Kiss Me, I'm Iowaish :)

March 17, 2014

HAPPY ST. PATTY's DAY!!!

First off, I LOVE MY MISSION!!! We are seeing a lot of miracles and blessings here in Iowa City.

My Companion, Elder Powell is from San Diego, and he LOVES the weather here... J well at least when it gets up to 60 degrees.

We have a lot of people we’re teaching and can’t wait for them to truly come unto Christ.

So this week has been really good for us; and for me personally. In one of the mission apartments, I came across Glenn Becks conversion story. And he really emphasizes Thomas Jefferson's quote:

"Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear."

I had heard that quote before, (probably from Dad), but I had forgotten it, this week has been a soul search for my companion and I.

When I was first assigned to Iowa City, my companion told me that the first 6 months is figuring out HOW to be a Missionary. The next 6 months is WHO we are personally. The third 6 months is trying to put the two together, then the last 6 months is really when a missionary can reach his full potential, really excel, and be the best missionary that they will be in these 2 years. (I suppose Sisters accomplish this in less time)

Well, here I am at 7 months.  And it’s true, the Devil really is working on us. But glory to God, Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!  I LOVE my mission.

Helaman 5:

12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

2 Nephi 31:

20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

Mosiah 5:

15 Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.

The Church is true, Jesus Christ is our Savior and OUR BEST FRIEND.  Joseph Smith is a prophet and was used to restore Christ’s church.  The Book of Mormon is true.  We invite all men to read and pray about it, Prove God and Question with Boldness.  He will confirm the truth of it.  Thomas S. Monson is the living Prophet today.

I love you all.

Elder Spencer D. Allred

Hey You Guys!!!

March 10, 2014

I’m such a Goonie. (get it? "Hey you guys...")

This week was really good for us.

We set a date with Zido for April 19.

Boni is doing great and we are still working with his parents to let him get baptized.

I LOVE IC!!  It is so cool to serve in Iowa City.  The area I’m in used to only get around 5 lessons a week, now we’re getting close to 15, the work is picking up.  The snow is melting and it is a whopping 55 degrees J SO WARM.

My companion is from San Diego, and can really testify that God has a sense of humor because, as of Saturday, this winter is the 3rd coldest winter that Iowa has ever seen.  But we all are doing really well.

We’re finding a lot more people from Africa, and they are too cool!  They all have super strong testimonies of God. One dude we were talking to was saying that "our church must be true if we’re out here in the cold, away from our families for two years."  We smiled and just said "YUP"   We have a scheduled appointment with him for every Saturday now J let’s pray he keeps them!

This is truly sacred ground.  I LOVE IOWA!!!  It truly is a wonderful time to be on a mission.  I LOVE my Mission!!

Please continue writing letters, I love to hear what is going on.

The church is true!! Thomas S. Monson is our loving prophet today and Jesus Christ stands as the head of this church.

I Love You ALL!!!

The church is true!!!!!!

Love, Elder Allred

It's not cold anymore, it's...

March 3, 2014

Hello Friends and Family!!

This week has been so good!! We have a new Investigator, Zido. And several progressing Investigators.

Zido, is a man from Congo, who just showed up to church, loved it so much that he kept coming back.  We taught him and asked if he wanted to be baptized, and his answer was "I was already planning on it".  He figured that he needed to in order to become a member!! :)

Boni is 16 and also from Congo, and he came to church yesterday and he fasted and prayed with us in order to know when he could get baptized. :)  Well... we haven’t met with him yet, but from what members told us, he LOVED Church.  In priest quorum they role played missionary work and he taught the bishop about the atonement.  The young men’s leader said that Boni testified that he knew the church was true and gave a powerful testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.  He is so solid!!

Saw Traci this week also :) That was cool to meet up with her again. J

We had a lot of cool miracles this week, granted the weather SUCKS.  This week they said this is projected to be the coldest winter on record.  It’s not cold anymore, it’s beyond that.  Its... well, we’re in Sub Zero temps. So you can judge.

BUT, I love being a missionary; I love the Lord and this Gospel.  IT’S ALL TRUE!!! I would not be out in this weather if it wasn’t!!

Love you all!

(Please send me letters) J

Elder Allred

Nakupenda!!! Week 2 in Iowa City

February 24, 2014

Hello Family and Friends!

This week has been so fun!  It was so warm, in the 50s.  We saw a lot of great miracles this week.   Were working with a lot of Less Actives, and we are really seeing a lot of them progress.

The ward I'm in really focuses on what’s called the "Oval Diagram".  Basically, 15 names are chosen from the EQ, RF, and HP. And it’s our job to help find and teach these people.  They really like using us missionaries to find less actives that the ward cannot get a hold of.  We are "Hunters of Men". lol.

Boni has a desire to be baptized, but his Dad is against the family joining the church.  He's the only one that is opposed to the idea, so we are praying and fasting that he has a change of heart.

Limao and Jing are wanting to help us learn Mandarin. SO HARD!! They have too many different tones.  The word "MA" has 4 different meanings and all because of the way you say it.

We have a couple more potential investigators that we are really excited to see. There’s a guy, Zido, who just decided to come to church and has come 3 times in a row!  We are just now having our first lesson with him this week. 

President and Sister Jensen dropped in for a surprise visit to our Church.  One thing the Iowa City Elders have is a lot of perks that most of the other areas don’t get.  IC is the central meeting place for the mission, so we get to go to ALL transfer meetings whether we are being transferred or not.  And President and the APs drop in on our meetings also. (District Mtgs, etc.)  And some other stuff :)

We pray all the time for guidance and direction. And He NEVER fails us!!

Thank you for all your love and support!

Helaman 5:

12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Elder Allred

Hakuna Matata

February 17, 2014

Hujambo!!

SO its been a crazy past couple days.  I did end up getting transferred, I am now in..... IOWA CITY!!!  I love the big city!!  I’m in the 2nd ward which consists mostly of families with 2 kids and the youngest one has to be 3 years old (its a requirement for this ward)   A LOT of kids.

A couple of cool new things.

My new comp is a good friend of mine already, we served around each other in my previous zone.  Elder Powell.  He is so great :)

I dropped studying Spanish.  And now, because of the African and Asian population here, they have asked all elders and sisters in the IC area to study and become fairly fluent in either, French, Swahili, or Mandarin.  My Companion and I are studying Swahili and Mandarin. :) So if anyone knows of any study helps, please let me know. :)

We have a couple investigators.

Boni is a 17 y/o form the Congo (Africa) He is the one that will be helping us most with Swahili. He reminds me a lot of Ben Sumsion, don't know why, just his mannerisms and the way he conducts himself with quiet power. He is slowly progressing but I really fell that he will be baptized this transfer.

Limao and Jing Chen, are also African. The are from.... just kidding....they are from Asia :) They are fluent in Mandarin and know very little English,  we have to really simplify our way of teaching with them.

AND There is a woman in the Cedar Rapids area that has agreed to meet with us. She's really great, I had the opportunity to talk with her a little and I am SUPER excited to see her again.  Her name is Tracy Volner.  :D!!!!  She is actually a long time friend of my mom.  I am excited to meet her.

President had also announced that he wants Missionaries in an area for AT LEAST 6 Months!!! So I hope I am staying here for a while. :)   So much for my last letter thinking that 6 months was a long time!  ....lesson on humility....getting it, still need more! J

I love my mission :) I'm having a blast!!!  The church is so true.  It is amazing to see how people struggle when they try to “do it their own way”.  In reality, the Gospel simplifies our lives and following it to our best ability brings true joy.  The more we “do it His way” the simpler and more joyful our lives become!

Nakupenda,  (I LOVE YOU)

Elder Allred

Hello!

February 10, 2014

So this week has been a lot of fun. We've had a lot of good lessons and seen a lot of miracles.

First off, we re-did our areas in Waverly. Instead of being divided North and South, we are now doing East and West.  When we split the area the first time, I was 2 weeks in and was still "Green". We have learned a lot since then, and some changes needed to be made.

With the area change, comes a change of investigators.  Debbie is now the other Elders to teach, and we have gained some more people from the South.

Brad is a guy we knocked into, and we feel that he is pretty solid.  When we found him he was on day one of being sober from alcohol.  He has liver problems and was told by a doctor that he will die if he continues to drink. He really feels that God is watching out for him.  I feel bad for the guy, he's 32 and really needs God in his life.

Debbie, Is now the Waverly West’s to teach.  She has been meeting because she is interested to learn for education sake.  Last week we had a super good lesson with her in which she accepted a baptismal invite.  And last night I extended the date of April 19 for her, and she accepted! It was cool to see her change and grow.  But sadly that was the last time I will probably teach her.

Caitlin, is going really strong.  She has a date for March 1st. But she needs to move it because her mom is NOT supporting her in anyway. And March 1st is her mom’s birthday... SO trying not to back stab Caitlin's mom, we need a new date for her.  Pray that her Moms heart is softened.

Transfers are on Thursday and I am expecting that I will be getting transferred.  6 Months in an area is a long time, and lately I feel that my time is done in Waverly.  I don't know for sure if I am being transferred officially. I've had some talks with my mission president and He has basically told me that I am.  But it’s not official till I get a phone call today.  So all mail and such, please send to the mission home because I don’t want to lose any mail. :) 

To the Priests:  I may have said this a lot, but, a mission is hard work.  It is nothing like what I expected. I would do 3 things differently if I could go back, I would 1) study my scriptures more.  The scriptures are so powerful and a major help in the work.  2) Watch a pay attention to the District. It is so great to see what Missionary work is like.  3) Read/Listen to "Characters of Christ" by Elder Bednar.  That talk changed my Mission.  I love you guys and pray for you all.

The Members: Please watch Hastening the Work of Salvation on LDS.org.  It is so great to work with the Members.  The church is changing the approach to Missionary work. Please continue to be the great examples you are to the world.

I love you all!  Please keep the prayers coming. :)

Love, Elder Spencer Duane Allred

Miracles

February 3, 2014

Hello Friends and Family!!

This week has been fun.  Sunday and Monday were too cold again to go out to do normal work.  I feel so worthless at the times that we can’t do anything.  On top of the cold, my companion got sick. So we spent another 2 days in the apartment. NOT FUN!

This week was really abnormal I guess is the right wording. This week I had some of the most powerful lessons I've had while on my mission.

Debbie: She's become a good friend of mine. She has always lacked desire to really know if this is true. BUT, this last week, we had a POWERFUL lesson with her. And she accepted a baptismal invite! I'm so excited for her!

Caitlin: Is a new investigator who has already announced to her family that she is Mormon. She likes the feeling of church and has been coming for a solid couple of months.  And we had yet another powerful lesson with her.  And she accepted a date for March 1!

We are seeing so many miracles and blessings!

Katherine: We were at the library and she came to us and asked if there was a Mormon church in town.  We told her where to find it.  She let us know that she is a member from California, and just didn’t get her records moved.  Upon further investigation while talking with her, we discovered that she has yet to be baptized!  She investigated and had all the missionary lessons but moved before anything more could happen.  She wants to continue on the path and come to church!

We are so blessed, I only wish I could see the end result.  Sad to say that Transfers are on the 13^th, and I really feel that this is the one for me. So send Mail from now on to the mission home please. AND Pray for these people. The Lord has so much in store for those who exercise faith in Him.

Love you all!

Elder Allred