Haha....JUST KIDDING. For those of you that watched our fireside last night, you are well aware that I'm still just as loud n' loquacious as ever and still have that tendency to do things real ghetto-like running in my blood. Yeet.
All I can say is, thank you for bearing with us, and my dad and great Grandpa Cain should be proud of the makeshift lasagne boxes + rubber bands + tape + hymnbook contraption that took the place of our slick Prezi/third-party screen sharing software due to our best friend the 🦠 and the nationwide lockdown we were placed under Friday night! Our weekly totals: Number of tractors we saw driving down the road the two times we drove this week: At least 12 Number of new people we officially started teaching this week: 3 Missionaries in this companionship who's middle name is Kaye: 2/2 Hours spent on Facebook this week: 18.33 Friend Requests sent on Facebook: 113 New friends on Facebook: 83 Degree of love-Hate Relationship with Facebook: 12/10 Number of Cookies we discreetly shoved through branch member's and friend's chaps (letter slots) before the official quarantine: 76 Number of times I have said good morning to Sister Boss today after various naps on account of both parties: 5 Number of kilometers we're legally allowed to be away from our flat if necessary: 2 Number of people who potentially saw the tape in my hair during the fireside: 733+ Quotes of the week: Sister Allen: "Oh Roy, you have peanut butter cookies, sunshine, and the gospel! What more could you possibly need in life?"' Roy: "I dunno. Maybe a coca-cola" "Are you sick of me yet?" "This is the first time I've eaten name brand food in 7.5 months." (Referencing the fact that we inherited the senior missionarie's boutenous supply of food when they went home including but not limited to a costco size jar of american peanut butter, good quality meat, and all the baking supplies Sister Allen could ever hope for) "How about now?" "Everything the light touches is in our area" (Referencing the rolling hills and small farming villages that our area covers, and all the doors I get to knock on!...someday) "Are you sick of me NOW?" In Closing: Whelp...this just in folks! Ireland is now under official quarantine. we're confined to a 2km radius around our flat, and have to walk 6 feet apart from each other if we need to go outside. There are police roaming the streets just to make sure everybody's having a fun time (I'm sure). It just makes me think about the Lord's counsel to Emma Smith to 'lay aside the things of this world and seek for the things of a better." If worldy things were 100% of the source of my happiness, I'd probably be pretty bummed to be confined to my flat. But luckily, I was raised by goodly parents (both earthly and heavenly) who taught me to "look to God and live." Who taught me that all you need are some lasagne boxes, tape, and access to a Book of Mormon to have the time of your life. Who taught me that heck, even if I don't have those things, I can find joy just by kneeling in prayer!OH WAIT I don't know everything. Not even CLOSE HAHAHA. It's frustrating sometimes. But what I do know is this: God loves YOU (just like I shouted to that guy out my window this morning) and he's got a grand plan in store for you and for the whole world, and last but not least, that CONFERENCE IS GOING TO BE AMAZING THIS WEEKEND HOLY CREPES! So make sure you...cancel all previous commitments so you can be there for it. Or God will just have to cancel them for you. OH WAIT. HE ALREADY DID!!! If you haven't already, TAKE A HINT PEOPLE!! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ As Anne of Green Gables would say, as she quotes Tennyson, who I'm going to quote right now, "God is in his heaven and all is right in the world." And don't you forget it, Sister Allen Oh wait! Ps. To break our fast this morning Sister Boss and I made...wait for it...GERMAN PANCAKES!! So I thought I'd leave you with a german pancake analogy (throwback to my beloved Irvine) in preparation for hearing from our favorite German apostle this weekend and it is simply this: When God turns the heat up on us it is giving us a chance to rise. Sometimes we don't get it, and we complain, and we think, "WHY?" and shake our fists at heaven. But let me tell you, we missionaries have seen our numbers RISE, not fall, since being quarantined. The Lord has turned the heat up, he is hastening his work, and the world is being prepared...for something! And I'm just excited to find out what. PPS. Thank you all for the emails and the love this week! I really needed it, and really (really) appreciated it. Really really, truly truly, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Please let me know what I can do for YOU!) PPPS. Sorry I'll stop after this, but if you have any questions you'd like to send in to be featured for our first episode of Quarantales (it's like Veggie Tales but brought to you by us because we're couch potatoes) just send em my way! bailee.allen@missionary.org
Mom Note:
I love Bailee's Facebook post from today so I thought I would share that as well:
Asteraceae Baileya multiradiata! Or in other words, the Desert Marigold!
I brought this pressed marigold with me from my home in the desert to remind me why I came on a mission.
To remind me that I am here to be a part of something bigger than myself and to radiate as much joy as I can to those around me! To remind me to be myself. 🌼 A brief botany lesson with Sister Allen: The daisy family, Asteraceae, is the largest flowering family in the plant kingdom! The Latin root means “many flowered”. A little known fact about this family is that each petal actually happens to be a complete flower system by itself. However, when joined together with a multitude of other petals, it becomes so much more beautiful, and so much more effective, even exponentially more effective, than it could ever be on its own. A beautiful reminder to us humans that we are so much more together than we could ever be alone. When united in a cause, united in purpose, in love, and most importantly when united under the banner of Jesus Christ, our beauty and our power is multiplied by that of our Savior. Exponentially, and assuredly. We are all children of the very same Heavenly Father, after all. An eternal family, if you will. The genus and species names, Baileya multiradiata, are self-explanatory in their meaningful nature. My name is Bailee, and I am here to radiate the light of Christ. It is as simple as that. Asteraceae Baileya multiradiata. Or in other words, the reason I decided to come on a mission. I was nominated by Sister Anna Pugmire to share why I am here and this is my answer! I wanted to join Jesus Christ's cause--a whole far greater than the sum of its parts. A cause far mightier together than we could ever achieve as individuals. And so it is with His church. He invites all to be a part of His church, to come and become something bigger than yourself. As his missionary, I invite you to do the same. This world needs your light, and we are brighter together with the Son than as individual stars. Shoot me a message if anything I said has caught your interest, or visit comeuntochrist.org to learn more! 🌼 I nominate Sister Lindsey Taysom, Elder Brycen Cheney, and Elder David Dursteler to share why they decided to serve a mission! 🌼🌼🌼 #quarantinethoughts #botany #faithoverfear #flowers #hearhim #covid19
