Time is Flying!

October 7th, 2013

So this week was pretty crazy because it was full of meetings! We still got our fair share of lessons in but this week should be better. Some of our investigators came off date too because they couldn't make it to conference. We have some others on date too and we should be having some baptisms coming up!

Conference was super cool! Elder Holland's talk was really cool! It reminded me of how cool the resurrection will be. Elder Uchtdorf then destroyed less actives and those who get offended at church. Hopefully we can use that when we come across someone who needs it.

I got to see Elder Laparra for the last time at the meeting in Riverside and he is leaving to go home in 2 weeks. It was pretty sad but he better keep in touch!

Nothing else too big happened and I gotta go to the bathroom so maybe I will jump back on in a few hours and add something!

Elder Allen

GO BUCKEYES!

Half way through the transfer?!

September 30, 2013

Not sure what this is but I will find out!

Well I don't have any notes for the week so I am going to have to wing it! I also am going to throw in some random stuff too because my mom wants to here stuff like that haha!

Well I was able to see Elder Richards 3 days last week and I learned a ton! We had some great lessons and had 7 people come to church. One was a family of 5 and they are really cool. They have a 4 year-old daughter and I had to play tic-tac-toe in my planner with her all through sacrament just so she could sit still and not worry about leaving. They are pretty cool though and the dad really loved church and so did their other older kids. The mom is a little hesitant but she should come around. 

Yesterday I got to go back to Moreno Valley, my first area, with Elder Prieto, my 2nd companion, for a baptism! It was pretty cool! I got to give the talk on the Holy Ghost and it was cool to see everyone from that ward! The girl who got baptized was Katrina. She had to get married to get baptized and she got married on Saturday and then baptized Sunday. I love baptisms and seeing the people I used to teach. 

I have to get some page protectors, pens, and print pictures out at Walmart today.

I will probably buy some bread too and make some eggs in a basket! I made them earlier this week and I love eating eggs! I buy the flat of 5 dozen eggs at a time but they usually last me a month.

Happy Birthday Ethan! I miss you man! Have some fun back home for me! Send me a picture of your bow and your new scope for it! I love you bro!

hummm well I have still been keeping my journal going and I am excited to be able to look back and see how I felt at different points on my mission.

We had a ton of fun last night! We put all our beds in the living room and talked a bunch till we fell asleep. This is a super fun area and our apartment is super cool.

Well I gotta go! I miss you guys!

Elder Allen

PS Go Buckeyes!! 

Well there goes another week!

September 24, 2013

I am having a blast here! We are tearing it up! We had a baptism this past Sunday. Christian Estrella lost his records and he is 16 and wanted to change his life and come back to church because he was into some bad stuff. It was a pretty easy baptism because he was for everything and grew up in the church when he was little.

We were able to see Elder Richards of the 70 and he taught us how to improve our teaching and how to be better missionaries and leaders. I learned a ton and we did what he taught in one of our lessons and it worked great. We are going to be a lot better now. Elder Santos and I kind of got in a couple of arguments this week but we talked it out last night and we realize what we need to do to improve our companionship. I got a lot to learn from this Uruguayan!

Well I am still excited to be here in California! It is cooling down here and I am excited for the upcoming holidays too! The Hispanic food is super bomb and I am going to want rice, beans, and tortillas when I get home haha!

I am going to send my card home and its got tons of pictures which are pretty cool. There is a place in my area here where a scene from the first Fast and the Furious was filmed and we just took pictures of it this morning! It is where towards the end of the movie they hide the cars by a water tower and then they drive down to rob a big truck. Elder Santos loves the Fast and the Furious movies and can basically quote the whole series.

Well I gotta go but hopefully I can help you fill the gun safe when I get home dad! We only need like 45 more guns right? I miss you all! Have fun in Ohio! 

Elder Allen

PS Go Bucks!!

Pretty Good Week!

September 2, 2013

Well like it says, we had a pretty good week. Nothing too crazy happened at least that I can remember. So I will go on with my notes.

I ripped my suit pants yesterday. From crotch to crack! I sewed them this morning though and so hopefully they will last me another year. Good thing I have another pair of black pants though!

I finished my first journal! I am going to start my second and probably last one tonight. It is cool that I will be able to go back and read what I wrote down.

We get to eat at Dairy Queen for free once a week and its so good because its so free! I usually get a lg smores blizzard too which is super good.

We have transfers this weekend and hopefully nothing too big happens because I like who we live with and how our zone is. I love meeting new people though because I feel like I make tons of friends every 6 weeks!

We had a baptism yesterday too! Her name is Adriana De Anda. Her 3 daughters got baptized before I got here and she basically has been ready this whole time she just works on Sundays and this was her 3rd Sunday she got off and so she got baptized! She had family who were members come from Sacramento and tons of people came from the ward and it was full!

There should be a picture at the bottom

Well I think that is all I got. I hope everyone has a good week! I miss ya!

New Transfer!

September 9, 2013

Elder Allen

Well nothing too big changed in our zone. I will still be here with Elder Santos and will still live with Baltz and Prieto. There will be 3 companionships training and we have to go on exchanges with them and the district leaders so that is 6 exchanges! Our teaching pool is a little low so we have to find some more people. We have to drop some people too because they don't want to come to church or do anything on their own. This was the fastest transfer ever though! That 6 weeks flew by! I am nervous because I always here that time always speeds up more and more. Other than all that nothing else happened and I gotta go! I hope you all have fun! I miss ya!

Elder Allen

I got another email right after his from 

Elder Baltazar and it said this:elder allen is soooo annoying 

Looks like he has a great friend!

Elders Santos, ALLEN, Baltazar & Prieto

Well I had fun this week! I didn't take notes though! So I will be winging it!

We have been taking slow-mo videos with Elder Baltazar's camera! We were kicking stuff and dropping water balloons on each others faces HAHAHA!

Nothing too crazy went on though, we just taught lessons, talked to people, drove around, and ate food. Notice that sleep wasn't in there! I am pretty tired!

 I am saving my beef jerky and eat it during study time, but more would be cool! 

One of my favorite scriptures is 1 Nephi 4:6 It is how Nephi is guided by the spirit and didn't know what he would do. That is like me out here because I have no clue what I am doing half the time but I know I have the Spirit and it will guide me. 

Well I am failing now, I have nothing to email about so sorry.

I miss you all and hope you have fun back in Ohio!

Elder Allen

P.S. I went to the temple this week!   I wish I could go back but I have to wait 3 months!

His email to me was really long...so I'm glad mine was this week sorry to all of you!  We shall hear from him next week!

Elder Santos & Elder Allen

Week of August 12

So I am loving it here in Hemet with Elder Santos! We have a ton of fun and we do work too. We had a baptism yesterday and we have some scheduled for next week too! Roberto Martinez got baptized and he is 18 and he is pretty cool. His aunt and uncle are members and tons of people showed up for the baptism.  I love living with Elder Baltazar! We have fun all the time and hang out and wish Elder Beeston was with us. Anyway here are the notes I took this week.

I went on an exchange with another missionary in Idyllwild which is a town up in the mountains. There should be a picture with me and Elder Santos on the way up the mountain. The area is pretty dead up there though and the people aren't too accepting either.

I am going to need a weekly update on my balance for 5/3

I have seen people who used to live in Moreno Valley from my first area who live here now which is pretty cool!

We have been super busy! We have tons of people to teach and we have to go on splits sometimes so we can see everyone.

I can't believe I hit a year in a couple days! Time has flown by and I am going to start having my lasts of everything like last Thanksgiving and stuff like that! I hear it is like I will be home in no time which is weird!

I plan on sending my memory card home soon too.

I have been way better with testing and insulin being here and I feel super good. Hopefully Elder Baltazar and I start running soon! We are going to get so SWOLL!

That's all I got written down! I miss you all and hope you have a good week!

Elder Allen

Week of August 19

I can't believe I only have a year left! It has flown by so fast! I am low though so I am just going to write my notes from the week

When does OSU start playing?

I started running with Elder Baltazar this week and so we will be getting in shape!

I was on exchanges with the APs and that was fun! Elder Moser is super cool and he is serving a 3 year mission which ends in February. I t is a long story and it was something with getting a visa but he is super cool!

I am super tired

Thanks for the package! I LOVE BEEF JERKY!!!!

I see Elder Johnson once a week here at P-day activities. It is cool serving around him. We are in the same stake but not the same zone.

We had 3 baptisms yesterday. It was Jose Pineda, Felipe Gomez, and Arturo Garcia (there names are in order with the pictures). It was a super cool baptism and we have a lot of work now because Arturo's family can get baptized too. I would write more but like I said I am low and need something to eat.

 I love you all and miss you

Elder Allen

PS  Diabetes SUCKS!! HAHAHA

These were my emails from Evan this week

he said he didn't have time to write to you all but here's the news I got.

Well I haven't got your email for this week for some reason!  I sent to many pictures to him!! Had to re email him. I did get transferred and my companion is Elder Santos and I live with Elder Prieto and Elder Baltazar! Baltazar is one of his favorite MTC buddies! I love it here in Hemet but I don't like being a zone leader! It is just so much more stuff to do! So many meeting too! Elder Johnson says hi!  Johnson is from Toledo Ohio. We are basically in the same zone! They split the zones here in this stake and he is in the other zone. I did my blood test too so the results are going to be here any day now. I am telling you it will be higher than 8.5 though. I am doing better though so don't worry about that. I might need some more lantus sometime! I am going to hit a year in 10 days ! Isn't that crazy! I can't believe it! I hear from tons of other missionaries that time gets even faster after your year and you start having all your lasts like last thanksgiving and Christmas and stuff. I am going to be home in no time I guess. I love my mission though and I hope it doesn't go that fast! I love you mom and sorry this isn't a big email and I can't write a big email for everyone this week. We have to use computers in the stake center too which stinks. The library here isn't open on Mondays. I love you a ton MOM!!! I can't believe your two big boys are gone! I already miss Ethan too and its been almost a year lol. 
Well I don't have time sorry! I love the pictures and I don't need too much just lantus insulin. I love my companion Elder Santos he is from Uruguay and we have fun. He is pretty goofy  I was around him in the Jurupa zone though so I know him already. I gotta get going but I love you! I email at 9 every morning from now on so you gotta get your emails in a little earlier lol!!

Elder Allen

He seems to be doing real well and I'm so proud of him being a zone leader!!  He may not like it but we all know it will be a great leadership training for him.  I'm so glad he loves what he is doing it makes being away from him so much easier knowing he is having fun and serving too!  I don't have any new pictures yet I will need to get on him about that!  I need to up date him companion section of the blog.

He has a new address on the blog so write him he loves mail!