..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

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