"I'm not dead yet!"

It has been a great week! I start this email with a movie reference.

You know that part in Monte Python and the Holy Grail where the guy is
like, "Bring out yer dead!" And this one man takes out this old guy
who keeps protesting, "I'm not dead yet!" That is how I feel. And let
me tell you why.

This week, we had a Zone Training Meeting that was awesome. I always
love those. At the end, they invited all the missionaries departing at
the end of the transfer to give their testimonies. I was like, "Hello,
this isn't even my last ZTM! I still have over a month!" But alas, I
gave it anyway.

A few days later, I got a letter from the mission office that I threw
in my bag and forgot about until the next morning. When I opened it, i
realized with horror that it was my travel plans!! Already! I am
getting home at like, 10:45 a.m.. I was in shock. Last time I checked, I
still have quite a bit of time here in the field!

Also, the big "last temple trip" has already been scheduled and
announced -- for this Saturday. What?!

FLORIDA ORLANDO MISSION: I AM NOT DEAD YET!!

Haha.

In the meantime, old deathbed Sister Allred is still working Semoran!
In between a doctor's appointment and an MRI for some hearing loss
that Hna Hernandez is having, we had some great experiences!

One was with a recent convert of Sister Jackson and Sister Marsh in
the ward named Brother V. He is so so awesome, but has been feeling
really lonely lately and going through a hard time. I had been
thinking earlier in the week of what I could do to have the Spirit
more in lessons, and one of the ideas I found was to have a more
focused Personal Study. The day of Brother V's lesson, I had a very
investigator-oriented study and felt the Spirit. Brother V was not
originally in the plans, so I didn't get to study for him in the
morning. However, we set up the appointment and decided to teach about
the Savior and the atonement. We felt the Spirit incredibly strong as
we testified of the Atonement and our Friend Jesus Christ. I know that
it was because I had a focused study, even though it wasn't
specifically for the lesson! So awesome.

We found a super prepared family last night! We were trying to find
some old investigators, and on our way out of the neighborhood we
pulled over to chase down a guy we felt we should talk to. We set a
return appointment with him and his wife for today! On our way back to
our car, we decided to just randomly knock on the door of the
next-door neighbor of the former we were trying to visit. J opened
the door, and we ended up teaching him, his wife C, C's
mom R, and their friend A the Restoration. It was awesome!!!
They are looking for a church and seemed interested in being baptized!
It was so cool to teach the whole family. The English Elders will be
teaching them again Friday! The Lord blesses us when we follow His
Spirit - that I know!

This week, I grew in my testimony of the Savior yet again. On Sunday,
I just woke up extremely anxious and depressed and panicked. It was
one of the worst mornings of my whole mission. I didn't know what to
do, so I opened up your letters. Mom, I really loved what you shared
with me about answers to prayers and feeling the Spirit in the play.
It helped me a lot.  I also was able to find a lot of comfort in the
Book of Mormon and the Sacrament. It really was a healing balm to my
soul.  I have been thinking a lot about justice and mercy this week.
Haha I was actually thinking about Jean Valjean and Javer. They both
are confronted with a situation in which mercy is given. Jean Valjean
accepts the mercy and changes forever. Javer is so caught up in the
justice that he takes his own life. Sometimes, I get too focused on
the justice aspect of the Gospel. Not only does that make it easy to
judge, but it makes it easy to get down on myself. I had a clear
thought during the sacrament. It was, "You have forgotten Me." I
really had. I had forgotten that Jesus is merciful. I had forgotten
all of the instances in my life where I have felt of His love and
mercy. Let's not forget who Jesus really is.

I know that He lives. I know that He forgives. I want to keep being
more like him every day.

I love you!

Hermana Allred

Happy!

Mom, Dad, Tyler, Brandon, Bryson, Alyssa, Ethan, and Ashlyn:

Haha just so you know, I have already received a report on the Savior of the World play from Marissa. I heard you did great!  My family, the thespians. :)  Who knew?

It has been an AWESOME week as usual.  The transfer has started off with a bang!!

Remember J and E?  Your prayers worked! We finally got to meet with them again and set a baptismal date for the 13th of December.  They are so great and it was such a spiritual lesson.  We talked about the Plan of Salvation and I was reminded of the gratitude I have for my Savior and the role He plays in my personal plan.

Also, this last week we did Cockroach-house cleaning, part II.  It was awesome and totally gross, as usual!  But here is the cool thing: last time we were there, we had been referred there to do the cleaning for M, who was taking care of her grandkids.  This time, J, M's daughter, was there!  We helped her and talked to her.  She has just gotten out of a tricky situation, and said that she wanted to get into church and start over again.  We happily set an appointment and came back Friday.  She was so happy to hear the message, said that she had known there was something more than just the Bible, and was answering in the affirmative before we could even finish asking her if she would be baptized onDecember 13th.  She is so so great!!!!!  She wants to be a disciple her whole life, and baptism is just the catalyst that she needs to get her there.

So after all of this awesome success, we had a crazy multi-stake conference yesterday!!  They created a new stake in Orlando, the Lake Mary stake.  It was so exciting to be such a real-life part of Church growth.  I felt proud to have contributed a few souls to the army of the Lord here in Orlando.  We are not part of the new stake here in Semoran, but we are becoming a ward in a few months!  Also, our stake boundaries were altered, as well as our ward boundaries.  I don't know if you remember the street Oakridge that I was always on in Windy Ridge, but now it is a part of our ward! Taqueria, Keren, and all!  :)  (Keren is the one who got baptized in January)  I am so excited to be with some of my old friends again!  Also, the division changed big time between us and the Elders.  Instead of a North/South divide, it became an East/West divide.  This is just fine, but J, E, and Jo all live on the West side of our divide.... and we are the East missionaries now.  All of the Elder's investigators were on our side too, so we basically did an investigator swap!  This is a cool opportunity to start again again, and I am excited to work with a new batch of people while still being able to see Jo, J, E, J, etc.  Crazy stuff!  I have faith in our Church leaders, and I know that for whatever reason this is what the people here needed.

We did find two new investigators this last week that we get to keep!  J and A are from Honduras and Guatemala.  We had a very spiritual lesson with them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they said they would be baptized when they felt ready.  They are so, so awesome and I am excited to keep working with them.

So I have a testimony this week that I want to share.  It is one that I have shared before, but I would like to reiterate it.  I have a testimony that the Lord blesses us when we try.  When we have a goal, but aren't sure how to accomplish it, so then we just come up with our best idea and try it.  Then the Lord blesses us immensely with the change and Spirit we wanted, just for doing our best.  I have seen it in trying to do genealogy work.  I have seen it in preparing for conference.  I have seen it in serving a mission.  And this week, I saw it again!  I have a goal to really strengthen my testimony specifically on our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I heard the talk in the Women's Conference about memorizing the Living Christ, and I thought, "Oh, that's cool!  I will do that when I get home."  And then didn't think about it more.  Until mom wrote me about it!  And then, during sacrament meeting last Sunday, the thought came to me to do it now.  So I did!  I wasn't sure how to strengthen my testimony in Christ exactly, but I figured that was a good place to start.  So every night after planning, I have tried to memorize a paragraph.  I will recite it to myself and do my best to remember it and ponder it.  This week, me and Sister Hernandez were in a house to say a prayer and we both felt strongly that we needed to leave.  We did after the prayer, but the scary feeling stayed with us.  We prayed, but it was still there.  I recited what I had memorized from the Living Christ on my bike and while we were waiting at the crosswalk.  The powerful words helped my fear go away.  In our lessons, from the simple act of trying to memorize, I feel a deep gratitude and love for my Savior as I testify of Him.  Our lessons have been more powerful and more Spiritual.  My testimony is getting deeper and more real, and my love for Him is growing.  It is such a miracle.  Do it!  I know He will bless you.

I love being a missionary.  I love working at my weaknesses.  I love President Berry.  I love being a member of the Church.  The more I think, the more I get excited for life - all of it.  There is so much work to do, and I am ready!!!


I love you all.


I know that Jesus is real.  He is the living Christ.  He talks and loves and helps and guides.  He knows where I am and what I am doing.  He really did live the perfect life to give us a perfect example.  I know He is at the head of this work.

What a blessing. :)

Love, Sister Allred

So Profound an Influence

Transfers are this week! .... And nothing is changing for this
Hermana! Looks like I will be finishing out my mission in good old
Semoran with Hermana Hernandez. :)

This week was awesome! I love being a missionary! I have loved
rediscovering a positive attitude , hard work, patience, and charity.
Haha but really. How easy is it to be happy when everything is  going
well? Really easy! It is the true test of a positive attitude to stay
happy in spite of challenges. I am not perfect yet, but I am getting
better at it!

I love reflecting on my mission. I still have many lessons to learn,
but every day basically I discovering gems in my soul that have been
refined through dozens and dozens of normal, every-day experiences as
a missionary.

Something that has been fascinating me lately is how little I actually
knew as a new missionary. They give you a couple weeks of training,
the White Handbook, PMG, and a few DVDs and send you out! I knew so
little bout the daily grit of missionary life. Yet I knew so much
about what being a missionary really meant - sometimes I think I got
it more then than I do now! The Lord doesn't require us to be really
well-versed or an expert. He just asks for a willing heart and an
obedient Spirit. If we do our best to learn and obey, we WILL become
who he wants us to become.

I am really grateful that i have tried my best to do that. I have
changed. I have seen missionaries who have gone through their whole
missions unchanged. That makes me sad. The mission can be a beautiful
chrysalis for change if we obey and give it our all.

Our investigators are.... Falling off the face of the planet. Please
pray for us to be able to get into contact with the ones who are ready
to change and progress.

Wow, we are getting better at teaching on the spot! I feel like a
better missionary than before; like I am filling my purpose better.

Especially pray for J! He needs to be baptized on the 6th of
December, but we have to be able to talk to him first!

I am determined to know my Savior better. In the last few days, that
has been a blessing to learn more about Him. Life just keeps getting
better!

Hmm, what else.... Oh! Halloween was fun. We had a ward trunk-or-treat
on Wednesday, all the ward members loved our Mormon.org card costume.
:) we taught some lessons on the 31st, which was good! We found a
member who wants to come back to church! He is awesome.  I got your
package and of course loved it. Those pumpkin spice Oreos are to die
for, and the jewel jelly beans were awesome. And, of course, the
leaves and pictures. :) I love you, mom!!

You are all the best. Have the best week ever!

Hermana Allred

Happy Halloween!

The life size pass along card!

The stone will fill the earth!

It has been an awesome week!! Where to begin, where to begin......

I know! Today, we are having a district activity in the which we are
carving pumpkins. We were invited to come in costume. In grand Sister
Allred style, I have been plotting this costume for not days, not
weeks, not even months, but for a year. In a few minutes, we will be
putting the final touches on a massive Mormon.org card. The kind we
give to investigators. It is huge, and there are spaces for my face
and sister Hernandez' face. I will send pictures next week. I must
admit, it is pretty awesome. Some things never change! :)

It has been another miracle-filled week! Let's go ahead and talk about
all if my favorite people.

We have been "teaching" W. for a few weeks now. Well, not really
teaching. We taught him and his wife once a few weeks ago, but haven't
been able to get a solid appointment since. However, we have seen hi
several times and he has come to church for two weeks in a row now. He
is really awesome. In Gospel Principles yesterday, he said how he
loved the way Mormons preached. How they did it with love and not
belittling to other faiths. He still is struggling with the concept of
being baptized again, but we have big hopes for him! Please pray
specifically that we can set up a time to meet with him and that he
can feel the desire to be baptized.

O. is struggling with a lot of problems in his life, and that is
making him anxious about his baptism. Please pray that the Spirit will
be able to touch his heart this week! We are hoping to do a lot of
service with them to help out.

J. is a new investigator we found last week. He is working towards
a date on December 6thh! We are having to adjust our teaching methods
because he was never able to go to school or learn how to read. This
is a new challenge! He also has no CD player and no access to the
internet. We are trying to read with him so he develops a testimony on
his own.

Speaking of no reading, on Tuesday we met a man who I will probably
always remember at a bus stop. He is from Guatemala and, like J.,
never learned how to read. This grown man started crying as he told us
about how he was a drunk and couldn't read. He told us how lucky we
were to know how to do such a beautiful thing. He lamented that he was
stuck; he couldn't progress anymore. It was so very sad and humbling
to see someone in a situation like that. We got his number and address
and assured him we could help. Unfortunately, both were wrong so we
couldn't get into contact with him. I hope he is ok.

We had interviews with President Berry this week. I love President
Berry. I know I was supposed to serve in his mission. He is such a
kind and gentle and inspired man. It is always a pleasure to be with
him.

Oh right! I am still reporting on our people! We also found R. and
B. this week. They are a miner and daughter from Mexico. We have
taught them twice and R. is thinking about baptism on the 29th of
November. She is awesome. B. is twelve and they are already
talking about her being a missionary. Miracles abound!

Also, last night we taught a wonderful man named J. He is taking
care of his old mother. He was very open and wants to be baptized. I
have never found so many new investigators on my whole mission! It is
such a blessing. I can't even believe it.

We are getting a lot better at teaching on the spot. It helps us to
fulfill our purpose as missionaries. I feel good when I teach. I
continue improving with practice, or I hope so at least!

It has been a good transfer. Me and Sister Hernandez are finally
getting used to each other! We are friends, and it is a blessing. I
continue to be surprised at how The Lord stretches me and helps me
develop into the sister He wants me to be.

I am happy. Life is good. I am so happy I get to be a missionary my whole life.

I know that the Spirit is real. I feel so uplifted by my personal
study every morning. A lot of this has come through me striving to be
guided by the Spirit in what to study. I invite you to try it! Try and
pray to be guided before. As I have done this, by the end of my study
I am shaking with the Spirit. I am excited and feel a burning in my
bosom and I want to go and do the Lord's work! A study journal has
also been really helpful for me.

This is all kind of random I guess, but life is just so good. God is
real, and He is our Father. He sent His Son to be our Best Friend. He
sent and sends prophets to guide and help us, and scriptures to fill
us with His Spirit. I know it!

He is also loving and gentle. He wants to forgive. He wants us to be free.

I love helping people see that light of happiness.

One more story! I had to go to the CVS this week for my prescription
(thanks, mom!). We walked in, happy as usual. We waved and said hello
to the pharmacists. Monique waved and said, "Wow, I want some of what
you have!" We laughed and told her we would gladly share some! Turns
out she was having a horrible day, but prayed before she got to work.
She told us that since she saw us, she wasn't having a bad day
anymore. Her sister is a member in New York. We invited her to listen
to the missionaries again. She was so excited. It felt so good to be a
ray of sunshine in someone's life.

Anyway, I love you so much!! Happy Halloween, and happy birthday to my
faithful writer!

Love,

Hermana Allred