MILAGRITOS:

• This week we had exchanges, so Hna Serre was in Canelones for a day. In that time, apparently her and my comp were walking down the street, and Hna Serre randomly said "we need to stop here" and they stopped and clapped (aka knocked) at a house and some lady came out and said they could come back and teach her. So me and my comp got to go and teach her and it was SO fun. It was one of those lessons that, before my mission, I imagined all the lessons would be like haha. She didn't believe in God, but we explained the Restoration of the gospel, and she loved it. We explained why it makes sense and if she can gain a testimony that God is real, then she will very easily gain a testimony that The Church of Jesus Christ is true. We explained the Book of Mormon and it was awesome she was like "wait so if hypothetically I wanted one of those books, how would I get a hold of one?" So we gave her one (GRATIS!!) And she was so excited and told us she would read it that night. We shared our testimonies and she was like woah that's so cool. So yeah. Yay for Rayin!

• We have a good friend named Walter. He's awesome. He got baptized like 30 years ago but hasn't been to church in 20 years and he's started coming back. He even bought a white shirt and a tie so he could worship the Lord in the way he wanted to. I cried a lil when he told us that. Anyway, we had a lesson with him randomly and it was so tender he was just like "hermanas I have no idea how you found my house the other day but please don't stop coming" and now we're helping his daughter and his grandson (his grandson is older than his daughter btw) learn more about the church so that they can get baptized. Talk about milagros. 

• This week we had 20 people that "Sí o sí" (absolutely no questions asked) were gonna come to church this week. And one of them showed up, and then right before the meeting started he was like "hey hermanas I got to go to work" So that was actually really tragic. And I was sitting in church pouting cause I was sad. And as I sat there waiting for relief society to start and feeling sorry for myself, I had the thought "there's a whole lot of women in this room that have trials a lot bigger than yours". So I turned around and had a cute conversation with Gelina who was sitting alone and it put a smile on her face and on mine. It was something so simple, but it really was a testimony to me that maybe we shouldn't sweat the small stuff. And if you want to find joy, love others. 

• We had a lesson this week that made me laugh so hard and shock myself at my boldness. I thought about myself in the beginning of my mission. And I realized during this lesson that I've changed a lot. We have my good friend Graziella who refuses to speak in Spanish so we go to her house and we have the most entertaining conversations. This week she told us that some things were stopping her from "being a Mormon" and I said "like what?" And she told me cause we have several wives and I told her that was not true I only have one mother and one father and every member of the church I know has simply one mother and one father. And then I said "okay what else? Why else do you not want to be a Mormon?" And she gave me another answer and I responded to that and then asked "what else?" Again and again until she was like, uh I think that's it. And I said "well considering I am an official representative for my church and I just told you that all your concerns either are rumors that aren't true or I explained why we do that and you told me that it makes sense, do you wanna come to church this week? Oh also, have you been baptized before?" She said no to church, but gahaha year ago hermana allen would have fainted. I don't know if God has helped me be more bold or if the bluntness of the Uruguayos has seeped into me, but whatever it is, it's kinda fun. 

JAJAJAJAJAJAJAs of the week:

• I felt like Graziella's reasoning for not joining the church belonged in the jajajajajas. 1. We're a cult. Why did she think that? Because she went to Yellowstone and there were a bunch of "little teenage Mormon girls" all wearing the same shirt, and then later that same summer she went to the Grand Canyon and yet AGAIN there was a giant group of teenage Mormon girls all wearing the same shirt. Gahaha I was cackling at that one. 2. Cause we do polygamy. (We dont) 3. Cause our parents force us to go to BYU and that's a devil school. I told her that my parents didn't force me to go there and I've never seen the devil there. 4. Cause all we want to do is earn money. She knew that cause she knew a family in Seattle who lived in a mansion and were members of the Church. I assured her that I did not live in a mansion and neither did any of the members here in Canelones. 5. Cause the temple here in Uruguay is too far away from her cause she wants to visit all the time cause it's so pretty. I told her that if she got baptized she could go INSIDE said temple, and if she helped other people be baptized too, maybe they'd build a temple closer. At the end she asked me what I was going into for school and told me I should change my major and I should be a lawyer and should minor in Spanish "because you're really convincing, in English and in Spanish" gahahaah I told her thanks so much. 

• This week I received 3 love poems, 2 scriptures (for wither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge, etc.) And 4 love notes from a dude we were teaching. We have since stopped teaching him. 

• We got chased by a creepy drunk man in the dark who said "hola bonitas" when we passed by and I had to call a ward member who I knew spoke English and explain the situation to her in English so he wouldn't understand and so she could come pick us up and rescue us. A thrill honestly. Hna Rios almost fainted. 

• We were walking down the side of the highway the other day and some military plane came flying over and all of a sudden it started doing backflips and twisting back and forth and doing all sorts of tricks and I was like woah that's fun and Hna Rios has never seen a plane like that before and she was in awe and absolutely terrified she kept gulping and gasping and half screaming "that's NOT NORMAAAAL" and I was DEAD I was laughing so hard. I let her know that it was normal and they were gonna be okay but she didn't buy it. I asked her a couple days later just randomly what's the most exciting thing she's ever done in her life and she told me that seeing that plane was the most exciting moment of her life. Haha we might have to come up with some more exciting things to do here.

• One of our friends who has started coming back to church after 50 years (he literally quit his job and found a new one so he could come to church and this week was his first week!!) And one of my favorite people I've meet on my mission, randomly texted us one night and was like "okay hermanas in 3 nefi 19 it talks about angels ministering to the people. Did the angels have flesh and bones or were they just spirits?" And I was like "Pablo broski I've got no idea" but I gave him my best guess and he said okay the first person to find the answer for sure gets a bon bon and I was like BET so then I spent two whole personal studies finding the answer and its not for sure for sure, but I'm 90% positive they had flesh and bones. And I will be receiving a bon bon this week. Thanks Pablo. (But also if anyone knows for sure if they did or did not have flesh and bones let me know)

SHPIRITUAL SHPEEL:

We were teaching some kids this week, and we were reviewing prophets and Joseph Smith to make sure they understood. And I said "okay who is Joseph Smith again?" And one of the kids got SO excited and screamed "EL AMIGO DE DIOS!!" aka "GOD'S FRIEND!!" and I just about cried it was the cutest response I've ever heard. And I said YES LUCAS he IS God's friend!

And then I got thinking. All the prophets have got to be God's friends right? How can I get to a point where I'm God's friend? Is God my friend? Am I God's friend? How do I become friends with Him? I WANT to be His friend.

Well, what did Joseph Smith do to become His friend? He talked to Him. And let Him talk to him. And he listened to Him. And he continued to do that. He trusted in Him and helped Him do His work. 

Well, there you are. That's how you make God your friend. Cause I think (I know) every one of us is already God's friend, we just have to work to make Him our friend. 

That's about it for this week! Love you all a whole lot!

- hermana allen 

A translation of my poem (phone screenshot below) - "eternally you will possess me, until my body converts into ashes, my soul will be faithful to you" (7/10 points bc it doesn't rhyme in English or Spanish but I do like that he's not a 'till death do us part' kinda guy so yeah)