Ashley's Mission Email #24

Happy New Year!

Hey guys! 

It was SO good to get to talk to you this week. I'm so glad we get to use Skype. Sounds like your Christmas was great! For Christmas Eve and Christmas day unfortunately no one really wants to meet with us so we went caroling. Well we contacted using hymns. People are much more receptive when you sing to them for some reason. 

I got the package. And a bunch of Christmas letters. Thank you SO much!! I love the little pictures and the clothes and everything. Did you guys send out a Christmas card this year? I'd like to see it if you did:)

Well this week Valentin received the Priesthood. He came to church in bright mustard yellow pants and a yellow tie. But that’s a step up from the neon shoes with his jeans that he used to wear. Haha. He's doing great.

This week is New Year’s which means more partying in the streets and less time that we are allowed outside...but you make do with what you have. We're going to do a food exchange for our zone meeting this week! Food from all the different countries!

Well I hope you guys are sharing the gospel, giving references to the missionaries, helping in fellow shipping the investigators, asking for ways you can help them out. 

Love you guys lots.

Love

Hermana Allen

(Pics not woking. Next week I’ll try to use a different computer.) 

Ashley on Skype. A Happy Christmas day at our house!

Ashley's Mission Email #23

Feliz Navidad! Venid y Adoremos!

So I'll be kind of quick this week but wow, it’s been a great week! 
I got my baby girl! Hermana Garcia from Honduras. She's adorable and is willing to learn so I'm excited to be her trainer. I still feel so inadequate but oh well, things work out.

We had Valentin's baptism on Saturday! I am so happy for him. He showed up almost an hour late because he came staight from work. He had white paint in his hair and all over his arms. But he just looked so happy and at peace. He is a completely different person now all thanks to the Gospel. He tried to give us a hug afterward and we had to dodge him a little. It was pretty funny. Oh Valentin.

I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas! We'll be here caroling because nobody wants to let the missionaries in on Christmas, but the work never stops! Haha!

Love you all.
Hermana Allen

Fotos aren’t working. I'll send them next week...

Ashley's Mission Email #22

Jesucristo vive.

This week...well it pretty much flew by! I´m loving studying about Jesucristo and trying to grow closer to Him. Really it´s a topic that never gets old. This morning I read, Examina la Senda de Tus Pies (The talk by Pres Monson from this conference.) I dont know what it’s called in English but try to find it, it’s a good one! 

There was a bell choir this week that we brought Desiree to. It was a bunch  of youth from the stake and it was really good. We also have the Ward Christmas activity this week where our little ballet class is going to perform. I´m so excited for them!

Yesterday in sacrament Angel, one of the young men in the ward, shared an experience that he had when he was teaching with us. He said how when one person isn´t ready for the gospel, the Lord always puts someone else in our path. It was an awesome reminder of why we are here. I´m super impressed with the youth and how strong they are. He´s only about 15 and neither of his parents come to church but him and his little brother are there every week and always super happy too! 

Well I hope you are all sharing the video He is the Gift with everyone you know! It’s a good one. 

Love you guys.

Love 

Hermana Allen

Us at the Bell Choir.

Just us.

One of the 3 chickens that like to roam the street outside our apartment.

This was saying goodbye to Hermana Given…. well at least as my comp. I still get to see her sometimes.

Ashley's Mission Email #21

El es la Dadiva!

So there´s this initiative that I hope you´ve heard about already but if not well…it's called El es la Dadiva or He is the Gift. It’s a video about Jesus Christ and its AMAZING. Every time I see it I get goosebumps. Anyway, you should all watch it and then share it on facebook. (Could you maybe put that one on my Facebook?) Anyway it’s going on throughout Diciembre to get people thinking about the real meaning of Christmas and to get people interested in the church. It’s so awesome. Go look it up when you can! We contacted 2 people using the invite and they each gave us 1 or 2 references right there. We also talked to these 2 guys who only spoke English and I was so surprised at how hard it was to contact them in English. I really struggled but I guess that’s a good sign! 

I heard an Elder the other day say that for his last Christmas in the field he tried focusing more in Christ and it was the best Christmas he´s ever had. He said he wasn’t homesick, he was happier than ever and he just wanted to share that with everyone so…I’ve decided to focus my study in Christ this month, reading a chapter of Luke everyday starting today! (There are 24 chapters so that leads right up to Christmas!) I recommend focusing more in Christ this Christmas and especially in sharing your testimony of Him with others. I´m sure that’s what He would ask for for Christmas if He was on the earth.

Thanksgiving was awesome! We even had cranberry sauce! I love the Diaz family, they really are too good to us.

Thanksgiving with President and Hermana Corbitt, President and Hermana Diaz, the assistants, Hermana Given and Beltran and mis companeras!

This ones for you Lolo. (There was a birthday and her fav color was pink but the Elders couldn't find pink balloons so they wrote things like this on them.)