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  • Writer's pictureSister Allen

Viva La Visa!!!

Brothers and sisters!

Can I please start off by saying, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!? What a week to be alive! I'm not even sure I was!  It went by so fast. One thing is I've learned is that I've got one shot to write in my journal about something---the day it happened! I'm a different person every single day and good experiences get replaced by better ones and it's hard to keep up. Don't get me wrong, rough days hit just as hard and often here as they do in the real world! But the rougher the day, the more tender the mercies are if we're looking for them! Thank you for all your prayers and love! Sidenote: Bedtime routines should be considered an Olympic sport around here. Getting everything done I'd like to before the day ends is a struggle. Our STL's (sister training leaders) like to come in at about 10:22 and sing us bedtime songs. I attached a video so you can be blessed by them too. BUT, writing down things I'm grateful for and brushing my teeth and changing into pajamas in 90 seconds flat to make it to bed by 10:30? TALENT. Pretty much the coolest part of the week happened like 10 minutes after P-Day ended last week. Elder Bednar came and spoke at a devotional that was broadcasted to all the MTC's across the world. Sister Pugmire's twin was watching from the Preston, England MTC and saw us singing in the choir!  His message focused on getting out of your own way and getting to work! Great things come from small and simple acts. If we are constantly waiting for big signs to tell us what to do or that what we're doing is right, we're wasting our time and as missionaries, the Lord's time! Guidance isn't supposed to be big and dramatic, it comes a bit at a time through inspiration. He'll never give us more than we want! "If you see an angel, it's NOT A GOOD SIGN and it's not to make you believe. It's because it has come down to REBUKE you for being an IDIOT" -Elder Bednar (slightly paraphrased)  We were all shaking in our boots from the power of his words. And THEN on top of it all the closing song was Be Thou Humble. When we were half way through the first verse, he stopped the chorister and said into the microphone, "I did NOT pick this song. The person who did choose it didn't know what my topic was going to be. But the Lord knew! This is what I'm talking about. Be a good girl or boy and LET HIM GUIDE YOUR LIFE. Start the song again and pay attention!" I'm not sure how anyone was able to sing after that but we sang it so loudly and powerfully that half of Provo was probably wondering why the lights were flickering.  Funny story: At lunch our district was sitting together and I looked over and an elder I met in Sheffield on our trip to England was here at the MTC because he's going to France on his mission and he was teaching the elders going to Leeds how to eat with utensils properly! We recognized each other and he remembered my sister (who served in his ward for 6 months) and he filled us in on everything to do and not to do in England! See attached video for etiquette lesson. Thursday was my favorite day! It was also the first really hard day in the MTC. I was super nauseous and things weren't going great in general and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it to all my classes but I pushed through it! Our TRC (Teaching Resource Center) lesson went really well and we taught more powerfully and with more love than we ever have. After the lesson, we taught the technology course to all the incoming missionaries in our branch! 4 of the sisters are going to (drumroll please) ST. GEORGE, UTAH! I told them that there's a Target and a Chick-fil-a and lots of cool rocks and cool people and that they'll love it so much!! I attached a picture, so look out for my new friends! Jefferey R. Holland told the new mission president for St .George (from Hawaii) that they might be leaving paradise, but they're coming to the celestial kingdom! Agreed. Our district leader's mom sent us swig cookies yesterday and I told everyone they originated in St. George so yes it really is the promised land!  Even though during the training we were only teaching them how to download apps and use their devices safely etc, it made my heart so happy to be teaching tech again! That evening I truthfully was the happiest I've ever felt that I can remember. My heart was so full of joy and love that really is hard to explain. When we do what we love with love because we love the Savior and are serving him with our entire heart, we are HAPPY. Truly truly happy.  That's the power of the spirit! (I'm not sharing this experience with you because I want people to see how happy I am (puh-lease my life is still a CIRCUS by nature of who I am!), I'm sharing it because I want everyone to know how happy you can be too simply by following Jesus Christ!) Slightly related quote of the week from Sister Nicoll: (in a deep voice): "I'm a man, I don't have warm and fuzzy feelings" I've continued using my volleyball time to think of deep doctrine theories and gospel analogies instead of focusing on hitting the ball. No complaints from me, just from my teammates! I don't have time to include them, but if you ask me for them I've got em! *wink wink* On Sunday Sister Pugmire and I got to teach Relief Society and the District Council Lesson. In RS we talked about the creation, the fall, and agency. Our topic in district council was diligence! I talked about how life is a straight line (y=x, slope of 1) from birth to returning back to Heavenly Father. But if you zoom into that line, it's got lots of ups and downs. And if you zoom into those ups and downs, there are even more! And so on and so forth until you realize that the essence of life is recursively bumpy lines. Which is good! If life was completely smooth, we wouldn't be able to climb it! We'd just keep sliding back down! But because the line is bumpy and imperfect, it gives us traction! It gives us chances to learn! It gives us chances to progress and become our best selves! My mouth is watering just thinking about how cool we'll be by the time we make it to the top. The key to climbing Life is diligence-- steady, consistent, earnest, and energetic work! Those are the adjectives in Preach My Gospel for diligence. We track our progress with goals. We can track our diligence with goal evaluation! I created a Doctrine-of- Sister-Allen-Goal-Evaluation-System to help with that called S.E.E.C. to help us as we SEEK Jesus Christ! (Bet you can't guess where I got those letters!) Steady - Did I press forward even when it was hard? Earnest - Was my heart in it? Energetic - Was it my best effort? Consistent - Did I meet my goals daily?   Part of being diligent is living in the moment and having fun!! We do that a lot as a district. I wish I could translate all the funny memories over email better!! When we make it home to our Heavenly Father, we all want to hear "Well done, my good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21). If we are told that, knowing we could have been more diligent in our efforts, I have a feeling we'd feel pretty ashamed. Or we wouldn't hear it at all!  With this in mind, I need to spend less time emailing and more time getting back to work! So in closing, I just want you all to know how much I admire and love you all and invite you to seek diligence in all that you do! Thank you for your examples and your prayers and your love!  I'd like to briefly share my testimony with you that Jesus Christ lives and God loves us! He wants to hear from us. When we exercise faith in him and seek to follow Him, we are blessed! We will see his hand guiding the details of our lives. He has a flood of blessings and tender mercies waiting for us as we break down our barriers! A scripture that has been on my mind all week is D&C 6:36. Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not! Christ is referred to as "The light" a lot in the scriptures. Which means this scripture can also mean, "Look to the light in every thought!"  We have nothing to fear when we look for the light in our dark and dreary days. Look up! Stay optimistic! When we break down our barriers, his light will pour in and we will find hope and peace in everything we are going through. Speaking of barriers, I've been talking about stealing a brick from the construction site all week (93% as a joke). It's a competition to see who gets one first between me and Elder Womack.  Have a blessed week! Cheerio! Sister Allen PS. We are a full-fledged Tagalog district now because we wanna be and I am learning lots of cool phrases. I will include some next week!  PPS. OH YEAH I named my email Viva La Visa because my visa lives! For a few days I was reassigned to Arkansas but I'll be in Edinburgh, Scotland this time next week! I might not have a day to write next week, so you get a break from my rants! You lucky duck!













Thanks Mom!!







St. George missionaries















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