October 24, 2011

So Green Lantern was awesome.  Oh man I have missed those movies! But yah I just thought I would throw that out there for you all very first. We are planning more activities like that with the YM/YW because it was a huge success and so I might be watching other movies, I hope, ha-ha but yah it was great, we had all of them together for once! We have a lot of confidence with them.

So next Monday is Halloween and the huge mission conference so I’m excited for that! We might not be doing internet Monday but we will see because I have a lot to clean up and set up for the activity. So yah, you will just have to wait and see next week. I have been in charge of getting permits and other stuff for this activity. There is a council building we have to get permits to and from but it’s hard because it’s a religious group and it’s not like everyone loves Mormons and wants about 200 missionaries in this small town.

So we are having fun here in Renaico, we have 2 baptisms on the 29th so that is awesome, and they are from Tijeral the other town we work in. The branch said it is impossible to baptize there and we are showing them! So yah that’s pretty exciting. We are getting a cake to celebrate because they are awesome people and we are so excited that they are getting baptized. They are a young couple that’s actually married.

Oh and I am like out of money for the month so I will be taking money out tomorrow just so you know because I have none and I need to buy gas for the shower because I hate taking cold showers and they are very very cold.

So it is warming up here, the sun is strong and the sun screen is being applied. Man it stinks because everyone knows you are not from here when it hurts to walk outside because it is so bright and you are the only one in the town looking for a place to buy sunscreen because no one uses it here.

This week me and my companion tried resting and recovering because we are both sick, I have an awful cough and my whole body aches, he has an awful runny nose and his body aches too. We aren’t sure if we have the same thing but we are both very annoyed. So yah that’s been the awesome news from us.

I do like the idea of "the last" now, and no longer "the first". my first Christmas was so sad, and my first birthday and all that, but I’m so excited for my last Christmas and last birthday and last everything because I appreciate it so much more now that I’m no longer in the states.

So a few questions for Andrew, what are the wedding colors and how are you doing the wedding invitations, because as you know those are my favorite things, colors are amazing and I love designing so yes that’s my question for you. I have a feeling the bride will be taking more work on that side but I’m still curious because I love designing and colors. And is grandpa doing the sealing?

What did you all think of the shirt stuff I sent last week? I missed designing so much; I lost my abilities for sure... I don’t know if I’m good enough to do that professionally, but I want to, I don’t know maybe I’m just questioning what I’m good at because to be honest I have no idea what I am good at.

I made some really really good rice last night, I never realized how easy it was without a rice maker, and I’m totally making rice more often because it’s so simple. You know what’s really good? rice, eggs and ají! oh my gosh I love it, ha-ha.

Trevor what have you been up to, minus the business strategy that you have now with Hayden. But yah that’s awesome that you are doing good with that, but what else are you up to, big senior year bro!!!

How has Tillie been doing without me? I became really close with this dog of one of my converts and she died so I was very sad this week because of that and I kept thinking of my Tillie, how is the eye and all?

Well that’s all I have for now, I love you all and hope you are all doing ok, thanks for everything!!!

Love Elder Kyle Allen

October 19, 2011

I am writing to you on Wednesday because I went to Lebu with Elder Elder on Monday.  He leaves next month.   It was a good trip but we slept on the floor in Lebu and that was the worst night in the world! I visited the one family that I really loved from Lebu and showed them that I could finally talk, so that was nice and they loved it. But the bus rides were awful! Just awful and sooooo long, not fun.

 My new comps name is Elder Montalbán-cares. He is from Santiago Chile, is 23 years old and worked for apple. He has the new iPod shuffle that you can wear as a watch and it is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! I’m in awe seriously, it’s amazing. This is his second sector so I am teaching how to move into a new sector.

What have I been doing you ask?  Ok so we have an activity in our sector (Renaico) for the entire mission on the 31st of October. I am in charge of all the things we need for this activity, aka the stadium, the grills, the permits, everything in Renaico I need to get before they come. So it’s a nightmare because it’s not like in the states where you can call the parks and rec and just ask for a day, it’s hard because we are a religious group and blah blah blah. We are told that no one should be staying the night, but I doubt that very many people will follow that rule because Renaico is the favorite sector of many missionaries.

I will attach a picture of the T-shirt that I have been designing for our sector.

I am not feeling any better.  I’m about the same, honestly it’s that time of the year, everyone is sick, we gave 3 blessings yesterday so yah everyone is sick. I don’t have green snot just so you know, ha-ha

Ok so Elder Pliler is a zone leader now, and so is Elder Jackson, which is really exciting for them. We are focusing this cambio on helping the branch, so what we are doing is lots of activities with the young men and young women, we are doing lots of branch family home evenings and lots of visits to less active members. It’s actually really fun because we had an idea for a movie night for the YMYW and we didn’t want to do a Disney movie like Shrek or Rio because no YMYW would come, just you know their little siblings. So what we are doing is showing Green Lantern. We heard its good with a really good message for the YMYW. We asked our mission president if we could watch it with them and he said yes, and that we should watch it first so that we know it’s ok to show them. I’m going to watch it in English tomorrow because, I COMPLETE A YEAR TOMORROW!!!

Yep that’s right I’m in the dead middle of my mission, that’s crazy and I’m so happy. I’m half way done and still half a half. I don’t know it just feels better and I like the focus we have on the branch this cambio because I am not thinking about numbers just the people and only the people. We don’t have the best numbers but I don’t care, the leaders don’t like that but I love the work we are doing and the branch does too so I’m just plain happy with that, minus when the leaders get mad, but my comp is district leader so he says, whatever. President has lots of faith and confidence in us and that’s why he said we can watch that movie and that’s why we are in Renaico while the activity goes down so I feel a little better. Still am sick but overall, it’s ok, because I made it a year. I made it a year. Know that I love you all so much and I’m sorry I was rushed this week but that’s just what this time is, crazy, next week I'll do better, fyi I just printed all your letters and will read them tonight, next week I’ll do my normal responding.

love you, Elder Kyle Allen

October 10, 2011

So I did not get transferred this time.  I got a new companion.  He is from Chile, Santiago I think, so that will be fun. He has been out 6months and is my senior companion and a district leader.

So the huge mission conference is on the 31st of October, so that is this cambio and we will be having a lot of fun because it is in my sector and the whole mission is coming to my sector for the activity. My house will be so so so full so I’m not excited for that but I am excited to gather everyone together. Elder Gibbs, my second companion only has this cambio left then he goes home!

So we had a baptism this weekend! We baptized Nicole who has been investigating for like a year and we finally got her to get baptized, so that was an amazing experience that we shared, I got some pictures from Elder Pliler on his camera I will try to send next week because we don’t have much time, there are a lot of people that Elder Pliler wants to say goodbye to today so I don’t have a huge amount of time of anything to do that.

We have another baptism planned for the 29th of this month and it’s a couple, just married and they are awesome, we have an FHE with them this Tuesday and we always stay and visit with them and sometimes eat (like a small small dinner that is just a cup of echo (Mormon coffee) and lots of handmade bread)

So yah that’s what I got to say this week, we are just stressed on time because there are like 7 families we have to visit tonight and its already like 530pm so we have very little time. I’ll try to put those pictures up next week I got from Elder Pliler this week.

So yah I’m glad that all is well and that you all loved conference so much! I am hoping to get the videos of the sessions we missed very soon so yah, stay safe.

Oh heard some news, Steve jobs died? Huh, how is apple doing now? Just curious how the company took that one

Stay safe; know I love you all so much!!!

Elder Kyle Allen

October 3, 2011

So just so you all know, we didn’t get to watch any of general conference on  Saturday because the internet here in the city was completely out, so yah we are trying to download now the sessions but it’s not looking amazing, so yah we will see what we can do with what we have.

As far as transfers anything could happen this Saturday because Elder Pliler could be training and I could be kicked out of the sector again like I was last cambio or he could go up and I could go up too, not sure at all! So we will see Saturday.

I’m still working on the camera problem because I think it might be some weird sensor reading problem but I’m not sure. I’m still working as I said which is sad cause we have had lots of funny moments.

So yes we are working on watching general conference and all that, because we heard we really missed out on some great sessions and Elder Holland only talked during priesthood session so we need to watch that.

We have a baptism planned for this Friday so I’m hoping that is still going down, she is a very odd person, ha-ha so we need to check with her every day this week, I think we are going by tonight to see her. But yah that’s really exciting for us, but sad because I have never worked so hard as this cambio and we only have her progressing and we didn’t even find her, she has been investigating the church for like a year. I don’t know, at least we have a baptism.

Few things from dads email about the priesthood talk I didn’t see:

For Trevor--

Those three things are soooo important but I would say the 3 most important things to do to prepare for a mission are these

1) Like he said, have YOUR OWN testimony of the BOM. Don’t have any crutching on others for that, know 100% for yourself its true. Try as hard as you can to get that.

2) Like he said, have the desire to work. Don’t go in thinking you will get better, things will come, because if you don’t come in 100% its soooo hard to get that, I am still learning that every day

3) Most important I think, don’t think that because you will be a missionary that things will change. Don’t think that with the mantel that it will be easier, that you will have a stronger line in prayer with God. Nothing just comes...

But yah that’s all I really got for now

So yah how are you all doing? I hope you are having fun!

Congrats to Ty Davis, that’s crazy!!! Africa, man you are going to come back with a whole new world’s perspective! Props man

Love you all

Elder Kyle Allen