Hello Brothers

Hello everyone! 

I can't believe it's already Wednesday again! This week seriously went so fast. I told you last week about how I talked to President Morgan in my interview. I talked to him about how much time I have left. I can seriously feel it just slipping away so fast. It's good, because I know that it won't feel like too long before I get to see all of you. It has its bad side though, because I love being a missionary, and I never want my time to end. This is honestly the best thing I've ever done in my life. The person I am today wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the challenges and triumphs that the mission has brought into my life. It's a difficult thing, but I also have so much fun all the time! I've just learned so much, and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. I had a big wake up call this week when I got an email from Jackson Jones and one from Spencer McPherson. They've both completed their missions and are now returning home with honor. I can't believe they're already at the end. Pretty soon the rest of my friends will start going home, too, and then it will be me. It's all going to go way too fast now! Anyway, I just have to keep the mindset that I need to enjoy the mission while I'm still here and not worry too much about what or when the end is, which actually isn't too much of a difficult thing to do because the mission is offering a lot of things right now to enjoy. On Saturday, Rafael and Noel both got baptized!! It was incredible. I don't think there are words to describe the way I felt, but I'll give it a shot. There were a few moments over the course of the baptism on Saturday and the confirmation on Sunday that really stuck out to me. I'll share some of them. Rafael and I have a really good relationship, and he actually asked me to perform the ordinance for his baptism. I always like it better when they ask a member of the ward to do the baptism. There aren't many better ways to start a solid relationship of trust. I felt honored and lucky that Rafael asked me though. Right before he went in to the font, I just gave Rafael a big hug and told him that I love him. He replied that he loves me too, and we walked in. It was a really powerful moment. That confirmed to me that Rafael is my brother, and that we will be close to each other for the rest of our lives and into the next. Another powerful moment this weekend was when Noel got baptized. He went right after Rafael and asked Bishop Kelly to perform the ordinance. I just stayed there in the back of the font area in my wet clothes and watched from the side. It was really cool, though, because I was the only one with the perspective looking at Noel head on. When he came up out of the water, he just took in a deep breath and smiled. His facial expression said everything it needed to assure me that he felt good. The last moment I would like to share was on Sunday at the confirmation. Rafael went first. I, along with Elder Raine, Bishop Kelly, and three other guys from the ward stood in the circle. After Rafael was done, Noel walked up to sit in the circle. Right before he entered into this circle of Priesthood holders and sat down, he said very quietly, "Hello brothers." That was a tender mercy from the Lord for me! I could feel how much Noel trusted us and acknowledged that we really were his brothers. So awesome. I'm so excited for both of these guys. They are already wonderful members of the church. Not to forget Kristina either. She is incredible! She's always super excited about paying her tithing every week and is looking forward to going to the temple. I love these people so much. All three of them have had a special place in my heart, and I'm incredibly grateful that I've been here to help them come unto Christ. I love this work so much. There's no way I can deny that this is the work of the Lord and that His all powerful hand touches it every single day. Anyway, it goes without saying that things are going well for me here. Some days are rough, but it's that way with any phase of our life. All in all, I just love everything about what I'm doing here in New York. I hope you're all doing well. I miss you, and I love you!!!

~Elder Allred

Saturday Is A Special Day:)

Hey family! 

I hope you all had a wonderful week! Everything is good here. I don't think I fully realized it until this week, but I have seen some incredible miracles since I've been in Harlem. On Saturday, Rafael and Noel are getting baptized. They both had their interviews in the past few days and both passed! Both of their conversion stories are incredible in unique ways. Noel has been awesome. Elder Raine and I were just out knocking on doors his first day here. The very first door that Elder Raine ever knocked on on his mission was Noel's. Whenever I used to hear people tell stories like that I thought it would never happen in my mission.  But here we are. We've been meeting with him two or three times a week for the past three months, and he's getting baptized! He's just such an honest and humble man. He will be an awesome addition to the Harlem 1st Ward. Rafael is one of the best friends I've ever had in my life. He and I have a really good relationship, and we've both grown together in the Gospel over the last four and a half months that I've been here. I remember the very first time that I went over to teach him and Kristina. I could just tell that there was something special about them. I remember feeling the Spirit so strongly and I could just feel the strength of their faith. I knew they would both eventually be baptized. I'm excited to continue to watch them grow in the rest of my time here, and I'm excited to keep that relationship with them for the rest of my life. I hope you all get to meet these people one day. They are incredible. I've learned so much about charity in the time that I've served here in  Harlem. I love these people so much. I've expressed that love to them time and time again, and I've shed a few tears over the intense emotion of love that I have for them. There aren't words to express how grateful I am to have them in my life. Saturday will be such a special day! Everything else is going really well too. I had the opportunity to have another interview with President Morgan on Monday. He is such a good man and has done more for me that I could ever repay him for. He leads the mission with love and care. He has developed a relationship with me on a personal level that means a lot, and I'm so grateful for him. They say behind every good man is a good woman. Such is the case with President Morgan's wife. Sister Morgan has honestly been like a mother to me here. She provides the kind of care that only a mom can give. I'm so grateful for both of their dedicated service to this mission. In my interview with President Morgan I told him that I can feel my time slipping through my fingers and that it kind of scares me. So, I asked him what I needed to focus on to make the most out of the rest of my mission. It couldn't have been a better time to ask. This weekend he was in Palmyra at a special conference with Elder Holland! (Crazy right?) I can't imagine how awesome that would have been. He said that he got to spend a little one on one time with Elder Holland, and when I asked President Morgan that question, he relayed a message that Elder Holland had given him this weekend. That was pretty powerful and the advice he gave me will give me a lot of direction for the next ten months. One last thing from this week was that we had stake conference, and it was really good! Saturday afternoon we found out that all of the missionaries in the stake were going to be singing a musical number for the Sunday session. So we showed up at the temple early so we could rehearse. Luckily the song was Called to Serve, so it wasn't hard for anyone to sing. It was really cool! Oh yeah, and my highlight from the 120 day challenge this week was Alma 14:26. Alma understood that strength from the Lord was totally dependent upon his and Amulek's faith. Such is the case for us. The divine help that we receive is only as strong as our faith in the Savior is, and the way we gain more faith is by fully living the doctrine of Christ! Anyway, life is just so good. I love it here more and more every day! Thank you all for everything you do, and don't forget that Jesus loves you! !

~Elder Allred 

Well hello family!

I hope you're all doing well. I sure am! I'm still in Harlem, so I can't really complain. Things are going really well here. Rafael is still doing really well. His baptismal date is the 25th of October, and he's right on track. I love that guy so much. Honestly one of the best friends I've ever had in my life. We're going over tonight to share some scriptures with him and Kristina about baptism and the Holy Ghost  and to start making some plans for his baptismal service! We also have Noel on date for the 25th. He's been doing awesome too. His main struggle has been that he has a smoking habit, but he hasn't smoked a cigarette for almost two weeks now! Both of these guys are awesome, and I'm so excited for them to become members of the Church. I feel so lucky that I've been trusted to teach these people. Not too much else going on except that the work is really good, and we're always really busy. Oh, we did watch Meet the Mormons on Friday, and it was so good! Those of you who have seen it know what I'm talking about. Those of you who haven't seen it need to. It's incredible. It did make me a little homesick during certain parts. haha. Especially watching highlights of the Navy football games. Football has been a huge part of my life, and that made me want to come home pretty bad. It's all good though. Football can wait! I have to tell myself that all the time. Often we'll be walking down the street, and I will see a football game or a baseball game on inside a restaurant or something. Usually what happens is I will just grunt and start walking faster. Then Elder Raine will ask me what's wrong, and I don't even have to say anything for him to figure out that I saw a game on a TV haha. It's really not that bad though. I usually have so many things to think about  with our investigators and with taking care of the district that I don't really have time to think about how much I would love to relax and watch a game. Anyway, things are great. I absolutely love it here. I've learned so much from serving in Harlem, and I'm grateful to be here! Still miss you all like crazy, but I know this is where I need to be right now. I love you all so much. Have a great week!

~Elder Allred

The Directions for the Volleyball Court in Central Park

 Hello friends and family! Life in Harlem is as great as ever! Transfers are next Wednesday, and I can't believe it's already that time again. I'm so incredibly nervous about what is going to happen. I'm not ready to leave Harlem yet. I love it here so much. I love the people. If I could stay for just one more cycle, I would be a happy man. Sadly, I think there is a good chance I will be leaving. Elder Raine only has one more week of training left to do, and I've already been here for three cycles. We'll see what the Lord has in store for me. I guess all I can really do is just enjoy this week and go out and work. 

 On that note, I'll update you on how our investigators are doing. So Kristina has been doing really well since her baptism. She just had her interview with Bishop Kelly for a temple recommend, so hopefully we can go to the temple with her soon. Rafael is doing really well too.

 The last couple of time that we've seen him he's been super happy, and he told us that he's ready to be baptized as well! He actually lives on the lower east side downtown, and he's been coming to Kristina's apartment to take the lessons with us. So he doesn't actually live in the ward boundaries. What we're trying to do is get permission from our Bishop and the Union Square Ward Bishop (that's the ward he lives in) for him to get baptized in Harlem. It would be good if he could be here. He has a lot of support from the members in this ward and from Kristina. We'll see what happens. Once we get it all figured out, he could get baptized anytime. I'm super excited for him! I love those two so much. They will be two of my best friends for the rest of my life and onto the next. I'll be sad when I have to leave them. Our other main investigator is Noel. I don't know if I've ever told you much about him. The way we found him was picture perfect. Good ol' fashioned door knocking! On Elder Raine's very first full day in Harlem I took him out tracting. Noel's door was the first one we knocked that night. Which means that it was also the first door that Elder Raine knocked on as a missionary. Doesn't get much better than that. Anyway, Noel is from Jamaica, so I automatically got excited about him. Jamaicans are my favorite people to teach. I don't know what it is. I just really like them. He's a really quiet guy. Super humble and has a huge heart. He's on date for the 18th to be baptized! That will probably change because that is stake conference weekend, but it will be soon anyway. I just love these people so much, and I'm so grateful to be helping them improve their lives. 

 The Book of Mormon is always incredible. I really liked King Benjamin's words in the first few chapters of Mosiah. What stuck out to me most is what he chose to talk about right before he died. His last words to all of the people who were intently listening to him. Of course he chose to talk about.... the doctrine of Christ! Loved it! Well sorry I'm emailing so late today. We went to Central Park and played sand volleyball this morning, and I'm just now getting back to Harlem. It was so much fun! The volleyball pit we found was in a perfect place. On the West Side of the park around 67th, and really close to the temple (I write that so that if we ever want to go one day, I'll remember where it was). We all brought some stuff for lunch in the park, and I worked hard last night and this morning to bake some peanut butter cookies for everyone in the zone! They were a huge hit and everyone loved them. Props to Mom for teaching me the easiest recipe for peanut butter cookies ever. I  used just about all the peanut butter, sugar and eggs we had in our apartment haha. 

Well, that's about it for this week. Everything is awesome, and I am just loving the mission more and more every day. I miss you all like crazy and can't wait to see you again. I love you all. Thanks for everything you do for me! 

~Elder Allred 

Beginning 120 Day Challenge

TY'S DISTRICT ON ELDER ROSS'S BIRTHDAY 

**120 DAY SCHEDULE IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST!**

Hey family! This week has been great! I can't believe how fast this cycle has gone by. It's already been six weeks since I got the call from President Morgan that I would be training Elder Raine. We'll get the call on Saturday night to know if I will get transferred or not. It's not very likely that I will, because Elder Raine is only halfway through his training. This has been one of the best cycles of my mission! For two reasons. One is that the work has picked up a lot, and we've seen some real miracles in our teaching pool of investigators. Of course you hear about Rafael and Kristina all the time. Those two are awesome, and I'm looking forward to Kristina's baptism in a few weeks. From the day I met them a couple months ago until now, I've seen the Doctrine of Christ working in their lives and changing them. Kristina came to church again this week and loved it. The ward has been awesome at making them feel welcome, and we've been able to take a few members with us to lessons with them. Then we have some other investigators as well that I'm really excited about. Noel and Barry both have baptismal dates for the 27th of September. We just got a couple new investigators this week as well. The work is great! The second thing that  I have loved about this cycle  pertains to my calling as the district leader in the Harlem English district. I've had the opportunity to lead two separate districts now, and both have had one thing in common. They have been full of missionaries that support me and teach me so much about how to love the work. I have so naturally felt  the Christlike love flowing through me for these few individuals that the Lord has trusted me to lead. I don't know what it is that gets me so emotional about these missionaries, but I would do anything for them. In almost every district meeting that I teach I bear my testimony at the end, tears well up in my eyes, and my emotions get the better of me. Too many missionaries have seen me cry haha! It's good though. I know that I always have friends that care about me and that I can turn to when I need them. The other highlight to my week has been the 120 day challenge! I'm excited to hear that some of you will be joining me! I know that we will all benefit as we do this together. The thing that I'm really focusing on as I read through the Book of Mormon this time (this will be the fourth time I've ready it front to back) is looking for the Doctrine of Christ, otherwise known as the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in every chapter. Since I had no clue what the Doctrine of Christ was before my mission, I'll explain for those of you who don't know exactly what I'm talking about. The Doctrine of Christ is what Jesus taught the people in Jerusalem in the New Testament as well as the people that He visited in the Americas, which we read about in the Book of Mormon. It consists of five steps that will bring us closer to Him: faith, repentance, baptism (or renewing that covenant through the sacrament and making further covenants), receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end (continuing this pattern throughout your whole life). So I'm looking for ways that Lehi and his family and everyone else in the Book of Mormon lived this doctrine, so that I can understand it better. I can tell you that striving to live the Doctrine of Christ in the past twelve and a half months has changed my life completely. It has unlocked doors for me that I never thought were possible, and it has allowed me to be changed by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. As we read the Book of Mormon together between now and Christmas, I am excited to understand the Savior's teachings more deeply and continue to become better through his Atonement. There is no doubt in my mind that the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel. It may sound like I'm supposed to say that because I'm a missionary, but I really do mean it. I have a testimony that that book changes lives, because it has changed mine. I love you with all of my heart, and you're always in my thoughts and prayers. Have a wonderful week! 

Love, 

Elder Allred

120 DAY CHALLENGE SCHEDULE

25-Aug	1 Nephi 1-3
26-Aug	1 Nephi 4
27-Aug	1 Nephi 5-8
28-Aug	1 Nephi 9-10
29-Aug	1 Nephi 11-13
30-Aug	1 Nephi 14
31-Aug	1 Nephi 15
1-Sep	1 Nephi 16-17
2-Sep	1 Nephi 18
3-Sep	1 Nephi 19
4-Sep	1 Nephi 20-21
5-Sep	1 Nephi 22
6-Sep	2 Nephi 1
7-Sep	2 Nephi 2
8-Sep	2 Nephi 3-4
9-Sep	2 Nephi 5-6
10-Sep	2 Nephi 7-9
11-Sep	2 Nephi 10
12-Sep	2 Nephi 11-12
13-Sep	2 Nephi 13-15
14-Sep	2 Nephi 16-20
15-Sep	2 Nephi 21-23
16-Sep	2 Nephi 24-25
17-Sep	2 Nephi 26
18-Sep	2 Nephi 27-28
19-Sep	2 Nephi 29-31
20-Sep	Jacob 1
21-Sep	Jacob 2
22-Sep	Jacob 3-4
23-Sep	Jacob 5
24-Sep	Jacob 6-7
25-Sep	Enos-Jarom-Omni
26-Sep	Words of Mormon
27-Sep	Mosiah 1-2
28-Sep	Mosiah 3
29-Sep	Mosiah 4-5
30-Sep	Mosiah 6-7
1-Oct	Mosiah 8-10
2-Oct	Mosiah 11-12
3-Oct	Mosiah 13-15
4-Oct	Mosiah 16-17
5-Oct	Mosiah 18-19
6-Oct	Mosiah 20-21
7-Oct	Mosiah 22-23
8-Oct	Mosiah 24-26
9-Oct	Mosiah 27
10-Oct	Mosiah 28-29
11-Oct	Alma 1-2
12-Oct	Alma 3-4
13-Oct	Alma 5
14-Oct	Alma 6-7
15-Oct	Alma 8-9
16-Oct	Alma 10
17-Oct	Alma 11-12
18-Oct	Alma 13
19-Oct	Alma 14-15
20-Oct	Alma 16-17
21-Oct	Alma 18-19
22-Oct	Alma 20
23-Oct	Alma 21-22
24-Oct	Alma 23-24
25-Oct	Alma 25-26
26-Oct	Alma 27
27-Oct	Alma 28-30
28-Oct	Alma 31
29-Oct	Alma 32-33
30-Oct	Alma 34
31-Oct	Alma 35-36
1-Nov	Alma 37-38
2-Nov	Alma 39-40
3-Nov	Alma 41-43
4-Nov	Alma 44
5-Nov	Alma 45-46
6-Nov	Alma 47
7-Nov	Alma 48-49
8-Nov	Alma 50
9-Nov	Alma 51-52
10-Nov	Alma 53-54
11-Nov	Alma 55-56
12-Nov	Alma 57
13-Nov	Alma 58-59
14-Nov	Alma 60-61
15-Nov	Alma 62-63
16-Nov	Helaman 1-2
17-Nov	Helaman 3-4
18-Nov	Helaman 5
19-Nov	Helaman 6-7
20-Nov	Helaman 8-9
21-Nov	Helaman 10-11
22-Nov	Helaman 12-13
23-Nov	Helaman 14-16
24-Nov	3 Nephi 1
25-Nov	3 Nephi 2-3
26-Nov	3 Nephi 4
27-Nov	3 Nephi 5-7
28-Nov	3 Nephi 8-9
29-Nov	3 Nephi 10-11		ELDER ALLRED'S BIRTHDAY!!!!
30-Nov	3 Nephi 12-13
1-Dec	3 Nephi 14-16
2-Dec	3 Nephi 17-18
3-Dec	3 Nephi 19-20
4-Dec	3 Nephi 21
5-Dec	3 Nephi 22-26
6-Dec	3 Nephi 27-30
7-Dec	4 Nephi
8-Dec	Mormon 1
9-Dec	Mormon 2-3
10-Dec	Mormon 4-6
11-Dec	Mormon 7-9
12-Dec	Ether 1
13-Dec	Ether 2
14-Dec	Ether 3-6
15-Dec	Ether 7-8
16-Dec	Ether 9-10
17-Dec	Ether 11-12
18-Dec	Ether 13-15
19-Dec	Moroni 1-2
20-Dec	Moroni 3-7
21-Dec	Moroni 8-9
22-Dec	Moroni 10