It's a Spanish Miracle

Hola Familia!

So this week was really awesome! I am feeling really good about everything and my spiritual knowledge seriously grew like 10 feet. I tried really hard to not get frustrated with the language this week and the Lord has helped me keep my goal. I did however get a little frustrated this one day but not to worry the Lord lifted me right back up. So what happened is I was just frustrated and this sweet girl in the district told me this really amazing quote from a general authority ( I am not sure who) saying "The Language you are called to speak in, is the language that you will be able to most boldly testify in." This really lifted up my spirits and I felt as if the Lord was speaking to me telling me it was true. That gave me huge comfort because that is the thing I am most scared for, I just don't want to let the Lord down. But I know that if I can represent him the "most boldly" in Spanish then I am going to have courage, Satan can go somewhere else, and I will learn this language. This is what mind set I have tried to have all week and let me tell you I finally understand the Grammar! It makes so much more sense now. I still don't know hardly any of the vocab but I can actually put a sentence together and it makes sense. I am so happy! The Lord is incredible! I need tons of practice but hey soon I will be in my mission and be speaking Spanish all the time, so my Spanish is going to get better! Oh my goodness I love the Lord! 

This week was just really a happy week for me! Can I just say I love my District to death! I seriously do! They are like brothers and sisters I don't understand how we can be so close in such a short amount of time but I love it! So we finally got a new district to add to our zone! We welcomed them last night, they seem so cute and nice! I am super excited to get to know them! Familia can you believe that I have been here a month! I only have a week and a half left.....crazy! I am getting excited to go to Canada for sure! It's going to be so hard to leave my district because I love them so much but I am excited to go and preach the gospel with all my heart to the people of Canada! Haha I love the Lord and love the MTC! It's seriously the strangest place in this entire world. I can't describe it to you but it is so amazing! It's the hardest thing in the world but I am so happy! Oh one last funny story...I will send you the picture with it after. So I get a little competitive lets just say....hahaha whoops. Every Wednesday and Saturday we have service and on Wednesdays I swear Hermana Johnson and I always get stuck cleaning the bathrooms...nasty! Any way we were asked to clean them again so we decided we were going to make a little game out of it. There are 8 stalls in every bathroom so we each took four and raced each other. Hahah it was the most fun thing in the entire world. Haha but it got a little heated and next thing we know the maintenance lady is running into the bathroom because she thought we were seriously dying. Ok familia you all know I am a loud person haha....so racing might of not been the best thing for me. Hahaha I don't know if we will be cleaning the bathrooms again but....haha oh well! Oh and can I just tell you missionary conversations are the best. Haha yesterday we spent forever talking about which person in The Book of Mormon we would marry....what? Haha never in my life would I have ever imagined have that conversation. Haha the MTC gets long hahah but it's totally fine because we are well entertained! I love you so much Familia! Keep praying for me to get the Spanish, I am progressing but I still have miles and miles to go! I love you all

Love your soon to be Canadian Spanish Missionary

-Hermana Allphin

my comp/district

I gave Jen one last huge hug this week and she is off to Oklahoma to visa wait. She is the best I am so excited for her!

​Look at this darling package Alyssa sent me!! She is adorable

we are no longer allowed to speak english in the class room! ES MUY DIFÍCIL

So this is what happens when we find out Hermana Jackmans sister is having a girl! Being a sister is the best ever!

The Lord is my light

Wow ok this is has been a week to remember. So huge accomplishment to the sister of the Provo MTC. WE FINALLY OUTNUMBER THE ELDERS! For the first time in MTC history we barely outnumber the Elders....hahaha and now they outnumber us again because we just got a new batch of missionaries yesterday.It didn't last long but for a little bit we did! Haha thank goodness for that age change all except for the building have one Girls bathroom and like five Elders bathrooms but all is well. Second my Branch President is the coolest person in the entire world. So he is an author and his book is the #1 on Barnes and Nobles best sellers. He personally knows the prophet...The PROPHET!!!! Also get this he sends his yearly goals to the prophet and the prophet gives him feedback. He also know a whole bunch of other General Authorities. He is the best, my whole branch presidency is amazing. This is the greatest place in the entire world....but also the most difficult. So let's start with the my spiritual week. So on crashed and burned on Saturday with my Spanish so that a little depressing so my week started out kind of sad. But then I went to church! The greatest thing in the entire world is Sunday and I truly do believe that! Sunday and P-days because we get to go to the temple. But anyway I was having a really hard time and let me just tell you how amazing the Lord is. My Branch President had pulled me aside for interviews and asked me "how are you doing" and or course I said the typical answer of "good" but I know that he is inspired of God because I wasn't fine and I was really struggling. So Present Shallenburger looked at me and he said "I hear frustration in your email this week, and I can see it in your eyes right now. Hermana Allphin how are you doing" He helped me so much it was like I could feel the spirit speaking to me through him. He showed me a scripture in  D&C 4 and D&C 107:30-31. They are scriptures of the savior promising me that if I was working my hardest he would not let me fail. So I had prayed my guts out telling him that I would try my hardest but I needed help. This is because Spanish for some reason is not clicking in my head. So after I was spiritually recharged on Sunday I went to work.So the week rolls around and I was so scared because I had 4 lessons to teach that day, but I convinced myself to have courage and I taught. So of course when we went in there it was that awkward Spanish of I only know how to say hi and is it ok if we pray? Haha so there was no messing around we just dove right into the lesson. I started and I could feel the frustration start to creep back in because my investigator Ivelisse had asked us a question and I didn't know how to answer it in Spanish. But as I was sitting there I looked down and saw my name tag. For some reason my eyes didn't see the Hermana Allphin all I saw in big white letters was the name Jesucristo. In that moment the spirit hit me so hard. Jesus Christ, I was not in that room for me...I was in that room for the Savior. So I pulled myself together and told my mind to pull myself together, get rid of that terrible natural man and realise that Jesus christ has entrusted me. He has literally given me his name and he believes in me. I am a representative of Jesus Christ. So I sat up in my chair and look my investigator in the eyes and tried to look at her through the savior's eyes. My Spanish didn't by some miracle get better but I was able to communicate the message we had for her. The lesson could have gone on forever but due to the lack of time we had to stop. That was miracle one, and then another miracle was as we went to member TRC Hermana Johnson and I had a short lesson planned on the savior's atonement in our lives. We thought it would be appropriate because of Easter coming up. So we went in there and I told myself I was going to smile and not get discouraged and so I did. I was able to bear my testimony and I felt to the Spirit. Almost like I could feel how happy the savior was for representing him in that moment. It wasn't just me either Hermana Johnson was so in tune with spirit. She had this feeling like we should challenge them to read all of the four Gospels by easter because that what the Savior's atonement is. I felt like a missionary. I really did, my heart was leaping inside of me. The Spanish still wasn't that good, but it didn't matter because the spirit doesn't need words to speak. The next miracle was Spanish....so once again I didn't understand the grammar in the Spanish Language. It's all backwards in my head so that's half of what's been getting me really upset. So we went into class and I raised my hand and said "Hermano Byers I just don't get it" So he took me up to the white board and he had my practice examples. I swear I don't know how it happened but as he was explaining it again it just clicked. It's like the Lord flipped a light switch in my head. I don't understand how it happened but it did and I got it!!! Yes it's only one of the many things to learn with grammar but I understand. If I could drop to my knees right there I would of, it was such a tender mercy. Then my last miracle of the week. That night I had one more lesson until P-day and Hermana Johnson and I were teaching Vienna and Carlos who are looking for a church to raise their baby (They are my teachers but they are really representing their good friends). So I went in there and once again I told myself to represent the savior and I smiled and it was a miracle I spoke. I spoke the best I have ever spoken before. What happened was Vienna had told me she didn't understand why Joseph Smith was important. Hermana Johnson and I were suppose to teach the Plan of Salvation and I really felt like that is what we were suppose talk. So we started going and all of the sudden I totally realised why Joseph Smith was crucial to the Plan of Salvation and I just spoke, it was so incredible. I just started talking and hermana Johnson started talking and I swear it really was the spirit. It was like I was being taught while I was speaking. Ahhh incredible. The Lord is incredible he lives! He Lives and he is standing by my side. I love the Lord so much! 

Have a wonderful week familia!

Love Hermana Allphin (your soon to be Canadian Missionary)

Sister Jacklin & Sister Allphin

The girls in my district and I were "piemary" colors for pie day. It was not even planned until one of the Elders commented. Hahaha best ever. So we found this wheelchair....hahaha we died because it was just a random lone wheelchair and also the tag says Property of the Lame!  It was so funny I had to take a picture. We have no idea who it belongs to! But I guess miracles happen at the MTC. Hahaha SO funny!

And then there were 8....

So this week we lost the entire zone basically. 2 of the 3 districts left to their missions Monday Morning. It's been real crazy having such a little zone....literally the entire zone is my district. Haha Hermana Johnson and I are Sister Training leaders of the zone...of the 4 girls I should say. There are no new Spanish missionaries this week so we will see about next week. Haha it's been real quiet. So I have to tell you about one of my pictures. So the picture where I am standing next to the fire hose that says "Hosé Smith"  haha the girls in my district and I died laughing. All because we were all walking up to go to bed and we were practicing our testimonies and we look up ans see Hosé Smith. In Spanish it would actually be José Smith but it just made my day. Only in the MTC would you ever find that. Oh and apparently I have an manly hand shake....hahaha what?! When we were shaking hands with the elder's and hugging the sisters goodbye....I found out I have a very firm manly handshake. Haha so I guess I am going to have to work on that. It's been kind of weird only having 8 people. Meals have been so much more quiet but it all good. I really liked my district but I love my zone. You will have to tell the Erickson's that their cousin was in my zone! All the hermanas, but one, went to California. Then all the Elders went to Argentina in a ton of different missions. Haha Everyone I meet thinks it's hilarious I am headed to Canada but haha I love it. After hearing about Chantelle's mission I am more than grateful I am going to a 1st world country with a Wal-Mart. But I do wish them the very best. I love you all.

 This week has been a little ruff. Our goal was to get through the entire restoration lesson so that we could move on with our investigators but I seriously didn't know the Spanish. So I got really down on my self especially Monday which was so ruff. We have 5 investigators and I feel like every time I went in to teach a lesson I would feel the spirit so strong telling me what I need to say but the problem was I only knew how to say it in English. So in the lesson where I would say " When all of the Apostles died the priesthood authority, god's direct power, was taken from the earth...." and all that good stuff but when I taught in Spanish it came out like " Jesucristo y apostles (I think I just made up that word) muerte. No authoridad." which basically translates into Jesus Christ and Apostles dead, no authority. which makes absolutely no sense whats so ever, and it isn't even the right grammar. So I just got really really down. But then I went to the Tuesday fireside and Elder Quinton L. Cook was there and he just spoke to my heart. He talked about making the mission calls and the impressions that the Apostles get on where to assign missionaries and I just knew that this is what god needs. I was still stressing about it though until I went back to class and my teacher Hermana Tuft said something about being a representative of the Lord. She said that we represent him and ever lesson that we give we should go there and speak to those people as if the Savior was sitting beside us. That we should show them as much love as he would and listen to the spirit as he would. If we however go into the lesson wondering what to say, worrying about the language, and stressing because we can't understand then we will fail and the spirit wont be able to teach. So for me I knew, I knew without a shadow of a doubt I had to have me faith. .So I tried it...and it was the scariest thing in my entire life. Hermana Johnson and I said a prayer that Heavenly Father would help us and then we went in there and taught the lesson. Let me tell you I have never felt more confident in my Spanish. I don't how but it worked. It really worked. When I talked to the investigator after to give us our evaluation he said that was the best lesson we have ever given. He also said that he understood all of our Spanish completely. It wasn't perfect and there was grammar error's but the lesson as completely 100% understandable. I died, I literally wanted to drop to my knees right there. I know I have a long ways to go with Spanish, and let me tell you I am so grateful for all your many prayers, but I know that the Lord is with me every hour.  It made me think of the hymn "I need thee every hour" Because I really do. Without the savior I can't do this, I am nothing and I will not get this language. But that's not the case, because I do have the Savior. I do have him and for some reason he believes in me, he has entrusted me to represent him so I am going to do my very best. So I know I will get this language. I know I will because I know that with Christ anything is impossible. If he can help Nephi build an entire ship to carry them across the ocean...well then he can without a doubt help me learn Spanish. I love you all so much. Keep praying for me to get this language. I love you all!

Love Hermana Allphin

Shaylee at the MTC

this is the zone girls

What? It's already been a week?

Holy Cow! It's already been a week. Okay so let me dig through my memory to find out what I did. So the first few days were kind of ruff. It has been super hard but I love it. I got to teach a Practice investigator named Diana which doesn't sound hard but....problem I don't speak Spanish yet. So I went in and the first lesson was a train wreck. The second lesson wasn't much better. I got really discouraged because I could kind of understand what they were saying (which was a huge miracle in itself) but I knew how to respond....in English. I seriously couldn't not think of how to speak in Spanish. It was kind of hard of hard and I got really down. All because my Hermana Johnson and I got the feed back and it was worse than I thought. So Saturday was super hard, I feel bad! I was really not in a good mood. For instance I was just sitting there listening to my teacher speaking Spanish and thinking "I don't know Spanish! This is super hard. Everyone is learning so fast. I hate whoever built that dang Tower of Bable. I thought I was okay for my third day and it's just been all around bad." So to say the lease I was having a pitty party for myself. As I was sitting there I thought came into my head "I'm the Gardener here" It took my back by surprise and I realized....the first few days I had been progressing and I had gotten a little bit of a hot head. I wasn't teaching the lesson with the spirit, I was just teaching it. The only way the Lord could get through to me was by cutting me down. Just like the conference talk. So then we had Sunday...which is my absolute saving grace. I realized what the Lord needed to do. I realized and I hope that I never forget that I need to teach every lesson as if the Lord was sitting in the room with me. Because I represent him, I am wearing his name and he has entrusted me to share his gospel. Once I realized that Spanish wasn't a competition and I was actually improving so much I knew what I needed to do. So my next lesson we went in and I just bore my heart out. I can't even tell you how amazing the miracle was, because for the first time I understood what she was saying. I couldn't understand everything but I could piece together what I knew and I could guess what she needed. My heart was so full of joy and I spoke to her. It was the most simple Spanish in the world and I don't even think I said everything right but I spoke my testimony. I know that the spirit was with me in that lesson. I am really trying not to get down because I know that's it's the spirit that teaches. I might not know very much Spanish but I know that if I truly bare my testimony the spirit will back me up. I do represent the Lord. This isn't about me, it's about him. I couldn't be more grateful for this amazing time. I love the Lord so much. 

wait I forgot to tell you about my district

Okay So I have the greatest district ever! Everyone became instant friends it been so great. I love all of them. My companion's name is Hermana Johnson and she is from Idaho. Everyone in my district and my zone are going to Argentina....so whoops. Haha only Elder Nuttle is going to my same mission. But is so great! My Zone is a little...interesting sometimes. But I love love love all the sisters! They are going to be incredible missionaries. They leave on Monday so it will be only my district. All the sister's that are leaving are headed to California. My District works so hard and I love class with them. I am going to miss them because they are all going to South American and I am going up north....but the more I hear about South America....all I have to say God knows me so well because Canada is PERFECT!  I am going to Hermana Elhert's home town and it's been so fun hearing about my mission. I love you so much I will send pictures. Have a wonderful week and don't worry about me the first couple days were hard but I seriously love it here. I love the Lord so much! Don't stop praying for me to understand Spanish. I love you 

Oh I ran into Sister Jacklin....she is the cutest person ever!!!! I love seeing friendly faces in the MTC. Oh guess what one of the Elder's in my Zone is the Erickson's cousin...small small world. Love you!

love Hermana Allphin