May 18, 2015

Dear Family and friends,

This past week was a very rainy for us. I think it rained everyday this week.

Monday we had dinner with the Sutfflebeens. Just before we had gotten there the oldest son named Logan cut his arm on some glass.  We went tracting and found three people that were interested and willing for us to come back. The very interesting thing is that it is three houses in a row.

Tuesday, we went to the nutrition place and peeled more potatoes. We went to the town of Smithton. We went tracting and found a guy named Tom. It was the last house that we were going to try before heading for dinner. He just moved in and is working for the ROTC at the High School. He was in the Army and his leader was a member that he trusts and looks up to. We had dinner with the Andersons. They live in the middle of nowhere. They raise goats and hay. We got to help feed the baby goats.

Wednesday we had the last district meeting for the Transfer. When we got back to Tipton we went out to find more people to teach. We found Seth. He told us that he had read the Book of Mormon before and would like to read it again. We had dinner with the Wilsons. They fixed us a whole authentic Hawaiian meal. It was awesome!

Thursday we went the Thrift store in Versailles. There is a less active that lives outside the mission working there. We walked away with 12 ties. We had a great day for more finding. We did talk to Kyle, the husband of a member. We meet an Rlds lady also.

Friday we got a call from the nutrition place wanting our help moving boxes around. We went over to help and had to arrange all the food by expiration date. They had a new policy where they can't use expired food.  They sent us home with lots of fibber bars and granola bars.  We went to a town called Clarksburg. We hadn't ever been there. It has a population of about 300. We talked to a few people. One was a high school student that runs cross-country. Most of the roads in the town are dirt and very muddy at this time.

Saturday we went down to the Hagstons. We went with Brother Davidson, he has a truck that makes it in and out easier. The parent were the only ones home so we talked to just them. We talk about the Temple and about starting their Family history.  We did make it out without having to push. We had Justin come out with us again. He is leaving/ moving to another state. We tried tons of people with him most weren't home. We saw this turtle that was in the road. A car tire hit him and sent him shooting to the other side of the road. We went over to see if he was okay. He was! Just all scuffed up. When we got back to our place for dinner we found a bunny on our porch. We caught him with a plastic bucket. We did let him go after petting him. There was an event happening here called a tractor pull, where people pull a sled with weight. We drove past it and found Tom parking cars. We got out and talk to him.

Sunday we had Church. We help with primary again. We all sung missionary songs like “I hope they call me on a mission”. We meet with Brandon, he's the one that flagged us down a couple of weeks ago. He thinks he is a member but we can't find his membership information. He had a goal to quit smoking.  We had dinner with the Pattons. We meet with the Taylor and read 2 Nephi 4 with them.

It was an awesome week. Lots of finding so I hope we will be able to teach more in the coming up weeks. This week is transfers. I think I will be staying in Tipton, but I don't know. It will be my last transfers. Thanks for all you all do. Have a great week.

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen

May 11, 2015

Dear family and friends,

This past week was a good week for us. It is very muddy here in Missouri with all the rain we have gotten.  

Monday, All the missionaries in the zone met up to spend some time together. We tried to go bowling but wasn't open. We did go to the Beards and played some pool. 

Tuesday we went to Otterville. We did some service with Brother Parker. We help him with cutting down some trees. Brother Parker is a beekeeper. We got all suited up and help him open some beehives and inspect them. Didn't get any pictures but was super fun. In the evening we saw John and read some form the Book of Mormon with him. We also meet with Kittery and her husband. They are nice and willing to study about our church. 

Wednesday we spent the day in Tiption. We were trying a person close to our house. On our way there we had this man yell at us to come back. It turns out to be a less active that recognized us. He just moved in and was surprised to see us. I hope we will be able to help him become active again. We also were tracting and met a couple that seems interested; it was the last house we knocked on before dinner. We also visited Makalalha she wasn't home so we talked with everyone else there. They have a new person renting the basement. We got to talk to her and talk about Missionary work and what we do. Then a family, the Hagstons, stop by. We have been working to help them to become active. It was great timing.  

Thursday we went down to the bottom of our area. We spent the day with Justin and tried to visit a whole bunch of people with him. It was great to be able to use him. 

Friday we had Zone training. It was good, lots of good things taught. We went to another good BBQ place. We also went on exchanges. I went with Elder Arnison to Carrollton. We had a good afternoon there. We walked the whole evening and talked to a few interested people. The town is super small that you can be anywhere in less than 15 minutes. It is their biggest town to work in. 

Saturday we exchanged back and went down to Versailles. It rained most of the trip. We did get to do some finding and found a guy named Matt. We meet with Shawn and talk about how people can over come smoking with the Lord.  We stop by Celo and Wades and they were finishing moving out and were able to help a little bit. Sad that they are moving out of the area. 

Sunday was Mothers day!! Church was all about mothers. We got to Skype home which was supper fun.  We stop by the Wasmens and they were having dinner. We stayed and answered tons of Questions plus talked about the priesthood and where we got it. Super awesome because we both had our line of Authority and used them. 

Thanks for being awesome! Have a great week. 

Love, Elder Benjamin Allen

May 4, 2015

Dear Family and friends,

This past week was a great week for Elder Cluster and I here in the Tipton branch. 

Monday we had a barbecue with the Ranneys and Wasmens. The Wasmens are a family we are just starting to teach.  We had a great barbecue and awesome conversation.  They connected and went great together. 

Mennonite Sandwich from last week

Tuesday we went to the Nutrition place again. We pilled potatoes and help with the dishes. I love doing dishes since they have a large automatic dishwasher.  We then had awesome day in Otterville. We were able to contact a referral and the lady was nice and receptive. We got an appointment this coming week.  We also meet some other people. There was a couple that we met that is 7 day Adventist but are starting to question their church's beliefs. 

Wednesday we had district meeting and Oil change in Sedellia. We had a great time with the other Elders. On our way back we stop by Tiffany.  She was home and Cleaning out her car. We talked with her for a while. Turns out that her grandma is a member in the NewMark ward that I visited often. It was perfect timing for us. I love how that happens. We had dinner and correlation with the Snyders. 

Thursday we went to down south to Versailies. We got permission to leave the mission to see a recent convert. We went tracting. We went down a street; one of the houses had the remains of a yard sale but the people not there. One of the things was a weight set/ bench. Later in the evening we stop by again. They were home and real receptive to our message. The problem is they are moving out of the mission. They still wanted to sale the weight set, we bought in for real cheap $15. I'm glad that we have a larger car it all fit but not much more room.  We got home and talked to Jesse. He talked to us for a long time; he's going through a real hard time. We were home by 9:30 but didn't get inside until latter.

Friday we went to California but we had a hard time finding people that wanted to talk with us. The highlight of the day was dinner with the Wasmens. They had us over for dinner and lesson. It was an awesome meal. They have been reading everything we been giving them. They have tons of questions and want to learn more. We spent most of the night there with them. 

Saturday there was great weather here.  We had a great day of appointments all lined up but none of them worked out. We did meet with Brian, he's musician and an artist. We were eating at McDonald's and saw Justin. He was the one out of the mission.  We did talk to some people, turned out to be a good day.

Sunday, Church was good, the Wasmens came and the daughter also brought a friend. It was great that they came. Church went well. We showed the “Because He lives” video in Sunday school.  We also help out in primary and talked about Joseph Smith and his father and the faith they had. I love helping out in primary. We meet the Charles family here in the branch. The parents are both converts and we heard there conversion story. I love hearing peoples conversion stories. 

I hope you all have a great week. I hope you all have a great mothers day. 

Love,

Elder Allen. 

April 27, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week was a great week for us.

Monday we went to Sedalia. Most of the Zone met at a member’s house. We played pool and there was also a ping-pong table. It was a super fun p-day. We had dinner with the Rannys. They have a son preparing to go on a mission. We got a couple of referrals from him.

Tuesday we started the day with Service. We went to the nutrition place where they feed the senior people in this town. We help out with the prep. We peeled 30 pounds of potatoes.   We spent the day in Otterville and Smithton. We had a great day and were able to see couple of less active members. There was an appreciation dinner for all the volunteers that help at the Nutrition place. The senior sisters and us were there plus some from the community. It was a great dinner; met some great people here in Tipton. We all walk away with a gift. I got a pot full of flowers. Elder Cluster got hot pads and mitt.

Wednesday we went tracting. We meet some Mennonites that were cleaning some houses. We met a lady that gave us a list of people that could use a visit.  We were able to talk with them. We had dinner with the Snyders. They live so far south in our branch so they feed us at the Church and had missionary correlation. 

Thursday was a very busy day. We had weekly planning and Studies. We then helped at the local blood drive. We helped hand out food and cookies to those that came in. Elder Cluster decided to give blood. It was his first time. We learned how they take the blood and what happens afterwards. It was a party in the Kitchen with all the members that show up to help. I got to sample all the Cookies that the members made for the Event.  We visited with Bro Taylor. We watch a Mormon message and it hit him real hard and he started to open up to us. It was a great day.  

Friday we had district meeting.  We had some surprise guests, the APs came to blitz with some of the missionaries. We went out to lunch as a group. We went to a BBQ place that is in a train. We had a great meal.  On our way out we learned that a member had paid for our lunch. It was great for the member to do that.  Elder Bitton came with us for the day. It was part of the Blitz the zone was doing. We had a great afternoon. We meet a preacher’s wife and before we left her place we had a couple of referrals. We had dinner with the Sernigens. We had wild turkey with potatoes and gravy.  It was an awesome day. 

Saturday we went down and visited the Hagstons. This week we took our car all the way down to their place. Their road is like off road driving. We had a great visit with the Kids.  We were able to see a couple of people that we don't often see. We drop off Elder Bittion at the Sedalia building.  We were able to meet with the Wasmens. They are having some health problems. She is allergic to some thing and having some bad reactions.  We also visited Grace in a nursing home. 

Sunday we had a potluck after the church block.  There was some awesome food.  We were able to meet with the Kimball’s and talk about the plan of salvation.  It was a great lesson.

I hope you all have a great week. Thanks for all you all do for me. 

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen 

April 20, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week was a great week for us.  Tipton is the farthest east you can go in the mission. We are almost a bubble attached to the mission.  Elder Cluster is from Ogden Utah. He has been out for about a year. I had met him earlier when he was in Atchison while I was in New Mark.  The branch is small, there is like 70 active members. Almost all of the members live outside of city limits in whichever town they are close to.  The Church building is here in Tipton.

Monday we had dinner with Bishop and his wife. The senior sisters were also there. It was awesome to have dinner with all of them. 

Tuesday we went to Otterville and Smithton. We were able to visit a couple of people out there. We had dinner with the Aarons. They live on a lake and have very few neighbors. It was awesome to see a bald eagle that lives there. We were able to meet with John; he is a recent convert youth. He is big into wrestling. We were able to talk with him about serving a mission.  

 

All the signs in Otterville look like this

Wednesday we spent the day in Tipton. We went tracting and found a lady that talked to us for a while.  We went to a bible study that an investigator was putting on.  The topic was Romans 10 (I think...) on missionary work. It was awesome to be able to meet with some new people. It was an awesome discussion. The sad thing is that they didn't believe that people will have a chance to hear the gospel in the spirit world if they didn't here.   We testified that it is part of the plan. I hope they felt the Spirit as we were testifying.

Thursday we went to Versailles after weekly planning. We were able to see the Rayls. It was awesome timing. They were all there and had some time to meet with us.   We also were able to talk to some other people. Versailles is actually the biggest town in our area.

Friday we had our zone meeting in Sedalia. It was very interesting since there were workers putting a new roof on the building. They were very loud. We went all out to eat at the Chinese buffet. I think those place just attract missionaries since I have gone a lot to those places.   We also went on exchanges with the Carrolton Elders. I went with Elder Rollins. He came out with me. We had an awesome day. We went with the other Elder in the Branch to Sister Shaw's house. She is becoming active and it was awesome to hear her story. We also met the only active member family in the Carrolton's area. They were awesome and have a big vision for a branch to be in that town some day.

Saturday we did studies with our temporary companion. We meet back up to exchange back. We went out to eat at an Ecuadorian food place.  It was a hole in the wall place. We had some good food there. On the way back it rained almost the whole trip back.  We were able to meet with Kim. He was very much talkative since he was drinking beer.  I don't think we have taught him the Word of Wisdom.  We had an interesting lesson with Andy and Amanda and a couple that they are friends with. It started off good but when we got to the Apostasy they started to debate with us. After that we weren't able to teach much. It ended on a good note and they feed us ice cream.  We hope they felt the spirit as we testify and they will pray about the Book of Mormon.

Sunday we taught both classes at Church. It was a lot to prepare for. We left the church with tons of food and a big box from Elder Cluster's parent. Our branch mission leader went to Utah and brought back stuff for Elder Cluster. We had an awesome dinner with the Lawsons. They invited their neighbors and they came!  We also meet with Spencer W. Kimble. I think he is ready to come back. His wife seems interested and they are very interesting in Family history.

We had a great week. Thanks for all the Support and letters. I hope you have a great week. 

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen 

April 13, 2015

Dear Family and friends,

This last week was a very interesting week. To make it even better I had to pack again. 

Monday was a great p-day here in Independence. We played morning sports with most of the Visitor Center Sisters real early in the morning.  We also played tons of volleyball with all the Elders. It was awesome to be able to have tons of other missionaries to do things with. In the evening we moved an investigator Kim. She moved out of a very bad apartment living situation to one of the Apartments a member owns. It was the bishope and us that moved her. It turns out that the Cops raided the compound that she used to live in later that night. They had found a couple convicts and people hiding from the law. It was a blessing that she had moved when she did. 

 

Elder Fastje and Elder Allen

Tuesday we got a call from the Aps, they asked me to pack since they were going to emergency transfer me. They didn't share any more information with us. We canceled all of our plans and packed. It turns out that I need to go to Tipton. An Elder had gotten sick and need to be closer to the hospital/ doctor. My new companion is Elder Cluster. We didn't get back to Tipton until 10 pm.  

Wednesday was a great day in Tipton! We visited lots of the Investigators and less actives. These missionaries hadn't been here for a whole week.  We had a great lesson with the Waspmens. They know some about the church plus have lots of contact with the church. They told us about their jobs with the prison. They asked us for Books of Mormon before we had a chance to give them one. 

Elder Allen and Elder Cluster at water tower

Thursday we drove back to Independence.  We had the Special car conference. They installed the Tiwi devices into our cars. We had a great Zone conference while they did that. It was an awesome conference. We watched a talk that President Uchtdorf gave to the mission presidents. It was an awesome talk taking on Peter before and after the resurrection. The Tiwi they installed in our car didn't work properly. We couldn't log in to drive. It yelled at us for the whole drive home plus the next day. 

Friday we went to California to spend the day.  We visited a less active named Spencer W. Kimble. We also visited a couple of other people. In the evening we meet with Andy and Amanda. They had invited a couple of their friends. We had a great lesson with the 4 and they want us back again. Tipton is a great area. 

Saturday we went to the bottom of our area to visit some people. Brother Davis took us to see the Hagstons. They live in the middle of nowhere on a very bad road. We did survive the drive.  We also went and talk to the people at the flea market. Didn't find anything missionary like things to buy. We did talk to a ton of people. We had dinner at McDonalds. We found that an investigator there. We ate dinner with her and talked with her. It was a great day in Versailles.

Sunday we meet with the Branch. It was great, tons of nice members. We did have tons of visitors. We got to teach the gospel principles class. There is set of Senior Sisters that are here to also help the branch.  We had dinner with the Pattons. They are the closes members to us and the building and they still live outside the town on a long dirt road. They raise pigs and other farm animals. 

I hope you all have a great week. Thanks for all the Emails. I am once again in the boonies but that okay. 

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen

April 6, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week has been an interesting week.

Monday we went to Paolla. We meet up with most of the other missionaries in the zone. We had a great time. There was a lady that brought tons of expired food that the store can't sell and gave it to all of us. We were able to meet the Adams they live in Colony and we were passing through so we stop and met them. They are a nice part member family.

Tuesday we meet with the Shaws, we show everyone there the Easter video. I could almost quote the words in it by now. We also played bingo with the old people.  They were more active with it being warmer. We meet with Sister Wright and Tina.  We read Ether 12; it was a great chapter for this season. We also watched the Easter video.  We had dinner with the Gurnesys. We got the Transfer call real late informing us that I was going to Hill Park this transfer.

Elder Tolman and Elder Allen

Wednesday we said goodbye to tons of people and did some packing. It was hard trying to pack it all and deciding what to leave.  We visited Bishop and Tye. Tye had just broken his arm and had to stay home.  We had dinner with the Fawesons. We made the drive to Paola again. We stay at Louisburg place.  We help Elder Verkler pack so he could go back to his place with his new companion.

Thursday was transfers.  My new companion is Elder Fastje. He is from Tucson, Az.  We are serving in the Hill Park ward. I think it is the smallest (area) ward in the mission. It is real close to the Visitor Center and the Mission office.  We had a great afternoon together. We had a bible study at an apartment complex.  There was Sorjio and his niece that came. We talked about the love God has for us and that we are Children of God. Today I also meet the Seamens, they are from Taylor, Az. They were so excited to meet me and talk about all the people they know up in Snowflake and Taylor.

Friday we meet a couple of Palestinians. There are lots here in Independence.  We had some great lessons. It is awesome not having to drive lots. We just will have to bike for part of the month. We went to the Visitor Center with a recent convert named Cecilla. We listen to the Ap's talk about conference and the Prophet and apostles. It was awesome to be able to take people to these activities at the VC.

Saturday we watched conference. We watch the first session at the VC with Kim. Kim is an investigator that we have that is real close friends with Cecilia. It was awesome to be able to watch it there with tons of missionaries. Between the sessions we contacted some referrals. Before the priesthood session we help a lady move all of their stuff into a truck. It was us and a couple of people from the ward. It was my first time moving some one in a white shirt and tie.  The priesthood session was awesome.

Sunday we watch the last two sessions. There was a family that feed all the Elders. They have been doing it for over 20 years. They had tons of food and were so great to us. We didn't have anyone come to any sessions but Kim. We even watch one at the Olsen's. It reminded me of watching it at home.  We had dinner with the Stephenson.  We had some great meatball sandwiches.

It was an awesome week for us. I hope you all have a great week. I hope you all had a great conference time. Thanks for all you do.

Love,

Elder Benjamin Allen