Week 20: Día de los muertos!

What's up everyone! Another week down here in the Bronx! It's been such a good week with so much happening, so I'll try and condense it all into this email! 

Last pday was just full of cleaning the apartment, playing sports, and going shopping. Our English class had given me a Marshall's gift card for my bday a while back, so we went there and I found a dope Oakley Hoodie and haircut kit which I desperately need 😂 that night we had awesome lessons with Floridelda who is on bap date, and then the Martinez family who is the dopest family ever! They are so strong in the church and just love doing missionary work, which is super cool to see. It's super hard to get ward members involved out here, nothing like back on the west coast haha.

Thursday we had a hilarious English class 😂 so we only had like 5 people there and they were our home girls that always come. We decided to play some pictionary with them and it was so freaking funny to watch them try to draw. This one lady named Patricia from Ecuador literally kept getting animals but every time she tried to draw different ones they all looked like camels 😂 after pictionary we played some charades and it was awesome. Patricia had a turn and she decided to reenact using the bathroom and grabbed a garbage can, and almost fell over at one point 😂 I was seriously crying I was laughing so hard.

Friday we went and balled on some kids at the church while they were at mutual and we straight up killed them. So funny cause we're all in church clothes sweating our butts off and just Ballin on these kids from the Bronx 🤑 we also found like 6 new investigators this week and have 4 baptismal dates! Tons of work has been getting done and we're just really focusing on getting our people ready and committed to baptism. It's so cool to see how ready and willing to change some of these people are!

Saturday we had tons of lessons, but the coolest thing happened that night. We went to our family home evening appointment at the Carvente home (recent converts) and Alex, our other recent convert, came with us. We started off with some pictionary which they loved and it was so funny, and they ate the cookies I made and loved them of course. (thanks for the recipe momma 😉) then we taught the plan of salvation to the niece that lives with them because she is preparing to get baptized. Alex, who was baptized in August and is 14, had some amazing questions about what happens after this life and what happens to family members and friends that don't choose to live good lives. We explained spirit world to him and he really felt the spirit for the first time since his baptism. We talked to the father about getting the Priesthood so he could baptize his son and niece, and told him that we set up an interview for him on Sunday, and he just instantly lit up and was so happy. I was honestly almost crying I was so happy for him and how far he had come. Then we ended up singing the song "Eternas Pueden Ser Las Familias" and it was one of the most spiritual experiences I've had on my mission. The dad and mom were crying, and we went to say the closing prayer, and their little 8 year old son offered it. After he was done, Alex asked if he could say one. I was seriously blown away, because he barely ever prays with us. It was so awesome though, and one of the humblest and most sincere prayers I've heard. I freaking love these people! 

Sunday was good, just a normal day! And then Monday we had a ton of lessons, then zone conference yesterday and we had to be in by 7 after that cause apparently it gets turnt up in the Bronx on Halloween. We definitely saw that haha. But we went and got all dressed up and took pictures and stuff so I'll send some pictures of my attempt of being Harry Potter😂

Love you all so much! There's a scripture in Alma 26:27 that I loved during my scripture study this week. It says "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." I know that life is hard sometimes, and we don't always think we're gonna get through things, but we will! Just continue in patience and trust in the lord, and I promise everything will work out.

Have an awesome week! 

Elder Allen

New York New York North Mission