The Rock

Samurai Semoran has proved to be a rollercoaster of events and emotions! I would really appreciate a couple extra prayers as I am still trying to hit my stride here.  Thankfully, our teaching pool is filling up and we have been blessed to work with a lot of awesome people!


First, there is W. and A.  We met them one night biking through their neighborhood.  They are from the Dominican Republic and have only been in the country for a few months.  They have a really cute baby boy named William, and they are just the greatest family ever.  We taught them together on Tuesday, and have ran into W. several times since then on the street.  They are excited to keep meeting with us, and W. said he would be baptized if he came to know it was true.  We feel really good about them and are excited to set a baptismal date with them when we go to see them tomorrow.  Keep them in your prayers!

Second, we were visiting some former investigators that we had chosen when we met M.  She was just sitting outside of her apartment, and we introduced ourselves and talked a bit, then asked if she had a few minutes so we could sit down and talk more.  She did!  We went inside and had a really awesome Restoration lesson.  She was confused by difference in doctrine when she was younger in her churches, and has been looking for truth.  We all felt the Spirit as we testified of restored truth, peace, and church organization.  She also said she would be baptized when she got her answer.  We are meeting with her also on Tuesday and are excited to prepare her to partake of everything the Gospel has to offer her.

Additionally, we found A. walking in his complex the other day.  We had a short lesson with him about how the Restoration can help him, and we are coming to see him again on Sunday.  We have been blessed with more people to teach, and that has been awesome!

The Semoran Branch is really small and with a new Branch Presidency is trying to build up and stabilize.  Thankfully, there is a lot that we as missionaries can do to help! I am just going to put in another plug for the piano.  Keep practicing.  It's the 8 years that keeps giving for the rest of your life.  I am not the branch accompanist as I have been in other wards, but I continue to use my skills every Sunday and in between.

I have something very important to say:  IF YOU HAVEN'T GONE TO SEE MEET THE MORMONS YET, DO IT!!!!!!!!  Haha I am not sure exactly how that is working in Utah.  It is showing in three theaters here in the Orlando area.  All of us missionaries got to see it in two huge joint-zone meetings on Thursday.  I loved it.  It was the best.  I am so excited for the whole world to see it!!!!  A lot in the future depends on the opening week success, so please go support the Church and see it!!  Apparently it was initially made for the Legacy Theater in Salt Lake, but the test audiences liked it so much they decided to make it public!  We all felt the Spirit so strong, and it was really entertaining too!  The Candy Bomber was my favorite - it totally made me cry.  What made all the other missionaries cry was the missionary mom one, which was also really good.  Haha you will all love it. 

This has been a transfer unlike any other!  Sometimes I get tired, but I know what I have to do and that the Lord works miracles.  As I keep studying the doctrines and reading Preach My Gospel, a whole world of knowledge is being revealed to me!  There is so much to learn about Truth and the Source of all Truth.  I am so grateful to know where I can find truth.  It would be a nightmare to do a research project with all your sources being fictional stories and third-hand opinions.  Some people in the world today are sludging and sifting through a lot of fiction, a lot of "good ideas," and a lot of falsehoods.  They pull together a sketchy raft from the truth that they can pick out, and then drift on a sea of conflicting information (to use the analogy from President Uchtdorf).  They are always confused and always are unsatisfied.  I am so glad that from the time I was little, I have been able to go directly to the Fountain of all truth and goodness.  The Holy Ghost and the Holy Scriptures help me discern truth from error.  A loving Heavenly Father has provided me and everyone on the earth a Gospel that will not lead us astray.  Compared to the sketchy raft, it really is the Old Ship Zion (wow, I am on a conference roll!).  The ship that is true and sure with a prescribed course to exaltation. I know my Rock.  I know the Truth.  Every person who has truly accepted baptism or is moving through Primary right now also knows the Truth and the Rock.  Y que dicha es! 

Even when the storms come, the Anchor stays the same.  And He never goes away.


I know it!


I love you all a lot!

Have the best day ever!

Love, Sister/Hermana Kara Allred/Alfred/Ayered/Allrd

Everlasting Sunshine!

Mom, dad, Ty, Brandon, Bryce, Alyssa, Ethan, Ashlyn,

I am just going to warn you, it is another iPad week..... Sorry, mom. :)

This was the greatest weekend ever. Needless to say, because it was
conference. It was probably my favorite conference ever. I have so
much to say about it!

As I was reading in Preach My Gospel late last week, a part caught my
attention about how we need to prepare ourselves to have the Spirit
touch our hearts and testify of the truth of the words of the
prophets. I found myself in a situation similar to when Elder Bednar
challenged all the youth to do genealogy work: I really wanted to do
it, I just didn't know exactly how. So I responded like I did before:
I chose the best way I knew, trusting that The Lord would bless me for
acting in faith. I decided to read a conference talk on prophets every
day until conference. So I did! It was awesome. Saturday morning
during study, I wrote down three very specific questions regarding out
companionship, our investigator Gabby, and my own mission. I was
ready! And I was absolutely awestruck when the first session had
entire talks pointing directly at my questions. The answers were
unmistakable and clear as day. I have never received answers in
conference more clearly. I have a testimony that that came from my
simple and weak way of preparing. He consecrates our efforts when we
try. I thoroughly enjoyed all sessions of conference, and especially
liked that we heard talks in Cantonese, Portuguese, and Spanish of
course! I am so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints. I know that the men we listened to are prophets
of the very God.  So, so awesome.

After Saturday morning's session, I had a really awesome experience.
I started talking to a woman who had attended the session at the
church building named Sister Winkler.  She told me that she got
baptized in December and was so excited to receive her endowment soon.
I don't know what it was about Sister Winkler, but we just connected
really deeply. She told me her conversion story - how she had been
praying for years for direction from God when she had a dream that two
men, one of them a redhead, showed her to a church. A month later, two
missionaries knocked on her door. When she saw Elder Smith's bright
red hair and remembered her dream, she immediately wanted to hear
more. The rest is history! I was very touched by the Spirit as she
shared. I felt prompted to share an experience of my own!  I testified to
Sister Winkler that her conversion would last so much longer than this
life. That she too would be an angel to help the work. We felt the
Spirit very strong, and she said that I was a good missionary and
would continue to share the gospel after I returned home. It was such
a profound exchange. I don't really know why me and Sister Winkler
were supposed to cross paths for 15 minutes after conference, but we
were.  I am so grateful for moments like those. If we have eyes to
see people for who they are and the attention enough to care about our
lives, we both are edified and rejoice together.


We are now teaching G, an 18-year-old with a lot of questions!
She is so awesome. We are trying to help her see that there is
absolute truth on the earth, and that it can be found in the Gospel
(thank you, General conference!). We are also teaching J, who is
the boyfriend of a member. We desperately need more people to teach,
so please pray specifically for that!

Semoran is something else.  Haha it is so fun to be in the city. There
are so many people to talk to.

I continue to learn more about the Gospel, life, and being a good
person. I continue to try and be a better missionary, despite what
obstacles might come in the way. Please pray for me to be able to live
up to my potential!

I love this Gospel and I know that it is true. I love beautiful
Florida and the beautiful people in it.  I love my sister missionary
friends and my Preach My Gospel and the Book of Mormon and my Example,
Jesus Christ. I hope you have the best week ever and apply what you
learned in conference!

I love you so much,

Hermana Allred

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