Texas: Week 1

SO this is going to be the longest and most amazing letter you have ever read! BUT first I need to get through some technicalities. These past two weeks have been the craziest of my life! I have never felt so far from my family because I hadnt heard from any of you for a week or so before I left the MTC. I know some of you wrote me and I hope they are forwarding that on since there is no other way for me to get them. It might take a week or so for me to get letters because they send them to the mission office first who then sends them to my apartment. To send me packages they need to go to the mission office first so that they dont get stolen:

 

Hermana Allen

200 West La Vista Ave

McAllen, TX 78501

 

To send letters:

 

Hermana Allen

802 Haisley #1

Odem, TX 78370

 

Which brings me to the next point that some of you may not know: I was reassigned to TEXAS (temporarily)! We arrived last Monday (we had left at 3 in the morning!) which is why I did not get a P-day to write letters or email because the day was full of traveling and meeting the Mission President and his wife. I had the opportunity to call mom but when she tried to connect the phone to Miranda it kept ringing and hung up. It takes almost 200 minutes on a 500 minute calling card to make a call and it said that I didnt have enough minutes to make another call after it disconnected us. Sorry mom! I LOVE YOU!! I'm sorry I didnt get to talk to anyone other than mom and lindy but I love you all and I'm so thankful for your support! If you have written me a dearelder or a letter and I havent written you back yet, I will write you today if I received it. 

 

If I think of anything else I need to include I will add it but I want to get into how this week went and my awesome trainer! Being in the field was a little terrifying to me at first mainly because I was worrying like I normally do about things that were not important or that were unnecessary and I was making up. We arrived Monday in McAllen and it was like stepping into Illinois again which is not what I was expecting. I was not expecting humidity and mosquitos but I hear it is a common misconception. I thought it would be dry but hot so I was still appropriately dressed for hot weather (more or less). The thing that has been the biggest issue is I was prepared more for cold whether but the area that I am in is a little of both so I am still doing well with not roasting. They gave us a run-down of the whole mission and what to expect, what some of the rules were, so on and so forth. The mission president gave each of us an interview (there were 21 total: 8 visa waiters and 13 regulars) which took until 10:45 at night. By the time we each got to where we were sleeping it was 11:30 and we had to wake up at 6:00 the next morning. That has been the hardest struggle for me so far. I have never been so tired in my life! Anyway, the next day we found out our assignments and who our companion would be. FYI: I am in an ALL ENGLISH SPEAKING AREA. The area is Sinton, Texas but it covers around 8 towns or so, which means we drive everywhere as well. I really enjoy the luxery of teaching in english because it has helped me focus more on the spirit and how to teach with it. My spanish needs tons of work but my companion and I have a plan to work towards that each day. My companion is Sister Monsen (mun-son) and she is quite different from me but I have been so blessed that she is my trainer. Many of my weaknesses seem to be her strengths and vice versa, but the best blessing is her confidence in me and my ability to follow the spirit.

 

One such example of following the spirit was the very first day. I felt prompted that we should drive to Mathis to visit Sister Yoshimura in the branch (Mathis is the farthest area away and it was towards the end of the day so it would be using miles and very little time could be spent there). I continued to feel prompted and when we both prayed about it she felt like we should as well. Upon arriving in Mathis we could not find her house so we called her and she said that she didnt have time at that moment to visit with us. We then decided to visit some formers that my companion had been wanting to visit in that area but she couldnt remember where they lived. As we drove around town and eventually in the direction she thought it was in we came upon a road that was similar to their address but she didnt think looked familiar. I felt like we should go down it and upon driving down this forsaken road, we came upon a super creepy house. We stopped before pulling onto their property and she asked what I felt like we should do. We prayed and I felt like yes: we should go (can I just remind you this is my FIRST experience actually doing missionary work). We went and knocked on the door and the spirit was SO STRONG! I dont want to get your hopes up because nothing happened with this man further than this visit, but we did talk to him for a little and he said he wasnt interested. We turned to go and my companion stopped before we got in the car saying that she didnt know why we were there but she felt the spirit really strong too. I then remembered the story of the elders who went back to a mans house to testify that they did know Joseph Smith was a prophet and I felt like that is what we should do as well. We went back and we talked about the atonement and gave him a book of mormon and pretty much left but it was still an amazing experience. If nothing ever comes of him accepting the gospel I atleast learned a little more about following the promptings of the spirit and gaining confidence in those promptings.

 

Continuing on: we have a baptism happening next week! WOO! His name is Jesse and he is 52 or so. He has come such a long way and I feel privelaged to witness a portion of this change. Hearing how he was before and seeing how he is now is such a testimony builder! He was taking medication so strong when the missionaries first met with him that he couldnt really form complete sentences or understand what they were saying but he did understand enough to recognize the spirit they had. Gotta love the Holy Ghost! Anyway, he has been attending church for the past few months and just started back with the missionaries because he went on a lower dosage of his meds. The Book of Mormon HEALS!

 

This week was not all find and dandy of course. It was extremely hard too. There were many times where we felt promptings to go somewhere and nothing came of it except people saying they were born and going to die catholic. We did have a couple great experiences yesterday that helped us to see Heavenly Father's hand in all things. We taught a lady yesterday that let us in just because she wanted to let us have the chance to teach someone because everyone else said no. The spirit was so strong and when I recited the first vision (in spanish because I dont have it memorized in english --> good thing she understood spanish!) the spirit was sooooo strong. I have never felt it like that before. I normally get a chill sort of feeling of comfort that starts in my back and travels down, but this time, I felt like my entire body was bursting. It was not bad in any way like some may think, but it was so peaceful and happy. When I pointed it out to her she said she felt it too and that she knows that the Book of Mormon is true. She could feel that, but she did not want to set a date to get baptized. We are meeting with her again on Tuesday so lets pray she is in my next letter! I'm sorry my letter was not actually as amazing as I originally said but I wanted everyone to read it! I have more experiences but I am out of time.

 

I love you all!!! Thank you so much for everything and I'm sorry about not being in contact for so long! By the way I will be here for AT LEAST 6 weeks total (5 more weeks). I am hoping to get my visa to Argentina soon, but we will see.

 

LOVE YOU AND WRITE ME!!!! 

 

Hermana Allen

MTC: Week 5

So I have a ton to write about. First, I am going to be leaving for sure next week! I do not have my visa yet so I will get reassigned thursday after in-field orientation. I will get the chance to call home for 5 minutes so I will be calling mom at 8:20 or so Friday morning. If you want to hear where I am reassigned then call her before-hand and hopefully we can do a joint call. Since my companion is Canadian she will actually be going to Argentina on Monday at 7:30 a.m. so I will be missing her like crazy.

Second, RICHARD G. SCOTT spoke at devotional last night!!! One of the best nights of my life and it was exactly what I needed to hear. He focused on prayer/ communication with our father and how much of a privelage it is. He also left us with his apostalic blessing to learn and master the language. It was so great because after we sang and the girl got up to pray to end the meeting he hurried back up and said a few more words. He said that the Lord has called us to succeed and not fail. He will not abandon us and He knows what we need. He knows what we will become. He will help us recognize the strength that we already have that you did not previously know. AMAZING RIGHT?! My favorite part was when he said that the principle to ask in faith is to have confidence. He also said something that I felt like I should write down and share in my email which is about receiving answers to your prayers. He said that if you feel like you have not received an answer ponder sections 6,8, & 9 in Doctrine & Covenants and see/review if He has already answered you. Elder Scott said there are three ways God answers our prayers: 1. feel the confirmation and peace from the Spirit, 2. stupor of thought (you do not feel good about the decision you have made/feel like it is wrong), or 3. you feel no response. In times where we feel no response Elder Scott said that we should thank our Heavenly Father for trusting us. The whole discourse was amazing and I am incredibly blessed to have been there. I was actually 10 feet away or so, so that was awesome! No one knew that he was coming. Usually there are rumors that an apostle is coming but this time I didnt hear anything. Total shock for everyone!

Next, I listened to a talk by Elder Bednar that helped me understand teaching so much more. I have no idea what it is called because it was never stated on any of the advertisement things but it is all about doctrines, principles, and applications. He said that the doctrine was the "why", principles were the "what" and application is the "how". Elder Bednar said that the reason we have so many issues with home teaching and other principles is because we focus on the how. How to make it better or how to force others to do it, but he said that what we should be focusing on is the why. Why is home teaching important, or why is a family struggling to come to church. If people understood the DOCTRINE behind the commandments then he said that there is no way they would not keep that commandment. He used 3 Nephi 9:14 which says that they understood in their hearts. When we understand the doctrine it becomes written on our hearts.

The Last main spiritual thing I want to talk about is Relief Society on Sunday. We had Mary Edmunds come to speak to us (I had no idea who she was either before I heard her talk), and she told us a bunch of stuff about missions. She has served four! It was cool for me because I got to see the future me. Seriously, though, she is a bit of a quack and everyone loved it! So all my weirdness that will eventually stew to overflowing will be generally accepted in an old lady. This is the wonderful future I can look forward to!

Now to the funny things. The Elders in my district were eating jello one day and decided to test its elasticity by shaking it as hard as they could from side to side and then up and down. It eventually escalated into jello flipping and Elder Allen (no relation) flipped it perfectly over on the place. It was funny but then he was going to do it again for someone who hadnt saw him do it and that time he missed and it landed on the table. Let me just say that the jello did not change one bit the whole time. Even landing on the table it didnt fall apart. I laughed like crazy. OH! Also, every gym time I play volleyball and yesterday when we played, two other Hermanas in my district joined us. It was probably the best game I have experienced yet, but the funny part was that one of the sisters was trying to kick the ball back to the server on the other side. She kicked it and hit Hermana Alexander in the leg (she had kicked it pretty hard too) and the ball came right back to her, so she kicked it again but this time hit Hermana Mills in the face who was standing right next to Hermana Alexander. It was the best thing ever and I laughed for 5 minutes or so.

There is an Elder Christofferson in our zone that is one of the most amazing singers ever! I wanted to cry hearing him sing Come thou Fount and then he sang How Great Thou Art. I love my zone and district and I cant wait to start my mission. I am extremely nervous but It will all work out well. I know it will. I wanted to send pictures but I cant find the Hermana that has them. Please continue to write me. I want to hear from all of you! I love you all so much. I'm so excited to share all of these experiences with you.

Hermana Allen

MTC: Week 4

This week has been a roller coaster just like all the other weeks. It was so wonderful to have a break from the normal schedule for conference and be able to invite our "investigators" to hear the prophet speak. On Friday night I tried to go to sleep early which back fired because I didnt really sleep much the whole night. It was 76 degrees in our room and I was roasting. I would wake up because of that then would stay awake because someone was snoring. I was a little grouchy all morning and then when conference hit I realized how stupid I was being. I tried to stay awake for the whole thing but I missed a lot of Elder Eyring's talk. Never in my entire life have I tried to stay awake so hard. I took notes to help me but they make absolutely no sense. I can barely read my hand writing and the words dont add up to anything. One thing I wrote (just to give you an idea of what I mean) was "love everyone minister unto us." I have no idea what I was going for there so maybe you can help me out. Lack of sleep has slowly become less of a trial for me, which is nice. This last week during language study I was trying to stay awake during Tall (an online learning language program) and when I was done with an assessment I submitted it and looked over what was wrong and right. I only remember answering 4 of the 20 questions and 14 of all of them were rightly marked. It freaked me out a little that I couldnt consciously remember saying any of that stuff, reading the questions, or marking the answers.

After General Conference our devotional was actually a little fireside given by vocal point (a musical group from BYU). They sang come thou fount, elders of israel, where can I turn for peace, I need thee every hour, and my favorite: noyanna. Noyanna (not sure if that is how you spell it) is a song combined with come thou fount and some african words. The words translated into "are you going? are you going to heaven? we are on the path, are you coming with us?"

Everything has been going well and I have been trying to speak in spanish more. I am scared a little to be thrown in Argentina but I also am incredibly excited to learn more and be used more in the work of the Lord. Today we met with the Argentina Consulate and signed the papers necessary to obtain our visas. After this we only have to wait. Hopefully we will go on time but honestly I have no idea what is going to happen. I think I could get my visa on time but if not then I will most likely be temporarily reassigned to some place in the states. I really just want to go to Argentina to get used to their accent and start the work there, but if I need to be in another area I know that is where Heavenly Father wants me.

Funny things that happened this week?: Canada and I practiced door contacting with Hermano Clarke on the 4th and it went pretty well.  We did it with 3 or 4 "different" people so it was awesome practice. At one point the door contacting was hilarious because Canada said me gusto instaid of much gusto. Me gusto means I please myself. When he corrected her after (which he did in a super loving and friendly/gentle way) we started laughing like crazy. I finally stopped laughing and we were about to knock when Hermano Clarke storms out of the room abruptly which scared the crap out of me and I thought he was going to pretend to be a mean investigator but he only came out to ask us about our schedule for that day. I was laughing so hard out of partial fear and hilarity. I didnt explain it as well as I can in person but if we were in person you would be laughing it up.

Hermana Canada and I have been teaching our investigators about the plan of salvation. One of our investigators is David and we planned to do a 3D plan of salvation with him. We made little things that he could step on to represent each part of the plan of salvation. When he got to earth life we started throwing paper at him to represent his trials. He laughed with us as we threw paper at him (he threw it back playfully) and the lesson went really well. We teach our other investigator (Enrique) tonight and we are making a mini house out of cardboard and nail files (we couldnt find popsicle sticks) to represent the works we do in this life. It is not a perfect house on purpose so that when we talk about the atonement, it can fix all the mistakes me made in the house. Enrique works construction so we thought it would be a cute way to apply it to him. Both ideas were Hermana Canada's so I am grateful I have her as a companion. I am trying to be more creative as well but I have yet to come up with anything too crazy. I love missionary work and I love being an instrument in the Lord's hands. I love you all!! Write me people! 

Hermana Allen

MTC: Week 3

First of all I will probably get my visa on time (if not around the time I will leave). We got fingerprinted yesterday to prepare for the Argentinian Consulate meeting next week. It is going to happen on my p-day so I probably wont email at the same time and I will have to do my laundry at another time. The district that is soon leaving might have to wait for another week or so; we dont know what will happen, but they get to go to Salt Lake next week instead meeting here at the MTC.

We had another district leave this past week, which was pretty exciting but also really nerve wrecking to think that we will be in the same position in three weeks. The district that came in last week is all going to Chile which is pretty exciting. I've gotten to know the guys in that district really well and one of them is like my little brother. I will find some way to adopt him into our family :). They are all pretty sassy but it is fun to play volleyball with them. We have another district coming in today that is all going to Utah.

I'm going to mention a few other random things before I get into the amazing spiritual experiences of this week, k? Ok. Coming into the MTC I was sick for the first couple days and then got over it and now I have a stupid runny nose all the time. A couple times I have forgotten tissues in meetings and I felt like my shirt was going to start looking like snot. Not that that is a good mental picture I just wanted to convey how miserable I was in those few moments. Mom, I forgot to send you my tithing in my last letter! Sorry about that. It will come soon. Also, THANK YOU FOR THE PACKAGE!!!! It was wonderful and I ate my companion's jellybeans before I read that the other bag was for her, so I just gave her the rest of the candy. :D

So Hermana Patterson left to Costa Rica yesterday morning at 3 a.m. which was bittersweet. I'm excited for her to go out and serve but it was nice seeing Lexi everywhere and sharing this experience with her. I love her so much, but she is going to convert the world so I should support her!

Now to the point you have all been waiting for! Well it is the point that I have been waiting for because the spiritual experiences are great for me to review. So last week I was struggling to feel the spirit. I had felt it in all of the lessons but I felt like something was off. I felt like Hermana Canada (I never said her real name which is Chelsea Ernhofer- weird to think of her as anyone but Canada) needed to have a companionship inventory but we were so busy all the time I didnt know how to approach that situation. We were getting along fine, I just felt like we were on different pages. One day last week it blew up in our faces and we had an hour and a half long companionship inventory. We laid everything out on the table and for the first time in a week I felt the spirit overwhelm me and comfort me. We talked about everything that had been going on between us and within ourselves. It was really hard but also really great. Our lesson was right after that and it went beautifully. There are always places we can improve, but at that point we followed the spirit and taught with unity. The companionship inventory we had was spur of the moment in the hall outside our classroom so when people left for dinner and came back for dinner they say me crying. Wonderful. I didnt even notice the people passing until Canada asked if I wanted to move. After our lesson with our investigator the zone leaders called Canada and I into the other room with one of the other girl companionships. They gave me and another girl a blessing which was one of the greatest experiences of my life! 6 Elders holding the magnificent priesthood all placed their hands upon my head to give me a blessing of comfort. It was one of the many blessings and miracles I have witnessed already. It was exactly what I needed and Heavenly Father knew it.

I also had an amazing experience when Sheri Dew spoke last Sunday. She gave the most amazing devotional and it blew my mind. She became my favorite person in that moment. She reminds me a lot of my teacher Sister McManus at BYU-I and I think they would be best friends if they knew one another. Anyway, she talked about 3 main ways Satan succeeds in driving us away from the gospel. He 1. tries to confuse us about who the savior is and what He has done, 2. tries to confuse us about who we are and what our purpose is, and 3. satan tries to confuse us on how we receive revelation or how Heavenly Father communicates with us. Those points were all great and I learned so much, but the one thing that really stood out to me was she said if we wanted to know what Heavenly Father thought of us we could just ask. That night I did and I have no idea how to explain in words what happened, but He answered me in a very personal way. I know that my Redeemer lives! He loves us and wants us to succeed in this life. He continually teaches and humbles me as I am learning how to draw closure and rely on Him. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and I have the privelage to declare that to the world!

A couple days ago I heard myself speak in spanish and I broke down. It wasnt a normal breakdown where I cry and feel frustrated, it was "I am done." I felt so stupid and slow, which has NEVER happened to me with learning. I have always felt confident in my ability to understand and get good grades, but grades are not the determining factor of whether I pass or fail at the MTC or in life in general. I lost all motivation to learn spanish. I stopped praying in spanish and I havent really talked to Canada in spanish for a while. I needed to do something to change my attitude so I talked to one of my teachers (Hermano Clarke) about it. He had struggled with spanish and I figured if any of the teachers could shed light on what I needed to do it would be him. As we talked and then read, in Mosiah, about Alma and the people's burdens it occurred to me that Heavenly Father is not going to change anything for me. I will not change to english (which I wouldnt want anyway) and the only thing He can do is comfort me and make my burden feel light. As I was pondering on the fact that it wasnt the weight of my burden that was bothering me, it was the fact that I hated my burden, what would happen then? How would He help me with that? At that moment, I realized that He wasnt going to do anything. He told me that I was just going to have to get over it. I will have to swallow my pride and do what is necessary for me to continue on the right path. He is not only preparing me for my mission but also for the rest of my life.  In order to fulfill my greatest desire then I have to overcome this obstacle. I also learned that I am going through this so that I may be able to understand someone else's situation when the time comes and they feel stupid, but at the time that answer was not what I wanted to hear. Anyway, He is humbling me and I am learning to love it!

Hermana Allen

MTC: Week 2

Where to start?!

 

So the day after I sent that email I got some letters and it was exactly what I needed. I felt so loved. Just to remind everyone: I forgot to put my box # and my MTC address thing. My address is MTC Mailbox #40 and the next line is ARG-NEU 0423. I leave the MTC on April 23rd if my visa comes through but they have been having some problems with that so I doubt that will happen. Before I forget: Mom I need my waterbottle still. They gave me a container that filters water but it wont carry it (they say I CANNOT store water in there). I also need moleskin that I forgot to get from you, and no show socks! I need way more no show socks than I have and so I bought some nylon ones at the bookstore that I hate because they are a joke. Also: I forgot to pay tithing before I left! I havent had the chance to write anyone because we are only allowed to write letters on p-day and I have been trying to obey with exactness (SUPER HARD). I will write you today mom and either include the money for tithing or if you could just get it out of my account. So I know some people would like to donate to my mission but the bishop never told me how so Mom please ask the bishop how people donate to my mission fund.

 

I laughed at your email mom. The part where you were talking about having breakdowns when I get stressed: SO TRUE! I beat myself up alot when it comes to learning the language and teaching the gospel in that language. Heavenly Father has been putting me under a lot of pressure to help me grow and I can see a significant difference in myself and what I can handle. I have been reminded multiple times throughout the day that Heavenly Father is proud of me and what I am doing. This is where I'm supposed to be; my testimony has never been stronger and my conversion process is just that: a process. Our teachers are absolutely amazing and I'm so sad we dont get them for longer than 6 weeks. The first "investigator" we taught was named Hugo and we went through five lessons with him, but then he surprised us all and he turned out to be our teacher! That was a big surprise that we all enjoyed so now we have two teachers and a couple Zone Resource Teachers (ZRT) that help us a lot. I love being here and growing. I have learned about my talents and more about turning outward.

 

My companion and I are still really good together. We had a day last week where we were not on the same page and I couldnt figure out why. Neither of us could understand eachother and it just kept getting more and more frustrating as the day went on. That was one of the days I had a little breakdown because everything was so overwhelming. I didnt feel like I was progressing because everyone is learning what I already know and then I couldnt connect right with my companion. When I prayed that night I poured my heart out and for the first time listened to Heavenly Father with real intent. The second I climbed into bed after my prayer, the thought came to me that the only thing different we did that day was not wake up at 6 am to read scriptures together. I have been so blessed to receive revelation continually. We talked last week about the fact that every session in every single temple in the WORLD is praying for us. We have the prayers of millions and I do not look forward to the time when those prayers cease and I get released. I know there are many many many more trials to come that will put me through the fiery furnace but I'm beginning to appreciate those trials. I love doing HIS work and forgetting myself in the process. I love studying His gospel and strengthening my relationship with Him. I know that Heavenly Father loves me and has called me to invite others to come unto Christ and accept the love and blessings He wishes to bestow upon them.

 

The last thing I want to talk about is the biggest tender mercy I have received yet! I have to be quick because I am over my time but on P-days we get the chance to go do endowments at the Provo temple. Most people know how much I LOVE the temple and I have missed it so much since it have been a whole week since I had went last (this was last wednesday). As we were getting ready to go I couldnt find my temple recommend anywhere so I thought it was in my bag in our classroom (our classroom is on the fifth floor so it is the biggest PAIN to walk up those stairs all the time). We walked up the stairs and I still couldnt find my recommend which is when I prayed to be able to remember where I put it. When I finished praying I remembered that the last time I had it was when I switched bags with mom after we were done in the Salt Lake temple. I remembered distinctly that I thought I need to put my recommend somewhere so that I dont forget it but I didnt remember if I had done it or not. I had been looking forward to go to the temple ALL week so I tried to focus and think of where else it could be. I felt in my coat pocket and found it but I do not remember at all sticking it there. Even if I did, I know Heavenly Father was blessing me in that moment. I felt the spirit very prevelent in the temple that day and I am so grateful for that tender mercy. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Send me mail!!!! If you do not want to send me hand written please send me mail on dear elder. I dont have enough time to read email. My mailing address is updated on my blog: just click the picture that says "send me mail" and it will take you to the page that has everything. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!!!

 

Hermana Allen

MTC: Week 1

This first week has been absolutely phenomenal. I have learned about gifts that I didnt know I had and I have felt the spirit as my constant guide. My companion is absolutely amazing and I love her! That has been the biggest tender mercy Heavenly Father has given me. She is from Canada so I call her Hermana Canada. The first few days were pretty hard. Most people know I'm pretty hard on myself when it comes to learning so when I was first reviewing spanish I was struggling  with remembering it and I had a few breakdowns in those first few days. I feel better now and I love everyone in my district! The Hermanas found out all of the other Hermanas first names and it is really weird to think that that name is what everyone usually calls them. I have been struggling with music and movie quotes because I knew I quoted and sang a lot when it was applicable but now it isnt allowed and I catch myself doing it quite often. My spanish has been improving so much and I feel confident enough to carry on a conversation if I use all of my effort. We have class on the 5th floor so I have been getting even more exercise than the hour we have each day. The MTC is crazy full! There were tons of people speaking russian in the spanish building because they were leaving either today or yesterday morning. Before the MTC I was a little jealous that some people were learning Mandarin or Russian but I recognize that my insecurities would have been ten times higher if I were trying to learn anything else. Heavenly Father is awesome! If any of you ever get the chance to watch the talk given by Bednar called Character of Christ do it! It changed my life and made things that I had already known, clearer. I think I was a little naive before coming here thinking that it would somehow happen slower than it has but we taught our first "investigator" in spanish the third day we were here. We have taught him three four times and I think we are going to switch this week to a new investigator. It is hard not to get attached though, because you love them so much you dont want to not see them anymore. My english is getting crappier if you havent noticed. Switching back and forth from english to spanish is very different and I seem to lack my previous spelling ability.

We have some AMAZING teachers here. We have two helpers that come in all the time and then a constant teacher called Hermano Harris. He got off his mission 5 months ago and he served in Uraguay. Anyway, This is going to take me the longest to cover which is why I saved it for last. I love all the devotionals and spiritually uplifting seminars that we have. Everyday I learn something new and I feel Heavenly Fathers constant love for me. I have learned to pray in spanish quite fluently and I am so excited to have this amazing opportunity to spread the gospel. There are so many wonderful opportunities here to serve and grow. Our devotional yesterday, given by Scott D. Whiting, talked about the fact that the MTC is an incubator. We are in a controlled environment with perfect conditions to grow and learn. The whole thing was just amazing! Afterwards we talked about how ANY weakness you have will come out in the MTC no matter what, which explains why my knee has been given me a little trouble. It hurt a little yesterday, but not to the point where I couldnt walk without pain. Well my time is up and I dont know what anyone wants to know.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Hermana Allen