Week 37: El fin de Febrero

 Pics from when Elder cid left with the Mataritta fam!

Hey everyone!

It’s been an amazing week here in Harlem! Tons of hard work, running to lessons, and some sweet miracles and experiences. 

First off, my new companion, Elder Cuevas, is literally like my little brother Jacob. They even have the same first name 😂 He is awesome though, and super ready to spread the gospel. His progress this past week has been really cool to see and he is learning a ton and applying it right into the work. We definitely are going to have some good times together. 

 Pics from when Elder cid left with the Mataritta fam!

We had an awesome miracle this Monday. We had gone to the church to finish up some studies, and then gone out to an apartment building to go look up some people that used to talk to missionaries. We went and knocked on the door of one of these people and like pretty much most doors, no answer. Then we decided to knock the door next to it and the lady inside said she wasn’t interested. So we asked her if there were any people she knew around the area that needed help or were passing through a rough time. She said no again, so we started heading out towards the elevator to move on to the next building. We were about to open the door when we heard someone telling us to wait. We turned around and met a man who said that his daughter was going through some rough things, and that she needed to hear our message. As we began to talk to these two people, we realized that they really were going through some hard stuff and just needed some form of peace to enter their lives. What better form of peace than the perfected gospel of Jesus Christ! We shared a video with them and taught them about the plan of salvation. We told them that because of Him, we can start over, we can be cleansed, and we can be made whole. At the end we said a prayer with them, and we were all crying when that was over because we truly could feel God’s love manifested through the sprit. We gave the dad a huge hug which he was appreciative of, and got their information to call them and come back. The English elders will go by soon. It Is so crazy how that dad heard us just when we passed by asking that specific question. I don’t know why I asked that question to that lady at the door, but I know that God directs this work. I know that his children we met that day were waiting and maybe even praying for guidance and help, and we brought that to them  

 Pics from when Elder cid left with the Mataritta fam!

 They wanted us to add to their art project so I went white girl on the pose of course

Last night we had a great lesson with one of the families in the ward. We went and talked about family history work because they are going to get sealed in the temple in March! We taught about the plan of salvation and how all of our family members, friends, coworkers, and literally everyone in the world will have the chance to accept the gospel in this life, and in the life to come. It was cool to hear their personal testimonies of that and share experiences of how we have come to know that is true. The best part is that this family always calls me Mr potato head since I’m from Idaho 😂 

Mr potato head and Cid the sloth! drawn by a 6 year old!

I wanted to end with an awesome scripture I found in the book of Mormon during my studies this week. It’s in 2 Nephi 11, verses 6 and 7, and they say, “And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish. For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time.” I am so happy to be out here proving to people through the spirit that Jesus is the Christ, and that he loves us. Through that love we can feel of his peace that he offers us and know that we will get through hard times with his help. There is a god! He is Christ! He will come back, and we will be part of His fold if he we turn to Him, trust in Him, and let Him carry us.  Love you all! Have an awesome week! 

                                              Elder Smith after giving a book of Mormon out 😂

Elder Adam Ray Allen
New York New York North Mission
700 White Plains Rd Ste 315 Scarsdale, NY 10583