Hey Yall (Sorry but I was serious about that yall thing),
Do
not worry, the title does not mean something bad happened, it is just a
fun pun that I made that is even more fun because Elder Newman does not
enjoy puns at all. He especially didnt like my joke that I am going to
make a band called Hispanic! At The Disco. I thought it was hilarious.
It could be the new Nacho Libre. Anyway, that is not what I am really
supposed to be focusing on now is it?
Monday (November 26th, 2018)
Today
was one heck of a P-Day. Today was another transfer day so we went to
the stake center to say goodbye to everyone and especially goodbye to
our dear friend Elder Chamorro. Wow, it sounds like he is dying but in
fact he is just moving on up to Porto Alegre to train a new missionary.
Afterward, we kind of just waited for all of the rest of the
missionaries to arrive, said hi to them and went and had a family night
with the family of Suelen and Marcelo. (Remember that family that I was
always talking about at the beginning?) Élder Inácio and the newbie wont
arrive until Wednesday because they are receiving training in Porto
Alegre but I am way excited to meet these two guys!
Tuesday (November 27th, 2018)
Today,
was a really slow day to be honest. I think it was partially due to the
fact that Elder Newman and I are really anxious for the other two
missionaries to get here so we didnt really work as hard as we could
have today. We need to be better at that. But we did have a good
conversation with a woman who is wondering if Jesus really will return
because from what she has seen, the world is too wicked for him to
return. I thought a lot about that. Probably, for Him, it would be
easier to just stay in Heaven and not deal with this wicked world, but
He will return. I know He will. We can always have hope for tomorrow
because He will bring the peace and the happiness that the world is
seeking.
Wednesday (November 28th, 2018)
Today
was the most hectic day of my mission by far. Tomorrow we are going to
have a conference with Elder Parrella of the Seventy so the missionarios
from Bage, Rio Grande and Pelotas are are coming here to our stake
center. Also, the new missionaries are arriving. Because we are one of
the apartments closest to the stake center, we had to organize a ton to
help people from other cities have a place to sleep. We only got in 2
real hours of work because a pair arrived at 5pm and we had to be on the
other side of Pelotas to get them, then our new amigos got here. Elder
Inácio is from Brasilia and has the best laugh ever! And Elder Rico is
the new one and he is awesome. He already spent 2 years away from home
at college so he is already used to it which means we can put him right
to work :) They are both awesome and I am excited for this transfer with
them.
Thursday (November 29th, 2018)
Today
was the conference with Elder Parrella which was called Mission Tour.
(Yes the name is in English and we are in Brasil. No I do not know why.)
It was a great meeting with Presidente Souza and Elder Parrella. They
offered some really great advice and I can testify that they really are
men of God that were called specifically for the callings that they are
in. They are both amazing. Afterward, we started showing the area to
Elder Inácio and Elder Rico. I stayed with Elder Inácio and we found an
amazing, amazing family. They have wanted to be baptised for some time
now but the missionaries moved away before they could be baptised. Wow,
thats what we call a miracle folks. We still dont know what area Elder
Newman and I will be working in. We will decide on Sunday because
apparently, we are the ones who get to decide.
Friday (November 30th, 2018)
Today
we continued showing the area to them and it went really well. It was
really a normal, very busy day. We taught lots of people, walked a lot,
and felt the Spirit enough to keep us going. It will be interesting to
see which area the Spirit will guide us to be in.
Saturday (December 1st, 2018)
Every
baptism is a miracle, but this one especially was. We barely worked at
all this week, for valid reasons, but still not a lot of work was done
in our area and we still had a baptism. Her name is Katleen and she is
13 years old. This was the most spiritual baptism so far because before
the actual baptism, she asked if she could say something. She got up in
front of everyone and thanked everyone for helping her be baptised and
she thanked Elder Newman and I for helping her become part of this "amazing church." It was the first time I have seen real and true
conversion. She is truly amazing. She has already read the Book of
Mormon all the way through and is going to Seminary. I think that we can
all learn something from her joy. The joy and happiness that she feels
from living the Gospel. I think that we can all remember that this is
supposed to be how we live our lives, finding joy in doing the right
things. It was amazing and it was all thanks to the Lord.
Sunday (December 2nd, 2018)
Today
we split the area. We have been praying and fasting and praying some
more because this is a decision that will effect not only us but all of
the missionaries that will come after us. There are basically 6 smaller
areas within our area. Vasco Pires, Obelisco, Areal, Dunas, Darcy
Ribeiro, and Bom Jesus. We decided, with the help and guidance of the
Spirit, that Elder Inácio and Elder Rico will be Obelisco Norte and will
work in Vasco Pires, Obelisco and Areal and Elder Newman and Elder Allen
(me) will be Obelisco Sul and work in Dunas, Darcy Ribeiro and Bom
Jesus. It was a really good experience to know that they Spirit really
can help us know the truth in all things. It is going to be a good next 5
weeks. Im excited :)
Random Thoughts:
- Elder Rico is awesome, and he has an accent where he says all of his s with a sh sound so he says Jeshush Crishto. It is pretty great. The funny thing is that my accent is even worse so who am I to say anything.
- We opened the font on Saturday to start filling it and a moth about 8 inches long flew out and attacked us. Welcome to Brasil.
- I ate papaya. Welcome to Brasil.
- We passed a group of about 12 Jehovahs Witnesses in the street and I said good afternoon to them all and they all basically screamed good afternoon back. I had no idea that you could say good afternoon so aggressively. I laughed for about 10 minutes after.
- After we passed the first group of Jehovahs Witnesses, we passed another group so I did the same thing hoping it would happen again. It was even better. They didnt even say anything and just glared at us as we walked past. I laughed even harder and I think they heard me. Whoops.
- I ate a mango. Welcome to Brasil.
I
just want yall to know that I love yall and that no matter what
difficulty you are facing, face instead towards the light of Jesus
Christ and he will help you get through it all. Have the bestest week
ever and HAPPY DECEMBER! (I downloaded the Josh Groban Christmas album.)
Love,
Elder Allen
