Allyse on a Mission: CCM Farewell

Whether it's the MTC, the CCM, or the CIA, Allyse sent her last letter from the training center in Mexico, which is included herewith.
Enjoy!

Family & Friends!!!! It has been a week already and not it is almost time for me to leave the CCM and fly to Chicago! The time, looking back, really has gone fast. I am so excited to get into the field and be back in the States! Here is a look at my week:

Friday - 10/18/13

Crazy night! First, going to bed was really hard because there were hundreds of dogs barking! Then, starting at 4:30 in the morning, someone right outside the walls of the CCM started letting off hundreds of fireworks each minute. Needless to say, we did not get a lot of sleep so it was a very long day! Because we have new Zone Leaders now, they are changing the way our Zone does talks. Now everyone prepares and you find out in Sacrament Meeting if you are speaking. Hermana Woolf and I did find out tonight that we are speaking on Sunday, so we could be extra prepared. It only has to be five minutes so I am not too worried.

Saturday - 10/19/13

Today we taught Itsvana, one of our Progressing Investigators, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a lot about Repentance. For our service project we helped clean the exterior of the seminary building. Tonight we practiced teaching with another District, the one in our Zone that got here a week after us. I got kind of discouraged because the Elder I practiced with was really good, if not better than I was with teaching in Spanish. Then, I remembered my Setting Apart and how I was specifically counseled not to compare myself to others. So, now I look at how far I personally have come rather than comparing myself to others.

Sunday - 10/20/13

Today in Relief Society we had a great lesson on Obedience and how it is the key to conversion. My talk in Sacrament Meeting went well, I did feel like I was back to little girl talks though Dad :) It is great here because all of the sisters in my Zone are really close and we always talk and sit together and are so supportive of each other. We had a class with President Pratt about how important the Gift of the Holy Ghost is. We then had a "Chit-Chat" with Hermana Pratt. She kind of chastised us a little about needing to spend more time and effort looking more professional and polished. It ended up coming off a little harsh but I understood what she was trying to say. It was sad to me to listen to all of the girls discount and scoff at what she said. We are here to be different. We need to look on par with the message we are sharing. For our Devotional we had one from Elder Holland at Provo MTC back in January. It was really good, of course! This is the Key to Missionary Success:

Preach MY Gospel = His Gospel, His Way = Obedience = The Spirit = Teach with Power & Authority

We had Curly Fries for Dinner tonight. I am excited to have real curly fries in a week and a half! Tonight we watched Legacy. At home I never realized how old, and kind of cheesy it is. But watching it with hundreds of other missionaries made me realize!

Monday - 10/21/13

Today we taught Itsvana half of the Plan of Salvation and then said goodbye because we thought it was our last lesson with her, then we found out, it wasn´t oops! We then practiced teaching the Law of Chastity to a 10 year old, awkward!, and then to a 19 year old who has "problems" with it, more awkward! Today we also got to play Ultimate Frisbee with our teacher, Hermana Callejes. It was so fun!

Tuesday - 10/22/13

Today, Hermana Callejes brought us a special Mexican treat to try, Grasshoppers! It was so weird! The taste wasn´t honestly that bad but my problem was that I couldn´t get the legs to go down :) We also got the opportunity to do REAL contacting today. There were some workers, who aren´t LDS, working on the fence and Hna. Callejes had us practice contacting them and try to get their address and give a Book of Mormon. The guy my group talked to was way nice but made it clear that he had no interest in our church and had just agreed to listen to help us with our Spanish. It is so sad to know what an incredible, life changing message you have and have someone not want to listen at all! We played Volleyball with some Latinos. One of the Elders tried to give me a high five after I scored. I gave him a handshake instead (that is all we are allowed to do) and he said No and tried to give me a high five again. I told him, "No pudeo, No permite" so he tried a fist bump instead and I had to tell him no again. Then, he just threw up his hands and walked away! Tonight we had a live devotional with Elder Johnson of the 4th Quorum of the 70. It was really good! We learned about how important it is to work well with the ward we are assigned to because they are the people who will be taking care of our converts when we leave.

Wednesday - 10/23/13

We taught our last lesson with Itsvana today. We talked about 2 Nephi 2 which we had asked her to read and then talked about the importance of reading the scriptures and going to Church. We also said goodbye to Hna. Callejes today because she won´t be here on Saturday. It was so sad! She shared these scriptures with us that I loved: 2 Nephi 22:2, Alma 39:15-16, and D&C 6:8. We played Ultimate Frisbee for the last time as a Zone. I can´t believe that it is almost time for us to leave here, I am so excited and so nervous!

Thursday - 10/24/13

P-Day! Last P-Day in the CCM, crazy! The Temple was incredible, so peaceful and wonderful. They have this store there called La Tienda Zarahemla and I got a real Mexican scripture case! Lunch was awesome today. Carne Asada AND Chicken Enchilada Mole. If you haven´t tried Mole, do! It is chocolate, bananas, chili, and peanuts, weird but good!

Thank you all so incredibly much for your love and support! I feel your prayer and strength every minute! I know that this is so hard but this has been an incredible week! I have felt comforted and just plain joyous over the work I have to do! Yo sé que este Evangelio es la manera que podemos volver a Dios. Jesucristo es nuestro Salvador. Él vive y nos ayuda con todas cosas. Nosotros bendicimos muchos porque tenemos la verdad y muy animada compartir este conocimiento con la gente de Chicago! I love you all so much & miss you like crazy!!!! Thank you for everything! Have a great week and I will talk to you all next P-Day from Chicago!!!

PS- The official dates of my mission are September 18, 2013 - March 16, 2015!!!