 |
| Hello from Indiana... |
Buenos Dias! It is really hard for me to believe that it has already been an entire week! The closer that I get to my year mark, the faster time really does seem to be going! We had a really good week and things are just going super well!
Last Monday we had a really great Labor Day. We emailed at the Church for a little bit and then one of the English ward members took us and the English Sisters to lunch at a little family restaurant called Maximum's (he had invited us to his Labor Day BBQ, but the thunderstorms changed those plans). It was a lot of fun to be with him and his wife, the English Sisters, and their investigator. We enjoyed talking, laughing, and telling some crazy stories. Hermana Pearson and I finished off our P-Day by doing the shopping that we needed and then went to Chicago Heights to visit with a less active branch member family that we have been working with for months. It was fun to talk with them and they also fed us. We talked a lot with their son about preparing for his mission. He is a miracle. A few months ago he wasn't doing very good things. He is 25 and everyone figured he probably wouldn't be going on a mission. Then his niece got sick and he did a complete 180 and is now finishing up his mission papers and talking to us about missions. We are so excited for him and his family!
 |
Balloons always make people happy,
just like the Gospel does!!! |
On Tuesday we had a nice long workday. We were able to teach one of our investigators. She still seems really interested so we are happy about that. We read 3 Nefi 17 for her because she hadn't been able to read. She really like it and understood well and told us she will try to come to Church, especially if we find her a ride. We did some other PNI stop by's and were able to set an appointment with another investigator family. We drove to Park Forest to look for a couple of people but no one was home. We tried to go see another family we have been working with, but they had a lot of people over and we didn't want to risk another run in with the JW's. Another family we stopped by to teach were home but busy and told us we could come back another day. A less active we stopped by was there but his wife wasn't so we set an appointment for another day. We then drove to East Chicago for our appointment with a branch member couple. They made us some really good food and the hermano really enjoyed talking to us about his mission and showing us pictures and telling stories. We had a lot of fun with them and shared the Hastening the Work of Salvation video and explained how we need the members in this work.
 |
| Missionaries armed with price guns! |
Wednesday was a really good and busy day! We went to the chiropractor and he adjusted me then I had the fun part of watching Hermana Pearson get adjusted. She was terrified and had never been to a chiropractor before. Watching me get adjusted made her even more scared. Since she didn't know of any problems she had, the chiropractor had her stand there and just by looking at her he could name of several of her problems: rotated forward shoulders showing a lot of knuckles (from swimming), crooked head (this one makes me laugh and her really upset), and loss of curvature in her neck. Then once she was on the table: entire pelvis rotated forward plus one side of pelvis twisted forward and the other back, over-pronating with right foot = tenderness and pain in calf and knee, several back joints stuck together, headaches and a muscle in her shoulder that had been ridiculously tight for over a year, plus a lot of other things too! She was mortified but so happy to have someone that could help her with all of that :-) We had District Meeting and learned about improving our teaching skills. After that Hna Pearson and I had to spend about an hour at the mall because we had to take our car into the shop to get a brake light fixed. As we were heading home we were able to help someone who had run out of gas by going and getting them a can of gas and they were super grateful. We then did our studies before driving to Chicago Heights for our member present lesson with the a couple of families that we are teaching. It went super well! We taught about keeping the Sabbath Day holy and the mom, talked about how she had just started working and had asked her husband what day she should request off and he told her Sunday because it was the Sabbath. So when we then taught that subject it was really neat and meaningful to her. Having the branch members there was really good and they really helped to bring the Spirit and to testify. We then went and helped a less active at her store. We got to use price guns to price and stock things so we had a lot of fun!
Thursday I thought was going to be a pretty boring day to write about because it was a planning day, but a lot of crazy stuff happened that makes this a very interesting day! After studies and lunch we started weekly planning. It went really good. We are going to have a super busy and crazy but wonderful next 8 days! After planning for several hours, and making chocolate chip cookies (okay, putting premixed ones in the oven!) we went to the library and did some Facebook contacting, proselyting
and teaching. We drove to Hammond and had dinner with a branch member family. It was really great. The hermana made us Enchiladas Verdes and we loved talking with their girls. We shared the Hastening the Work of Salvation video and then went to our MCM meeting with the branch mission leader at the Church. As we were leaving the Church we noticed there were a bunch of teenage boys in the gym playing basketball. But there were no adults, the English Elders had left, and then the branch mission leader came back in and told us that his van, that had been sitting next to those boy's truck, smelled like Marijuana. After a discussion between us missionaries (the Elders who serve in our branch, and us sisters)
of who should go talk to them, my companion marched right in to talk to them. We went and asked the boys when they were leaving and they told us around 9:30 (it was 9:00). We told them that we were in charge of the building and had to lock up and leave so they would have to leave also. They told us that the English Ward Mission Leader, was going to come and lock up later. Because it was kind of suspicious
, and none of them were members except one kid (and he was SUPER rude to Hermana Pearson) we called the English Ward's Ward Mission Leader just to make sure that was true. He didn't answer his cell phone but when we called his home phone, his wife told us he was traveling home from New York City right then, so he definitely wouldn't be in town to lock up the building like the boys had told us he would. So because there were no adults (and especially no priesthood), and our WML was claiming the boys had been smoking marijuana, and they were there in the building really late, we told them they had to leave. After taking their sweet time and several of them disappearing for a few minutes in the Church, they finally left. As we were leaving and locking the building, we discovered that they had gone around and left several doors and windows open so that they could sneak back into the church building after we had left. We then had to go and secure the entire building, also finding out that they had stolen one of the allen wrench keys used to lock and unlock the doors. We could see the boys circling the block every few minutes in their truck waiting for us to leave. Eventually we were able to get everything closed and locked again and we headed back to our apartment.
On Friday I had a lot of fun putting my graphic design skills to use designing an invitation for our branch's Noche de Hogar next Saturday. We did some different stop-by's and also got to teach one of our less actives. He loves to visit with us and to learn more about the Gospel. I truly have seen his testimony and desire to change grow so much since I have been here, it is really exciting! That evening we had a good dinner appointment with a branch member family. We talked about how much we need them in the work of Salvation and Hermana told us about how she is wanting to visit her son's girlfriend with us so that maybe we can share the Gospel with her. That is exactly the kind of thing a missionary loves to hear and it made us really excited.
 |
| Always remember to Look UP!!! |
 |
Hermana Pearson and I with all
of the balloons we helped to blow up. |
Saturday we had a really fun day at the Popcorn Festival in Valparaiso! We left our apartment a little after 6:30 in the morning so that we could get to a member's office by 7:00. We helped him and his family blow up and tie balloons. After blowing up and tying between 300-400 balloons, we watched their 17 year old son tie the balloons to the roof of their office. It looked just like the house from Up, which is exactly what they were aiming for. It was so fun to see, it was a lot of balloons! We helped them set up their little tents because the office also happens to be right on the beginning of the parade route. We were able to hand out balloons to kids as they walked past, and watch the parade, so it was a super fun morning! We had to leave the parade about 1/2 through (we had already been watching for 1.5 hrs so it is a looooong parade!) to walk downtown with a member to meet up with the rest of the missionaries and to man the water booth and contact people. Unfortunately there was some kind of mix up and other people were already manning the water booth, so us missionaries decided to take the next 2 hours and contact people who had gathered at this Popcorn Festival. We all split off and Hermana Pearson and I started our mission to find and talk the Hispanics to talk with. We wandered around for a long time not finding any. We passed by one guy who asked if we were from the Mormon church. Surprised we answered yes and asked him how he knew about the Church. He was from Saudi Arabia but had lived in Utah for 2 years. We talked with him for a bit and he told us the Book of Mormon in Arabic has a lot of grammatical mistakes and that he was done with everything from the Mormon church and then walked away. It was sad to see someone so against it, but it was a contact we made and someday all of these little contacts with the Church will add up and he will want to learn more. It was so fun to be in the fair atmosphere though and to see all of the food and booths. Hermana Pearson had me try an elephant ear. Don't worry, it isn't actually from an elephant. It is deep fried dough with cinnamon sugar on it, so you can't go wrong there! Then as we were walking down the streets, we heard a woman speaking Spanish! We both immediately turned and locked on target :-) We contacted her and her family and they seemed nice and interested. She gave us their address and phone number, and guess what, they live in Crown Point! That is where we live and we have always wanted to try and find people that live around here so that we can branch out and it is closer to home. So now we have a PNI family and well as a place to start looking for other Hispanics!!! That made the entire day worth it to find them! We continued walking and looking, but couldn't find anyone else. Hermana Pearson did buy some popcorn and I got a bag of cookies and cream kettle corn to try as well. We headed back to the member's office and ate pizza with them and the other missionaries.
 |
| Driving through our old area in Midway |
Sunday, September 9, 2014: Church we really good today. We had a less active family come and we hadn't even been expecting them so that it was really amazing. We also had the Stake Relief Society Presidency visiting in Relief Society, and they don't speak any Spanish, so we helped translate English -> Spanish and Spanish -> English. After Church we had studies and then got to drive up to Midway to see the baptism of some of Hermana Pearson's investigators
. It was super awesome because we got to drive through our old area on the way there and it was so fun to see! It was great to be at the baptism
and be able to see a lot of the ward members that I loved and served with, especially a less active that I had worked with a lot and love. The baptism was very powerful. After that we drove back to Indiana for our dinner with the a branch member family and the Elders. We had a good time there with them.
 |
| My former apartment back in Midway |
I love you all so much and, like always, truly cannot thank you enough for all of the love and support that I receive. It means so much to me! I want you all to know that I know that this Gospel is true! We have the truth and the happiness. Because we have this, we have a responsibility and desire to share it! You don't have to be a full-time missionary to do that though! Just always remember how much joy you have because of the Gospel and then you will realize how much you want to share that with other! I love you all so much! Have the most amazing week!
Eternal Love,
Hermana Allyse
