Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

This week was great except for I don´t remember anything that happened--hah--it´s so easy for everything to kind of blend into one big ball.

 

Hey--I finally got a computer to work to send some pictures--they downloaded reeeeeally slow so here are only a few--I´ve got a bunch!

          I hope you are all have a great Christmas season bundled around the fire with Christmas trees and all---here in Brasil everyone is sweating and there´s only fires to cook some delicious meat--churrascaria--we cooked the meat yesterday after church at a member´s home and then our church clothes smelt like campfire---I LOVE THAT SMELL---it made me feel like I was fishing in the Uintahs or in the ampitheater or on a camping trip with the scouts or something---it was a good memory moment!

 

         This week---not a single one of our families came to church again---HOW CAN YOU BE BAPTIZED IF YOU DON´T COME TO CHURCH?? How can your testimony improve if you don´t come to church? For those of you that think church is boring, say a prayer, ask for a change of attitude and realize that there has never been a boring three hours of church in the history of the church as long as the sacrament is present and you partake worthily. You are there at church to 1) Take the sacrament 2) Help, strengthen and support others 3) Be edified and strengthened yourself through the Spirit and the words and examples of others 4) Strengthen the great ward family that your are a part of (or branch that is)! 

         This week Elder Santos and Elder Correia batized a 73 year old woman named Carmosina and her daughter--}Sonia!! I am pretty good friends with the both of them and had the great opportunity to share with them how the Holy Ghost works and that they are greatly blessed to be baptized and receive the Gift of Fire and congratulated them for their great achievement. We even bought them a delicious box of chocolates!! 

        Before the baptism I cleaned the font and the upstairs of the church with a boatload of water, soap and a broom in my barefeet and my church clothes--it was a blast and I was sweating a bunch! 

         Ahh--what--the owner of the store says that we have to leave--okay I guess we´re going to another computer store. Tchau. Love you.

Week 2 in Araguaina!!

We need to have 85-100 people in church every week to build a new church--the place that we are meeting in now is an old meat shop and is pretty old and dirty and not very condusive to the Spirit BUT---the Spirit is still there and it is still the same church--the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SAINTS!! This week was a bit disheartening because we had a LOUSY 49 people show up to church--well really it´s a blessing to have even 49 but it was just a bit frustrating because last week we had close to 70 and also 7 of our 8 investigators that planned on coming to church said--Oh I´ll just go next week--when we showed up at their door---LAME. Follow through with your commitments people.

FUNNIES!!: This week we had a zone meeting in Imperatriz--about three and a half hours by bus--whenever we go to Imperatriz we wake up at 1 am and hurry of to the bus station to make it to Imperatriz by 7:00!! Last time on our trip back from Imperatriz we released that Elder Santos---he´s our awesome District Leader--had bought tickets for 11 am instead of 11 pm so we slept at the bus station on the dirty concrete floor---we were laughing forever and it was a great time---we lost more than half a day that we could have been studying and teaching in Araquaina but I thought that it was awesome that we all just laughed it off and ate the crackers and cheese and slept there at the Rodovíaria. The second time we came back from Imperatriz we rode in a van where they jammed 19 people inside--it was the sweatiest and one of the most uncomfortable rides of my life but IT WAS A BLAST AT THE SAME TIME--seriously it was fun--we practiced English and Portuguese and ya---I love Brazil---everyone here is just like--WHATEVES---they throw their garbage wherever, there isn´t a single straight or smooth street--but it´s awesome. The people of Brazil here in Araquaina are usually very kind and the drunk people like talking with us too!! This one drunk guy thought that my blue eyes and blonde hair were pretty cool and so I pretended to rip my eye out and asked him if he wanted to trade--he thought that was pretty funny--we left them with a pamphlet--you can share the gospel with everyone--JUST PICTURE THEM IN WHITE CLOTHES, HAIR CUT, SOBER, ETC. but at the same time teach the elect before the swine! 

STUDY TIME!!: This week I have been reading in 2 Néfi only in Portuguese and I have been amazed at how much I´ve been able to UNDERSTAND---the gift of tongues is a great gift from God---I definitely don´t have even close to the same social and testifying skills in Portuguese as I do in English but I think that being grateful for what I´ve already been given will help my abilities to speak improve more--I can´t wait to speak this language fluently!! The Book of Mormon truly is a book of God--reading the words of Isaías in a different language also has helped me to understand Isaiah better--study time this week was great---REMEMBER TO START AND FINISH YOUR STUDY TIME WITH A PRAYER--AND USE A PEN AND PENCIL!! 

 

I loved the tithing stories of everyone, the humility, the smarts and the ukulele stories with cousins and all. I hope your foot gets better mom. Playing the piano every Sunday is fun! 

Love you all lots. I tried to get these blasted pictures to download again but nothing happened--I´ll try harder next time. Tuesday--is Christmas and I think that I will skype you all around 11 am or noon---YOUR TIME--BUT we will see!!

Well, gotta go. Love you all, thanks for your example and prayers I will keep praying for you and for our entire family as well--keep strengthing those around you that need more faith in Christ. He lives. 

Tchau!

Christmas Devotional in Portuguese!

President Henry B. Eyering started to welcome us to the Christmas Devotional in English and then his voice was taken away and the Portuguese begin--I stuck my hand out in the air and was like--noooooo--hah! It was hard to understand because they speak quick and use vocabulary that I don´t quite know and so I didn´t really feel the message like I wanted to but--oh well--it was good to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir again--they always bring the Spirit!! This week I played the piano for the PRIMARY PROGRAM IN SACRAMENT MEETING! It was super fun and the kids there are crazy. I also have a lot of pictures that I want to send but don´t have enough time. Sorry--it costs money to print the e-mails out here and ya--basically I still don´t know how to use my e-mail time correctly I guess without breaking missionary rules--we only have a limited time and I like to read what you all wrote and never seem to have enough time to write a bunch of the fun things that are happening. We are going to the church to practice the piano with some of the members--that is if we can get a key. Ha--funny story this week--a lady said--Hello. I said--Hello, I´m Elder Allen and then she said: Sweating? But I though that she said Sweating--like that was her name and so I said: It´s nice to meet you Sister Sweating--hah (all of this was in Portuguese of course--sorry the quotation marks don´t work on this computer and so I hope that story made some sense :))  Love you all--I will send letters for Christmas--I hope they get there in TIIIME! Brasil is awesome and we never have enough time--so much to do--but it is great--keep up the good work in Provo. Love you.

 

--Elder Allen

Greggs Mission Home address

Hello everyone, this is Greggs mother. Here is Greggs address if you want to write him a letter.Thanks for your prayers and support!

Missao Brasil Teresina

Elder Gregg Allen

Rua Tersandro Paz, N 2129, Salas 105-108, Centro

Teresina, PL 64001-380

Brazil

Araquaina, Tocantins!!!

President Siedschlag must not like me because he sent me on a 15 hour bus ride to the furthest out part of the mission!!!---Araquaina, Tocantins!!! No, just kidding--I think.......he likes me??? The President and his wife were awesome! We ate delicious food---THEIR HOUSE WAS SOOOO COOL and the training in Teresina was awesome. I gave a big hug to all of my MTC buddies and my new companion is Elder Rodrigues from the Northern part of Brasil--were all the cowboys are from!! His family has several horses but he doesn´t have a crazy cowboy accent or anything--speaks like a regular Brazilian!! The bus ride was super fun--we saw a ton of favelas--super small homes--getto living--really poor---we are soo blessed. We fasted as a companionship along the way and talked with several people about the GREAT GOSPEL! I´ve already seen a giant turtle, this crazy armadillo lookin´ animal, a pet parrot, lizards, etc.--it´s definitely more of the Brazil I pictured here in Tocantins than in the giant concrete city of São Paulo! This week we went to church--the branch--about 60 people came!! The priesthood and the church has been here for about one year. Before that the scriptures and a few other things were here for a few months and some of the good saints met together and read and things one with another but for only having the church for a year these people are amazing. Things are really pretty getto compared to what you all are used to in the United States but there is still plenty to go around!! I get eaten ALIVE EVERY NIGHT!! by the mosquitos here. I have to be really careful with the water and buy bottled water and filters and all these kinds of things---it sure takes a while. I am excited to get to work here. We were a bit lost the first three days--this is our 4th day here!! I bore my testimony in Portugues for the Branch!! I played the piano for all three meetings of church--that was like the first thing all of the Brasilians asked---Oh look an American--HEY DO YOU PLAY THE PIANO!!?? They even had us come back Sunday night so that I could play three songs for the choir--preparing Christmas music! My companion knows the scriptures---super well!! We had a family home evening night last night with like 4 families and it was awesome--we talked a little bit about becoming more like the Savior--3 Nephi 27:27 and 12:48. Thanks for all the cool pictures Amber--I spent so much time ready other e-mails and looking at pictures that I still haven´t read your e-mail--I will later---IT WAS AWESOME TO HEAR YOUR VOICE!! I know that you are working miracles there. OHHHH--I totally forgot---CONGRATULATIONS WILLY AND JENNY. Okay--so I think that I heard right---Willy is going to North Carolina speaking Spanish and Jenny to the Dominican Republic speaking English!!!  No, just kidding--I probably switched the languages--but ya---NC for Willy--right? Or was it another state close to that--what is the name of the mission again? You both will be awesome missionaries--I encourage you to do two things---forget about where you´re going, the language, etc. and know scriptures, know where to find the scriptures for each lesson in Preach My Gospel and then go and practice teaching the lessons to your dog, snake, cat, piano, ugly brother, etc.---It helps a ton--but that´s just my advice.

Well since I read two weeks worth of e-mails I didn´t write as much--sorry. Things are going good but I really want them to go as great as possible--keep praying for me and the people here in Araquaina--I KNOW THAT PRAYER CAN WORK MIRACLES. LOVE YOU ALL!

Oh at the President´s house I had a blast with the AP´s--they are super cool and I got to play the piano for our testimony meeting with all of the new missionaries and the President, his wife and AP´s---it was really fun. Portuguese is awesome and the people of Brazil are super nice and love to joke around! I´ll talk to you all later.

--Elder Allen