Lake Nona and Baptisms!

So much has been happening, I hardly know where to start! Well, here we go.

On Tuesday, I was transferred to the Lake Nona North Spanish area, and my new companion is Sister Hansen.  The area and my companion are just great!  So I am used to being in the middle of apartment complexes and tourist centers and busy roads, but Lake Nona is not that way!  I feel like I am kind of in the middle of nowhere (though we are really not).  There are a lot of forests (I saw a real swamp and almost fell of my bike I was so excited), fields, lakes, neighborhoods, and cows.  And bugs.  And turtles.  And Florida birds.  Haha it is great.  We are also on carshare.  Now 'carshare' is a household term here in the Florida Orlando mission, but sheltered Sister Allred barely had it in her vocabulary until now.  Basically that means that half the week we get the car, and the other half we have to give it to the Spanish Elders in our ward.  Which means we BIKE everywhere!  What does that even mean?!  I really almost started crying the first day we were biking so much. Haha I quickly adjusted and now I actually really like it.  It is kind of refreshing.  Also, the ward is different from the other places I have served.  Within the last year, the Hunter's Creek stake (the stake I am in right now) dissolved all of the Spanish branches/wards, so they are now all combined.  Since that was pretty recent, there is still an adjustment period in the wards here.  There are 4 sets of missionaries in Lake Nona - us, the Spanish Elders, our Sister Training Leaders (remember Sister Ward? That's her!), and the Assistants to the President.  Hmmm, do I feel a little pressured? Yes, I do!  Haha but they have Spanish sacrament in a separate room, and they do Relief Society in both Spanish and English.  I am excited to tackle these new challenges and joys - I will definitely keep you posted! Sister Hansen is from Riverside California and is 19 (she graduated in 2013).  We have a lot of things in common and she is a very hard worker/likes to be super obedient.  We get along great!!

So being in Lake Nona is funny.  I get home at night and am either thinking, "Wow, we are starting from square one" or "Wow, we are going to baptize the whole world!!"  This is due to several things.  1) We have 2 investigators getting baptized this weekend!! And one on June 7th!!  2) Other than that, we talk to people on our bikes, basically.  Haha it is kind of funny.  We are either helping people find the baptism jumpsuit that fits them or saying, "Hi, we're from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!"  I am excited to get all phases of the work moving here so we have some more middle-ground people. :)

So our investigators!!! They are the best. A few days before I got here, the Sisters got a call from a less-active family they had been trying to contact for months.  Sister M. told them that her two kids were ready to get baptized.  Sure enough, M (11) and E (12) are the sweetest, smartest, most well-behaved and spiritual children ever.  Their family has a long story, but they have been raised knowing the Gospel and are so, so very ready to have the blessings of baptism.  We love to teach them.  They love to learn. They are doing very well at reading and praying and everything else they should be doing.  I love them. M (girl) asked me to give the closing prayer at the baptism.  It will be such a special day this Saturday.  I love being a little gear in their conversion - I am coming in at this time to just tie up all the ends.  I have been blessed to watch J, E, and J from start to finish.  It is also kind of fun to be able to thrust in my sickle to help them finally be baptized.  Best thing ever.

D is our other investigator.  She is married to a less-active member.  Her three kids are not baptized, and neither is she.  The Sisters have been teaching her since February, and she is getting baptized next Saturday.  She is a little scared, but such a wonderful person.  Please pray for her!  She came with her 2 daughters to church yesterday.  They really like it.  It is so fun to teach people who want to change!!

I know this church is true.  I know that prayer works.  I have been learning about praying - I try to pray out loud when I am on my bike.  I have come to find that revelation comes to me when I pray that wouldn't otherwise.  I feel better and happier and deeper when I am talking to my Heavenly Father.  He always hears.  He always cares.  I am excited to learn more about talking to Him this week - like the Look UP theme you have, mom! :)  And sorry, I don't remember much about Golden Hour.... haha.  But anyway, I love growing and being a missionary.  It goes way too fast.

Well, it has been a great week.  I love your letters, and I especially laughed at Bryson's aquarium experience with the catfish and the wine-bottle stoppers. :)  You are the best family ever.  I love you a bunch and I know you will keep being the best.:)  

Till next week!

Sister Allred

Sacrifice and Gratitude

To the best Mom, Dad, Tyler, Brandon, Bryson, Alyssa, Ethan, and Ashlyn in the world:

I LOVE YOU!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING MY BIRTHDAY THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!  It really was the best.  Let's talk about what made it the best, shall we?  

The birthday package arrived promptly on Wednesday.  Dutifully, and like typical Hermana Allred, I put it right on my desk unopened so I could look at it and get excited.  That night, I did peek just to make sure the presents were wrapped, then shut it up tight again.  Wednesday night, I arranged them all on my study desk, and after exercise on Friday I had a little party!  I LOVED EVERYTHING.  Mom, let's talk about the little things.  I was dying.  I have been sitting, twirling my little crystal globe around during study, and my companions laugh.  Maybe the most classic Sister Allred gift I could ever imagine.  I also have been wearing the Utah necklace which I LOVE and flicking around in my new dress, which I also love.  I am wearing now the fresh gray skirt (love), and loved all the other clothes/shoes too. :)  AND I about died with the Florida pins.  It was the best birthday ever.  Sister Sokolowski said the watermelon cake was the best cake she had ever had.  Hahaha and I loved your pasta that Sister Clare made. :)  It was a great day.  THANK YOU!!!  I also got many birthday emails today and letters. :)  I loved it all!! Best day ever!!!!!!!!!!!

It has been a good week.  E. has really been doing well, and we were able to teach her this week about Chastity and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  She wants to be baptized very badly, and we are continuing to work with her to get her to that point!  Please PLEASE pray for her to come to church. That has been a big emphasis we have had this week.  I love seeing her change and her attitude change and her thoughts change about everything we teach and do.  She is great.

Monday was a day of miracles.  We stopped by to visit D. and M, two potential investigators.  At first, M (mother of D) was not interested in our message, but ended up in the living room with us as part of the lesson.  During our plans in the morning, we felt inspired to talk very frankly and boldly about our Church being the only true Church on the earth.  As we progressed through the lesson, we learned that D and M were sick of being confused by the doctrines of all the churches, and just wanted to know the truth.  We powerfully and boldly testified that our message would not confuse, but clarify.  That the more they learned about Christ's one restored Gospel, the more clear everything would become.  They were moved and both agreed to be baptized on June 8th.  When we were leaving, we asked D if he thought our message was true.  He said, "Well, I am not sure yet.  I need to ask God.  But if He answers the way I think He will, then it is true."  We left that lesson feeling the Spirit so powerfully.  One of those times when you feel it fill you up and it almost makes you shake.  You know in the Joseph Smith movie when he has to stand up when they are chained and rebuke the jailers for speaking horribly?  And he is just so powerful and bold?  That is how I can describe the kind of Spirit that we were feeling. M and D are Puerto Rican, but we taught them in English, so we passed them on to the English sisters this week.  It was so awesome.  Right after that, we had an appointment fall through.  We had prayed a lot the night before and had made plans to be more inspired planners.  We had several good back-ups, but we prayed by our car to know which the Lord wanted us to do.  The answer to my prayer came clearly:  "Do what Sister Sokoloski feels."  Sister Sokolowski lead us to a door she felt we should knock.  No one lived there - it was abandoned.  Across the street, there was a lady watering her plants and we knew we needed to talk to her.  We were able to talk to D, share parts of the Book of Mormon, and invite her to read it and find relief from her burdens.  It was a great lesson and a great testimony builder of the power of the Spirit in planning.  Best day ever.

I loved your letters this week.  Mom, I really liked what you said about Dad talking to everyone.  So this paragraph is dedicated to you, Dad!  Thank you for being such an example to me in so many things.  Especially in talking to and loving everyone.  I watched you for years in lines at stores talking to the people next to us and making them feel comfortable.  I watched you read the nametag of our cashier and ask about how they were doing and thank them for taking care of us.  I watched you talk to all of our neighbors and all of my friends and all the people at church and all of everyone!  As I grew up and started going places on my own, I just knew that that is what should be done! And I talked to everyone, just like you.  I had a good example.  On my mission, people wonder how I easily talk to the people around me.  And I tell them it is because I did it before I left!  Talking to people in Walmart or at the library is not something foreign to the Allreds.  Dad, you really do just love everyone, and you know that if you love them you should talk to them and make their day happier - make them smile or give them a compliment.  That has gone a long way for me on my mission and in my life.  Thank you for being such a good example of real love.  I love you!

Mom, I think the PMG study group is the best idea ever!  I love Preach My Gospel.  My suggestion would be to pick parts that you can actually use; that you think will help you in your personal life or missionary work.  Preach my Gospel has tips from start to finish of the missionary process! :)  Then apply them to yourselves, even though you aren't full-time missionaries.  We love using PMG with members and I love to read it and mark it up and write in the margins and talk about it.  You will love it too! Please tell me what you learn.  You are a great example to me.  Happy Birthday this week- I am sending a letter today. :)  I love you!

I named this letter "Sacrifice and Gratitude."  Gratitude is because I have been really grateful today and this last week for you and for the people who love me out here (like the Clares).  The Lord really does take care of me so much.  Sacrifice is because that has been a theme in my thoughts this week.  Dad, your letter addressed sacrifice in such a timely manner!  I have been thinking a lot about what it means to sacrifice.  It is frustrating sometimes to see that investigators don't keep commitments.  It makes us sad that they don't do the things they need to to get closer to God.  He has given us so much.  His Son gave the ultimate and perfect Sacrifice.  He sacrificed every living day of His life serving and loving and giving.  He continues to sacrifice so we can feel loved and watched-over.  He also asks us to sacrifice everything, like He asked His apostles in Galilee.  Everything we have should be the Lord's.  We can't achieve it all now, but every day we try to sacrifice by being obedient and offering our time and talents to the Kingdom.  So many people that we talk to here say that they love Jesus Christ.  That He is their everything.  That without Him, they are nothing.  That He saved their lives and makes life worth living.  But unfortunately, in the same conversation these people will say that they don't actively go to a church nor read their scriptures.  Like you said, dad, Love is sacrifice.  If we love the Lord, we really should give everything to Him.  One day, I will achieve loving Him perfectly.  I want to sacrifice everything for Him.  I will get there someday!  For now, I will keep trying. :)

I am getting transferred tomorrow! I will let you know where I end up.  Please pray for me and my new companion and my new area! I will report the miracles next week. :) 

I love you all so much! Thanks for everything!

Love, Hermana Allred 

Yes, we just saw each other yesterday.....and here I am again!

I am going to apologize in advance for any errors again... Because I
am plunking this out on my iPad again. My texting skills are a little
rusty, but I will do my best! :)


I loved seeing you all last night soooo much! Thanks for all being
there and skipping dinner to talk to me. I was very happy to see
everyone in their church clothes and happy! I love you all, even
though I wish your voices would stop changing while I was gone! You
aren't supposed to just grow up without me! 


So I am not sure quite what more to add (but don't worry, I always
have a ton of things to say). This week was another classic missionary
week. We had missed appointments and unkept commitments. But the good
news is, we did have two tours at the chapel this week! E,
Y, M, and L. loved it and we all felt the Spirit a ton.
It was really cool because we didn't know, but there was a baptism
taking place on the day of E's tour. We ended right by the
font, almost full, and talked about baptism. It was really powerful
and we found out a lot of her concerns about being baptized, so now we
can help her better. Right as we were leaving, everyone started coming
in to get ready for the baptism. It was a miracle and such a good
experience. Please pray that she will come to church next week!!


I still love being a missionary. There are so many blessing you get
just from doing your best out here. Mom, I loved the talk you sent me
about weaknesses and strengths. It really was something I needed, and
it was so so good. Dad, I also always love your advice and think about
your letters a lot as I am doing my missionary work. I learn a lot
from your example and the scriptures you send. Thanks!!


So I think I am going to have to retire my purple Snowbird shirt for a
few weeks. Here is why: Way back in December after Christmas, I
said to Sister Jackson, "You know, I don't know what is going to be
harder : Christmas, or the week my family is at Snowbird."  I know
it is coming up soon, and it is one of my favorite things! Haha I just
thought you could share that with everyone up there if they ask. I
will be missing them and you!


I continue to have a lot of fun with my great companions. We are
learning a lot and making goals to be better! I like being in a trio.


I am so grateful for the gift of tongues. It isn't something weird,
unnatural, or bizarre like many people nowadays believe. It is calm
and powerful, and it's purpose is to help people understand the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. The more I come to know about other beliefs, the more
solidly grounded I become on the Truth. What a blessing to have
continuing revelation.


I can't even believe I am almost two decades old. Since when does that
happen?! Super strange.

Boys, I really hope you send in that referral for your minecraft
friend. Maybe he will get baptized. You can do it really easily on
Mormon.org.  Good luck!

It is getting HOT here! Summer is just around the corner.  With it are
coming the bugs, geckos, and humidity.  I love Florida!! I am going to
shrivel into a raisin back in desert Utah!

Well, I guess that is it for this week! I laughed and enjoyed the
letters a lot about the California trip.  Thank you for all being the
best examples to me ever!

I LOVE YOU!

Love, Hermana Kara Allred

(Bowling on a P-day)

(Painting service project)

Malonlelei! Na'e Fa'ale'i au

Yes, if you were wondering, that is Tongan.  I am learning Tongan from Sister Fisi.  Well, if "learning Tongan" counts as saying, "Hi, I was born in Tonga."  Haha.  Who knows where the Tongan conversation would go from there, but I can start it at least! Anyway.

It has been another wonderful week in the Promised Land (Orlando -- American Fork is still 'Zion,' don't worry)!  We had a bunch of fun stuff going on.  The first one was a meeting for trainers and trainees on Friday.  I was really feeling the Spirit that morning, and I was super into what President and Sister Berry were saying.  They talked to the trainees about how a mission takes weaknesses of yours and turns them into strengths.  I was smiling and nodding, and President called me out.  He said, "Sister Allred is agreeing, and I am going to put her on the spot here for a minute.  Right after she came out, when she was still a new missionary, I was talking to her and she said, "President, am I ever going to be able to speak Spanish? It is just so hard!"  But now, if you were to hear Sister Allred speak Spanish, she sounds like a native."  I don't know how President knows about my Spanish now (I blame Sister Clare. :)), but it was really special for me to hear that from my mission President.  I always remember what Dad told me in one of his letters about his mission president - he asked me if I loved him and looked up to him and wanted to be a better missionary because of him.  I definitely feel that way about President and Sister Berry.  I know that part of the reason I was sent here at this time was to be with them.  President is so kind and gentle and very loving and powerful.  I trust in him as my leader and as my friend.  I am very grateful for him and the influence of righteous leaders.

We were able to meet with J. a couple days ago for the first time since his baptism.  It was the best thing ever. We sat down and talked to him about how he felt and how things had been going.  He said that the baptism was great, but the best thing about it was getting the Holy Ghost.  He shared with us an experience on how he had felt the blessings of it during the week.  He tells us about things that he ponders during work about the gospel.  During the lesson, he said, "But the greatest blessing of all is being able to baptize my son."  Right now, Jo is only 6.  But to hear that declaration of faith and trust from J. moved us all almost to tears.  He is preparing. He is preparing now to raise two good boys in the gospel.  He is preparing to receive the Aaronic priesthood, receive a calling, and do baptisms for the dead.  The difference in him is absolutely amazing. J. is a simple man in a great way.  He is not flashy or outspoken, just humble and hardworking.  We asked him what changed in him between the elders teaching him before and him deciding to be baptized.  He said, "I have been asking myself the same question!"  We laughed, and said, "Well, it was something! And we're glad it happened!"  J's conversion was not the lights turning on, it was a sunrise.  We all are not sure quite how it happened, but we are sure that the Spirit was guiding it.  I love him, and I love the Spirit.

I love being in a trio.  I think it is way more fun than just one companion.  We love it and it will be so hard to go back!  Something exciting is always going on between the three of us.  And we have 3x the ideas/revelation!

Florida is the best.  It is part of me now.  I love it so much.  We got to watch the Fort Lauderdale Temple dedication on Sunday, and it was wonderful.  They talked about Florida and the South-Floridian Saints (I counted Central-Floridian Saints also :)), and I am pretty sure that every time President Uchtdorf or one of the other speakers said the word "Florida," tears came to my eyes.  I love this land.  I love these people.  I love the trees and the clouds and the apartment complexes and the Walmarts and the accents and the fancy tires on old cars and the lizards and the temple and the wards and the rain and everything.  President Uchtdorf said as part of his talk, "Harriet this morning said to me, "Don't worry about your accent - everyone in Florida has an accent!"" Everyone laughed, because it is true.  I just can't even explain it.  I love it.  And the Lord loves his people here.  Whether they are true-southern Floridians or first-generationers from Uzbekistan or Sri Lanka.  I love the people here too.  I love it I love it I love it.

I also love the Book of Mormon so much lately.  I was contemplating how I gained my testimony of the Book of Mormon this week, and it really filled me with the Spirit.  I know the Book of Mormon is true because my life began to change when I really started reading it.  I changed as a person.  I became happier, I became more loving, I became more spiritual, I became more obedient, I became a better person.  I would stop halfway through a chapter to help wash the dishes or play with the kids as the Spirit directed.  I realized what was important and who I really am.  I gained confidence and purpose, and that has lasted with me and shaped who I am and the decisions I make.  I know that it is real, and the power in the Book is hard to explain but it is there.  We invite everyone in the world to try it out and see if it changes them too.  I want to invite you to recapture the vision of the Book of Mormon in your lives.  Why? Because you are my parents and siblings, and I want you to be happy.  The Book of Mormon makes me happy. :)  What a happy message we have, and what a clear way we have been given to access all the happiness God has for us.  I love it!

Thanks, as always, for the awesome letters and the many prayers.  I love you all so much and am excited to talk to you on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love, Hermana Allred (Or you can start calling me Tokoua Allred.... haha)