Dec. 30, 2013

Dear Family And Friends,

This week was an interesting week. Lots of things happened this week.

Monday was P-day and no one came to the Church building so it was just Elder Englund and myself playing Basketball and Writing letters.  We also had the house to our selves for the week since the Farnsworths went to see their family in Texas.

Tuesday was the day before Christmas and no one wanted to talk with us, they were to busy trying to get everything done. We tried lots of unknown people and lots of formers.

Wednesday was Christmas. The Sisters and us had breakfast with the Nelsons in the ward. Bro Nelson is our Ward Mission Leader.  After Breakfast we all were able to Skype our families.  It was great to be able to Skype my family including my brother Andrew. It was awesome to talk with my family and see the change that has taken place in everyone lives. We had Christmas dinner with the Dinning family. We went over and helped prepare all the food and things needed for dinner. Sister Dinning invited her boss named Shannah Over for dinner since she is here in St Joe without her family and friends.  It was an awesome dinner. After dinner we played games and talked about the bible and what it meant for Shannah and what it meant to us. We also had a snowball fight in the backyard. It was the Sisters and the Elders and the Dinnings Kids. It was lots of fun.

Thursday we met with Gene. He is a 93 year old man. We taught him about how he would receive his answer if the church was true. We were able to put him on baptismal date for the 18th of January.  He has 4 generations of his family living with him. We were able to see some people on the lists that were unknown. We had our first dinner with a member. We had it with the Burns. While we were eating the next-door neighbor had backed into our car. There is now a big dent in the rear passenger side.  He was nice enough to tell us and give us all of his information.  We then drove thought Krug Park. The city decorates it with tons of lights and you stay in your car and drive the route. It was fun, they have tons of unique light signs and statues.

Friday we were able to talk to some more people and we were able to teach Deebe about prophets and committed her to come to Church.  We taught Faith and Vero the second new member lesson. Today it got hotter and all the snow is melting.

Saturday we had to come to the library and fill out a report about the accident on Thursday. It took hours to fill in all the information and also fill it out on paper.  We did some service.

Sunday we had meetings starting at 7 for us which was early. We had Church at 9 and it was on Fasting and what we need to do while fasting.  We had one investigator come to church, which was Deebe.  Sister Dinning taught Gospel Principals and it was on Exaltation.  This ward is small and there aren't lot that come every week. If they would all come we could have another ward here in St Joe.   We meet with the bishop and reported on our week and received names of people to see.  We had dinner with the Dinnings again this week. They are a great family and so willing to help us Missionaries out.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and thanks for all the gifts. I love all of you and miss you all lots.

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen

Dec 23, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been an interesting week.

Monday we went shopping. While we were driving we saw a large car accident with many cars. We went to Lee Summit to be with all of the other Elders and Sisters in the Stake. Everyone was there. It was fun.

Tuesday we went on exchanges with the other elders in the ward. I stayed in my area and had Elder Smith with me. We biked a lot and were able to see some people. We had dinner with the Strubs. While we were there we were talking about lots of deep doctrine since they are both history people. That evening we got the transfer calls. I learned that I was going to St Joseph 1st ward and serving with Elder Englund.  Elder Bittion is also leaving.

Wednesday we exchanged back in the morning. Elder Horne and I went biking lots so I could say good bye. We saw David R. and while we were there I got to ride in his electric wheel chair. It is tradition for the leaving Elders to do donuts in his chair.  We were able to see the Biggs. Sister Biggs just started to go back to work since she couldn't with the broken arm.  I was hard to say good-bye to everyone but I was excited to go serve in a different area.   I had lots to pack. I didn't realize that I have so much stuff.

Thursday we couldn't find a ride to transfers so we all piled in the Ford Fusion with Elder Bitton's and my stuff on our laps and in the trunk.  There was only like 25 Missionaries being transferred.  We all meet at the church building next to the Visitor Center. Elder Englund and his companion had a member named Angelo drive them down.  We picked up our mail and packages and all left for our new areas.  Angelo took us to Krispy Cream’s to get some donuts. They weren't hot :(  It took us about 2 hours to drive to our area. We live with members in the ward named the Farnsworth’s.  This ward also got some sisters. There is Sister Thompson and she is training a new sister named ? We took the car in to the ford shop to get the door handle fixed.  It took them hours to do that.  

Friday it started to get cold.  We had to take the purple ford in to get the oil changed.  We went to the Stuckets and used his hydraulic wood splitter and split wood for him. We split wood for them for like 2 hours.  We also had dinner with them.

Saturday it started to rain and that rain started to freeze.  We tired to see people but no one was home. We had the ward party that evening and when we arrived at the party they shut the cars down. The ward party was nice and lots of nice people. When we got home at 8 we played in the snow for some time. We had like 4 inches when we went in for the night.  That night it snowed like 5 more inches.

Sunday Church was canceled and we still couldn't drive. We were even told to stay home. We slept and watched the approved movies.

I am having Tons of fun here. I hope you all are doing well. I miss all of you and love you.

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen

Dec 16, 2013

                                                                                                                        Dec 16, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

We had an interesting week. We had lots to do this week.

Tuesday we talked to lots of people. We are still trying to meet every one in the ward and see all the less active people. We also were preparing for the Christmas mission conference.

Wednesday was the Christmas Mission conference. The whole mission was there, even all of the senior missionaries. We had training from President and Sister Keyes and from the APs. It was on using our time wisely and what to do after dark and what is good, better, and best. We also had Sister Keyes talk to us about making 72 hour kits. They have supplied part of the items need us to get the rest. We had lunch and then a whole mission picture. There were 10 rows with 30 about in each row. Salt Lake sent a Senior Sister missionary to take the picture. After the picture we had a musical program where each zone had time to perform something.  Our zone sang the primary song the Sheppard’s carol. We also had President Keyes read the book that he had written. It was an awesome day. 

Thursday we had weekly planning and then went and saw more people that were down in the bottom of our area.  We had dinner with the Wimmers. After dinner we went With Bro Gray to teach Shirley and Martino. We taught them about tithing and fasting. Martino had tons of questions and most of them were things that we usual don't teach since they are very deep subjects.  

Friday we had freezing rain. The office grounded the cars and we couldn't drive them until the ice had melted. The other Elders had dropped off stuff and were at our place when we received the call about the cars being shut down for the day. We just did our studies and walk to Bro Hamm to do some service for him. The sidewalks and road were very slick.   We were finally able to start to drive at 3pm. We meet with Shirley and Martino and went over the baptism interview questions. We also planned the baptismal program. Shirley wanted me to baptize her and to have Bro. Condie baptize Martino.

Saturday we had more freezing rain. We had the baptismal interview and it went well. We waited the rest of the day for the exterminator to come. He never came. We finally had to leave and fill the font. The baptism went well, we had lots of people come. The spirit was very Strong there. I baptized Shirley and it only took one dunk. It was awesome that I was  able to baptize Shirley.   After the baptism we had the ward party. It went great. We, the missionaries, help a lot preparing the tables and helping set up. We even had investigators come to dinner. After dinner the ward put on a talent show. It was funny. We even stayed and help clean up and clean the building for Sunday. 

Shirley and Martino Baptism

Shirley and Martino Family

Sunday Elder Horne conferred both Shirley and Martino. I was able to also stand in the circle for that. I even helped pass the sacrament. After Church We took Bebe with us to see Michael O. Bebe is from Nigeria and is from the same tribe as Michael and his wife. We had a great lesson with them. We had dinner with the Cunnighams and had cabbage ham soup. It was good. We then saw the Turks and some other people.

This week was interesting but great. It was awesome that we had a baptism. I love all you. I hope that all of you have a great Christmas.

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen

Ps: Transfers is on this Thursday. We don't figure out who is leaving until Tuesday night.

Dec 9, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

I am doing great here in Kansas City. Kansas City is all white with all the snow that we have gotten this weekend.  This morning we went to the Zoo and spent some time there. We saw lots of animals but not every animal was out. The weather here has been very cold.  It has been under 20 some days.

Last Monday we went to the Plaza and walk down the streets and look in some of the stores. The plaza has tons of lights everywhere. We had dinner with the Laseur family and had fried chicken. We then had a great lesson after dinner with them. 

Tuesday we walked and bus. We tried to see some unknowns that bishop gave us. We were able to talk to only one of them. We tracked some but no one wanted to talk since it was very cold. We were able to meet with David and help him pay his tithing for the first time. We also gave Bro Hamm a blessing since he was going to the hospital the next day. 

Wednesday we biked and biked. We meet with Patricia and she is from Mexico and lived for 4 years in Arizona. She went to church in Arizona and wants to attend here. We then went to the Biggs and meet with them to see how Sister Miller was doing quitting smoking. We were fed homemade banana bread.  We then bike more to help Sister Brooks set up her Christmas tree. We had dinner with Sister Gay at Sally's, a Mexican food place. After dinner we meet with the Scott's they are both blind and are converts to the church.  They don't come as often since it is hard for them to make it to church. They can talk with you about movies for hours. They have seen tons of new movies.

Thursday we biked even more. We tried more unknowns in a different area and at one of the houses we didn't find him home but did talk to his next-door neighbor and she told us that she was looking for a church to take her family too.  We had dinner with the Sloops and had KFC. After dinner we went to see Alex with Bro Olsen and we taught her the word of wisdom and the Law of Chastity. She accepted to follow them.

Friday we had Zone training. It was on how to communicate to the ward better. We also were given instructions on what to do when there is snow and ice on the roads. We went out for lunch at Wendy's. After that we went on Exchanges with the zone leaders. Elder Christensen and I stayed in this ward and Elder Horne went with Elder Stevens to Blue Springs. We tracked a lot but no one was interested.  We helped Sister Gallardo program her new remote for her TV. We had dinner with Sister Pitt and Marlow and had home made pizza. We also gave Sister Marlow a blessing.  After that we stop by Bro Hamm's to see how he was doing. We help him sweep and go through mail that he had gotten.

Saturday we exchanged back after ward correlation. We taught Shirley and Martino more about baptism since I hope that they will be baptized this next Saturday. We had dinner with Sister Simmontons and she told us all about her car problems. She feed us meat loaf and green beans. After dinner we all 4 went to see Brother Smith. He lives very close to Sister Simmontons.  He told us his life story and about all the health problems he is going through.

Sunday we woke up to find it snowing. We went to church and only had 2 investigators there. After church Bro Ramirez took us to see Particia. We read with her and taught her about the restoration. Bro Ramirez had to translate part of it for her.   We had dinner with Bishop and his family. We had fresh salmon from Alaska. We then watched the Christmas Devotional with them. I enjoyed it.   It was awesome to watch.

I am still doing great here. I am enjoying the weather and the snow. I hope you are all safe and doing well this Christmas season. Thanks for the tree and the decoration. Thanks for the letters. I love you all.

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen

Dec 1, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

Elder Horne and I had an interesting week.

Monday was the mission cleaning day. Everyone had to deep clean the apartments. We couldn't go and play sports or go anywhere accept for shopping. We had dinner with the Laseur Family. Brother Laseur is a member that hasn't been active for years.  His wife wants to learn more and then sometime get baptized so they can go to the Temple together.

Tuesday we went to the Biggs.  At that house there are 4 generations living in the one house. The great grandmother, Sister Biggs and Sister Miller, her daughter, are members. The rest of the family is not members.  We are helping Sister Biggs get ready to go to the temple. We were finally able to meet with Alex. She has been sick and just not here in the ward. She finally got an apartment in the ward. We were able to take Nieem with us. We taught her part of the commandments. It worked out that when we dropped Nieem off where the other Elders were being picked up for dinner. We had meat loaf for dinner. After dinner we were able to get in with Brother Pond. He is a less active member and his wife wants to know more just doesn't want to be baptized yet.

Wednesday not a lot of people wanted to talk with us. They were all busy preparing for Thanksgiving.   We went to see David and help him with some of his questions from the Book of Mormon. We are now teaching Lela and Brother Wright.  She was Muslim and is living with a less active member. She wants to learn more and help Brother Wright come back to church. It is a little hard to teach her with no previous knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Thursday Thanksgiving!!   We did studies in the morning and weekly planning.  At about 12, we went to Michael’s. He is from Nigeria and meet with sister missionaries from the Liberty jail. After teaching him the restoration and him knowing all of what we were teaching him, we went the Webster’s. They had invited us over for Thanksgiving lunch. The food there was great. I ate lots. After the Webster’s we went to Bro Graham’s.  It was like 3 that we had dinner there. He wanted missionaries to come over for dinner since it was a tradition. It was also his first Thanksgiving with out his wife. The food there was good also. I tried not to eat as much. We left with lots of food for leftovers. After dinner we went home and took naps since we couldn't do much. No one wanted to meet with us.

Friday we had a training conference call. President Keyes and the APs taught us what to do during winter and what to do after dark. We then went to see Martha, she told us her life story. She is planning on moving to a different state this next year. We went tracking and found some new people to teach. We had dinner with Sister Gay. She had family over that were not members and we talked with them about the gospel and their experiences with missionaries and the church.

Saturday we tried to see some less actives and most of them were moved. That afternoon we had a ward get together at the Webster’s. Not a lot came. We had a big bond fire; Elder Horne and I were in charge of that. We had lots of barbecue and snores. The leftovers were sent with us. We have a ton of meat now. We then taught Sister Biggs and Sister Miller the New member lesson 1. It went great they had made us pumpkin roll and chocolate gravy.

Sunday we had church and it was fast and testimony meeting. We had some interesting testimonies. After sacrament meeting we met Sister Reid and her daughter and soon to be Son in law. Brother Andy Reid is the Coach for the Chiefs. He lives in the ward and attends when he can. We had to relay a message to her about a player that is meeting with missionaries. We taught sharing time in primary. It was on thankfulness and how we need to be thankful for all. After Church we meet with Michael again and he gave us a 2 letter of coke because it is custom to give coke to a guest. After that we meet with the Barkers. They build Guitars for a living. Their shop has lots of cool tools.  We had dinner with the Ramirezs. After dinner we were trying to meet with members before our 8:30 appointment with Bro Potter. Bishop wants us to meet with him and teach him and review with him so he can go to the temple.

We had a great week and next we don't have the car and are going to bike tons. I love you all and hope you are doing great. Thanks for the letters.

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen

Nov 25, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was an Interesting week. The weather has gotten real cold. Saturday it was 25 outside for part of the day. This week we biked and walk since we didn't have the car.

Tuesday we biked lots. We meet with a couple that have meet with missionaries before. They are Catholic but were just trying to bash with us. We then biked and tried to see lots of people but no one answered their doors.  Our dinner fell thought so we went down to the church and ate the left over food from the R.S. activity. They were having a Thanksgiving dinner with a talent show. We helped in the kitchen and did the dishes in return for some dinner.

Wednesday it rained lots.  We tried to see people but it seemed that no one wants to talk with us when it gets cold. We were able to see David and talk with him about the Temple and what he needs to do to enter into the Temple.

Thursday it rain even more. We bike down one of the bike trails and got covered in mud. We got on the bus to take us to the East part of our area and the bus driver gave us a free ride.  We were able to find some people to teach and found some former investigators that want to meet with us again. When we made it to dinner we were cold and wet and covered in mud. We had biked like 15 miles that day. We had soup for dinner, which was great. We then had correlation with our ward mission leader.

Friday we had a district meeting in Lee Summit since we have the Zone leaders in our district and it is closer for them to go there than come to Kansas City. Elder Horne is the district leader and gave training on the Book of Mormon. We went out to Pizza Street for lunch. It is an all you can eat pizza place. After District meeting we bike to the closest CVS to take Elder Horne to see a nurse. He woke up with lots of bites on his arms.  They told us that they thought it was bed bugs. We had dinner with the McCreas and had a feast.  She had cooked tons of food for us. She even sent the rest home with us. Our appointment with Kay didn't work since there was some miscommunication with every one.

Saturday we had the Mission office bring over new beds. We (Elder Lilywhite and I) then rewired the Air handler to heat up the apartment. We got the apartment up to 111. We were able to teach some great lessons. We meet with Lela and Bro. Wright. We taught Shirley and Martino about the plan of salvation. We then had stake conference. We were invited to the adult meeting since it was on missionary work. President Keyes spoke and President Goodson spoke. Then they had a Question and Answer about being member missionaries. Bro. Graham gave us a ride there and back since we didn't have the miles to drive.

Sunday we had the rest of stake conference. President and Sister Hardy (Kansas City Temple president) came and spoke. They spoke on the importance of the Temple and what blessings it can bring to others. They told the story of Sky and Lila. He also told his story of breaking his neck by falling head first down a flight of stairs. He is still in a neck brace, but doing all the things he is required to do. President Goodson gave the stake a challenge to study Preach my gospel by the next stake conference.  We then had a great lesson with Martino and taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This week has been a good but interesting week. It is getting cold and might snow this coming week. I am excited for Thanksgiving. Thanks for the letters I enjoy reading them. I miss you and hope you have a great Thanksgiving.

Love,

 Elder Benjamin Allen

This was a sign that was on the Allen’s door that live in the ward. I think it is funny that they have a reference from the Book of Mormon.

"And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hears of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things."  1 Nephi 11:22

Nov 18, 2013

Dear Family And Friends

I am doing great, lots happen this week. This week was transfers. Elder Weatherford was transferred to Independence.

 

Benjamin and Elder Weatherford

Monday we went shopping and went to thrift stores but didn't find anything that I could get. We went out to Lee summit and went bowling with most of the Elders in the Area. It was fun to be able to go bowling. I got the 3rd highest score on one of the games.

Tuesday we were able to meet with Donzell. We taught him about how his thoughts lead to actions and then to habits. He is trying to quit smoking to become a member again.  We meet with Alex and taught her about Jesus Christ and the Gospel that He set up. We then saw Shirley but not Martino he was at basketball practice. We taught her about the plan of salvation.  We had dinner with Bishop and his family.  After dinner we meet with Bishop to update him about the members of the ward. We have been seeing lots of the members that are unknown on the list.

Wednesday Elder Weatherford packed and we went around telling people good by. While he was packing I cleaned the apartment so it would be nice and clean for the new Elder. 

Thursday was transfers. We drove to Independence to the mission office to meet for transfers and to pick up our new companions. My new companion Is Elder Horne.  He is from California and has been out for a year. He served in Topeka in the same ward where Elder Andrew Allen is.  He served there for 6 months then went to Liberty. His ward was the one around the Temple. We had dinner with the Laseur Family then had a lesson with them. We taught them about Jesus Christ and what He did for us.  We tried to have correlation with the ward missionaries but no one showed up and Bro Belliston was called into work. We were able to finally find Ty and Amy at home. They are both working and are very busy.

Friday we saw lots of people.  We tried lots of former investigators and less active members. We learned that most of them have moved. The appointments we did have canceled on us. We help a man rake up his leaves and bag them. We were able to also find some new people to teach.

Saturday was a busy day. We had a baptism we need to go to Since Elder Horne need to baptize Tina. It was back in his old area so we had to find a member to take us.  We found one to take us then the time of the baptism changed so we had to find some one different to take us.  It was a great baptism.  After the baptism the sister missionaries in the ward wanted to each have a blessing. Elder Horne gave one to sister Perez. I was asked by Sister Jacobs to give her a blessing. It was the first that I given to a missionary. It was great to have the Priesthood and to be able to give a blessing. I know what I said was what the Lord wanted me to say to Sister Jacobs, We had a busy day after the baptism. We taught Martino and read with him from the Book of Mormon.

Sunday we had 5 investigators that came to church. I was able to help with the sacrament and bless the bread. We tried lots of people in the south part of the ward. We were able to meet with lots of people. Then after dinner no one wanted to talk with us since the Chefs were playing. 

This week has been great but a little hard since I now had to make all the decisions.  I miss Elder Weatherford but Elder Horne is cool and has lots of experience.  This transfer is going to be short and only 5 weeks.  I might be leaving this next transfer. So if you want to send me things it would be nice if I could get them before the 18th of December. I love this area and the people here in Kansas City. They are awesome.

I love you all.

Elder Benjamin Allen.

Nov 11, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

This week went well, we were able to see lots of people.

Tuesday we had a special training where President Keyes taught us what he had learned at the Mission Presidents conference. It was half of the mission gathered together at one time. We were taught lots of great things on how to be more effective as missionaries. The spirit was really strong there. It was also great to see missionaries that came out with me. That almost took all day. After dinner we had a great lesson with Alex, we taught her about the plan of salvation. I was able to invite her to baptism. She accepted and is planning for the 14th of December.

Wednesday we went to the farthest east of our area. We took the bus since we don't have the car and Elder Weatherford didn't have a bike. We were able to see some people. While we were out there waiting for the bus a member in a different stake picked us up and dropped us off at our next appointment. It was nice of him to do that for us. We were able to give Sister Pitt a blessing before surgery on her eye. We had a good lesson with Sean.  We read from the Book of Mormon. We read about King Benjamin.

Thursday we meet a guy named Issac.  He is a worker at a restaurant. While we were walking past he yelled at us to come and teach him. We taught him a little but learned that he just wanted to debate with us. We had our appointments cancel. We were still able to see people. We ran to catch the bus one time and the bus driver was so nice to wait for us. We had correlation with the ward this evening.

Friday was exchanges with the North Elders. Elder Smith came with me to my area. We had a great day together. We taught a lesson to Maryella.  She is from Mexico and knows only a little English. I wish on of us could speak Spanish.  We had a great time together. We found some new people to teach.

Saturday we had a great day planned but it just didn't go as planned. We taught Sherlly about the restoration and invited her to be baptized and she accepted then we taught her grandson Martino and he also accepted and invitation to be baptized. We went to David's and taught him about the Priesthood since Bishop wanted to meet with him on Sunday. We were able to meet with Monal and Amit. They are from India. We talked about the Book of Mormon and read some with them from it.

Sunday we had 4 of our investigators at church. The ward fellowship them very well. After Church Elder Weatherford and I walked 3 miles to meet with a investigator and he wasn't home so we walked back. We had dinner with the Condies and they invited Sherrly and her grandson over for dinner. It went well they loved being able to get to know some members of the ward.

Next week we have transfers and I think Elder Weatherford will be leaving. He has been here for 6 months. He still hasn't gotten his visa to India. I think I will stay here and get a new companion. 

Thanks for the letters and Emails. I love you.

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen

Nov 4, 2013

This week was busy very busy. We saw lots of people.

Tuesday, We gave a member in the ward, named Sister Dowling, a blessing. I was the one that gave her the blessing. She requested a blessing because of some health problems. We saw David R. and taught him about the time line of the Book of Mormon and Bible. We had dinner with the Clements and had pizza. After dinner we meet with the Laseur family. Brother Laseur is a member that wants to become active again and his wife wants to know what we believe.

Wednesday, we did some service for Sister Pitt.  We cut down vines and weeds and fixed one of her doors. While we were outside it started to rain. It poured and we left completely wet. We tried lots of people and most of them were not home. We had dinner with the Strubs. They are two history students and know lots of history and can talk about any history event. We had an awesome lesson with Sean. We taught him about how Faith and being obedient to the commandments.  Then you faith will grow. He gave us a large bag of candy like 115 pieces.  Elder Weatherford ripped open the bag when we got home and the candy went every where.

Thursday, Halloween!!  We saw the Biggs, we taught them about being member missionary and how to share the gospel. We got a referral from other missionaries to see James. He is a bus driver for the Metro. He had talked to missionaries that had been on his bus. We taught him about the restoration and left him with a Book of Mormon.  We had dinner with the Sloops. They are a couple that is in there 80's. They made us Spaghetti and bread. We also had Ice cream and hot cookies.  They sent us home with tons of candy. We couldn't go out and see people, so we all 4 elders went to David's place. We played hangman with him using names from the Book of Mormon.

Friday, we had district meeting. Elder Weatherford did the training on the Holy Ghost. We then went on Exchanges with Kc3rd. Elder Thomas came to stay with me in our area. We tracked a lot and had an appointment with Mike. We answered his questions on baptism. He is an interesting person. We had dinner with Sister Gay. We had Chinese food.  Kay was sick so we didn't have a lesson after dinner. We couldn't find any one home.

Saturday we exchanged back in the morning. We had correlation with Bro Belliston. We were able to find lots of people home. We found some new investigators. We had dinner with Sister Hernandez. She has a next-door neighbor that is interested in our church. We were able to teach her a lesson after dinner. We had all 4 elder there since there were no males there. It was weird to teach with 3 other Elders all at one time. We also went to the house of a member that just moved in. She wanted her house blessed. It was my first time participating in blessing a home. 

Sunday, It was Fast Sunday. We had 3 of our investigators at church. Elder Weatherford and I taught Sunday school to the 13 year olds all the way up to the 18 year olds.  We taught them about being Self reliant and about missions.  After church we played Tracto with the Elders in the district. It is like bingo just you do it while tracking. I was fun to play.  We knocked on lots of doors and met some weird people.  We had dinner with Orts. They made Hawaiian haystacks. It was great.

This week was a great week we taught lots of lessons and did some service. This area is growing we are getting lots of people to teach. I am exited for tomorrow when we have a special training by president. We will teach us what he learned from the mission president training. The weather is so nice now. The trees are turning colors.  I love it here. I miss you all and hope you are doing great,

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen

Oct 28, 2013

Dear Family And Friends,

This week was very good. We did have a baptism this week. David R. did get baptized by Elder Weatherford. We didn't have that many people show up for the baptism. I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. On Sunday I was able to stand in the circle when David was confirmed a member and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was a great experience.  Looking back now I didn't think that David would have made it this far, but it is because of the gospel and the Spirit working on him.

Tuesday we had interviews with President and Sister Keyes. We also had training by the district leaders. It went well.  I was the last one to be interviewed.  I also got the okay to drive.  We had dinner with Bishop and his family. It is great to be able to talk with Bishop about the ward.

Wednesday we had a lunch appointment with Steve. We meet at Jack Stack, all the way at the top of the ward in the other Elder’s area.  It was some very good BBQ. It was super nice that he paid for all of us. He is super busy so he wants to meet in the spring when he is less busy.  We then helped Bro. Hamm do some things around the house. We were trying to help him find a receipt since he can't look around for it.   We had dinner with the Biggs but before they feed us we had to move tons of tree debris to the road for pick up. While we were doing that Elder Weatherford stepped on two nails in a board that was in the pile.  We then had a great lesson with Sean. We taught him about Prophets.

  

Thursday and Friday we tried to see a lot of people, most of them canceled on us. We did get some new investigators from a referral that we got. We also found a lady that had meet with missionaries before and was ready to meet again. We got in with a less active member and his wife wants us to come back and answer some questions she has about the church. He wants to become active so he can go to the temple some day.

Saturday we had correlation with Bro Belliston.  While we were doing that we had the font filling.  It took 2 and a half hours to fill it. The building is super old and has a tiny water tank. It is almost like the old Lehi stake center. When Elder Weatherford baptized David, the wave was super big and it went into the bathrooms.  We then had the ward party. It was good.  We had a Chili cook off. There was lots of good Chili. We got lots of candy.  The members came up to us elders and gave us candy since they knew we couldn't go trick or treating.

Elder Weatherford, David and Elder Benjamin Allen

Sunday we had 4 investigators at church. The less active member and his wife and son came. This week was the primary program. It was funny to watch all the kids. This ward has a lot of young kids but not a lot of older kids.  Our dinner appointment canceled on us but they did give us a frozen lasagna to cook.  It took forever to cook it since she had just taken it out of the freezer.

This week was awesome. I am glad that we were able to have the baptism. We had a very busy week. I am thankful to be a missionary and to be able to serve in this mission. I am thankful for all the letters. I love you all.

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen