11/15/21: New Area-- Guabira

 This week there was a nationwide "paro", which is a protest on law where nobody works and they block the streets to make sure nobody else works. It's actually impressive how Bolivians come together in unity in this way, but the government is having none of it so its resulted in a lot of violence and contentions. What that means for us as missionaries is that for the first part of the week we've been laying low and transfers had been pushed back a few days. But its actually worked out great because I got the chance to say goodbye to all my friends in Monterrey-Campa Rosa. It was tough to say goodbye to them and especially to my companion, but I was excited to see another part of Bolivia, so transfers were certainly mixed feelings. 


I ended up arriving in my new area on Thursday. I met my new companion Elder Callata. I had heard a lot about him before I met him from other missionaries and even President, and what I heard made me hesitant to connect at first. We got along well enough but we didn't talk much. I felt a sad because I didn't want the whole transfer to be spent in silence. Finally on Sunday, my comp asked me directly  " do we want to be friends ,or simply just companions?" This caused me to reflect on how I approached the situation and the way I acted towards him. I realized things would be a lot better if I could be more friendly and show more love towards my companion. So I resolved we were going to be friends. Immediately, everything started to become easier and more fun. Not just with my companion but in the work too. Sunday night we were able to find 10 new people to teach and we had a blast doing it too. In this experience I learned first off not to judged others but what other people say and as well being friends with your companion makes a huge difference. But after that experience I have high hopes for this transfer.

Guabira reminds me a lot of how my sister would described her mission areas in Fresno California. Its a lot more rural than my last area so we do a lot of walking. There no micros, or really any cars here so we use a lot of motorcycle taxis. But mostly just walking. The members are great as usual and the people are very receptive. Being a more rural town, everyone  very friendly and willing to talk. I'm excited to get to know the area better as we go forward.

Miss you all, email me!! 
-Elder Allen





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