1/25/2011

Anyway Elder Aleman is leaving tomorrow at 6 AM so i  got put with Elder Atkinson as a new companion and his old companion got moved to the trio with elder marsh and Elder Hansen. Its been a pretty rough week leadership wise but nothing I can't handle, tell dillon thanks for the CTR ring but... where i'm going its haz lo justo so... ya anyway only 2 1/2 weeks left in the MTC and then I will be hopefully on my way to mexico, most the missionaries going straight to the field in mexico from the MTC are here for about an extra 2 weeks, all visa excitment of course, but it should be a bit easier to get our visas they are about 100 people behind sending missionaries out on Time. Anyway Elder Atkinson and I taught our first progressive investigator together, we actually hit the ground running for never teaching with people other than our first companions. Elder Aleman and I had the same style of teaching roughly, Elder Atkinson and I are quite the opposite, which actually worked well for us as long as we keep up doing what we're supposed to in Comp study etc. I'm sad about Elder Aleman leaveing but also super excited cause he gets to go to peru for 2 weeks before he goes to Bolivia which is awesome. I switched rooms for the second time in the MTC and i have a top bunk again and the first night elder Burdett turned the heat way up so i was doing all sorts of tossing and turning. Anyway, that is pretty much the majority of our week, it seem we're now just starting over on learning things in the MTC, I hear alot about how Elder atkinson thinks we're ready to go help some 'peeps' anyway the weeks go quickly here when you're on task and P-day comes faster than you expect most the time, we live in our class room and sleep in our residence halls, which is kinda strange thats the most foreign place to us in the MTC is our own bedroom... pues i don't have much more to talk about this week hope everyone is doing good!! Oh and btw Ties are the most valuable tradeable objects on the mission, i came in to the MTC with 7 1 being a blue paisley, i did some trading and now i have 12 my blue paisley was traded for an orange one that everyone in the building calls charizard and i've had fifty dollar offers on it, but i love it cause its a burnt orange beautiful color, but yeah ties are our currency and paisleys are like GOLD (hint hint) haha anyway Love you all!!

~Elder Paden Allen

1/18/2011

Hola familia en el mundo afuera!!  (Translation from Shelly via Google translate:  "Hello family in the world outside!!)

Thanks for the package i got it today, tell sister pocock thanks for the dictionary, it will come in handy!! Dad the envelope i sent had your oil vial in it, it probably didn't fit through the mail machines, and thatnks for the foot powder, something about the food here really just isn't good!! it makes your face break out, ghives you bad gas and smelly feet idk what it is but its crazy!! Did dillon get the coat i sent? this past couple P-days we did sealings in the temple which was an amazing expirience!! i really enjoy doing it!! Its crazy to think i've been gone for a little over a month, it feels like yesterday we were taking pictures on a hay bale, which thanks a ton for those pictures btw! and the food too, something about feeling the spirit all day makes a missionary hungry. Mom, if you could send me everyones address's and Brother Jones address too i lost it....idk how....... anyway thanks for the writing pads too. i've been writing a ton here in the mtc and i'm sure i'll use all of them. oh and what is the blog address so i can give it to my roommates who's mothers may want to check it out? anyway I do have my camera cord so the one you found must be dillon's. But the last week has been intense. the mtc mission presidency changed out and Elder Holland came and talked to us for that. I've never heard a more powerful speaker, after he left all 2,000 missionaries stood quietly and unmoving for five minutes after he left, the spirit was so intensely strong, I would like too see you get a bunch of 19 year old young men and 21 year old young women to stand that quiet and that still for that long on their own accord with out the spirit there, you couldn't do it, someone would always talk. It was very powerful he talked about preparing to be a good effective missionary, staying true after the mission and moving the gospel from our minds to our hearts. by far the best firside i've had in the mtc. Spanish i coming along nicely,we speak it 24/5 we get p-day and sunday to speak english, but we speak it 100% the rest of the time, you know you're doing alright with the language when you can have an arguement in it hahaha anyway my companion got his visa to Bolivia so he will be leaving to the peru MTC on the 26th of january. I'll be put into a trio with Elder Marsh and Elder Hansen I suspect, and that will last about 2 weeks, i'm really excited to get out into the mission field, and the visa process has picked up quite alot. the group leaving next monday ( those going to mexico) had to stay an extra week in the MTC but they are going straight to the field in there respective missions and none have been reassigned, which bodes well for us.

Yo se que este iglesia es la iglesia verdadera en el tierra hoy, y que José Smith fue el primero profeta en este dispensación, el dispesación de cuplimiento del tiempo. Yo se que Jesucristo es nuestro salvador, y con oracción, y fe en el, con todo que hacemos, es possible por nosotros haremos todo que Díos mandató. Y yo se que sin el evangelio restaurado nosotoros no se puedemos regresar a Díos. Y yo se que sin la ayuda del espirítu santo yo no puede aprender español este pronto. Tambien yo se que cuando usamos nuestros voluntad por buenas cosas en nuestras vidas, los angeles canta muy fuerte para nosotros. En el nombre de Jesucristo ámen.

(I know this church is the true church on earth today, and that Joseph Smith was the first prophet in this dispensation, the dispensation of cuplimiento time. I know that Jesus Christ is our savior, and with prayer, and faith in, all we do is possible and we will do everything that God gave a mandate. And I know that without the gospel nosotoros can not be restored back to God. And I know without the help of the Holy Spirit I can not learn Spanish this soon. I also know that when we use our desire for good things in our lives, the angels sing very strong for us. In Jesus name Amen.  Note from Shelly:  the spanish words must be spelled wrong and the translater could not translate.  do your best guess ;)  )

 

From the MTC With Love,

~Elder Paden Allen

1/11/2011

Sorry I missed you last week. People will steal your washer if you let your clothes sit long enough. I haven't seen elder rinderknickt yet unfortunately, and i am really liking it here in the MTC. This past week i had a hard time feeling the spirit like I should and Elder Aleman and i butchered a lesson that should have been fine... So i decided to observe why neither of us could feeel the spirit. then i noticed that i could feel it at night in our room but not together as a full district. so i set some rules up for the whole district concerning subject of conversation, cleanliness, and reverence. This was sunday morning, but sunday night i could feel the spirit again, whatever the problem was we managed to adress it :) we had a speaker at the sunday night fireside that took all the recent (2 years) converts from the audience and they each bore their testimonies and shared what it was that really triggered conversion process for them. it was a very spiritual expirience. and ever sunday night there is a movie showing. this past sunday they showed us The testaments  One Fold, One shepherd. that is by far my most favorite show in the whole wide world!! I was literally sobbing like a baby along with every other person in my district along with everyone within the immediate area of me and we meet in a great big room, so that is alot of people. it was a good expirience for us. Also the spanish is coming along nicely. Elder Aleman and I are working on Teach lesson 2 and the word of wisdom, in spanish. Its great, we can rattle like natives while teaching a lesson or discussing gospel principles in class but as soon as we need someone to pass the salt it becomes...... uh? HAHA we're getting better though (Pasa la sal Porf avor) yes I can say it lol any way, It has been a great time for the past month. its crazy to think its been a month already, I've only got 23 left!!! Its amazing how my desires have changed since entering the MTC... I can see why Dad was never really a fan of playing video games. My Razor has been tearing my face apart, i bought some lotion but it didn't work, so someone suggested i try an electric shaver and so i bought an electric shaver at the book store we'll see how it works. Its a philips Norelco and it has a 2 year warranty.... how convenient. Its a normal $114 out side of the MTC but with the Missionary discount I got it for 66. quite a steal in my opinion, and its way nice, I've just never had to shave every day before. the most i shaved in the past was 1 time a week or more... if I sahved at all that is. But I'm hoping it works for me. Elder Marsh said it worked for him and he's got quite the beard capacity.... anyway I've got 13 minutes left and I have ran out out items on my check list to talk about. Look forward to hearing from you all!!

 

~Love,

    Elder Allen

 

P.S.- I need the family photo and  priesthood line of authority ASAP cause i use them in class often and i don't have them... I'm starting to get cussed for it haha jk just sooon would be best. Thanks! :)

address

we received a small note today from paden and he put on his return address:

Elder Paden W Allen
MTC Mailbox 113
MEX MONE 0214
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT  84604-1793

January 4, 2011

Family: Today is P-day and fyi i will be e-mailing the same time every week, a couple things i wrote down that i wanted to tell you about, the didn't let us call home on christmas cause there are nowhere near 3,000 phone lines at the mtc, Also I see Elder Kevin Anderson fairly frequently, he's going to germany, and we say hey alot but i haven't had time to actually talk to him yet. also i've seen elder goddard a couple times, oh Elder Rinderkenect, however you spell that, he was the kid from ririe that wrestled Devin alot, the skidmores will know who he is, and he says hello to them and to tell devin he said hello for him. Did i tell you we got some new elders that moved in with elder Aleman and i? its cool except now we get less sleep cause there is more talking. You can send the dictionary that would be awesome, and I have brother Jones address somewhere but in case i lost it you better dear elder it to me, and no mom you're the only one that Dear elder's me so far and i've gotten a few letters from Britne and the Dial family as well, oh and nona sent me a card too. we had about a foot of snow on Christmas, but its rained for days on end and destroyed it all. now its just super cold all the time. We have been memorizinig scriptures like crazy as a companionship and we're up to 12 including section 4, next is the first vision. and we start teaching lesson 2 this week too, and btw some shower sandals would be awesome, i would rather not get foo fungus......... and ties are always welcome :) oh and wearing dress socks all day really makes your feet stink so could you send me some foot powder too? for the sake of the sanity of the other elders in my room at least! haha anyway, we had our first room rating yesterday, the rate rooms with thte celestial scale, exhalted, celestial terrestial telestial and outer darkness... the room right next to us was an outer darkness room, we got exhalted. oh and this past sunday we had a change in the branch/zone. there are quite a few missionaries leaving the mtc in our Zone, includiong the zone leaders, so they released the zone leaders and our district leader, called our district leader and his companion as zone leaders, and now i am district leader. woo-hoo i guess haha i haven't really ever been interested in politics of any kind, that includes mission politics, which means i'll do the Job cause the lord asked me to. i'll even be happy about it, but i don't like everyone in the district calling me jefe (note from shelly:  this means chief in spanish of course) all the time, its kind of annoying, i cracked down on all the mission manual rules and further organized how things are done to maximize productivity. I also feel alot like the prophet's Bishop with the Zone leaders in my District. I'm also the Mail man, since only the District leader gets to get to mail from the p.o. box. BUt thats pretty much the summary of this week, its hard to pick just one spiritual expirience to share because its normal to feel the spirit here, so i guess that is my spiritual expirience, i can always feel the spirit!! :) Anyway the Laundry is again almost done, Hello to the family Love ya lots! and Happy new Year!!

Livy: Sounds like the Wii is super fun!! and yeah only having E-mail once a week and for 30 minutes is a bit irksome but thats what you get when you go on a mission, not that i am complaining at all i love it! Its lots of fun out here and i'm not even actually teacing real people yet. Love ya lots and how's school going?

Emmett: whats up is hard to respond to unless of course you happen to be a super cool big brother who likes getting mail and had a whole week to think about what he was going to say to, "whats up" haha anyway, whats up is I sit in a classroom and learn every day except tuesday, even sunday i learn cause i am learning how to teach the gospel which is pretty much church. the time goes super fast here, and drags on at the same time but you get used to it, oh and i speak so much spanish i even think in spanish sometimes. when i can't remember a word in english i just say it in spanish and vice-versa, anyway how's school? Love ya bud!

Dillon: Did you get my package and if so what is the consensus? Hows school? you gonna graduate?

Wyatt: The mission is a whole new world, work hard and learn how to study now so you don't have to figure it out when you get to the MTC, Love ya & write back!

~Elder Allen