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