Monday, September 30, 2013

Sept. 30, 2013


Dear Family and Friends,

I am still doing well here in Kansas City.  This week has been an interesting week.

Monday was p-day and we went shopping and went to A& W for lunch. We played basketball and volleyball this week. We had dinner with the Hansens and had home made pizza.

Tuesday we had Zone conference at our stake center. We had car inspections and our car got 3rd place and the sister's cars got 1st and 2nd. We got new books to go along with Preach my Gospel, which are to help us with the stress of a mission. We learned that the APs, all 3 of them are leaving this week. We got to listen to President and Sister Keyes. They told us that we will now need shoulder bags and not backpacks. We can now wear more colors of pants and suits. We also got to speak with president Goodson, the Stake president. We talked about what the ward and stake could do to help us missionaries. It was a great Zone conference. After that Elder Weatherford and I went on Exchanges with the Zone Leaders. I went with Elder Stevens to their area. We had dinner at Olive Garden with the ward mission leader and a young man leaving on his mission this week. He is going to the Scottsdale Arizona Mission.  The Ward Mission leader is a great man.  He is a convert to the church and has only been a member for 2 years. He has an interesting conversion story.

Wednesday, Elder Stevens and I saw lots of people.   We taught a new member lesson to Maria. We had a team up named David, he went on team ups with us the last time I was on exchanges with Elder Rudd.   We had dinner with the Olsens and learned that he works for P&G. He gave us some little handouts from them. We had an appointment with Donzell S. and he canceled.  Then we figured out that Sean was planning on meeting with us. We didn't know that he was planning to meet with us at that time but it did work out. We went with Bro. Belliston to see some people and no one was home or didn’t want to talk with us.

Thursday, We got to go to the Temple this morning. Bro Cunningham drove us there. It was 5 men in his little old car. His car was made in the 1994. We did make it there. We did the 9am session and after that when we were about to leave I ran into Brother Homewood the member that Andrew (Elder Allen) is staying with. We talked for a while and asked him questions and he told me that Andrew was doing great and being a good missionary. I am grateful that we have a Temple so close and can now attend it 4 times a year. After the Temple we biked a lot and try to see people that were not there. Before we got dinner we had do some service for Gail and Sister Pitt. We cut their grass and cleaned up the yard. They feed us lasagna and garlic bread and Ice cream.

Friday, We meet with Brother Hamm, we sweep his floor and shared him a message. We did a lot of biking and riding of the bus. We had dinner with the Mcreas they own like 5 houses around each other.  We had dinner at the old house that Bro Pollitt used to live at. After dinner we taught Kay (Bro Hamm's Ex wife) at Sister Gays place. She had lots of great Questions and knows lots about the church already. 

Saturday, we saw lots of people. It rained all morning we had lots of rain. We had dinner with Wazzer. She made us Nigeria food. It was awesome food. Bishop took us to see Donzell W. He is doing great still trying to quit to smoking.  We also saw Melvee she lives in the same place as Donzell.

Sunday, We had 5 people at church. It was fast Sunday since next week is general conference. We have been told that we can watch all 5 sessions in our ward building. We heard lots of interesting testimonies. Sister Wiemer stood up and told us how glad she was to have us missionaries working with her son Tonny to get him to come back to church.   We had dinner with the Cunninghams. They feed us Quinoa and beans with cheese and other toppings. It was good. We also had gluten free Brownies, which were good. We tried to see Mike but he wasn't home and we bike around to see some other people.

The suit I was wearing in the picture from the last district meeting was one I found in the apartment from an Elder before me. I might keep it since it fits well.  This week was good. A little slow since we had to bike everywhere. We did get to see lots of people. The weather has been nice and I think that I have seen more rain this week than in the last 3 years.  This Area is great we have lots of work to do here. We have stayed busy and the members are very helpful.  I am having a great time here on my mission. Thank you for the letters and prayers.  I love you all and miss you lots.

Love Elder Benjamin Allen.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Sept 23, 2013



Dear Family and Friends,

I am doing great here and had an awesome week.  We were busy and saw lots of people. We had lots come to church.

Tuesday we had a great appointment with David. We went over the priesthood and about how we could track the priesthood line of authority back to Joseph Smith. I was able to pull out my line of Authority and show him that. We saw Dewey again. We told him that he needs to quit smoking or lessen the number times he smokes and start to stop drinking tea and coffee. We told him that if he didn't start we couldn't come back over. He dropped us that night because he didn't ever want to stop smoking and drinking his tea and coffee.  We had dinner with Sister Shaw that is a less active member. Most of her kids and Grandkids still live in the ward. It was some great food that she fed us.

Wednesday, We saw Donzell W. , Bishop says he can be re baptized in 3 months if he quits smoking this month. We talked to him about grace and about the atonement of Jesus Christ.  After that Sky picked us up and took Labrenda and us to the Visitor Center. It was awesome, we all felt the spirit. We went though God’s plan for Families. She wants to be baptized before she moves. She has a baptismal date for the 12th of October. After that Sky took us out to eat since we didn't have any one for dinner.  Sky is such a big help to us. I am glad that he is in the ward. After dinner we saw lots of less actives members.  One family that we stopped by was the Allens. They are 2 brothers and a sister living in a house in the ward. We meet David, one of the Allens. We got to know him and learned that he served a mission. He wants to come to church but can't because of work. He has a younger brother serving a mission in the Wichita mission.

Thursday We met with Dewey again. He was taking to some sister in the v.c in Hawaii and decided he wants to be baptized. We told him that he must start to Quit and come to church or we couldn't come over. We had dinner with the Scotts at the church building, during dinner it started to rain lots. It was raining very hard when we need to get to the car.  Elder Weatherford and I ran to the car and got soaked with water. We did make it to our appointment with the Roths, and we taught Buddy the last lesson so he can meet with Bishop and be baptized. 

Friday We had district meeting. We were taught some more about the atonement of Christ. Elder Deyer made some trifle so we had that for lunch. I know that that wasn’t the best to have for lunch. We went to Brother Hamm house to do some service for him since he is blind. We swept his floor. We saw David R. and taught him more about the Godhead.  We had dinner with Sister Biggs and her family.

Saturday we gave Donzell a blessing after teaching him a lesson. We also got a new investigator from a lady in his building. We also gave her a blessing. We saw some more less actives and lots of potentials. We got to have a meeting with our new ward mission leader. It is nice having a ward mission leader that wants to know what we are doing and wants a report every night.

Sunday we had Brother Lively help us pick up Dewey so he could come to church. It was fun having to sign him out of the Rehab center and get him in the car since he is in a wheel chair. We got him to church and counted and had 8 investigators at church. We had the most out of the whole mission. This week I learned that Andy Read the coach for the Chief’s team lives in our ward and come when he can. We saw Mike and he is doing great and we answered some of his questions and left him pages to read to answer other questions.

This week was a great week. It rained lots here and had lots of days with nice weather.  We had lots of appointments and saw lots of people.  I am doing great here. I am having a blast serving my mission. I know that this is where I should be. I miss you all and love you lots.

Love,
Elder Benjamin Allen

Monday, September 16, 2013

Sept 16, 2013


Dear Family and Friends

This week has been great. The weather has been nice. It has rained some and a couple days it has been under 80.  We got a new ward mission leader. Bro Belliston is our new ward mission leader.  Thank you for all of the letters that have been written to me. I enjoy getting them and reading them and writing back. Thanks mom for the package.  I got it Saturday.

Tuesday the other Elders went to Exchanges with the APs. Elder Weatherford and I went to the library to take care of things so I can drive. We watched a driving safety movie and took some tests. I can hopefully drive after I pass off Lesson 5 to the Zone leaders. We had dinner with the Bellistons and learned that he was going to be call as our ward mission leader.  After dinner we helped Bro Overfelt move some stuff to his house so Sky can live with them.

Wednesday we had Zone training. It was great. I learned lots of things.  It was a very long one it lasted until about 1pm. After that we went and biked lots to get to the bottom of our area to try some Referrals that we had gotten. One of the referrals was a Lady from India named Mona that went to the Visitor Center a couple of days ago. Her English was very good. We are planning to see her this week. We had dinner with Bro Gray. After dinner Bro Gray drove us to the church to meet with Sean. That lesson went ok it is very hard to teach him because he hasn't had any spiritual experiences.  We invited him to read Alma 32.  I hope he will read that.

Thursday we were finally able to meet with Labrenda. Sky took us there. She was so happy to see baby Joseph. We learned that she is going through a divorce so that is why it is so hard to see her. We also learned that she is moving to Colorado next month. We also saw Mike, he is a investigator that we tracked into last week. He is very smart. We talked about Plan of salvation. He has lots of questions about our church. He is building himself a Man cave outside that is 8 by 8 by 6 made out of wood and metal.

Friday we saw some less actives in the ward. We had Lela drop us again for the 4th time this week. I don't think she really wants us to come and teach her. We had dinner with the Simntons.  She made Ranch Chicken with garlic bread and green beans and sweet potato pie. She made tons.  Lots to eat.  After dinner we went to see Dewey because he called us the night before wanting to be baptized. We came over and he didn't want to be baptized any more but want us still to come over. I don't know if it is worth our time to meet with him. He is not keeping his commitments.

Saturday was Exchanges with the other elders in the ward. I went with Elder Bitton in his area. We had a very busy day. We taught some lessons and saw lots of unknowns on bishop’s list. We taught a lady that calls her self Mother Brown. She was very interested in the stuff we had to share with her. Elder Cortez and Elder Weatherford had 2 dinners, one with Tony and his mom. He is less active member because he drives trucks usually on Sunday. They had a appointment with him at 4 and didn't know he was planning to feed them. We had dinner with Gail and sister Pitt. It was good we had cheesecake pie and Rhubarb pie with strawberries, which was awesome

Sunday we went to Tony’s so Elder Cortez could give him a suit that didn't fit him anymore so he could come to church. He came to church for the first time in 13 years with his Mom. He can now come every other Sunday because of his new route. Church was good.
After Church, Sky took Sarah and us to the Visitor Center. He can't talk and drive and he got lost getting there. When we did get there we went and saw God's plan for families. It was just what Sarah needed and also what Sky need because of the loss of his wife. After that we sat in front of the statue of Christ and listen to a narration, then 7 of the sisters there sang “I Know that my Redeemer lives”. It was very powerful. I felt the spirit very strong and they all felt the spirit also.  While we were there Sean and his friend Elisabeth were also at the Visitor Center.  Sister Moon took them around and showed them the movie about Joseph Smith. I hope that helped him feel the spirit.

I am doing great here. I am loving the area. There are lots of hills that we have to bike up and down. We get the car this week. The people here are awesome. I have met some cool people.  I am learning lots here. I am getting better at teaching and recognizing the promptings of the spirit. I miss all of you lots.

Love
Elder Benjamin Allen

Sept 2013 Zone

Monday, September 9, 2013

Sept 9, 2013


Dear Family and Friends.

This week has been a great week we have been very busy here in Kansas City.

Wednesday we had an appointment with Sister Brooks and we went over and she feed us Ham and Turkey sandwiches. She is a less active Lady that lives with her daughter and some other people. She has cancer but is doing well. She just got her own endowments last month and is coming back to church. We saw Dewey that afternoon and he just wanted to talk. We gave David D. a bible and he wants to come to church in 2 weeks just won't be here this week. After dinner we went and saw Donzell Smith, he is part of the Shaw/ Burgan family. His wife is a member but 2 of the kids are not baptized and want to be baptized.

Thursday I was on Exchanges with Elder Dyer in KC3. I went to his place. We did some service for an investigator that is building a soup kitchen. We rolled up cables and moved things around so people from the community could come and hang drywall.  We saw lots of people. We had dinner with the Thompson's.
He is security on the field for the Royal’s field.  After we came in for the night we started to bake. We baked a cake, made no bake cookies, made dipped chocolate pretzels and still made it to bed on time. The cake was in a shape of a cross. This was for District meeting on Friday.

Friday was District meeting. It was on Finding and was taught by Elder Weatherford. We had the dessert that we made the night before, for lunch after the meeting.  We saw Donzell W. and also had dinner with him. We had chicken and rice and corn. We had more cake for dinner.  After dinner we saw Sister Biggs. She now has her daughter and her husband living with her and James. James in not a member but came to church and has been there listening to us when we teach Sister Biggs the lessons again.

Saturday Our Bishop Benion started a Lost Sheep Effort. I went with Bro Cunningham  to see 5 people that bishop wanted us to see. None of them were home. We helped Sister G. rotate her tires from one car to a different car so she could sell the one. It was very hot.  We had dinner with the Rowatts. They are both doctors and are cool people. We had lasagna and bread and salad and cookie /brownies. After Dinner we went to Nick's house. He is a less active member that wants to come back to church and wants us to teach him and his wife and son.  He was home with Chris, his son, but his wife was gone for the weekend. The son has lots of questions.

Sunday Church was good. It was about missionary work. We still do not have a ward mission leader. We had a linger longer after church and lots of people stayed and visited with each other. We had dinner with the Condies; we had grilled cheese sandwiches, ice cream and veggie straw chips. We also saw David R. he is doing great. He came to church and is still doing good with not smoking. He is almost ready for baptism.

So today Elder Bitton got the ok to drive and was told that he had gotten the ok to drive back when we got here in July and could of driven then. So that means that we will need to share the car with them. Elder Weatherford gave me a hair cut today, just before coming to email.

I have had a great week we have had lots to do. We had 5 people come to church, which was good. I am glade that we have so much to do here.  I miss all of you and love you all.

Love,
 Elder Benjamin Allen

We still can have backpacks with two straps I got a just black backpack that has two big pockets and 3 smaller pockets and two pockets for water bottles.
We only need to wear our suits for church and other meetings and during the winter only for dinner and after dinner. We don't need to weir them during the afternoon.
We can now go to the temple 4 times a year. That is every other transfer. We don't need to go with recent converts but that would be nice if we could.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Sept 3, 2013


Dear  Family and Friends,

I am Still in Kansas City with Elder Weatherford. He is still waiting for his visa. Friday he had to submit new visa paper work because the first one expired.

Monday we went shopping at Target and Aldis then we went to Genx. a store selling lots of clothes for black people. Then we went to Burlington Coat Factory. There I found a new backpack with more pockets and with out the side straps. I also found some ties that were under $3 and some under $7. There are lots of new people in the Zone.

Tuesday we help move Sister Hernandez out of Sister Pitt and Gail's house. We moved her stuff into a storage place. Then we took the other Elders to two different bike shops to get parts to fix Elder Cortez's bike.  He is very hard on bikes. We had dinner with Sister Doweling and the younger Ramirez. She works in the temple every week. So Sister Ramirez is the Daughter of Sister Doweling and Brother Ramirez is the son of Bishop Ramirez, the old bishop. Tuesday night we saw David R. He is doing Great we have almost finished teaching him every thing he needs to be baptized.

Wednesday we visited lots of less actives. We had dinner with Sister Gay. She had 4 blind friends over also plus Us 4 Elders plus David R. It was almost a party. She feed us Green Chile brisket.  After dinner we went to Nicks house and talked with him and his wife wants to be baptized. Nick is a less Active member from Lee's Summit. He is a construction worker and restoration expert.

Thursday we saw David and taught him the Law of Chastity and Tithing. He is still doing great not smoking. We had dinner with the Strubs. Then we saw some more less actives members.

Friday There was a Leadership training for the whole zone. Elder Weatherford had to go so we went to the Stake center to do Exchanges. They put me with LS2 Elder Black And Elder Buckaluwe. It was fun being in a new area for the day.  We had dinner with the McCrays.  They took us to a Chinese buffet. After dinner we went to see Bro Pervice with Brother Ellis. He is doing fine he has 3 drains in him and need to stay in the hospital until he doesn't have a fever.

Saturday we help move an investigator family out of our ward into Kc3 c. We cut the lawn of a Lady in the ward. We saw David again. We taught him about daily scripture study. We had dinner with Waaser. We had pasta and Sub sandwiches. We also started our mission fast.

Sunday was good; we had 2 investigators at church. We had dinner with the Orts. We had spaghetti and home made grape juice that tasted like Grandma grape juice. We also had Ice cream and no bake cookies.


Monday was p-day. We had 10 elders in our apartment at one time. We all went to target and trader Joe's and Aldis which was closed. Then we went to Wei's supper buffet to eat. We went to Genx again and Burlington Coat factory. Then to the stake center to play games.  We had Dinner with Bother Graham and his family.


Today before Emailing we got a call from the Zone leaders to go help this Lady move. We took 6 trips of things that we packed into our car and hers and unpacked. We were there for 5 hours. I think that we could of done better things with the time that we spent helping her move out of our area.


I am thankful for being able to stay in this ward for another transfer. The people are awesome and the area is great. We are seeing lots of progress in this area. Thanks for the letters and emails and the support. I miss you all and love you lots.

Love Elder Benjamin Allen