"You know, I don't know that much Spanish. I don't have a perfect testimony of everything. I am only 19. I get proud. I get discouraged. I get impatient. I have problems. But the God of heaven and His glorious Son appeared to a fourteen-year-old boy with problems in the woods in New York. The creator of the entire universe answered a humble prayer of a boy with miracles that resulted in the restoration of His gospel. I am young, and I am not perfect, but that doesn't mean that God doesn't want me or that He can't use me. There is a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that goes something like this: 'And by the weak things of the earth shall I thrash the nations by the power of my Spirit.' I love that verse. We are weak, but He is able. Even though the missionary force is very young and not perfect, the Lord will continue to thrash the nations. To bring them to repentance. To help them receive the blessings of His gospel.
I am so thankful to be a part of this miracle."

Monday, April 21, 2014

All of a sudden, time is going by really fast!

I love you all so much!! Happy Easter!!!!!  I loved Easter so much out here.

Mom- thank you for the package!!! I loved it so much - especially all of the special witnesses of the Savior.  So awesome.  I love you. :)

Easter! I loved it!! I really, really hope you all have seen the "Because of Him" video that they have on mormon.org.  If not, please go and watch it.  We love it.  Everyone has loved it.  I honestly even forgot to dye eggs (and this is me we are talking about) because we were so involved in helping people know about this Atonement, this Resurrection, this Second Chance.  I am so grateful for our Savior who really did all of that back then so He can help us every day now.  It was such a happy thing to be able to talk about that to everyone this week.

In fact, on our way out of the library we had a cool experience on Saturday.  We passed a woman on the bench, and went back to talk to her.  We asked her if she was excited for Easter, to which she replied that she had to work.  We asked her if we could share a video with her, and we sat right down on that bench (all 4 of us!) and watched the Because of Him video.  We started talking about Christ and the Atonement, and drifted into parts of the Restoration and the Book of Mormon.  W. loved it all, set up a return appointment with us, and started reading the Book of Mormon before we even left.  She also speaks Spanish; she is from Puerto Rico! It was a really neat experience.

J. is doing great!!!!! His baptismal interview is tonight, and his baptism should be happening at 4:30 on Sunday.  We have been amazed at the change we have seen in him this week as he is opening up to us and members about questions, concerns, and hopes.  He seems so much happier and more confident- I can't wait to see him post-baptism!  :)  The members have really been stepping it up too - providing friendship and Family Home Evenings with him.  We are so excited.  Yesterday after church, we were talking with J. and a member named Brother Silva.  Brother Silva asked J, "So do the Elders or the Sisters teach better?" (J. has been taught before by other missionaries)  I loved J's response.  He said, "Well, the Sisters explain things differently."  He didn't say that either one of us were better or clearer or more powerful - just that we explained things differently.  I really enjoyed that - that is why the Lord needs all kinds of missionaries.  No one is better than the other- we all just teach differently.  That is why the Lord needs all of us, because some people respond better to different styles.  We shouldn't try to change ourselves to be like someone else, because then maybe we would lose opportunities that are specifically ours.  It is fun to be a part of this experience.  With E and K, I felt like any missionary in the world could have helped them get baptized because they were really ready. 
 J. is different - for whatever reasons, he needed the two companionships I have been in.  To explain things differently.  To help him overcome his fears and concerns.  It is special to be a part of something like that.

Yesterday, we had the best time ever! We had an appointment to teach a potential investigator named M.  When we came, we ended up teaching M, her husband O, and their two daughters, R (who has a baby girl) and E (who is 15).  M explained that E didn't believe in God, along with some other challenges their family was having.  E said to us that she thought God was a myth, but believed a tiny bit because of what her parent's had told her.  We taught the lesson and tried to adjust to needs, and it went well.  At the end we invited O to say the closing prayer.  We all knelt down, but he got nervous and backed out.  We then invited E to say the prayer.  We taught her a little bit, then suggested she could ask if God existed.  She prayed, and half way through started choking up.  She thanked God for her family and her niece, and thanked Him that the missionaries could come and teach her more about Him.  She thanked Him for being there, and closed.  We were all amazed! We looked up to see her crying, and she apologized and said that since she was little she has got emotional when she talks about God.  We were able to teach her and the whole family, there on our knees, about the Spirit and how it talks to us.  We asked her what she thought God was saying to her, and she said, "To learn more about Him and to have an open mind."  She told us she would read the Book of Mormon with an open mind.  It was such a miracle and the Spirit was so strong.  


This week has passed so fast.  It is all going so fast.  I love my companions.  I love my area.  I love my mission, and I love lately being able to see how much I have really grown.  Thanks for supporting me and praying for me.  I love you so much.

Love, Sister Allred












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