12/09/19 Muchos desfiles

 What a fun week! We participated in 3 christmas parades... one for Dos Palos, one for Los Banos, and one for Merced. Basically we worked our way up in size and scale of parade throughout the week. The Dos Palos parade was bien chiquito and about 3/4 of the town was in the parade... the other 1/4 was watching... we had a little free hot chocolate stand set up to get people to come over to us and talk about Light The World but the only people that came up were kinda crazy and not very interested... but we did meet Daniel! Daniel basically told us his entire life story and showed us his dog (who he only speaks to in fluent Cherokee??!) and that he really likes missionaries! We came back the next day and met up with him at his house and he gave us some of his self recorded gospel funk albums in exchange for a Book of Mormon! 

The Los Banos parade was a little bigger and we were able to talk to sooooo many people that we knew and had not been able to contact in a while. Los Banos is a small enough town that you still have seen and know everyone even in large gatherings.  It was like playing Where's Waldo... but instead Where's the potential that we haven't talked to in a month. 

The Merced Parade was super big and fun! Merced is a city in our Zone so all the missionaries in our Zone got together and we had a little float and went zigzagging through the streets talking about Light The World as the parade traveled. It was honestly so so so much... I really love talking infront of big crowds... but by the end I was exhausted...

This week is also Vinnie and Gabriel's baptism!!!

we pushed Vinnie's baptism to the 14th because he needed to come to church one more time but wow we are so so so excited!!! Also he is too. The English ward flipping loves him and has just adopted him. perfect!

Gabriel has made so much progression! We went over all the baptismal questions with him and he knew everything! We had a super awesome lesson outside the Motel, just talking for like 30 minutes in the rain, but it was super fun becasue he really opened up to us and we got to know a little more about this 13 year old boy who is pretty reserved most of the time. The best thing ever was later in the week we were walking around in Dos Palos and Gabriel was with his little gang of Hooligans... but he still crossed the street and said hi to us!! He needs a lot of support from the ward because he is in a pretty rough situation and literally there is nothing else to do in DP but get into trouble or sit in the crowded, super wack motel... but it is really hard to get him to church or anywhere because his family does not have a car and they live 30 minutes away from the building. Gotta pray on that one.

I finally got my first pair of huaraches and therefore I am now officially a spanish speaking Hermana.

Also transfers were this week but Hermana Brown and I will both be here in Los Banos until she goes home... I will probably be here longer! SUPER AWESOME.

 Our Spanish groups need a little support so after the Englsih Baptisms this week we are gonna haul on helping them.

Love you all!!

Hermana Allen

Photos...

Daniel insisted we take a photo with him

this man we met at the Los Banos parade insisted I try out his giant blanket... and then take a photo of him in it... oh yeah we got a return appointment with him... he is super nice!

The Merced Parade with the Zone!!