Holy guacamole! (Aka all I eat nowadays) And I repeat, HOLY GUACAMOLE! Life is moving FAST! For the last 3.5 MONTHS, there's been a huge MOAT of a puddle on the 2nd story of the car park every time we drive through it. Traffic cones and everything. Something along the lines of, “UGH why haven't they fixed that yet?” usually falls out of our privileged mouths then off we go. I love that car park! My dream is to have a VR racing game of it. It's 3 stories and has THE tightest turns, but I've gotten so good at driving through it that the sisters are scared of coming for exchanges now! Anywho, we got a call from our landlord a week ago and she told us that a plumber was coming for “the leak” this week, even though we had no idea what leak she was talking about. Lo and behold, Tom the Plumber shows up a few days later and says, “You know those noises your boiler makes even when the water is turned off?” “Yes....” “You know the giant puddle in the car park?” “Yes....” “Well there is a huge huge huge (I thought he was President Trump at this point) HUGE possibility your boiler is overflowing and making that giant puddle.” We did some quick maths and...guess what? Our boiler is 6 STORIES ABOVE THE LEAK. 6. That's like, a tall building. But still, definitely a possibility. I'm not qualified to question him. I blasted the Tabernacle choir as he fixed the boiler, he left, we didn't drive for a few days (News flash: Ireland is back under the 7th strictest lockdown in the world now) then we went down to the car park....and the puddle was still there! Which means our plumber is either a liar or a really bad plumber, and I probably won't find out until the next life, but HEY! I learned some things from this experience: Lessons from Shrek's Swamp: 1. Don't complain about things that are probably your own fault in the first place. “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” Judgeth not and take responsibility. The whole world including yourself will thank you for it. 2. If it's broken, fix it! My years as a PrestidigiTater taught me that if something's not broken, don't fix it! But...my life changed when I realized you don't need to deal with things that ARE broken! Whether those be paradigms, thought patterns, morning routines, or noisy boilers! Set some goals for yourself and Just Fix It! Nike. Elder Ballard has said, “I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the technique of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When you learn to master the principle of setting a goal, you will then be able to make a great difference in the results you attain in this life.” 3. If your plumber is flirting with you, it's ok to block his number. Sister Yates taught me that one. Yay for boundaries! To be honest our boiler still makes really funny noises, but we've laughed a lot about the whole situation so I wanted to share! We saw a lot of tender mercies and miracles this week. One of them was an extra hour of sleep on Saturday for Daylights Savings. Another was more skewed toward an eternal perspective. Its God's timing so impeccable? I have had many experiences on my mission that have made me realize how obviously God is aware of The One. For example, we had time to call ONE potential one day, and Sister Yates “just happened” to call someone who had started reading the Book of Mormon that very morning! We also were able to put a friend on date for baptism that I've been working with since my 2nd week here! Don't give up! God will never give up on you! Hmm what else...honestly it was a ridiculously crazy week and we've got another one ahead of us! People are asking for lessons and we have to schedule them a week in advance. Hmm life is crazy, we! are! getting! missionaries! from! the! states! again! including a Sister McGhie we're picking up from the airport this Wednesday! I sure love the sisters here in Ireland and am so grateful to be able to work so closely with and learn from each of them. Here's to another great week and another great transfer! Is there anything I can do for ye's? Live faithfully and grow in grace, Sister Allen
Mom PS: Note about the above picture. Ireland is in a very strict lockdown. Sister Allen walked into a store today and they had covered all the toy shelves and the clothing sections with plastic with a note saying that toys (and clothing) are considered non-essential items so they are not able to sell them. She told us today, "If I wanted to buy a winter coat right now I wouldn't be able too!" Crazy! Life in Ireland is very different than here in America right now.... Look up Ireland restrictions on the Internet. We are very blessed here. That being said, Sister Allen is happy and doing amazing!!! When asked about teaching, she says they really are teaching from morning 'til night.
