March 17, 2014

Howdy y'all. I heard that it was a great week back at home and I am so blessed to be a missionary now and see blessings in my life, the life of my family, and the life's of the people here in France. Well on to my week..... Monday was just a normal p-day. That night we taught this lady named Stephanie who we found by porting and she is super cool. We ported her and she told us she had our book and that she wanted to learn more. Come to find out her parents went to Las Vegas and they in fact drove through St. George Utah and visited the temple there and got a Book of Mormon for their daughter and now she has one. So we have begun teaching her. Then we just finished the rest of the night doing some go old porting. Tuesday I did exchange in Le Mans with an Elder named Elder Martin, he is the companion to the district leader and he is super cool. We had a fun exchange. We did some more porting that night and talked to a lot of people and yea that was pretty much the day. Wednesday finished up the exchange. We went and taught some of their investigators and then did some contacting and taught some street lessons. It was really fun. Then we came back home to Alencon and ate dinner then headed back out and finished up the night porting. Thursday we had a lesson with Phillip and he was super cool. We finally met him at his house and he really opened up to us. We had asked what would it mean to him if the Book of Mormon is true and he told us that his whole life would change and that he is a bit nervous of it. We testified to him that God is there for him and wants him to find the truth and he will bless you more than you can imagine. It was cool testifying it to him and knowing what I was telling him was true because of my family. Then we did pass-backs in the evening and went and saw Jimmy who was not there so that was not fun. We came back ate dinner, and then went and saw Yves. He loved Church and told us he could not come this week but he felt warm when he was at church and we plan on inviting him to be baptized soon. Friday we had Zone Conference in Le Mans. We went early and helped 70 missionaries find the church and helped make sure the Conference went great, which it did and it was a great conference. We have this new thing we are doing and it is just like the whole thing we did at Christmas but with EASTER and it is super fun. We are doing our "Easter Egg Hunt" haha it’s really fun and we are slowly seeing miracles from it. Saturday we did weekly planning and took care of some car stuff getting it ready to go on Monday when we drove it to Paris to exchange it for and new one. Then we did some contacting and did some porting that night. We met these two cool young families with the new way of contacting and it was cool. When I introduce myself I say hello my name is Elder Allen and I come from Texas, because everyone knows where it is, and the guy answers back so do I in English and we got to talking and he lived in Houston. It was a really cool night. Sunday we had church and me and Elder Bates taught the first hour and had a great sacrament meeting talking about the temple and eternal families. I got to thinking about home and the great week that y'all were having, then later that day we went to a lesson and then we did some porting and that was our week.

March 10, 2014

Well there goes another Transfer and I am still here in Alençon and my new companion is named Elder Bates and he is from Utah. He is super cool and really funny. So let us get to my week shall we..... Monday, it was Elder Beckstrand's last p-day so we had a normal morning and we did some shopping. Then we headed to the church where I emailed my family. Then we had this little party here at the church with some members and we had a PANCAKE Party. It was really fun and we also played games like BANG!!!! I could not believe that I was playing it or that somebody had it in French! It was cool and then we went home and the branch president took us over to his house where we had dinner and a FHE. That was our p-day!! Tuesday was the last full day of Elder Beckstrand's mission life so we worked hard. We talked to some fun and some crazy people in town. We also did some porting and then we taught two of our investigators. It was really cool. One of them is named Raymond and he started talking about Baptisms for the Dead and he came across the scripture in the bible during his studies and was really intrigued that it was in the bible. He checked all his other bibles and he has 7 different translations of them and they all said the same thing. He was just astonished because nobody else does it but the Mormons. He started asking why and he could not understand so we got to talk about the restoration and the apostasy. It was such a cool lesson and he was totally ready for it. It was perfect. Wednesday, well it was the big day TRANSFER DAY! I got to go to Paris and said goodbye to Elder Beckstrand. Then I waited for my new companion and we headed back to Alencon together. We got back around 4:00ish and headed home and ate dinner. Then we went to the church where we had our Branch council meeting and that was our day. Thursday we got the car today so now we a have a car. It is a Chevrolet Cruise. It is a nice car but I cannot drive stick so Elder Bates is now teaching me so that is always fun, yea for Driving!!!! Friday we did some weekly planning and I also went to the city hall and exchanged my license. So I now have a French one!!!!! Then we did some porting and we talked to this cool mom. So hopefully something happens with that. Saturday was a day we just spent finding and we were outside like all day just contacting and walking around town talking to people. We found some potentials and then that night we did some porting. That was super fun and it turned out to be very cool. We met this lady who did not have the time now but she agreed for us to come back to that will be really cool. Sunday was church and then after church we did tithing and then we went home and grabbed the ward sheet and contacted and visited less actives telling them all about church and just trying to make the feel loved and feel like they are important because they are and our branch needs them to come back. And that was our week

March 3, 2014

Well howdy y'all! Life has just been moving along here in France. Another transfer has come and gone and I am staying here in Alencon for another transfer. So that is really cool!!!!! So let’s get to my week. Monday was a super fun p-day. It was a normal p-day. We did all the normal stuff in the morning and then during emails it was cool because we decided to look at our genealogy and come to find out that me and Elder Beckstrand are related like 5 generations back! We have the same man who had some sons and my line goes back with one and Elder Beckstrand's goes back with the other, it was super cool. The rest of the night we did some porting. That was super fun because for once it did not rain on us and second nobody yelled at us! So it was super cool even if nobody let us in. Tuesday we had our last district meeting which was super fun, pictures will come. We even had a burrito fête, a burrito party, and that was super cool. Then we got back here in Alencon and headed over to this area where we passed by some pass backs then had a rendez vous with Jimmy, one of our investigators and then Raymond. When we went over to Raymond's house he had a beard and we were like whoa Raymond what is up with the beard and he was like oh let me tell you. I am not shaving so I can get direction for my next project. That I want to do and Raymond likes coming up with ideas to help the world so he said he is not shaving till he has one. We just laughed and he said it’s a beard, like Nephi's beard, and we just could not stop laughing after that. The lesson went super well he is loving the Book of Mormon. Wednesday was a very full day. Since it is Elder Beckstrand's last week we have been trying to visit all of our investigators and all of the potential investigators we have found. Today we had a lesson with an investigator named Paul-Patrick. Then we headed to Damigny, a city just north of Alencon where we passed by all of our investigators and the potentials as well. That night we were walking in town and this guy we always see in town like every day. We both felt like we should go and talk to him because there was a reason we see him around town. So we did and that was really cool. We taught him but he said he did not want to change religions just learn more about us. So maybe over time he will come around. Thursday we did some more pass backs and got to see a lot of people. We also passed by Philippe and he said we could see him on Friday. So we then left and were in town and this 18 year old kid comes up to us and says that he is Muslim and wants to talk. So we sat down with him and he started asking us questions and we asked him questions and soon we started teaching him and he told us he wants to learn more. So that was really cool, then that night we just did some porting and then went and visited a less active. Friday we had weekly planning and then we went and saw Philippe and also another less active. Then we did some porting and we went over to Yves' house. He fed us and we had a lesson with him discussing what he had read in the Book of Mormon. It was super cool. Saturday was another finding day. We just went porting and also tried to swing by some potentials but they were not home and that really was our day. Sunday well it was fast Sunday and guess what? I had to conduct the meeting because our branch president was not here and that was fun! I got to welcome everybody in and then I also had to bless the sacrament and as well as play the piano with just my right hand because I do not know the left and nobody else in the Branch could play!!! Let’s just say it was stressful but super fun. After church we stayed out by the church and did some porting. This guy even let us in and we discussed with him why we are here and stuff and he said he did not have the time. We will try him later. Then we ate dinner and then we went back out to the same place and ported some more till the end of the night and that was my week for ya.

February 17, 2014

Well HOWDY Y'ALL!!!!!! Well this week was super crazy let me tell you, i think the weather here is crazier than back home and you will hear all about it so let’s start at the very beginning shall we...... Monday, so it was a normal p-day and just full of stuff like shopping, Elder Beckstrand wants to get a suit before he goes home so we have been looking at suits. We also had some time and we went to this park and walked around. It was fun we even got to see some little animals like bunnies and goats and peacocks in this park. Then that night it poured rain on us while we were porting. Tuesday, rained all day so for most of the day we did some work in the area book calling old investigators and setting up lessons with them. Then we did some contacting when the rain stopped and then that night we had lessons with two of our investigators named Jimmy and Raymond. Wednesday we had district meeting in Le Mans and then when we got back into Alencon we headed over to a lesson we had with a less active. When we were walking over there we just felt this huge gust of wind and then we saw dark clouds coming and then it started raining. Then it just started hailing and it hurt these ice chunks were hitting us so we ran and found cover and looked out to the parking lot and it was all white it was crazy. We eventually got to the lesson and then after that we were walking home and it rained on us again. But after the storm we saw these rainbow's and I sent pictures and I think you can see the second one but the bottom was super bright. It was crazy and super cool. Then that night we just ported the night. Thursday, nothing special happened today. We did a whole lot of finding and we had a couple of lessons as well, we are trying super hard to find people to teach. There is a lot to do but we also need to find people. Friday, VALENTINE'S DAY<3, so today we did some weekly planning. Then we visited this less active and did more porting in the night. It has been difficult this week nobody has let us in or even wanted to talk to us, some weeks are really hard. Saturday, we did some morning contacting then after lunch we did some porting. We were in this neighborhood and just doing our thing and this one door we knocked on this guy answered and told us no thank you and then he told us that we should hurry it’s going to rain soon. Sure enough it started raining and then pouring, then hailing, it was not fun. Suddenly this car came up and told us to get in and it was the guy who just shut the door and told us to hurry and he took us back to his house where we got to talk to his wife and two little girls it was super cool. So hopefully something happens with that. We plan on going back, it was our miracle for the week. Sunday we just had church and then spent the rest of the day porting. We also had a lesson with our friend Yves he is so much fun and that was my week.

February 10, 2014

Howdy y'all back home hope it was a great week. This week was cold and it rained a TON!!!!! We have rivers over flowing over here and some houses that are close to the rivers or that are in low areas have some severe water damage. It’s insane how much rain we get here. It has been raining every day since I got here. Not all day but it rains like 3 to 6 hours each day. Anyways we did not let the rain stop us so here is my week..... Monday: Was sort of a p-day we had to meet with some of our investigators that day so it kinda of through off our normal p-day but it was still really fun. We saw this guy named Phillip and another guy name Paul-Patrick. After our lessons we did some shopping and then we did emails. Then we ate diner and went out porting. Of course it rained on us so we ended up getting back soaking wet because the wind kept blowing our umbrellas so they turn like inside out sort of. I guess if that makes sense if not you could look up what happens when two missionaries go out tracting with super strong wind and rain on Google and you might find something..... That was our day! We met some people but they told us that they would not let us in because we were so wet. So we asked if we could come back and they still said no. So I doubt it was because we were wet but oh well. C'est la vie! I suppose. Tuesday: Then on Tuesday we had this lesson with this lady and she lives in a laundry mat. The door to her apartment is in a laundry mat. It is super funny and come to find out while we were teaching her that she is already a member who is just moved here and has not been coming to church. When she saw us she was super excited so that was fun. Then we did some porting over in this neighborhood we have found and it was full of older French people so they were home and more willing to talk to us. We even met this lady who has some Mormon friends in Utah! She let us in and we prayed with her but she said she was not going to change religions and that she was going to stay Catholic. So that stunk but oh well, we then had two great rendez vous with some of our old investigators that we got into contact with and both of asked us to leave the book of Mormon with them so they could read it. That was really cool because they said they never wanted it before but our testimonies and our personal experiences with the book help them decide to read it. And that was our day. Wednesday: So today we woke up and headed to the train station and we caught our train and headed to Angers, a city south of us, for Zone Conference. We also had interviews with the President and his wife and it was a really good conference. I learned a lot. Then after the conference we caught our train back and I stayed in Le Mans, another city just south of us, for an exchange and that night we just did some contacting and had dinner. Thursday: So I woke in Le Mans and we did some contacting and did some porting. Then we caught our train back to Alencon and then we had a rendez vous with one of our investigators like right when I got back. So we hurried over there. Then we had diner and finished the night up with RAIN and PORTING!!! Yeah it is just my life ha-ha. Friday: Today so we had weekly planning then we headed out to a town that is like 4 km north called Arconnay and we did some porting up there until like diner time. Then we came back then fished up the night with some porting close to home. Saturday: Happy Birthday Dillon!!!!! And a year ago I went through the temple it is crazy how fast time fly's!! Today we just packed a lunch and then walked like forever away to a town called Pace. We had lunch up there and ported the whole village and it evened hailed on us. That was not fun but the village was nice. Then we walked home for dinner then just ported close to home again that night. Sunday: Today was church and my companion and I were they only priesthood people there. So I conducted the meeting and my companion presided and I also gave like a 30 min talk. It was insane but it was really good. Then the rest of the day we visited some less actives and then ported in this neighborhood we found on Saturday and that was our week

January 27, 2014

Hey y'all well I am in my new city and it is pretty weird that I am here and all but it is great. I love it here! It is a really small town and we have to walk everywhere because we have no car or anything and the public transportation is very bad. But I get to enjoy more of the city and it is really nice. Alençon is known for its lace and apples and I think horses as well. It’s really nice. After this we are going to go and take pictures and stuff. I can send y'all some next week. So my new companion is named Elder Beckstrand and he is from Brentwood California near San Francisco Bay area. He is really cool. He reminds me a whole lot of Derek like seriously these two are twins and its really funny I feel like I am serving with my brother. Elder Beckstrand is pretty old in the mission. This is his last transfer and then he goes home. So they tell me that I am "killing him" aka I am his last companion in the field. Well this week felt like it took forever so I will start at the beginning of the week back when I was in Mulhouse. On Monday it was my last P-day in Mulhouse so we did emails and I found out where I was going. Then we did some shopping and the rest of the day I packed till Diner and I almost got it all done. Then after Diner we went and saw Mariano and his family, some investigators we are teaching, and I got to say bye to them. After that I saw Ricky and Marjan at the church and got to say bye to them as well. Then on Tuesday we had lunch with Patrick and then we met some Elders who gave us our tickets for the next day. Then we went home and I finished up packing. Then we headed over to a member’s home and had diner and that was our day. On we Wednesday woke and caught our train that left at 5H40 in the morning and we got to Paris at 9H07. Then I waited for my new companion with some other missionaries and then I found Elder Beckstrand and with some others but he told us that we had to wait for these other missionaries that we would be traveling with. So we waited for them and I got to see some more missionaries. It was so cool to see them and then we headed to Le Mans. That is a city just south of us by like 25 min by train. We got there and there was a member there who greeted us and welcomed us and gave us crêpes. It was really good then we had to wait there till our next train that came at 5:15pm. So we then caught our train and then went to the apartment and then ate diner then did some contacting in the city. Then on Thursday we did the usual normal stuff in the morning and then we did some contacting and I got to see more of the city. Then we went porting and we had to walk to this little neighborhood out of the city so it took some time. We were there till diner and there was this guy we met who was really cool and he asked us to come by another time so that was really cool. Then we ate diner and then walked back out there and finished up the porting in that area. It was really fun and my feet we very much in pain by the end of the night but that is the life of a Missionary. On Friday we just had weekly planning and some lessons to some of our investigators. I don't really know them yet. Then that night we walked out to the church and started porting and we were about to leave to go home and eat when this lady answered and let us in and we started talking. She then fed us and we left with a prayer and we walked home and visited another investigator and that was our day. Then on Saturday we went out porting in a town that looked very close on the map but it was actually super far it took us 2 hours to walk there but I did get to see some nice fields and the country side. It was nice but my feet killed by the time we got back. We had diner then just finished up the night contacting. Then Sunday was nice. We have a small branch here and I am now the 2nd Counselor in the bishopric! Yea that is how small it is! We have one family, the branch president and he has like 3 kids, three sisters, a funny old lady and an older gentleman and his daughter and that is it. So this is going to be fun. I cannot wait to help them grow. After church we did some porting then Elder Beckstrand was not feeling very well so we went home and ate dinner and then stayed inside. And that was our week.

January 20, 2014

Hey y'all back home. Wow this week just flew by and today is a special day. It is the 20th and I just hit my 11 month mark since being a missionary.  It is insane how much time has gone by.  I can not believe it! This week was super fun so lets see.....

On Monday, we had a fun P-day. We went around looking at sores during Soldes and did all the other normal things like emails, shopping for food, and cleaning. Then that night we did some Porting. We got let in to a couple of homes but some of them were kinda of crazy. Let me tell you, wait I can not even explain really it is kinda of hard. The things they did because they did not say anything crazy but the things they did like holding their cat and putting a cigarette in their mouth it was super weird. So we called it our crazy porting night. Oh and during emails we were told who is going to be our new mission president! It is going to be Frédric Babin and he is French. He is from the Paris area!!!!! Then on Tuesday we had a fun day. We had some lessons set up but all of them stood us up!  They never showed up. It was not cool and very frustrating.  So when they stood us up and did not show we did some contacting and we did this till diner.  It was a total of 3 people who did not show up. After diner we had a rendez vous with Milen at his house. He was there!  He is super cool. He is from Bulgaria and he is totally open to the gospel.  He found us by watching TV and seeing a program about Mormons. Then that night we had a FHE and watched a movie and played ping pong. It was so much fun. On Wednesday we had district meeting, the last one of the transfer.  After the district meeting we did an exchange with the Zone Leaders and i stayed in Mulhouse with elder Shultz. We had a blast. We taught Milen again and we even taught this awesome lesson in the park.  We taught Ricky as well. On Thursday we exchanged back and then did some contacting and porting the rest of the day.  Friday we had lunch with a member in the ward and then had weekly planing.  Then we had Ward Council and our meeting with our ward mission leader. Saturday we had lunch with a family in the ward, the Burri's. Then we had a Saturday sport. That night we did some pass backs from porting the people who said to come back later. Then Sunday was my last Sunday here in Mulhouse so I took some pictures with some members and we just did some contacting and porting the rest of the day. And that was my week!