August 29, 2016

Homemade Bread!

Something that I thought was cool was that I saw a plane earlier on when I was here in Canada and it was a huge remote controlled plane that would shoot a mist or cloud out of the wings across the field. I didn't know what it was until I looked in the paper and found that it was how they fertilized their fields here. Its was pretty cool because he would be flying right by the cars and power lines and pull up the last second. This week was slow teaching investigators because of school starting up. Next week will be a whole lot better. This week contained mostly a ton of service. It was still fun. Things are starting to cool off here. The coldest it has gotten during the day is 10 degrees Celsius. I wish it would stay this temp. the whole time, it is perfect. Well I hope everything is still going good. Have a good week! Love Elder Allred. 

I have been reading in the Book of Mormon lately you know and right now I am in Alma 50. When I started reading the Book of Mormon I decided that I was going to mark every time that it says faith in there. You would really be surprised at how many times it is mentioned, because I know that I was. I have also started in the back of my triple combination, studying different topics like faith and the atonement, marriage, and so many more that is going to and already has helped me. I have gotten so much smarter in the scriptures it's blowing my mind. I had no idea just how simple and not complicated at all that they were. I hate reading out of the Bible, I mean that there are some good stories and lessons in there its just that they are so much more confusing. Especially the Old Testament. I really like what you said that the Savior helps us get through difficult times, I know that to be true as well. I can feel him helping me all the time, all that I have to do is turn to him and try to become more like him. I told Kiara that I weigh 185.2 pounds now but I am hoping that it is just muscle because I am working out hard every morning and night but especially at night. The temperature is staying around 10- 15ish degrees celsius and I still haven't gotten a coat so I am going to have to find time to do that. I have gotten a letter from Jath and 3 just barely and also one from the Bennets, it sure is exciting when you get something like that. You will have to tell them thanks for me. Well hope everything is going well keep working hard, and thanks for everything. Love you all- Elder Allred.  

Thanks for that. I miss being able to ride horses. I wish that I could do that out here in Canada. There are quite a few horses and cows out here. But mostly just fields and fields of grain and canola. There are several Hutterite people here where I am at and Elder Davis and I plan on trying to go to their colony and buy some of their fresh food. They are a strange breed haha. I see them at Walmart everytime that I go shopping, they look like a bunch of pioneers. Mom would love to see them I just know that she would. It is a little awkward when a ton of pioneer people are driving a new truck to Walmart, it just doesn't seem right. I get the opportunity this week to go to the temple as well as costco with some of our members who we did service with. I might be going to Bamf too pretty soon which would totally be cool because all that there is here are rolling hills like you said, no mountains. I miss seeing the mountains. Well hope your having a good time at work and everything. Love you guys too.-Elder Allred.

That is so cool that you got to take a nonmember to church. How did that go? It is always so exciting when we get one of our nonmembers to church. 

Love, Your Baller, Elder Allred

August 22, 2016

Everyone here is always telling me it gets so much colder here but honestly it feels the same to me. The food is overall pretty good until I get in a grimy house and then it is hard to choke down, especially when you can see cat and dog hair floating around in the air. We went to a less active member's house which was one of those grimy ones to share a message. When I walked in it was pretty bad. It was really dirty and stunk really bad. But luckily I found out she had horses and she had to show us. She had really small miniature ones as well as tall ones. I'll send you some pictures of them. Something that has been pretty funny and might make you laugh is that our apartment has been infested with fruit flies. We haven't been able to get rid of them. We tried putting an apple in a cup and then having them all fly in there, and then we would put our hand over the cup and put them in the microwave. We have tried all kinds of things. We were telling a member in our ward about it and she said that she saw something on pintrest about it. You just get are jar and put vinegar and soup in it and the flies fly in there and drown. We have finally almost killed all of them. There is one investigator that we found who is 35 and has been less active since he was 17, and he invited us over and told us how he was wanting to get a patriartical blessing, and also asked what he needed to do to get one. He was also telling us about how his wife is Catholic and also a professional softball player, and how he wants to have us teach her and also talked about being sealed for all time not just for this time on earth. He told us that he goes to bed every night scared that he won't be with his wife forever. I'm so glad that it is possible for us to be sealed for all time it would honestly stink to not have a best friend that you had on earth that you loved so much not be your best friend and be with you in heaven. So that is just someone who we are going to start working with. Well good luck with school I am so glad that I don't have to deal with that anymore. At least for another two years. I do miss ball though. I miss you all, keep being awesome!

Love, Elder Allred

August 15, 2015

Hello Fam, 
I got to give my first blessing in Canada yesterday to the Sunday School Teacher, thank you so much for having me go with Grandpa and give blessings to people in our ward it has helped me so much spiritually and ha also made me not look so much like a greeny. He just found out that he has kidney stones. He stayed home from church because of it. Elder Davis and I got the opportunity to teach his class for him because of it. It was on being honest. Kind of a hard subject but it ended up being really great. I have been assigned to my first area in Strathmore and Siksika. Strathmore is a small city and Siksika is a Blackfoot Indian Reservation. It is quite a bit like it is back home being on a rez and all, the only thing missing is that I can't see any mountains. The ground is just rolling hills and tons and tons of farm land in my area. They grow a lot of grains but also a ton of canola plants as well. There are a few colonies that are on the borders of my area that are full of Hutterite people. I saw some in Walmart this last week and it was pretty awesome they looked like a bunch of pioneers. We talked to them a little bit but they aren't a very social people. They will buy anything but food as far as I know. They grow 100% of all of their food. My companion and I are planning sometime to go and visit one of the colonies and buy a sack of potatoes or something. I have heard that they love to sell their food to others and that it is not as expensive as it is in the stores. The people here are generally pretty friendly, I haven't knocked on the doors too much but I have done quite a few and only gotten it slammed in my face twice. I have found that when people have dogs or cats you can just bring them up and they will go on forever talking about them. The two pretty cool dogs that I have seen here in Canada is a Bull dog and a race dog, I forgot what the name of it's breed is but they have long skinny bodies, especially their face and nose it comes to a point. They are very aerodynamic. This particular dog was famous and had won a few races. It was a pretty cool experience. I have really gotten to know the scriptures better I started over reading the Book Of Mormon in the MTC and I'm already in the middle of Alma. I had a really neat experience last night at a dinner appointment. Elder Davis had told the father of the home at church to come up with something for us to talk about after dinner. So after we ate the dinner which was pretty good except for the meat, only because we get meat every day. But after the dinner we went and sat down on the couches and he told us that he wanted us to talk about fear, and I thought shoot I have no idea of where to go with this, and Elder Davis I don't think did either but at that same time a scripture came to me in D&C 6:33-37 which was very very good. It said to fear not, and to fear not to do good, to follow the commandments. When I was thinking about this and talking to the family I thought we have no need to fear because if we are following the commandments and doing everything that we are supposed to then we know where we are going and we also know that Christ broke the bands of death for us so we have no need to fear. I really like this scripture and the thing is, is that I believe that you (Grandpa) may have taught this to me and our family in one of the lessons at your house. I know that I didn't write all that I should have down from those lessons but I am just sure glad of the Holy Ghost and how he brings all things to our remembrance. I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week! 

Love, Elder Allred 

We as missionaries are striving to bring or convert others to the gospel of Jesus Christ, but in the MTC I learned that the most important thing is that we convert ourselves. We have to have ourselves converted to the gospel before we can teach others. But things here in Canada have been pretty great, it has been a slower week because of people going out and vacationing, but here pretty soon everyone will be coming back and I think that the work will speed up a whole lot more.

More Elders at Retrainers Meeting

District meeting in the Confederation Park Zone

August 8, 2016

     So just to tell you guys just a little of what has happened to me this week. We started the week off really slow because of how tired we were. Missionary work is so tiring and I'm working out every morning and night trying to stay fit and not get fat. But like I said it was going slow so we decided to try some things. We heard that a ton of nonmembers play ball every Wednesday night so we played with them. I got a dunk on a kid that was actually a Priest in the ward, it was so awesome. I dunked it so hard that I was surprised that the rim didn't break or get bent. Now everyone at church calls me the Baller Missionary cause I am the best basketball player that is a missionary. So that was one thing that we have started to increase investigators. We usually pick up 1 investigator a week if we are good. But this last week we got 3. One was a guy named, "Guy" that does a lot of cowboy work and we got another one on a reservation. We are in charge of the Strathmore and Siksika Nation. There are a lot of Blackfoot Indians here. The other one was pretty crazy. We had heard of some missionaries that had prayed over the map to know where to go so we decided to do that. We had the feeling to go to a street that happened to be the street that the bishop and a couple of members lived on. Before we left we said another prayer telling God that we were going to be in that area and if there was anyone in that area that needed the gospel in there lives to direct us to him. So when we got there we decided to start knocking doors, so we did, and on like the 5th door we found our guy and we are teaching him now. It was a pretty crazy experience but with enough faith anything is possible. I feel that sometimes I don't have as much as what I should because when I'm reading the Book of Mormon it says faith so much. Talking about the Book of Mormon, I started it over in the MTC and I'm in Alma right now, I can read the scriptures better then I ever could. 

     Something else that was pretty crazy is that I guess that licence plates get stolen a lot up here and we got ours stolen, and we have been driving around without one hoping not to get pulled over. But we just got a new one so it is all good. The food is great and I have given 3-4 Books of Mormon away, it is really easy now that I am a missionary. And there is a ton of candy that is different. Well I hope that you all are having a great time. I miss you guys,  Love Elder Allred

August 1, 2016

As missionaries we are constantly trying to open our arms out to people to help them and think of them rather than closing our arms and just thinking about ourselves. I know it kind of sounds a little harsh, but  as I have read the scriptures more than what I ever have in my entire life, I have begun to see that, that is all that the savior does. We should constantly be striving to be more like our Savior Jesus Christ. It is the only way that we will get the reward in Heaven that we want and desire. I have had so many crazy experiences it is awesome. Davis and I went to this guys house yesterday and he had gone on a full 2 year mission and then fell away because of all the questions that he had about the gospel like blacks not getting the priesthood for a while and just questions like that. Always keep your testimony strong. I weigh 184 now and am working out every morning and night so hopefully it is just muscle haha.