Samurai Semoran

Mom, Dad, Tyler, Brando, Bryson, Alyssa, Ethan, and Ashlyn,

[...yes, that 'Brando' is absolutely intentional.]

I hope you all know that I really just write this email to you.  I know that you repost it and stuff, Mom, but I hope you really feel like this is me writing to the 8 of you, because it is.  I don't like it when missionaries say they write their "mass email" every week, but don't write their families.  I don't feel like that.  I don't care if not another human in the world reads my emails, as long as Mom, Dad, Tyler, Brandon, Bryson, Alyssa, Ethan, and Ash know what's going on here in Orlando. :)  My patriarchal blessing tells me several times that I need to be a good example to my family.  I really hope that you feel the Spirit of missionary work when you read my letters.  I want to be a good example.  I know I am not perfect, but I want all 6 of my siblings to know that going on a mission is the best thing you can ever do. Do anything you can to go.  I know that the Gospel is true.  I testify a lot of our happy home (no, time has not dimmed my memory - it really is a happy home!) and the peace that I get knowing that my family is safe in the Gospel.  I am grateful for temples and for the security they bring.  I know that the Book of Mormon can change you.  I love you so much and am forever grateful that I have a place in such a special family. :)

So I am here in probably my last area - Semoran!  I guess I will explain the geography of this.  Remember Windy Ridge?  The area in the city by Universal, Disney, and SeaWorld?  So I am back to that same stake - close to the temple and all the touristy stuff!  But I am on the other side, meaning more "inner-city" feel than "tourist central" feel.  We go to church in downtown, the heart of Orlando!  I have never used my Spanish more in my whole mission, which is awesome.  There are a lot lot lot of Latinos!  Back in the Windy days, I used to call this area "Samurai Semoran" for no good reason..... and here I am! A samurai.

My companion is Hermana Hernandez.  She goes home in January.  She is awesome!  She is kind of like Sister Campos (who is home by the way) in the sense that she was born in Venezuela and then moved here when she was 4.  She is helping me so much with my Spanish!!  It is fun to have a new area and companion.  

Well, Sister Limpiadora is back (Sister Cleaner).  Dad, I feel like you were probably like this on your mission.  We cleaned our apartment ALL MORNING today.  Haha I was a maniac.  Scrubbing the tub and the walls and the sink and the floor...... let's just say I feel a lot better now. And cleaner. :)

We talked to a TON of people this week because we don't really have any investigators in our area.  That is ok - we will just start the cycle over again!  In the process we have found a couple of missing members, picked up some new investigators, and had a lot of good conversations.  That is one of my favorite parts of missionary work.  You can never tell what people are going through from looking at them, and it is nice to have a calling to help them in whatever righteous way we can.

We got to help a family move in this week!  We just pulled over and asked if we could help and they said yes!  Jason and Lilly were the owners of the house, and Makai and Heath were helping.  We had a grand old time and they were very grateful for the service.  Before we left, we asked if any of them would like a visit from the missionaries.  Lilly had had a roommate who was a member of the church and had lived in Utah for a few summers to help out with the Shakespeare festival.  She said that even with living in Utah, the most Mormons she has met have been through her work.  She says they always talk to her about what they believe in, and she thinks it is really cool.  Makai had already been on the website, and Heath actually had a Book of Mormon that a coworker had given him.  I tell this story for two reasons: One, because I really liked them all and it was a good experience.  Two, because member missionary work is the best!!  Please keep your eyes open always for people who need an invitation to change - to come to church, to listen to the missionaries, to read the Book of Mormon.  You never know what kind of influence you will have!

Well, I guess that is about it for this week.  Oh! With one exception!

My new district leader's name is Elder Jacobsen - he came out with Sister Jackson.  He is really good at Spanish - like the grammar and the accent and all of that.  He asked me how I learned to speak, and then I asked him the same.  He said that he learned so well because he read the whole Book of Mormon in Spanish before his mission, side-by-side with his English one.  I realized that I had done that too!  And then I knew that that was why Spanish has been one of my strengths out here.  What a powerful blessing from a simple act. I know that there is a direct correlation between that act of obedience and the gift of tongues.  So cool.  There is power in the Book!

I love you all!!

Love, Sister Allred

There is beauty all around!

I am headed out of Lake Nona tomorrow!  It has been an awesome three transfers.  An awesome [and hot] summer.  Two awesome companions, three awesome people baptized, and a lot of awesome friends made!  A lot of awesome work done by the Lord, all in all!  I am not sure where/with whom I will be going, so I will let you know next week!

This week was great.  I have a few people in particular I want to talk about.

Sometimes, as a missionary, it is easy to lose faith in humanity in general.  It is a good thing the Lord gives us extra faith and patience to compensate!  But a lot of people reject us, a lot of people say no after they have felt the Spirit, and a lot of people are afraid to know the truth.  But then we meet those gems: those individuals that remind us that people are good and that there is hope for the world.  I want to talk about three of them today!


The first one is J.  J. is college-aged, and we met him outside playing soccer on Saturday.  J. believes so deeply and passionately in Jesus Christ and the Bible.  We could see it in the way he talked and the words he used.  We could see it in his face and felt the Spirit a lot when he talked.  We gave him a Book of Mormon and testified with all our hearts that it was just more of the truth that he loved.  He was skeptical about the Godhead being 3 different beings, but we trust that he will find his answer in the Book of Mormon.  It was an awesome contact.

The second one is T..  I might have told you about T. before.  She is one of the managers at the McDonald's we go to several times a week.  The very first time we talked to her and invited her to listen to the missionaries, she wrote down her number on a napkin for us to give to the Elders who were over her area.  Ever since, we have done diligent follow-up!  All summer long, we kept asking her how things were going.  As the weeks passed, she asked us some questions and expressed her desire to come to church with her family, but she never went or got to meet with the Elders.  A few weeks ago, when we came in she asked us with much concern what "Mormon" meant - were we Christians? Apparently she heard some things around! But we cleared up her concern and she was relieved.  So after that, we didn't really get to talk to her for a while- she would always be in the back or running around.  We were so afraid she was ignoring us!  We just really like T. and feel there is something special about her.  But no worries!  Saturday we talked to her again.  She opened up to us about how discouraged she was because she hasn't been able to get to the church yet.  She talked about how she was tired and missed church - that she really needed to bring her family.  We bore testimony and gave her a pamphlet.  We felt the Spirit, all of us.  We called the Elders over her area to remind them about her.  I am convinced she is getting baptized.  What I like about T. is she is our friend.  We have been talking to her for months.  She knows we care about her and that we are always happy and believe what we share.  I think that will stick.  I think she will remember that forever - those two Mormon girls who were always at McDonald's.  I love being a missionary. :)

The third is Sister Pastor J.  I might have also told you about her!  She invited us to dinner once, and we have been friends ever since that appointment! She calls us "her Mormon girls." We have tried to introduce her to the Book of Mormon, which she feels a little awkward reading because it isn't the Bible.  Haha she is a Pastor, so I guess that would make sense.  She is maybe the most truly Christian woman I have met on my mission.  She gives us food all the time.  She calls us to make sure we made it home safe.  She loves us and is a real disciple of Christ.  Even though she isn't interested in becoming a member of the Church anytime soon, she is a cherished friend of mine.  I love that.  I love meeting so many good people.  I mean..... I wish they would all get baptized.... but they will soon. :)

Anyway, good week.  Good stuff.  I hope I also told you about the A. family.  He was inactive when we came, but we have been working with them about every week, and they are now the two most regular attendants of the Gospel Principles class.  I love them so much.  I love having been able to see their lives change.  They are going to the temple next year, I know it.  That will be awesome. 

I feel so, so blessed.  To meet so many awesome people.  To be the Lord's hands.  We are finding many people to teach.  I don't think I have time to talk about them all, but keep C. and J. and M. and L. I guess in your prayers!  The Lord has been blessing us so much.

One last cool thought: we were teaching C., a new investigator, about the restoration. We were telling him about a modern-day prophet, and how there was only one on the earth.  He didn't completely agree- his argument was that ALL of the people on earth deserved to hear the words of the prophet, and some places of the world wouldn't have access to hear him.  We smiled and told him that is what we are for!  I, Sister Kara Allred, literally represent the Prophet Thomas S. Monson in Lake Nona North Spanish.  This being said, I literally represent the Lord Jesus Christ to all the people I talk to.  That is amazing.  He can't be everywhere physically - but we can.  Thomas S. Monson can't be in India and Oregon and Panama and Germany all at the same time, but we can!  I am so, so grateful to have such a privilege and an honor.  It really just stuck out to me for the first time.

BEING. A. MISSIONARY. IS. THE. BEST.

I love you all so much!  Hasta luego.

_Sister Kara Allred

The Lord works (in mysterious ways)

It has been another awesome week! Missionary life now is just so... normal.  Haha it is just my life! Does that make sense? Like it isn't strange anymore, it is just what I do every day.  And it is great!

Lately, I have really come to know that this is the Lord's work.  He is in charge.  His powerful eye is watching over everything we do.  A few weeks ago, we made a pretty typical contact.  We met a man named J. out in his garage cleaning a fan.  We started to talk to him, and he talked to us for probably 15 minutes about how religions divided people and how religious people can be hypocrites.  He wasn't exactly unpleasant about it, but we finally left inviting him to church.  He didn't give us his information to have the Elders come by.  Much to our surprise, we saw him with a member at church on Sunday(she had picked him up).  Continuing our shock, he was at our dinner appointment with that same member (Sister Perez) that night! We taught him the Restoration.  This week, we taught him again and then passed him off to the Elders.  He is getting baptized in October and came to church again on Sunday. Surprised? Yes, we were too!!  Apparently after we left his house that first day, he was impressed that we hadn't judged him.  He went in and said to his uncle, "I think I want to be a Mormon."  His uncle then told him about a friend of his who was Mormon, Sister Perez.  Sister Perez was on it! She offered to take him to church and invited him to dinner. Jermaine is someone really special.  He is so ready for a new start to his life.  In our second lesson, he brought out all the nitty and gritty of Church history that he had found online - polygamy, Official Declaration 2, the Black Hawk war, etc.  We were able to answer his questions and testify, and he is as solid as ever! He is unfazed by all this anti information he found!  We are just so amazed that this seemingly normal contact with this person who was seemingly unaffected has ended up changing his life forever.  The Lord works.

We had another contact this week with an atheist.  Surprisingly, it was one of the most spiritual and powerful contacts I have ever had.  (A contact is just when you talk to someone, introduce who you are, and invite them to act)  He was a real searcher of truth.  It was so powerful to testify to him of the Book of Mormon, and he was rather open to it.  It is just so fascinating that he was more open to truth than a lot of "Christians" we know.  I always wish to be someone who looks for truth and goodness, no matter where it comes from.

I still love speaking Spanish, a lot.  Haha it is just something I love to do.  I want to keep it up forever.  I feel so blessed always to be a Spanish-speaking missionary.

Our families are doing so-so; we would really like to meet with them more!  However, miracles keep occurring and we keep talking to/finding a lot of new people!  The English Elders have 4 investigators right now with a baptismal date that were our contacts.  I am so glad that we are all on the same team and part of this great, giant work with 80,000 other awesome Sisters and Elders.  It is great to be a little, different part of so many stories.  Someone said something in a meeting once that has stuck with me.  These people are not just part of "our mission stories."  When it gets down to it, when Jim tells the story of his conversion, he won't say, "Sister Smith and Sister Johnson were working hard but with little success.  Then they fasted and prayed and worked extra hard and found me by a miracle!"  It will be, "I was at a point in my life when I didn't have anything left.  I prayed for God to give me a sign.  And then I found two missionaries at the park who brought a message that He cared."  We are part of their story.  What a beautiful work.

I have loved working with members this week.  They can be such an effective finding tool.

I love the Book of Mormon.  I have just had such a passion for it lately!!  I know with all of my heart that it is true.  It brings me such a purpose and I am very grateful for those inspired prophets.

Haha sorry I am kind of boring today, we just had a game day as a district and we played volleyball, dodgeball, and monopoly.  I am exhausted!!  

Mom, I loved your package!!!!!!!! Haha the new BYU shirt is now my favorite shirt. :)  The pez was awesome. The mints were awesome.  We have been enjoying it, and now I have all the stuff to pull out when BYU plays UCF in October!!!! President Berry asked if we could go to it.  Apparently the answer was no, haha which is a bummer.  But I have already been using it to talk to UCF students!  Fun stuff.  GO COUGS!

Well, I love you all so much. Thanks for always being there for me.  Glad to hear that school is going well.  HAVE THE BEST WEEK EVER!

Love, Sister Allred

My heritage

It has been another simply awesome week in Orlando.  Things just keep getting better.

Early last week, I was just overcome almost to the point of tears at how proud I was of my heritage.  Can we talk about it a little? Let's!

I am proud of my heritage as an American.  Talking to people from many countries every day, it is easy to see the blessings we have in this free country.  Many of them come here for a better life, freedom from persecution, and to keep their families safe from danger.  They come to this big, beautiful land where things aren't perfect, but they are fair.  They give up their jobs as dentists and lawyers and politicians to clean houses and drive trucks.  It is so humbling to hear their stories and be so thankful to be an American right alongside them. I am grateful, especially now finishing up Alma in the Book of Mormon, for the people who fought with God to make this country what it is.  I love this land.  What a heritage.

I am proud of my heritage as a Fuehrer and as an Allred!  And as a Boehm and as a Shroepfer!  Our family's heritage is rich.  I was almost brought to tears thinking how grateful I am for you, Mom and Dad, and everything you have taught me.  I am grateful for Grammy and Poppy for being pioneers in their families, despite persecution.  I am grateful for Grandma and Grandpa and for their dedication to the Lord's work in spite of their trials.  I am grateful for Nonnie's brave decision to be baptized when she was 80 years old.  I am grateful for Frieda and her answered question of the soul.  I am so , so grateful for the legions of earthly and heavenly angels that are my family.  Thank you, Mom, Dad, Ty, Brandon, Bryson, Alyssa, Eto, and Ash for that heritage. :)

I am proud of my heritage as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I have a fiery and living testimony of the truthfulness of what we teach.  I am grateful for the pioneers.  I am grateful for the early Saints.  I am grateful for the Bible/Book of Mormon prophets who were also members of the Church.  I am grateful for Joseph Smith.  I am grateful for the other 80,000+ missionaries serving in the Lord's army throughout the world. I am grateful for miracles and revelations and peace and an anchor.  A priceless heritage of faith.

And that is my heritage spiel! I am a grateful missionary today. :)

This week was awesome.  We found another family to teach!!!! Well, the other Sisters did and then referred them to us. :) It is the A. family.  They moved here from Puerto Rico a few months ago.  There are three children, and they all sat as a family for our lesson on Saturday.  They were so involved and understanding really well.  Sister A. said to her husband at the end in an explanation: "No, this is different from anything we have ever heard before."  They were touched by the thought of authority and a living prophet.  We are excited to keep meeting with them and helping them progress towards baptism.

The G. family is doing pretty well.  They didn't come to church yesterday, but we are determined to help them come this week!  We can see the light growing in Sister G as she is reading and trying to get closer to God.

We continue to love talking to everyone and trying to testify powerfully.  There were quite a few people that we talked to this week who had problems with the Book of Mormon.  I want to close with my testimony of the Book of Mormon.  I know it is true.  I know it is God's.  I know that the men who wrote the Book of Mormon saw Jesus Christ.  No "demons or men or whatever it be" can shake me of that testimony which is part of who I am.  I am a different person because of that Book.  When I started to study it, I started to change.  I can never deny the testimony that comes from the person I became.  Read it.  Study it.  Defend it.  Love it.

I love all of you so much.  How blessed we are to share the same heritage!!


Hope you got my letters!

Love, Sister Allred

"I will show unto you a God of miracles." -Mormon 9:11

Happy Labor Day! To be honest, it is kind of weird to be taking a holiday along with the rest of the nation (well, as much of a 'holiday' as we get on a mission!).

This week has been really, really awesome!!!  We have seen so many miracles.  And we are just so amazed that it has all come down to CONTACTING.  As we have had goal-oriented contacts, really just looking at people with the ends of helping them come to Christ and be healed and be baptized, we have seen miracles soften their hearts and open them to receiving the invitation to accept missionaries.  Last week, we saw a lot of miracles for other missionaries.  This week, we saw a lot of miracles for Lake Nona North Spanish (that's us)!

The biggest one happened on Thursday night.  That morning, we had an awesome district meeting about following the Spirit, asking inspired questions, and listening during contacts.  We had just finished a lesson with our friend Pastor J and were heading out on our way to another activity. It had been a powerful lesson where we felt the Spirit strongly about the Book of Mormon specifically.  As we were headed to our car, we stopped to talk to a mom sitting on the curb watching her kids.  We talked to her and invited her to listen to the missionaries, but she said she was really busy with her schedule and the kids.  As we were pulling out a card to give to her, I felt the need to testify of the power of the Book of Mormon.  I gave her a Book of Mormon card and said something testifying of it.  It is awesome because I don't even remember what I said.  I know I was trying to listen, follow the Spirit, and ask inspired questions.  The next thing we know, she was opening up to us about how she felt an emptiness in her life and just wanted so badly to feel better and to feel purpose again.  It was one of the most powerful moments I have felt to kneel down in front of this stranger, look her right in the eyes, and testify to her from my heart that we were sent from God to help her fill her emptiness.  We all felt the Spirit so strongly.  We asked her if she had some time right then, and then we all sat on the curb and had a great lesson.  She opened up to us completely about some of the things that her family was going through.  We taught the whole thing in Spanish, and felt so strongly the power that the Gospel was going to have in her life.  We invited her to be baptized on the 27th of September, which she accepted gladly.  Her name is Sister G - she is from Guatemala and she has a husband and three kids.  We went back to teach brother and Sister G on Saturday, where they were able to feel together the power that the message of the Restoration could have for their family.

We also stopped by to see the G's last night because they weren't at church yesterday.  We came to find the family in a bit of a crisis - Sister G really wasn't doing well.  It was another powerful experience to gather the family together and read from the Book of Mormon.  In the course of reading just one chapter, we saw the whole atmosphere of the home change.  We came in a moment of darkness and confusion, and the Book of Mormon left the home in a state of light and peace.  Their 12-year-old son, J, said the family prayer to end our study.  It was so awesome.  They are so awesome.  The Gospel is so awesome.  I love being a missionary.

We also found another great Dominican family that we plan on visiting this week on Wednesday.  Pray for them!

D. is doing awesome!  (the one who got baptized in June)  Their whole family came to church yesterday; they have made up their minds to come together.  Hopefully this will lead to the baptism of her 3 kids!

Miracles are exploding all over the mission.  The recent push to talk to everyone has truly been the "Hastening of the Work" here in Orlando, the Promised Land.  It is really a marvelous work and a wonder to see all of these prepared people coming out of the woodworks and becoming investigators.

We also are teaching R and B.  I am not sure if I told you about them before, but Bibliana almost got baptized before.  They are now reading the Book of Mormon together. Pray for them too!

I am learning a lot lately about humility and following the Spirit.  Lately, I have learned what it really means to follow the Spirit in the things I say.  I feel so successful and satisfied as a missionary, because I know that I am relying more on the Lord than ever before.  I am trying to do His work, not my own.  And I have been so much happier.  You know, I guess that is what humility means - to lean not unto our own understanding. I think that has been a big cause of the anxiety I have had before on my mission - relying too much on myself.  When we rely on anyone other than the Lord, we are disappointed because humans are imperfect.  And that includes ourselves!  As I have been trying to trust the Lord and His Spirit, I realize that my imperfections don't actually get in the way as much as I thought they did.  I still need to work on them, but we don't have to be perfect to take part in His perfect work.  Cool stuff.  

I love missionary life!!! Being a missionary IS the best day ever!!

Haha I love you all so much!!

Love, Sister/Hermana Kara Allred