PEDRO, addictions & tasty foooood!

This week our good friend Pedro is going to get baptized if all goes as planned--which I have 100% faith that it will. He´s going to be interviewed tomorrow and then we will be visiting him 3 or 4 times and calling him the days that we don´t visit to make sure that he is preparing and avoiding the strong temptations of the devil before his baptism this SATURDAY--FEBRUARY 2ND!! This week was good. My companion has a lot of headaches and so we were stuck in the house the first part of the week again but it was no biggie--I just went to a studying--I LOVE STUDYING---but good studying is just like making a good meal--like mother always says: If you want to make something decent it takes time, at least 30 minutes to an hour. Often times I feel the same way study time; it takes a while to get into the groove, feel the Spirit and be spiritually fed. Studying short and quick sure helps but a good long study, more like 15-30 minutes for those of you that are at home--can really make a big difference.

This week Elder Correia and I were on splits for the evening and Elder De Oliveira stayed in the house with Elder Rodrigues so that we could visit some people from my area!! We were on our way to the last visit of the night and Elder Correia started walking for the short cut that goes through a tiny forest close to an old college. I knew that it wasn´t a good idea to pass through this area after dark but felt that since Elder Correia was the senior companion I would just continue walking at his side and wait to say something once we got a little closer or wait until he said something. We were about half way to the shortcut through the woods when we passed the same bar that we pass several times a week. I thought to myself, say hello to the people over there drinking but then I let a second thought come in and say: Oh they´re all probably just drunkards and so what´s the point. I then decided that I better listen to my first thought and say HELLO! I did, I said hello and we kept walking. About three seconds later a lady emerged from one of the tables and said, hey wait---p.s. Portuguese computers like seriously don´t have quotation marks and so this story may be hard to understand, who´s talking when and so on. But, continuing, the lady said: hey wait and told us that she wanted us to come by and visit, we invited her to attend church and she told us her life story. She was baptized at age 12 in Teresina--16 hours away and hasn´t attended church or been involved in over 7 years. We told her that we would stop by and visit and told her that she would be welcomed at church and that she should just come. As soon as we left her side to continue walking, like 5 seconds later, Elder Correia said, hey wait--we should stay on the main road at this time of night and I said yes you´re right. We returned, passed the bar and got back on the main road. I´m glad that God allowed us to take that turn just to find her and I hope that she will take the opportunity to listen to the healing message of the gospel and return to the fold! 

This week we are helping an awesome sister stop smoking--I helped her make a list of goals and told her to take some tape and smack it on the fridge. I also made a calendar on a picture of the Savior and so every time she smokes or drinks coffee she has to mark the picture--which she really doesn´t want to do because it makes her think of how she is hurting her Savior. We also call her in the morning sometimes at 6 am and tell her that we are going to pray for he and that she CAN DO IT! We also instructed her to chuck her cigarettes underneath her bed so that each time she goes to smoke she has to kneel down and thus---PRAY. She has been doing this! She is totally gonna make it and she´s going to abstain from that junk for two weeks STRAIGHT SO THAT SHE CAN BE BAPTIZED!! We are fasting and praying for her often! 

I love joking with Elder Correia--he likes to tell me that Americans are lazy and so I always wash his dishes--to prove that I aint lazy--HAH! Elder Correia is very good at joking with people and is a very relaxed missionary. Every type of personality is needed in the mission field and every person has an important role to touch, effect and help certain others. Pray to know who YOU should be helping!!! We ate this SUPER DELICIOUS CREAMY DESERT AT THE PRESIDENT OF THE BRANCH´S HOME--his wife makes great food!!

Thanks for the awesome pictures of the family, Rishi, Amber, etc....I LOVE IT!

HAPPPY BIIIIRTHDAYYY--RACHEL AND HAVE A GREAT BAPTISM LUKE---LOVE YOU ALL. CONGRATS TIFFANY. I´M PRAYING FOR AUNT ANN. MY HOUR IS OVER- LOVE YOU ALLLLLL!! 

--Gregg 

--Elder Allen

President Siedchlag visited Araquaina!!

Sent Jan. 21, 2013

 President Siedschlag visited our area this week with his second counselor and the interviewed us and gave us all a great training! We had 55 PEOPLE IN THE SACRAMENT MEETING--YES! Elder Rodrigues and I had Pedro--he´s going to be baptized on February 2nd and also Ivanilda, a 50 year old lady that looks really young, kind of like mom--almost 50 but looks 39. 

 

Thanks for the letter Lyle and Michelle and Grandma and Grandpa Allen and the Sorensen family--the letters WERE AWESOME! 

This week was good but wasn´t perfect. I saw several miracles, one being, a family that had decided to not be baptized told us last night that they would be baptized---the mother of this family told me that she prayed and fasted very much and it was a great strength to my testimony of fasting and prayer. This family is a mother and her two sons. The other elderes are responsible for them and they should be baptized the beginning of February!!

 

We are teaching Pedro--he had a dream about reading Alma 37!! We shared with him verse 6 and 7 and also verse 37. He is elect and it is amazing to see the difference in a person when they truly seek daily, keep a study journal and pray--he is going to be baptized the 2nd of February! He will help a lot with the small, young leadership here in Araquaina--I´m very grateful for his example. 

 

This week I gave a tie and a new Liahona to Rogerio--a 14 year old young man that doesn´t have a ton of knowledge and about the priesthood. I love that kid and the other young men here I´m grateful that I have the opportunity to be associated with them. They strengthen me as much as I am hopefully strengthening them. Well, sorry--I promise I´ll write more next week. Love you all! 

 

Elder Allen!   

Rain!!

It rains pretty much every day here in Araquaina right now!! This week we had three investigators in church--BANG! YES! And I know that we will have even more next week. We are working with some great people and some people that need some work--but hey--we all need some work--right! This week was good. We lost our awesome district leader but received a new awesome one--MY COMPANION! Elder Rodrigues is awesome and he had his wisdom teeth pulled this week and with the transfers and all our numbers as far as lessons and all were pretty weak this week but we had THE BEST PLANNING SESSION ever with the President and the lideres do ramo--the branch! I was finally able to express a few more of my ideas as well as our new addition to the district--Elder de Oliviera--he added some great ideas! I know that this branch is gonna grow and we set a goal to have enough people attending church by the end of this year to buy a piece of property and began the construction on a real chapel---YAAA! I know that we can do it if we just keep planning and working day by day. This morning we planned for like 3 hours straight and worked with the Area Book and all--it was super great! Also we are fasting ate o pó--to the dust! I know that fasting and prayer work!

 

This week I almost cried at a family home evening we had with Carmosina and family--we played a game shared a very spiritual and special message and there were powerful testimonies shared--the Spirit was strong there and the young boys there loved me--it was awesome--we played games with my nametag, read the Book of Mormon together and ya--it was just a really special day and it´s those types of experiences that make the mission all worth it--BUT STILL---we need more--BATISMOS and we need more firm members in the faith! It will come with faith and prayer and work!

 

I wrote a long e-mail to the President and all and so I only have five minutes--sorry.

 

I RECEIVED THE PACKAGE--THE JERKY IS AMAZING!!!

Mother--thank you so much for Amber´s address.

 

Margaret Spencer and family sent me a letter---THANK YOU A BUNCH--THAT WAS AWESOME!

 

Also Rishi--I don´t know what happened to the letter I wrote you--I think that I left some of my personal papers at an investigators house--sorry--I wrote a letter for happy b-day on the 11th and the new baby and all--thanks A BUNCH FOR THE LETTER.

 

This week was good and the next will be even better. I know that God lives, just have faith, pray for the Spirit and keep working hard and you can accomplish your goals.

Watch the videos from Zig Zigler about setting goals--they´re awesome!

Love you all, ate mais!

--Elder Allen

Happy Birthday Luke !!

LUKE YOU´RE GONNA BE 8---YES! Don´t forget to take lots of pictures and to write in your journal on the day of your baptism. I´m glad that you had a blast at the fireside--way to be PUMPED about the gospel--to many people in this world think that being spiritual isn´t ´cool´ but the truth is that it´s totally awesome and it´s what brings TRUE HAPPINESS--REAL LOVE FOR THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST--THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS! 

Tchau Willy--I´ll be praying for you--you´ll do awesome!

Thanks to all of your PRAYERS EVERYONE--I AM HEALTHY!! I was a bit frustrated this past week because I knew that my stomach problems were not normal and that I probably had some kind of virus or something and really didn´t want to get shipped to Teresina to the hospital or something. After a crummy stomach for several days my companion and the other missionaries advised me to rest one day in the house, eat nothing but liquids and we got a bunch of stomach virus pills from the hospital!! I took all the advise and I lost a bit of work time but now I´m back to 100% and so sometimes it´s important that you take a small rest and recover rather than trying to continue at half speed and just get worse and worse. The sad thing is that two of the other three Elders here with me, including my companion, have been having problems with fevers, tooth aches, stomach, etc. Our mission president sent out a list of new food eating and water drinking rules and we have to be really careful what we eat here. I know that my stomach thing was from some of the water I drank or some food that wasn´t properly washed---I am definitely going to have to use a lot more money and time to buy things to cleanse water, wash fruits and veggies with vinegar, boil stuff, etc. 

This week we only had ONE INVESTIGATOR IN CHURCH---but hey--that´s a blessing--sometimes we have zero. Learn to always follow through with your word people. Saturday we called and visited probably 3 families and 12-15 people in total that said: YES I´LL COME TO CHURCH BUT THEN DIDN´T SHOW UP---GARBAGE. We have to keep having faith. This week we learned a great lesson about teaching with the Spirit and working better together as a companionship--never leave the house or make a decision without the Spirit--if you need to, take some extra time, study, pray and get the Spirit back with you and then you can continue your day! 

This week I made even better friends with Henrique and Rogerio--the only problem is that their families is in the area of the other Elders---blah---they´re stealing my investigators--hah--no just kidding, we´re all in this together. I invited Henrique and his mother to church and Henrique loved primary, he adored it and by the end of church was wearing my name tag, taking pictures with us on his mother´s cell phone and his mother and him talked about getting baptized--I love it when young innocent people feel the great influence of the Holy Ghost and then influence them around them with their excitement. Keep up the good work you younglings: James, Luke, Hyrum, all of you cousins, etc. The rest of us--become more like little children--the Holy Ghost is real--if you don´t believe it--GO READ THE LIAHONA, LISTEN TO GENERAL CONFERENCE, READ THE SCRIPTURES AND THEN SEEK, KNOCK AND EXCERCISE FAITH AND THE MIRACLES WILL COME! 

Amber and I still haven´t baptized any of our investigators but like Amber said, by the way I love you e-mails--they pump me up and I love your spirit and everything you write, we´re going to always be excited and look at every Saturday as if there is going to be a baptism--like truly plan for it, have faith with works--not just say that there will be a baptism. 

My companion is going to remove his wisdom teeth this week--pray for him to recover fast so that our district can return to normal health and work 100% Last week we lost close to 4 whole days combined with all of the sickness. 

Satan is working hard so we have to WORK HARDER THAN HIM--REMEMBER YOU CAN CRUSH HIS HEAD AND HE ONLY HAS POWER TO BRUISE YOUR HEEL. 

I know that Jesus Christ lives and sharing your testimony helps to strengthen it. Well gotta send an e-mail to the AP--I will talk to you all next week--have a great time in the awesome cold weather--that´s so cool that it´s soo freeezing! Love you guys! 

--Elder Allen