Nov. 25, 2013

 

Mauri my Friends and Family!!!!!!

 

Transfers were this last Thursday. Elder Weilenmann went to Fairfield Iowa as a Zone Leader, and I have been blessed with Elder Tekenene from the Gilbert Islands.  Things have been positive for us.  We are meeting with a lot more members, whether they are Active, Less Active, or Part-Member.  We are not finding NEW investigators off the street. We are finding them in the homes where the gospel either is or once has been in.

 

Things are different with Elder W gone. We are out of the apartment at 10 instead of 11 (Because Im done training) and because Elder T, has never been in Waverly,  It's  MY job to schedule the first week or so.  OH and he has no licence since he lives on an island. So I am now the Companionship driver. :) It's been fun.  The coldest it has gotten is about 5 degrees in the day and -2 at night.  This week will be a little warmer at around 20 degrees and about 10 at night :) So I am now an Elder-Pop.  With the Humidity here, it soooo cold.  But we get through it. :) 

 

We have a date set with Nick, for Dec. 14.  But sad to say, Elishyia is on the verge of dropping us.  She went to Solid as a Rock to Softer than the Sand.  :( Please pray for her.  She's been so great and we don't want to loose her.

To the Priests (I havent done this in a while) : Study the third missionary lesson in P.M.G.  Then please report to the Bishop or to me. (I'ld like to hear about it.)  I can Promise that if you sincerely study it, you will gain a better testimony of OUR Savior and the Atonement. Love YOU!!

 

To the Members: Search for and PRAY for missionary experiences.  Every time you share your testimonies, you WILL be blessed for it.  The greatest thing that we can do as members to share the gospel, is to share our testimonies.

 

Non-Members:  Remember our Savior Jesus Christ.  He atoned for all because He loves us.  God blesses our families and He, Christ and the Holy Ghost are ONE in purpose. I extend a Missionaries invitation and promise.  Read Moroni 10:3-5.  Our church is not one to replace religions or faith. Simply to add to the faiths that you do have.  We want to help build that faith. And if you will ask in faith about the Book of Mormon, or this Church. By the Power of the Holy Ghost, you will know that these things are true.  I can promise that. I can promise that because I have done it. I can say that I KNOW these things are true because I followed the Invitation.  Please do so with faith.

Nov. 18, 2013  No Mountain High Enough

 

Hello Family!

 

This week has been such a great week! We've seen the rags go to riches.

 

Brother Larson (our Branch Mission Leader) had a son come home from Sweden this week. That was a big blessing for us, because he still has the missionary flame and is a tremendous help for us finding people. 

 

We've been preparing for transfers coming up, so we are visiting a lot of members just in case we may not see them again.  Elder W received a call from President, and will be leaving on Thursday. And I have yet to hear if I'm staying or not.  But Elder W has been in Waverly for 9 months and it's only 3 for me.  So I doubt that I'll be leaving.

 

We have some amazing members here that are working hard with helping us.  We've had lessons in their home a couple times this week. An investigator, Nick, is going really strong.  We set a date with him for Dec. 14. AND he came to church this last week, which is HUGE for him because he's super shy.

 

As we've met with him more, he's becoming a lot more open to socializing. Which is great!  The Ackersons have been a huge help with him. I'm so grateful for members who are  willing to help us out in any way they can.  President Jenson is sure to let the members know, that ANY part they had with the baptism of investigators (Recent Converts) is recorded in heaven and that WE will have joy in helping save that soul.

 

Well.  We've reached the peak of our mountain, and are once again witnessing the great power and mercies of God.  He love us ALL, and will never abandon us.  Along with our blessings, we have had some struggles along this path.

 

Windy, has gone through some horrible stuff lately.  We went and visited her (which was the first time since September) And she actually opened the door to us.  We had a silent lesson with her, and just let the spirit work on her.  We had her read scriptures and talk out her problems.  And right before we left, she says to us that Her heart knows that this church is right, her head just doesn't agree.  So now we're working with her and just being there for her. 

 

This Gospel blesses families.

 

I issue an Invitation: Find a Preach My Gospel, and PLEASE study the Gospel of Jesus Christ missionary lesson.  AKA: the Doctrine of Christ. I can promise that as you do so, you will receive a greater understanding of Christ and His atonement. It will help us be better people.  This Gospel is set on The Doctrine of Christ.

 

I love this work.  I have seen so many blessings that have come from it.  I thank you all for your examples to me and for all the letters and news :) Thank you all so much.

 

22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the ^atestimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he ^blives!

 

This is My testimony.

 

Elder Allred.

 

From President Jenson: 

Since there are no transfers during the month of December, please have your family and friends send your Christmas packages directly to your apartment.  Transfers are on November 21, so when you send out your weekly email on November 25, please inform your family of your current address and tell them to send your packages to that address.  We strongly recommend using Priority Mail, as there is always a chance of an emergency transfer.  Again, we remind you that packages sent Priority Mail or 1st Class are the only packages that can be forwarded.  Packages sent “Standard Post” or “Parcel Post” cannot be forwarded, and UPS and FedEx do NOT offer forwarding service.  Note that most items ordered on line are sent via UPS or Fed Ex.  Zone Conferences start on December 10th, and that is the last chance a package has to get to you before Christmas if we cannot forward it.  Any package that arrives at the Mission Office after December 9 that cannot be forwarded will not get to you until Transfers on January 2, 2014.  We know how important your packages are to you, and we try our best to get them to you as quickly as possible.  However, the number of packages that cannot be forwarded is becoming difficult to manage.  PLEASE, PLEASE tell your family and friends to use Priority Mail and follow the instructions provided above.      

Nov 11,2013

Helaman 5:12

Hello Friends and Family.

This week was really good! 

We had stake conference, and the missionaries in the stake sang "Called to Serve".  It was so cool.  The adult session was devoted to Missionary work for the Members. They asked for members that night to stand up and share a recent missionary experience, and it was so cool to see and hear members share their experiences and also share their testimony of missionary work.

This week was different.  We only had 5 lessons with investigators.  The rest that we were able to teach were Less Actives/Recent Converts (LARCs) And Member Lessons.  So were working a lot with the members.  Our experience with the members has been positive.  We are starting to soften their hearts into sharing the gospel with their friends. 

So in my last letter I referred to "Every Member, a Missionary" our Member lesson.  We have found people who have been prepared (Alma 13:22-24).  Now the challenge is to share the gospel with them.  We must overcome the fear to act and share.  We have found that the spirit truly testifies when members bear their testimonies of the gospel.  Please: This week FIND an opportunity to do so.  I can promise that you and them will be blessed for it.

The members have such a power.  Missionaries come and go, the REAL full time missionaries in an area are the loving members of the wards or branches.    Elder Holland Said :   "Indeed, one of the axioms of our day is that no mission or missionaries can ultimately succeed without the loving participation and spiritual support of the local members working with them in a balanced effort. If today you are taking notes on a stone tablet, chisel that one in deeply. I promise you won’t ever have to erase it. Initial investigators may come from many different sources, but those who are actually baptized and who are firmly retained in activity in the Church come overwhelmingly from friends and acquaintances known to members of the Church." 

There will still be struggles.  Missionary work is... well WORK.  Nothing comes easy, it was hard for the Savior and it will be hard for us.  Waverly is starting to soften their hearts towards us. We are talking to more people than we used to; the challenge is to now teach them in their homes.  A scripture that I've always liked is Alma 26:26-30.  We are out here laboring and hoping that we can effect SOME of God's children. We have been working hard and somewhat persecuted, but we are now starting to see the tender mercies of the Lord. 

Pray for us. We need your prayers.  Waverly Branch is hurting and we need strength to come. 

I love you all so much and I thank you for all of your examples.

STAND

Elder Allred

Nov. 4, 2013

Hey Ya'll.

 

So Missionary Month?  I think I might be able to help with that.

Well..  I'm gonna give ya'll our Member Missionary Lesson.

Pres Monson said: “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together … [and] labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work”

The Lord has prepared people everywhere to hear and understand the message of this gospel.  We are in the fulness of times. And our job is to spread the great message of this gospel.  And we need to share the gospel to all,  Christ said "...but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee..."-Mark 5:19

Missionaries and Members need to come together on a combined effort, to share the gospel.  Elder Ballard declared:"We are not asking everyone to do everything. We are simply asking all members to pray, knowing that if every member, young and old, will reach out to just “one” between now and Christmas, millions will feel the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a wonderful gift to the Savior."

It has been said  "it would not be easy, only that it would be worth it."

Waverly is going well.  The people are starting to soften their hearts. We are having little success still,  were not getting as much investigators then we would like.  We have a knack of finding 14 year old girls, single moms, and older women (70s-80s)  I don't know why but all but 2 investigators are women.

Sacrement Meeting was AMAZING!! Betty went up and bore her testimony for the first time. It was Elder Weilenmanns last Fast and Testimony Meeting before transfers, and I... Dont remember what I said, But a lot of people told me that it was what they needed to hear.  So I trust that I did a good job :)

We are meeting with Elishyia's brother, Nick and will hopefully set a date with him and Elishyia for Dec. 7 :) and we are going to meet with some formal investigators, who have been solid at one time or another and re-set dates and get the fire in them again.  One formal, Corry, actually has "Families are Forever" tattooed on his arm. I really want to meet with him.

The Waverly Branch however, is in pain.  We need prayers. Sister Buettell, our mission nurse, is having eye and heart problems, Bro. Swallow has just found out that he has Cancer down his spine and on some of his ribs.  Please Pray for them.

Till Next Time.

S.T.A.N.D  Stand Tall And Never Doubt

Elder Allred

Oct. 28,2013

 

Hello Friends and Family,

 

I'm reminded of two stories.

 

The first, Is Man, a Gardner.  He was in his yard pruning the trees and bushes one day. While he was doing so, he thought he saw a bush shed a tear.  "Why have you cut me down?" the Bush asked. "I was doing so well".  The Gardner replied. "I'm the Gardner Here, and I know what I want you to be. I know of your potential and know what will help and make you grow"

 

A couple years later, the same man was in line for a big promotion in his line of work.  He had done his best and was looking at becoming the rank of General.  The interview went well, but the man was told that he could not receive the promotion because he was a Mormon.  That night he threw his hat on the ground and threw his fists in the air. "Why did you cut me down?! I deserved that, I could have been so much better!?". He then heard the Lord say, "Im the Gardner Here, and I know what I want you to be. I know of your potential and know what will help and make you grow"

 

The Lord is in control.  He knows who we are and knows of our potential.  He loves us enough to cut us down.

 

Now, the second story.  A man was in a plane crash, and ended up on an island by himself.  There he lived and survived.  He prayed every night and pleaded with the Lord for rescue and comfort.  He was lost and needed help.  He received an answer to his prayers, the Lord had said "I will provide a way".

After a couple of days, the man noticed a ship of the coast. And eventually the Captain of the ship asked the man if he was in need of a rescue.  "No" the man replied, "The Lord will provide a way".  So the ship left.

A couple of days later, the man was praying and asking for comfort. "I have provided a way" said the Lord.  So again a ship came and went as the man was insistent that the Lord will provide the way. A storm broke out and the man was killed.  While in heaven, the man met God and asked "Where were you?  You told me that you would provide the way".  The Lord than answered "Well? Did I not send two ships after you?  Did I not provide your way of rescue?"

 

This week has been, difficult.  We have investigators that fail to follow their commitments.  We have great lessons with them, and the commit to follow our invitations. But they wont actually do them.  We have felt the Lord cutting us down, and rebuilding us.  We are struggling to help the people that this is the MOST important thing in their lives.  That only through this gospel can we achieve happiness.  I keep asking   "How many stones do I have to throw at you before you realize that I've been hitting you in the face?"  Really though, They have received the restored gospel, and they refuse to see that.  The Lord teaches "line upon line...here a little there a little"  People are prepared for this message, and they have it right in front of them.  It is OUR job to help them realize the truth of this.

 

My Advise.  Remember the Lord,    9 Believe in ^aGod; believe that he is, and that he ^bcreated all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all ^cwisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not ^dcomprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend. Mosiah 4.

 

 

Things are moving, Slowly but Surely.

 

Love you.

 

Elder Allred

 

Oct 21, 2013

Sorry all.  I've been a little slow this week getting this out.  I will also send todays letter. 

 

Steph

 

 

Hello Family and Friends.

 

First off: Thank you so much for the mail. It really helps :)

 

So this last week was the first full week of our area split. And its been really hard. Almost all the members live outside of our area, and that goes for the majority of investigators.  Elder W and I are starting from the basics.  Were Talking to everyone and trying to receive more investigators.  We only have 3 right now. Debbie (21) is a Wartburg student and X-Country runner, Windy (older than that) is more busy than any person I've met, and Elishya (14) who we recently have discovered a speed bump that prohibits her to be baptized :(  so we need to work with that. 

 

But through thick and thin, I still LOVE my Mission.  We're putting our faith in the Lord and are now starting to see the city of Waverly softening their hearts. There was one experience that we had.  It was about 8 in the evening, dark, cold, and we were both pretty hungry.  All in all a bad combination. After some time, we knocked on our last door.  And a 70 y/o man opened the door and started asking US questions about Christ and our beliefs of him.  After Elder W and I bore testimony of Christ, the man looked at us and then asked about the Book Of Mormon, and its validity.  So once again we bore testimony of it, and I read to him Moroni 10:3-5, Moroni's promise. We than gave him a B.O.M and asked him to read and pray about it. He graciously said that he would, and we left. It may not seem like much, but it truly gave my Comp. and I a spiritual high :)

 Bearing testimony is one of the most simple ways to share the gospel and have zero arguments about belief. 

 

Also, on a humor side note.  This week, my Comp and I were out finding people again, and knocking away, and with no success, decided to walk back to the apartment to go over our area book.  So I realized that Iowa and Utah are entirely different when it comes to blocks and streets.  In the normal street world, a black is a route that takes around and puts you where you started, not the case in Iowa.  We walked around that block for a while, and finally hit a main road. So thinking that this road went south (Remember, No mountains in IA) we walked to our apartment.  Well it turns out that we were really walked west. And Started to notice a lot more farm land and corn fields.  We Were Lost.   So we walked, and walked, and walked. (Get the picture) When finally we ran into a farmer.  We looked at him and told him that we were going against the man code, and asked for directions.  He laughed at us than said that we were about 2 and a half to 3 miles outside Waverly.  :)...... So our journey back home continued.  after about an hour and a half. We made it.  Lesson of this: Carry a map on you,  and put your faith to the wheel when times get hard.

 

 This week Im focusing more on the trials of faith.  How to overcome trials, and see the good in life. :)

 

I love you all.  Pray For Waverly

 

Kia Kaha, Semper Fidelis

 

Elder Allred

Hey Ya'll

 

This last week was interesting.

We split our area, Waverly North and Waverly South. 

Elder Weilenmann and I are in Waverly North, and most of our investigators are now in the South with Elders Gray and (SO COOL) Elder Allred.   

Elder Allred is from the Price area. He and I both walked for Reddick Newton Allred :). Without fail, everyone we meet askes if we are related. We think we are.  :) This week we will be doing Family History Work :) (Your Welcome Grandma) 

This week has been hard.  Splitting my first area was hard.  We had NO idea what we were doing. Our Zone Leaders told us that it was our job to do it.  So we did.  :)  When Hard Things Fall upon us, Trust in the Lord.  He will Guide us. 

Another Trial, is that of creating a new lesson for Preach My Gospel.  Ok So its in my copy of it.  But I have been working to create a lesson to light a fire inside members to help the Missionaries.  It been Hard.  Alma tells us to use Boldness with no Ovebearance..  Im strugging with that.

How can I call a spade, a spade without burning the member trust? 

This week has not been so productive because of the split.  And its been hard.  Feeling unproductive. 

Like Grandpa Allred:  Those with the faith of Reddick Newton Allred will keep offering friendship even when it seems not to be needed or to have no effect. They will persist. When some new member reaches the point of spiritual exhaustion, they will be there offering kind words and fellowship. They will then feel the same divine approval Brother Allred felt when he saw those handcart pioneers struggling toward him, knowing he could offer them safety because he had followed counsel when it was hard to do. (Elder Erying, Finding Safety in Counsel)

Pray For Missionary Experiences.  Pray for those who have been prepared.

And Trust in the Lord.

Elder Allred.