Week 76- Christmas! Year 2

Friends and Family,

This Christmas was awesome! We had some great families that fed us and it was awesome getting to talk with my family. It was encouraging. I'm excited to go out and work harder. Knowing that I'm going home in a couple months really motivates me to finish off strong. No trukiness! haha.

My new companion is Elder Castillo. We knew each other up in Baton Rouge. He is a Spanish missionary, so I'm excited to find some Hispanics in this area to teach.

The first night we were companions, we were out biking. The lady we were trying to see wasn't home, so we just biked around the corner. We felt like we should knock on one door specifically. It ended up being a younger couple who just moved in. They were sort of open, and he said we could come back. It's great how the Spirit leads us to the right people. I love it.

Christmas was great. We spent time with two different families. We got a couple gifts from some of the families in the ward. They made it feel as much like home as possible. We had some gumbo, ham, fried turky, oyster dressing, and some other good stuff. All in all, it was amazing. And I loved talking to my family and seeing their faces. I can't believe that's already over. Time is going by quick. I hope to enjoy it and keep working hard. Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen



Elder Castillo

Week 75- Now I'm in the Bayou

Friends and Family,

I'm in Thibodaux(tib-a-doe). haha. It's awesome. We live right on the bayou. The first time tracting here, we met an older guy, and I hardly understood half of what he was saying. Haha. He had such a thick cajun accent. It was awesome! The ward is great down here.There is a lot of potential and people to work with down here.

One of the families we are teaching are Scott and Tammy. They have great potential. Scott read through a lot of the Book of Mormon already. He asked about 1 Nephi 13 and asked where the plain and precious truth were that were lost from the Bible. Amazing question, and we lead him to the intro page to the Book of Mormon where it says that it contains the fullness of the gospel. Great lesson, and we had a member there to back everything up that we taught. Just a great night.

My companion is Elder Shuck. He's awesome. We get along really well. Just super nice and always looking for a way to serve.

I love it down here. I'm very excited for the future. Love y'all and Merry Christmas!

I know that Christ is my Savior. I feel it everyday as I kneel down and repent. That's where I get my motivation to share the gospel. Look for ways to do that in your lives.

Love,

Elder Chandler Allen

The Thibodaux Apartment

Elder Shuck and Elder Allen

Week 74- Farewell to Zachary

Friends and Family,

This week has been great! We had a couple people open up to us and let us in for lessons. One is Jim. He is open to what we are sharing and willing to read the Book of Mormon. It's pretty neat. I'm excited for him. 

We were able to help a couple of the members out this week. We helped move stuff around in one house so that they could finish another room. It's neat to see the houses come together after the flood. We also helped a member gather firewood, which floated all over his backyard in the flood. He then fed us some really good seafood.

In all, it was a good week. We just found out today that I'm being transferred. I don't know where to yet, but I'm going to go into it with hope and excitement. Zachary was a great area. A lot of potential. I love the ward, and I hope the best for them, especially those affected by the flood. 

Love y'all!

Elder Chandler Allen

Ugly Sweater Zone Training Meeting.

Elder Armstrong and Elder Allen

Saying goodbye to everyone.

Elder Goodsell posing.

Saying goodbye to the Pomeroy's.

Week 73- Inspired Blessings

Friends and Family,

This was a tough week. We weren't able to have lessons with many people. We tried to find some new investigators. We found one family with some potential, so that was good. I hope it continues. We are pretty much starting over on our teaching pool. We have to drop a couple people that have the most potential for one reason or the other, but I know as we humble ourselves, and just ask God, he will lead us to the people we need to see.

We had a great zone meeting. Everyone was baring testimony and sharing personal experiences and we were singing Christmas songs, so the Spirit was so strong there, and it inspired me to work harder.

Then I got sick... haha. Just a cold. We tried to take it easy Saturday. Sunday was tough, but I got a blessing. A couple interesting things- I wanted to be able to make it through the day and feel better soon, and that is what the blessing said. I felt good enough the rest of the day to go out and work. We tried a couple people, had dinner with one family, then we were able to watch the Christmas Devotional at a less active members house. It was great and the Spirit was strong. We were able to establish a good relationship with them. They are a fun family.

I'm feeling better though, and the members are taking care of me. Transfers are coming up next week, so we're interested to see what happens. For now though, we will work hard this week.

And remember to try out the Christmas initiative from the church. I have loved doing it everyday. I get excited to serve people in fun ways.

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 72- Thanksgiving and Birthday

Friends and Family,

This week was great. We met a couple great people at the beginning of the week. It was nice. We then had Thanksgiving dinner at one of the families house in our ward. They invited another family. It was a lot of fun. We played card games and ate a ton of food. It was super good and a relaxing time. 

Saturday was my birthday! It was awesome. We went to the temple in Baton Rouge. It was nice being back in my old area. The Spirit was very strong in the temple, and I could feel the difference when we left. I loved it. The Spirit really does manifest itself when you are doing the right thing.

Afterwards, we went to Red Robbin for dinner. Yummm! Haha. Then I opened a couple birthday packages. Thanks y'all for your love! I hope y'all have a good week. 

Another cool experience. We were biking to an appointment yesterday, and all of a sudden, Elder Goodsell's pedal broke, and we had to stop. We weren't to far from the apartment, and it was getting late, but Elder Goodsell insisted we just walk to the people we were going to see. As we were walking, we met a lady who was trying to fix her car. She asked for our help, but after we helped, she tried pulling out and the brakes weren't working. She hit it into park and it stopped, then we just help her push it back into neutral and push the car back into the spot. She was so thankful, and we could tell she was very stressed, but our help relieved her burden. If Elder Goodsells bike didn't brake, we may have never been there to help her. And I've learned to trust your companions inspiration. It was a good week.

-Elder Chandler Allen

The sisters broke into our apartment and decorated a little bit for my birthday. They left us a huge bag full of lemons that some members gave them from the Slaughter branch. We are going to make lemonade with them.

Week 71- Happy Families

Friends and Family,

This week was pretty good. It started out tough. It seemed like there were some distraction which made it hard to get the work done. But by Saturday, we just humbled ourselves, prayed for help, and we had a great day. We were lead to a new investigator, who already has a personal relationship with Christ. It was awesome! He is very open to us coming back. We will go back tomorrow. It will be great. His name is Terry.

We had a good day yesterday as well. We had lunch with one family, and they had their extended family there as well. It was really fun and nice to spend time with them and feel the love and joy of being together as a family. I'm glad we had some good families in the ward.

We also visited Emmit yesterday and had a Spiritual lesson with him again. He wants to live in the Celestial Kingdom with God again, and we shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ lesson, which tells us how we can do that. It was awesome! He wants to be baptized and feel the Holy Ghost constantly in his life. Go has lead us back to him continually. He is such a nice guy.

It was a good week. When we sacrifice and are obedient, God brings blessings.

Love y'all! Happy Thanksgiving. I'm grateful for the people I'm able to serve out here, my supportive family, friends, and for the things I've learned out here. It's been hard, but my burdens are made easy when I turn to Christ. So most of all, Christ and His redeeming love.

-Elder Chandler Allen

The youth were awesome and surprised us with a bunch of uplifting letters. They're awesome. Just about made our day yesterday.

Week 70- Gift of Revelation

Friends and Family,

This week turned out good. There were a lot of little neat miracles. Recently, I was counseled to strive to develop the Spiritual Gifts God has given me. Two of them that stick out to me are the gift of prophecy and of revelation. Ammon and his brothers were blessed with it as missionaries, along with many others all throughout scripture. As I've studied it and prayed about it, I feel that God is helping me develop it. Twice this last week, just as we were about to head in at night, we felt like there was still something we had to do. We ended up visiting this one investigator named Emmitt who we just couldn't get ahold of, until the nights we tried him again. We saw him twice this week. One of the times, he told us a cool story. He said missionaries from Baton Rouge saw him before the flood, but he was flooded out and had to stay with his sister in our area, and lost contact with the missionaries. He was supposed to get a Book of Mormon from them. One day, our appts fell through, and we prayed to know where to go to tract, and we knocked on his sisters door and talked with him. I know God wanted him to have a Book of Mormon. We keep being lead to people that have had contact with the church before. God's giving them another chance.

We also got to help out with a Veteran's Day ceremony, which was pretty neat. It was at a vets cemetary. The Spirit could be felt there, and the place was very nice. It was a good time to remember those that served us. I'm grateful for those, especially in my family, that served their countries. 

It's been great to see these miracles. I know if we continually rely on the Lord to help guide us, we will accept many great things.

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Elder Allen, Elder Goodsell, Sister Hyer, Sister Cornia, Sister Henrie, Sister Belnap

Week 69- The Restored Gospel Is True

Friends and Family,

This week has been alright. Things slowed down. Investigators stopped progressing and we had to drop Joe. We will try back with him later though. Micheal is doing really good though. We are having some great discussions with him. He wants to really KNOW Christ, so he is doing what he needs to to get to know Him. His faith strengthens my testimony.

Lately, we have been hearing a lot of different opinions and beliefs. At times, it challenges my testimony and beliefs. with that, I have the opportunity to strengthen my testimony and search for/confirm the truth. Elder Bednar said once that we should continually pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true. As I have read that and Our Heritage, which discusses the early restored church history, my testimony has been strengthened, and I know this is Christ's church restored to the Earth. 

It was a pretty good week. The time change is kinda throwing us off a little, but it's ok. Haha. 

Love y'all, Elder Chandler Allen

Week 68- The Spirit Is Bursting In Zachary

Friends and Family,

This was probably the best week yet in Zachary. We were low on miles this month, so we had to bike, but it ended up being one of the best ideas because we were able to meet so many more people that way. I think we will continue doing it even if we have miles. It was awesome.

One really neat thing is that every time we pray and pick a street to tract, we always have a feeling of success, whether or not we meet people. But recently God is even leading us to people. We have found 2 LA's that way, and a couple other potential investigators. I think we even found a former investigator. It's so awesome! And the lessons we are having with people are very Spiritual. My favorite question to ask recently has been, When in your life did you come to know God. Any experience they share brings the Spirit. They do it in the Book of Mormon to. Prophets stir up in remembrance the mercies and miracles of God. It's working great. I see the Spirit working on their hearts. We just need to find a better way to follow up with them.

Brother Landry texted us and told us he had fasted and prayed, and sadly he said he feels like he should go back to his old church. The thing is that he knows Joseph Smith was a true prophet. He felt the Spirit watching the restoration video. He just doesn't understand how that connects to knowing the church is true. I hope we meet back up with him soon to share that with him.

Joe is doing well. He wants all of his kids to be taught as well so he is having us refer them to the missionaries where they live.

Halloween was fun! We spent it with the Bishop's family. They're awesome and so nice. Carved pumpkins, ate pizza and carmel apples, and played a game. It was awesome!

And good news! Me and Elder Goodsell are staying together for another transfer here in Zachary. That's three for ya. Haha. It's rare, but I'm really happy about it. Things were just picking up here, and me and Elder Goodsell have great comp unity. He's awesome. We are great friends.

Love y'all! Hope y'all have a great week as well!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 67- What Just Happened?

Friends and Family,

This week just flew by! I can't believe how quick it went. It seemed like yesterday we had pday. It was a good week. We are still working with some great investigators and constantly getting referrals and other people to contact. It's awesome! 

I went on exchanges with Elder Curtis down in Denham Springs this week. We had dinner with an awesome family. We tracted a little, and we saw a less active who finally committed to come back to church. He was really excited about it too. It was neat.

While we were teaching Joe one of the days this week, his roomate sat away from us, despite us inviting him over. But by the end, he came over and was fully involved, sharing his opinion and quoting a bunch of scripture. He's a really nice guy. You could see how happy he was by the end of the lesson. He shared a scripture from psalms to tell us goodbye. He was very grateful for our service and he felt the Spirit. He even read a chapter of the Book of Mormon right there on the spot. haha. It was really neat.

Brother Landry is doing good. Elder Goodsell watched the Restoration video with him while on exchanges, and he said he believed Joseph Smith was a prophet. He said how can he not be. He compared his persecution to that of Christ's because they stood up for what they believed in. Let us all stand up for what we believe in. We are all representatives of Christ. How great is that calling.

Love y'all. I'm enjoying it in this area. I love administering to those affected by the flood. It's neat to be able to help them have hope. Always look for opportunity to lift those who are under heavy burdens.

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 66- Who Knew I Would Learn To Drywall

Friends and Family,

This week was full of learning to put up drywall, mud, and tape. It was fun learning to do it. I don't think I'm an expert by any chance, but it was still awesome. We helped out with a couple homes down in Baton Rouge that were affected by the flood. We are going to finish sanding everything this week. 

We started teaching a media referral. He's a really sincere guy. He remembered his Mom meeting with Mormon missionaries when he was a little kid. Recently he's felt like he should meet back up with missionaries. He is looking for peace and strength in his life. He is very humble right now, and willing to listen and learn. Those are the best kind of investigators! We will meet with him this week. Hopefully we are able to get some members involved. It will be good.

Brother Landry, the other really promising investigator is doing alright. We got some church clothes for him since all of his were lost in the flood. Sad thing was that they didn't fit. Ugh. Oh well. He did come to the sister's baptism last Saturday. It was a great baptism. The Spirit was there in abundance. And I got to play the piano! Haha. It was fun. I'm certainly not perfect, but I tried my best.

Micheal is also doing well. We are going to meet with him this week. 

Lots of opportunity down here. I'm excited to see where it all goes. The Lord is merciful in blessing us with referrals and new investigators. Now it's our job to meet with them continually.

Love y'all. It's awesome to see all the fun stuff that's going on back at home. Congrat Lexy on getting married. 

Love, Elder Chandler Allen

Chandler Playing at the baptism. One of the members texted me this picture.

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Week 65- Potential in Zachary

Friends and Family,

This week has been great. We have seen a lot more potential arise this week. One of  our members referred us to a man named Brother Landry. He isn't a member, but is very open and willing to be baptized if he receives an answer. He has gone through a lot in his life, losing his wife and family in a wreck, his second wife left him, and he was also flooded. Really sad. He has lost a lot of hope, and he just wants to turn back to God. I'm really excited to help him do that, especially since he is so humble. I know as he increases in faith and repents, he will find the peace and comfort he needs from the atonement. 

We are also teaching to 16 year olds. They are awesome! We tried to help one pray. He almost had it, but wasn't able to finish. I was so sad for him because he was super discouraged, but we tried to pick him up and encourage him. He will be able to do it next time. They are great kids.

We are going to put up some drywall this week. It will be fun! I'm glad I'm learning how to do it. A lot of people need help with it.

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 64- Conference...Wow

Friends and Family,

This week was great. I was able to go on an exchange up to Slaughter, Louisiana. The members there are nice. We had a yummy dinner. Mmm. Later in the week, we saw Alex and Jerry, two 16 year old brothers. One is less active and the other isn't a member. Alex, the nonmember, seems pretty interested. He read some of the Book of Mormon. I think he feels the Spirit when we are there. He tends to be a deep thinker and ask good questions. It's exciting to teach them.

We were able to bring a couple people to conference. They were able to see the Sunday Morning and Afternoon sessions. I really wanted them to see President Thomas S. Monsen. He had a short, yet powerful message. He got right to what we needed to hear. I think we will focus a lot on sharing our plan of salvation with others.

I loved conference. I was really hoping to get a lot out of it. I decided to fast the day before. I knew it would help me receive answers to my questions. And it did. This conference was different than any other conference. It seemed like I was able to get something from each speaker. They were all powerful and spirit filled. What a blessing. Can't wait to set goals based off of what I learned.

Hope everyone is doing great. Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 63- Back to the Grind

Friends and Family,

It's been a back to the grind week. Last transfer was full of a lot of flood cleanup. We are getting back to our normal routine. We are getting to know more people here in this area. We are trying to find new investigators, and following up with past investigators. It's tough, and trialing, but everyone likes a good challenge, right?

We were able to go to the zoo this week. It was way fun. Those animals are so big! Haha. I always love seeing the monkeys, and the snakes. When we were leaving, they had already put the giraffe away, but we looked back again, and he was poking his head outside it's house. haha. It was pretty funny.

Micheal is doing good. He bore his testimony in church. He is very strong. His brother keeps anti-ing him, but he keeps his testimony strong and defends the faith. How cool is that. He has come a long way and the gospel is improving the quality of his life for sure.

The members here are great. I'm glad I'm getting to know more of them. 

Hope y'all have a great week!

Love, Elder Chandler Allen

Week 62- Sonic Blast, Elder

Friends and Family,

This week has been great. We were able to get out and do some good work. We are getting people in the area much better. All the ward members and even people we could visit and see. We met one man named Lamond. The sisters referred him to us. He is very nice and funny. He told us some trials and a miracle in his life. We asked him why he thought God saved him. We suggested that it was to find this church. We then asked him how he thought he could know it was true. He said he had never thought about that. We committed him to pray and pay attention to any spiritual promptings. It was a great visit. Sadly, we can't get in contact with him. He is such a great guy, so hopefully we see him this week. 

Another tender mercy. Micheal, one of our investigators, came and helped us clean out houses. He got to know the members better that we were serving with. He really enjoyed working. We were able to help him out because his house flooded. At the end, he thanked everyone personally, even the young men. How neat is that. He is so nice and humble. 

We met a young man, who was the only member in his family. Very nice, and his brother is open to talking with us. It's sad to see a lack of support from a family, but it's great to see the ward step in and truly be a ward family.

Final thing, Lately it was a struggle to wake up on time. It was messing with our schedule, and it was harder to feel the Spirit. I was finally sick of it. I asked myself, what incentive could help me wake up on time. Me and Elder Goodsell have a running joke that I'm addicted to Sonic. Haha. It may be true. haha. jk. But I really do like the drinks and shakes. I decided to reward myself with one of the new sonic blasts with a funnel in the middle filled with peanut butter if I could wake up on time and work out in the morning for a week straight. I told Elder Goodsell that to help me get up, all he needed to say was, Sonic Blast, Elder. He did it..... and it worked. Haven't even missed a day. Haha. I'm pretty happy. I can feel the Spirit stronger in my life. I'll have to ponder more how my experience relates to the gospel.

Love y'all. Have a great last two days of summer.

Love, Elder Chandler Allen

Week 61- Miracles in the Midst of Sickness

Friends and Family,
Yep, I got sick this week. Not fun. I think I caught a cold or something, which is ironic because it's super hot still outside. Oh well. It all worked out though because Elder Goodsell had his ingrown toenail removed last week, so he had to take it easy. Good timing to get sick I guess. haha.
We took a lot of time to call potential and former investigators this week. When we drove around on Saturday, we were lead to one persons address from the area book. The people there were just getting ready to leave. I asked if Marlon lived there, and they said he had move. But we kept talking and they also said that about a year ago, they would have missionaries come by their house in Baton Rouge. They were opened to us coming back.
When we got back in the car, we called the missionaries who had taught them and they were so excited, in fact one of them is in our district, so we are going on exchanges so he can introduce them to me. Apparently they are a great family. I know God lead us there.
Another miracle. A cell phone sales lady stopped us and started talking with us. She ended up asking questions like, where do I go after this life. Why am I here? What do you believe about families. I told her we believe that families will be together forever and her face lit up!! She told us she had never heard of that before. It got her super happy and excited. The sisters will begin teaching her this week.
Last miracle of all: Sister Marriott from the general young women's presidency spoke in our sacrament meeting. She's super neat. She's a convert from the Methodist church. Her conversion story is inspiring. She taught us the word DAILY. She said, how do you stay firmly planted on the foundation of Christ(actually a question I had asked our investigator the day before, and he was there with us at the meeting). The answer is DAILY. If we do the specific things daily to increase our testimony and remind us of Christ, we will stay firmly rooted in the foundation of Christ. What an answer to my prayers. And what a week.
Love y'all,
Elder Chandler Allen


Chandler made Elder Goodsell ride on the cart because of his ingrown toenail.

Week 60-Special Times In Zachary

Friends and Family,

We have had some special things happen here. I feel that the community is opening up to us. They truly appreciate all the service that has taken place. There has been multiple thousands of volunteers come from all over the south and they have helped out so many people. It has been really neat to see that.

President Nelson, Elder Ballard, Elder Maynes, Sister Marriott, and Elder Davies of the Presiding Bishopric visited Louisiana this weekend. I watched a devotional for all the flood victims that was broadcasted from Baton Rouge. They all spoke of hope, God's love, humility, and at the end, President Nelson pronounced an Apostolic blessing on those who have been affected, promising that they will be able to recover, and as they do so, they will learn valuable lessons that will help them return to their Heavenly Father. 

On Sunday, Elder Maynes visited our congregation in Baker, and gave a talk. I remember feeling the mantle that he held. It was evident from him just being in the room. I know the Lord empowers Him to accomplish the tasks that he has been called to do.

Love Y'all, 

Elder Chandler Allen

Week 59- We Aren't Demolishing Houses

Friends And Family,

This week has been good and humbling. I learned a great lesson yesterday. We were at a house tearing things out that were damaged by the flood. I just felt uncomfortable the whole time because flood clean up is a really dirty and yucky job. I was just ready to give up. I wasn't trying very hard. I was coming up with excuses. In fact, this house is probably going to have to be completely demolished, so the whole time I was just like why are we even tearing things out? During lunch, some others brought that up to the leader of the group, Brother Sherman. He had a neat response. He said: It has been said to me multiple times that we are not here to demolish homes or to tear out stuff ruined by the flood. We are here to soften hearts and give hope to those who need it. If it makes the owner happy and hopeful if we clean up the house, then we must do it. What a powerful message.

I was able to go on exchanges twice this week. I love getting to know other missionaries. I went on exchanges with one missionary that I came out with, but had never gotten the opportunity to serve with. He is a Spiritual Giant, very loving and interested in others. Hopefully I continue serving around him.

The people we are serving around here truly appreciate it. I know it is softening their hearts and providing hope. They are so appreciative. I hope Christlike love continues to shine as we serve.

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 58- Hard Work and Service

Friends and Family,

What a week. It's been a lot of hard work and dirty work. haha. I've always wanted to be apart of the Mormon Helping Hands, and I finally got my opportunity. It's fun getting to do service with the ward. I always think the best way to build a bond with someone is through serving with them.

One of my favorite parts was handing out flyers door to door that let others know how they can sign up for flood clean up help. We got to talk one on one with many, seeing how they are doing, comforting them, and sharing quick messages that lifted them up. I love how many donations have come from all over the place. There's so many, we have no idea what to do with all of them.

We are teaching a great man named Micheal. He is very humble and very smart. The gospel clicks really well with him. He came to church and always enjoys it. He reads the Book of Mormon everyday. What a guy.

The ward is awesome here! They are a great missionary ward, especially if they know  you are a hard worker. I was praying for opportunities to show them that, and we got it as we help them prep the church for all the volunteers coming from Mississippi and other places in Louisiana. (btw I saw a couple people from Natchitoches there. It was awesome! I haven't seen them for so long. They seemed happy to see me. Can't wait to go back again.)

Yesterday, I was done for. I was so tired. The heat and humidity suck the life out of you. I feel like a zombie today. haha. I'm glad I get to rest today.

Love y'all, thanks for all the prayers!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 57- What A Week! Hah

Friends and Family,

I am ok and safe, despite the flooding. It flooded one day outside our apartment, but it didn't get inside our apartment and it cleared up by the end of the day. We were fortunate, but others weren't as fortunate. There is a lot of service we will be able to do in the coming week or two. We already helped clean out a Methodist church. They were very appreciative.

It has been interesting getting doubled into an area, but being put on lockdown for the past couple days. We still are trying to get used to the area and the ward. We didn't have church yesterday, so we didn't really get to meet all the members. We will meet some more this week though. 

I am very grateful we were kept safe. Even though things were confusing at times, we still felt at peace that we would be safe. The worst part was honestly the boredom from staying inside the apartment for 3 days. That's when I miss TV and movies. Haha.

I love y'all. Thank you for prayers. I'm praying for y'all. 

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 56- Transfers Again?

Friends and Family,

I'm getting transfered again! I'm sad and excited at the same time. I really love the ward here and this area. It's such a great area. But I'm also super excited for my new area. I think I'm getting doubled in with another missionary. It will be fun. I'm not sure where it is yet though. We will see!

Lorenzo is doing great. He continues to receive answers to his prayers. He's living in a bad environment right now, and felt like he needed to move. He prayed, asking for God to help him find a place he would be comfortable in, and within a couple minutes, he received a call from an old friend and it just so happened they were trying to rent or sell their condo. It was a miracle.

I love being out here. It can be tough, especially feeling adequate as a missionary, but as I use the Atonement, I am strengthened and given the knowledge needed to please God.

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen


Elder Holdaway, Elder Allen and the Schofield Family :)

Week 55- Excitement and Exchanges

Friends and Family

This week was good. I went on exchanges with Elder Urvina. He came out with Elder Holdaway. Me and him get along well. He's into theater. He's a really funny guy. We did some service at a food band warehouse and we went to a bible study class. 

We were busy meeting with Lorenzo all week. He is really progressing and it's exciting to see that. The ward is also super excited. He gave up coffee last week, which was a big thing. He said he felt so much better without it, like he had a lot of energy. God has really prepared him for this. It's a big blessing to be a part of that.

My time here in 2nd ward seems to be closing down. I love all the members and people here. I hope I don't leave, but I don't want to say that because I'll be happy wherever God wants me. Next week is transfers. I will know next pday, which is on a Tuesday. 

Also super cool thing, we took a tour of Tiger stadium and saw the locker rooms and film room. It was awesome!

Love Y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 54- Crazy Service Project

Friends and Family,

This week has been interesting, exciting and great! We have been teaching Lorenzo, a friend of a member. He is really interested and committed to learning more. We have a semisolid baptismal date. He want's to be baptized, but there are still some reservations. But it has been neat teaching him with different members, hearing their testimonies. It's a blessing to be apart of this process.

We did a crazy service project this week. He helped someone move into an apartment. It was this famous interior designer. It was her sons new college apartment, but apparently it's being featured in USA today. haha. It was really cool though.

I'm beginning to realize how awesome the members here really are. I hope I don't get transferred soon. I will miss them all. I feel like I've had a lot of fun with all of them and have gotten to know most of them on a personal level. It's really neat.

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 53- Charity Beats Fear

Friends and Family,

This week has been great. This area is blooming. We are starting to teach some great investigators. One of them came to church yesterday and enjoyed all three hours. He is very serious about joining. He's Catholic, but he believes in the Apostasy and likes what his member friend has told him so far. His name is Lorenzo. Really nice.

We haven't had a lesson with Aaron and Jerry recently. Hopefully we see them again this week. We also ran into a man named Donald. We really connected with him. He said he is always open to learning about different religions. Hopefully he has the faith to be baptized into this church.

We were shocked to hear that more police officers had been shot. Most of sacrament meeting was talking about how charity replaces fear, and how all of us can be an example of charity. I still feel safe here. We are staying away from all demonstrations. President Hansen sent out an email telling us that he feel at peace about keeping us where we are, letting us work still. I have faith in his inspiration. He is very in tune with the Spirit always. That is something I really look up to him for.

We are also having lots of fun!. We have great members in our ward, and we are getting them involved in the work. I'm really excited about it!

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 52- Miracles In July

This week has been great. We were able to do a ton of volunteering. Spray painting a big cabinet, moving and packing furniture, cleaning and organizing clothes hangers, and other stuff. We also had great lessons with both Jerry and Aaron. I thought Aaron might drop us at the beginning of last week because he didn't show up to church like he said he would, but then we had a really good lesson and he actually came this week! He came in by himself and just sat by himself. I was frustrated because I wanted to meet him when he came in and have him sit by a member he knows. But luckily after sacrament, we were able to introduce him to some great members. And what are the odds that President Bascom, the stake president, just happens to speak in church? That talk really touched Aarons heart. And President Bascom came and talked with him afterwards and gave him some great advice to listen to us and pray to know for himself. It was quite the blessing.

Jerry is going to get baptized. I just know it. He is so ready. I know he will recieve an answer as he comes to church and continues to read the Book of Mormon. 

We set a goal to have 2 other lessons last week. When sunday came around, we didn't have any. So we decided to go tract and see what happens. We don't usually have lessons while tracting, but yesterday we actually had 2! Almost three. We have a return appointment with one lady, and the other guy we ran into said he was looking for a church and that he would pray to know if he should consider us. It was a miraculous Sunday.

There are still a lot I'm trying to improve on. At our Zonr Meeting, I was fairly humbled, realizing a lot of my weaknesses. But God gives us weaknesses, that we might turn to Him and make them strengths.

Love y'all! Have a great week!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 51- Independence Day

Family and Friends,

This past week has been great. Yesterday was a blast. We were fed all day long. haha. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In fact, we went out with some other missionaries for dinner. It just so happened that members from Mississippi saw us there, and decided to pay for all of us. It was such a neat blessing. They are the true heroes.

We were able to see some fireworks, play basketball, and just hang out and relax. I love the 4th.

On Thursday, we had two great lesson, with members present at both. The first committed to baptism if he found the church to be true. His name was Aaron. The second was a man named Jerry. Some members felt inspired to invite him over while we were there. We just got to know him, then he became interested in us, and we shared the restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon. He should be reading that right now. We are going to see him tonight.

We finished the week off with a baptism. The sisters had been teaching the husband of a member for a while, and he just decided to get baptized. It was a great experience and the Spirit was there in abundance.

Thanks for all the prayers and support. Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 50- The Temple and Family History

Family and Friends,

This week we were able to visit the temple again. I learned a lot and even walked away with more questions I can search out the answers for. I've found that my best studies in the morning are when I am searching for the answer to a question, or even just trying to understand a specific topic better.

We gave Harry a Book of Mormon this week. We hope to follow up with him this coming week. He seems really interested, but it seems as though he wants to learn by himself without our help. Haha. It will work out.

We tracted into a man yesterday. He actually asked us where the church was and said he wants to come this Sunday. Wooh! I'm super excited.

I feel that things are starting to pick up in the area. Thank you for all the prayers. I know that if we try our best to follow the counsel of our inspired leaders, we will find success. It's often as though God is giving us counsel himself.

I love y'all. Hope y'all have a fantastic week!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 49- A Greater Zeal

Friends and Family,

This week was pretty good. We have been doing a lot of finding, and luckily we have been getting a couple return appointments. When Elder Kapishka came, he promised us that baptisms would quadruple if we get members to our appointments no later than the second lesson with investigators. What a promise. We are striving to do that. I know it will work.

I was feeling a bit discouraged this week because it seemed the work in the area wasn't progressing much despite our efforts. Luckily a member fed us yesterday and shared some miracles from his mission that inspired and motivated us to work harder. He said that the number of baptisms in his mission quadrupled in 3 years. It was all about the attitude they had for the work, and the goals they set. We went tracting after that and are going to go back to 4 of those people. What a blessing. I really needed that. He gave us some great advice.

I love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen