..just a few days with Zack?....

*****Note from Mom: I usually just put the mass email on the blog, but this week I got a bonus email later in the afternoon of a picture Elder Allred took at the Bronx Zoo today. LOVE IT:)*****

Hey everyone! 

This week was probably one of my favorite of my whole mission yet. We had some cool experiences with teaching people. Last week, we met this guy named Ian. We were walking home one night, and he actually stopped us to talk to us. He's from Florida and staying here in the Bronx for a little while selling door to door for Vivint. He wanted to talk, because he was curious about what we do to get into people's houses. We ended up talking to him for about an hour about what we do and what we believe. He didn't give us his number or anything but he took our card. We just assumed we'd never see him again . It was a good surprise when we ran into him again on Saturday. He was sitting out in front of a Catholic Church that's right  down the street from ours. SO we stopped to say hi and talk a little bit. He was kinda discouraged because he didn't have very much luck selling that day, so it made him happy to see some friendly faces. We were actually headed to the church to do a Bible study, and he came with us. Nobody else showed up, so it was just us and him. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation. He wasn't too interested in actually committing to anything. He said he just wanted to learn more about our church so that he could be less ignorant. In any case, I felt the Spirit strongly as we were talking to him. I don't know if we'll ever see Ian again. He's a young guy though. I think he will reach a point one day where he is seriously looking back on his life and he'll wonder what his purpose is. He will think back to when he met the Mormon missionaries in the Bronx. I hope he will choose to follow the good feeling he gets from the Spirit on that day. Until then, another solid seed has been planted. So much of missionary work is just that: planting seeds in hopes that one day they will grow into something more. You hear that all the time, but I've seen so much truth to that little analogy in the past nine months. We also found a new less active member this week. He talked to us about the mission he served in Vegas. He's going through a really tough time right now. He grew up in the Bronx, lived in Utah and Idaho after his mission for nine or ten years, and just moved back because he got a divorce. Hopefully we will be able to help him. We also started teaching this Jamaican lady named Alicia and her daughter. I have high hopes for them. We just had so much fun this week. It was awesome to have Elder Rydalch's little brother, Beau, out here with us. You guys probably saw the pictures on facebook. He flew out Thursday night and stayed all the way through Monday morning. It was so cool to watch them be reunited. The bond between brothers is one that can't really be described with words. The whole weekend I was just thinking about how cool it would be if I could spend just a few days with Zack. Then I realized on Monday morning when Beau left just how hard it would be to say goodbye again for a little over two years. Elder Rydalch gets home in February of next year, and Beau won't get home from his mission in Ecuador until June of 2016. Anyway, it was a fun weekend. We had some great missionary opportunities to get Beau excited, as well as just some good normal fun. It's so cool that President Morgan allows stuff like this to happen. I am incredibly blessed to be in this mission. It really is the best mission in the whole world. Everyone will tell you that about wherever they served. That's because the Lord knows exactly where we each need to be, and I need to be here in New York New York North. Life is good. I still miss you guys like crazy. I think I'm kinda in that stage where it feels like I'll never come home. I'm sure that will pass in a couple months when I hit my year mark. I love you guys so much. Have a great week!

Love, Elder Allred

Springtime in the Bronx

Elder Allred's final P-day with Elder Hansen was spent in Chinatown

 Transfer Day... Elder Allred got to see his companion from the MTC, Elder Steiner. His trainer, Elder Kroff and Elder Fronk. Elder Allred looks SO happy!!:) 

He loves us <3

Hey everyone! I can't believe how much the work has picked up in the past couple of weeks. As I told you last week, we started teaching Theresita. She is doing really well. I can't remember if I told you or not, but the first day we met with her was the day she was getting baptized into another church. I was really nervous, because I didn't know how we were going to explain to her that her baptism was a good thing but that it wasn't done by the proper Priesthood authority. We ended up having an amazing lesson with her on Wednesday night. Before we could even get started teaching her, she told us that she had read the pamphlet we gave her on the Restoration, which talks about Joseph Smith and the restoration of the fullness of the Gospel, including the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the Priesthood authority being returned to the earth again. She said that as she read it, she felt that her baptism was a good thing but just didn't feel completely full. She told us that she knew she needed to be baptized again and that she would be coming with us to church on Sunday. It is incredible to see the Spirit working in people. We didn't even have to teach her this stuff before the Spirit was able to testify the truth to her. It just goes to show that we are not the real teachers. Our role is to live worthily enough and study hard so that the Spirit can work through us to teach people. The Spirit is always the real teacher, and we missionaries are just one vehicle through which it works. We had an incredible rest of the week teaching Theresita. Our zone leaders had a baptism on Saturday for one of their investigators, and she came with her daughter Juanita. The next day she was fifteen minutes early for sacrament meeting. she seems to really enjoy it and said that she cried a few times during Relief Society. She will definitely have some adjusting to do as she gets used to how our worship is. LDS meetings are much more silent and reverent than a lot of other Christian services. She is used to singing loud gospel music and shouting amen in the middle of someone's talk. It's okay though. She'll get used to it. And as she feels the Spirit more and more, she'll know that she is where she needs to be and that she's found God's true church. Besides Theresita, we've gotten in contact with a few other people this week. Not that numbers are super important, but we taught more lessons this week than I've been able to in my whole mission. The work has picked up in our area so much. I know that this is all the Lord's doing. Everything happens in His time and in His way. He prepares people to receive the Gospel and allows us to work with them when He's ready. We're being incredibly blessed with those opportunities all the time now. It is always nice to have a full schecule!  Of course, this exciting time for the area is coming just as the cycle comes to an end. Just as things get going smoothly, the Lord switches everything up! I guess that's His way of keeping us on our toes. Sadly, Elder Hansen is leaving the area and going to New Paltz, NY :/ We got along so well! Six weeks of being companions was way too short. Especially since this cycle went by so much faster than any cycle yet. It  definitely does not feel like I've already been here for a month and a half. Before I can catch up with the time, it will already be summer, many of my good friends will be going home, and I will be hitting my year mark. It's right around the corner. So yeah, I'm sad to lose Elder Hansen. He's had such a good impact on me and is an incredible example. I'm sure he and I will be lifelong friends. I'm excited for my next companion though! His name is Elder Rydalch from South Summit! Another Utah companion! Haha. Big surprise there. That makes more than half of my companions being from Utah. I've heard that he's a really cool guy. Elder Kroff was actually his MTC companion and said that he really enjoyed their time together. I'm excited for what this next phase of my mission has in store. Like I said, the area is on fire, and I'm getting another cool companion. Plus, the weather this cycle is going to be so much nicer! Spring time in the Bronx! Hopefully we'll be able to use one of our p-days to pop over to the zoo. Life is good! I'm loving it. Have a great week everyone. Remember that God is real. He knows what each and every one of you might be struggling with and knows how to help. Never hesitate to turn to Him, because He loves you. I know that's true. Enjoy every single day and keep on smiling! I love you, I love you, I love you!!! 

~Elder Allred