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