I'm Coming Home!!!

Week104- The End and The Beginning

Friends and Family,

It's the end!!!! I can not believe it. Seriously. It's been hard and there are lots of trials, but I will certainly miss sharing the gospel with the beloved people of Louisiana. I can say that part of my heart will be here when I leave. The worst part is that right as I'm leaving there are so many good things going on here in Metairie!! Haha. We just met with a recent convert and her boyfriends family. They are looking for the right church. Great religious, believing people. I really enjoyed the visit. We also have two people lined up with baptismal dates. They have made it far from where they came in life. A success story for sure. And so many great families here in the ward. I will miss it a lot. Great area to finish off with. And Elder Smith has been a true friend. He has been patient when I've been hard headed. Haha. He has worked hard when I wanted to work hard. He has taught me a lot. I love him, and hope the best for the rest of his mission.

One of the biggest things I have learned from my mission is to love others despite their looks or circumstances. When Christ was weary and wanted to rest, there were more people that came to him for help and wanting miracles. Instead of turning them away, He had compassion. Compassion was his motivator. There have been times when compassion had to be my motivator. I was exhausted, discouraged, tired. But I was able to press on because I loved others. I'm still working on it, but I've have gotten better.

I have also learned and become deeper rooted in the doctrines of Christ. Through faith, repentance, making and keeping covenants, we allow the Saviors Atonement to cleanse us and raise us to immortality and eternal life. Have you ever wondered the secret to happiness? That's it.

I have learned how I can continue to grow closer to Christ in my life after I get home. There are many examples of faithful saints here in Louisiana. They have committed themselves to serving Christ and others, and they have grown so much over time. You can feel a strong Spirit about them. They have a glow about them, which is the light of Christ. I hope to have that glow.

Luckily, towards the end of my mission, I'm learning to be ambitious and passionate. I've learned to be even more motivated and confident. It feels good. It's all because my Savior is helping me out.

I have many weaknesses I have realized. haha. The scripture in Ether 12:27 is true. When you come to Christ, He will show you your weaknesses. I have been humble like no other time in my life on my mission. It has been so hard. I've realized I'm self centered, prideful, discouraging to others at times, I get anxious and stressed easily, I'm certainly not a perfect teacher, and I'm not the best with meeting new people. But the other part of that scripture is also true. When you turn to Christ in humility, His grace with turn our weaknesses into strengths. It is true!

I love y'all! Thank you very much for all the prayers and support. Thank you for cheering me on. I can't thank you enough. It has helped my life and has certainly helped so many other's lives, because you helped me tough their lives. I hope to keep bringing others to Christ when I come home. I hope you do too. As you do, you will also come closer to Christ. That's a promise.

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 103- Sprint to the Finish

Friends and family
This week has been great. We found a younger family. They said we could come back. We taught the wife the restoration already. She agreed with it. Really exciting. 
Yesterday was also full of adventures. Haha. Ups and down. Stephanie said she didn't want to be baptized. Then she texted us later saying she still did. And just other stuff. We had a great dinner appointment though with a younger family in the ward. Good day. 
The Lord certainly knows how to help us follow the Spirit through experiences. As I followed the Spirit we were able to receive the revelation needed for a couple of our investigators. A really neat experience. As I act on promptings the Lord leads us in the right direction. I just need to put my mind to it and confidently follow the promptings. 
Love y'all! Hope y'all have a fun 4th of July!
-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 102- Can't Even Comprehend

Friends and Family,

There were a lot of things this week that I couldn't quite comprehend, like they weren't real to me. I saw my mission President and his Wife for the last time yesterday. So strange. They leave for home on Saturday. They came down for interviews and Stake Conference during the weekend. It also hasn't hit me that I'm going home soon after them. We pretty much had my go home interview. Still can't comprehend what's going on. Haha. I'm just working like usual.

We have had a pretty good week. We met a new lady that wants to come closer to God. She ordered a Bible and Book of Mormon. She has had a lot of trials in her life recently, so she is reaching to God for help. A lot of potential.

A couple of missionaries and I were able to sing in Stake Conference. We first sang in the youth session, and since President Stock liked it so much, he asked us to sing it again in the general session. I was nervous, but it was fun. It was just a powerful song. We sang called to serve. It brought our mission president to tears. The Spirit was powerful.

We've had fun. It's been a good week.

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 101- Slpash!

Friends and Family,

This week has been great. Very rainy, and more to come. Haha. I guess that's what the summer is like down here. We had a great week though. Lots of hard work. Yesterday was a great day. One of our investigators, Stephanie, wants to be baptized and we set a date for her for the 1st of July. She is very excited. The adversary is working hard on her. We will have to fight against him.

Someone gave us some cupcakes while tracting yesterday. haha. They were having a father's day party. Really nice people.

We had a great lesson with the part member family we have been visiting. We brought a member of the bishopric with us. They connected well, and he is going to have the family over at his house this week. The husband of the family, the nonmember, has some good questions, and just wants to get closer to God. Really nice guy. I really love that family.

I went on exchanges with the district leader over in New Orleans. We were on bikes. He was pedaling pretty fast. haha. I was just trying to keep up with him. We ended up getting caught in a storm. haha. A nice man let us stay underneath his porch. We were able to stay there until we could go see an investigator right around the corner. A little miracle. And perfect timing because the investigator just got home from work when we showed up after the rain. Pretty fun!

It's going great out here. I know it sounds a little funny, but the missionaries down here are starting to get into chess. haha. I like it too. Gives us something fun and challenging to do with our free time.

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 100- Fire in Metairie!

Friends and family,
Metairie is starting to catch some fire. The members are seeing the missionary work increasing, and they are getting excited about it. We have made a good impression on the ward, and I feel their support. Such a great missionary ward. All about missionary work! There was a lot of adversity this week as well. Friday and Saturday, almost everything fell through. It was crazy. Kind of frustrating, although we still tried our best. We were able to start meeting with one part member family. They are great! They are going through a tough time right now, but they are willing to try and get through it with God's help. They have opened up to us a bit. We are trying to teach a lady named Stephanie. She is very busy, but she wants to be baptized and she's been taught everything. Really neat lady too. She is very nice and is very happy at church. I can't wait to help her be baptized! I saw the Saints practice facility this week as well. It would be really neat to go see them do their mini camp or something. Great week though. Thanks for all the prays and support!
Love, Elder Chandler Allen

Week 99- Week 1 in Metairie!!

Friends and Family,

This week has been great! I was transferred to Metairie with Elder Smith. Really nice companion. This is his 3rd transfer. He is a motivated missionary. 

And neatest thing of all, we had an investigator get baptized this Saturday here. It's always nice to go to an area and have someone being baptized. Her name is Kristy. Very nice lady. She is actually blind, along with her husband. So we were able to help her be baptized down in the water since her husband was baptizing her. The Spirit was very strong there at the baptism and during the confirmation on Sunday. A wonderful weekend.

It's great getting used to this area. There is a lot of work to do. I feel very fulfilled because we are getting a lot of things done. Really neat. We have another lady named Stephanie that wants to be baptized. We are going to set up a date for her. She's very nice as well and has a couple connections in the ward. 

I love the ward already. They are very involved in missionary work and provide ample opportunities to tie our investigators to the ward. I really like them.

Just a great week! I loved it. Hope this week is as good, if not better!

Love y'all,

Elder Chandler Allen

Week 98- Summer serving

Friends and Family,

This week has been great. We just had a really good lesson with a recent convert and her less active husband. They didn't really know about temples, and since the mission is really trying to focus on getting new members to the temple, we decided to teach them about sealings. It was really neat. It spiked their interest, and I think it will motivate them to continue forward. So exciting. I really want to see them go to the temple.

We also had someone come to church this week. It was a miracle. We were just visiting a less active member, and one of our potentials come outside of his house across the street and sat on his porch. It was Saturday, and we went over and talked with him. He asked us what time church was, and we were able to get him a ride and everything. He said her really liked how we would praise with all the music. We showed him the baptismal font. He said he's been thinking about being baptized. We will commit him this next lesson. You could tell he just felt god at church. He enjoyed it.

I might be transferred this week. We are getting transfer calls in about an hour. Odds are that I'm going somewhere else for my last transfer. I've loved serving here. Lot's of great people. The members are loving and want to help us work. It's exciting to see where the missionary work is going here in the ward.

Love y'all. Have a great summer!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 97- Missionary Sweat

Friends and Family,

This week was a hot and humid one. haha. We were walking quite a bit and it was just so hot and humid. We have to drink a ton of water to stay hydrated. Haha. The President tells us to take short breaks every hour we are out in the sun to cool down. It builds character, right? Haha. We will keep pressing through it.

We were able to meet a couple more people this week. It seems like we often get opposition from people that don't want us there, but we always run into really nice people that are open to the message afterwards. I often remember Christ's ministry, how the people treated him for what he believed. I don't get hurt physically like him, but at times I don't feel welcome. I'm glad he can comfort me.

Lot's of great lessons learned. I'm finding joy in doing the work. Even though some may not be receptive, it pushes me to try harder. 

Really neat thing as well. Family History was on my mind last weekend. Soon after, we had a zone conference, and in it, we were instructed to teach family history in the third lesson. It was really surprising, but I'm really excited for it. It will help converts stay active when they are baptized. Pretty excited!

Love y'all. Make some time to do family history. It's very fun, and simple way to be a missionary to you family.

Love, Elder Chandler Allen

Week 96- Skyping!

Friends and Family,
This week was great. There was a non-member family that fed us dinner on Wednesday, and we shared a message with them. They agreed to reading the Book of Mormon. I hope they are open to the Spirit as they read it. It was a great meeting, and the Spirit was there.
Really neat story as well, the Spanish Elders were in the newspaper because they were volunteering at the Black History Museum. Well a guy saw them in the paper and thought to himself that he wanted to talk with them and get to know what Mormons believe. He had a Mormon friend before. Well right after that, he ran into the Spanish missionaries at the library, and started talking with them. He came to church this Sunday. It was really good to see him there. Pretty neat story.
As for us, we are continually finding, looking for new people to teach. We are teaching this one lady and her Mom still. They don't fully understand why they need to be re-baptized into this church, but as they actually come to church, I'm sure the Spirit will touch them.
It was a great week, and I learned a lot of life lessons. Very happy.
Love y'all!
-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 95- Humble Hearts

Friends and Family,

This week has been good. We have had a lot of good experiences. We were able to share a message with a member family, and invite them to act, and they were humble enough to act. I gained a lot of respect for them, because it is not easy to humble yourself and turn away from your pride. Very happy about that.

We were able to meet up with one lady that we contacted on the street. She is so excited to read the Book of Mormon. We've gone over twice, and each time, she has mentioned how good she feels when we come over. We just keep telling her it's the Spirit. We will invite her to baptism soon.

We have now established some good relationships with some of the less active members, and are working with them to become more active, and bring their family closer by coming to church. I love seeing them progress together. Often times, I feel awkward having a frank conversation with them about why they are not coming often, because they all know they should, but they know we care about them, so our conversations are filled with love and the Spirit. 

We were safe from the crazy rainstorm. Haha. It was pretty bad. we were prepared to bunker down if we saw a tornado. Crazy weather!

Love y'all. The Lord will protect us!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 94- Crawfish Boils

Friends and Family,

This week was great. We were busy all week running around trying to see people. It was a lot of fun. We met some new less actives. We were able to help a part member family, committing the non member mom to read the Book of Mormon, and we had a couple craw fish boils. haha One was for the ward and a lot of less active members came. It was really fun.

We are excited to start working with two different families. I think they both have great potential and will be open to the gospel. We found one on accident. haha. We thought it was the house of a referral from a member, but someone else lives there I guess, but they are open to us coming back. Pretty exciting.

We are learning to work more with the members. It's exciting to hear their missionary stories and to get referrals from them. I can't wait to work more with them.

Hope y'all have a great week!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 93- Member Missionary Work

Friends and Family,

This has been a great week. We were trying to figure out how to find more people to teach, and we asked for some suggestions from some of the members. We were able to meet with one member. He gave us some great advice and got each of us very excited. I'm happy to try it out.

We have been asking for referrals a lot more, and inviting the members to act. It's exciting. It feels like we are just recruiting more people to help with the work. We received a great referral out of the blue yesterday. I'm really excited to contact them and get to know them. It's a family, so it would be very neat to see them get closer to Christ. 

Super neat thing as well, we went to a bible study at a smaller non denominational church. The pastor was sick and lost her voice, so we joked around before it started and said we should preach instead. Haha. But when it was starting, before she got up to preach, she said the Holy Ghost confirmed that we should preach. Our preaching style was different than anyone there was used to. I was pretty nervous, but we talked about charity, being a disciple of Christ, and threw in baptism, repentance, and other things. It turned out great! They were so happy that we preached. They really liked seeing young men doing something like that. It was a pretty neat experience. The Spirit was there.

We are also working with a less active member who wants to come back. His name is Walter. I really enjoy working with people that already have a desire to come to church. There are still some things that are holding him back, and we will have to work with him on it. A great guy though. Really excited to work with him.

Love y'all, Have an amazing week!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 92- Easter Week

Friends and Family,

This week has been great. We had a really good Easter Sunday. We were able to attend a Baptist church. It was enjoyable. It was great to see how they worshiped. It helped me understand them a little more. At times, I could feel the Spirit, especially during some of the songs. Our church was refreshing as well. It's always nice to partake of the sacrament. I was able to bless it this week, so that was special.

We are starting to work more and more with some part member families, so that's nice. They are opening up to us. We are also working with a less active family. They are great and making progress. We are starting to invite them to make bigger commitments.

We are trying to focus on finding. We asked some of the ward members, particularly return missionaries, how they were able to find through the members. If any of y'all have good ideas, please let me know. We are trying our best to find those that are interested.

Another neat thing. It hit me this morning that God is all knowing, and that he will answer any question of ours as we asked. I prayed right before studies to know what His vision of this area is and how we can find more people to teach. I randomly opened Preach My Gospel, and got exactly what I needed. It was the page on applying the Spirit to our missionary work, and how to receive revelation for our area. It talked about how it's all about whether or not we are humble enough to seek God's guidance. It was great.

I love y'all. Have a great week!

-Elder Chandler All

Week 91- Sunburns Doing Service

Friends and Family,

This was a great week. Saturday, we were able to do some service at the community garden. It was a lot of hard work, but it was fun doing it. Before we did it, I had the thought to put sunscreen on, but I didn't because I thought my arms were already tan and wouldn't get sunburnt. I guess not. Haha. They stink pretty bad now. I learned my lesson. Sunscreen from here on out. haha.

We are going to start meeting up with one man named Calvin. He's a really nice guy. He plays in the band at some church's. He's really open to us. We are excited to share the gospel with him.

There are a couple other people that have some interest. We are going follow back up with them. We will see where it goes. 

I think most of our finding efforts this week will be through the members. I'm sure we will be able to receive some good referrals for us to try. Keep praying for us to find those interested!

Love y'all! Have a great week!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 90- A TEMPLE!!!!

Friends and Family,

We are getting a temple!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wooh! I can't tell you how happy I am. When I heard Saratoga Springs is getting a temple, I couldn't help but shout for joy!!!! I bet the members whose house we were watching conference at thought I was crazy. It was amazing. It still makes me really happy to think about it. I can't wait to get home and see the building of it. It will be amazing!

This week was pretty good. We contacted a lot of less active members, inviting them to watch conference. I hope it helped. I think we will be following up with them this week.

There was a crazy storm last night. It was keeping me up. Just lots of rain and lightning. Pretty crazy!

Conference was really good for me though. I think it gave me a better sense of direction in my life that God wants me to take, and helped me envision what I want to accomplish in my life. I love how it can be so personal to each of us, even though they are talking to such a wide variety of people. Pretty neat. 

One of the things I liked the most was President Uchtdorfs talk on Sunday Morning. Love of God and men cast out all fear. I really liked how he talked about how fear is not a good motive because it doesn't lead to lasting change, so it really isn't the best thing to help with repentance and growing closer to God. I really liked how he provided a solution to that problem. I am going to work on Loving God by learning of Him and trying to emulate Him.

What a conference!

Love y'all! Stay safe!!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 89- Craw Fish Boils and Baptism

Friends and Family,

This was a really neat week. We were able to bring Big Al, one of our investigators, to the baptism of one of the little girls in the ward. It was really good and the Spirit was there. We are just going to try and help him with understand priesthood authority now. It will be good.

Another amazing experience! One of the most on my mission! So neat. We tried to see one lady. Her brother opened the door. She wasn't home, but her brother was open to a quick message. His name is Tevin. Really nice guy. Taught him the Restoration. The Spirit was there. At the end, we asked him to pray. He was shy about it and didn't really know how to, so we just sat there for a couple minutes and he finally decided to do it. We didn't force him, he agreed to do it with our help. It was a heartfelt prayer, and he asked God what path he should take. When he finished, he said he felt something in his body, that was a good happy feeling. We testified that it was the Spirit confirming truth. We committed him to baptism, and as me and Elder Farnsworth were discussing what day to do it, Tevin started to tear up. He looked at us with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face. It was amazing! The Spirit was so strong and imperative to his conversion. Amazing experience. Hopefully we can get back up with him this week.

Other than that, we had a crawfish boil on Saturday. It was super good. The Pixtons fed us last night. They are the best. I love that family.

Love y'all! Have an amazing week!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 88- Finding the Prepared

Friends and Family,

It's really exciting this week because we are finding a lot of people that are open to us. They are at the perfect point int their lives for the gospel. We are very excited to follow up with all of them. 

One in particular is named Bryan. We met him while he was fixing his car. He invited us right in. His gospel knowledge right now is very limited, but we were able to explain it in an understanding way. His is very open to getting closer to God and being baptized. He is a very nice guy and has changed his life around. Can't wait to teach him again.

Another lady is named Shanet. We taught her about the Book of Mormon, and she was really excited to read it. She read the pamphlet we gave her and then she got even more excited for the Book of Mormon, so we brought one by. I know she can be baptized soon, especially as she really gets into the Book of Mormon.

Elder Farnsworth and I are getting along great. I'm loving it up here. We are having fun doing the work. He has taught me to do that better.

Hope y'all are super excited for General Conference. This is going to be a great one. You should definitely listen in.

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 87- Thibodaux's Poppin'

Friends and Family,
This was a really good week. We were able to find some new people to teach this week. It's really neat how we are lead to them. One time, we were trying to find a less active part member family, and couldn't remember the exact house on the street, so we went with the one that felt the best, and if someone else opened up, we would just use a tracting approach. Well it was someone else. His name was Cornelius, and we talked about the Book of Mormon, and he was really interested in it. We will try again. Interesting how God leads us to the right people.
We are seeing Shelly as well. She is a recent convert. Really fun lady, and her family is awesome. We weren't sure how she would respond to us coming over since the sisters taught and baptized her, but she is really open and nice to us. It's fun working with that family. They are very positive.
My new companion is great! Elder Farnsworth is a hard working missionary. We have similar interests, mainly food and sports. haha. He's a really nice guy though, so it will be a great transfer.
Love y'all! Thank y'all for the prayers and support. I really appreciate it!
-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 86- Mardi Gras Madness

Family and Friends,

This week was quite the week. We were able to go to two parades for Mardi Gras. They were a lot of fun and we got a ton of beads. I think I like the ones here better than the ones in New Orleans because there aren't as many people, but they still throw out a ton of stuff. All the kids get a ton of toys. It's a lot of fun. We made some friends at the parade, and they gave us some of their BBQ. Mmm, super good. And the sisters might start teaching one of them now!! So that's exciting.

This week was a pretty good week. Priscilla is progressing. She read the pamphlets and some of the Book of Mormon. She is doing pretty good. We will be following up with her this week. We are excited.

Elder Castillo is getting transferred. Sad to have him leave. We were having a lot of fun together. I'm sure it will be good with whoever I get next!

I love y'all! I hope y'all are doing good as well. I'm still enjoying talking with new people and getting to know the ward better. They are some great people and the primary and youth are pretty funny.

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 85- Let's Move a Bear

Friends and Family,

This week has been quite eventful. haha. We were able to move our Stake Presidents stuffed bear into his home. It was huge and heavy. He shot it up in Alaska a couple years ago, and it took him this long to get it delivered down here. haha. When they delivered it, we weren't sure how to get it through the door because it was really wide. It took about 5-6 people to carry it and wiggle it through the door, but we finally got it in and it looks awesome. haha. It might scare his grandkids now though.

We were able to get to know the members of the ward a lot more this week. Especially the leaders. They are all really nice. Grateful to serve here. We taught Priscilla this week as well. I'm glad we met her at this time in her life. She had read some of the Book of Mormon and the Bible and had lots of questions. It was good. She will write those down, and it will be fun learning with her, helping her gain the basic knowledge of the gospel. It will be good. We will see her this week.

Mardi Gras is tomorrow. It has already been a little crazy. haha. They had the parade up in Thibodaux last night, and so we heard music blaring all day. It just gets a little crazy when the parades happen. We may go to one tonight. We will see. 

Hope y'all have a great week!

Love, Elder Chandler Allen

Week 84- A Week With a Car!

Friends and Family,

We finally got a car!!! Wooh. So happy. We were able to contact some referrals with it, and they were all open to us coming back. It was great! One of them doesn't have a whole lot of religious knowledge, so you could tell that what we shared was all new to him. You could tell that it was something good for him to hear. It was something delightful to him. It was really neat to see that.

We also met a lady named J while contacting. She is very nice and Spiritually in tune. I know she will receive and answer that it's true. Great lady.

Mardi Gras is coming up. They have already had a couple of parades. It's fun being down here for that. We will go to one. It should be really fun.

Sometimes, It gets stressful here when we don't have a lot to do during the day. I always feel like I need to be doing something, which is right, but I get stressed out about it. Elder Castillo is helping me relax and still get things done. I'm grateful he is helping me do that. It will help me be happier.

Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 83- Up and Running

Friends and Family,

This week has been great. The first part was still tough, getting over a lot of opposition. I was getting down on myself because we weren't getting as much down as I would have liked to get done. But finally towards the end of the week it changed. Me and the other Elder Allen went on exchanges and it was really good. We found someone else to teach, taught a guy that has a lot of potential, and we were able to visit with a part member family that we were meaning to see forever, but never had a way to get out there. I just felt good afterwards and felt like we had worked hard, but more important, that the Spirit was with us doing the work. I loved it. So that encouraged me a lot, and these past couple days have been great. I feel really good when we try talking with just about everyone as we are walking from appointment to appointment. I enjoy meeting new people and sharing my testimony. You feel happy when you try your best. I'm still not perfect. I get pointers from Elder Castillo all the time, and I mess up a lot in our lessons still, but I hope to improve continually.

One guy I'm really excited to see is Carson. He is really smart, and works over here in Thibodaux. He feels that most his life he has been focused on his profession, and has put off his relationship with God. He really liked all that we taught him, and the Spirit was there. It was a great lesson. We are going back Wednesday. Can't wait! 

It has just been a great week. I'm very grateful for that. Something that keeps coming to me is that opposition is necessary in life, and in the end, that is what will bring us so much joy. I'm so happy for that. I know it's true. I may face even greater opposition in the future, but I shouldn't fear. It's to help me grow, and I can get through it as I learn to rely on Christ. Continually becoming humble.

Love, y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 82- Longer Walk = Stronger Legs

Friends and family,
This week has been pretty good. We've been walking a lot because we don't have a car. I'm always drained by the time we are done walking. haha. I better be getting stronger from this. haha.
With walking, we are able to contact people on the streets though, so that's fun. I enjoy that, especially as I get to know new people. There was one man who seemed really nice and open to new concepts. We are going to call him next week when he gets back from his trip.
We are hoping to contact people on the college campus here. Most of the time, students are really open to the message, and this is the perfect time in their lives to bring them into the gospel. It establishes a pattern for the rest of their lives.
Other than that, the week has been pretty slow. It will pick up this week!
Love yall,
Elder Chandler Allen

Week 81- Elder Golden's Visit

Friends and Family,

This week was great! We had a seventy come visit our mission. Elder Golden, who is from South Africa, and his wife came to our stake conference and our mission zone conference. It was amazing! He has so much knowledge, and his understanding is so deep and covers a lot of doctrine. It's really neat to hear him speak. Plus he's a captivating speaker. It was just a really good weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed.

On Sunday, we had a little time to do some finding, and we were able to meet a couple of people. It was great! We tried to talk with everyone. When we were heading home, there was some people just sitting outside. I had some fear about talking with them, because from a distance, they seemed kinda serious, and I was just thinking we would be late if we talked with them, but we just did it anyway... and it totally worked out! They were both so nice and open. The man was asking all about our missions and stuff. Super nice people. We will see them this weekend, so that will be nice. 

It's just been a really good week. We got a new senior couple, the Pixton's fed us, and Elder Golden came, along with Elder Blueth, an area Seventy. he talked on how our personal righteousness determined our faith. He's very loving and nice.

This has been a good week!

-Elder Chandler Allen

Week 80- Trio Week

Friends and Family,

This week was great! We have had a good week full of hard work and fun. It's enjoyable being in a companionship with Elder Castillo and Elder Otterstrum. I look up to Elder Otterstrum. I feel he is a great missionary. He works hard and has an enjoyable time doing it. One of my favorite companions. It was a great trio. Two great companions makes the work enjoyable and we are able to support and push each other more. We have been working both Houma and Thibodaux this past weekend or so, but at transfers, Elder Otterstrum will get a new companion, and Elder Castillo and I will go back to just working Thibodaux. That will be fun. 

We were able to tract a couple apt complexes, finding some new PIs that are interested. Some are students going to Nichols. The Spirit is leading us to the right people right now. Those that are open. So hopefully they keep the commitments.
Last night, we tracted into a young couple that just moved in. Really nice and we made a good connection with them. The Houma Elders will follow up with them.
We are being more bold and loving at the same time. It's enjoyable. I don't feel bad about being straight forward and simple because I love the people I'm teaching that much. We were able to promise an investigator couple in the name of Christ that if they got married and baptized, that God would provide their financial needs. The Spirit was so strong. It was just such an enjoyable week. We worked hard, felt the Spirit, and had a lot of fun. I'm loving it right now!

I love y'all. I'm excited to stay in my area with my companion. We are going to keep doing our best. I'm excited! Love y'all!

-Elder Chandler Allen