Gospel of Jesus Christ brings great JOY!

P-day Selfie at the beach...

Hola Querida Familia! It has been another week, another super good week! We were able to do so much and really find joy in the journey so it has been wonderful. Life is going great, my Spanish is getting better, I really love and am learning so much from Hermana Escobar, and it has been rainy, so everything is pretty much fabulous! :-)

Monday: We had a super busy P-Day today! We woke up at 6:00 so that we could be studying by 6:30, to be out the door at 8:30, to shop and email before 10:00, to leave for Zone Activity at the beach that started at 11:00! Whew! I am exhausted already just writing that out! :-) But we had some good studies and then went to a couple of stores to get some groceries and a couple other things we needed. We then went to the library to be able to email for just a couple of minutes before we had to leave, carpooling with the English Sisters, for Zone Activity. Lucky for me, the English Sisters got confused on the time for the activity and so we ended up having a little bit longer on the computers than planned, which was really nice for me! We then got some lunch at Arby's and drove to Porter Beach near Michigan City on the shores of Lake Michigan. 

Jumping for Joy on my Mission!
(Doesn't living the Gospel of Jesus Christ
bring such great JOY?)

 We had SUCH a fun Zone Activity! It was warm and really humid but wasn't horrible. We were able to stick our toes in the water and it was so wonderful. I have to admit, being at the beach when it was so warm and the water looked so inviting and not even being able to think about swimming was super hard for me! There was even a kayak that some ward members brought and it made me wish for my kayak! But, I survived! We played sand volleyball for quite a while and I had a lot of fun. We also played the Book of Mormon version of Ships and Sailors and "Duck, Duck, Goose", as well as Signs. There were some members there as well as some investigators and it was just a lot of fun! After a couple of hours this INSANE rainstorm came in. We were soaked in minutes and it was so great! I counted it as a tender mercy from The Lord because I ended up getting as wet as I would have swimming! We had fun playing on the sand and running around for awhile. But, when there started to be a lot of lightning, we knew it was time to leave. We all then made the hike through the sand and rain and lightning to our car. We are grateful for carpooling with the English Sisters so it wasn't our car that got all dirty from our soaked and sand covered bodies :-) it we the best Zone Activity EVER!

Missionaries, Members & Investigators at the beach

We then drove back to the library where our car was and then Hermana Escobar and I ran home and rinsed off and changed real quickly and went back to the library to email some more. We then went and had our dinner appointment with a branch member hermana. It was sooo good because she made us tostadas de tinga (spicy chicken with beans, lettuce, and cheese on a tostada) because she knew it was my favorite! We shared a message with her family about the Sacrament and how it points us to the Temple as our goal. It was a great end to a super good P-Day.

Hermanas at the beach, but NOT in the water!

Tuesday: We spent the morning at home letting Hermana Escobar rest because she was so exhausted and in a lot of pain from the day before. I worked on cleaning and organizing the apartment as well as as studying. We then went to the chiropractor to see if he could give Hermana a little bit of relief from the pain. He adjusted her and then me again too. He was able to help Hermana Escobar feel a lot better so that was really great. We then had some Facebook proselyting time and then had a lesson with our less active family we have been working with. We talked about the story of Abinadi and the 10 Commandments. It went well except it was kind of all over the place because they kept asking questions about other things and wanting to discuss it.

Wednesday: I woke up feeling like I had been beaten up because of the chiropractor visit yesterday. :-) But after stretching out just a little bit, I felt a lot better. Poor Hermana Escobar tried and tried to wake up and get her body moving, but it just wasn't possible. I did what I could to get ready while trying not to wake her up as she was sleeping in the living room. I then had a good personal study, again, trying as hard as possible to be as quiet as a mouse! Finally about 9:30 she was able to get up and get ready so that we could head to District Meeting. District Meeting was good, we had a discussion on the adjustments to missionary work. It is a just a few things that we will being doing differently, such as teaching Lesson 5 before and after baptism, arranging the new member lessons, and staying in better contact with the convert. I really think that these are good adjustments. Especially because I feel like we were already doing a lot of that because it was what was best. We also talked about unity and especially unity in teaching as a companionship. After checking Facebook for responses to some contacts that we had sent, Hermana Escobar and I went home because she was in so much pain and her muscles were spasming really bad. I made us lunch and cleaned. We then went to our dinner appointment with a branch member family. It was really good, homemade fried chicken and potatoes. The hermana really just opened up and talked with us. She is struggling a little bit right now because of her family. She also told us her entire story of being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It was really interesting because that is like the 5th time fibromyalgia has popped up in regards to Hermana Escobar's health. We are starting to wonder if that might really be the problem. But we called and talked to the mission nurse after our appointment and she said that it has crossed her mind too, but she wants to wait and see if Hermana Escobar gets better and if not, she will think about it. We had a good lesson with the hermana and her grand kids. We read Moroni 7:33 and then Alma 32:26 and talked about faith, how we grow it, and what we can do with it.  They seems to enjoy it. Once back at home we spent the evening cleaning and preparing for apartment inspections tomorrow.

Thursday: This morning Hermana was feeling pretty tired and in pain again. So we spent most of the day at home. We had apartment inspections and Sister King went through so fast because she already knows that we keep a very clean apartment, thankfully she wasn't here a week ago! :-) We journaled together a lot and wrote thank you cards. In the evening we went to our appointment with another branch member family, the absolute cutest family EVER! We then had a lesson with a couple of hermanas about the people of Alma when they were in bondage.

Friday: AMAZING day! WOW! Today was quite the crazy busy day! We were able to teach and work so much and it felt so good! We first had a lesson with a less active we are working with a lot. He doesn't feel comfortable coming back to Church yet and so we really focused on the Book of Mormon in our lesson because we know that if he is comfortable with the Book of Mormon, he will be comfortable going to Church. It was a good lesson and he committed to really read it. We then decided to do a couple stop-by's before our next appointment. We went to an investigator's house who we haven't taught in FOREVER. She was home and invited us in. Her and her family are struggling a lot right now with just a lot of different problems and so we read Mosiah 24:8-16 about Alma and his people being in bondage. They really liked it and I think it helped them have some comfort and hope. We were able to make a return appointment with them so we were excited about that! We then stopped by another one of our investigator's houses, we have taught her and her brother once but haven't really been able to contact them since. But she was home and let us in! We had a short but very powerful lesson with her about the Book of Mormon. At the end of the lesson we invited her that when she knew all of this was true, to be baptized. She said she would! So yeah, now we have an investigator on date! :-) We then tried one other stop-by but they weren't home so we headed to our appointment with our recent converts/investigators. We had lunch with our investigator and then we read 2 Nephi 31:5-13 about baptism and talked about the Book of Mormon. It was a very powerful lesson, but she still doesn't understand that she needs to be baptized again in our Church. We have been very bold and loving with her, she says she knows it is true, but still won't make the decision and says she is still waiting on her answer. We feel it is because she hasn't been reading in the Book of Mormon so we recommitted her to do that because we so want to help her. After that lesson we spent the afternoon doing stop-by's and trying to find some old potential investigators and less actives. Today was also a very special day because it was exactly 170 years since the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I am so grateful to have the knowledge that I do because Joseph Smith restored it. Because he was willing to die for this Gospel, I am able to live to share this incredible Gospel with others!

Saturday: We had another good working day today. We spent the morning studying and then doing weekly planning. We were able to get a lot done and planned for. We the tried to take cupcakes to one of the members in our area, but she wasn't home. We went to the library and worked on Facebook proselyting and I worked on our population map. We then drove to Chicago Heights and tried to find some people to teach. We walked around the 20's a little bit and we got a PNI and gave a really cute little girl a card with our number to give to her grandma. We went to another potential's house because we had been told she would be there, but she had just left. We gave a Book of Mormon to her sister who is in 5th grade and she promised she would read it because she likes reading. As we were leaving we saw a black man looking really sad sitting on his doorstep. We went up to him and asked him if we could give him a card. He said yes and we started talking with him. We asked if he had ever heard of the Mormons before. He said yes because his son is a member and is in the army stationed in Germany. We gave a brief summary of the Book of Mormon and asked if he would like to learn more and he said yes! He definitely was more happy after talking we us and we now have a legit referral for the Chicago Heights English Sisters. We then drove home, through a CRAZY rainstorm, and started dinner because the English Sisters were coming over for dinner. We had a good time with them. We then finished the evening by having language study.

Sunday: It was a REALLY good Sunday. We had a good MCM with our Branch Mission Leader and a member of the Stake Presidency. It was so good because we had a lot that we were able to share and discuss with them. Us and the Elders than waited hopefully for all of the investigators we had invited that we just knew were going to flock into the Church at any minute. After waiting for a while, it became apparent that no one was coming, we were all pretty sad. We decided to at least go and sit in Sunday School to help build relationships with the branch members and because there was no point in just us four missionaries having a Gospel Principles class by ourselves. We walk into Sunday School and got the biggest shock ever. There is the less active family that we have been working with and who are preparing to go to the Temple along with the Mom who hasn't been able to come to Church in years because of work! Then, we saw another lady that we didn't even know, but Hermana Escobar was able to figure out who it was because she is a less active in our area that we haven't ever met but who Hermana Escobar has contacted on Facebook! It was so cool to be kind of down because we thought no one came and then to walk into Sunday School and see 5 less actives sitting there, 2 of whom we haven't talked with in person! It was so good! Then, it got even better after Sacrament Meeting because our 12 year old less active boy that we have been working with received the Aaronic Priesthood and was ordained a Deacon!!! It was seriously one of the happiest moments of my mission because he got the "Force"! He loves Star Wars and so we relate the Gospel to Star Wars to help him make connections! We were so happy! After that we went and helped a member out moving some stuff and then went to Chicago Heights to try and find a couple of people. No one was home so we decided to stop by the a recent convert's house because they hadn't come to Church and we wanted to check on them. After we knocked on the door, the hermano, who is the recent convert walked out barely acknowledging us and hopped on his bicycle and rode away. This made us quite worried because it has seemed he has been avoiding us the last little while and this strange interaction was the cherry on top.

My cousin Annie took a photo like this in Guatemala,
 I wanted to be just like her!

As you all can see, it was a REALLY good week! We were able to teach and work a lot so it was so good! Illiana (the name for our area because we are on the border of Indiana and Illinois and work in both) is doing good and we are working hard. I hope that you all have an amazing week! I love you!!!

Hermana Allyse Meanea

Hump Day!

P-Day Selfie

 Hola y Buenos Dias a todos! Tuvimos una buena semana...oh sorry. English, huh? :-) Well this week we actually were pretty busy and were able to teach a lot of lessons, so it was a super awesome week! Sorry I am kind of long winded in this letter, but some really neat stuff did happen!

Monday, June 16, 2014: Today we had a really fun and busy P-Day. We did personal study and then all 4 of us did Comp study in the car together as we drove to Valpo to the Chiropractor to all get fixed. He was so amazing and knew immediately what the problem was and fixed it with each of us. After I told him that I walked weird because one leg is shorter than the other, he gave me an adjustment that made my legs even and made it possible for me to walk like a normal person. Now I just have to retrain my brain! :) He also called me Hercules because he had been doing this thing with each of us here he tried to pry apart our thumb and pointer fingers. In the beginning he could do it easily, but then on everyone else he popped a vein back into place and they could hold it so much better. But with me, he was surprised because he couldn't get them apart in the first place. He knew that I had been a swimmer because I was so strong. Us four sisters then had some fun in downtown Valparaiso. We tried on bridal veils at one store, ate pretzels, had designer cupcakes, and enjoyed walking around. We then went back home.

Huge Lollipops in Valpo!

Tuesday, June 17, 2014: Today after personal study Hermana Escobar and I left to go and pick up member Hermana to take with us to some appointments. After some U's turns and a detour on a sketch dirt road in backwoods sketch Gary, Indiana, we picked up the Hermana and headed to Chicago Heights to meet with a Hermano. It was a really good lesson with him. He really opened up to us and told us some things. He really has a desire to change and so we are working really hard with him. He uses a lot of ghetto Spanish vocabulary so it is pretty hard for me to understand him, but I am getting better! We then stopped by some of our investigators, with our hermana member. We were supposed to have an appointment with them but they hadn't confirmed so we weren't sure that it was going to happen. The hermana investigator was home so we had just a little lesson with her. She is very Catholic and not open to changing at all. But her husband is interested so we are trying to teach him, it is just difficult to find him at home. We shared Ether 12: 4, 6, and then 12 and talked about faith. She seemed to like those verses. Faith is something she is comfortable with, so we talked about that and the peace and comfort we have from knowing that God is control and then brought in some restored truth by talking about how families can be together forever. She was cordial but obviously still is not really interested in our message. We then took our hermana member home and learned that we were supposed to be home in 30 minutes because apparently the English Sisters were moving out to their replacement apartment and we had to be there. We went home and helped them get all packed up and ready to move out.  Our other appointments cancelled so we were able to spend the afternoon letting Hermana Escobar rest and reclaiming and cleaning our apartment. It felt so good to start putting things back in order. The English Sisters did, however, end up sleeping over in our apartment with us again because the carpet in their apartment hadn't been cleaned yet. 

Hump Day Olive Garden Take Out Dinner

Wednesday, June 18, 2014: 9 MONTH MARK!!! Wow! I never imagined being at this point! I think back 9 months ago, getting on that plane, flying to Mexico, it all doesn't seem that long ago. Then I think about 9 months away and how it is just that far away. It is SO weird and a little scary to think about. Today was a great day! We had studies. In my personal study I finished reading el Libro de Mormón in Spanish out loud! It has been my goal to finish by my 9 month mark for several months but I had gotten so far behind that I didn't think it was going to happen. Then on Saturday I was feeling bad because I was in 3 Nefi and didn't think I could finish by Wednesday. But Hermana Escobar encouraged me and so I read 20+ pages every day since then and finished the entire Book of Mormon in Spanish by reading Moroni 7-10 this morning. It was the best feeling in the world to accomplish such a goal. It was an amazing experience. After some comp study we headed to District Meeting. It was really good and we learned a lot about Faith, Hope, Charity. One of the biggest things that stood out to me was this statement: "God did not send me here to wallow in mediocrity."  I just fell in love with it because I feel like it is something I definitely need to work on as a missionary but also it is something that anyone anywhere can apply. I also was surprised to be called upon to share my talk that we were supposed to have prepared for Zone Conference on chapter 4 of PMG about recognizing the Spirit. I had prepared before Zone Conference so I had my notes and was just able to talk about what I learned and how I am applying it. I emphasized relying on the Spirit and how we need to feel what an investigator would in order to teach with converting power. After that we had District lunch at Subway and watched a crazy rainstorm roll through. Hermana Escobar and I then went home for a little bit so that she could rest before our appointment in Chicago Heights that evening.

Hump Day Camel

I got a fun surprise at home. There was a package from my family that had the cutest stuffed camel inside and a little note telling me Happy Hump Day! We headed to teach an investigator but hadn't been able to confirm with her so we weren't sure if it was going to happen or not. She wasn't home so we left a card. Even though Hermana Escobar wasn't feeling great we decided to do a little bit of work since we were already in Chicago Heights.  Our recent convert needed to cancel the appointment we were going to have with him so we went looking for some people at the trailer park and ended up finding a less active family at home, and they are never home! She let us in, gave us agua de Jamaica, and we shared Moroni 10:32 and 4:3 and talked about the Sacrament with her and her son. It went well and she said the might come to Church this week. After meeting with them we tried to find a few other people but everyone else was either not home or doesn't live there anymore. We ended the day by going to a Olive Garden and getting take out to take home to celebrate my 9 month mark. It was way good and a lot of fun. The English Sisters showed up later that night because they haven't had the chance to set up their new apartment yet and so they needed to sleep in our apartment again. I am halfway! I cannot believe it. Starting tomorrow, I am on the downhill side! I know it will be just as hard, if not harder, but time is now counting down rather than up and it is soooooo crazy to me! 9 months...

Thursday, June 19, 2014: We worked on cleaning the apartment and helping the Sisters get all ready to fully move out of our apartment. In the afternoon we went to Hermana Escobar's follow-up appointment with the neurologist. Really nothing new there, he just wants to check on her again in a month. We then met up with the STL's and started our exchanges. I stayed here in Indiana with Hermana Whitney and Hermana Escobar went up to Chicago with Hermana Smith. I LOVED being with Hermana Whitney! We served in the same ward in my first area so I know her well. We went into our apartment so that she could eat and we could do language study. We actually ended up talking and catching up for a long time. Sadly enough, our appointment with two of our new investigators, at 6:00 canceled. We went to the library and did some Facebook contacting and then drove to East Chicago to pick up a member hermana to take to our appointment at 7:00 with a hermana investigator. We show up and an investigator that I have never met was there. But so was a ton of family and she told us she couldn't meet with us then. It was a little disappointing but not unexpected. I decided to have us do a couple of stop-by's since we were there and had our hermana member with us. We tried to find a couple of PNI's but I couldn't find the address anywhere. We stopped by the other, who wasn't home. By this time we decided to take hermana member back home, especially because a pretty epic looking storm was rolling in. It was great to have our hermana member out with us. She is such a sweet person and really does have a strong testimony. We all enjoyed talking to each other as we drove. After dropping her off and driving home through a crazy rainstorm, I picked up hna Escobar's prescription, I tried to get gas (getting soaked in the process) but the pump was broken, and then we planned, had ramen, and talked until 10:30. 

Friday, June 20, 2014: As we were stretching this morning Hermana Whitney told me about how the chiropractor that she had been going to was no longer able to practice because he wasn't licensed. She said her back was hurting pretty bad and I told her how much I wished I could take her to the chiropractor that lately has been working on Hermana Escobar, and even helped me out earlier this week . After thinking about it, I realized we had time to go to the chiropractor that morning. So we got ready, I made us some eggs, we has about a half hour of personal study, I made a game plan for our lesson with one of our investigators and then we headed for Valpo. We walked into the chiropractor's office and I told him I had brought him someone else to fix. As soon as she told him what had happened he knew what the problem was and set about fixing it. He was so good for Hermana Whitney and was able to help her a lot. He put her on an electric STEM machine with some ice for a couple minutes and then left the room. Upon coming back he mentioned that he had been praying in the other room about how to help her. Is this man amazing or what?!?! As we were leaving, with Hermana Whitney feeling so much looser and comfortable than she had for the past 2 months, he said he just hadn't started his day out right yet and asked if we would pray with him. He is just amazing!

We were able to leave just in time to drive the hour to Chicago Heights for our lesson with our investigator. I was pretty nervous for this lesson because I knew I would be leading it out and doing most of the teaching.  We got there and she fed us like normal. Hermana Whitney made up a little fortune teller to play with the kids which I thought was fun. We talked with her and she is doing good. We then started the lesson with her and some of the kids. We read 1 Nephi 3:7 and talked about obedience and trusting in The Lord. We then transitioned this into talking about authority and baptism. I really could feel my mouth being filled with the words I needed to say and the questions I needed to ask. The Spirit was definitely there, testifying. It was going well, very powerful because we were being very bold but also loving, then our investigator's sister showed up. At this point the kids left. Her sister sat down and proceeded to interrupt and add in her own comments every 5 seconds. I was so heartbroken because it had been going so well. Her sister was starting to realize she was interrupting, although she kept telling us that our investigator had already been baptized and we didn't need to talk to her about it again, and was being quieter when another sister and her brother walked in! After teaching and testifying of baptism, we invited our investigator to be baptized and to set a date as a goal. All she said was, "Esperanme Hermanas." Meaning, "I am not ready yet, I need more time". I was so sad because she knows this is true and I know she is ready. Maybe if we can just have a one on one appointment with her next week, we can talk with her and resolve some of her concerns.

After our lesson we went to see if one of Hermana Whitney's old investigators was home. Unfortunately she wasn't so we ran to the library to do just a little Facebook contacting real fast. We then tried to do some stop-by's.

After exchanging back, Hermana Escobar and I went to try and find a less active. The one we were looking for is still in Mexico but her son, who is also a member, was there with another boy and we think an uncle. They immediately let us inside, we later found out it was because they thought we were Jehovah Witnesses'! When they found out we were from the Mormon church, they were not very happy at all! We tried talk to them but there were very closed to us. Several years ago they were offended by an hermano at Church and now they want nothing to do with it anymore. It is so sad to see how people let something from so long ago affect their and their loved ones', eternal salvation. We felt like we were begging and pleading with them, especially because the one boy that is a member seemed to have interest, but they would have none of that. We both left there very heartbroken for them.

We had a lesson with a less active in the afternoon. She was so sweet and we talked a little about the Plan of Salvation and how we are here on earth for a purpose. We shared some scriptures and then she talked a lot to us and shared a lot. It was so nice to see her feel so comfortable talking and sharing with us. She knows so much about the Gospel and really does have a strong testimony, we just need to get her and her family to come to Church!

That evening we drove to Gary and had MCM. It went really well. We had a lot of people to talk about so everyone was happy! They made us this really good agua de cantaloupe. All that it is is: water, sugar, and cantaloupe, all blended up. It was super good! After MCM we went home and had a little language study. As we were studying, the doorbell rang. We opened the door to find a chocolate shake and a thank you card from "Pablo Pedro Alfodo Michaka". It was pretty easy to tell it was from the English Sisters, it was so sweet of them!

Saturday, June 21, 2014: We woke up today to Hermana Escobar having a pretty nasty cold. My poor companion is just having to deal with one thing on top of another! She slept until it was time to do personal study and comp study. She made it through those and then had to go back to bed. She can't even take NyQuil or any decongestant because it might react with her prescription medication. Pobrecita! For the rest of the day she slept and rested. We journaled some and got some weekly planning done. I was able to clean and scrounge up enough quarters to do a load of wash. The English Sisters also came by at one point and asked for some food because they have nothing in their apartment. That really was all of today, another day inside but luckily I am always able to find things to do to keep myself busy. 

Sunday, June 22, 2014: After getting up and getting ready, we drove to the Church for our meeting at 9:00. Funny enough, no one ever showed up for the meeting so we just listened to the English Sacrament Meeting again. For Church we unfortunately didn't have any investigators come, but the one of the less active families that we have been working with came! Since there were no investigators in attendance we sat in on the Temple Prep class with the Branch Presidente that the less active family attended. For Relief Society, my getting to know you paper was read to all of the Hermanas, Hermana Escobar guessed who it was within the first three clues. In Sacrament Meeting we had some visitors from the Stake so Elder Whitehead translated for the five people in the congregation that didn't speak any English. The talks were so wonderful. They were about the Book of Mormon and the power that comes into our lives when we read it continuously, every day. It was a little sad today though because there was hardly anyone there, about half of normal attendance. Which in our small of a branch, that means there was like 15 people there! After Church we went home and made lunch and then had studies. We then had our dinner and lesson with Presidente and his family. It went really well and we had a good time talking with them, even if he was teasing us about Costa Rica and the World Cup!

I am so grateful for the 9 months that I have been able to serve the Lord on my mission.  I have grown so tremendously, and I have been fortunate to see others grow in their faith in the Lord as well.  I am grateful to all of my family and friends who have been such a support to me during the first half of my mission.  I cannot fully express how your support, as well as the love I have felt from my Heavenly Father, has sustained me during the ups and downs of my mission.  I am so looking forward to the next 9 months and all of the wonderful opportunities that await me!

Love, Hermana Allyse

Reading el Libro de Mormon out loud in a bathtub... "Loaves & Fishes"

Photo we took for use on our Proselyting Facebook Page

Buenos Dias! How are you all doing?!?! Can you believe that it has already been another week? It is so true about how time goes on a mission, the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days! But it has been another good week here in Indiana (and part of Illinois of course!). 

We had a fun P-Day on Monday and we got a ton done. We were able to email for a while and then we took our car to the shop to have the tires rotated and the oil changed. The English Speaking Sisters picked us up from there and we went thrifting. It was a lot of fun to see what we could find, I got some cute blouses. That evening we went to a barbecue with a couple of branch member families and their friends. It was the best Mexican barbecue, carne asada, chicken, guacamole, beans, and rice. It was so great!

"Loaves & Fishes" Zone Conference Snack Pack

Tuesday was Zone Conference and it was so amazing. We learned a lot about being obedient to the Spirit. It was very powerful. Hermana Escobar was in a ton of pain though so there were some times we had to leave and let her lay on the couch for a while. Lunch was good and super fun because my incredible family sent me "loaves and fishes" (cookies and Swedish fish) to share with the whole zone. That evening we went to an eating appointment with a branch member family. It was really good food and we were so full. One of their sons who is a less active was there so we were able to talk with him a lot. It was great because he is a techy person and I was able to talk to him about that kind of stuff and that helped him be more comfortable talking with us. Once we finally got home, stuff got really bad. Hermana Escobar was in so much pain, more than I have ever seen her, which is definitely saying something with all that she has been through. I did all that I could for her, holding her hand and talking. We were actually able to call the Elders and they came and gave her another blessing, in our apartment, that is how bad it was! After a long time, she was finally able to get a little sleep. 

An Indiana Moon

On Wednesday we were able to go and have a lesson with one of the less actives that we are working with, a Hermano. I felt like it was a good lesson because I actually talked and interacted a lot more. That is something I have been working a lot on this week. We read in Mosiah 3 and I led the lesson a little bit just because Hna Escobar was still so exhausted and in so much pain. That afternoon I studied and cleaned the apartment while she rested up. In the evening we went to our Branch Relief Society Activity and helped them make little trophies and cards for the fathers for Father's Day. We enjoyed being there with the hermanas of the branch and helping out!

Thursday we spent the entire day at home. I literally studied and cleaned all day. It is so incredible to me that I can always find things to do when we have to stay in. I guess that is the key to how I haven't sick of being in the apartment all the time is that I am always finding something to do, and I don't let myself get bored!

P-day "thrifting" in quaint Downtown Valpo

On Friday we headed to Chicago Heights to do a little work. Our appointment with our recent convert/investigator family fell through and so we got some good contacting work done on Facebook that morning. Then we had an appointment with a sweet member family of our branch. We were then at home for the afternoon with the English Sisters, letting both Sister Spackman, who is also sick, and Hna Escobar rest. That evening we went and helped out some of their investigators with them and then went and helped do more service at the dog kennel too.

I had to cancel our appointment with our less active for Saturday morning because Hna Escobar was just too exhausted and having too much pain. She was able to rest for a good long time while I studied. In the afternoon we went with the English Sisters to an appointment with one of their investigators because they needed another woman but it was too short of notice for them to arrange a member. That appointment ended up canceling though so we went back home and Hna Escobar and I were able to do some intense planning for this next week. We really are going to get out and do as much as we possibly can and so we are setting up all of the appointments that we can. That night we made another emergency run to the church building so that some Elders could give a blessing to Sister Spackman this time. We sure keep the Elders on their toes. Sister Spackman has been super exhausted lately, really bad headaches and feels like a knife is stabbing into her heart (typically not a good feeling I think!). This happened in her last area but the doctors couldn't find anything wrong. It died off for a while but it is starting up again now. The blessing helped and she was able to rest a little more that night.

Reading el Libro de Mormon out loud in the bathtub

Sunday morning came very early. Hna Escobar actually woke me up at 4:00 am because she was in so much pain. She hadn't taken her prescription the night before because she said it was too late and she didn't think it was helping much anyways. Boy did we find out how much it really was helping! She woke me up which signified to me how bad it was because she never does that, she would much rather just lay there in agony. Then she was willing to take the medications right then even though she knew it might make it so that she couldn't get up for Church, another thing she is never willing to do. I got her medications and some ice for her. A little while later she was able to get up and take a hot shower which helped relax her muscles some. While she was showering I read the lesson for Gospel Principles because I knew that I would be teaching the whole lesson. After that we both were able to sleep for about another hour, which was really good. We had branch council where we discussed some of the people the branch wants us to focus on. Church went well, one of our investigators came. Hna Escobar just pasted on her famous smile and pushed through the whole day. After the meetings our branch had a lunch and party at the Church for Father's Day. The food was super good and it was fun to talk with everyone in the branch and translate with the English Sisters who were hanging out with us because we all carpooled to the Church together. Back at home everyone promptly fell asleep except me. I went and sat in the bathtub and read in el Libro de Mormon for 2.5 hours! There is a promise for missionaries learning a different language that if they read the entire Book of Mormon out loud, when they finish they will be "fluent" meaning able to communicate and share the Gospel. I have been working on it since the MTC and my goal has been to finish by my 9 month mark. I got SUPER behind because of all of the craziness going on. So, I shut myself in the bathroom, the only room where someone wasn't sleeping, and read all of 4th Nephi as well as Mormon.  It was so good and really relaxing and powerful to just be able to read like that for so long. That evening Hna Escobar was able to get up and we went to our appointment with the Branch President and his family. We had a good dinner and just enjoyed being able to talk with them and sharing a short message from Preach My Gospel about patience. They are the cutest little family and we enjoyed being there.

Gorgeous Indiana Clouds
and a Water Tank for Uncle Paul

So that was our week! Sorry that nothing too interesting like in the past happened! We were able to do some work which is really good and are really hoping to be able to do a lot more this next week. I just feel so bad because I know how frustrating it is for my poor companion right now. She feels so bad because she feels like she is just holding this area back. Her and I are both working on developing patience and really trusting in the Lord because we know that He knows what is going on and He has a plan for all of this. I am so grateful for this knowledge because I really don't know how I would be able to go through life without it. But we KNOW that our Heavenly Father has an individual, specific plan for each one of us. We may not always understand or see the big picture. But we can take such comfort and peace from the fact that everything is in His hands and we just have to pray a lot and do our best! That is definitely one of the biggest lessons that I have learned on my mission so far. I cannot believe that it has almost been 9 months, that is really crazy to me! But I know that this is where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to be doing. My plan is rock these next 9 months and live them with no regrets! I love you all sooooo very much and hope that you have an amazing week!

Hermana Allyse Meanea

Priesthood Blessing with a strong message, Killing with Kindness & Service, iPad Tech Support

Hermana Escobar and I

Buenos Dias! Can you believe it has already been another week? Wow! Quite a bit happened this past week and Hermana Escobar and I were pretty busy, so that was good because it got both of our minds off other things. I truly love being a missionary! It is just the most incredible experience. You learn things you didn't even think you would as a missionary. But all of these things just make you better able to be a representative of Jesus Christ and to share the Gospel. This was definitely one of those kinds of weeks!

Monday was a bit of a rough P-Day for Hermana Escobar and I. We did our grocery shopping first because we had to do it for us and the English Sisters who are living with us because they went to the city to see the sights. After that Hermana Escobar was so exhausted and in too much pain that she just had to go home and sleep. I spent p-day cleaning the apartment and such. We didn't even really have much emailing time because Hermana Escobar was hurting so bad. On Monday and Tuesday her hands were in so much pain and were so tight that she couldn't use them at all. She couldn't even physically make fists, let alone write, type, or use the phone. That night I went to a lesson with our less active families. I took one of the English Sisters with me because Hermana Escobar just couldn't go. It went really well. We talked about the big picture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The 12 year old boy is just so excited about the Gospel and loves learning. He also loves Star Wars so we try and relate that as much as possible. We were teaching about prophets and he was kind of confused so we compared the prophet to Yoda and it clicked for him. We always remind him of the 3 things he needs to do to have "The Force" - pray, read his scriptures, and go to Church. He is so fun to teach! That night Hermana Escobar got a call from President Woodbury. He wants her to try a few more things to try and get better, but he also let her know that she is most likely going to end up needing to go home because of her medical problems. This made for a rough end to the day. 
 
We had a pretty busy, crazy day on Tuesday. We went to the Valpo Sisters apartment to work out how to get one of the English Sister's freshly washed clothes to her (her clothing was salvaged from the fire, the Valpo sisters washed them for her, and she is now on the other side of the mission because she was transferred two days after the apartment fire) and we then went to a different chiropractor who is also a member but is in Valpo so it is a lot closer to us than the chiropractor in LaPorte. He has the neatest little practice set up. It was a very good visit because he actually took us seriously and recognizes that there is some kind of problem. He examined Hermana Escobar and talked to us about some ideas that he had. He said that he is going to figure out and fix the problem, and if he can't he knows people who will. He had us go back to Merrillville and get paperwork from the hospital of all of the blood tests done and to get the disc of the MRI's. He examined those for a while and tried to adjust Hermana Escobar to give her just some temporary relief, but she was so tender he just couldn't. He explained that he thinks it must be something pushing against the spinal cord which is causing all of her nerves to freak out. It was great that he was so open with us but hard because he thinks that she will most likely need to go home. :(

Neither of us slept good Tuesday night because the chiropractor had told us to ice Hermana Escobar's back for 20 minutes every hour. So that meant I was awake every 20 minutes that entire night. I would get up and get her ice, 20 minutes later I would put it back in the freezer, and 40 minutes after that the cycle started again. At 5:00 am Hermana Escobar was so sick of me doing that, but it did help her feel like a smaller semi-truck than usual had hit her when she woke up in the morning! :-) After the one of the longest nights of my life, we went to the Church early on Wednesday because we received an email late Tuesday night letting us know that in District Meeting the next day everyone was migrating iPads from one system to another. Being office mission techs, we knew that we should know what was going on beforehand so that we could help the other missionaries with their iPads. At the Church we migrated our own devices so that we would know how and be available to help. We also received a call from the chiropractor letting us know that he talked with President Woodbury and that he had a distinct impression we would be receiving a 'call' from him very soon, a call sending Hermana Escobar home. Needless to say, we didn't get a lot out of District Meeting because we were both so worried and anxious. After District Meeting, as everyone was leaving, some Elders from the other District walked out and Hermana Escobar asked them if she could have another blessing. They happily did so and it was so powerful. The strongest part was this: "Hermana Escobar, Heavenly Father does not want you to go home." The Spirit was SO strong and you knew that those words from that Elder's mouth were true. After that, everything changed for Hermana Escobar. We had been about 99.9% sure she was going home! we had even talked about it a little. But from then on, we decided we were going to beat it, she was going to stay, because that is what The Lord wanted. After the blessing we stayed at the Church for a long time because there was a big problem with some of the newer missionaries iPads and them trying to create Apple ID's for their devices. When they had come in, the Church just had them use generic group Apple ID's. But now with the the new system on the iPads, they need their own personal Apple ID. When they tried to create their personal Apple ID it didn't work because it said that their myLDSmail.net email address was already being used with an Apple account, but it shouldn't have been. After spending some time thinking and investigating, I figured out the problem and found a solution of how to fix it! I discovered that the missionaries' email had become connected with the generic account Apple account. After figuring that out Hermana Escobar and I were able to figure out a way to log in to those generic accounts and delete the missionaries' email addresses from the generic Apple account. We were then able to create their personal AppleID's for them and give them the info. It was so amazing to be able to be "techie" and figure out a solution to the problem to help others to be able to share the Gospel. There were so many missionaries that needed help and no one else that knew how to do it, that we put in a 12 hour work day on Wednesday helping people with their iPads. We did a lot of video chats that night to be able to help people all over the mission. It was so great! Hermana Escobar and I were so exhausted but so happy to have been able to help, and a Mission President never called to deliver that impending bad news! 

On Thursday we headed out to Chicago Heights for some appointments. But, by the time we were almost there, both of them had cancelled. :-( So instead we went to the library and were able to help a ton more missionaries with their iPads. We also got a really neat email from Elder Taggart, the mission online/iPad coordinator. He had been talking with church missionary technology people in Salt Lake and had let them know that we had figured out the problem. Salt Lake hadn't been able to figure the problem out and were having problems in all of the missions that the iPads are rolled out to.  They asked us to explain to them how we had figured out the problem, and then how we figured out a solution.  I got to type up this cool report to teach Salt Lake how I found the problem and fixed it, it was way neat! After a quick break for lunch we went to the Church and helped missionaries with their iPads. We then went to MCM with our Branch Mission Leader who lives in Gary. I don't think I have talked much about Gary. It isn't part of our official proselyting area but it is a part of our Spanish Branch.  We are there regularly for members and MCM and such. Gary, Indiana is a very interesting place! It is crazy to see an entire city just kind of rundown and forgotten. So many houses boarded up, stop lights that just don't work, and entire trailer parks burned out. It is a crazy, and pretty cool place!  MCM was super good because we ended up teaching the Restoration, contacting a referral, and getting a potential new investigator, all at once! We were finishing up when our ward mission leader was like, "Hey! I hear my son's girlfriend's phone. That means she is awake. I will go get her and bring her down, you all share a short message, OK?" We were like, "Of course!" So she came down and only speaks English. So us and the Elders taught her the Restoration and it went well! She says she has her own religion but was willing to listen and there is definitely potential for the future. It was great to be able to teach her! After that we went back to the Church and helped some other people over video conferencing.

 

Our current sleeping arrangements in the living room

Friday was another super long day. We had an appointment with an ophthalmologist, an eye doctor, in the morning. It was the same as every other doctor we have been to for Hermana Escobar. We spent 20 minutes filling out paperwork, 30 minutes being asked the exact same questions we just filled out on the paperwork, 60 minutes waiting to see the doctor, and the 2 minutes with the actual doctor. It was just enough time for him to tell us what everyone else has been telling us, "There is nothing wrong." He said her eye, which had been really blurry since that morning she went to the hospital, had nothing wrong with it. It had gotten a little better since the hospital but was still blurry. All he said was that she was farsighted in her right eye and should get glasses. So that is another thing checked off the list of answers, but we didn't get any real answers. We the drove to Chicago Heights and we played the Plan of Salvation game with one of our investigators, her recent convert daughter, and her nieces and nephew. It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed it and learned a lot. They told us that they (the kids) had all sat down together and had read from the Book of Mormon and that they had been so excited for us to come back. So it was a super great teaching appointment. After that we hurried home to clean up the apartment a little to meet up with the Abbotts, the mission nurse, to give them the disc of all of the MRI's so Sister Abbott could look at it. It was after that when I learned a very important lesson. I noticed that the English Sisters who have been living in our apartment for two weeks since their apartment fire, had been home that morning and had taken down some of my stuff and had gone through and covered up all of my family photos with their own family photos. They had also hidden Joey, Hermana Escobar's special teddy bear that has been her comfort during all of her medical struggles. This also came after the English Sisters had put a lot of wax on the toilet seat a couple of days before to be funny. Neither of us were very happy that they had done that. Especially me, I am afraid that I was upset that they would do some thing like that. Things with them had become pretty strained over the past week. My amazing companion sent them a text letting them know that we loved them but didn't think that what they had done was necessary. They texted back that they had been bored and just though it was funny. Hermana Escobar then took me into their room (the one bedroom of our apartment, Hermana Escobar and I moved out to the living room when the English Sisters moved into our apartment after their apartment fire).  Their room has been a complete disaster since they moved in and we decided to clean it up for them. Hermana Escobar really taught me to kill them with kindness. We cleaned their room for a while and I honestly felt so good after doing that. My companion truly taught me that the best thing to do in any situation is to just love and serve. That night we went to the best appointment with the cutest little family. The Hermana made us tacos and they were so good! So good that Hermana Escobar had 3, that is more than she has eaten in weeks! We then went outside with them and roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. It was SO fun! Who would have thought that I would get to sit around a campfire and roast marshmallows as a missionary! We then went home to find sorry cards, pizza, and nail polish. The English Sisters felt so bad for how they had been acting with us. Things immediately got a ton better between us. 

On Saturday I spent the morning studying and then we went to an appointment with a member in the branch. We had lunch and taught her about Alma and Moroni and repentance. We the helped her with some of the table centerpieces she was making for her daughter's personal bridal shower that night. That was fun and interesting! We also went and picked up some balloons for her. It was so great to be able to serve her just a little bit. That afternoon Hermana Escobar was in a lot of pain and super exhausted again so I just worked on studying and planning for next week. 

Sunday was a great day! We had both an investigator, and a less active family we have really been working with, come to Church! We couldn't figure out which to go with, it was such a great problem to have! Hermana Escobar was looking, if not feeling, a little bit better and so that made all of the branch really happy to see! The rest of the afternoon was spent at home because Hermana Escobar was hurting, so exhausted, and started to run a fever! I made dinner for the four of us sisters and everyone really liked it so that was good.

P-Day Selfie

Yep, it had been another interesting week here! It is so amazing to me how much learning I really am doing although we are mostly in the apartment. We are trying our best to still be regular missionaries as much as possible. It is hard sometimes, but we know that we will get through this. Things have gotten a lot better since the start of last week. It no longer feels like a cloud hanging over us as we are just waiting for the call telling Hermana that she is going home. We are going to get through this, no doubts! We had such a good week this week. Yeah, there were some downs, but if it weren't for those, that happy times wouldn't be so great! I love you all sooooo much and I hope that you have an amazing week!

Eternal Love,

Hermana Allyse Meanea

Come What May and Love It!!!

Hi Everyone!!! How are you all doing? This week here in Indiana hasn't been quite as exciting and interesting as past weeks, thank goodness!!! Unfortunately, Hermana Escobar still isn't doing so good and so we just spent a lot of time letting her rest this week. But we had some good times too, don't worry! :-) Nothing is ever boring with Hermana Escobar and me!

Memorial Day BBQ in Indiana...

We had such a fun P-Day on Memorial Day. We went with the English Sisters to one of their member's family's barbecue. We had a great time just talking with everyone and enjoying that kind of atmosphere, you don't get that very often as a missionary! It was so warm today too, one of the first really humid days of the summer, I think I am in trouble! :-) Monday evening Hermana Escobar was so wiped out from the whole day, so I left her with Sister Goff who needed to pack for transfers, and I took Sister Spackman with me to an dinner appointment with a member. After getting lost and a crazy rain storm, we finally got to their house and had dinner. It was some super good carne asada. For the lesson, I was basically on my own. The family knows English but the mom is definitely more comfortable communicating in Spanish so I taught in Spanish all by myself. It was such a good lesson, I truly felt the Spirit working through me. I had no idea that I could speak and understand that much Spanish until it was up to me to have to be able to. It just felt so good and the lesson on repentance was definitely the one the mom needed to hear because she is so worried about her own children. It was just so amazing because I could definitely tell that I was following the Spirit and my mouth was being filled as I opened it. It was neat because the lesson that I shared was not the one we planned to share when we planned for it during comp study because Hermana  Escobar couldn't go. So we planned to play the Plan of Salvation game, but then the pieces weren't there that we needed. So then, I decided on the Scale of Righteousness and talking about repentance, and that is EXACTLY what she needed, even though I didn't realize they had taught that to this family several months ago! It was so amazing to see how Heavenly Father can work through us when we are so open to His direction (and in my case, desperate! :-)

Memorial Day Wagon Ride

Tuesday we helped the Sisters at their burnt out apartment. We tried to pack up as much as we could and bring it to our place. I spent the rest of the day going through and organizing and cleaning (or attempting to) everything. We had a really good lesson with a member family that night and talked about the "Big Picture" which is how the steps of the Gospel lead to Eternal Life and the three basic things we need to do each day (prayer, scripture study, and attending Church) to progress on that path. It was a good lesson with them.

Wednesday we had a good District Meeting where we talked a lot about the importance and power of using the scriptures in our teaching. We also talked about acting with urgency and making sure we keep our lessons 45 minutes or less so that they are powerful and the Spirit is there. This is a very big challenge in the Spanish program especially, but we have definitely been working on that this week. We then had a fun District Lunch at Culvers, it was super yummy. Next we decided to stop by a member's home because it was their daughter's day off and we wanted to see if we could talk with her because the parents wanted us to teach her. She wasn't home so instead we talked with the mom a little bit and taught her a lesson about the Gospel and the "big picture". It was super good for her and definitely gave her an excitement of missionary work and the desire to share the joy and knowledge that she has with others. We then spent the rest of the day helping the Sisters finish up at their apartment. We got everything out that they want and now we just have to wait and see what the Church wants to do with some of the salvageable furniture.

On Thursday morning we made the trek to LaPorte to the Chiropractor. He helped Hermana Escobar who had been in a lot of pain. But, it is like a double edged sword because that relief literally lasts for about 5 minutes and then it is like double the pain. :-(   We stopped in Valparaiso on the way home and dropped off all of Sister Goff's laundry at the Valpo Sisters apartment so that they can wash it for her (one of their members bought them their own washer and dryer!) and then we drove to Chicago Heights for our appointment with a member Hermana. She made us some super good soup and then she got to work on Hermana Escobar. Her son, who is an athletic trainer and studying massage therapy, gave Hermana Escobar an intense massage on her arms (they have been numb and tingly and she hasn't been able to use them very well, plus they hurt a lot), that helped her get feeling back. Then the Hermana gave us all of this Mexican natural medicine to try for all types of things. Hermana Escobar is so desperate at this point that she is just trying it all!

Friday we went to Chicago Heights and taught a less active Hermano. We talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon and it went really well. It is really neat to see him really start to trust us and have the desire to change and to come back. We invited him to Church but he says he just doesn't feel ready yet, so we will work on that! We then went to our Doctors appointment with the neurologist. He said that everything had come back negative from various tests and their was nothing wrong with her. After examining her, he just ordered more blood tests, for her to get a medical work up by a doctor, and to come back in three weeks. It was just so exasperating because everyone says nothing is wrong, but with the insane amount of pain she is in, it just doesn't make sense. That afternoon was super rough on the both of us. We tried to do weekly planning but it just wasn't working. Hermana Escobar was just in so much pain and so worried and unsure of everything. We called and talked with the Sister Training Leaders and then went to the church building and the Elders gave her another blessing. It was a really good blessing and basically just told her to have patience, not exactly what she wanted to hear, but what she needed to hear!

On Saturday morning we went with the English Sisters to do some service at a dog kennel for one of their members. She is paying for 10 dogs to stay there but the owner has just stopped taking care of them so the sisters have to go and do it. We had to clean out their kennels and feed them and everything. It was so sad to see them there, obviously not having been taken care of in long time. Hermana Escobar and I then drove to Chicago Heights to help a Hermano with his Facebook. He had told us that he wanted to make it more appropriate and uplifting. Hermana Escobar mostly helped him, there was some pretty interesting stuff on there that she had to help him hide! We then went to the Hermana who has helped Hermana Escobar earlier this week. She gave Hermana Escobar a back massage and more medicines. Then her son massaged her shoulders and made it so that she could actually lift her arms!

Sunday was a rough day at Church, mostly because my companion almost passed out and was in so much pain. It really is killing me to see her hurting so much and not be able to do anything about it. But, we had a less active family come to Church and I was so excited because they came early to come to classes, which they had never done before! They had asked us for the number for the branch president the day before and when they showed up to Church, they told us that they had talked with Presidente and were going to start Temple prep classes! The man and woman have been engaged for over a year now and now we find out it is because they want to be sealed in the temple! So now they are trying really hard to take the steps to make that possible! This is so exciting because we have been trying to work with them so much and to help them. We didn't' have anyone else there so we were able to go to their Temple Prep class with them and kind of help out in there. The afternoon was spent with Hermana Escobar resting and I studying. I then took Sister Spackman and we went to our dinner appointment with Presidente and his family. It was good, once again I realized how much Spanish I really do know when it is all up to me!

So that was our week, nothing too interesting. I feel so sad for my poor companion. Neither of us know what to do but we are just doing our best to do as much as we can with what we have. We don't have answers yet, but we are just moving forward. Come What May and Love it! I love you all so much and truly thank you for your prayers, especially on my companion's behalf. I know that we feel them constantly supporting us through this rough time. We have faith that we are in God's hands and that all of this is for a reason, we just can't wait to figure out that reason! Have the most amazing week! I love you!

Most Spiritual Experience this Week: Definitely the lesson that I taught Monday night. I felt the Spirit in the lesson and recognized truly how my mouth was filled with words, because I had no idea what I was going to say beforehand.

Something I Learned in Personal Study: Jacob 3:1-2 - Jacob is talking to the pure in heart and giving us comfort and peace in the knowledge that as we look and pray to God in our afflictions, we will know that He is aware of us, has a plan for us, and that everything will be alright. Definitely something good that I learned this week!

Eternal Love,

Hermana Allyse Meanea