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We got to do service at this sketchy GOONIES house. Yes, I was in heaven.
#GOONIESNEVERSAYDIE |
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Lol, so a member gave us this GIGANTIC pizza that was as big as the
Titanic. When we got out it into the oven, it broke into 1000 pieces...great 😂 It was way better than the time my comp (back in the day) got a pizza actually stuck in the oven. 😂😂😂 Some kids don't even have pizza.  
SEESTER TRAINS 2ND BABY GREENIE MISSIONARY IN SPAN OF 2 TRANSFERS
Hello you beautiful people!
Every transfer we have a new focus as a mission to keep us on track. This one is "LOOK UNTO CHRIST IN EVERYTHING!"
One of the Assistants gave an awesome message that has made me ponder a lot about my focus, my life, where my heart is, and if I'm really focused on Christ. Elder Cluff said: Lovest thou me more than these?" (John 21:15) A penetrating question asked by the Risen Lord to his apostle Peter near the Sea of Galilee. It is a question that has sunk deep into my heart over the course of my mission. I think we can all stand and say we love the Lord Jesus Christ, but do we love him enough to let go of some things that hold us back here in the mission field? Peter and a handful of disciples had allowed themselves to return to their former lives catching fish instead of fulfilling the Savior’s commission to "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Matthew 28:19) It was made very clear by the Savior that the fishing could wait and that He needed his disciples to consecrate themselves on a better work. Elders and Sisters, there are many different "fish" that get in the way and hold us back from fulfilling our purpose in the field. It could be sleeping in, music, distracting photos, significant others, sports, the clothes you wear, attitude, etc... It is my invitation to you to identify those things that are holding you back and show that you love God and Christ "more than these" by putting them on the shelf and you will immediately feel the Spirit flood into your life in greater abundance. It is my testimony that the Lord blesses those tremendously who will act in faith and try to align their will with His.
Remember when I said we MUST be willing to change to succeed and receive all of God's blessings ? Well it's TRUE...so true! I'd like to invite each of y'all to look deeper into your lives and look for what "fish" are causing you to be taken away from what's MOST important ... COMING UNTO CHRIST. Change isn't always easy, but it's needed to become better. I really appreciated that message ...it's made me think a lot. Right now my mission is my most important duty. I have promised God that I will give him MY ABSOLUTE ALL for 18 months. This is my ONLY time to serve him FULL time & for that I am grateful. So this week as I've pondered about what "fish" are in my way. I've written them down and made mental notes and have even come up with a game plan of how to change .... Cough! cough YES, I SAID CHANGE my ways.
We may think we do certain things or act certain ways because " it's just who we are. Or that's how I was raised..." PSYCH. We can change NO matter where we've been or what we've done. I KNOW that's soooo true. Jesus loves us enough to help us change.
Because of the Atonement we can change and improve and be better.
So PLEASE PLEASE, look deeper into your life and look for the "fish" that are in the way of taking you away from JESUS CHRIST.
He's the most important thing. He's central to God's plan for us.
I remember when I was a Freshman in high school. I was in a leadership class and my teacher had us draw things on a piece of paper that were important to us and things that people could associate with us. We had all finished and she wanted us to represent what we had so we could all get to know each other, since it was the beginning of the class. Justin Alger (a good friend of mine who is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but is a very strong Christian and comes from an amazing family) was sharing. I will never ever forget the first thing he said, "I put Jesus Christ in the middle, because he is the center of all I do. Without him I wouldn't be here. None of us would." He went on to talk about his other important things. That experience was a very needed reminder for me...then and now with a world that's ever changing. I was seriously blown away at the great example of my friend. How awesome it was that he was always centering Christ in his life, and he didn't just say it--he showed it. The whole Alger family does. They're wonderful examples of centering Christ in their lives always and I am so grateful for people like them. When I grow up I wanna be like them. Remember, Jesus Christ is the CENTER OF ALL THINGS. He's the one that really matters. He loves us. He Atoned for us. Let's show him our full love and gratitude by centering our lives in him not once a week on Sunday--but EVERYDAY!
This whole "fish thing" and "change" has reminded me of the hymn "The Time is Far Spent" because life is hard, no matter the walk of life you are in. Right now I'm on a full time mission--that's my current walk of life. Missions are hard--dang hard. Worth every tear...every heart break...every moment I'm tired...every moment I wanna quit but don't...every joy. Worth every new day I get to get up and smile and share the gospel. Its so worth every day.
And 18 months may seem like IONS, but in reality it's not that long. It's just a piece of eternity. So this song came to mind because there really is little time remaining. I've been out 6 1/2 months and I go home next July, but counting the days doesn't matter.
Making the days count is what matters. Satan is trying to get to me but OH NO...he can knock it off. Or else I'm gonna.... Haha, never mind, we better not get into that. He's just gonna stay away so we don't have any issues. Satan and his buddies are after us all but we can tell them to knock it off and we NEED to because life is too short. Humans average life span is 82.6 years and I wanna be able to tell Jesus that I did ALL I could to follow him and help others with the little time I had. I wanna be able to wake up everyday, even after my mission, and say I did the best I could and am still gonna become better. This song reminds me that YES Satan and his buddies are gonna try to pull me down BUT Jesus is with me ALWAYS, as HE is with all of ya'll.
The Time Is Far Spent, hymn 266
1.
The time is far spent; there is little remaining
To publish glad tidings by sea and by land.
Then hasten, ye heralds; go forward proclaiming:
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven’s at hand,
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven’s at hand.
2.
Shrink not from your duty, however unpleasant,
But follow the Savior, your pattern and friend.
Our little afflictions, tho painful at present,
Ere long, with the righteous, in glory will end,
Ere long, with the righteous, in glory will end.
3.
What, tho, if the favor of Ahman possessing,
This world’s bitter hate you are called to endure?
The angels are waiting to crown you with blessings!
Go forward, be faithful, the promise is sure.
Go forward, be faithful, the promise is sure.
4.
Be fixed in your purpose, for Satan will try you;
The weight of your calling he perfectly knows.
Your path may be thorny, but Jesus is nigh you;
His arm is sufficient, tho demons oppose.
His arm is sufficient, tho demons oppose.
Since my brain goes 1000 miles a minute it reminded me of my track days so long ago (last year) cause my comp, Sis. Campbell, went
running on the track this week. When I was running track (from 6th grade until I graduated high school), the meets and races were always so hard. At first they felt so easy, but throughout the events it got harder to stay positive and not give up. There were always ppl cheering me on. ALWAYS. It's just like the Savior. He's ALWAYS with us and cheering us on. Brad Wilcox (1 of my favorite people ever) once said, "Christ is not waiting at the finish line once we have done 'all we can do'. (2 Nephi 25:23). He is with us every step of the way." Elder Bruce C. Hafen has written, “The Savior’s gift of grace to us is not necessarily limited in time to ‘after’ all we can do. We may receive his grace before, during and after the time when we expend our own efforts” (The Broken Heart [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989], 155). So grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel." I love that! It's sooo true. We may feel alone, but we are NOT. SMILE because Christ, our loving Savior and Redeemer and older brother LOVES EACH OF YOU! Not just some of you but ALL of you. Even all your edges. Y'all are amazing just the way you are, and yet it's important to acknowledge the need for CONTINUAL PROGRESSION & CHANGE. HE'S ALWAYS CHEERING. ALWAYS.
My buddie Chrome Dome said this awhile back, and I thought it was awesome. "We had a zone conference this week and a missionary used a good analogy. Watching someone change is like watching your siblings big game or performance. You're cheering them
on and you're so happy to see the results. That's what missionaries
do. We cheer them on by guiding them through each lesson and helping them understand the principles of the gospel. When they take the steps to baptism we are so happy to see them transformed through the Atonement. It's a good analogy for me since I love sports:)" We are all in need of support and cheering on. So let us come unto Christ and cheer each other on as Christ does for us.
Let us look for those in need. Let us help each other along this mission of life. It's such a happy thing to see the happiness and joy it brings to others as we cheer them on. It makes them happy as well as us.
Bishop Mehr is always attentively listening to the speakers.
He's seriously a stellar person and bishop. Everything.
His wife Sis. Mehr is seriously super stellar too. She's amazing, obviously. She made us fish! So bonus again. When she bore her testimony last Sunday it spoke to my heart and mind. The things she said comforted my heart and gave me much needed hope and comfort. The spirit is so strong in sacrament meeting, and I love that. That is a big piece of why I KNOW the church is sooo true because the spirit has testified and witnessed that to me soooo many times. Moroni 10:3-5 is so real. READ IT :)
Alicia Anderson came on splits with us. She's seriously a natural. She is a SOUL SISTA. We had some awesome GOSPEL conversations that helped me a lot. I am sooo grateful for her for so many reasons. God knew I needed her ❤️
Transfer calls was this last Saturday. Funny story.
Sis. Campbell & I were so positive we wouldn't be getting a call but PSYCH! The assistants texted us telling us we would be getting a call. My heart was racing and racing. The assistant, Elder Cluff, told Sis. Campbell she was getting transferred. Then...
E. Cluff: "Sister Ällowitz, are you ready for your assignment??"
Me: "yeah sure, of course!"
E. Cluff: "Sister Ällowitz, President wants you to stay in Morton and train a new greenie missionary. How do you feel? Any questions?"
Me: "Elder Cluff, you're joking right?"
Cluff: "No joke. We wouldn't ask you to do this if we didn't know you could do it. You're gonna do awesome. You got this."
Me: "Well got any advice or tips for me?"
Cluff: "Just love the crap outta them."
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Well awesome! I can do that. Haha so yeah I got this ! 😊
So the storal of the more is, HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL ... GUESS WHAT...I am AGAIN, yes again , I'm training a NEW BABY missionary. Fresh greenie, STRAIGHT OUTTA' the MTC.
SOON she'll be STRAIGHT OUTTA' CHICAGO.
I'm sooooo excited! And a little nervous.
It's crazy cause I NEVER would've seen this coming. It's like life, we can't see all things but God does. He puts people in our paths for specific reasons. He lets us go through certain things for certain reasons. All because he loves us and wants and needs us to learn and grow. Just as Heavenly Father said to Joseph Smith, "these things shall be for thy good", these things are helping me grow and blossom and change and get outside of my comfort zone. Heavenly Father knows what he's doing. I know I can do hard things. And so can each of you.
I'm not sure who my comp is yet, but there are only 2 sisters coming into the mission. One of them Sis. Metcalf knows and is besties with, named Sis. Brown. It would be cool if it was her and if not it'll still be cool. Cause missionary life is awesome. Sis. Havey is gonna be in the same zone as me and Sis. Metcalf so that's super exciting! I'm excited to be closer to them.
Today we had lunch with Sister Oxborrow and her kiddos.
Sis. Oxborrow is awesome. She had us come over and pick out what food we wanted from a restaurant, ordered it, and brought it back for our Lunch. Their family is so cute. Oh I just love their sweet kiddos. Esther, aka Essie, said the prayer before we ate & one thing she said was: "thank you for Jesus Christ who gave us our bodies." It was so cute. I love that little kids are so close to the spirit. I love that she prayed for that. Again it's yet another great example of FOCUSING ON CHRIST & ALWAYS remembering him. Little kids are great examples of this. Jesus always said to humble ourselves and be like little children.
I heard this joke from a random guy at McDonald's who happened to be a member passing through town.
JOKE OF WEEK:
What kinda car was it that the 3 wise men rode in to go visit baby Jesus ?
A :a Honda...they all rode in one accord
I love all of you and I'm grateful for Jesus Christ and all he's done for me and continues to do. I am grateful for the opportunity and choice that I have to change and become more like the Savior. The Church is so true. I love the Book of Mormon, and I love inviting others to come unto Christ. I love Jesus Christ. I just love everything about the gospel. I am so beyond grateful for all I have been given.
Stay fresh. Stay rad.
Peace out til next week.
LOVE SEESTER ÄLLOWITZ
1319 Butterfield Rd. #552 |
