Multi Zone Conference on Thursday so that will be really fun!

 

Transfers are in about 3 weeks but I will defiantly still be here for at least a total of 3 months and even then I think I will stay for a little longer.

 

I haven't seen President Smart since I got to Moreno Valley.

 

Send me some powdered eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I am having fun out here and doing work.  I am always exhausted when I get home.  I love all the awesome things everyone does for me here and love all of you. Thanks!!

 

Elder Allen

Here are some pictures of his apartment!

 Elder Allen's Desk (send him a picture and he will post it up)

 He has his own bathroom!

 Looks like he needs my help cleaning!

 Elder Dial and Elder Allen's Cali flag!

 Nice linen closet!

 Elder Allen's very own closet!

View of his apartment

Second Week in California!

Well this week has been really good! I write stuff down throughout the week so I am just going to go through this list.

 

Whenever missionaries come over to my apartment and see my family picture they always think I am younger than Ethan. It is pretty funny!

 

Could you tell me my balance on my 5/3 card every email?

 

If anyone really likes me they can get me a Halloween/Thanksgiving present! Money is cool lol

 

Me and Elder Dial are going to have a competition to see who gets the most presents for Christmas  So if anyone finds anything that they want to get me for Christmas write "CHRISTMAS" on the package and I will save it. Thanks!

 

We did lots of service this week which got into our teaching and finding time.  We helped multiple people move and did some yard work too.

 

We have been looking for a couch for our apartment for a while now and were driving past Goodwill and saw a 3 piece furniture set in their dumpster! To make a long story short we took the filthy couches to our apartment and set them on our porch and they got stolen. Anyway we have some other couches lined up anyway so hopefully we can get them today or tomorrow.

 

One of the English Elders got his $700 bike stolen yesterday at church.

 

I need to buy a Nerf gun for a zone activity that we are going to have on Halloween so I am trying to save up and get a good one lol

 

I went to Burlington Coat Factory and bought ties... I know I shouldn't have but they were sooooo cool! I got 4 and they were either 7.99 or 12.99.

 

I have been slipping up on the letters recently and will try and write a bunch today and get them out too.

 

We got 4 new investigators by knocking on doors which is really cool and 2 already have a baptismal date!

 

It has been a little cold so today we are going to Goodwill and I am wanting to find a sweater

 

I am also wanting to send pictures next week so I will try and take more this week.

 

We have an hour time limit here which sucks and I feel rushed but its cool though.

 

There is an Elder Romney in our mission and Elder Dial said I look like him but I saw a picture of him and I don't think so.

 

Hey mom can you send my white and black Nike zip up basketball shoes?

 

Elder Dial is really cool. We make fun of each other all the time and get along well.  He isn't as cool as Elder Beeston yet though. I don't remember how many siblings he has but he is the oldest. 

 

I don't have a mattress pad but my mattress is pretty new mom. I do have a blanket and found a comforter in my apartment too.

 

My Spanish is still really slow and its hard to contribute during lessons which sucks.  I can recite the first vision and that's what I do and explain some other simple parts of our lessons but I know it will come.

 

At church yesterday we had our Primary Program and the kids are Spanish Geniuses!! The songs were in Spanish too and that was cool.

 

We have a baptism coming up for an older lady soon but need to organize everything and then we have about 5 or 6 others who are on date and some are progressing. We are doing work and its fun but I can't wait to be able to understand more Spanish!

 

So how is everything going? Anything new happening? I still don't know my address to my apartment and it is only like a day later that I get my mail.  I will send the apartment address next week if I remember lol. Thanks for all the support I am getting it really helps!

 

Elder Allen

So as I read this I thought you didn't need more ties and could of used the money from buying them for the nerf gun. I have a problem with him not having a mattress pad and I think I'm going to send one!!!!  I don't know why it bothers me probably because I was raised with using them ALWAYS!  Thanks mom...I'm glad I was taught that.  I kinda got a little scared about the couch and the bike.  Where is this kid living???  I thought a great place. Cool how he was hearing the primary program on the same day!  I really liked that. So cool how he is seeing people join the church and we are too!!  I wonder if it because we have missionaries serving???  I BET!  About the money he wants he loves buying things & he is a great saver about it too.  I think he either was in the MTC so long he wants to shop or being in his first area he needs more things right now. He has been to a Walmart it shows on his debit too.