Hello po! 

This week was a good week for me!  I say this all the time....but I'll say it again....TIME IS FLYING!  It freaks me out haha.   I guess that's what happens when you're busy and happy all the time.  We were busy this week and taught about 25 lessons.  Yay!  It's been pretty cool here in Burgos, temperature wise, which has been nice.  The "burr" months are close, which is the coldest time of the year in the PH (Septem-burr, Octo-burr, etc).  I wouldn't exactly call it "cold," but the temperature does drop quite a bit.  That's also when Christmas music starts in the PH!  It starts in September and goes until Chirstmas, haha.  The Filipinos really love Christmas music I guess.  September 14th is also the next transfer day.  We'll see what happens there...

I am doing good!  I am so happy.  I love being a missionary and sharing the gospel to the people here.  I love studying the scriptures so deeply.  I love everything about missionary work!  

On Tuesday, we were busy! We had our first interviews with President and Sister Hiatt and also had a zone meeting.  I wasn't nervous at all before the interviews.  I used to get so nervous when I had interviews with President and Sister Rahlf!  I don't know why.  But I wasn't nervous at all for my interview with Pres. and Sis. Hiatt.  It was fun to have a few minutes with each of them.  President and I talked about my past experiences in the mission, my companion right now, and just got to know each other better.  He also asked me what he can do, as our mission president, to help this mission.  I really liked talking to him.  It felt natural and more like a conversation than an interview.  It went by too fast though, I wanted more time to talk with him!  Sister Hiatt is also so nice.  We talked about how I was doing health wise and how the branch was doing.  She is cute!  She is so tiny haha!  It was really fun to talk to both of them.  I feel like I know them now.  They're amazing!

In our zone meeting we had lots of announcements, a lesson from the sister training leaders, and a lesson from the zone leaders.  To be honest I don't remember much about the lessons haha.  But I'm sure they were pretty good.

Wednesday was good too.  I am trying (and kind of failing) to get back in shape, so I have been working out in the mornings.  So on Tuesday, I did some jogging in place and jumping jacks and cardio things like that for about 30 minutes.  When I woke up on Wednesday morning,  I couldn't walk normal.  I was soooooooo sore!  I am more out of shape than I thought!  I was limping for a few days which was embarrassing.  Hahaha.

On Wednesday, we went to a farewell party of one of our branch missionaries, Lorjay Bannagao.  He is our branch president's son.  He will be serving a mission out of the country in the Las Vegas mission!  He entered the Manila MTC this week (he's still waiting for his visa).  I told him I'll visit him in Las Vegas when I get back to America.  Practically the entire branch came to his farewell party!  We had a great time visiting and telling stories with Lorjay and the members.  He is going to be a great missionary!  

On Thursday, we just had a normal day of work work work and teach teach teach.  It was good! 

Friday was a great day!  We met President and Sister Hiatt at the Burgos church at 1:30 pm and they worked with us until 5:30 pm.  I was really really nervous before.   I was scared that we wouldn't have any lessons and that it would be hard to translate for them, but it turned out to be a great afternoon.   It was such a great day!  I enjoyed working and talking with them.  They were so...normal!  Haha.  They shared great testimonies and were so friendly and loving to everyone that we met.  We were able to teach four lessons with them.  I realized also that day how much I have improved in my Tagalog.  Translating was a breeze!  I didn't struggle at all.  It was so fun to be able to translate their words for those that we taught.  It felt wonderful.  Sister Hiatt said that she loved our positivity.  President Hiatt told us to keep visiting and inviting those we have already tried before who said no or weren't interested.  He said to keep trying and that someday, they'll say yes!  I really loved working with them.  It was fun! 

Saturday we spent the day tracting in Luna.  We met a lot of great people and were able to teach a few new investigators as well!  It was a nice normal day.

On Sunday, we had church.  I was the pianist again.  After church, we went straight out and worked.  Even Sunday, we work hard!  It was a good Sunday and we had a lot of lessons.

So that was my week!  It was a good week.  I am shocked really at how fast time is flying.  I keep singing in my head, "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler On the Roof.  I feel like that's my life right now!  One second, it's only sunrise, and the next, it's sunset.  I feel like I have such little time left in the mission, and I want to give these last months everything I've got.  

I love you all so much!  I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Always remember how much Heavenly Father loves each of you.  We are all children of God, and He loves us. You're always in my thoughts and prayers.  

I  L O V E  Y O U !

xo Sister Allen

President and Sister Hiatt worked with us for the whole day on Friday, and they took TONS of pictures. 

I felt like I was with my mom.  Haha! They probably said 100 times, "wait let's take a picture."  

Me and Sister Escalante with Sister Hiatt! Sister Hiatt is smaller than most Filipinos, 

which is crazy!  I'm 5'4, and I look huge!

Teaching the Talosig family: John Carl, Carmelita, May Rose, 

Jason, Sister Escalante, me, and President Hiatt.

Teaching Nanay Garuella! She's so cute.  Tatay was at work...

We are yelling "tao po!" at this house.  

That is what you do here in the PH instead of knocking on the door. 

This man, Max, is drying his newly harvested rice on a net-like fabric in the road.  The rice is still in it's shell!  We offered to help him but he just laughed.

Here we are contacting some people as they were bringing in their corn from the field.  

Here we are contacting a woman on the street.

Lyka is starting a business for her project for her major (entrepreneurship) and this is her food stand!  We are going to have a service project and I am going to paint the stand for her.  I will help her paint and design the logo for her business, I'll paint the menu, and then we'll paint the rest so that it's cute.  I'm excited!  She's selling siomai and other street food.  For her to graduate entrepreneurship, she actually has to start a business and sell stuff.  

May Rose, with her new baby, Daniel.  

May Rose is younger than me and already has two kids.  

Two of my favorite little girls, Mariel and Daniella.  

They remind me of me and Sage when we were little.  

Some more little kids playing in the street.  

They were singing for us. 

The farmers are bringing their corn in from the field.  

This type of corn is used for animal feed and things like that.  People don't eat it plain.  

All the farmers use their carabao and carts to bring in their harvest.  

Sometimes there's traffic from all the carabao!