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