Allison Jo Glanzer: Reno Tongan and YSA District

Guess what! Tuesday we went on splits, meaning each of us goes with a female member to go do missionary work. That was nerve wrecking. I taught my very first lesson that wasn't the Restoration in person without another missionary to teach with. AAHHHHH! Exciting! It was the CPR, church, pray, read lesson with the rock and rice object lesson. I am so glad that it was a simple lesson. I had a member, Jenny, who was a return missionary of three years be my companion and she is stellar!

Our typical day, wake up at 6 am, leave the apartment at like 6:20pm to go to the Chapel off of Rock aka the Rock Chapel for exercise with some zone in the mission. It isn't our zone. Play some type of athletic game for 30 mins, then we go around in a circle saying miracles of yesterday. Leave at like 7:10 get home and get ready for they day. By 8 am we are starting to plan for the day, then 8:30 we study. 9:30 we make any final preparations, then 10 am we are off doing something.

We have tons of people to teach. We do at least five hours of service each week and that is spread throughout the days. We eat lunch about noon, unless something pushes it back. We eat dinner at 5 pm with members. Tongan food is pretty good. We get fed every other week by the Tongan ward and then by the YSA ward. After dinner, we go back to teaching and trying to contact people to set up times to teach. We make connections with random people when they are outside there homes. 9pm to 9:30 we are back in the apartment, updating the area book and progress record and text people about the next day or so. 10:30pm bed time. If we have time, we have companionship study in there somewhere. Believe it or not, there is even less time for us to have comp study, which isn't good because we need that time to fine tune teaching in a trio! So there is no rest for the Lord's servants as we labor diligently to work and harvest in His vineyard.

Also, last Tuesday we had District meeting. Part of our zone is in California so only 2/3 of us were at the chapel for it. The others met somewhere else. So for my first traditional proselyting mission district meeting, there were three unique things. 1) There were elders/ the elders out numbered the sisters.

2) The topic was on prepping for a baptismal service (which I have never had to worry about until know)

Finally, 3) There was no one calling us to take a tour! Crazy!

Oh! I should let you all know!

Zone Leaders: Elders Miner (AZ) and Coronado (Mexico?/Utah)

District Leader (NOT MY COMPANION!

): Elder Wight (??)

Area: Reno YSA and Tongan Ward (so like a huge place, you can't go tracting for those two types of people)

Companions

: Sisters Lovstedt (Colorado) and Christensen (Utah)

Sister Training Leaders

: Sisters Lovstedt (Colorado) and Christensen (Utah)

Also, on Saturday, driving back from the chapel, we had to stop get out of the car and wake a guy up who was passed out in his car. Now that doesn't happen on the Square.

Let's talk a bit about Conference. There were tons of great things said and addressed, but what hit me the most was the very last talk by Elder Andersen. It made me wonder, what was I doing to really follow the prophet? What purposeful actions was I taking that showed in my everyday conduct?

Man, missions really open your eyes to being in the gospel and of the gospel and living the gospel with purpose and thought, verses just word and kind of action.

My invitation, will you read the words of the Prophet and apply them more fully in your life?

PS. My hair is SUPER long! I can pretty much sit on it now!