MISSIONS!!!

WOW---You blow my mind Amber and Nathan and Scott---you guys are such AMAZING MISSIONARIES---I need to trust in God more like you do---thanks SOOO MUCH FOR THE MIND OPENER----Sorry family----I spent my entire time reading the e-mails from Scott and Amber and Dad and such and was GREATLY EDIFIED. NATHAN YOU ARE AWESOME---YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THE MEXICO TEMPLO---THAT´S SOOO COOL THAT YOU ARE IN MEXICO---I love that country and I love Herimosillo and those orphans and all the AWESOME THINGS WE DID THERE AS A FAMILY. Thanks so much dad for taking us there!! 

Thank Mom and Spencer and James for the great e-mails as well---I learn so much from you guys---have a WONDERFUL WEEK!! 

Love you all. 

--Elder Allen :) 

It´s August--HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA ALLEN!!

HELLO FAMILY AND NATHAN AND SCOTT!!! HOW IS LIFE IN PROVO, POLAND, THE MEXICO MTC AND THE PROVO MTC?? Things sure are going great here in Teresina Brasil!! I´m going to catch the hottest part of the year here in Teresina---one of the hottest cities in the world---YESSSSS!!! It really isn´t too bad (the sun) I just sweat like CRAZY. You know me, I already sweat a boatload and with this solzão (HUGE SUN) I sweat even more and sometimes I smell like a dog by the end of the night and I look like I just got finished playing an SVU soccer game on the hot turf!! It´s pretty awesome--I arrive at home super sweaty and I want to just scratch myself all OVER because the water here is dirty water that I take a shower in and so it leaves me a bit itchy---the water isn´t super, super terrible but it´s enough to make you itchy all over! I also have some kind of allergy or maybe I went walking through poison ivy because I have read dots all over my arms --SPREADING EVERYWHERE!!! We also spend sometimes a good 45 minutes playing and writing in the area book and doing stuff for the zone and so I stay with my tie all done up and my shirt tucked in until like 10:15 at night sometimes and it leaves you ITCHING LIKE CRAZY---hah--but I LOVE IT!!! It´s all worth it when you finish out the fourth quarter. When you don´t finish out the fourth quarter you always look back and are a bit frustrated with yourself---but all you can do is forget that fourth quarter and go dominate the next one---Champions are made in the fourth quarter. It takes 90 minutes to win a soccer game. You can accomplish a lot of good in this world---you can be ahead in a soccer game 8-0 with 85 minutes already played in the game but if you decide to sit down and relax those last five minutes the other team can score 9 goals pretty quickly and all of your 85 minutes of hard work can go to waste. Don´t let your guard down---SATAN WANTS US TO QUIT----BUT WE WILL NEVER QUIT---Keep being strong and doing what´s right---especially when you are tired or you don´t want to do it anymore---just continue to the end and the Lord will BLESS YOU RICHELY!!

Well, happy birthday grandma Allen! I hope that you have a wonderful birthday!! How many years have you earned on this earth again?? You are just two years younger than grandpa--correct?? I hope that you have a wonderful birthday there in the BEAUTIFUL AND AWESOME STATE OF IDAHO---eat lots of ice cream, have pancakes and bacon for breakfast and give a BIG, GIANT, HUG to everyone for me there in Idaho!! Oh and you should learn how to sing the happy birthday song in Portuguese--it´s pretty rad!! Thanks so much for the packages and for that letter that you sent to me--it sure is great to receive things from family!! I often wonder how those that served in the war did things without hardly any contact with family or friends. 

This week family we taught a cool family--they are not married yet but we are going to take their names and information to the marriage/court house this week and they will be married here in like 15 days and then will be baptized afterwards---I have faith that it´s going to happen and I´m so excited to see them enter the waters of baptism--they are a super cool couple. The wife-soon to be- said a prayer to ask God if the Book of Mormon was true and didn´t receive her answer--she said that she was trying to say a delicate and fancy prayer and that she was trying to push the answer but then decided to just forget everything and open up and converse with God--she explained how the Holy Spirit touched her---she explained it in a way that she didn´t really explain it---sometimes it is hard to explain the answers we receive from the Holy Ghost but yet we KNOW that we have them---they are often times are glorious and wonderful but yet we have a hard time explaining them--just like Joseph had a hard time explaining and describing Jesus Christ and His Father, our Heavenly Father after seeing and conversing with them!! Well our Zone has a goal of 15 baptisms for the month and we still need 7 this month and so we are working hard for this---we are also trying to make sure that the baptisms are of quality and not just convinced to be baptized like people sometimes are just to fulfill a number or a goal. I know that God wants us to work with numbers but to be careful and remember that these numbers represent our BROTHERS AND SISTERS---His children. 

 

Ate mais!!

Love, Elder Allen ( one of the Elder Allen´s---haha---YEEES!!)

THE BIGGEST ZONE IN THE MISSION!!

Hello family!!! My Mission President put me as a Zone Leader of the biggest Zone in the mission---WHAT---I still don´t even speak Portuguese---haha. We already had our first Zone meeting and there are 8 sisters in our ZONE----YA FOR SISTERS---I FEEL A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO AMBER NOW!!! Our Mission President is really pushing for us to baptize more and I am related to my wonderful mother and like to take everything upon me when the house isn´t clean or when everything doesn´t run smoothly or when the zone DOESN´T BAPTIZE as much as we should be BUT---I have full certainty that our Zone is going to baptize our goal of 2 families, four men---FUTURE LEADERS AND FATHERS!!! and 15 people in total! I love prayer, and goals and hard work with the Lord. I know that I have a lot to learn and a LOT TO DO BETTER AS A MISSIONARY-IT DOESN´T MATTER WHERE YOU´RE CALLED BUT RATHER HOW YOU SERVE. -I know that I need to do better to always be on the Lord´s side---WHO´S ON THE LORD´S SIDE WHO----ME!!! I love singing songs with my family---boy oh boy how I miss singing with you all--I have an idea---everytime that you want to scream or you are a bit frustrated or when you´d just like to be a bit more happy and full of AWESOMENESS---start to sing that song and I´ll sing it too and then we can be singing at the same time!! Don´t worry about what others think of you, BE YOURSELF, AND REMEMBER THAT IT IS STILL REAL LIFE, YOU DON´T HAVE TO HAVE A JOSEPH SMITH FIRST VISION EXPERIENCE EVERY SINGLE DAY. Just live your best and be happy and do the simple things: Read the Book of Mormon, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, smile and have fun and testify and be an example and trust in the Savior Jesus Christ. 

I love you all Allen family--please pray for me to be the missionary that I should be!! Thanks for all of your support---I LOVED THE LETTERS FROM THE WARD PRIMARY FROM AAAAMBER!!! AND THE PACKAGE FULL OF JEEERKY AND AWESOME GOODS FROM YOU MOTHER AND FAMILY! 

I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He is the head of this church and I need to have more love and respect for Him each and every day. Have a great week everyone! 

Love, Gregg/Élder Allen!!