Halfway There!

Sorry I'm a bit late today. We had a zone activity this morning, and I didn't have time to email before it started. The activity was a ton of fun. We went to this place called Roosevelt Island. I may have told you about it a few weeks ago, because that's where we went for our zone activity last cycle too. Just in case, I'll tell you about it again. It's a little island in the East River about halfway up Manhattan. the way you get out to it is by a tram that lifts you right up next to the Queensboro Bridge, which connects Manhattan to Queens. It reminds me of riding the skylift at Lagoon or taking the lifts at a ski resort. The spot we found at the island was a super nice little field with trees surrounding it. You can see Manhattan on one side and Queens on the other. It's nice and quiet and peaceful and has an awesome view. If I had to live in New York City after my mission, Roosevelt Island wouldn't be a bad place to do it. You get the luxury of the quiet with the convenience of everything that New York City has to offer being so close. I'm sure the cost of living is a little bit above my budget though haha. It was a lot of fun to hang out there today! Also last Wednesday Elder Raine and I decided to to go down and see the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That was super cool. We only had about an hour to see stuff and didn't get to look at everything we wanted to, so we might end up going back in a couple weeks or something. I can never seem to get over the fact that I live in Manhattan. It's a  lot different than I ever would have expected it to be like, but I love it so much. Of course, when you think New York city your first thought isn't the ancient apartment buildings and projects of Harlem. It's seriously so much fun though. There's a lot that I will miss about this place when I have to leave. Hopefully I'll stay in Harlem for awhile. I don't think I could do it for much longer than two years. There's too much country in my blood haha. I definitely miss being able to see more than a few hundred yards in either direction, and a look at the Utah mountains is a foreign thought to me now. For now it's fun though. The work here is great, and I really enjoy meeting people from all over the world with all different backgrounds. This week has been pretty exciting. We got a new investigator that we tracted into named Noel who agreed to a baptismal date in our first visit. We're looking forward to helping him prepare for the 27th of September! Rafael and Kristina are still doing well. Kristina came to church for the first time for fast and testimony meeting on Sunday. She absolutely loved it! She said when she was listening to the testimonies she kept getting chills and almost crying. The Spirit was so strong in that meeting. I've seen a lot of progress in those two over the past two months, and I'm excited to see even more in the coming weeks. It seems weird to say that I've been here for two months already. It feels like I just left the Bronx. I have no clue where the time is going! Which brings me to my last point of this week's email. Of course you all know already, but tomorrow is my year mark! Seriously? Where in the world did that come from? It's kind of  crazy to be at this point in my mission. I'm reflecting on everything that has happened in the past twelve months, and it is a lot to think about.  Obviously the halfway point is huge for any missionary. You start thinking about all that you've done so far. All the people you've met. All the experiences you've had. All the things you've learned. Then when you're done thinking about that you start thinking about what's ahead. What areas you might serve in. What kind of people you have yet to meet. What kind of lessons you will continue to learn. It's so cool. I'm learning a lot about myself. Who I was, who I want to be, and who I would like to become. Sorry if I may have gotten a little cheesy with all of that, but I just couldn't think of how to express the feelings I'm having haha. But seriously, if I had to describe the past twelve months in a word that word would  be change. And if I had to describe how that "change" happened in a word that word would be "Atonement". Before my mission I thought I knew exactly what the Atonement was and what it could do. Now I can see that I had no idea what its capacity is and what kind of ability it has to affect our lives. The sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us gave us literally everything that we have. I think about the Atonement all the time. I talk about it to almost everyone I meet. It's just such an incredible thing to me. I've experienced the Atonement so frequently and so intensely since the day I put my name tag on a year ago. It has carried me through the twelve most difficult months of my entire life. It has guided, comforted and strengthened me. It has made me the man I am today, which is a much better man than you knew last August. If there is one thing that I will take from my mission it will be my knowledge and testimony of the Atonement. To me that principle is easily the most important of everything that we learn about in the church. Without the Atonement none of the rest of it would make sense. It just wouldn't work. It's the piece that holds it all together. I'm so excited to see what more I can learn about it in the coming year and to see how much better of a person I can become as I continue to allow it to influence my life. I have the unique opportunity to be writing to you today at the peak of my full time mission for the Lord. I've thought a lot about what I would say today, and there is one thing that I want you all to know. It's that the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for me, for you, and for everyone else who has ever lived or ever will live is real. He really did die and resurrect for us. Words can't express what kind of eternal value that has. I can feel His power in my life every single day. I would be nothing without Him. I want you all to know that Jesus Christ loves you. He knows you better than any other person anywhere does. He has a perfect understanding of who you are and what you need. He has experienced every last ounce of pain, sorrow, sadness, joy and triumph that you have or will in the future.  He has compassion for you, and He loves you beyond words. I would even venture to say that He loves you beyond human comprehension of emotion. I hope you all know that. No matter what you may think you have eternal value, and you are always loved. I hope you can all feel how much our older Brother means to me. I wouldn't be who I am today without Him. Have a fantastic week everyone. You are all amazing, and I love you probably more than you know. The strength and support you give me means more than I could explain. Thank you all for everything. Can't wait to give you all a big hug one year from now! 

Love, Elder Allred

April 10

General Conference was so good! I honestly think that this Conference weekend has been my favorite one ever. It's hard to choose a favorite talk, but I'll just highlight a few that I really liked. On my mission, I have come to love Elder Bednar so much. Studying from talks that he's given in the past has helped me understand the Atonement so much better. So, the talk that he gave on Sunday morning was one of my favorites. He talked about how our spiritual loads are what get us through life and what allow the Atonement to work for us. I really related to that, because I've seen that to be true in my life. There are people in this world that have gone through way more than I can even imagine, but in my young 20 year life, I've seen a good amount of struggles myself. It's because of those struggles that I have been motivated to rely on Jesus Christ and allow his Atonement to heal the hurt and make me a better person. It's kind of a weird concept. The hard things in life are the things that make us better and that we appreciate. That ties in with one of my other favorite talks from this weekend. Also in the Sunday morning session, President Uchtdorf talked about having an attitude of gratitude. Be grateful for everything. Every aspect of your life is a divinely created gift from God and has a purpose. Whether we know what His purposes are or not, we need to be grateful for Him and for everything that He has provided us with. Okay... one more highlight from General Conference. You all should have seen the smile on my face when President Eyring spoke in the Priesthood session. He started out by talking about how his childhood baseball hero was Joe DiMaggio. So cool! He later went on to talk about how the example that Priesthood holding men will set for their children and for young men that they associate with. It made me think of how it meant to me growing up, having so many great leaders in the church. I have so many great memories of scout camps and young men's activities. More important than any other leader was having a father who held the Priesthood and showed me that example. I didn't fully realize it as a kid or as a young man, but that was the greatest blessing I could have asked for. It played a very key role in bringing me to where I am today. If any of you haven't had a chance to watch all of the sessions of this General Conference yet, please do! You might not think so, but somewhere in the array of talks, there is something specifically for you. Something that will answer a question that you have or give you guidance that you didn't even know you needed. It sounds like the wedding turned out well. I'm so glad! I"m so happy the video worked too! Now I can feel like I was a part of the celebration. I don't have too much time to email today, so I'l have to cut it a bit short. The weather is finally consistently warm, so we're going to take advantage of it and go check out the zoo today! Just know that I'm doing really well and loving the Bronx! I love you all so much. Have an amazing week!

~Elder Allred 

Keep going, keep growing, keep trying.

Hey everyone, 

We had interviews with President Morgan yesterday. Interviews usually happen once every two or three months. I'm always incredibly grateful for this opportunity. Being able to talk one on one with him is really inspiring and motivates me to keep going, keep growing, and keep trying. When leaders fulfill their role in a loving way, it makes a huge difference. I'm learning a lot from that man. There's no getting around the fact that when you are a member of the church, you will, at one point or another, be called to fulfill a leadership responsibility. To have the example that I do from President Morgan is doing a lot to prepare me for any of those callings that the Lord has in store for me. Whether they be in my home and in my duties as a husband and father, or whether they be in other church organizations as well. I'll be ready, because I've seen great examples and have learned some things about how to be a good leader. Not only from my mission president, but from all of the other great leaders that have influenced me throughout my entire life. I think the most important thing about being a leader is love. You need to love the people that you are serving. That will give you the motivation to be a great leader and to help people. Anyway, in our interview I was talking to President about a goal that I have. As you all know, I'm kind of a quiet kid. I've always been fairly shy around new people, and I don't say too much until I get to know people. That's just imbedded in my character. So, needless to say, being a missionary has certain challenges for a quiet guy like myself. I'm here to preach the gospel and to invite everyone to receive the blessings of the restored gospel. That's impossible to do if you don't talk to anyone. The goal that I discussed with President Morgan is that I want to make contact and talk about the gospel with at least one person each and every day. That is aside from any specific look ups to people we have an address for. We're just talking about a random conversation on a bus or out on the streets. One person daily. Now, that's far from where I should be. I should talk with people everywhere I go. I thought that with this goal though, I would be taken out of my comfort zone just enough. Just enough to help me begin to grow. Just like with anything in life, you can't expect to completely change all at once. If my goal was to contact a hundred people every day, I would feel like it was impossible and that I couldn't do it, and I would most likely not contact anyone. So, I'm taking this on with the small steps approach. President Morgan was really excited about my goal and wants me to report on it every Wednesday in my weekly email to him. He is excited to help me with this and with anything else I need his help with. I know that as I work on talking to random people and getting over my fears, I need to involve the Lord. As I pray often for strength, I will receive strength. With His help and through the enabling power of the Atonement, I will become a street contacting machine! There's a scripture in Phillipians 4, verse 13 that I really like. The Apostle Paul proclaims, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Through Christ, Elder Allred can quit being a wuss and talk to people. Haha. I want you all to know that if you will allow Christ to help you, you can accomplish anything as well. There are definitely a lot of things that you can do on your own, without anyone's help. However, with Christ's help, you can do all of those things and more, and it will all be much easier, because you will have the added strength which only your perfect and powerful brother can provide. There was a lot I was going to say today, but my email is already getting pretty long. I'll just wrap it up by expressing my excitement about the wedding. I can't believe that it's already three days away! The time has flown. Zack and McKenna, I want you to know how happy I am. Sad that I won't be there, but happy that you're getting married! One of the main purposes we have in life is to have families. I wish that more people in this world would recognize that. There aren't very many people in the Bronx that do. Very rarely here do I see complete families with a mom, a dad, and children. It's really sad actually. Having a family provides you with more happiness than anything else the world has to offer. So, you guys are making a good choice. Your lives will be more complete and happy, because you will have each other. To the rest of the family, I want you all to make this the most special day of Zack and McKenna's lives. I know that it's hard to not have me there to celebrate with you, but don't think about it. Don't spend any time focusing on what it would be like if I were there. Focus only on the joy that it brings to see a new little family being established. Thank you all so much for everything that you do for me. Have an incredible week. I love you with all of my heart! 

Love, 

Elder Allred