DL, trainer for Elder Raine

Hello friends and family! Well, today is transfers again. I cannot believe another cycle has gone by already. The scary thing about these six week periods of time is that each one that goes by leaves me with one less to be a missionary. And after this next one goes, I'll have less than half of mine left. I'm sure this one will fly by too. That's mostly because of my new callings. This cycle I will be training a new missionary again! The hard work and responsibility that goes into this leaves you no time to think about what day it is and only time to help your companion and be a good example. My other calling is to be the District Leader for the Harlem English speaking district. I've already trained once and been a District Leader once, and now I will have the opportunity to do both at the same time! I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about this. I feel like this enormous amount of responsibility has just been laid on my shoulders, and the weight I have to carry just tripled. That's a good thing though. Stress and work is what pushes us and makes us grow. Every major lesson I've learned on my mission has come to me in times are a little bit more trying. So, I'm excited for this new challenge. It will be good for me as well and help me refocus. I had a ton of fun with Elder Monson these past six weeks. We got along really well and did some awesome work together. Being in this companionship also had its downfalls though. Watching Elder Monson prepare to return home was fun and exciting but also a little hard on me. The natural man inside of me was jealous and wished that it was me coming home to see all of you. I still worked hard, but my motivation level dropped slightly. So, it will be good to have a brand new missionary as a companion. That "greenie fire" is exactly what I need to get me back into my groove and completely pumped about the work in Harlem. The entire atmosphere of this area is going to change. The apartment will be a lot different too. We live with the Zone Leaders here, and one of them (Elder Linton) just got transferred to the Bronx. So, Elder Smith got a new companion as well. His name is Elder Burr. I served around him in the Bronx for a little while. He's a great missionary and a hard worker. It will be way different but good. I'll miss Elder Linton, but his leadership is really needed in the Bronx. I'm really going to miss Elder Monson too. He and I have been through a lot together in these past six weeks, and I'm glad he was by my side. I consider him like a brother. I'm excited for him to continue his life in Utah and move on. He'll do great things. I"m excited to build that relationship with my new companion as well. His name is Elder Raine, and I can already tell he is going to be an awesome missionary. He's from Brea, California. I've only known him for less than an hour now, but I can already tell he's excited to be here and ready to go. We will do some great work in Harlem together and see some miracles for sure. I'm grateful that the Lord has chosen me to fulfill this role at this time. I'm sure there are a hundred other missionaries in this mission more worthy and qualified than I am for this, but the Lord has chosen me. I have a testimony that He chooses His leaders for a very specific purpose, and I've been able to see so clearly that every time I'm in a leadership position it's so I can learn something new and improve. So, I'm excited for what the Lord has in store for me. Thanks again for all of your love and support. I miss you and love you all. Have a fantastic week!
~Elder Allred