$13 Suit

The New $13 Suit:) 

I LOVE Poughkeepsie! Everything about this place is just awesome. The work is going super well. The Ward is incredible. Super supportive. I was really impressed and grateful on Sunday morning in Ward Council. The Ward leadership is just so willing and capable of helping us in our missionary efforts. We definitely have the trust of the members here, which is always a hug blessing. Our investigators are amazing, and a few of them are really close to baptism. Also, Elder Wagner and I are getting along super well. We flew out in the same group, so we've both had quite a bit of mission experience. He's in the Spanish speaking program, which means he spent six weeks in the MTC compared to my two weeks. So he'll go home a cycle before I do. We're on the same page on everything that we are doing here, and I am just loving it. We have been really focusing on just being diligent and obedient. It's incredible the way the Lord blesses you if you will just do things His way. He knows a lot better than we do. I can't believe that I've already been here for almost two months. Time is already flying, and it kind of scares me. I can tell that my time in Poughkeepsie will just feel like a dream. I'll just enjoy every minute of it while it lasts. Random news. I found out what the new mission president's name will be. President Smith! He's currently a Bishop in Texas, and I'm sure he and his wife are nervously preparing for their calling to serve here. President Morgan goes home in June, so I'll serve under President Smith for my last six weeks. That time is fast approaching. Crazy! Another random thing. I have two suits, and both of them wore out on me this week. Just old and both got holes in the pants this week. I tried to save them, but my efforts were fruitless. So this morning I went to Goodwill to see if they might have one for me. I walked out with a perfectly fitted suit for 13 dollars. Pants and jacket. Perfect condition. I call that a tender mercy of the Lord! I also feel like I may need to repent, because I almost feel like I stole it haha. Anyway, we're on our way down to the temple right now. The Ward mission leader from the other Poughkeepsie Ward offered to drive us down to the city. I haven't been for a few months, so it will be nice to be back to the temple. We're so blessed to have a temple so close in our mission. There are missionaries who go to the temple before they leave home and don't see a temple until they come back. Overall, I just feel very blessed and very lucky to be serving in the place that I am serving. Wouldn't trade this for the world! Have a great week everyone. I love you!!

~Elder Allred 

Temple trip

Hey everyone! 

Things are great here! The work has been awesome! I think this week's email might be the shortest one yet... we just got out of a temple session. I'm really happy about that, because I haven't  been in about four months. I can't imagine being in a mission that has no temple. We are so blessed here that we have one right here in Manhattan. It's seriously so easy to get to, and we get to go all the time. There is no better place to learn and feel the Spirit than in the temple. Now we have to head back up to Harlem and get an early start on our work tonight. We've had a hard time all week getting a baptismal interview scheduled for Kristina, and it finally worked out for today at four. Normally pday ends at six, but we're going to sacrifice a couple of hours today for the interview. As long as she is good to go for Saturday, I'm good! I hope you are all enjoying the 120 day challenge. We finally made it through the Isaiah chapters!! Haha. I still didn't understand a whole lot about what was going on, but I got a little more this time through than I ever have before. I love the chapters right after the Isaiah quoting finishes. Chapters 25 and 26 are the ones I just read yesterday and this morning. Nephi's testimony of the Savior is absolutely incredible. I can't wait to meet Nephi one day and talk to him face to face! He's an inspiring man. Anyway, that's about all the time I have this week. Everything is going well. Time is just flying too fast, and we're hitting some fall weather back here. Love you all. Have a great week! 

Elder Allred 

This is Zion in Babylon

Hey everyone! 

This week has been great! I can't believe this cycle is already halfway over. Elder Monson is such a good companion. We get along really well with each other and do some great work. It seems that when you have a companion that you really enjoy working with, you don't get to stay with them for very long. I'm kinda bummed that we will only be companions for three more weeks. I guess we'll just have to make the best of them and make sure Elder Monson's last part of the mission will make him look back and be happy about the work he did in Harlem. The way that missionary work is moving in our mission is really cool. President Morgan is such an inspired man and leader. In the past few months he has put a huge emphasis on setting inspired goals, having the faith that you will reach those goals, and putting in the necessary plans that will help you get there. I've always had struggles with planning, and we do a lot of it as missionaries. I don't know why, but I just really don't like it. So, when President Morgan brought this out I was less than excited. But as we have put some things into practice, I've started to gain a new perspective on it. In the last couple of weeks the mission has started to do a new kind of planning called monthly planning. This is where you focus on an individual that you are teaching and plan out what needs to happen before they can be baptized. You start with their baptismal date and then plug in when they need to be interviewed, when they need to meet the Bishop, when they need to come to church, when they need to be taught each lesson, and all of the other little things that need to happen for them. This requires a lot of extra work and is kind of tedious. These plans are also subject to change as the Spirit directs and as investigators progress differently than you thought they might. It gives you a really good perspective though and helps you have a visual of how much work needs to be done with these people in order for them to reach their goal. Like I said, President Morgan is a very inspired man. I think this new practice will really help us as missionaries to better prepare people for baptism and help more people stay active after they are baptized. The work of the Lord is progressing and hastening all the time, and it is so cool to have a front row seat to it all. We had an awesome experience this week that showed me that miracles really do happen and that the Lord is always preparing people to receive the gospel. We were at the chapel on Sunday waiting for church to start. About a half hour before sacrament meeting started, one of the YSA members came over to me and introduced me to a guy named Norman. He said that Norman just came into their sacrament meeting and sat down. He started talking to him, found out he's not a member, and introduced him to the missionaries. So cool! Norman is from Jamaica and is visiting his cousins here in Harlem for about five months. I had the chance to give him a Book of Mormon before the meeting started and explain to him what it is. I felt the Spirit so strongly as I testified of the promise given to us in Moroni 10:3-5. If he would just read the book, ponder it in his heart, and sincerely ask God if it was true, he would gain a divine witness of it from the Holy Ghost. It was so incredible to watch him as they started passing the sacrament. He opened up the Book of Mormon that I had just given him and began reading from 1 Nephi. This was just such a cool experience for me. The Lord has prepared Norman to come in contact with us. He was prompted by the Spirit to walk into our church on Sunday morning and followed that prompting! This is truly the Lord's work, and He is doing it in His way. I'm just here for Him to use as a tool to further progress His children and to bring them unto Him. It's amazing! We also had a less active family come to church on Sunday for the first time. The Strungys family. Elder Monson and I found them a couple days after I got here. They live up in the Polo Grounds, which is a huge project across the river from Yankee Stadium. It was so awesome when they walked in and sat down. Brother and Sister Strungys have seven children, so they took up an entire row by themselves. Just like you might see in a Utah ward. Haha. Anyway, I'm excited for them to continue to progress and become fully active in the gospel again. I'm seeing miracles all over the place, and it's incredible! Oh yeah, one more cool thing from Sunday. For the fifth Sunday lesson, the Bishopric talked to everyone about attending the temple and how we should make it a priority. Bishop Kelly ended the meeting by telling us a story about when President Hinckley dedicated the Manhattan temple. He said that a few times President Hinckley used the phrase, "This is Zion in Babylon". I thought that was really cool. In the midst of all the craziness and sin in New York City there stands a temple. Right in the heart of it all is the house of the Lord. It truly is Zion in Babylon. I then thought about the ward I am currently serving in. The congregation of saints here in Harlem is tiny compared to everyone else that lives here. But the chapel on 128th and Lenox makes a difference on the entire surrounding area. It's a little oasis from all the craziness of Harlem. Then I also thought about our role as missionaries. I've heard President Morgan say a few times, "Just you missionaries' presence alone makes a positive difference on the areas where you serve". A few representatives of the Lord walk around Harlem every single day and make it a little bit better of a place. What a privilege it is for me to be one of those few trusted to be here and to make a positive impact on this place. We are Zion in Babylon. I just think that statement is so profound. As members of the church (even in Utah) I think we all need to have that perspective and strive to build a Zion in Babylon. The world we live in gets more and more wicked all the time, but if we can stay true to the gospel we can make a small difference in the world. Well, that's about it for this week. I'm off to a Yankees game! Love you all. Have a fantastic week! 

~Elder Allred 

April 23

Hey everyone~

I'm a little bit later than usual today. I hope you guys didn't think I forgot about you! I hope you all had a happy Easter! I know I sure did. Our speakers on Sunday were Elder and Sister Brown from Rexburg, Idaho. They've been serving here in the Olmstead 2nd Ward for about eighteen months. They were called here for ward support and to work in the Manhattan temple. They'll be going back home to Rexburg next week. They have contributed a lot to this ward and will definitely be missed. I've really come to love those guys a lot since being here in the Bronx. Before my mission I didn't think we would work with senior couples at all, but we actually do quite a bit of work with them. This week has been really good. On Monday, all of the missionaries in Manhattan and the Bronx got together and had a meeting. President Morgan gave a specialty training on setting goals and having faith. It's always good to have big meetings like that. It really helps motivate me to be a better missionary and to work harder. The last couple of days since then have been awesome. Elder Rydalch and I have been working extra hard and trying to find people to teach. I can feel the power that is there as we are both exercising our faith more. I don't know if I said it in my last email or not, but things have been a little down lately. The work has just been really slow, and we've been struggling to find consistent people to teach. In my three months here, we haven't really had anyone other than Theresita that has progressed, and we only worked with her for a couple of weeks. The whole time I was in Newtown we always taught Declan and Kim. So, to go from that to nobody at all is a little rough. Like I said though, we're working hard and trying. We've talked to a lot more people lately and some have even showed some promising potential. Hopefully things will pick up soon! Other than that, things are good. I'm having so much fun with Elder Rydalch and our roommates. We can all sit and talk for hours with each other. There haven't been too many times in my life that I've laughed as much as I do now. It's awesome! Probably my favorite thing that we all like doing together is sing country music. I miss it so much! I hear it in the gym every once in a while though. They played an Eli Young Band song this morning. We all loved the Yankees game last week. It was seriously incredible. That was probably the fastest three hours of my entire life. I could have sat in that stadium forever. I can't wait until we can all go to a game together next summer! The only bummer was that I didn't get to see Jeter play :/ There is another Wednesday afternoon game scheduled against Tampa Bay in July. I'm gonna give it awhile, but I'll be asking President Morgan if I can go to that one too. Hopefully he'll feel generous enough to let me go to two in one year. I just really want to see Jeter play in Yankee Stadium so bad before he retires. We'll see what happens. Well, we get shot calls on Saturday night. That's where we find out where we will be serving for next cycle. I can't believe it's already that time again! I think I say it every six weeks, but it's so true that each one goes by faster than the last. It's kinda scary how fast it goes actually. Hopefully Elder Rydalch and I both stay. We're pretty sure Elder Sorenson will be going somewhere else and Elder Kohli will be staying. Next cycle is Elder Kohli's last one, so I really hope I get to keep serving around him before he goes back home to Ogden. He and I have become really good friends in the last five weeks, even though he's a Braves fan. I guess we can still get along. Haha. Anyway, I'm doing really well. I'm happy, I'm healthy, and it's almost summer! Nothing to complain about. I hope you are all doing well too. You should all know that a good amount of the reason I'm still out here is because of you. Because I know that God is watching over you and sending extra blessings your way. That might be a selfish reason, but it's one of mine. There are definitely other reasons, but you guys are a big one. I miss you all so much. I wish I could be with you, bit I know that the day we are all reunited will be indescribably joyful because of the difficult time that it has been to be apart. Thank you all for everything that you do for me and for the love and support. I'm sorry for how bad I've been at writing letters. I'm trying to do better. Just know that you're in my thoughts and prayers every day. I love you, I love you, I love you!!!

~Elder Allred 

You saw it here... Elder Allred promised his Mom he would come back to Snow College after his mission!! :)

Elder Rydalch and I are working really well together! It's been kind of an adjustment. I was really used to Elder Hansen, and we were getting along incredibly well. Six weeks together definitely wasn't enough time. I went two cycles with my first two companions, so to only have one with him made it feel like we were only together half as long as we were supposed to be. It's amazing how fast I become friends with people in the mission. I was thinking about that last week when I got to spend some time with Elder Kroff and Elder Steiner. I only had three months to get to know Elder Kroff and only two weeks to get to know Elder Steiner. But now they're both two of the best friends I've ever had, and I could sit and talk to either of them for hours on end. I'm so grateful for those friendships that I am building. I'll always be surrounded by people that share in my beliefs and can provide me with support. I think Elder Rydalch will be another one of those people. He's planning on going to Snow when he gets home and playing for the football team. Since I'm planning on going back for another year and cheering, and since we'll both be going in the Fall 2015 semester, we'll be able to hang out with each other all the time. That will be awesome! The work is going pretty well still. We did, however, have a pretty big disappointment last night. Theresita texted us and said she doesn't want to meet with us anymore. She's planning on moving down to Florida and going to a different church down there. It's really sad, because I know that she has felt the truthfulness of what we have taught her about. I've seen the spirit work in her and testify to her, and it's been incredible. She has been so eager to learn and so excited about the gospel. She was even going to let us start teaching her daughter, Juanita, this week. She's letting us come over on Thursday to say goodbye. Elder Rydalch and I are just planning on bearing testimony and expressing our gratitude for the opportunity we've had to teach her. If we can help her feel the Spirit one more time, then maybe someday down the road, she'll remember how she felt as she learned with us, witnessed a baptism, came to church, and had many other faith building opportunities. Maybe someday she will realize that she needs the fullness of the gospel that has been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. All we can do is pray for her. That's probably one of the hardest things about missionary work. Our purpose is to invite and not to force.  We do all that we can to live worthy of the Spirit and provide people with  opportunities to accept the gospel, but in the end, they have their agency. It's their choice, not ours. As much as it pains me to see Theresita stopping and choosing not to learn anymore, I can't make her change her mind. I think that's probably the way that God feels about us a lot of the time. All He wants us to do is choose to keep His commandments and return to live with Him again someday. He loves us so much and wants us to choose Him, but He can't force it. Just like an earthly parent wants their child to love them, He wants us to love Him and choose Him. I'll be he sheds many tears when His children walk away from Him. That's one thing I've learned a lot about as I've been on my mission. As I come to love these people and have real concern for their salvation, I get a small taste of how our Father in Heaven and our brother, Jesus Christ, feel about us. As I see the worth in the souls of everyone around me, I'm understanding what the worth of my soul is to them. Being a missionary is changing me in so many ways, and giving me an entirely new  perspective on a lot of things. I love this experience so much. I'm so grateful for everything that I've been blessed with. And even though I'm sad about Theresita today, we get to go to the temple! There couldn't have been better timing for this. I'm excited to spend a little bit of time in Manhattan again. Plus I get to buy another matching tie today! I have one with all of my companions so far, and we always wear them to meetings where all of the missionaries gather. That's one way to get recognized by 260 missionaries! Anyway, thank you for everything that you do for me. I was spoiled this week when I got three packages in the mail. It was like Christmas! Haha. Have a great week everyone. I love you !

~Elder Allred