Changes afoot!

I suppose you are all at Park City right now! I would be lying if I said I am not missing that!!  Haha who knew that family reunions would be the hardest thing to miss? Good news is, there will be plenty of Park City's for me to attend for my whole life! Anyway, I hope you are enjoying the giant chess, movie marathons, dominoes, and swimming. :)  I love and miss you!

So I have just been obsessed with being a missionary lately.  And I think I finally figured out why!  I tried to explain it to President in my email this week, so I will just paste it here:


"It has been another happy and successful week here in Lake Nona.  I have made major strides lately in my progression as a missionary, and I thought you of all people would appreciate the change that has happened.  Especially at the beginning of my mission, it was very very stressful.  I knew a lot of examples of good missionaries, and I felt very accountable to the Lord and my family and had a deep desire to serve Him fully and perfectly.  I was on a quest to be exactly, 100% obedient, baptize all of Orlando, and be full of the Spirit.  All of these things were good, but in this quest I got very caught up in the letter of the law.  Even thought I was still a happy missionary, my life was a constant stress of completing every task and complying with every rule.  I lost the Spirit of the law in fear of letting things slide and not living up to my own expectations.  These last two transfers, I have learned to be deeply happy in the work.  In the last couple of weeks, I have learned to embrace the Spirit of the law.  That doesn't mean that I let things slide, but that does mean that I understand the purpose behind what I do.  Missionary life is not an endless list of do's and don'ts, but rather is a full life of working to save people.  I am so much happier.  I follow the Spirit so much more.  I love better.   I am changing.  I am so grateful for that.  I think that I am finally becoming the missionary the Lord wants me to be. "

And that about sums it up!  I have changed.  I continue to change.  And it is really making a difference in the work.  Missions are awesome.

Random, but Tyler, are you going to college next week or what?!!!!! I almost had a hernia this morning on our jog when that thought occurred to me.  Crazy!!!

So last Monday was one of the craziest days of my whole mission.  We started off the night with a lesson with a less-active friend named Pedro (don't worry, we actually call him Brother _____, but for the sake of privacy we will just call him Pedro). The sisters have been working with him for months.  He is an older man who lost his wife a few years back. About a month ago, we had decided to stop teaching him because he wasn't progressing.  That very week, he told us he wanted to change his life around and was starting to do things to make it happen. We couldn't have been more proud of him. The next week, he told us that he wanted his name removed from church records and he was done with trying to change.  During the lesson, we cried and prayed a lot.  Our mouths were filled, especially Sister Hansen's as she testified of the Book of Mormon, the truthfulness of the Gospel, and how it was his decision.  We left that lesson saddened, but feeling the Spirit.  We didn't know if he was going to let us come back.  We prayed so hard that week for Pedro.  Pedro has one home teacher and friend in the ward, who's name is Brother L.  We prayed very specifically that night for Brother L's heart to be moved by the Spirit so he would visit or call Pedro.  And then we waited.  And prayed.  We knew that it was Pedro's decision for the eternities, and we hoped he would choose the right way.  After a week and a half, we managed to meet with Pedro again.  He told us that he was coming back.  Once and for all.  That he was going to fast to strengthen his relationship with God.  That he was going to come to church for him and him alone.  And that Brother L came to see him the week before.  We left so amazed.  So happy for Pedro.  So in awe that the Lord does His own work.  That we do what we can, and then He works His miracles.  And that he answers prayers.  It was awesome.  Yesterday, we got a call from the Elders in our ward saying that Pedro shared a great testimony in Elders' Quorum about change and coming back.  It was the best.


So we went straight from that lesson to a lesson with J. The first thing he said to us was that he couldn't get baptized.  That he prayed and heard a very distinct "No."  He seemed very shaken up and afraid.  It wasn't the J we were used to meeting with.  It was another very intense lesson with a lot of prayers and a lot of following the Spirit.  We testified of the Atonement, of the Spirit, and of new beginnings.  We all felt the Spirit very strong.  By the end, J said that he wanted to get baptized again.  Much to our sorrow, he has kind of dropped off since then.  He stopped answering our phone calls and texts, and his grandma sent a text to the Young Men's president asking us to not come back.  We have been sad about this obviously.  We care about J and want him to feel the wonderful effects of baptism.  But that morning before the lesson, me and Sister Hansen had a powerful experience.  We were talking about/worrying about J, and said a very heartfelt and specific prayer about when he should be baptized.  I felt such an immense love for J from Heavenly Father.  I also felt a deep peace inside telling me that it didn't matter when he got baptized, it was all going to be ok.  That experience has helped us to understand that things will be ok with J, even if he doesn't get baptized soon.  We are trying one last time to see him tonight, we will see how that goes!

So transfers are tomorrow, and Sister Hansen is leaving.  I am going to miss her.  Haha just like the letter you sent, dad!  We have had a great run here.  A LOT of crazy things have happened, but as we have embraced the big picture of missionary work and the Spirit of the law, we have been so happy.  I am happier than I have ever been out here.  I love being a missionary.  Going on a mission was the best decision that I ever made.  I am glad that I never, ever have to stop being a missionary.  Or serving the Lord.  Life is good.  It always has been, and it always will be.  I love you all.  I miss you, but I am so happy to be here where I should be, doing the things I should do.

Until next week!

Love, Sister Allred

Just another happy week!

What a week!!! Being a missionary is the BEST.  But really.  I am so happy about it all the time.  It is such a pleasure to work with so many amazing people who are making big and real and awesome changes in their lives!  It is just good.  Learning to make big decisions, follow the Spirit, and "conquer old Goliaths" are skills that will help me for the rest of forever.  Every day, I realize a little bit more how much I need a mission.  I always thought that I would just go and change the world and change other people, but the Lord knows better, and knew I would need to change a lot in the process.  I am grateful for that change.

So we had a couple awesome miracles this week.  Here is one of my favorites:  On Saturday, we finished dinner a few minutes earlier than we had anticipated and had some time to do an extra activity.  We presented two options - to go and contact some potential investigators in a neighborhood called Chicago Woods, or to finish a map that we had been making to help our area book be more accurate in an apartment complex called Villa del Sol.  We said a prayer about where we should go.  Usually when we do this, I feel like either option would be acceptable, but with a slight feeling towards either side.  This time, I clearly felt that we should go to Villa del Sol.  I told Sister Hansen that, and we commented that we should keep our eyes open for "the one" that we were apparently supposed to talk to while we were making our map.  We finished our map quick, and parked the car to talk to a lady with three young sons.  She was very friendly and a good contact, but didn't seem particularly interested in coming to the ward activity or meeting with us.  On our way out of the complex, Sister Hansen commented, "Remember that lady who lives in here that invited us to dinner on Father's Day?  Why didn't we go to that?" I remembered - we had contacted a lady named "Pastor J" who said she was having a bunch of people over on Father's Day and that we were welcome to come, just to call and confirm that we were coming before.  We thought that sounded like a good finding opportunity, but the night before came around and we had forgotten to call and confirm, so we figured it would be better if we just didn't go so we didn't show up as a surprise.  Anyway, that was Sister Hansen's random thought.  A few hours later, we were filling our car up at a gas station.  Before we left, we went over a couple "aisles" (for lack of a better word) to two ladies filling up their cars - one of them actually happened to be a former investigator and they were both really interested in the ward party! So that was an awesome contact.  Then, as we crossed the other aisle, the lady there looked at us and said, "You never showed up."  With panic, we racked our brains to figure out who this lady was, but I was coming up with nothing.  Sister Hansen said, "Wait, do you live in Villa del Sol?" She confirmed. I said, "Wait, is your name J?!"  It was Pastor J!  We hadn't thought about that invitation in weeks!  She was really good natured and was just joking around with us, and decided that we definitely needed to come back for dinner next Monday.  We agreed!  Haha it will be fun to see what comes out of that.  It was just really cool to see that the Lord sent us to Villa del Sol so we would remember J when we talked to her.  Just another day in the life. :)

J hopefully will be getting baptized still on Saturday.  He is very faith-filled.  It has been so different and awesome to work with J.  He is so prepared and has a strong testimony, but he also really needed the guidance of the missionaries to get him where he needed to be.  I love helping people do things that will last for eternity.  Please pray for him a lot this week - it might be a tough one because Satan tends to do that!

Another cool miracle - every week we do something called "accounting" with our district leader.  That is basically a phone call where we set some goals and talk about our area and some things we can keep up/improve on.  Then the district leader reports to the zone leaders on our goals.  And the district leader continues to help us during the week to keep our areas moving well.  One night this week, Elder Stanford (our district leader) mentioned on the phone out of the blue, "Sisters, do you think you could get one more investigator with a baptismal date this week?" We said yes. He said, "Really try to make that happen, ok?"  And that was that.  The next day, we had an appointment with our investigator named F.  He is a great man, but we have been struggling to help him accept the invitation to be baptized.  We had tried before to help him accept a date, and he wasn't exactly excited about that.  So we had been teaching the lesson that we had planned on Sabbath Observance and the commandments.  Things were wrapping up and going well, when I heard that comment from Elder Stanford in my head.  We invited F to choose a baptismal date with us again.  And he did!  He is scheduled now for August 23rd.  We will probably have to move that around, but that was a miracle!!  And it was huge for his progression!  We asked that night what prompted Elder Stanford to say that to us, and he said it was something the Zone Leaders had talked to him about concerning our area.  I am grateful for A) the Spirit, and B) inspired leaders to help us live to our potential.  Good stuff!!

I just want to say that sorry if there was anything urgent in your letters that I needed to respond to via email - I haven't got the mail yet today.

So, I love you all! Life is good and fun and spiritual and deep and awesome!!!! I continue to be learning so much about, you know, life.  And the Savior.  And what really matters.  I love you.  We talked about temples yesterday in Relief Society.  I am grateful to be sealed to you 8 forever - you can never get rid of me! ;)  Even though it kind of feels like a while to be gone on a mission, it's not.  We will always be together if we stay righteous.  What a promise.  I am grateful, mom and dad, that you were sealed in the temple and have kept your marriage strong and good.  We sure are a lucky bunch. :) 

Until next week!

Love, your favorite oldest daughter/[sister] Allred

I am happy!

Happy last week of July!! It has truly been a happy and busy week for us here - one of the best of my mission!  We have a lot to do.  More importantly, we have a lot of IMPORTANT and PRODUCTIVE things to do! Once a sister here in the mission taught me that there is a difference between being busy and being productive.  Isn't that the truth?  But anyway, it was great.  We have kept teaching all of our friends and most of them are doing awesome.  J is taking great strides towards being ready for his baptism.  Many of our other friends are doing hard but great things that are making them so much happier!! It has really made me happy about my calling as a missionary.  Let's talk about it!

There is this part in Preach my Gospel that talks about success.  There is a power line in there that says something along the lines of, "When you give it your all, you will still experience disappointments, but you will not be disappointed in yourself."  We have really felt that this week in the work.  As we have given it our all, we have been disappointed by poor decisions by people we love.  That sadness is real and it does hurt to see people you care about do things that will make them unhappy in the long run.  But that sadness doesn't hit to the core when you know you have done everything you can.  It is backed up by a deep sense of peace because you know you are trying to do what the Savior would have done.  If somewhere along the line in teaching them you were late and missed an appointment, weren't bold enough in extending a commitment, or didn't do good follow-up, you miss that sense of peace that comes.  I am glad to have been repenting and learning how to always feel that peace.


Have I mentioned that me and Sister Hansen have been learning a lot about repenting lately? It is the best thing ever! We are trying to constantly evaluate what we are doing and tweak things to be a little better.  It is very exciting to see ourselves grow and to see how people respond differently.  It is so fun to add new strengths to the Lord's storehouse that He can reach in and pull out whenever He needs them.   Missions are just the greatest.

I have enjoyed following your summer, from EFY to river rafting to Heritage Tours.  Hope everyone has been having fun, being safe, and most of all feeling the Spirit a ton!!  I love the Church and there really is so much safety in the Youth programs.  Keep up the good work everyone!

We went to visit a member referral yesterday who wasn't at home.  We saw the member who gave us the referral walking her dog outside.  We came up to her and she immediately directed us to the home of a neighbor of hers with cancer.  We scurried on over to knock on the door, and the family welcomed us in without batting an eye!  It was great - we offered a prayer and talked about Christ and the priesthood and the Book of Mormon and even watched Because of Him with them.  It was cool to see this miracle and it was fun to go back to the member, report, and see her be excited about it.  The work is hastening, you know?!

This week we also started teaching two sons of a recent convert in the ward.  They both are not Christians.  Their dad passed away last summer.  It is a new challenge and blessing to help them gain a testimony of their loving Father in Heaven.  The gospel really is a message of love and joy - gladness for the dead and the living.  These boys may not have a father that they can see right now, but they have a Father that they can feel forever.  We really hope that that hits home for them and can help them have new comfort in their lives.  Their names are B and L - L is young men aged and B is in his 20's.  Please pray for their hearts to be touched by the Spirit so they can know the Church is true.

Haha it is just a happy, good time to be a missionary.  I love it a ton.  How cool is it that our sole purpose is to help other people be happy?  I love doing what Jesus would do, or trying to at least!  Let me play out a contact for you (this is to show how awesome being a missionary is).

Missionary: "Hey, can we help you with that? We have four hands!"

Person: "Well..... ok, sure."

*wash car together*

*laugh, talk, get to know them, break the ice*

Missionary: "Well, we are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  We go around doing what we think Jesus would do, which is why we do service for people.  But you know, the greatest service  we can give is teaching you about the great message that we have that helps people overcome challenges and grow closer to their family..."

And so it continues.  I really like it when that happens.  I love doing service like washing people's cars. But what I love more is doing service for them that will help them be with their families for eternity.  It is cool when the two collide and you just laugh and serve and love together.  I often am edified and rejoice together with the people we talk to.  When I am trying really hard to be full of charity, it comes.  And that is really fulfilling.

I am really, really far from being the perfect missionary.  There are a lot of things that I do and there are a lot of things that I don't do that need to be fixed before I can perfectly help people to come to Christ.  But I have learned to be ok with not being perfect.  That doesn't mean I stop trying to be - but it does mean that I can be happier along the way. :)  I do know that someday, in a very long time, if I keep on doing my best, I will become a perfect teacher, a perfect friend, a perfect missionary. But for now, the Lord is happy to use His imperfect children to keep the stone rolling.  And we are happy that He lets us be a part of it!  Life is just full of so much good stuff, you know?  I love it and I love you all - a lot!!!

Have a very happy and fulfilling week!

A ton of love, Sister Allred (but you can call me Sister Aye-red if you want)

When it rains, it pours!

Another report from a happy missionary on a happy week in a happy
place! Good times, good times.  :)


Now here is a life lesson from Orlando: when it rains, it pours!
Literally, we are drenched within 10 seconds of it starting to rain.
When it is hot and muggy, it is HOT and muggy. Also, when it rains it
pours in missionary work. When it is hard and slow, it is HARD and
SLOW - it really tries your faith and stamina and endurance. Also,
when it is fast and busy, it is FAST and BUSY. It boosts your faith,
increases your energy, and improves your mood. That is what is awesome
about a mission I guess. Always recharging. :)


Thankfully, it has been absolutely pouring this week. Let me tell you
about some of the abundance of blessings we are experiencing:


J. is getting baptized on August 9th. He is a great person and we
are excited to work on this goal with him. We have been meeting with
him basically every day and helping him learn about the gospel and
resolve his concerns. We have been working with some of the priests in
the ward with this also, which has been cool to help them prepare for
their own missions.


We have been working with a family returning to activity named the
A's. They are a cute young couple with a tiny daughter. They have
been progressing really, really well. We went on a temple tour with
them this week, and they are excited about, talking about, and
preparing for their temple sealing. It is so exciting to work with
people who are literally and willingly taking steps toward change and
progression. That's the beauty of missionary work and the Atonement.


F. continues to have a lot of good questions. Please pray for
us to have the guidance of the Spirit as we try to help him establish
a baptismal date. He is a really good man and we are enjoying working
with him.

We have met with several other families from the Elders' area this
week who are happy and nice and understand our role in their
progression. Good stuff.

There is a recent convert in our ward named Sister S. She has three
children - one is 8 and getting baptized next month. She also has a
teenage son named L and another son in his 20's who come to church
with her every week. They have never seriously investigated the
gospel, nor have they wanted to. Through a miracle this week, L
agreed at our dinner appointment to start taking the lessons and
investigating the church. This is so exciting!

We also have received a referral from a member who we are excited to
meet with on Thursday.

We have another member we have been working with Brother C, who
has been progressing wonderfully after a lot of prayers and work.


Another less active member invited us over yesterday and ended up
basically asking us to teach her from the beginning so she can gain a
testimony. This is also really exciting!


Blessings have been pouring out on us. We have been trying to improve
our teaching skills and follow the Spirit. We have seen a difference
in our work and a different level of preparedness from the people we
teach. We have noticed them responding differently and our
satisfaction with our work going deeper. It is such a blessing to be a
missionary. I love Preach My Gospel, because it gives us tools to be
better missionaries and to reach our goals.


Here is a PMG insight I think you will like! Mom, a few weeks ago you
talked about Dan Jones on page 1. I have started in the last couple
days reading PMG cover to cover, and I am in the very beginning. I,
like you still have no idea who Dan Jones is.  But I think that
picture was chosen for a special reason. Chapter one is all about our
purpose and calling and being truly successful. If the first picture
was Brigham Young or John Taylor or Gordon B. Hinckley, our vision of
"success" might be different than what they are trying to teach us in
the chapter. We would think that they were the best missionaries ever
who everyone knew and who got called to be a prophet. They were the
assistants to the president who had perfect numbers and baptized every
week. They were flawless in their work and remembered in fame and
glory for what they did. But they didn't choose those men- they chose
Dan Jones. One of the most successful missionaries ever. Who no one
knows. But his hard work and dedication were recorded by the angels in
heaven. He was a successful missionary in the eyes of The Lord, not
the world.  Even average, every day missionaries like us can be and
are being successful, just like Dan Jones. Good stuff.


I love you all and am super happy! Hope you have a fantastic week!


Love, Hermana Kara Allred

Orlando, mi segunda patria

I hope you have been having just the best week ever!! We have been having quite a... well, eventful week!  A lot of good things have been happening in this part of the Lord's vineyard! I will try and break it down here to get all of it out. :)

First, through a series of sudden events, we have taken over the Spanish Elders' area in our ward, which means we now cover the whole ward.  With this change, we picked up a TON of their investigators.  It has been a little overwhelming, but a huge blessing to have such a sudden and exciting pick-up in the area.  I am happy to know that, even though we aren't perfect, the Lord trusts us to take on this challenge and take care of His people.  

One of these investigators is named J.  J. is 18.  The Elders started teaching him a few weeks ago.  We met him at the youth fireside last night, which us missionaries put on about (shockingly) missionary work.  He asked how old you have to be to serve a mission.  We told him 18, and he was very happy to hear that.  ...... We then told him that he should probably get baptized first. :)  He is currently reading in 1 Nephi 2.  For the second time.  Meaning, he finished the Book of Mormon and is starting over again.  He is a miracle.  He will get baptized soon.  We have our first lesson with him tonight, where we will talk about authority and baptism because his only holdback right now is that he was already baptized Pentecostal - we can fix that easily. :)  The Lord really prepared J, and it is exciting to be a little part of his story.  We will keep you posted!

Also, an update on F!  We taught him on Saturday, and it was an amazing lesson.  He really felt the Spirit and likes the Book of Mormon.  We helped him see how he can recognize his answer, and I think he will get baptized soon.  Keep praying for him!

Ah, I just remembered the title of this letter.  This is a direct quote from sacrament meeting yesterday.  A member I really like from the ward got up and shared a story from his life.  He talked about when they were in Venezuela, "mi patria," he said.  Patria means, like, homeland.  He talked about how his family was guided to come here to the States.  He pulled out a little Venezuelan flag along with a little American flag and put them both in his shirt pocket.  He talked about how blessed they were to come here.  And how glad he was to be in "Orlando, mi segunda patria."  (my second homeland)  I, too, look at Orlando as mi segunda patria.  I am happy to be serving among a lot of people who also have adopted Orlando as their segunda patria.  We love it.  And it will always have a special place in our hearts. :)

I keep learning so many things on my mission.  What I have been learning lately is about following the promptings of the Spirit.  In our district meeting, one of my Sister Trainer Leaders gave a training about the Spirit.  She said that last month, she had started praying every day to recognize and act on a prompting of the Spirit for her to say or do something that day.  I thought that was a good idea, and so I started it that very day!  It is funny, because one always makes a decision like that in faith, but then you get kind of nervous because Satan doesn't want you to grow.  I was a little nervous, like, "What if I am not paying attention enough and I haven't had one by the end of the day?"  But the Lord is a Lord of faith, not fear!  Every single day since I started saying that prayer, I have been aware of following a prompting of the Spirit.  They are not huge, they have been very subtle.  They have been, "Share 2 Nephi 31:17 now." or "Talk about how you feel your ancestors on your mission." or "Tell them how much the Savior loves them."  They are small, but I have known that they were from the Spirit.  And I have felt so much more...... fulfilled.  Like I am accomplishing my purpose so much better.  Just because I am paying attention.  I love continually refining the spiritual tools that I developed as I was growing up.  They just keep getting finer and deeper and more a part of me.  I guess that is what life is about. :)

Something else I have been learning.  We are reading a bunch of the Book of Mormon every day, right?  Every time I get into the Book of Mormon, I notice a different blessing that comes.  I can now testify about an increased desire to do good, a happier disposition, a more spiritual aptitude, and a light and power in your life when you read.  But this time, the blessing is different! I have been trying to teach according to needs and use the scriptures lately.  I have tried to review my lists and memorize references and look in Preach My Gospel, but what has improved my ability to use the scriptures has been the simple act of reading every day.  Verses and passages have come into my mind to share - ones that we haven't even read yet.  It has been a blessing to the people we teach.  Good stuff!

I love my mission.  It is a very special thing; there is nothing in the world quite like it.  There are a lot of moments of despair, of discouragement, of disappointment.  But they are always paired with a lot of moments of miracles, growth, promptings, friendships, love, and change.  It is awesome.  I can't even describe it.  But I am grateful for opposition in all things.  I am grateful that I can do hard things and be better for it.  I am grateful that the things that are most worth it in life require a lot of "sticking it out."  And when you have the right attitude about it, "sticking it out" is actually pretty fun. :)  With investigators, with your own repentance, with long bike rides, with trials, with developing a testimony - just stick it out with a smile and with a lot of confidence in the Savior.  It's the best!

Well, family, I sure love you.  And your letters.  I am happy to hear of the successful arrival of the gator shrivel (yes, mom, I get the package thing now!).  I will talk to you soon!

Love, Sister Allred

An excerpt from a letter Kara wrote to her dad on his birthday:

I am learning a ton.  Here is something awesome I learned this week.  My whole mission I have had a theme in my notes from my meetings.  I have written, "WHO AM I?"  a lot of times.  I have thought a lot about who I really am-am I obedient, am I loving, am I Christlike, am I a good teacher, etc.  This week it dawned on me that I have been asking myself the wrong question.  It isn't about who I am; it has nothing to do with me.  It is Christ's work.  My job isn't to build myself into a perfect person/missionary, it is to use the qualities I already have as a daughter of God and slowly push the natural man out of the way. I slowly become less of the focus and Christ shines through.  I don't need to be perfect-I just need to help people see the Savior, who is perfect.  I am having a great time and I love being a missionary. Our area is in the same ward as the assistants to the President, and I like to think about you driving all over the Denver Colorado mission with your starched collar!  Thanks dad for being a great example of a member, a missionary, a priesthood holder, and a person!  I love you so much!  Happy Birthday!

Hot, rainy, miracle filled days!

Another happy week has come and gone in Orlando.

 Haha I made a vow this week:

TO ALWAYS BE IN UTAH FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY.

 I will explain later

But first, you know how we have been trying really hard to put our

shoulders to the wheel and find investigators? This week was so much

better! We have been able to set up appointments with a lot of people

and slowly we are finding people who are interested. Right now we have

an investigator named F from the Dominican Republic. We are

meeting win him again tonight and are excited to talk to him more

about the blessing he can receive from the gospel.

Cool miracle! On Tuesday, me and Sister Hansen were at the end of our

ropes. We had tried absolutely everything to find new investigators

and we had had no success at all. The night before, in desperation I

told Heavenly Father that we had done everything we could and that we

needed a miracle.  Tuesday was another day of a lot of work

and a lot of disappointments. We have been trying to contact more with

the Spirit, and we felt to talk to a lady walking into the

neighborhood we were leaving. We told her that we had a message that

helped people through their trials, and she told us that she didn't

speak English. We excitedly repeated in Spanish, and she said,

"Perfecto!" We couldn't believe it. She said she had been going

through some things, and would love to meet with us at the church. We

are very excited for our meeting with her and her teenage daughter

tomorrow night. Pray for Isa! :) Our Father hears our prayers.

So Firday was the Fourth of July. I loved the package, and it ended

up being a lifesaver! Haha Sister Allred, being Sister Allred, could

not be more excited for this national holiday celebrating our

wonderful nation. We had special permission mission-wide to stay out

until 10 talking to the people out watching the fireworks. I conjured

up quite the image in my mind. A few contributing factors to this

image were fourth of July's past in Provo, the Disney/Universal

fireworks I had glimpsed a million times in Windy Ridge, and just my

optimist mind in general. I pictured throngs of people crowding the

streets, waving flags and barbecuing burgers and holding sparklers in

the afternoon. The night would be similar, just under the dazzling

backdrop of a Disney-caliber firework display. I prepared well. I used

the tissue paper and stars from the package to cover my helmet.

I pinned Old Glory proudly on the strap of my bag. I wrote, "God bless

the U.S.A." and "God bless America!" on pass-along cards,  I marked 1

Nephi 13 about the Revolutionary war in a Book of Mormon to hand out,

I memorized the alto of America the Beautiful for some patriotic

caroling. And we went out with glory to share the word! And there was

not a soul on the streets. Nor in the parks. We were dumbfounded. Even

at night, we could hardly track down anyone! I was sorely

disappointed. We did manage to see some neighborhood firework "shows"

and talk to some people, but it was definitely not Provo. There was a

sad little tissue-papered red and white starred helmet riding around

Taft at 9:30 on Friday night with hardly anyone to talk to. Haha oh

well.

I am still very happy to be a missionary. I was very moved this

morning studying about Joseph Smith the prophet. I know that he really

did have a vision. I know he talked to God and Jesus Christ. I know

that the Book of Mormon is not from him, it is from God. I am very

grateful for the sacrifice he made to bring this Restoration about.

Speaking of the Book of Mormon! I have a very specific assignment for

Tyler, Brandon, and Bryson. Mission-wide, we are reading the Book of

Mormon in 100 days. And you have to do it with us! We started on

Friday, but there are some make-up days that you can do. Start

today!!! It takes me and sister Hansen like 12 minutes in the morning.

Good luck; I hope you do it with us! I will send you the schedule.

I love you all so much! Have the best week ever!

Love, Sister Kara Allred

Let no one shirk!

Another week of wonderful in the promised land!  Well, the word 'wonderful' as used here has many facets.  Wonderful as in a lot of biking, a LOT of heat, a lot of bugs, a lot of Gatorade, a lot of people, a lot of stress, a lot of prayers, a lot of smiles, a lot of joy, and a lot of miracles.  I would call that a successful and somewhat typical week of a missionary. :)

You may have noticed that I titled this letter using a line from a hymn.  Years ago, when I was doing a point for Personal Progress, I was trying to memorize all of the verses for some hymns in the hymnbook.  I wasn't quite sure what ones to choose.  I asked Nonnie what her favorite hymn was, to which she replied, "Put your Shoulder to the Wheel!"  And so I memorized it.  On Sunday, our gospel principles teacher mentioned the hymn and I was reminded of the confusion that I have always had about it!  Why would anyone, bouncing along the prairie next to their handcart, lean over and put their shoulder to the wheel?! I imagine that my dress would get worn through from the friction, I would get all dirty, and it would probably hurt.  Maybe I would even trip and fall and get run over by the said wheel! But I have been thinking about it, and now I think I get what it is trying to say. The only time anyone would need to put their shoulder to the wheel would be when it isn't moving.  If a handcart/wagon isn't moving, it is probably stuck.  And when I picture pioneers getting stuck, I picture it in the pouring rain - caught in the mud with nowhere else to go.  When the pioneers got stuck in the mud, I bet they tried everything they could.  They pulled and they pulled and they pushed and they pushed..... to no avail.  The wheels are huge.  The wheels were dirty and muddy and in the middle of the pit - but they were the only way to get out.  So someone had to take a deep breath, grit their teeth, jump right into the thick of things, and lower their shoulder to the wheel.  It wasn't the fun job, but it was the necessary job.  It was what got things done.  I reread the hymn this morning and was moved by the force behind the words: "The world has need of helping hands and hearts that know and feel - the work to do is here for you; put your shoulder to the wheel! Put your shoulder to the wheel, push along.  Do your duty with a heart full of song.  We all have work, let no one shirk.  Put your shoulder to the wheel!"  I get it now, Nonnie.  And it is one of my favorites too. :)

This week we have had to do a lot of "shouldering the wheel."  We are desperately trying to find people to teach and help receive the gospel.  We are doing our best to be obedient, improve as teachers/contacters, work through the members, and talk to everyone!  I know that as we continue to try and do our duty with hearts full of song, we will be blessed with people to teach.  It is kind of exciting to take a deep breath, grit our teeth, jump into the thick of things, and lower our shoulder to the wheel. :)

Yesterday was awesome.  It did not start awesome.  Haha we had been feeling just like the great Book of Mormon prophets - really weighed down with the sins of the world.  It definitely reared its ugly head this week.  Satan is working hard, and is deceiving a lot of people.  He is telling them that things are more important than God, and he is convincing them to eat, drink, and be merry.  It is hard to see people sell their birthrights for a mess of pottage and miss out on all of the blessings that Christ has given us for the taking.  It really was depressing, and yesterday we were nearing the ends of our ropes.  I have been reading in Alma lately and I remembered that he passed through some of the same things.  I read his prayer in the Book of Mormon and noticed how he asked for his soul to be comforted in Christ.  I had the same prayer in my heart in the afternoon, and my day changed completely.  I found new energy and happiness.  The Spirit was strong and deep in the lessons we taught.  We were able to be part of a great lesson with some friends of a member family.  It was the best night ever.  Heavenly Father is the best listener ever.  Prayer is a balm that heals heavy, saddened, lonely, or guilty hearts.  I love applying that principle that I learned lately and seeing it work.

A few weeks ago, we felt impressed to go visit the Baerga family in our ward.  We didn't really know them well, but we set an appointment and went to visit.  Sister Baerga told us about a friend she had named M. from work who she had considered sharing the gospel with.  We did a follow-up visit last week, and she told us that she was going to invite M. with her parents from Puerto Rico to a dinner Sunday night, and invited us too.  Yesterday we went, and it  was the best.  They all felt the Spirit really strong during our little thought, and were asking about the Church websites and stuff.  We are following up with the Baerga's today - please pray that M. and her family will become new investigators!  We think they will. :)  After the lesson, we drove home with Brother Baerga and his mother-in-law.  He thanked us for coming, and emotionally said that we reminded him of the missionary who baptized him.  I thought that was the biggest compliment ever.  I was very grateful for him for sharing that with us.


I love being a missionary. :)  Life is so good!  Oh! Me and Sister Hansen are staying together in Lake Nona for another 6 weeks.  I couldn't be more excited!  The work to do is here for you - put your shoulder to the wheel!! :)

Expect your letters this week! :)

I love you all so much,

Sister Allred

Minutes into hours and the hours into years!

You have the oldest daughter/sister around!! 20 years old and one year
out! Crazy stuff. We have had a very happy week!


On Tuesday we had a 'Taft Adventure.' There is a part of our area
named Taft that is a ways away from where we normally work, probably
about 7 miles. We figured it was time again to have a day down there,
but we were without a car. So we planned an epic Taft adventure on our
bikes. Haha we packed service clothes, snacks, band-aids, and extra
Gatorade in our bags, put on sunscreen and bugspray, and made sure to
be wearing our best biking skirts. It was the biggest production ever.
Before we had even passed our apartments, I had almost crashed on my
bike and my hands were filthy from fixing the chain. It was hilarious.
Here we were, two sister missionaries making the biggest bike trek of
our lives! It was totally fun. We talked to a bunch of people. And a
member drove us home that night. :)


In the said day in Taft, we had the greatest miracle ever. We swung
back to talk to a lady in her garage. She was very not interested in
listening to our message, but eventually she said, "Well I was
baptized Mormon 10 years ago..." We almost had a conniption! We
assured her that we were from the church (she had thought we were
Jehovah's Witnesses... A common occurrence, actually), and she was
thrilled. She started crying by the end. We were so happy to meet
Sister P and we got her info so her records could be transferred.
Her husband turned out to be an old Potential investigator of ours!
Crazy. It was awesome. We were so humbled to be used like that to find
one of the Lord's lost sheep. They are never lost to Him.


So yes, I have been gone for a year now. It has been a year since I
have seen a movie, walked barefoot in grass, or gone by my first name.
I have been wearing a skirt every day, waking up at 6:30 am, and giving
out pass-along cards for a year. That is wild. It is going too fast, I
can't believe it.


Today we went to 'Wild Florida' as a district, which is kind of like a
zoo. Held a gator! Awesome. Good old Florida. :)


This morning I was so happy and grateful. Sister Hansen was taking a
shower and I was eating breakfast, and I was just overcome by this
wave of joy. I just got on my knees and thanked my Father for the
chance I have to be a missionary. For the happy life I have behind me
and the happy life I have ahead of me. For the happy life I am living
right now. I love finding, teaching, and baptizing. I love being in
the Lord's army. I love learning and getting better daily. I love my
calling. I love being a missionary. :)


Glad that summer is in full swing at home, with camps and treks and
vacations! Enjoy the dry heat. ;) I love you all and will talk to you
next week!


Love, Sister Allred