June 27, 2016

Look at those two awesome Hermanas 😊  Hermana Gowens is awesome! Love love her ❤️❤️❤️#soulsista #southernbelles

Tanner & Alicia Anderson are awesome people! It's weird cause I feel like we're all the same age. They're super fun people. 

And get this, they literally moved here a week ago and have already had us over for dinner and have been doing a ton of missionary work. They just amaze me. They have a cute baby named Owen. These are some amazing people. Alicia made us taco salad and no bake cookies. It was like I was right at home. 

My comp Sis. Campbell had  her b-day this last week, so I cooked her a "greenie meal"--green German pancakes and all the fixings. She's awesome! It was way fun cause I've always wanted to make someone a greenie meal. So perfect :)

BOLLEYBALL in Dress VS. stretchy pants 

I love that Elder Perry  says BECAUSE of his mission he was more successful. I have definitely seen more success in other aspects of my life, because I'm serving a mission. I couldn't think of a better way to prepare for the rest of my eternity and the other things to come than to serve a full time mission. 

Here's an excerpt from Elder L. Tom Perry: "Those who labor in the Lord’s vineyard share a bond of love that comes from laboring in the “harvest” together. This bond is deepened by common experiences of faith and testimony."

 Elder Perry, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, shared a personal experience.  “I had an experience a few years ago of receiving a call from my son, Lee. He told me that my first missionary companion was in his neighborhood, and he wanted to spend a few minutes with me. … We had a special experience of being together after many years of not seeing one another.

     As missionaries we were given the opportunity of opening up a new town in Ohio to missionary work. Because of this assignment, we were allowed to labor together for 10 months. He was my trainer, my first companion. … It was difficult for me to keep up with him, but as we served together we drew close together as companions.

     Our companionship did not end with the 10-month assignment. World War II was raging, and when I returned home I had only a short time to adjust before I was drafted into military service. On my first Sunday in boot camp, I attended an LDS service. I saw the back of a head that was very familiar to me. It was my first missionary companion. We spent most of the next two and a half years together.

Although circumstances were very different for us in military service, we tried to continue the practices of missionary service. As often as we could, we prayed together. When circumstances allowed, we had scripture study together. …

     We were both set apart as group leaders, and we again had the opportunity to serve and teach together the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior. We were more successful in the military than we had been as full-time missionaries. Why? Because we were experienced returned missionaries.

      My visit with my first missionary companion was the last opportunity I had to be with him. He was suffering from an incurable disease and died only a few months later. It was a wonderful experience to relive our missions together and then tell about our lives following our missionary service. We recounted our service in bishoprics, high councils, and stake presidencies, and, of course, we bragged about our children and our grandchildren. As we sat and thrilled at the opportunity of being together again, I couldn’t help but think of the account in the 17th chapter of the book of Alma."

Our investigator, Joshua, dropped us so that's too bad.  I'm grateful me and my comp were at least able to be a part of his journey of coming to Christ and planting the seeds. Planting seeds really is so important. Am I bummed? Yes. Have I given up? Heck no. I am excited for the next person we will meet who is ready for the gospel! 

My comp, Sis. Campbell, said this magical line this week: "If we are unwilling to change, we're rejecting the ENTIRE Plan of Salvation." I was thinking "WOW BOOM!"  We MUST be willing to change to receive all the blessings Heavenly Father has for us. And to succeed. Change isn't always easy, but it's needed to become better. 

We had a Ward BBQ this week.  I played volleyball  in a dress & totally dominated. My team totally won. It was funny hearing Todd (Mickelle's) hubby on the other team saying, "are you guys for reals? She's in a dress, and she's getting all the hits. Pick it up."  He said that to all the guys in his team. I wished I could've worn pants or maybe even some stretchy pants but it's ok cause some kids don't even have pants...real life example: Nacho didn't have any stretchy pantaloons, so he had to ask Chancho to borrow some.  Maybe next time I'll ask Chancho to borrow some "stretchy pants". 😂😂😂

In Omni vs 26 in the Book of Mormon it reads: "And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved."  I love it because we should come unto Christ not only because we need to, but because he is the only one who can understand us completely. He's always gonna be there for us regardless of life circumstances. He loves us. We need to come unto him. I love that, as I have been out on this full time mission, I have seen what happens when we come unto Christ. It is an amazing change that's seriously priceless. So please come unto Him and gain that wonderful relationship with him. 

He's loves you and wants us all to come home. 

Okay another cool experience that happened that helps me again KNOW that 

1- God is soooooo beyond mindful of me and 

2- I was called to THIS mission for a reason! 

I met Tanner and Alicia Anderson, yeah they're so cool. 

Tanner is actually from the Burg and knows all my besties like Co-diddy, GARY and the Evans,  and his dad worked in the religion department with Gpa C--so it's just weird. And we were talking about people and neighborhoods and he seriously knows everyone. Haha it's awesome. OH YEAH--Doovin and Tanner are buddies too. 

Seriously is anyone else's mind blown right now too? Isn't Heavenly Father so awesome! Again so cool. 

I love all these wonderful people I'm meeting. 

I love being a missionary ( I know I say this  every week but it's true)  and TRUTH MAKES SENSE, right Paigey ?😊

Thanks for all the support. 

Y'all are the bombs diggity. 

Have a fabulous week. 

Seester Allowitz

1319 Butterfield Rd. #552 

Downers Grove, IL 60515

karigan.allowitz@myldsmail.net

http://karigansmission.blogspot.com

June 20, 2016

Yeah, this isn't the best ice cream I've ever had & I'm SURE Illinois must have better, so I'm on the look out cause I sure love my ice cream!
Peaches ice cream made me think of GARY & Jill's BOMB peach pie ! 🍑❤️😍 I'm sad I'm missing it this year 💔😭 but it's okay. Some kids don't even have peach pie, oh wait that's me. 😂

Hey wanna SPOOOOOON ?!😂😂😂😂😂 jk jk totally jk
This totally made my day. Again how old am I really ?😂
#somepeopleschildren

Elder Bennett and Elder Heiner left this card (below) on our windshield one day, so we left this ghetto homemade "Frozen" card on their car. They have been so patient and awesome with one of their investigator, and she was baptized this last week... so we thought we'd get the Elders back. It's way fun having Elders in our area. #gameon

LOOK I have my VERY OWN circle. They don't know how to spell so it's bittersweet, but still way cool cause I've NEVER seen anything with my name on it.
Maybe it's a sign I need to move here. Jajajaja just kidding.

Everything is bigger in Texas except corn. 🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽
I love watching it grow. And look at the clouds! They're so beautiful 😍

Kieran sent me this and it totally depicts my everyday life: so here's
a little laugh for y'all.
Missionary work may be hard but it's so worth chasing people down.
That's actually one of my favorite parts 😉😏😂 Yeah this isn't the best ice cream I've ever had & I'm SURE Illinois must have someone better so I'm on the look out cause I sure love my ice cream!
but peaches ice cream made me think of GARY & Jill's BOMB peach pie ! 🍑❤️😍 I'm sad I'm missing it this year 💔😭 but it's okay , some kids don't even have peach pie , oh wait that's me 😂

SEESTER MEETS APOSTOLIC CHRISTIANS & GETS FED SOME GOOD BBQ  

Howdy yall! How's Everyone? Illinois is fantastic as ever. Except it's getting pretty humid. But I don't want it to snow either. So oh well. I'm still alive and all is well. 

I've learned a lot of things on my mission.  One I would like to share today is how to be safer and wiser with technology.  For that I am so grateful.  I recently read some great articles that y'all would enjoy and really benefit from, especially if you struggle being tempted to look at inappropriate things or waste too much time on your devices. So please take some time to read these wonderful articles. They can be found on Lds.org

1- "Teaching Children How to Use Technology to Uplift Others"

Contributed By Valerie Johnson, Church News contributor

2-"Do Smart Things with Your Smartphone"

Contributed By Brother M. Joseph Brough, Young Men general presidency

DONT BE DUMB. LEARN HOW TO BE SMART. 

The world is ever changing and Satan and his buddies really want us to fail and feel bad about ourselves. Remember you're not alone. The Savior is there always to help us. Ether 12:27-"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

Bro. Sanchez' lesson...[he reminds me of an older version of Kimmer. He even has a a Superman shirt, haha so it's perfect!] He's a great teacher. He asked us these questions: 

What is the gospel and why does it cause us to change?  

What spiritual gifts do we have?  

How can we use them to build up God's kingdom? 

I really loved and appreciated the lesson cause it made me think about talents and spiritual gifts I have that I didn't necessarily see as gifts before. I wanna invite each of you to ask yourself these questions and apply the gift(s) you feel God has given you to build up his kingdom. This really will change your life! 

We Met a guy from England and I did my accent and he thought I was from South Africa. BOOM YES, I KNEW it... Africa really is the land of MY people ❤️

My bestie, Mette from Fresno Cali, is coming here to the ICWM! Holy cow people!  If I hadn't nannied for the Wonderful Ware family, I would never have met her, and we wouldn't have this cool connection. Heavenly Father continues to BLOW my mind!  Haha. He really loves me, ya know?  That's my 2nd friend in the mission. THE same mission! #mindblown 

We had dinner with the Boyd's neighbors who are Apostolic Christians.  The Jones family REALLY wanted to have us over for dinner cause they thought it was SO cool that girls serve missions. I was kinda nervous about what was gonna happen, but it was way cool! They asked us lots of questions, and we asked them lots of questions.  It was really cool to learn more about their church.   Now there's lots of similarities, yet there's pieces missing. They're fabulous people.  Before we left they let me offer a prayer, and afterwards they were soooo amazed I remembered all their names and prayed for each of them. That's DEF a gift from Heavenly Father, and I'm sooo grateful for it!   One of their sons was super interested and asked a lot of questions. We ended up giving him a Book of Mormon, and Restoration & Plan of Salvation pamphlet. They're pretty good where they're at, but they like to learn about other religions.  I am confident one day they'll become Mormons cause seriously they're so golden! And they're some of the kindest people I've ever met. Remember now...they invited us to their home for dinner and they even cooked burgers.   I was really hoping it would a BBQ...so wahoo! They're awesome. I love learning about others religions for lots of reasons but especially so that even though I KNOW this is THE ONE and ONLY TRUE CHURCH  I can defend their beliefs when I hear others rag on them. Cause I don't believe in disrespect. Oh no no. No way Jose ! Not in my house Gina! So that was so cool! 

Just a few Miracles this week: 

• Elder Casto found some of his long lost family who are less active.  The Elders are currently teaching her son. Elder Casto is gonna be baptizing his cousins! 
• Elder Bennett and Elder Heiner's investigator, Hope, was baptized after a lot of difficulties. 
• We stopped by a part member family (and the wife who isn't a member.)  We have had troubles meeting with her. Sis. Hunt said she couldn't meet with us cause she was busy.  We asked if we could have just 5 mins, and she ended up talking to us for about 30 minutes. We were able to teach her more about the gospel.  
• Paula Mensinger made us some amazing chocolate chip banana bread 
• The Mensingers had our investigator, Joshua, over for a lesson in THEIR home. They invited him...we had nothing to do with it. Again the members here are amazing! 
• Bro. Smith took us to Taco Bell for dinner.  I was so excited! Seriously like a fat kid who hadn't eaten candy in years or something. haha 
• We got a return appointment with a family we haven't been able to contact for awhile either 
• We showed a member, who was struggling, to feel her worth with the Mormon message "You Never Know"...SANTA VACA, the spirit was so strong!  She really needed it and started bawling.   I needed to hear that too, cause it's been kinda rough.  But it's all good in the hood.  I realized I am doing my very best...no I'm not perfect...I sure have weaknesses.  But God DID NOT call me for those he called me for my strengths 
• Mickelle and Anna helped me through a SUPER difficult time. I love them. They're some of my SOUL SISTAS. Mickelle reminds me of an older version of Londy Lou and Anna reminds me of Mom. Small world. God is great and those are just a few of my miracles this week :) 

Rejection may suck sometimes, but I am happy...I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I am grateful to have the church in my life. The gospel is the lantern of light that'll surely lead us back home to our loving Father in Heaven. I love his gospel, and I'm beyond grateful for it. 

I love helping people change their ways and become more like the Savior. I love the opportunity I have to change and grow. My mission is hard, but I am not alone. There are Angels in the outfield with me and Angels on the other side helping me along. There are seen and unseen forces helping me along. The Savior is right by my side. I just love this church and the hope and happiness it brings into so many people's lives. I love that I get to see it right here on the front lines of Illinois. 

I love  being a part of this great work. 

I love being a missionary. 

I know this gospel is true. 

Love always 

SEESTER ÄLLOWITZ 

1319 Butterfield Rd. #552 

Downers Grove, IL 60515

karigan.allowitz@myldsmail.net

http://karigansmission.blogspot.com

June 13, 2016

This is a member of the church who is traveling from Salem, Oregon and started talking to us. That was cool. It was just one of those NEEDED Dr. Pepper days.

TENDER MERCIES

Emily Boyd, one of my new besties, made these amazing peanut butter
bars just for me for dinner. I love her!

 ONE OF MY FAV PLACES OF all TIME. Yes I even got a hat cause I'm that cool of a 5 year old. And a shake cause if you don't you're not a true steak n' shaker.
#howcoolkidsrollthesedays

I hope you've all had a great week. This week has been awesome yet kinda crazy…a good crazy, of course. We have an investigator, Joshua, whose on date to be baptized July 9th. We found him through visiting a less active member…Joshua's his son.  Joshua is super excited to be baptized and the members have all been so friendly and welcoming to him. Some members have been coming to lessons with us and offered him a ride to church (they live 30 minutes away) and are so happy to have him come.

I really do love the Morton Ward. Everyone is so great in their own way. I am blown away how much this ward is on top of missionary work. It's amazing! I recently found out my Uncle Nate and Bishop Mehr were mission companions in Colombia and have stayed in touch. Small world again?  Again I KNOW God loves me and is so aware of even the smallest details in our lives.  And it's even crazier cause get this --Bishop Mehr’s niece is serving in my uncles Ward in Oregon. Crazy! Heavenly Father really knows what he's doing. I love these little connections I've made on my mission.

Another cool thing is a recently returned missionary, Mikelle Sleüder, who served in this mission has been working with a family who is going through a divorce. Their family situation and the "whys" behind it all are very similar to my family situation. One of the girls name is Karigan too just like my name—with a little different spelling. When Mikelle was telling me all about this I seriously was in awe. I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped.  Time after time Heavenly Father keeps reminding  me THIS IS WHERE I NEED TO BE. It was cool that even though Mikelle is a returned missionary, she came to me and Sis. Campbell for help and counsel on what to do next with this family.  I can't even express my full happiness.  I am so happy!  God is great and I am excited to work better with the members here and really get some great things happening.  "Bloom where you're planted!"

This week as I was studying, the question came to mind "HOW CAN I REALLY GET TO KNOW CHRIST?" Here is my answer ...Be one in purpose, strive to apply more Christlike attributes. One of best ways to become like someone is to get to know them and then apply the things you like and need. Then you'll be able to see them in yourselves.

It's great to know I can get to know Christ better as I try to become more like him. ‘Preach My Gospel’ has some great ways to become more like the Savior and better ourselves.  My invitation to each of you--

***do attribute activity in PMG CHP 6. Afterward pick a Christlike attribute and work on it for one week.  Write down differences you see in yourself over time and how you have been able to see more of the Savior within yourself.

I had a really cool object lesson experience that felt like the Holy Ghost prompting this week as I was brushing my teeth. Yes, you heard me correctly...as I was brushing my teeth.  I was getting ready for bed and only had a few minutes left.   I REALLY DID NOT wanna brush my teeth, cause it was just another thing to do, and it had been a long day (#1stworldprobkem).   I kept telling myself "oh it doesn't matter.  It's just one time not brushing and flossing.  It won't do any harm. Bob and Uncle Ryan won't know. Just this one time won't hurt my pearly whites."   HAH, (but no worries Ry & Bob...) I did take care of my teeth that night.  But it made me think about the gospel and how many times in our lives do we say, "nah I don't wanna follow the commandments today.  I don't wanna read my scriptures.  I don't wanna go to church.  Just this once it won't hurt.  I'll be fine".  We make so many big & small choices everyday. What matters is what the choices lead us to do. Do our choices lead us to follow the SAVIOR’S example?  Or do they lead us to follow Satan and his buddies?  Our ultimate goal in this life is to have faith in Jesus Christ , fully and sincerely repent, be baptized by the proper priesthood authority  found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,  and endure to the end, becoming more like the Savior. We can do that as we constantly choose the right.

We then make it back to our Heavenly Father who loves us. The STORAL OF THE MORY IS:  not brushing my teeth one night may not cause a whole lot of damage, but more of those poor choices could given me a root canal or a cavity. And those are NO FUN!  More importantly,  I don't wanna have "spiritual cavities & root canals"!  I wanna be strong in the gospel.  I wanna do all I can to have a clean slate.  We MUST turn to the Lord and ask for the help we need to fully repent. We must work through the things we need to come closer to the Savior. Yes just like a root canal or cavity it's gonna be hard but it'll be worth it.

TRUST ME!  With the SAVIOR’S help we can DO ALL THINGS. He loves us and wants to help us. Please turn to Him.  It's NEVER EVER EVER too late to turn back.

God loves you. The Savior loves you. And I love ya! The Atonement is soooooo real! NEVER EVER forget it.

The church is true. I'm grateful to be a part of this great work.  Let us all march on!

Love always -- 

Hermana Ällowitz 😊

1319 Butterfield Rd. #552 

Downers Grove, IL 60515

karigan.allowitz@myldsmail.net

http://karigansmission.blogspot.com

June 6, 2016

THE SKIES HERE ARE AMAZING AS I'VE SAID A BILLION TIMES!
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the clouds and sunsets and sunrises.
If whoever I marry wants to propose under the sunset, I'd be down. 😏😂

This is my new baby greenie companion fresh outta the MTC--Sister Campbell. She's awesome. We got to do a family history booth to find new people to teach at the fair. Brother Smith, our ward mission leader, even bought us and the Elders fried Oreos. Delish! I love fairs so I was in heaven even though I couldn't eat any of the corn dogs & BBQ sandwiches Brother Smith also got for the Elders and us. And even though I couldn't ride any of the cool rides (which was torture) I was happy to be there.

This member works at a popcorn factory and gave us our own bags of popcorn. He makes sure we have our popcorn ....haha

JESUS IS THE ONE AND ONLY WAY! Don't forget ! :)

Seriously who let me adult? I CAN'T adult. I feel like I'm 5 at heart.
Jk. I can missionary some more :)

See look at that BEAUTIFUL STUFF 😍

So yes I'm serving in Washington, IL.

This is where A WHOLE BUCKETLOAD of history happened. This is a cool place. Illinois is awesome! Texas is still the BEST, but I think Illinois has a close 2nd:)

ditto

Illinois twinners

" this one time "Yeah I had a few accidents this week and blood was EVERYWHERE. haha But
hey it's okay. Some kids don't even hurt their heel 1000x in one week. My companion kept saying I should stop and get a bandaid, but I just said "eh I don't need it". But man it just bled and bled for a few
days. I kept hitting it on our storm door. And it hit just in the right spot and then BOOM-BLOOD ALL OVER. But don't worry it's healing hopefully now.

ICE CREAM ANSWERS PRAYERS 

Well hello there people! I'm now living in this cute little town called Washington, IL.  I really love it here. The members are SUPER nice and everyone is super fired up about missionary work. I LOVE IT! 

We share the area with the Elder Heiner & Elder Bennett.  The atmosphere is so different here. It's interesting how you can be in the same mission, but go to a different area and get a TOTALLY NEW feel on everything. 

I am soooooo happy to be serving where the early saints left sooooo much history and legacy.  I am in the Peoria stake ...DRUM ROLL PLEASE....meaning I'm in the Nauvoo Temple district so if I'm here at least one more transfer I'll get to go to the temple.  I'm praying I will !!!!!  The early saints sacrificed soooo much for the gospel.  I can't think of a better way to express my gratitude for them and the Savior than serving a full time mission. 

My companion is Sister Campbell. She's from Utah (yup....) and she's super awesome! She's a baby greenie fresh outta the MTC. So I'm training. Which is scary and nerve racking, but a humbling privilege at the same time. I still cannot believe I'm old enough for this. Wasn't I five eating Popsicles on the porch just yesterday? Or a brand new Beehive in Young Women's? Or a new freshman in high school? I can't believe it's been a year since I graduated, and I'm beginning my 6th month out in the field.  Life goes by so fast. Well... fast--slow--faster--super slow--fast. It's just the cycle of life...so ENJOY It!   

The other day,  Sis Campbell & I went to do our companionship study at the park.  We decided to get some ice cream and sat down, prayed, and were talking about our lessons for the day.   All of a sudden, a man comes up and says, "hey sisters!" and shakes our hands.  I'm thinking, "oh no, here comes someone who is gonna wanna Bible bash or something" so I was preparing myself. But then-- PLOT TWIST-- he says, "I'm so and so and my family & I are moving from Idaho.   I was just checking out the area before my family moves here in a few weeks." He asked about the address for the church building and the time of church etc. We talked to him for a few more minutes then he's off to take some pictures of the area.   It was cool.   We continued our studying with our ice cream.  All of a sudden the man returns and says, with tears in his eyes, "you know, this move hasn't been easy.  It's crazy how Heavenly Father answers our prayers and is mindful of us. I've been praying for Heavenly Father to help me to really see that this move is the right thing to do, and you two just answered that prayer. I know my family and I need to move here. Thank you." SANTA VACA. WOW! Yeah I was tearing up. And I'm pretty sure my jaw was dropped. We sat there for a minute looking back and forth at each other.  

I truly do know too that God is SO mindful of us. He knows our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7😏).  He knows our deeds, desires, hopes, dreams, pains, sufferings, weaknesses, heartaches, wants, needs, etc.   He really knows it ALL. He is always watching over us. I know God has a plan for each of us. It's called the Plan of Salvation, aka The Plan of Happiness and Love.   That's truly what it brings--HAPPINESS, JOY, & LOVE. I AM SO BEYOND GRATEFUL FOR the knowledge that I am a child of God, and that I'll always be protected by him as well as everyone of you and all of Gods children all around the world. We are the tools and instruments in Gods hands. So HOW can YOU be an instrument or answer to someone's prayer? How can you show God you love him? HELP HIS CHILDREN.  Show them you love them. When you do that, you show them God loves them. It was really cool to be a part of the man's answer to his prayers. And it's all cause I wanted ice cream....ice cream answers prayers :) 

I have been meeting young families here, and it makes me so happy. Yet scares me at the same time, cause most of the young moms I've met are my age or just a few years older 😁😳.   I could have kids now hahahaa,  NO ... I'll just go visit Kierans 😂😂😂😂. I'll just stick to this missionary stuff for awhile & my ice cream 😂😂😂🍦

I love all the little kids here though. In my last area there were 5 of them. But here they're just popping. It's awesome! 

One day I was the new designated driver.  I couldn't remember quite what numbers we needed to report each day. My companion & I called the Zone Leaders and they walked it through with us about a million times. Later at church, the elders told us they had to put it on mute cause they were laughing so hard.  One elder even wrote about it in his journal. Wow...I don't feel stupid at all....How EMBARRASSING! But no one ever explained it clearly to me until now.  I felt like the girl off of "Legally Blonde". At least we aren't trying to impress the elders 😂😂😂😂

We have so many set up service projects.  I love it!  It's because of "Just Serve" that the church recently came out with.  Look into it! One of the service opportunities that we have each week is to help out at a food pantry. I really loved it cause I met some really cool people who were volunteering. They have a system where they push grocery carts to the stations and put in the food and the cart moves on. My companion & I were in charge of putting the peanut butter & cereal in the carts.  Then I'd push the carts out to the elders and other men working outside, who would then put the stuff into people's cars. 

I think I loved it so much because 1st of all -- CHARITY IS THE PURE LOVE OF CHRIST (Moroni 7:48).  This is something Christ did--he helped people. He gave his time and effort. He gave his ALL. When we serve, we get to be just a small piece of Christ's hands. We get to follow his example. We get the opportunity to become more like him. I LOVE It! The 2nd reason I love to service is because it is my "field of work" since I worked at a grocery store. One of the old guys told me I was working too hard. And oh MY GOSH, yeah he should be grateful I'm a missionary that's all I gotta say....   And then it was kinda funny though cause a one of the times I pushed the cart out to Elder Bennett really fast and that same old guy said, "oh is that your boyfriend you're trying to run over?" Oh WAIT WHAT ? I said, HOLD UP THERE bro and told him about Mormon missionaries.  Then he understood. I told him how we have chosen to "leave it all on the court" here on the mission and are not dating or going to school, but are solidly focused on serving the Lord. 

It was kinda awkies when he said that, but now he knows what we be doing. Haha I couldn't stop laughing though. I thought it was hilarious! I feel like old people (elderly people excuse me) feel that if we look young and we are around other young people then "we must be dating" 😂😂😂😂.  Or with my last companion Sister Turner, ALL  the old people thought we were not only sisters but TWINS. I mean she's awesome, so I'll take it but man it makes me laugh. 

SATURDAY BINGO: 

Oh my I have seen that there's so many things to look forward to when I "get to" live in a retirement home ...Saturday bingo and (you wouldn't believe it) sugar free candy. That's all I need 😂.We get to call out the bingo numbers for some of the cutest old people I've ever seen.  I've almost learned all their names. 

Oxborrow family: 

They're awesome! They take care of us--everyone here does really. 

We live in their upstairs apartment that's sectioned off from their house. They let us just walk into their house. I feel weird doing it, but they're seriously super chill and wonderful. They let us use their washer and dryer to do our laundry, so we can save our money. They are always asking what they can do to help us. They're THE BOMB. 

Sister Oxborrow reminds me of Lynne Blacker. 

Mehr family: 

The Bishop & his wife and their daughter are awesome! They fed us and the elders breakfast for dinner one of the first nights I got here. It was so good!  Bishop Mehr even made us his FAMOUS omlettes. 

I've never had such an amazing omlette, no lie. It was epic !  

Their home was just so comforting. And since I always eat breakfast at home with my family I felt right at home. It was a tender mercy for sure. And Bishop Mehr reminds me a lot of Uncle Ryan, so that's another tender mercy.  He's very missionary oriented, so it's the best! 

He and his wife both served missions.  How cool! 

Fair fun:

We got to go to the local fair and set up a booth about family history with our Zone Leaders who we share the area with.  It was awesome but we didn't get to talk to as many people as we would like.   There was one who was solidly interested, so I'm super stoked about that! 

I got to meet some of the members in our area. They're all awesome. 

Here's just a few of our tender mercies/ miracles from the week: 

• got a package from some awesome  cousins ( THANK You!!!) 
• Got pictures of angels Chelsie, GG Jane, and GG Lois...right on the day of the family history fair! (Thank you) 
• got letters from tons of peeps! (THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT!) 
• gotta try fried Oreos and got BBQ chicken sandwich 
• found 2 new investigators 
• got 7 member referals, 1 of which we have a return appointment 
• My companion is gaining more confidence in herself.  She's doing awesome! 
• people here really take care of us 
• got to have peanut butter chocolate ice cream

These are just a few of the miracles I've witnessed this week. 

Because of these miracles I KNOW the church is true. I've seen too many miracles to even come close to denying the church. I know with ALL of my heart that the church is true! And I'm beyond grateful to be a member and to be out sharing the things that  are so precious to me. I love Jesus Christ, and I love this gospel. 

I love each of you, and I hope you know it.  

I'd like to invite each of you to watch the Mormon message video 

"O Remember Remember"  (can be found on Mormon.org). 

Look for the miracles that come from God to YOU this week.   WRITE them down. I'd love to hear how it goes.  Feel free to write me telling me about your miracles and the experiences that you have. Remember the miracles are there--you just gotta open your eyes! 

Two men look through self same bars. 

One sees mud while the other sees stars." 

Be the one who sees the stars! See the positivity in all things.  It doesn't take much to look for the bad parts of life. Go the extra mile... Be happy...look for the happiness:) 

Have a fabulous week! 

Xoxo

Love always , 

HERMANA ÄLLOWITZ 😊

1319 Butterfield Rd. #552 

Downers Grove, IL 60515

karigan.allowitz@myldsmail.net

http://karigansmission.blogspot.com