Dan

I sure am going to miss this! The mission is more and more amazing all the time. Last week I talked about an investigator that we have named Dan. Dan is awesome. We had another lesson with him on Friday, and we brought a member with us. We hadn't finished teaching him the Plan of Salvation yet, so we went into the lesson with the intent of finishing that. We only got through one or two principles before the lesson just took a turn of direction. We started talking about baptism. Elder Rican and his previous companion invited him to be baptized the first time they visited about a month ago. He told them he would do it but didn't commit to a date. So we were going to hold off a little longer before we committed him again. Something in that lesson just told us that we needed to go for it again. That something was an undeniable impression from the Holy Ghost. It was amazing. We invited at just the right time, and he accepted a date for July 11th! Just awesome. What has been really cool for me to learn on my mission is that I am not the teacher. The Spirit is. The plan that Elder Rican and I had going into that lesson was a good plan. It wasn't the right plan. Because we are worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost and did our part. Because we prepared and listened to the promptings, we were shown the right way. Now Dan is preparing to enter the straight and narrow path to eternal life. We had another lesson with him yesterday, and his friend Greg was at his house. So we finished teaching him the Plan of Salvation, and Greg sat in on the lesson. He liked it so much that he said he wants to be there when we go over again on Saturday! I've had a few people tell me that some of the greatest mission miracles come right at the end. It's in the last few months that you see some of the most amazing things. I'm seeing that already, and it's just amazing. It's also sad to realize that I only have a few short weeks left to be fully engaged in this great work. It will be sad to take off the name tag, and be released as a full time missionary. A couple days ago I sat in a meeting which was closed by the testimonies of a few missionaries who are going home this transfer. They have three weeks left. One of those missionaries talked about how he had been emailing a returned missionary. The RM that he was emailing just happened to be Elder Romo, one of my previous companions. Elder Romo told this Elder something that he shared during his testimony, and it really hit me. He told him to bear testimony of Jesus Christ as often as he could. He told him that one of the most difficult things about being off of your mission is that you don't have nearly as many opportunities to bear your testimony. So take advantage of it now! I loved that. It was  a real eye opener to me, and it gave me a lot of motivation to continue to work hard to the end. After the next two months are up, I will never again be a full time missionary. Okay, I probably will when I serve a senior couple mission with my wife one day, but it won't be the same. This is just such a special time in my life. I cherish every moment of every day. I wake up filled with gratitude. I'm so happy every morning when I get the chance to put my name tag on my chest. "Elder Allred: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". What a privilege. To literally wear the Savior's name on my chest every single day. It's a great feeling. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's exciting. It's scary. It's joyous. It's incredibly sad. A whole mix of emotion I never though I could feel at the same time. Nine weeks will go too fast, but I know that that time will be filled with amazing opportunities to draw closer to God and to help others do the same. Like I said in the beginning of this email. I'm going to miss this... a lot!!! I also miss all of you... A LOT!!! It will be sad to leave this behind, but it will be amazing to be back home again. One more thing before I finish this email.I was super sad to hear the news that Elder L Tom Perry passed away. I met him when I was in high school. He came to a stake conference in Nephi. I remember shaking his hand and being overcome with a spiritual confirmation of his diving calling. He was a good man. There is no doubt in my mind that he was called by revelation to serve as an apostle of the Lord. His amazing influence will be missed. I also have full confidence that whoever replaces him in the quorum of the twelve apostles will play an equally important role as a servant of the Lord. I love you all more than words can express. Thank you for being who you are and for the amazing role each of you have played in my life. Love you!!! 

~Elder Allred