Transfer Day!  Brady has been transferred and has a new companion.  He also sent a few more pictures so check out the Photo Page.

I´m really glad to hear that everything is still going well at home.  I´m still scared about my safety wtih Jakon´s driving, but I think I´ll be ok here.  I´m probably more scared about the date.

I did get transfered.  I am now in Ward Nueva Cecilia, Stake Madero. It´s about 5 minutes from Hidalgo.  I´m with Elder Marrufo.  Elder Mondragon got transfered to Valles, about three hours away.  We are a little disappointed to leave Hidalgo, and each other, especially since we have a baptism this Saturday.

More about Elder Marrufo.  He just finished his training last week.  He was with our other Zone leader Elder Hall.  We arrived this morning and cleaned the house pretty thoroughly.  He´s pretty cool.  He´s a little bit more focused on the numbers than I want to be, so I think I´ll share the comparison about Alma and the Sons of Mosiah.  I sent
a picture of us in the other email.  (See Photo Page)

I´m sorry but I never did take pictures of the poeple I was working with, but really the scenery in this area is just city, kinda boring. Sorry about that, but I should be able to take pictures Saturday of the baptism and I may be back over there another day this week to show Elder Felix and his New training companion around a bit, and if so
I´ll take pictures.

Fernanda passed her baptismal interview.  She will be baptised this Saturday, and I think I should be able to go.  Frederico, didn´t pass but he didn´t fail either.  He´s going to try again this Saturday in a
more peaceful setting, and hopefully they´ll be able to go on with the baptism.

This last week went really well.  We worked a ton, but really we have nothing to show for it.  Our progressing investigators kept progressing, and we really didn´t find anyone new that was really good, so we were a little disappointed.  We do believe that Elder Felix and his companion can have a lot of success with the few people
and few families that we left.

One of our greeatest lessons this week was with Lizbeth.  She is 16 and she is better than gold.  We left the Doctrine of Chirst pamphlet and she read it.  We went back to her house and she [recited] atonement,
apostacy, baptism and it´s purpose, repentance and faith, from memory. She not only read and practically memorized the pamphlet, but understood it too!!!  She is am incredible investigator.  In fact she even asked us,  ´´So I should be reading the book of Mormon every day. and then I should pray about it. and when is church´´  So she is doing our work for us which is great.  I imagine she should be baptised here in the next 3 weeks too.

I am really glad to hear about stake conference.  Dad, that talk is what we teach.  We center everything on the path, Faith repentace, baptism, confirmation and gift of the holy ghost, and then taking the sacrament every week, with out distractions.  This is the key to staying strong.  The Sacrament.  Between this, praying and reading the
scriptures everyday Satan can never shake us.  Remember the path that you are on, and then help others get on the path.

Everything is going really well here, I hope everything keeps going good at home.  Do the things that are right and God will bless you.

I love you-

Love
Elder Brady Allred

Make sure to check out the photos page for a few more photos from Mexico.

I got Grandma´s first letter this week, the one from the MTC.  I guess it takes about 5 weeks for letters.  I got the package too.  Thank you for the letters.  

I´m really glad to hear that you can still manage to pull off a little fun without me at the cabin.  I really enjoy the hour every night in which I can sit and look at the trees and think about mountains, snow, wolf creek, and especially a little bit about home.

I am really getting used to the weather, I don´t have to drink quite as much water to stay alive everyday, and if nothing else it does not feel nearly as humid as it did when I got off the plane.  When I got off the plane there was water on all of the windows, but I guess I´m nearly used to it.

And I am using the insect repellent, it really does quite a number on the mosquito bites, but really what helps the most is that it has stopped raining.  All of the ponds in the street are drying up.

So the baptisms this week.  Not happening this week.  We should have two baptisms next Saturday.  Fernanda (the 16 year old) and Frederico (the blind one).  We lost our family, Nataly and Bradon, and their daughter Melony.  It´s not even a family any more.  The couple was never married but they decided to move out and so they will not be baptized here.  Brandon, might be staying here, and we are hopping so, because he is really close to ready to be baptized.

Fernanda and Frederico are really excited for their baptisms.  We have contacted a few new people, and have a very promising family of 6, but we´ll see after 1 or 2 more lessons.  We taught an incredible lesson last night to Wendy (a recent convert) and her mom and brother.  We taught her dad a few weeks ago, and so they are kind of interested.

Transfers are this week end.  We think that president will leave us together, but that means that I will probably have more responsibility as a "Zone Leader"  It won´t be official, but Elder Mondragon will be a Zone Leader solo.  We´ll see what president does, but either I´m co-Zone leader, or I get moved just before my first baptisms.  It´s
really the only option, because the zone is losing wards.  We´ll see and I´ll let you know next Monday.

Everything is going really well.  We are working well together and I am really starting to learn to contact, and to teach more by the spirit and with more confidence.  It really helped that yesterday I taught Gospel Principles to the investigators and recent converts.  It was on Family History and Temple work.  They all said that it was really good and that they all understood.  My companion said that if I can teach individuals like I did the class of 8 or 9 people then I will be a great teacher.

I hope everything is going well at home.

Invite all of the neighbors to church every week, the missionaries would love that.  I promise.

Keep choosing the right.

Love Elder Allred

We got a really short letter this week.  In a note he wrote to Kira and Zander he mentioned he had a lot of other people to write this week.  Since he didn't share much with us this week, feel free to post what he wrote to you in the comments.

Man the work is great.  I love being here in Mexico, there is nothing else that I´d rather be doing.  It is incredible to see the blessings of God everyday.  I've learned that sometimes the greatest blessings that we have are honestly our greatest trials too.  My companion has taught me this.  To not pray for everything to be good, but for us to have trials because that is the only way that we learn.  I´m going to try it, so I´ll see how that goes.

Sounds like everything is good at home.

I want to share just one short experience.  We had a lesson last night with an investigator.  It was his first lesson but he read first the folleto (booklet) about the plan of salvation.  We asked if he had any questions and he went straight to the complex doctrine.  About the Celestial kingdom and judgement.  So we explained it and then went back to basics like prayer and baptism.  I have been memorizing scriptures in Spanish first to learn the language and second (unknown to me before last night) to be able to recite them to investigators.  We aren't here to recite scriptures, but to teach and to love.  (Also), I share James 1 5.  But not word for word.  I knew it wasn't word for word, but it was almost exactly this scriptures.  It was so well portrayed by the Spirit that my companion actually didn't notice that it was a scripture, until I pointed it out.  I hope Juan Carlos can remember the spirit he felt last night, and continue progressing.

I love you guys.  Keep working had and be obedient.

Love Elder Allred

Not a lot to report this week.  But it looks like the work is progressing.


I´m doing really well this week,  It was a pretty boring week, but we worked really hard, and are both exhuasted.

I just realized I haven´t described my district.  We have 2 sisters Hna Clark (from Provo, not related to Judy) and Hna Laurence (i think).  They are the leaders of all the sisters in the zone.  Then we have the assistants and secretaries, one of the secretaries is one of the district leaders.  The other district leader is Elder Nixon and his
companion is Elder Button.  Then there is the other companionship with Elder Hall and Elder Marrufo, Elder Hall is one of the zone leaders. Elder Mondragon is the other Zone leader.  So pretty much I have the best district.

We had a few investigators in church this week.  We had 14 set up, and only 4 of them came and 1 other new one.  We have 4 investigators progressing.  Frederico, the uncle of July.  He is blind and has some sort of special needs that makes him move a little slower.  But he is really smart and is picking up the gospel topics really well.  He has a huge desire to be baptized and was excited to come to church.  We will be baptizing him the 29th of this month if everytihng keeps going well.

Then Nataly, Brandon and Melony (daughter).  Nataly and Melony came to church, and Brandon got his schedule permanently changed to always come on sundays from now on.  In 4 and a half weeks Nataly and Brandon are planning on getting married and then the next day wee are tentatively planning a baptism.  They both have desires to be happier in their life, and have a pretty good testimony that the church is the way to do that.

Then the last is Fernanda (we don´t know the 5th person, they went to another ward)  She is 16.  Her brother and mom are members, but she has avoided the church a bit for some doubts and because she has 2 kids, and doesn't want to be judged.  But she has changed and has a pretty good desire to be baptised.  I think if everything goes well she´ll be baptized around the same time as Melony, Nataly and Brandon.

BTW, every one here has problems with the law of chastity and with marijuana and smoking, but they are all pretty willing to change, so that´s really good.

I´m glad to hear about all of the great stories in your lives in the emails, the parties, blessings, work, Jehovah´s witnesses, Grandparent, the program, red Lobster, all of it.  Its good to hear that life is still moving along.  Thank you for the info on the other missionaries.  I´m really glad to hear about the blog, keep doing that it´s a lot easier for me.

love,
Elder Allred

October 3, 2016

Man, you guys get a 30 degree drop.  I wish I could get one of those.  It´s still pretty hot here, but I do think that it was a little bit cooler last week so that was a great break from the constant heat.

I´m glad you guys got to watch conference this weekend what I saw of it was pretty good.  We were late to almost every session because we were working really hard to get people to come.  We ended up with 5 total investigators in conference, but all 5 of these investigators are new, none of the people we have been teaching.

Last week we got a lot of rain on a few of the days, and let me describe this.  The roads are litteraly rivers. Usually it is only a few of the roads that are rivers, but some of these are impassable and knee deep, so we have to walk through.  The water fills my shoes, soaks my pants and I am soaked in water all day.

I figured out the best way to describe my companion.  Two words.  Craig Bluth (or I guess Elder Bluth).  They are almost exactly the same.  There are two differences.  Craig is white, my companion is Mexican.  And second Elder Mondragon is 2 years older and 20 months on a mission more mature.  so when Craig gets home they will be the same.  They are both very direct, say what they think, can always convince me that their way is the most accurate and best, know a ton about a lot of random things, have a lot of energy (Elder Mondragon´s is just more contained), and they are both great people.  It´s a good thing I always liked craig so that it was a pretty easy adjustment to my companion.

The work is going great.  We don´t have any investigators with baptismal dates, none of our investigators have come to church (besides those that the members bring, which are really great investigators that have a ton of potential), but we talk to a lot of people.  July and Alejandra are two 15 year old girls, that we have been teaching.  July is really direct and has a bit of a potty mouth (I guess that´s why I have such a hard time understanding her), and she really doesn´t like the church.  Her mom is inactive but is trying to come back and bring her daughter.  Alejandra is their neighbor, she is really receptive, but her mom is very catholic and doesn´t support her coming to church or anyting.  We´ll keep trying and see what happens.

Andrez is another investigator.  He is 17.  He has a lot of questions but we really have to teach him slow, because he doesn´t move very fast.  But he really wants to learn and this is helping him a lot to try.  Trying is all that God wants, then God will do the rest.  We´re trying really help him and focus on him.  His grandma came to the last lesson.  She is a catholic, but understands the doctrine of the bible really well, and learned the plan of salvation really easily.  Hopefully she will continue to come to Christ and bring Andrez with her.

And then we have a golden investigator.  Her name is Juana Maria.  She is really receptive to the plan of salvation, because one of her sons died when he was only 5 and it was a really rough situation.  She is really receptive to the gospel, and I think we will be able to move really far really fast with her.

I loved the emphasis on member missionary work and just missionary work in conference.  Get involved, bring people to church.  Just invite them and those that are ready for the gospel will come and accept the message.

Thank you for all of the support that you are giving me.  I can feel it everyday.  I love you guys.  Keep doing the things you should and God will always bless you, just sometimes you wont see it immediately.

Love Elder Allred