My Testimony

Everything seems to be going so well. I'm excited for all of the new  beginnings. We have transfers in a week and a half, so you'll hear next week what's going to happen. I've been here for a while and they normally don't keep sisters here too long, but then again, I wouldn't be surprised if I stayed. So we'll see.

I don't have tons of time so I just wanted to share my testimony with you all today.  I truly know that this church is true. I know that God lives. That He loves us individually and completely. Because He loves us, He sent His son Jesus Christ to atone for the sins of the world. That by Him, we can hope in eternal life with our Father. I know that it is by following Jesus Christ and applying his atonement through daily repentance that we day by day become worthy of this great blessing. I know that life is not easy and we are often tested to the very limits of what we are able, but when we learn in these situations to rely on our Savior instead of our own abilities, that everything is possible. I know that truths and the authority to perform sacred ordinances were restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith almost two hundred years ago, and that they remain on the earth through living priesthood authority. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and testifies about Jesus Christ. I know these things because the Holy Ghost has testified of them to my mind and to my heart, and I cannot deny them.

I'm sorry but I'm out of time. I love you all and I'm grateful for all your love and support. I can't wait to get your letter.

Lots of love

Siostra Allen

End of Summer 2011

Hey!
We just had Zone Conference this week and then President and Siostra Nielson stayed for the weekend and spoke in church. It was so nice to have them around. They are so wonderful and give such amazing and wise advice. We were more than grateful for the visit down here.

Well, I have three funny stories for you all this week:

The first is that I found my youngest brother Joshua's Polish counterpart yesterday. He's a younger version of my brother because he's only 8, but the resemblance is crazy. His name is Dominik and when he came to church with his family I almost fell over. I told him all about Josh and showed him pictures of my family and then took a couple pictures of my own to send home, however they are on Sister Folsom's camera so I'll have to wait to get them from her before I send them. Seriously, it's funny because there aren't tons of red heads here, but he has red hair and glasses and is really lean and super nice, just like Josh.

Another funny story is something that anyone who knows multiple languages is familiar with. Sometimes translations aren't word for word. This can cause problems if there was a specific wording that you really liked in one language and it isn't translated the same. But sometimes, you find the coolest translations. This morning for instance we were reading in 2 Nephi 15 and the English version is something like wo unto the drinkers of wine and strong men who drink or something like that. But in Polish it's roughly wo unto the heroes of the drinking of wine and those that reside in the apartments of alcohol. So much cooler right? When we read this Sister Folsom asked if I could translate it because she was pretty sure she didn't understand it right. But she did.

And lastly, as a result of lots of meetings and translating for meetings etc. we were pretty tired this weekend. We actually forgot our phone at the chapel on Saturday and then forgot our keys at the senior couple's apartment twice in a row yesterday. It was funny because both times we were walking to the chapel to do a white board and contacting everyone on the way, and both times we took about an hour to go the 7 min walk to the chapel because we were talking to such cool people many of which took Book of Mormons. Then we would walk up to the chapel and just as we were approaching the door, would get a call that we had forgotten our keys and we had to go back the way we'd come. The first time it was a little annoying. But we laughed a little and turned around.After dropping by the McGraths we started out again talking to some even cooler people and giving away our last Book of Mormon. And as we walked up to the chapel again, there was another phone call. We had walked all the way to the McGrath's apartment and chatted with them for a bit and then completely forgotten to take the keys. We felt pretty foolish, but I guess we weren't supposed to do that White Board last night, instead we were supposed to walk to the chapel and home twice and meet the people we did. It's always funny how things work out.

Well I love you all and wish you a great week.

Love,
Sister Allen

I don't even have enough time to describe the last week. It has been amazing because I have seen the Lord's hand in everything we have done. I really feel like one of the reasons I'm serving with my companion is that she is teaching me about prayer. Whenever we are confused about what to do or what to teach or what to plan we talk about it for a second and then she says, “Let's pray about it” and even though it isn't always a strike of lightning and we suddenly know where we're supposed to go, somehow I know he is directing us because we always end up in the right place at the right time. We have experienced too many small miracles for them just to be coincidences.

She told me that in an MTC devotional a general authority said that as missionaries we have the amazing ability to ask for miracles and the Lord will give them to us. I know God answers prayers. I always have, but sometimes I don't expect Him to really make things happen, that he always has a different plan for me. He doesn't always answer my prayers exactly like I want Him to, but often He answers them ten fold what I ask for. Yesterday after church we were exhausted, hungry, and Sister Folsom was feeling sick. Our plans ended up changing because an investigator called and said she could meet that evening. Everything was accounted for except the next hour before returning home. Even though we didn't feel up to it we decided to go contact. On the way to the park I prayed that He would send us at least one mildly interested person in the next hour that would listen and we could teach for a little while. We taught almost continually for the next hour going from park bench to park bench. Three people took Book of Mormons and two of them set up meetings for this week. It was amazing. More than I had asked for. Which testifies to me that prayer is more powerful and more effective than I ever imagined.

I love you all and I'm happy to hear that you're doing so well. I love Katowice, Poland, and being a missionary. This church really is Christ's. He really did die for us. God really is our Father. And we really can live with Him again. And whenever I have questions or feel confused as I pray and study I always find my answer. Especially in the Book of Mormon. I truly stand all amazed the more I learn about the gospel.

Have a wonderful week,

Sister Allen

A slower week

Hi Mom,

You are so right about how hard presidencies in the church work. To be honest I think they are even more difficult than a mission. Missions are great because you have the opportunity to be completely committed. That's all we do is build the church. But serving as a member, you are required to do so much and still maintain balance of work, family, etc. I do feel very blessed because as a missionary I get to learn the value of so many things, and how to do them effectively that will be able to transfer into future callings.

Here's a miracle story from the last week:
We didn't have a chance to meet with very many of our investigators this week because of vacation and what not, which resulted in lots of very open days to fill with lots of tracting activities. As we tried to stay focused we really felt the blessings of the Lord, and later where able to see his hand guiding us. For instance, in an efforts to set up some meetings, Thursday we called all of the potentials in our Area Book. Even ones that were found a year ago. Marek answered and set up an appointment. He now lives in Krakow but just so happened was coming to Katowice for the weekend. When he set up,  he didn't have anything to write down the address to the chapel so we said we'd call back later.

On Saturday we last minute had to change our schedule and switch our tracting time with a whiteboard. This left us whiteboarding in the evening right when said Marek and his wife were walking down the street. We contacted them and talked for an hour not realizing that this was who we had a meeting with on Monday. But we gave him the address to the chapel, important since his phone had broken and we would have had no other way to get a hold of them again. Our change of plans seemed really irritating in the moment, but later we understood that Heavenly Father had something a little bit bigger planned and we were able to be where we needed to be at the right time.

I love you all so much. I'm doing great
Btw: There might not be an e-mail next week. If I can't e-mail I'll try and write so either way you'll hear from me. Love ya and talk to you later.

Trzymajcie sie

Siostra Allen