June 27, 2018

Welcome Home Elder Allred!

June 21, 2018

Hey fam this week was great! 

Pretty normal nothing too crazy happened. We had zone conference on Friday and it was the shortest zone conference I have ever been to, it was only 3 hours long instead of 6-7. That was a lot easier to sit through haha. Not that I don't like zone conference it's just hard to sit for that long when you don't have too much cushion if ya know what I mean.

This week we also met with Bradley he is doing well, we taught him the stop smoking program and it actually went very well. It was hard to find the cinnamon mouthwash and the 100% grapefruit juice, but we ended up finding some. This past Tuesday Bradley actually took us out ammonite hunting. We got up at 5:30 and were out by 6. We found a few fossils and then Bradley, who was walking a bit ahead of us, said oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! So we went over there and Bradley had found a big chunk. So we started turning over stones and found a ton of big chunks, our back packs were full and super heavy and so we had to head back. But what we had found was actually quite rare. As we were headed back we missed the trail that we were to go back on and we were walking through some cottonwoods and bradley looked up from watching the ground for rattlsnakes and said what the he** just happened.. it was so funny, he didnt really laugh but I did. After we made it up out of the coolee we went back to Brad's and washed them off a bit and got a picture with it. He just texted a picture to us and it is almost a whole fossil. It's just missing a couple of spots but pretty much the whole thing. 

We had another lesson with Bradley yesterday, he had smoked a few times and drank coffee again and so we went through the stop smoking program again and recommitted him to follow the 15 steps for the next 7 days. He said that he would. He had one cigarette left and we got him to rip it up and put it in the trash, so I think he's pretty committed. We also put him on date for July 21. 

Neil and Heather are still doing the same they have been reading their scriptures which is really good. Heather told us that she wants to be baptized. It will be hard for her to stop smoking but I believe that she can do it. 

Yesterday we had a lesson with Connor at Brother Smigle's home and his friend Carissa came! We had planned to teach the plan of Salvation to Connor and so that's what we taught. Connor is a Born Again Christian and so he likes to try and argue about everything, it's funny but also irritating. Carissa on the other hand seems very interested and I feel really enjoyed the lesson. We have planned to meet with them again tomorrow so that will be fun, I'm excited. 

Last week we also got to go to Waterton last p-day and that was really fun. We attempted to climb to the top of a peak but when we got 3/4 of the way up the wind was blowing so hard that we couldn't go any further. It was blowing so hard that we could jump and the wind would carry us a bit, it was crazy, I have a video of it. We also got to see a bear and it's three cubs! I'll send you the pictures. 

Well this is my last email and I'm pretty excited to see you all on Wednesday! These two years have been great, it hasn't necessarily been easy but it has been great and I know that I have grown so much. I have truly come to know just how true this church is and that Jesus Christ is my Savior and your Savior. Sorry again for this being so late.. love you guys and I'll talk to you in a few! 

Love, Elder Allred 

June 19, 2018

We just got back from ammonite hunting with Brad, one of the guys we've been teaching. We started down the river at 6 this morning.

June 12, 2018

This week was great we've been pretty busy. To start off we had exchanges and I got to go with Elder Kretschmann, one of my previous companions from Medicine Hat. We had a great time together, we helped Rod lay half a mile of pipe for his new irrigation system that he's putting in. We also had a lesson with Bradley, he is doing very well, he told us yesterday that, "Today is the day that I stop smoking." We will also be introducing him to the stop smoking program, maybe that will help him out as he continues to work hard at stopping his addiction. We also had a lesson with Tristan who is a kid who struggles mentally. We are teaching him very slowly and not much information every time we go over so hopefully he will be able to remember the things we teach him. After that we went on splits with the Elder's Quorum and Ward Mission Leaders. There were 8 people who showed up and we were able to cover a lot of area it was great! It was even greater to see that the ward is excited to do missionary work and to help out as much as they can. 

Not too much happened on Thursday. We had our weekly planning session, had a lesson with Wendy who is a less active. And then we had dinner and a lot of stop-bys. On Friday we helped Wendy get a dresser and brought it into her house so that she would have some place to put her clothes instead of on her coffee table. She was very grateful. We also helped the Atwoods, you got a picture of us helping at their house. We moved a ton of gravel. I haven't done that for a while, it made me remember all the times the child labor law was broken and there was nothing I could do about it because I was a slave.. Haha JK looking back it was pretty fun and it kept me busy. 

Saturday was an interesting day we didn't have a whole lot to do and so we were riding our bikes around looking for ways to serve and to talk to people but it just seemed like nobody was out and about and so we were stopping by some of the people we worked with to see how they were doing and we ended up stopping by Brother Smigle's so that I could get my handle bars tightened so they would stop spinning. We talked to him for a while and as we were leaving we turned around and saw a couple of people changing the tires on their car. So we went over and started talking to them. When we first got there, there was a 24 year old lady who was changing the tires while her guy friend was standing there watching her. We offered to help but she said that she didn't need our help, but we had to have talked to them for at least half an hour. We found out that Connor had met with missionaries before and said that he would like to again. Kris has a pretty crazy schedule so we couldn't meet with her this week but we hope to pick her up as a gator. The meeting with Connor went well we don't know what his real intent is yet but it was nice to be able to talk to him and show him the chapel. He's a nice guy, I look forward to teaching him more. 

Sunday was very busy we had Ward Council at 9, Canyons Ward at 11, and Mountain Heights Ward from 1-4. Right after that we had dinner and then headed for the stake center to a fireside with President Nelson. President Nelson and his wife as well as Elder Rasband and his wife were there and spoke to us. They did a little trip through Alberta. They started in Edmonton, then went to Calgary, and then ended up speaking in Raymond. Everywhere they spoke they broadcast it to other stakes in the surrounding areas. I feel bad that I didn't get to see them or shake their hands but I am so grateful for the special opportunity to listen to their talks they sure were great! 

Today was one of the most fun p-days I've had. We got to go to the mountains of Waterton! We woke up at 5:40, were at bishop Rodger's by 6:30 and were off. Bishop's son Parker, was our tour guide. We hiked for 4 hours up a mountain and couldn't make it quite to the top because the wind was blowing so hard but we had a great time. After we got off the mountain we went to Wieners of Waterton and had a wiener and some fries and then hung out for a bit at Parker's pad since he is working up there. Later on we hiked to a waterfall and got some ice cream. We saw a lot of wildlife, probably the most exciting was the mama bear with her 3 cubs. Well this is getting pretty long and I'm getting tired but have a great week! I love you guys, I'll see ya soon! 

Love, Elder Allred 

Hello, Allred and Sorensen Families!!  

We wanted to say a quick thank you for sharing your sons with us here in Lethbridge, they are our favorites. They were complete lifesavers today with the work they did willingly to help us with our garden project. You have done a fantastic job raising wonderful men!!  Hope you are all doing well. 

With love, 

Melissa and Mike Atwood

Final Zone Conference

June 5, 2018

This week was pretty great! We met with Neil and Heather a couple times and they are doing well. Neil had to go to the hospital because he thought that he had sugar poisoning, but he ended up being okay. They still aren't reading their scriptures every day and we asked them what they thought was holding them back and if there was any way we could help remind them to do it and they said no we just need to remember. So we challenged them to make it their first priority when they get up in the morning so that they can remember to do it, but also so that they start their day out right. They said that they would so we will follow up with them when we meet them again. 

As of lately our wards have created a new ward mission plan and it has really gotten them excited about doing missionary work. This week we are going on splits with the Ward Missionaries as well as the Elder's Quorum President and one of his Counselors. A lot of the ward is wanting to help in any way it's awesome! So this week we will be contacting a lot of the people in the ward as we go on splits. 

We also met with Bradley this week, he is doing well. He is getting excited and can't wait for the river to go down so that he can go out hunting for ammonite. It was his birthday on Thursday and so Adam had the idea of getting donuts for him so we got in his truck and we headed for Timy's. While going through the drive through my companion Elder Sorensen said lets get 11 donuts and a bagel and so thats what we did we still haven't talked to Bradley about it to see if he has noticed by now even though I'm sure he has. That was just a funny moment from the week. 

On Saturday our stake had the family fun run, actually the same stake family fun run that Elder Shah and I ran in last year. It was pretty fun to run in it again this year. Elder Sorensen rode the bike while I ran the 5K. I won a shirt and when I was looking at the sizes I noticed I had
accidentally grabbed the Youth Large instead of the Adult Large and so its just a bit short on me and looks like a muscle shirt on me, which is too bad. Maybe it will fit Derick though. 

Well that's just the highlights of this week hope you all continue to do well! This is my last month and I plan to push hard to the end. I can't wait to see you all again! Have a great week! 

Love, Elder Allred 

May 29, 2018 Elder Sorensen

Hey y'all! 

So early on in the week we figured Elder Wells was going to be getting transferred so we met with a lot of the families in the ward and met with our investigators for him to say goodbye. Tuesday night came around and we got the phone call that he would be leaving to go to Pincher Creek. We also found out that I would be getting a new companion, Elder Sorensen. It was sad seeing Elder Wells leave we had some good times. 

Thursday was transfers for the mission. My companion was coming from British Columbia and they for some reason got told that transfers were at 3 instead of at 12. So I got to hang out with Elder Clay for a while, he was from Virginia. After a while we finally met up with our companions and switched. So far I have really enjoyed being with Elder Sorensen, he has really kept me motivated to run in the morning. It was hard with Elder Wells because he hated running and also hated riding bikes. But Elder Sorensen jumps out of bed and says, "Let's go." He rides the bike while I'm running it's pretty great! Oh I forgot to tell you Elder Sorensen is from Spanish Fork Utah so that is pretty cool. What's even cooler is that he has a grandma who lives in Roosevelt! Her name is Peggy Sorensen. 

The week has flown by I feel like nothing much has happened. Yesterday it was weird, we had 5 member lessons and all of them canceled throughout the day I haven't had that happen before. We have met quite a few members in the ward, but nothing really too crazy. But I'm excited for this week I love you all have a great week! 

Love, Elder Allred

May 22, 2018

Hey Fam! 

This week was pretty great its weird though that this was the last week of the transfer. Transfer calls come out tonight and Elder Wells has been in the area for 4 transfers now and so he is probably leaving, and I'll be getting a new companion for the last little bit. But I don't know we'll see, we have had a good time together though. 

This past week started off with us going on exchanges with a couple of other missionaries in the district, it was pretty fun. Elder Ward and I had a fun time together in my area. His dad actually sang in the tabernacle coir this year so thats pretty cool. We spent the day going through the formers and tracting. We also had a lesson with Neil and Heather which went pretty good. Heather came to church, she missed last week and so this week we made sure and gave her some of the candy they gave out for Mother's Day. She really liked that. 

Yesterday we got to go out and help Rod with branding, it sure was fun. I got to help him last year when I was in Lethbridge and I got to help him out again this year. Rod is a non-member, and a real neat guy. He's been calling me roper ever since he first saw me because of how tall and skinny I am. Most of the time I was there I was giving them shots while Elder Wells was giving them an additional tag that tracks their food or something like that. It sure was fun though to chase the cows around and sort them and all. There were a few other non-members there that we talked to a bit. One of them that was from P

icture Butte said that he had to have broken over a thousand horses over the span of his life. 

This week I also started my plan which is a 6 week program to help you get ready for home. It just basically helps you set goals and stuff like that. Just another thing to get me to think about home.. haha. This week was great! and I'm excited for this coming week! I sure do love you all have a great week! 

Love, Elder Allred