This Blizzard Ain't Got Nothing On Me....January 25, 2016

It's ok, I survived. Barely. Clinging to my life and warmth and
survival. Had to fight off a pack of wild turkeys for food. Went
scrounging thru the sewers for something to eat. There was destruction
and death everywhere. Hardly anyone survived. But I did it! We managed
thru sheer grit and willpower. On this day, we decided the storm would
not own us- but we would own the storm. *dramatic trudge thru 2ft of
snow into the distance*

Hahaha
HELLO EVERYONE! Holy moly it feels like a year since I last talked
(well emailed) with y'all. This week was soooooo long! But amazing ❤️

I am SO BEYOND GLAD to hear that the Broncos won!!! Here we go Super
Bowl 50!!!!! Gah, that's so exciting!

Ok, I know y'all want to hear about my CRAZY AWESOME INSANE ADVENTURES
WITH THE HUGE NOR'EASTER, but I'm going to go in chronological order
as I do most emails ;)

Monday was a pday spent playing intense basketball with the elders,
and obliging my dying companion as she spent 2ish hours getting her
hair dyed. My backside was a little sore for sitting for so long, but
it was ok. Patience is my middle name. Then we went and saw the
awesomesauce Sister Woods. She made really good spaghetti for us and
we had some good conversation over my first ever glass of herbal tea.
It was actually really good. I was pleasantly surprised lol. It's
chamomile with vanilla and honey and the secret ingredient is vanilla
creamer that normal ppl put in coffee. But us cool ppl put in our A-OK
herbal tea.

Tuesday we once again went out with Attorious whom I love dearly with
all my heart. She's such a special flower, but she's like the most
down to earth chill person ever. "So great my man, so great!"

Wednesday we had the amazing Worldwide Missionary Broadcast!!! It's
the first worldwide broadcast they've done in 10+ years! I'll just
kinda briefly go through my favorite things from each speaker. Elder
Andersen started by explaining that we as missionaries should always
have "His name on our lips". Whenever we are unsure of what to say or
do, that's when we speak of the Savior and testify of Him and His
Atonement. As missionaries "we teach repentance and baptize converts."
And we help them know that the Doctrine of Christ can only be received
through revelation. They have to ask- in order to know- in order to
begin changing. Then Elder Bednar lead a discussion with missionaries
from the Ogden Mission (which if I was a part of I would be sitting in
a back corner not making eye contact to answer any of his questions
lol) but he taught about how we as missionaries can bring the doctrine
"unto" the hearts of our investigators, but only the Holy Ghost can
bring it "into" their hearts. And that without the Holy Ghost we
missionaries are "utterly incapable of doing what we have been called
to do." Brother (Elder?) Waddell said that when we invite others to
keep commitments, we are inviting them to "become agents rather than
an object." Elder Clayton reminded us that member involvement leads to
the most baptisms. We have to be confident when asking for referrals
from them, and we have to be persistent and smart in the questions we
ask. And finally, Elder Oaks took us by the shoulders and shook our
naive missionary bodies when he told us to "have the Doctrine of
Christ engraved in your hearts" and that we are called to "introduce
righteousness and heaven's laws to the world". Man is that a big
calling. It's so humbling to know that the Lord truly does call the
"weak and simple" to do His work. How in the world can I introduce
people to the laws of heaven and have them accept it when their whole
life they've been taught something different?? But the Lord can. And I
can only be His instrument, to be used as needed.

On Thursday s. Kafu had her dying temple trip, so I went on exchange
up in Maplewood for the day. It was so nice to be up in the North
again! I miss it haha

Friday was awesome! I got to take pictures with Barbi (short,
ironically, for Barbecue) and we got to meet with Sister Woods again!
And then that night we got to meet with a new investigator Chris! We
talked with him and his brother on their porch in the cold the whole
time, but we could have stayed there all night with the 2 of them. We
went through the whole Restoration and they had question after
question after question and it was great! He said that the last time
the sisters came around they talked to him about prayer in passing,
and he thought why not so he started praying, and because of that the
Lord helped him stop some WoW stuff!! And when we asked him this time
that when he knows it's true will he be baptized he said...and I
quote..."of course!!"     Of course??! Of course??!! That never
happens! Ever! And then we invited him to read the Book of Mormon and
the Restoration pamphlet and all that and he said "man, you guys are
making me want to go inside and talk to God right now."  !!!!!! Gah.
It's so beautiful and I just want to jump around every time I think
about it. We're meeting with him again  on Tuesday!

And now. To the moment you all have been waiting for. LET IT SNOW LET
IT SNOW LET IT SNOW!!!
We have indeed been snowed in for the past 2 days- I'm kinda going
stir crazy! It snowed for like literally 36 hrs starting on Friday
night. And lemme tell you, the Jerseyites went CRAZY. The shelves at
the grocery store were not only bare of the normal things like bread
and milk, but of paper towels and toilet paper...like how much do
y'all think you're going to go through in the weekend were snowed
in??? They all went mad and the grocery stores started closing on
Thurs and Fri because of it lol. They're just super hypersensitive to
the word *whispers* storm out here. Ever since Sandy they kinda over
do it for most things, which I guess isn't bad considering Sandy took
everyone by surprise.
So yeah, we've been pretty cooped up. And you know how fast my sanity
gets thrown out the window when I'm bored! Lol! I feel so bad for S.
Kafu. But we went and walked to McDonalds on Saturday night- in the 2
ft of snow while the wind is still blowing and it's still snowing-
only to find it closed! So we went to the Chinese place across the
street and talked to the cashier lady a bit. She was super nice. Then
we ran around like little children and jumped in the snow because we
could. And I got a lot of my energy out- It was great!  We also got a
call that night that all church meetings were cancelled the next day.
Soooooo, Sunday was a repeat of the previous day, except we couldn't
go out anywhere to eat haha.  But we have awesome Zone Leaders who
live in our same complex and they have members who invited them over
for breakfast and a lesson since church was cancelled. So we went. And
ate glorious waffles and eggs and bacon. Only problem was- they spoke
Spanish. The whole time. And s. Kafu and I were the only ones who
couldn't in that big group. So that was fun! Lol
The snow has made me feel at home here. It was so bizarre to me that
it wasn't snowing and it was Oct, then Nov, then Dec where is was 60
on Christmas, then most of January...and now there's snow!!! I was so
excited when I heard about the blizzard. It was a perfect way to spend
my 7 month mark :)

We've spent the past 2 days digging out cars, pushing out stuck cars,
wading thru snow, etc etc. so to say I'm a little sore is an
understatement haha! But it's been so great. Just another way to
serve! I love Jersey. I get all mushy inside when I think about it
hahaha

And now, today. I am currently in Elizabeth after fighting thru
traffic and snow and Jersey drivers, I am here for pday while s. Kafu
goes on her dying trip to Ellis and the Statue. Sooooo this'll be a
fun day haha :)

Hope y'all are staying warm and safe over there in the west!
Love you all!
Stay Jersey Strong.
Love, Sister McAllister

 walking to McDonald's in the snowstorm to find it closed!

Breaking and Entering and Other Such Minor Things... *cough*.....January 18, 2016

Hello Mom! (and all you blog readers, cant forget about my fan club now haha ;)

It's pretty awesome that y'all are playing with the missionaries on Pday so much now! Having members to hang with is the best! E. Stark and Tu'ifua seem pretty awesome- wish I could meet them.  And yes, Tongans do eat horse and some eat dog as well (but not all of them do). The extent of my integration into the culture is learning some random phrases and eating Spam and rice all the time. It's actually pretty great- i love it!

For pday today we are gonna head over to the Post Office so we can figure out how we're gonna get all of S. Kafu's stuff home. And then we're packing her stuff. And then we're going to a members house so she can dye S. Kafu's hair... I've learned a lot of patience and humility this transfer haha- not everything is about me, and sometimes i just gotta bite my tongue and be nice :)  But its great, only 2 weeks left to go now til shes on her plane home! Crazy crazy.

Also, yes. You told me about the shooting at Kum and Go and how Mrs. (haha i almost called her Sister) Parish witnessed it. Glad everyone is ok and that they were able to lock down the school and make sure that y'all were safe. It was too close to home this time- the world's getting scarier and scarier for sure.

Snap momma, you're a busy bee this week! That's awesome though that you have so many ppl wanting you to sub :)

Yup, this Wed we have a missionary broadcast for 2hrs about teaching Repentance and Baptizing. Its really been a focus here for the past month or so, so I'm excited for the broadcast as well.

S. Kafu dies on Feb 3. She goes on her departing trip to the temple on Thurs and then to the Statue of Liberty on Mon. I'll be going on exchange with a Spanish sister in Princeton, so that should be fun! Gotta start brushing up on my Spanish now haha

This week was great!

Monday we had an awesome lesson with a Less Active and her Recent Convert son after pday. We taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and talked a lot about repentance and the process of it. Were going through the lessons again with Seven because you gotta do that after baptism and he was baptized in November. It went amazing, they're both super solid and she's working towards the temple and they're both making huge steps in the right direction. It's awesome!

Tuesday we had zone conference in East Brunswick. It was great, very spiritual. And i got to see S. Brown so that was ahmayzing. Then i got my hair trimmed real fast by the member dying s. kafus hair.

Had to take our car in this week to get the oil changed, fluids topped, and tires rotated. So that took some time. But i got an awesome Chevy hat from Pep Boys, so i think it was worth it! lol

Friday we went running from apt to apt all day. We had 5 scheduled in all different parts of our area, and we had to pick up and drop off TeamUps and all this other stuff so it was just crazy! But, i felt the Spirit super strong during a lesson with our most recent investigator Carmel. She asked me about Joseph Smith, so I explained the background and then recited the First Vision and it was just amazing, Idk what it was about this week- but i really noticed the Spirit a lot more. Whether from listening extra hard to music, or paying attention to certain words in a talk or song, or whatever- but I literally teared up like 3 times each day. I'm turning into even more of a baby lol! But its ok, I'm embracing it.

Now I shall tell you the hilarity of what happened to us Friday night. Preface: to get into our apartment there's 2 doors, an outside door that allows you into the hallway of apartments, and then our door itself. We were going out to the dumpster to throw some trash away, so we left our door unlocked and S. Kafu left the keys in the aprt (something I didn't know until too late lol). When we got to the outside door, it was locked....ugh. We went searching for our neighbors but they wouldn't answer their doors, so we were kinda stuck. Anyways, the only way you can get into our aprt is thru the teeny tiny bathroom window that's broken (which is slightly disturbing how easy it was to break into our own place. But I digress) so we have the BR window open and ready for crawling thru, and I ain't gonna crawl thru that so I was making the one who forgot the keys do it....but she's way too big lol. She can't hoist herself up, even with me boosting her. So we decided I'd do it. *sigh* She got down on her hands and knees and I literally stepped on her back and launched myself into the window. Well, I got about half way thru and I got stuck, because my face was about to slam into the toilet inside, and that wouldn't be too fun haha. At this point my huge behind and legs are hanging out the window while I'm red faced and holding myself up with one arm to stop myself from falling face first into the toilet/counter. I was basically doing one of those Buff People Push Ups where they do a hand stand and then lower and raise their WHOLE selves with their arms...man I'm glad I got these big guns ;)  haha! So I like slithered and wiggled and held myself until I could gently collapse onto the BR floor! It was an adventure for sure. I wish we coulda taken a video of it or something haha. But yeah, I'm basically a pro now at breaking into places lol #MissionSkillz

Also, it just snowed yesterday for the first time here. So thats fun haha

That's my week, I'll probably have a lot more stories for you next week- becuz our plans for this one are nuts!

Love you all!

Stay Warm!

Stay Jersey Strong.

Love, Sister McAllister 

 new hat from Pep Boys

 Poly Swag...her current companion to the left, her first companion to the right

 Subway is taunting her with the new movie she has to wait to see

Zone Conference

1 Month in Eatontown....January 11, 2016

Hello (hello) Hello (hello) [I] welcome you today! Hello (hello)...idk how the rest of the song goes but just sing it to yourselves and know that I am singing right a long with you! haha

First things First Family:

maaaaannnn Ty stayed forevur. Last year the bum ditched out on me after like 4 days! What a "flippin joke dude" ;)  Tell him he's completely whipped and he needs to mail me his man card lol! Kenzie's got him wrapped around her little finger for sure >:)

wowowowowowow MOM! You're a missionary! Oh my gosh it'll be the funnest thing ever and you can go on team-ups with the missionaries and feel the Spirit super strong and love life and make new friends and fellowship people AND also make sure the missionaries get fed becuz lets be honest that's like SUPER important to elders haha. I'm so excited for you!

Have fun at your massage! We'll go together when I get back so I can have my 1st ever one- I guess I'll have to just be grateful for the tennis ball and frozen water bottle massages my feet get lol!

It's Sister Kafu Latu-Vaki (her first name is Kilisitina, but dont tell her i told you;)  And she's doing good- I mean super trunky, but who wouldnt be when you got 3 weeks left *shrugs*

MY LOVELY SISTERS WHOM I LOVE SO MUCH: WHY IS MY INBOX NOT FILLED WITH BEAUTIFUL LETTERS PROFESSING YOUR AMAZINGNESS AT LIFE?? WHY IS IT WAILING AND CRYING BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT FILL IT WITH LETTERS AND PICTURES?? PLEASE LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES TO YOURSELVES AND "FEED MY [INBOX]". hahahah haha ha ha. ha. huh. but for real doe. Are you going on strike? Are you boycotting letters to me? Whats the dealio sisters?? Do i need to beg and plead? Cuz i just might lol

Anyways, enough with my dramatic side-------------~~~~~~~~~/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\<><><><><>^v^v^v

(^ i apologize for my randomness, but sometimes you just gotta spice things up a bit)

Time for a snapshot view of my week!

Tuesday we had a YSA come out with us for the whole day after our meetings. Her name is Attorious and she's beautifully blunt, and exuberant, and wonderful. I loved having her with us for 6 hours- she really is the life of any metaphorical party (b/c she is my nonsocial twin. holla) We had a lot of good lessons with less actives, and with her as well. We really got to sit down with her and get to know her and just love her. She's so amazing, especially with the cards shes been dealt in life- man, she gives me so much vigor to strengthen my faith to be like hers! (did that even make sense? no? oh well, moving on!)

Wednesday we talked with some kids on the way to an apt. They were super nice and awesome and we basically taught them the Restoration while they were playing. They understood it really well and both took Book of Mormons. Planting seeds people!

Thursday was hilariously frustrating. We had an apt with a woman named Nancy who is SO solid at 4. But she didn't come to the door. So we thought, oh maybe shes not home. So we go to leave and the Spirit tells us to look for her car. We honed our stalkers skillz and found it waaaaay in the back of the lot, not in her usual spot. And we're like C'MON Nancy! So then we go and try her front door, and her keys are hanging from the lock...so clearly she's home. But she still wont answer... we think maybe shes walking her dog at this point. We said a prayer and then started walking trying to find her. We get the feeling to go towards the main road, a lo and flippin behold she drives past us in her car.  But prayers answered, we were led to her and found her...just as she was leaving us to drown in our frustration. So we get in our car and leave to go to another apt. ON THE WAY we drive past a park. And what do we see? Her. And her dog. Walking. In the park. Now at this moment we're debating if its too creeper stalkerish to go to her and stop her, but we just say yolo and went haha. AS WE WERE PARKING she put her dog in the car and drove offffffffffffffffffffffghljlkvhsdfgkjspdgf. *sigh* She drove 5 minutes to walk her dog for 2 minutes at a park in the cold?!?!?!   But whatever. I'm over it. Truly. It's no big deal. *facepalms* 

Moving on because my blood pressure needs to settle ;)

Saturday we were trying a less active the ward council told us to go see, and on the way there there's 3 kids riding hover-boards. So we stop and talk with them and they're all super chill and they're like "cmon you can try!" And i very politely and cooly declined becuz i would probably fall on my face and break something, or I'd fall in general and that's not ok to do in a skirt so nope. But they were awesome and it turns out that Harley just moved here from IL and he used to have missionaries all the time in his house there! So we got his number and address and all that and we have a return apt with him soon, and the others we gave Books of Mormon too and they were pretty pumped for it. I love kids!!!

This morning we went to Long Branch Beach and watched the sunrise. It was beautiful and it was freezing. Like 13 degrees with the windchill, but so worth it!

I love you all lots! Time is flying so fast, I can't believe it. I've already been in Eatontown a month! Crazy crazy. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. Weeelll, maybe punching T....actually no. Not even that hahaha ;)

Love you all!

Stay Warm!

Stay Jersey Strong.

Sister McAllister

 twinning with her old companion

 sunrise at the shore

I'm Super Keen for 2016 *drops mic and walks away*....January 4, 2016

It's 2016.

And while 2015 had a nice sheen.

Now its on to bigger and better things-

It'll be exciting to see what this year bring!.

High School for some,

And a Graduation to come.

Fires and guns,

And people named Tyler to shun!

Beautiful dogs named Duke,

And a rabbit to nuke;

Boys to ward away

With a shotgun each day,

And the celebration of birthdays!

(mines in 49 days *wink wink cough cough*)

So 2016 will be a stinkin amazing year,

So grab your tissues for some happy tears! :)

Whew. I have so little time to write this week, but I figured y'all would love a little 5 minute rhyme that you can't even call a poem cuz its so terrible haha! But enjoy it. Love it. Frame it if you want... Ahem. Anywaaaaays:

Hello hello hello!  Its the First letter from 2016!!!!!!!!  Some things to address first---

Thanks for handing out my letters!  ALSO: will you tell Sister Dana Smith and Sister Terry THANK YOU THANK YOU THANKYOU for me? I just got their Christmas gifts and I am so happy and I feel so loved and I loved all the notes from everyone and the gifts from Sister Terry are sublime! :)

Whoa! KK actually shot a gun?!?! This is a monumental occasion that should be celebrated with much acclaim and pomp! Wheres the confetti? The 3 story cake? The wild bears dancing?? hahaha thats awesome!!! Good job KK! Isnt shooting the best? 

Tell kenzie hi for me! Also, give her the little sister smack down/scare tactics we've practiced Jenna and KK. It's finally time to use them! >:)

Onto other general things which I have the next 15 minutes to write so I apologize quite profusely if I make no sense or if my letters look like Tys with my grammar and spelling errors...oh wait. I dont think mine would ever get quite as bad... hahah ;)

It is finally getting cold here! AND I LOVE IT! Oh gosh. I've had to actually wear my winter coat and my hats and tights and scarves out here!!!! I'm so happy :D  Still no snow, but they say to be expecting it soon, so we'll see. I do have to say though, that it is a different cold than CO. It's cold AND damp here haha, the humidity is still insane even though its winter.

Me and Sister Kafu probly get along too well lol! Idk if its just because I'm coming from those 11 weeks and its just a huge relief or what,  becuz if we were like at home idk if I ever would have talked to her- her Tongan-ness and Sacramento ghettoness scares me lol! But its all good. She's stinkin awesome and I'm learning a LOT from her. One of the perks of sending someone home.

Lessseee.... I LOVE EATONTOWN WITH MY WHOLE HEART! My freaky memorization skillz are coming into play and im learning and getting to know and love everyone out here so much! It is a huge adjustment coming from an area where there is 1 set of missionaries in a ward to here where theres 3, but I love it! Our Elders are really cool :)

So, I'm basically a Less Active missionary I believe. haha, that seems to be all I work with. When I got to this area literally none of the less actives were being visited in our area, or really even talked to- but now we're seeing 4 or 5 a week! Theyre such amazing people. And its really cool to see how each of them still have a testimony its just lost beneath the ways of the world and you gotta dig it out :)

New Years Eve we got to go with a member in our ward to dinner! He invited the 5 sets of missionaries in our area and we all went and ate some fantastic food! We had calamari and shrimp and sushi and then I had chicken fajitas for my entree. Ah man, I was so full i didnt eat breakfast the next day lol!

Church was great and also super hilarious! It starts now at 11, so WC starts at 9:30 now-- for which I am forever grateful cuz the past few weeks we've started at 9 w/ WC at 7:30. Yikes!  But anyways, ppl got up and bore their testimonies and I was cracking up the whole time becuz of the ladies in our ward. One lady got up and talked about how she was soooo mad the other day and how she used her agency to be happy instead of mad at this person, regardless of what they did to her. So a really good testimony, but in the process of it all she said "You know when you get really mad, and like cartoon steam starts coming outta yer ears, and your stomachs all upset and you just feel like you really gotta poop? Well thats how mad I was."  And ooohhh gosh, hahaha I was busting up and S. Kafu was and the whole Bishopbric behind her was trying not too sooo hard they were turning red!!! Ah man. And then another lady got up and bore her testimony and said that word as well. LOL! It was spoken twice over the pulpit that day... oh gosh. And then the investigator we have that was in Gospel Principles with us is always super hilarious. I wish you could meet this guys!  We were talking about obedience and how we need to not lie or steal or anything like that, and as we were talking about lying and how thats a sin and not ok, he turns to the elders beside him and trys to whisper (but i can still hear him) "guys, I lied." And Elder B was like ?  and he goes "I lied to you before, we gotta talk after."  Which ok, it doesnt sound funny now that im reading what i typed, but if you knew him you'd crack up. and the way that he said it was a riot!

That's basically it for me i guess, haha we gotta run!  But thanks for your letter, I hope you get some rest soon mom, have fun at school girls, dont do drugs, just say no, and make good choices!

Love you all!

Stay Jersey Strong.

Sister McAllister

 NYE with Sister Kafu

 New Years Eve in Jersey

2015 is Almost Over! :O....December 28, 2015

I'm glad your Christmas was awesome, and that everyone had so much fun this week!

It was one amazing week for me too!

Monday we went to see the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Lol, that was something else. We thought it was gonna be crazy cool like the Barnegat lighthouse further south, but it was slightly....small. Lol! And we got there at 3:30pm cuz the Elders who did the research didn't do it very well- the last tour of the thing happened at 3:15pm. Sooo we took some pictures of the outside and all that, and then we went and poked around the deserted Fort Hancock army base that it was in. It was pretty cool, they had a walled off section titled "mortar battery" and there was a barracks in there too; we couldn't go too far in, but it was awesome. It reminded me of AFA where they have the missiles and planes on display as you drive in- there was artillery shells and missiles everywhere!  Then that night we had a powerful couple of lessons. We had dinner with a lady and her son for the first time, and then we took them as a team-up for the first time! It was amazing how well they clicked with the family we took them too. The kids were setting up play dates and the moms carpool by the time we were leaving haha. It was truly astounding to see the Spirit at work with the 2 families.

Tuesday we had district meeting in which I gave a training on Promised Blessings. And then I went on EXCHANGE WITH MY MOMMA SISTER BROWN!!!!!!! Gjgkdksjwnemdkedxvkd. It was SO beautiful. Oh my goodness, flippin best day of the past 11 weeks! We went caroling with the Elders for a few hours, and then we went to a dinner appointment and tried a referral and a few others. And we slipped right back into our teaching rhythm, and our jokes, and our silent communication skills, and our "looks", and and and and. AH! It was so amazingly wonderful and exactly what I needed to break me outta the box I put myself into the past 11 weeks! I'm slowly becoming myself again, and she helped tremendously! We stayed up that night pillow talking til about midnight lol, and then we spent the next day talking and like every spare moment talking.   It's kinda amazing how effortless it is with us. I compare it to me and Marah, I've never had friends like the 2 of them where we can literally talk for 6hrs and not fish for conversation starters or get bored. S. Brown is so stinkin amazing! Random thought I had: if I served my mission only to meet her, it was all worth it. Pretty sappy, but true nonetheless- she's too much and too cool and too awesome and too much of a boss. I want to be like her one day #OneDay

Thursday was our miracle day (and Christmas Eve!). We had weekly planned and we had put in a couple potentials or less actives that we could try afterwards. Well, we tried them all and were at a loss of what to do after we talked with them. So we were walking back to the car the first one we tried, and S. Kafu got the impression to knock a door. We walked up and knocked and a man opened the door. We said we'd like to share a Christmas message with him and he invited us right in! That never happens in Jersey!!! No one ever invites you right in! So he and his family had just gotten back from their church's mass, and they were out getting Chinese food, so we shared the "A Savior is Born" video with him and he loved it! He invited us back this week to share a message with his whole family!  Find #1.  Then we went and tried a less active, not home. So we knocked the neighbors door and a man opened the door. We did basically the above, except taught him on his doorstep. He was super open and loved us, he wants us to come back so we can teach him and his fiancé! Find #2.  Then we went to a less active's mom's house because we need to get his new address for the bishop since he moved away. Well he wasn't home, but she talked with us a lot on the doorstep and says that she really wants to read the Book of Mormon but due to a cataract in her eye she can't, so she asked if we could get a recording for her. She's not a member, and she invited us to meet with her this week! Find #3. And then for her, we were worried about being able to find a recording of the Book of Mormon for her to listen to. But never fear, the Lord always provides! We were going through the CDs in the car that night for some random reason, and we found a CD with Sister Allen's handwriting on it. We popped it in, and no joke it's a recording of the first half of the Book of Mormon. So now we can give that to her so she can listen to the scriptures!!! #MiraclesAllDayEveryDay

Friday. Not much to say, moving on....   Hahaha jk! Christmas was amazing!! So to start, about 8 of us missionaries went down to the Seaside Heights Boardwalk to take pictures at the shore. It was a beautiful morning, probably 60 degrees and foggy. I loved it! Then we went to the Toms River chapel and played sports and card games with our zone for a few hours. Then we headed back home and changed, and went to our first dinner apt at 2:30pm. It was with the ARP representatives in our ward, they're so nice! And the food was soooooo good! So we rolled outta there to go straight to our next apt. This one had invited the 3 sets of missionaries in the ward over, so all 6 of us were there. It was fun!  And then I skyped y'all, which was fantastic! Thanks for being so awesome! I'm so blessed to have a family as amazing as y'all are. Sorry if I was a little out of it, I was about ready to chop my head off my migraine was so bad. I wish I had been able to be normal haha, but oh well, there's always next time! :)

Saturday I went to the chiropractor with Sisters Brown and Jenkins. I'm pretty sure it was my neck causing my headaches for the past week, because now I feel fine haha! So that was a much needed trip. My neck literally cracks about 20 times each sides because of his magic hands, it feels so heavenly! :)

Sunday we had an awesome sacrament meeting. All of the new missionaries in the ward bore their testimonies and all that, so now I've not only conducted the Christmas program and sacrament meeting, I've also spoken in it too. Lol! What am I gonna do next week??  After church we went and saw our man on date who is moving to Manchester area this week :(  I'm sad to see him go, he's so close to getting in the water and changing his life for the better! He's literally gonna move and then get baptized into that ward, I'm so excited for him!!!

Something I read in my studies this morning:
"A third principle is this: we must counter the natural man’s tendency to procrastinate, to put off, or to give up.
As we progress along the covenant path, we will make mistakes, some multiple times. Some of us struggle with behaviors or addictions we feel powerless to overcome. But faith in Heavenly Father and in Jesus Christ is a principle of action and power. If we are willing to act, we will be blessed with the strength to repent and with the strength to change.
We fail only if we fail to take another faithful step forward. We will not, we cannot, fail if we are faithfully yoked to the Savior--He who has never failed and will never fail us!
I promise that each faith-filled step will be met with help from heaven. Guidance will come as we pray to our Heavenly Father, rely on our Savior and follow Him, and listen to the Holy Spirit. Strength will come because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Healing and forgiveness will come because of God’s grace. Wisdom and patience will come by trusting in the Lord’s timing for us. Protection will come by following God’s living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson.
You were created “that [you] might have joy,” joy you will feel when you worthily return to your Heavenly Father and your Savior and step into Their warm embrace."  ~~Elder Randall K. Bennett
    I think it really speaks for itself. We shouldn't expect perfection from ourselves right now- God sure doesn't! All He wants is progression, not perfection. All we gotta do is keep trying! "Never give up! Never surrender!" :)  that just brought me a lot of peace this morning, and I hope it does for whoever reads this as well.

Love you all!!
Stay Jersey Strong.
Love, Sister McAllister

 Christmas Skype from her end

 Sandy Hook Lighthouse

 Back with Sister Brown for a day

 Christmas in Jersey

 Jersey Shore

 new companion .....Sister Kafu

 Christmas Day down the shore

Merry Christmas.....December 21, 2015

Hola- from down the shore- me familia!!!

I'm so exctied to talk with y'all on FRIDAY!!!

Man, our family and Poly's tho, we cant get enough! Ilove em haha :)

IZY IS GOING TO OPEN HER CALL?!?!?! AHHHHHHH!!!!!

I still cant believe Sci is gonna be in the MTC on the 30th. So crazy awesome!!

But anyways, lets talk about me here ;)

Holy cow, it is a whole new world down here, I feel like I just switched countries or something. The roads are crazy (the jughandles are everywhere), the area is sooooo cool (I finally have a township that's sketch!), and the members actually have ward council and do it effectively, like what? I was so shocked. And I met with the ward mission leader the first cpl days I was here!

Sooooo. Monday was a chillaxin pday, I packed and we got a lot of little stuff done. And then we had dinner with the Nash family one last time...I literally cried when I walked out of their house after saying goodbye to all of them. I couldn't handle it lol, I love them SO much, they're like family to me. And it was super hard cuz I wanted to give the boys hugs or at least something more than a high five or pound or handshake haha, but I just said bye for the next year at least and then we left. Emerson has left a huge hole in my heart. I never realized how much I would come to love the people here on my mission, but I was a hot mess that night as it sunk in that I wouldn't see these people for a loooooong time. S. Cardoso sent me a video and all it is is Joe sobbing his heart out and saying he'll miss me  oh my goodness my heart broke.  I can't wait to see all of those people I grew so close with again, I know I'll keep in touch with them after through FB or letters or something, but it hurts to know the rest of my mission I can't really. *sigh*

Tuesday was transfers, and I am soooooo far down south that it takes  1hr 45min to get home if there's only a little traffic. So we got back around 7pmthat night. I'm literally down in the boonies haha. But the south is soooooooo cool! Everything is so beach-ified and sandy and cute, and the people are cool, and there's so many black people down here! I. Love. It. I've been waiting to serve in an area like this for 6 months! I'm sooo excited.

Friday we had the all mission Christmas party with the Taggarts!! It was super fun! The food was great, the talks were awesome, the talent cool, the games fun, etc etc. I loved it! And then to my great surprise I had like 5 or 6 packages/letters waiting for me in the mail room! I feel so loved  but do you know how stinkin hard it has been to have those for 4 days now and NOT open them?? I'm literally dying of excitement and restraint. I should get a huge pat on the back for my sacrifice and struggle as I have patiently not opened them...and set the packages down and covered them with something so I didn't have to look at them anymore...*cough*. The temptation is so high haha, I've had my present from Marah for like years now and I haven't opened that one either. You should be proud. Can I get a badge for this? My "not-opening-the-present-early badge". I want it framed and shipped to me haha ;) although, I have gotten my present opening urge tampered by the fact that members here have given me 3 presents now---and I've opened all of them...they won't know! But I couldn't wait, I just had to! I swear I've degraded back to being a toddler when it comes to presents and things that come to me in the mission, I just have to open them the second I get them lol.  But don't worry, I'll open them at the appointed day, 4 DAYS FROM NOW!!! Where I get to spend the morning with the missionaries in my zone, which just so happens to include my fave ppl S. Brown and S. Clarke!!! Booyah.

Sunday was my first time meeting the ward, and guess what I had to do....s. Kang was transferred out of here and she has been directing the choir for the Christmas program today,but she's gone and I'm here now. Lol, so 5 min before sacrament I learn I'm supposed to conduct the whole thing, with a few choir songs I've never heard sung before. I wanted the ground to swallow me up and die. Flip. It was so terrible. Hahaah but hey, the whole ward got to know and see me for that hour- Silver lining! And they were all super nice about it as I uselessly waved my arm around and the organist shot me with his dagger eyes. :) Random tidbits:

1. Did you know McDonald's now has breakfast ALL DAY?!? This is the best thing since Wendy's 4 for $4 meals. Fast food is getting so much better each day. So beautiful. *sniff*
2. My hair is visible to partially blind people. Yup. Take that Ariel! My hair is better than yours, muhahaha. #PrincessesGotNuthinOnMe    Ok so back story on this fact lol, when we were in NYC with S. Cardoso last Saturday an elderly man tapped me on the shoulder and asked which street he was on, so I looked for the street sign and told him he was on 65th street. To which he said "I just want you to know you have gorgeous hair, the color is so beautiful! You know, I'm partially blind and I can't see much, but I could see your hair! I was a Boy Scout when I was younger and my rabbi always told us to give one sincere compliment a day, so im being sincere. You have a wonderful day." And he then preceded to walk away. He was soooo nice! Lol it was super unexpected.
3. I have an African soul. If I could have been born like as anything else, I would want to be from Africa. Those people are soooo stinkin amazing! I love them.
4. The beach is not called the beach here. You don't say "I'm going to the beach." You say "I'm going down the shore."   Also, today will mark the 2nd time I have ever seen the ocean and I am SO EXCITED! I got to see the West coast first, and now I'm seeing the East coast for my 2nd time! So coooooool. Today we're planning on going to the Sandy Hook lighthouse. It's currently 50ish degrees, so it should be pretty fun :)
5. I speak Creole.   Lol one of our investigators is from Haiti and he started saying some stuff in French, so I responded and interpreted for S. Kafu, and he was like "you speak creole?!" And I was like uuuuhhhhhhh no? But apparently "mange" means eat in both languages sooooo, haha. That was pretty funny

Thats it for me really! 

I'll talk to you in 4 days!

I Love you!

Stay Jersey Strong.

Love, Sister McAllister

 All her Christmas loot she received at the mission home

 Sister Brown, Sister Clarke

 Favorite family she had to say goodbye to this past week

 Sassy church vans....lol

 Mission Christmas party

Ellis, the Temple, a General Authority, Christmas Fireside, and Transfers...December 14, 2015

I am being transferred!!!!! I'm going DOWN TO THE SHORE! I'll be in Eatontown! AND. I WILL BE IN S. BROWNS ZONE. AGAIN! and I'll also have another Poly comp- her name is Sister Kafu. Lol, our family and the South Pacifics (E. Ketywan, and Lavalua something like that lol)

Oh my goodness Momma, thank you! I didn't realize I would be getting so much for Christmas! Marah sent me something, you sent me 2 boxes, Br. M gave me a gift, etc etc. I'm so blessed! I love you all sooooo much!!!!!1 :D

Wow, that did look cold for the tree! I mean normally theres lots of snow, but it isnt actually snowing when we go! Also, your weather is pretty crazy over there- we're still 50s and sunny. Everyone told me to prep for the gross, icy, 8ft of snow winters here, and its been beautiful! lol...... one sec, i gotta go find some wood to knock on.......ok, continuing:

SCI WENT TO THE TEMPLE AND YOUR PICS WERE SO CUTE AND NOW HES AN EAGLE AND HOLY MOLY ITS BEAUTIFUL AND I JUST WANT TO CRY IM SO PROUD OF HIM!!! Such a cute lil missionary <3   Also, tell Br. Call congrats! ( is it now Bishop Teeples, and Br. Smith and him, or what? i cant remember who the other counselor was... haha)

S. Cardoso is my favorite and im going to miss her sooooooo much! It was so wonderful to spend that day with her doing her family names and eating our street vendor food together. Shes definitely one I'll come back to see- I gotta go to Joe's baptism in June of 2017!

I'll be happy to just talk to you guys and gma and gpa and whoever else is there that day! only 11 more days mom!

My car's name will always be Phil- wherever I go. lol :)

Now,

Where to even begin with this week...it completely flew by and I have absolutely no idea what happened! I'll try to recall it as best I can in the short amount of time I have to email everyone.

Monday we had pday and we went indoor-glow-mini-golfing with part of the zone! It was super fun, and I won out of my little group (so our years of going mini-golfing as a family have paid off! #Success). Then we went to target and went grocery shopping and went home to shower and get ready for dinner with the Nash family! I love those people. The boys are like lil brothers to me, I want to adopt them! We should merge our families...Jenna just has to marry one of the boys, or KK- theres enough to go around haha. Nah, but they're super tight, I feel like y'all would get along with them real well!

Tuesday we weekly planned, helped a lady move into her house a bit, read the Book of Mormon with the cutest less active's daughter, and then cleaned our own apartment for transfers. It was a busy day, but a successful one as well!

Wednesday we had 5 set appointments back to back to back, so we were running like crazy trying to see and teach everyone! It was really our only full day in our area in which to do so. So we saw Br. P and talked about squirrels, we saw S. K and talked about her and her secret spy life, we saw Richard again, and ate lunch with Br. M again. Oh my goodness i'm going to miss all of these people sooooooo much! They've stolen my heart.

Thursday we went to Ellis for the day, and becuz the sun sets so early we got to see it! It was soooo pretty! Then we went and had dinner with our investigator Damaris. She's still recovering from surgery, but she went back to work last week becuz she's gotta pay the bills. She's so amazing. I really love her. I just want her to get stinkin baptized so bad! But it's ok, only when she's ready.

Friday we had an All Mission Tour with Elder David F. Evans, he just finished 6 yrs as the Missionary Department Executive thingy, idk. but he was super high up in the missionary dept- he counseled and talked with President Nelson every day! It was cool. He went around and changed a lot of procedures and traditions and really cracked down on all of us, but it was a great meeting. It's so important to follow our leaders- they truly are inspired of God. And no matter how hard it is to change, or how bitter some people are about it, it's always worth it.  Anyways, then we travelled home and helped prep for the Ward Christmas party that night. It was fun! We had a lot of LAs there, and we got to sit with them and have a good time. I love this ward so much! It's super frustrating at times and I feel like I'm just banging my head on a brick wall, but they are such good people. I'm going to miss them all for sure! This is what almost 6 months in an area does to you :'(

Saturday we went to the temple with S. Cardoso! But boy was it a whirlwind lol. She called us at midnight the night before, so we were like still half asleep talking to her- her ride had cancelled and so now she was wondering if we could meet at her house at 6:45am instead of 9am. Oh gosh lol, so we said sure we'll be there and went back to sleep. We woke up at 5:30am and got going, only to find her there with a bunch of the sisters from our ward that we love! Lol, they drove us to the temple, and then they went through a session while we went and did baptisms for S. Cardosos grandmas and grandpa and dad. The Spirit was so powerful! I've done probly like 100 baptisms by now, but I've never done or seen done a family name. Wow. It really brought it home for me seeing her baptized for her grandmas- these really are saving ordinances. We are doing the work for them so they have the opportunity to feel like we feel- to be saved as well- and to live with us for eternity! Think about it. Everyone who ever has lived or ever will has the amazing, blessed opportunity to be baptized at some point by proxy. We are literally saving souls when we go to the temple. I just want to cry right now lol, it's so beautiful. I constantly find myself thinking "O how great the plan of our God!" (2 Nephi 9:13) all the time. He is so amazing, and His plan is perfect.      Anyways, at the temple (which we didnt purposely set up *cough*) we saw S. Brown and her comp and a bunch of other missionaries, so we got to go through a session with them! It was so special, I loved it. Then we ate our lamb gyros (street vendors man)  with S. Cardoso- they're only $5 and they are heaven wrapped in tin foil- I wanted like 10 more after my first bite haha. We got home and then went to appointments the rest of the night.

Sunday we had church, my last Sunday in Emerson. Bittersweet. It was a great Sunday too.  After church we drove to Morristown for the Missionary Musical Christmas Fireside! We had been practicing for a while, and it was beautiful. The Spirit was so strong, and yes I cried during the last song when the whole congregation started singing. It's amazing the Spirit that can be brought by music.

And then this morning I got my transfer call. Eatontown here I come! I'm excited I'm going to the shore in the winter- cuz I could NOT stand the heat in the summer...can you imagine?? I would like literally melt and die haha. So I'm going from Zone 1 to Zone 8, from the very top north, to the very bottom south. Fun stuff! lol Im excited, so we'll see how this next transfer goes....which, ok mom, don't flip out. But the way things are looking now, I wont be home for Christmas next year- we got pushed back 2 weeks, so its looking like the first week of January for me. The next 2 transfers are going to be 7 weeks long instead of 6. haha, so sorry! I wish I coulda been, and I might still be- who knows!

Anyways, I love you all!!! I'll send you my address next week? Is that too close to Christmas to have them sent? If so, send em to the mission home.

Stay Jersey Strong!

Sister McAllister

 temple trip

 street vendor food

 Merica

 She is 94

 Look who she met at the Temple? more missionaries