Long Dreaded Farewell to a Wonderful Hermana Companion, Exciting Welcome to New Companion...

My new companion, Hermana Pearson and I

Buenos Dias Queridos Familia y Amigos! It has been a really good week. I can already tell that Hermana Pearson and I are going to work really well together. She is super bold and fun and exciting and I am excited to learn a lot from her and I think we will balance each other well. We had a really good week with some good teaching and finding!

Last Monday: We had a SUPER busy P-Day today! I can't believe that today marked 11 months that I have been out on my mission, although I honestly didn't have time to think much about it because we were so busy. We did our studies and emailed for a bit and then went to a branch member's house so the hermana could cut and straighten Hermana Whitney's hair. I was happy because I got to play blocks with their adorable two girls the entire time! That evening we had white tamales, basically Mexican hamburgers, with a branch member family. We visited another hermana who also had food for us and we had a great visit with her. Her and Hermana Whitney saying goodbye was one of the hardest things! We then went home, packed and cleaned and enjoyed pizza from Domino's delivered to us thanks to my family who ordered it from Utah!

Newly Arrived from the Mexico City MTC,

Hermana Shipp with me.

We went to high school together,

it is great to have another missionary

 serving in Chicago from Cedar City!

Tuesday: Today was the dreaded day :) We got up and got ready and I helped Hermana Whitney with her few last minute details. We then loaded up the car, it was a lot less full this time then when I took Hermana Escobar up! We left the apartment by 8:00 and drove north. We drove through the city and once again there was hardly any traffic at all. We got to transfers. It was so bittersweet. It was so fun to see so many people and be able to talk to them and catch up. But it was also so sad to be saying goodbye to the departing missionaries. I got to see Hermana Tara Shipp, from Cedar City, which was super exciting. She has Hermana Boushka as her trainer so I know that is going to be super good. After the transfer meeting there was the usual mess of trying to talk to everyone and move luggage around and find new companions. In the mess of it all, Hermana Whitney and the other departing missionaries left for the temple before her and I even got to say goodbye to each other!  :-( I was so heartbroken but I guess that just means that it wasn't goodbye and that we will definitely see each other again! :-) We got all of Hermana Pearson's stuff loaded up and then headed south to Indiana. We enjoyed driving and talking, getting to know each other better. We went to Chicago Heights and saw a family that we are teaching.  They were getting ready to leave but we were able to make an appointment for the next day so that was good. Then we went to the trailer park and taught a couple who are investigators. We taught part of the Restoration but it was kind of rough because they believe that all churches are good as long as you worship God and that you can't know that there is one true Church. We testified and invited them to read the Book of Mormon and pray. That is all that we can do right now but also that is what is going to help them the most. We stopped to get some groceries and then went home and had dinner and got to know each other some more as Hermana Pearson started unpacking.

Holding a SUPER tiny turtle named Steve

Wednesday: We had some good personal and comp studies this morning. We then headed to District Meeting and Hermana Pearson was squealing with delight the whole time because she saw the mall, Chick-Fil-A, Chili's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Target, and so many other places that she is so happy about having in her area. We had our lesson with the family we had scheduled to teach yesterday. It was so good even though it was a little crazy with the kids running all over the place and wanting palletas and throwing temper tantrums and such. We taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the girls really seemed to understand and like it. They had been reading in the the Book of Mormon again and asked what they should read next. We talked to the hermana again about baptism, all of her girls want to be baptized (one of them was like, "Mom, I want to be baptized!") but the hermana would like some time to discuss it with her husband before we set a date. This family has so much potential and I love them so much and pray that we can help them accept the Gospel as a family. Before we left we got to see and hold their cute little puppy and the tiniest turtle I have ever seen!

Thursday: Today was a good day of weekly planning. That is what we did for most of the day but it was so good to get it done because it is always so nice to know what you are doing the next week and to not have to spend forever the night before planning. We did studies in the morning. I had a REALLY good personal study reading at talk from Elder Holland called, "The Miracle of a Mission" and I also read Alma 26 which was super good and just what I needed to hear! Weekly planning was super long but really good. I just took time telling Hna Pearson about all of the people and just really trying to plan for them and their needs. We also made some really good cake mix cookies, you have to have treats for weekly planning! It was also kind of awesome because any time I had to call someone or talk on the phone to set up appointments I could definitely see how The Lord is helping us. In the evening we went to MCM at the branch mission leader's house. Hna Pearson really liked driving through Gary. It is just so fascinating but also really sad. MCM was really good, we were able to discuss some of the people we are working with and to have help and suggestions with them. After MCM meeting they fed us tamales which were really good. I was able to talk with the branch mission leader's wife for a while and it is kind of neat to see how members really do become so comfortable with the missionaries and really like them. We then drove home, driving past the building where the Jackson 5 had their first ever performance. It is really sad to see because in any other place in the US that would be like a historic landmark, people would flock to see it. But because it is in Gary it is forgotten, run down, and barely has a little sign to say what took place there.

Friday: We started today with studies of course. I enjoyed reading in the the Book of Mormon and highlighting the references to the Doctrine of Christ. I am also working on being better about writing in my study journal. My goal is to have it full by the time I go home, I got a long ways to go!!! :-) For comp study we planned out our lesson for a hermano we are teaching from the "Your Four Minutes" General Conference talk. We were able to go and teach a hermana we have been seeing for quite a few weeks now. We had a little lesson with her about prayer, really simple, and then taught her to pray so that she can pray on her own. She isn't doing very well with her health and her family doesn't help her at all. It is so sad, they leave their kids with her all day long and still make her pay rent to live in their house. It breaks my heart to see things like that. But hopefully having the Gospel in her life will bring some peace and comfort. We went and saw a lady we found and taught last week. She was happy to see us and immediately invited us to sit down to teach her. We read in the Book of Mormon and talked about how we can know for ourselves. We invited her to read and pray and she said that she would. We then drove to the 20's and walked around a little bit trying to find different potential investigators. We got a few people telling us they were no longer interested or had moved away.  We saw this hermano sitting on his steps and we started talking to him. He wanted to know why we believed in Jesus Christ if there are so many bad things happening in the world. We explained a little bit and then told him we could share more. He said that we could but that he didn't believe in God. Hermana Pearson then got all bold and was like, "Pues, tengo que regresar y ensenarle entonces!" (Well then I have to come back and teach you then!) It was awesome how bold she was and it was so perfect for him. Sometimes you really do just have to be bold and personal with people, let them know that you are a person, what you believe and why they need to hear your message.

Saturday: I had a really good personal study today about the principle of accountability. It made me think about how I need to live my mission now based on what I want to have done and who I want to have become at the end of my mission. It is process that won't just happen all at once on the last day of my mission. After studies we went and did Facebook contacting at the library and were able to message back and forth with one of our investigators for a little bit. We drove to Chicago Heights and tried to see a couple of PNI's before visiting a less active hermana. She made us some really good food and we really enjoyed talking with her. Her and Hermana Pearson immediately loved each other so that is really good! We shared the Mormon Message, "Mountains to Climb" and she liked it a lot. We then had our lesson with a family that has recently become active. It went really well, we shared the "Dare to Stand Alone" Mormon Message. They liked it and their son really liked the idea of Heavenly Father being with him always, especially at school (he is the one who was just ordained a Deacon a few weeks ago). They also told us that they are all coming to Church tomorrow so we were super excited.

Sunday: We had personal study today and I had a really good time studying some more about agency and asking myself how I want to look back at my mission on the last day of my mission. It is a question that really makes me think and ponder! We then headed to Church. Hermana Pearson couldn't believe that it was possible for our branch to be that small. Today was a pretty normal size Sunday which is really sad because there were so many there last week, because of the food after church. Everyone was so excited to meet Hermana Pearson. I think that she is going to be so good for the branch, a breath of fresh air, bold and loving. The family that we met with yesterday came to Church which made us super happy! Sacrament Meeting was of course good. We were also given a TON of food!!! When we walked out of the Church building, it looked like we had been grocery shopping :-) That afternoon we were able to teach an investigator about the Book of Mormon and it went really well. She had family over and everything but told us we could still teach her because she wanted to make time for God. We read in the introduction and explained and testified about the Book of Mormon and she said she would read and pray and would try to come to Church. We went to meet with the PNI we found this past week while street contacting. He was outside and we stood there for a little while and were able to answer some of his questions like "Why are bad things happening in the world?" and use the Book of Mormon to explain this. He seemed to like talking with us. He has some awesome questions and told us that he would read and pray. He doesn't believe in God as of right now because of everything he sees in the world, but I think that will change. He has so much potential and we are so excited to teach him! After that we went to dinner with a branch member family. We enjoyed talking with them and eating dinner. We shared a message about how the Book of Mormon answers questions of the soul and invited them to share a couple of Book of Mormons. We were also able to talk about how we want to have regular Noche de Hogars and about how we want to serve the members.

It was a really good week. Like I said I am really enjoying studying the principle of accountability and understand how it applies to each of us in our lives. We all are accountable to the Lord for the blessings, challenges, and experiences that He gives us. A question that we all need to ask ourselves is, "How will I feel when I look back over my life and see what I have and what I haven't become?". No one likes to live with regrets, especially for eternity, and I think keeping this question in our minds is the best way to live life to the fullest and to be please when we are able to account to the Lord about our lives. I love you all soooo much and hope that you have an awesome week!

Hermana Allyse

with awesome members and other missionaries from the Midway Ward
at the Chicago Temple for Baptisms for the Dead,
a real payday for Hermana Whitney
right before she completed her mission!

Happy 11 Months!!! + Transfer News + Busy Week!

Hermana Whitney and I together at the Chicago
Temple for the last time before she goes home.

Whew! What a busy week! I can't believe that today marks 11 months since we started this adventure and 7 months until I am back home! It is so crazy!

Last Monday: Today was another super busy P-Day! We did our studies and then went and emailed. We grabbed our "sack lunch" from Buffalo Wild Wings and then went to the Zone Activity Talent Show. We practiced with the other Hermanas that we were going to do our "talent" with. We did pregnancy yoga. It was interesting! I wasn't the biggest fan of it but it was planned while I was in the shower last night so I didn't have much say :) The talent show was so fun to watch, there were some really awesome things. Rapping, the Cup Song missionary style, bag pipes from the throat, roping, hula, and singing. Ours was okay but definitely really weird! Afterwards we hung out, talked, and emailed. Hermana Whitney and I next headed to a branch member's family for dinner. Of course it was fish! But it had a lot of lemon and pepper which helped me get it down. I ate super slow but was eventually able to eat it all.

M&M's (Marvelous Missionaries) at Zone Training Meeting

Tuesday: We had Zone Training Meeting today and it was so good! We talked about a lot of different things: unity in the companionship, courage as a missionary, questions of the soul, building unity with the members, opening our mouths and contacting, and urgency. Herman Whitney also gave her departing testimony. I was so sad but also so grateful for the time that I have had with her as my companion. There was so many things that I learned and made a goal to do better with. Zone Training was made complete with the amazing package that my family sent. Everyone absolutely LOVED the M&M's (for Marvelous Missionaries)! They were a huge hit! Everyone talked about how my family is the best, to which I wholeheartedly agreed, and said to thank them soooo much! President Woodbury also says thank you, especially because I was able to send an entire bag of peanut M&M's home with him to keep him company on the drive :) After Zone Training we stayed there for quite a long time because President Woodbury was going to do Hermana Whitney's exit interview because he has so many to do this transfer he wanted to get a head start. After Hermana Whitney had her interview we went to the Chiropractor for one last time. It is so sad to me to think that I don't have an excuse to go there anymore! It was fun while it lasted :) We did some Facebook contacting and finished off the night with dinner at a hermana's home. We shared a message about the Plan of Salvation and she liked having us in her home.

Our District with Hermana Whitney for the last time...

Wednesday: Today was a really good work day. After our morning of preparation, we headed to Chicago Heights to work. We spent the next several hours looking for different people. We weren't able to get in with anyone but we were able to make some return appointments which is really nice. We stopped by an investigator we haven't been able to see for quite a while. She was home but was super busy but still wanted to talk with us for just a bit. She confided in us about how tough her life is right now. We just sat there and listened and just let her talk which I think helped her a lot. We showed we loved her and we cared about her and she really felt it. It is just such an amazing thing how people come to trust you and confide in you when you wear and uphold the name of Jesus Christ and show them you really care. I never want to do anything to ruin that trust! After being with her we were able to go and teach a little lesson to one of our investigators. We read in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 2, and she was able to read with us this time because she had her large print Book of Mormon we had given her. It went okay but her head was hurting and kids were running and screaming all over so it wasn't the best. Next we went to see a hermano that we teach. He was home but they were just getting ready to leave but he was way happy to have us share a quick scripture with him.  We read Alma 26:12 about glorying and giving thanks to God and knowing that it is through Him that we can do all things. He told us that he should be coming to Church this week with his family so that is really great! We then headed to Gary for our missionary correlation meeting and dinner with our branch mission leader and his wife.  We had a good MCM and talked about all of the people we are working with. Dinner was amazing! Hermana made us mole and rice and it was super good. We then headed towards home. We stopped at the library because we still had some time and so I was able to get started on designing the invitation for the Noche de Hogar our branch is having. It was fun to start and be able to do some graphic design again.

Thursday: Hermana Whitney's last full day of work was today in Chicago Heights. That is so strange to think about! We had our regular studies and then headed to Chicago Heights. We went to visit a friend of a Chicago Heights member that asked us to visit him in a nursing home.  I was SUPER nervous about this because last time I was in a nursing home, it didn't go so well, I almost passed out. I really didn't want that to happen again. But we went in and I was able to sit down, which helped a lot, and we just talked with him and I was fine. He was happy to have some visitors and to just talk. He seemed like normal but everyone else in that place was crazy! After that we went to an appointment with a Hermana. She made us some good food, fish again, of course! I was able to get down one piece and then just continued eating rice the entire time so that it looked like I was eating and so she wouldn't offer me more fish :-) She loved having us there and she just talked, and talked. We shared Moroni 7 and discussed charity. She talked some more, and some more! We then tried another potential new investigator that ended up not being home. As we were heading back to our car, we contacted a man in his yard. He was cordial enough but didn't seem super interested. Then we saw his wife up on the porch and so we walked up to introduce ourselves. She was happy to meet us and when we asked if there was a time that they would be interested in having us come by and share our message, she invited us to sit down with her right then and teach her!  We taught her the Restoration very simply and she understood it quite well and seemed to have a lot of interest. The lesson went good and I felt like we were able to teach pretty powerfully. At the end of the lesson we invited her to be baptized when she knew these things were true. She said she would be because she knew she would have to act and follow Jesus Christ. We tried to set a date as a goal for her and she said to give her the week to read in the Book of Mormon and to think and pray. Even though she didn't accept the date I felt really good about it because she truly has a desire to know for herself because she knows what a big step this is. It was so great to find and meet her. Then as we were leaving her house, we talked to a woman pushing her baby in a stroller. She only spoke English and she told us it was funny we had stopped to talk to her because she had actually just been thinking about how she hadn't been raised with a religion but wanted one for her son. We talked to her a little about the Restoration and she was super interested and wanted to know why we were different from everyone else. She was happy to take a card and to go online and visit Mormon.org. We were able to tell her where the Church was and she seems super legit. But she didn't want to give us her contact info, she said she would check it out. Even though we didn't get all of her info then, as we walked away we just got the feeling that The Lord and the missionaries weren't done with her yet! We could see she had a bright future ahead and that someday the missionaries would find her. It was just so amazing to be able to see that in a person we just met randomly on the street, even though we know it wasn't random at all! The Lord truly does place people in our path all of the time. Even though often times it doesn't lead to much right then. It is a contact with the Gospel of Jesus Christ that people will remember. It is a seed planted and someday it is going to grow!

Friday: Today was our weekly planning day. After our morning of studies and lunch, we started weekly planning. It is such a weird feeling to be planning for next week and to KNOW that Hermana Whitney and I won't be together, that I will have a new companion, that Hermana Whitney will be home. Super strange! We got a lot of good planning done and made some super good brownies too :) After that we drove to Chicago Heights for our appointment with a family we are teaching. It went really well. We talked about faith and read Alma 32:21 and Mosiah 3:17. We had a dinner appointment with a Hermana and her family.  They made us this really good pasta that I liked a lot, except for the whole shrimp part! Luckily I only had one small piece that I was able to choke down. Seriously though, the only good part about Hermana Whitney leaving is that hopefully I won't get fed as much fish! People seem to know that she loves fish because I haven't had fish at any other time on my mission (except for one time as I was leaving Midway) until I have been with her. The things I do as a missionary because I love people! We shared a message about charity and read in Moroni 7 and they really enjoyed it.

Great members at the temple
from the Midway Ward

Visiting branch members at the hospital

Saturday: Wow! What an AMAZING day we had today! We left our apartment at 8:00 to drive into Chicago to pick up Hermanas Felt and Clanton to then go to the temple with some recent converts of Hermana Whitney's to watch them do baptisms for the dead. It was SO awesome because a lot of people from Midway were their and so I got to see a lot of people that I love from my 6 months serving there. It was also super special because Hermana Whitney got to see so many people from so many of her old areas who also happened to be at the Temple. It was such a tender mercy from The Lord. The biggest tender mercy was watching her recent converts be baptized for the dead, to see them make it to that point was just incredible!!! I just loved being in the Temple and watching the baptisms and confirmations (as missionaries we aren't allowed to do baptisms). It was a HUGE group, with a lot of Spanish speakers, so all of the temple workers were pretty stressed out, but it all worked out. After taking a bunch of photos outside, the members wanted to take us all out to lunch. The STL's had gotten it cleared with President so we went and had a fun lunch at Subway. After that we took the other Hermanas back to their apartment and then headed to a Children's Hospital in the South Side, in Oak Lawn, to see some members from our branch. They were so happy that we were able to visit. Their daughter was doing a lot better and was looking good.  We just talked with them for a long time and she told us a lot about her life. We then drove home, finally making it back an hour later and 13 hours after our adventure had started. We did nightly planning and got the dreaded text, "You WILL be receiving a transfer call!" Shocker there, right? ;) Finally the call came from Elder Johnson. Can you guess? I will be getting Hermana Pearson!!!!! I was not expecting that at all, but am super excited!!! Hermana Whitney is being transferred to New York and her new companion is YTBD :-( So yeah, that is our big transfer news. But we had an absolutely AMAZING day today. It was a TON of driving, but I loved it soooo much!!!

Luncheon after Branch Conference to say good bye
to Hermana Whitney 

Hermana Whitney and I with awesome branch members

Sunday: Today was such a good, busy, full day! We went to branch council. It was really good and we were able to have a good discussion on the families we have been talking about. It was such an interesting dynamic though because it is Branch Conference and so all of the stake leaders were there. But a lot, if not most, of the stake leaders do not speak Spanish. So we had whispered translation conversations all over the room and others just having no clue what was going on (not including me, most of the time!). :) Next we were able to have a Gospel Principles class about faith because the Elders had an investigator there. He was blind, Native American, and didn't speak Spanish, so that was fun! But our lesson went super well, especially for the fact that Hermana Whitney and I were teaching and hadn't even looked at the lesson or talked about it beforehand (we kept forgetting). Juan, the investigator, really liked the class and had a lot of good questions. After that we had a combined relief society and priesthood class. The Branch President taught a wonderful lesson on the importance of being self-sufficient and how we can get there (pay our offerings, balance needs and wants, serve in our callings). Sacrament Meeting was so great because there were SO many people there, the most I have ever seen! The branch really did take the challenge seriously to invite people to Branch Conference and it worked. We had another interesting dynamic in Sacrament Meeting. Because there were so many English only speakers from the Stake there, Elder Bringhurst translated the meeting from Spanish to English through the headsets for them. Then President Cameron, the Stake President, got up to talk and so I ran around the chapel switching the headsets to the Spanish only speakers because President Cameron doesn't speak Spanish. We then had our luncheon afterwards. There was so much food and so many people. This branch loves Hermana Whitney so much and they are so sad to see her leave, they gave her the most amazing send off. In the evening we went to visit a hermana, a less active in the Elders' area that has a little Mexican Tienda and she wanted to see Hermana Whitney before she left. We drove to her store and it was so neat! I loved it! She gave us food, a lot of it, and fruit, and had us pick out sodas, and everything. Between taking care of customers and such we were able to talk with her and get to know her a little bit. She is so awesome, I already love her so much. She speaks both English and Spanish and we really enjoyed talking with her. We helped her stock sodas and then she gave us tamales and guacamole to take home. She also told me to make sure that we come by more often, which I will gladly do!

A wonderful branch member and I in her Tienda

Sorry, I was really long winded again! But it was a super good week and we were so busy! I hope that you all are doing good and have an amazing week! I love you so much and I love this Gospel! I love sharing it and really seeing it change people's lives! Talk to you soon!

Hermana Meanea

Downtown Chicago for P-day, and I have a "gripa"!

Hermana Whitney and I along the famous Chicago Riverwalk

Hermana Allyse Selfie on The Ledge at the Skydeck
 in the Willis Tower Building in Downtown Chicago

Hermana Whitney and I at the Skydeck
 in the Willis Building in Downtown Chicago

So now that I have your attention, wondering what in the world a grip is, I will tell you :) It is Spanish for a cold, I just think it sounds a lot more impressive in Spanish than English! Yeah, that was basically my week unfortunately was a super bad cold. But we still got to do a lot of work and teaching so it was great!

Last Monday: MOST AMAZING P-DAY EVER!!! Wow, today was so good! I can't even believe it! We got to see and do so many amazing things and still had time for everything, In my personal study I started doing the new Book of Mormon challenge from President Woodbury about reading the Book of Mormon and highlighting all references to the Doctrine of Christ. It was so good to read the Book of Mormon that way, I saw things differently and really enjoyed highlighting like that. To start our P-day we quickly stopped by a McDonald's really fast to get breakfast and download our email so we could have it on our train ride to Chicago.  We hurried to the train station in East Chicago, got there just in time, found a SUPER close parking spot that really shouldn't have been there after rush hour traffic, bought our tickets, and got onto the platform just in time. We then took the South Shore Line all the way into downtown. We had tickets and there was even a conductor with a little hat that came through and punched them, it was so fun!!! About an hour later we got off on Van Buren Street in the city. It felt SO good to be back!!! Hermana Whitney and I then walked to Willis Tower, we were smiling the whole time because it just felt so good to the both of us to be walking in the city. There is an energy that I cannot describe there, I just love it! Once at WIllis Tower we found the entrance for the Skydeck and waited in a line for quite a while, but it wasn't too bad. Right before they put you in the elevator to the top they show you a movie about the history of the Willis Tower. Both Hermana Whitney and I were super excited about this because it was her first movie in 18 months and my first in 11 months, what a mission will do to you! :) Then we took the elevator 103 floors up, my ears were popping like crazy because they haven't had elevation changes like that in 11 months! The view from the top was breathtaking! I cannot describe it. Hermana Whitney and I so enjoyed just staring out the windows, taking pictures, and making a short video to send home to our families. We also went out on "The Ledge" which is this glass platform you can stand on 103 stories above the city streets. It was kind of freaky to walk out on that, but we definitely got some neat pictures!!!

Hermana Missionaries out on The Ledge
 at the Skydeck in the Willis Tower Building
 in Downtown Chicago

Back down at street level we had a quick lunch and went to the Harold Washington Library, the largest library in the world.  We were able to use our Chicago library cards to email our families on the computers there. It was an amazing library! I wish I could have spent forever in there. It is definitely a place I will want to go back to after my mission and explore! We then just walked down the streets of Chicago because it was so relaxing to us. We ended up by the river and just stood there and enjoyed it. We walked down the Riverside Walk and it was so much fun, especially for Hermana Whitney as it was her last time in Downtown Chicago as a missionary. We walked back down Michigan Ave to our train station and caught our train back to Indiana. This train was super cool because it was a two story train. That evening we had a dinner appointment with a Hermana and her family from the branch. It was a good appointment and she really enjoyed the scripture we shared in Ether 12:4 about hope. We had a very AMAZING day.

Tuesday: We spent this morning planning for the rest of the week and then headed to Chicago Heights. We  went and taught one of our newest investigators. We read in 1 Nefi 1 with her because she can't see to read. She understood really well which made us super happy. We were able to make an appointment with a potential investigator and after that we actually found another potential investiagor at home that we had never been able to contact previously. We set up an appointment for Sunday with her and she seemed pretty legit. We then headed to Hammond for our dinner appointment with a family from the branch but they had just gotten home from an all day trip to Indianapolis and back. They had tried to text us to cancel earlier in the day but had texted the Elders instead. So we talked with them for a little bit and then shared 2 Nefi 25: 16-17. She really enjoyed having us there and bringing the Spirit into her home. 

Hermana Whitney and I on the South Shore Train to Chicago

Wednesday:  Today didn't turn out exactly as planned, but it was alright. I woke up feeling even worse than I had the day before (I had a sore throat yesterday), sore throat, runny nose, and congested head. We head to Valpo. We stopped at the Chiropractor's and he adjusted both Hermana Whitney and me. We then went to District Meeting where we learned about some of the new things President Woodbury wants us to implement: we don't make goals as a district or zone anymore, he wants District Meetings to be more focused on helping each other with investigators and less actives, etc. It was a good District Meeting. We also talked about the importance of baptism and helping people come into the waters of baptism. To finish, Elder Bringhurst had Hermana Whitney bear her testimony and offer words of wisdom to us. She did really great and it is just so crazy for me to think that was her last District Meeting because next week is Zone Training. After District Meeting, at the urging of both my District Leader and Hermana Whitney, we went home so that I could rest and try to get better. I slept for an hour as Hermana Whitney made us spaghetti and then we ate and went back to bed. I woke up again around 5:00pm for just a little bit and we read in el Libro de Mormón and then I went back to sleep and slept until the alarm went off at 6:30 the next morning!!!

Downtown Chicago View from the
SkyDeck in the Willis Tower

Thursday: Today was another day that didn't happen as I had hoped. Although I was feeling a little bit better this morning, both a fever and coughs had set in and both Hermana Whitney and I didn't feel good about me being out around people, especially because neither one of us thought I should be driving anyways and she can't drive. So all of today was spent inside the apartment. We had to cancel our appointments. Everyone was so understanding but I still felt so bad. This has given me just a sample of how Hermana Escobar felt for all of those weeks that she was sick. I hate being a missionary that has to stay inside because you are sick, it just feels wrong! But Hermana Whitney has been so great about it and has really enjoyed getting in a lot of Book of Mormon reading. And I feel blessed that this has been the first time on my mission that I have gotten too sick to work.  Kind of ironic that through the coldest and snowiest winter on record in Chicago and I was healthy all winter, and now it is the middle of summer and I have this bad case of "gripa"!

Dunkin Donuts in Downtown Chicago

Friday: I woke up today and Hermana Whitney immediately told me that I didn't sound any better than yesterday :-( So, both she and I (mostly her) decided it would be better for everyone if we spent one more day inside, just so I didn't scare people off with how awful I sound! We had studies and then spent part of the day doing weekly planning. We have a very busy, full week coming up! It was a long process but it always pays off in the long run when we know what we are doing, plus it shows The Lord our faith and allows Him to put people in our path who are prepared. 

Saturday: So we actually got to go out and work today! So that was awesome! It still wasn't the greatest day because of some of the stuff that happened while we were working, but we were so happy to be able to be out there again. Our less active branch member who has been in the hospital called us this morning to let us know he had gotten home last night and he wanted to see if we could come visit him. So we headed straight there. Unfortunately there weren't any other women in the house like he had thought there were going to be so we couldn't stay and teach him. But we helped him translate his medicine instructions and told him to call us later in the day so we could come back and talk. Next we went to try and see a member of the English Ward to see if she needed some service because she had mentioned it before. She didn't need us right then because she had some doctor appointments but we did get to meet her sons so that was cool. As we were driving away one of them asked us to stop. He came up to Hermana Whitney's window and the first thing he said was, "You ladies are very pretty." Of course we were like, "oh no! not again!" (this happens quite frequently with Hermana Whitney as my companion! :) Thankfully he went on to tell us that he wasn't hitting on us but really giving us a compliment and also letting us know he might be interested in learning more about the Mormon Church. Oh the things you deal with as a Sister Missionary! #SisterMissionaryProbs :) After that we went and taught one of our newer investigators about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It went really well. We taught short and powerful and she seemed to grasp it really well. The only problem is that she also told us that she no longer wants to be baptized :( She told us that she had prayed about it and no longer felt a desire. So that is super sad but she was way excited to get a large print Book of Mormon so that she can actually read it. We told her that her desire could change if she read the book and she said she would so we are praying that the Spirit will touch her. We went to the library to teach another investigator over the internet. He was really slow in responding so we weren't able to get in a lesson but we were able to talk with him and ask him to come to Church tomorrow. We promised him it would help him a lot in his life. He replied by saying, "Yes it will, especially being with you guys." #ExasperatedFace! Not again! He tried to backtrack it by saying that he was excited to be there with us so he wouldn't be alone, but we all know what he really meant. It is sad because I was worried about that happening with him, but all we can do is pray that he will have real intention to learn about the Gospel. We are hoping and praying he comes to Church tomorrow too so that he can feel the Spirit. After that we went looking for a couple of people before we went to our appt with a branch member Hermana. She made us some super good food and we shared a message from Preach My Gospel about the Plan of Salvation. She also gave me a nickname (she does it to all the hermanas) and I am now Hermana Meanie, which I like a lot because no hispanic can ever say or remember my name, which actually makes me feel like I am at home too! But this one seemed to stick for her so I am happy. While looking for some other people we called our super legit investigator, to confirm our appointment in a little while and he told us he wasn't home and wouldn't be back until tomorrow afternoon. We were so sad because we were way excited to teach him and we had lined up a Hermana branch member to come with us too. So that was a big bummer. We drove to Park Forest and Richton Park to try and find some potential investigators, with no luck, and then went back to Chicago Heights. After going through all of our plans and backup plans, We thought of calling the less active Hermano who had been in the hospital to see if we could come over now. He said yes so we were able to go and have a lesson with him. He is doing really good and was way happy to meet with us. We shared 3 Nephi 11:3 and talked about the Holy Ghost. He really does know so much and has a strong testimony. He let us know that he can't go to Church tomorrow because he can't really ride in a car with his stomach still healing, but he is planning on being there next week. It was a pretty rough day because in one day, all of our investigators that we had on date for baptism, fell off date. It hurts, but what really matters is that we are trying to find the people who are really prepared and ready for the Gospel.

Sunday: We had a really good day today. We got ready and then drove to the Church for Branch Council Meeting. This was really good because we were actually able to talk about some less active families in the branch and plan how the branch council is going to help those families, so it was really productive. Unfortunately no investigators for us or the Elders came today, so we didn't have Gospel Principles. BUT one of our recent convert that had totally told us he wasn't coming anymore, CAME!!! When we had tried talking to him over Facebook yesterday to set up at time to come see him, he told us he was good but he promised he would come to Church. I have to admit, given the past couple of weeks with him, I was doubtful if he would actually be there. But he came!!! So that is amazing!  It was a good Sunday with a lot of people there. Following church we had our study time. I had an amazing time studying Alma 4 and found a lot of things that really helped me personally. We also had a short little companionship study to plan our lessons that we are scheduled to teach.  We drove to Chicago Heights and went to a potential investigator's home.  We found her at home and she had actually been expecting us. We were able to sit down and teach her about the Restoration and it went really well. She is catholic by name but doesn't go so she is very open. She seemed to be really interested in our message and willing to accept it as well. She was happy to get a Book of Mormon and to start reading it because she hasn't really read scripture before. She commited to read and pray. We invited her to be baptized on Sept. 14 and she said yes, why not, she would like that. She also asked us where and when our Church was before we could even invite her to come and she asked when we could come back and invited us every Sunday. She seems super legit so we are way excited. We went looking for a few more people and were finally able to find an a family that had previously been investigators. They were really happy to see us and us them. We set up an appointment with them for Thursday and they are excited to learn some more. We then drove to Presidente's house and had fun with Hermana and their two daughters. Their baby really is the cutest baby ever! She loves me and loves to smile at me. Twice she got into my bag and immediately pulled out the iPad and our phone, she is so smart. She also brought me a toy camera to take pictures of her and when I would point it at her she would pose and smile as big as she could. It is the hardest thing in the world for me to not take her in my arms and hold and love her! Presidente came home as we were eating arroz con pollo and we were able to talk with him too. After that we shared a message from Preach My Gospel about how we need to relate to people personally, especially using families, to share the Gospel with them. 

It was a great week, not exactly how we had planned but I definitely was appreciative for the Zone Training we had a few weeks ago where President taught us that sometimes the Lord gives us sickness so that we can be humble and know how to help others. So I am just going to look at it that way and use what I learned last week to make this next week amazing! We have a lot planned and a lot to do for Hna Whitney's last week as a missionary and I know it will be great! Thank you so much for all of your love! I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!

Hermana Meanea

Panoramic Photo of Chicago from the Sky Deck in the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower)

"Mini" Missionary? (not a joke about my height!) and Sisters Conference

P-Day Selfie from Downtown Chicago!

Hola! How are you all doing? Today for P-Day I get to tell you all hello from Chicago because I am sending this to you from Downtown! I hope everything is going good. We had an amazing week so I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Last Monday: Today was a pretty typical p-day. We emailed family and friends, spent a little time at the mall, did our grocery shopping and then finished the P-day time with other preparations for the week. 

Tuesday: We were able to teach one of our investigators on date, over Facebook today. We helped answer some of his questions and helped him to know what he can do to have peace and happiness in his life. We then went and saw an investigator. She was doing good but hadn't read in the Book of Mormon because she didn't have time. So we read with her in 1st Nephi Chapter 1 and talked about how the Book of Mormon is true and we can have a testimony of it. After teaching her we drove all over Chicago Heights trying to find different people that we wanted to contact. No one was home that we were looking for. We parked in the 20's and walked around the neighborhoods contacting and were able to find a few people that were interested so that was awesome. We had an appointment with a former investigator of Hermana Whitney's from when she served in this area a year ago. We talked with her for a bit and taught about the Restoration. It was a SUPER good lesson. She is really smart and had great insights and questions and remembered a lot. I couldn't understand why she wasn't baptized yet! At the end we invited her to be baptized and she explained she was catholic and that she never saw herself changing religions. We were very bold, but not overbearing, with her and explained about proper authority and the need for baptism. I really felt the Spirit working through me, giving me the questions I should ask her and the things I should say. It was a good thing too that we had the Spirit, because I wouldn't have known what to do in that situation otherwise! At the end she just told us she didn't think she would ever be baptized, but we invited her to read and pray and receive an answer. It really breaks my heart because she is so golden, just won't let go of her family's religion. But we will pray and maybe the Book of Mormon will change her heart because I know it has the power to do that! We drove to our MCM meeting with our branch mission leader in Gary, Indiana. It was really good even though it was just us, him, and his wife. The Elders weren't able to make it. We were able to tell him about all of the people we are working with and get some help for some of our investigator's needs. We talked about and planned for a branch Noche de Hogar that we want to have as a missionary activity. We are thinking of showing 17 Miracles and having treats.

Wednesday: This morning we went to the chiropractors and then to District Meeting. We talked about planning a little bit and then Hermana Whitney and I taught about extending commitment invitations, specifically baptism in the first lesson. It is just so important because they can't repent or change unless we invite them to. It went well. After District Meeting we went to El Amigo for District Lunch. It was so fun to talk with everyone and hear how everything was going while eating a good steak burrito! Hermana Whitney and I then got cookies and cream palletas and headed towards home. We ended up being home the rest of the afternoon because Hermana Whitney got some kind of allergic reaction and had to take Benadryl which knocked her out.

Hermana Whitney and I with our Mini Missionary
(who ironically is taller then both of us?)

Links of Companions at Sister's Conference

Thursday: Today was a SUPER long but SUPER good day! We got up at 5:30, picked up some girls from the English ward that are going on mini missions and then drove to Wilmette for Sister's Conference. It was neat because once we got there we got to have a special little transfer meeting for all of us Valpo Sisters because we all got mini missionaries. A mini missionary is a laurel aged young women for the stake that goes with the missionaries for 4 days to experience what being a missionary is like. Our Mini Missionary was so great, just one small catch, she doesn't speak Spanish! So that led to a lot of fun adventures. But the Sister's Conference was amazing! The theme was becoming perfect in Christ, which is awesome because that is something that I really have been working on. After Sister's Conference we were able to got to a hospital in South Side where our less active member that we have been working with a lot was waiting to have surgery. He was so happy that we were able to visit him. We talked, shared a scripture, and most importantly, I stayed upright with no problems the entire time, a huge accomplishment for me! We finally got home at 9:00 at night, 14.5 hours after we left this morning!

Visiting our branch member in the hospital

Friday: Today was rough. There was some really good stuff but there was also some pretty tough things that definitely made the good sweeter! We went to try and see this family that we have been working with a lot, this ended up being one of the most heartbreaking moments of my mission. You see, one of our investigator's church friends was there. :-(  As soon as we showed up, the recent convert that is a part of the same family but has quit coming to church, left the room and wouldn't come back, so that started everything going downhill. Our investigator was cordial and invited us to sit down and gave us water bottles. We shared a message about the Book of Mormon but it was a very difficult lesson because her church friend literally made it where the Spirit could not be there. She was fighting every word we said, arguing everything, interrupting, and ignoring us and the Spirit. It was rough. But we stayed calm and just stuck to bearing powerful, simple testimony. In the midst of it all our investigator told us that she wasn't really sure why we were still coming over, she believed in the Bible and her church and didn't believe in ours. Ouch! So she basically dropped us and that hurt a lot because us and so many other missionaries prior to my arrival have worked with them so much. :(   We trying to leave the lesson on a slightly okay note, so we invited our mini missionary to bear her testimony. She had written it down in Spanish on her own that morning and so she read it. Like we were hoping, the Spirit rushed in, it was very powerful and we could definitely feel it. That evening we had a relief society activity where we learned how to make tres leches cake and decorate cupcakes. It was a really good activity that I think helped many of the Hermanas in our branch a lot. 

Sunflower Cupcake made at branch
Relief Society Meeting

Saturday: Today was a really good day. After some of the bitterness of yesterday, today truly was sweet. We did a lot of stop-by's and got a lot of teaching in. One of the lessons we had was with a potential investigator that we just hadn't been able to get in with. But we stopped by and he was home and super willing to listen. We had an amazing lesson on the Restoration, the Spirit was so strong and it just felt good! He even asked us where our church was before we could invite him to come to church.  He truly believes this is true and had such a sincere desire to know, so that was awesome! That evening we had dinner with a hermana from our branch who also speaks English.  Our mini missionary really liked being able to speak in English with our branch member and enjoyed being about to understand the hermana.  Our poor mini missionary's head was spinning all day with all of the Spanish!

Banana Splits with our Mini Missionary

Sunday: We had another good day today. None of our investigators were able to make it to Church unfortunately but all of the meetings went smoothly so it was a good day! In the afternoon all of the Sister Missionaries in the stake met up and we had a little testimony meeting with us, our mini missionaries, and their parents. It was really good and so wonderful to see all of the excitement that these girls have for missionary work. We really enjoyed being with Sister Reyes. We all learned a lot from each other and had a super good time together!

Sorry my email is a little shorter this week, it had been a crazy busy week and with us being in the city today, I didn't have time to write much. I love you all so much and hope you have an amazing week!

Eternal Love,

Hermana Allyse Meanea