Sept 30, 2013

I am staying in Topeka Kansas for another 6 weeks. This is going to be fun because I am getting to know the ward very well.  I am still with Elder Corvalan in the Lake Shawnee ward.

Monday was disk golf and shopping. 

Tuesday was zoo service then exchanges with Elder Every. Elder Corvalan went with our district leader so that put me with Elder Every. Elder Every has been out for 6 weeks and is a great missionary. That night we were planed to eat with our ward missionary leader at 6 pm. At 5:30 he told us that the network was down at the new Mars plant. He would be coming late home. It ended being 8:15 pm before he came home. That was a late dinner.

Wednesday was a day of teaching and finding new investigators for us to teach. We found a family that is willing to meet with us. This Mundy Family has 5 children and a father that is not a member of the church. 

Thursday we were dropped off down south in our area. Our ward mission leader has a bike rack and was able to take time out of his day and take us 30 miles down south so we could work the smaller towns of people.  This put us in a area that I have not had the opportunity to work before. We found out that there is a lot of members that are less active because of the drive that it takes to come up to Topeka. We told them if they would come to church and many others that we would be able to start a branch down south. Hopefully they will come to church in two Sundays.

Friday was final call in conference for all missionaries that have been out for 12 weeks. This call was going to be at 12:30. This put district meeting at 2:00 pm because of the call. It ended up that the call did not happen because President Bell had to be somewhere. We did not find this out until we were on the call for ten minuets. That was a fun day having district meeting late for a conference call that did not happen.

Saturday was day of finding less active and new investigators. Lots of walking and talking to people I have not got the opportunity to talk to before. Lots of hard work in this ward this last week. I am loving staying with Brother Homewood and getting to talk to him about what he has leaned through out his life. This ward is dong lots to help find people for us to teach.

This Last Friday I meet a Sister Call that is serving in Manhattan. I went up an asked her were she was from, she told me that she moved from Arizona when she was young a she was related to a Dennis & Diane Call in Mesa Arizona. I then told her that they were in my ward back home. This is fun to meet people that know people from back home.

Love Elder Andrew J Allen

Sept 23, 2013

Hi Family this week has been very fun and nice.

Monday was p-day. We were able to email and go shopping then we played basketball. Basketball is nice because of my height; I can get the ball and pass it to the others on my team. We also played volleyball because there were 6 sisters here from our zone at the stake center. The sisters do not always come to the building because of the drive and the amount of sister that are close to the church building. 

Tuesday was the day of rain. From about 6:30 to 12:30 it was raining very hard. The nice thing about rain in the morning is we have study time till 11:30 then lunch at 12:00 for a hour. This also cancelled our zoo service because of the rain in the park. Rick told us "I do not have 8 boats at the zoo to hold all of you because the amount of rain there is". The funny thing is that we are not able to be on a boat on our mission. We then had to help with the bishop food store and delivery. The Truck of food ended up coming to the Jewell building two hours late because of the rainstorm and traffic. This made us stuck at the building for more time until we were able to get the food and then separate it out for the family. Then we were able to then finally go out and see Melody Mills with our ward missionary leader Brother Scerbo. Melody is still not having much progress and is not coming to church. We might drop her because of the amount of effort that she has in the Gospel this time in her life.

Brother Homewood - I live in his home

Wednesday we went up to Lawrence. Elder Corvalan had a doctor’s appointment for his finger. They told him that it was healed up all the way but to be careful with it. Then we went on splits with the elders that serve in Lawrence.  I was with Elder Henriod for the afternoon. Then had the drive home late after dinner up in Lawrence.

Thursday was interviews. President Bell took so long to get all of the Interviews done.  It took 4 more hour longer till the last one was interviews than planned. President Bell told me that it was 95% that I would stay in Lake Shawnee for 6 more weeks.

Friday we worked out in the small towns. It was nice to be able to bike the whole town and bike to see people I have not got to meet before.  Today we had about 12 different lessons to less active members.

Saturday was weekly planning and a baptism in the Spanish branch. The Baptism was in English and Spanish and there was no hot water. Lots of fun trying to heat the water and get it to the font.

Sunday was church and meetings. 

This week has been very fun and I have been able to go on splits several times this week with other Elders  and get to know many more that serve in Topeka.

Thanks for every thing.

Love Elder Andrew Allen

Cool car a member took us for a ride in

Sept 16, 2013

This week has been very fun. Lots of work with the members and Melody.

Monday was P-day played dodge ball in the gym at the church building.

Tuesday was zoo service. Planted trees and bushes and flowers. Rick had an idea to create a butterfly garden at the zoo, to have a Butterflies grow and multiply at the zoo. Then we were able to pet a Coati in the back of the zoo.

Wednesday work with the members in Montara. Dinner with Ray Homewood, The member we stay with.

Thursday Drove to Oakline and tried different less active and old investigators.

Friday Zone Training with the zone. Every missionary came to Topeka from Emporia and Lowrance. We talked about the new changes in transfers and new rules of the mission. We now do not have a suit season in the mission now.

Each Transfers now we are asked to give out 40 Books of Mormons in our area.

Saturday Brother Matt Davis asked us to help him move his neighbors because they asked for help. This family that we help move was moving out of state. Dave is the father of the household and loved our help. This family all smoked and drank but not when we were helping them. The funny thing Brother Davis and us two missionaries did more to move than the Friends of Dave's. His Friends were all ways in the back yard smoking or drinking or both. When we were done they were so happy that we came over to help. We hope that they will remember this event and one day when they are looking for a new church they will try the LDS church because of the two lds missionaries. This move was from 9:00 am to about 2:30 PM. Then we had Lunch. Then we were helping do service for the Davis family because they were also feeding us dinner at 5:00 pm. They live out of town about 25 miles.  We help hang some drywall and then cut the lawn and do diffident small projects around their property. Had a new friend the Pig.  I got to feed him two times and also hold him while he slept. Lots of fun. He is 2 Weeks old.  Very small. (See Picture)

Sunday church. Had wonder full church. Talks were about family history, new changes to the stake’s view of Youth and adults doing family history. Lots of meetings and also driving to dinner and from dinner.

Monday P-day. Disk Golf and shopping.

This week we were able to see Melody and have a lesson with her. She still does not want to come to church because she is all ways doing some thing and has her own church. She has not received an answer about what she has read because she is not willing to come to church and meet with us each week. We might have to drop her because she is not progressing.

This week is our car week. It is very nice to drive the car; I drove 290 miles in this last week. The car also had to be repaired this week on Friday. They replaced a Timing Cylinder.   That helped with MPG in the car. Car drives lots better after the repair.

Have fun this next week. Thanks for everything.

Love Elder Andrew Allen

Sept 9, 2013

This week has been very hard. We have not had the car for two weeks so we have been stuck in Montera. Montera is a small group of houses. These houses were base houses for the Army. The Army finally sold them to the city.  These houses are very small and all the same. Because the houses were base houses they are about 7 miles away from the heart land of Topeka. This week we have go through the area book and tried every one many times and had little profit. We have one new investigator that is meting with us.

Jerry is our new investigator. He has read out of the Book of Mormon. He has two children and a wife they are all African American. They are a loving family and want to have us come over to teach them.

Melody Mills is not doing so good. She has not been able to meet with us this last two weeks. I think that she got a new job and has weird hours. She  is still reading out of the Book of Mormon. She still has not come to church but she has had more progress this last 18 weeks than the last 6 years.  Last night we ate with the Hollingsworth family. Brother Hollingsworth was the ward missionary leader back 5 years ago and still remembers Melody and the sister that found her.

Roy and Jody are having trouble. This family has not been able to have us come over have a lesson with them because there is always some thing going on.

This week the membership clerk took us out to try many family and single people that we have not heard from and we think have moved.  This day we found out that 15 people on the ward roster had moved or died. That is a lot of people.

The ward is trying to clean up the ward roster because 80% of the people on it don't come to church and have moved or died.

Our ward missionary leader got back from a 9 day trip up to Mars in Hackettstown in New Jersey. Mars sends him to all the plants to help and learn about all the new stuff. This week he brought back a box of boxed chocolate. In each box there is one candy bar of all the different flavors and brands of mars candy. The Mars plant out here in Topeka is still under construction. This is the second plant in the USA for mars because of the regulations and rules that the government puts on candy factory.

The weather in Mesa is lots better then Topeka. This last week the heat index has been above 100 degrees all week. We have not had the car for that time.

Thanks for every thing. I love you all hope every one is having fun with school.

Love Elder Andrew Allen

Sept 2, 2013

This week has been slow but have seen many people and been able to find new investigators.

Monday P-day went shopping and had a fun time playing volleyball and Basketball.

Tuesday we went to the Zoo. We were working on cleaning up the zoo because the big sponsors were coming on Friday to see what their money was going to help. Was able to work up next to the lion this week. Rick, the Zoo plant worker, really likes me because I am able to do everything and he can trust me with any project and I will get it done right. This is very nice to be given hard projects and have trust that I will not do it wrong.

Wednesday -The district Leaders has a meeting down in Manhattan. All of the companions of these district leaders were told to work in the Lake Shawnee area. That meant that Elder Corvalan and I had to take these Elders out have them work with us. The two Elders that came to our area had only been out for 8 days. That meant that we had to split and both take one of them into our area, this was lots of practice because I was the senor companion for the day. That meant also that we went to our dinner together and worked the whole day together.

Thursday was day of walking because my companion does not have bike. On the transfer bus there was not a lot of space because of the amount of people so they left bikes in the church building. That next day the ap's drove the truck up and took the bikes to the mission home. Then the mission home gave the bikes to the Zone Leaders when they came down on Saturday the 30th. Then finally today the Zone Leaders brought it to our apartment.

Friday was district meeting. Our district is only 3 companionships. Elder Owens is the district leader and had his appendicitis removed last Wednesday. He is only able to drive, not bike or walk more the a .25 of a mile in a hour.

Saturday was moving a family in our ward. The Thompson family was moving 1 mile in our ward. They asked us to help them and we went over and helped for 4 hours and was able to talk to their less active and non member Friends. That was fun to be in service clothing for a long time.

Sunday The Church building was hot. It was 85 in the chapel because the AC unit was not working. Also the building’s other AC unit was not cooling good but it was working.

This was a fun week hope you all are doing good. Have fun

Love Elder Andrew Allen