:o) 01.19.2009 (Email)

Hola! How are you all doing? Things here in Allen are going well. What a week it has been! First off, a little bit about Allen...

The good bye at the bus terminal was a little sad. Paula Beltran had gone with us as well because she stayed with Hna. Riquelme until her new companion got there. But I survived. Luckily, a ward member was on the same bus as me so he could tell me when we arrived to Allen, because otherwise I really have no idea how I would have known. It is just a regular stop, and from what I could see, I didn´t see any signs saying we were in Allen. So that was a blessing that he was there. But Hna. Ramirez was at the bus stop waiting as well so no problem there.

I´m basically living in a palace compared to my other apartment. It´s not that my other was in bad condition, it´s that this apartment is really very nice. We basically live in the outskirts of the center of Allen. The walls are painted light green which makes me happy. There´s a big kitchen with a table, and our desks and everything. (marble- like counters). Then we have a bathroom, and a different room where we sleep. Wow, three rooms! And it has a big over-head fan in the kitchen like the one we have in our living room at home. Fun fun.

Like I said before, Hna. Ramirez is from Peru. She has been a member for a little over two years, and she´ll be ending the mission in April. It´s funny that Hna. Celis, Hna. Riquelme, and Hna. Ramirez are all from the same group. The only other sister missionary from their group is Hna. Wilches (sp??) and I don´t think I´ll get the chance to be her companion. But funny. Companions with 3 of the 4. I have eaten food from Peru for the first time this week. It was actually very good. A rice, meat concoction.... very good.

This week has been a week of finding investigators. They had a couple of investigators before, but they´re now working different schedules (it seems as though quite a few people work with fruit) and right now is definitely the fruit season. So lots of work. So those investigators aren´t really available. So... we´re starting from square one. It has been good though.

Lots and lots of contacts this week! Contacts in Plottier were never my strong point, and I came to Allen with the determination to do better. The mission goal is that we as a companionship do 140 contacts every week. We met the goal for the first time this week! Yay! 165!!! We just need to keep doing them now.

We have found some good investigators this week. We´re excited to get teaching them more so they can progress.Dad, you asked me if I have ideas about how to gain the confidence of the members. That´s something we are really going to start focusing on here, because as of now the members really aren´t very involved in missionary work. That has to change. We as full-time missionaries need the help of members.

Something a little tricky, is that we share our ward with two elders who are also here in Allen. I´m still trying to figure out how it all works. It´s okay though. We´re going to figure it out.

So things here in Allen are going well. We definitely have room for improvement but that´s good. We´re just going to keep on improving. I feel a great responsibility here, and hope I´ll be able to do what Heavenly Father expects of me. Oh, and good news, they just called a ward mission leader. I guess it´s the first time the ward has had a mission leader in quite a while, so we feel very blessed. He and his wife are wonderful, and we´re excited to work with them.

How are all of you doing? From what I hear from letters, it sounds like you´re all doing well. Have I mentioned that I love hearing from you?

Lisa, no I didn´t bring a taperecorder. I don´t even know if you can buy one here. I´m assuming so... but yes, I agree, it would be a fun game. I´m up for it if you all are as well.

Oh, we want to start a Book of Mormon project with the ward. We´re going to challenge them to all read the B of M and give a B o M away by a certain date. We´re not positive about the details yet, but we´re excited about it.

Andres should have been baptized yesterday. It makes me so happy for him and for Andrea and their kids. It´s going to make such a difference.

We got the conference talks here just recently, so I have been reading quite a few conference talks. I LOVE conference! Some of the quotes I have read recently are:

¨True happiness comes only by making others happy - the practical application of the Savior´s doctrine of losing one´s life to gain it. In short, the christmas Spirit is the Christ Spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service.¨ David O. McKay¨

In spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wise, and happier as a result... We experience hard things so that we too may have increased compassion and understanding for others... The next time you´re tempted to groan, you might try and laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.¨ Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

¨The principle goal of your lessons is the conversion of hearts. The quality of a lesson is not measured by the number of new pices of information that you give your students. It comes from your capacity to invite the presence of the spirit and to motivate your students to make commitments. It is by exercising their faith by putting into practice the lessons taught that they will increase their spiritual knowledge. ¨ Elder Gerald Causse.

Well, I hope you´re all doing wonderfully. I´m grateful for my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for your testimonies. I love you all so much. Gracias!

Love Always,
Hermana Jana Banana Pincock