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