Week 68 Sennan: On Line...

Hello everyone!

This last week was crazy and we had some great experiences even amidst the big changes and long days of setting things up and planning so here we go. We are now an online mission! So if you see me on Facebook, fear not, I am not being a disobedient missionary this is the way it is supposed to be. But it is really strange to be back on Facebook and I honestly feel like I would almost just do without Facebook and keep dendoing the way it has always been done. Saying, "Facebook? Facebook? We already have lots of dendo tools and we need no more." But we learn in the scriptures that,

30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have. (2 Nephi 28:30)

So I am doing my best to receive this huge change and follow the Lord as we do our best to learn how we are going to use Social Media to strengthen others without getting distracted or trying to find out how many of our friends are married, or all-star athletes, or in prison and stuff like that. I will stay focused!

But besides that we also had transfers this last week and my poor one-armed Wieland Choro has moved on to better things and has been replaced here in Sennan by Cotterall Choro who is straight from down under. Yeah, Australia. It has been really interesting to see how many English words are being used in Australia that I had no clue existed. So now I am studying two languages, Japanese and Aussie. I am super excited to see what great things happen this transfer as well for all of the Christmas magic. I love all of you guys and hope that your week is excellent!

"Fire up the Barby, Sko!"

Elder Allred

Facebook Profile Pic

BEAUTIFUL!

Week 67 Sennan: 感謝

happy holidays everyone!

i am so grateful for this incredible thanksgiving week that I had this week. they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in japan, but i am just so grateful for the blessing it is to be a missionary and to have the opportunity to sHare the restored truth of the gospel everyday. i am really thankful that even though finding new investigators has been hard lately, we have been seeing miracles everyday. i Am filled with gratitude for the excellent leaders in this mission and ward where i have the blessing to serve as we had zone conference this last week and also a stake musical conference. i am appreciative of the hoNor that it was to be able to participate in that musical fire side as the whistler in our ward's performance. and although my whistling part was brief, i would like to say thanks to all of the people who complimented my ability to whistle my part and hit those notes that were needful in order to harmonize to our ward’s beautiful song. i would also like to express my gratitude for our bishop who diligently drove us to and from that musical activity, who also fed us dinner and trusted us to meet with his non member father who doesn't really like the church missionaries. but i am incredibly grateful for the spirit of the lord who guided our interaction and helped us to teach and who softened the heart of his father and changed his outlooK on the church.

also the new light the world video came out which i am so grateful for. it has filled me with a sense of appreciation towards this holiday season as we have used the video to teach those we find each day. my heart is filled with gratitude towards god as he has softened the hearts of those we have shared the video with and allowed us to share the message of the birth of his beloved son. i am also verY thankful for the fact that the lord led the bishop again later in the week to meet us in a guitar shop as we talked to the college kid who we saw and decided to gO talk to. i am grateful then for the bishop testifying with us of the savior and the gospel. and then when that college student told us that he was interested in receiving lessons and set up an appointment to meet again thanks filled my soul that we were able to see the hand of the lord in leading and guiding each of us to meet there at that time in that spirit filled contact. christ lives, and i cannot describe the gratitude that i feel towards our heavenly father because he does live and guides me each day. i love you all and am so thankful for all of your love and support. i would very grateful if yoU could all go and have a great week this week.

gratefully,

elder allred

A blurry picture of me very thankful for this Japanese bean that i

received from the bishop at his family's house.

Week 66 Sennan: 雨、雨、触れ、触れ

hello everyone!

i unfortunately do not have a whole lot of time today because we are at the hospital doing various things with broken arm stuff but, i had a fantastic week despite our lack of wheels. We saw a cool miracle where we talked to someone as they were coming home from the train station. We talked for a minute but he told us that he wasn’t interested and didn't believe in God. As we were walking away I joked that we should follow him home and then knock on his door later and act like it was a miracle. But the Lord showed us that he can perform those miracles without faking it as we were housing several days later and he answered the door super suprized to see us. He explained how it was the only time that he had been home all week and how he rarely is home at that time either but how it was a rare exception. He felt like it was a miracle, and as we shared our message he started to feel like there is a God. We finished the door contact with him saying a closing prayer and then he gave us his number so we could plan a time to teach him the missionary lessons. すごいね！i will repent and have more faith that God is indeed a God of Miracles

Also this week we met the mayor and performed at a little festival. We were able to talk to a bunch of people about what we do as missionaries, our english class, also about the book of mormon. it was way cool! i will attach photos. well i am so grateful for all of you and hope you have a fantastic week. 

Love you!

Elder Alllred

The Mayor of Sennan City

Halloween Party

Haircuts at the Bishop's house.

Week 65 Sennan: I Broke My Beanchan (Greenie)

ハロー エブリバーディー (harro eburibadi),

this was one of the craziest weeks of my mission! it started out with a terrifying near death experience where my companion and I were going at about 35 kmh on the side of a road so that we could get to an Appointment on time, and my companion realized that he needed to turn at an intersection a little late and slammed on his breaks. his bike flipped forward and sent him over the handlebars, but somehow he got over his handle bars and landed on his feet as his bike flipped over him! it was like a movie! i was following behind him and could hardly bElieve he was still alive! miracles, i love it.

then i had a near death experience when a giant killer japanese wasp (literally the size of my index finger. go ahead and look up pictures, i'm not lying) landed On my thigh as i was riding my bike a couple days later. i freaked out and smacked it but it held on and returned to my thigh this time angry. i just about aborted ship and crashed my bike on purpose but iNstead swatted it a second time barely getting it off before it stung me. phew! more miracles.

and then for the first time in my life i got pooped on by a bird as i was riding my bike... 恥ずかしい i cleaned it off and pressed on in the work, but then the next day i got hit again! why are all the birds pooping on me all of the sudden?? or maybe it's the same bird… anyways i now have a fiRm testimony of the importance of wearing a helmet as you ride your bike. nasty!

last but not least after me and my companion volunteered at the lOcal gym playing basketball we started a game with several kids. to make a long story short my companion ended up falling hard after going up for a clutch time rebound and broke his arm. i didn't save him, i am an awful dad. so he's in a cast and we are on foot for a while, but some of the kids who we were playing with said that they would Come to our english class this week so at least some good came out of it.

yeah so it was a pretty crazy week and i couldn't figure out what we did wrong, but then last night as i was reflecting on all of our many sufferings and hardships i realized something, that we forgot to pay fast offerings last weeK on fast sunday! so i will repent and quickly fill out a slip and am going to Submit it soon so hopefully we will have a better week. that is my bad. i'll take that one on me. hopefully you all have a fantastic week this week. i love you all!

elder allred

We went to Kobe for Trainer Trainee Training

Poor Wieland Choro

Week 64 Sennan: Talent Dendo

hello family and friends,

wow what a week! we have been seeing lots of good things working here in sennan this week. we met a family from peru and it helpped me realize just how much of my spanish i have lost. everytime i tried to say anything in spanish it would Come out completely backwards in japanese order of speach and i would connect japanese particles tO all of the words. it's real sad. i guess My head just isn't big enough for 3 languages. or really not even 2, recently i have been accidentally saying japanese words in the middle of speaking english and randomly spitting out english words in the middle of sentences when speaking japanese. but it all worked out okay because in the end we were able to give a simPLIfied japanese restoration to the family froM peru and thEy wanted a book of mormoN and to meeT again!

also this week wE have been working on opening our mouth more as we find and as we teach. we have found that the most effective way that we have been doing to find is by using our talents to start meaningful conVersations with people. we have been studying this scripture.

"2 but with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them. 3 and it shall come to pass, if they are not more faithful unto me, it shall be taken away, even that which they have." (D&C 60:2-3)

the lord has given each and Everyone of us special talents and abilities, whether it is a talent of spoRts or instruments  or a talent of teaching or smiling or sharing a special testimonY or experience, as we use those talents that the lord has given us we will be able to more effectively share the light of christ in our lives to those around us. i love how incredible it is that everybody though so different and unique with their Own style and personalities can all live, love, and share the same perfect gospel of jesus christ and become instruments iN his hands for the bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of so many of his beloved children. i know that he lives and that he is my savior, Even jesus christ, my lord and friend. i hope that you all have a great week!

頑張りましょうね！

elder allred

District Meeting

I love the Japanese man who wrote this broken english on my cup

The Coolest Slippers I've Ever Seen

Week 63 Sennan: ハロウィンパーティー

hello,

ハピハロウィン！（happy halloween) this week haS flown by and we were able to have some great experiences along the way. This week we had the ward halloween paRty and man, it was a blast. we were able to get around 50 kids there with about 80 people in total. it was crazy. mE and elder wieland came decked out in our costumes dressed up as disco rollerskaters. we also had a piñata and we got to hold it! it was super inteNse! some of these little kids had some mad baseball skills and they weren't swinginG any toy stick, they had a think wooden rod That tHey were using to hit the piñata and it was our job to make hitting the piñata a challenge as we stood very clearly in their blood circle. it wasn't long before a kid took a good swing and missEd hitting me square iN the chest, and then another older kid reeled up and Smashed my companions hip. we are bOth okay and only came out with Minor contusions and small amounts of internal blEeding. we took it for the lord.

also this week we had another lessOn with fujita and murakami saN where we talked about the book of mormon. it was awesomE how as we testified and taught about the importance of the book of mormon, they started to have a desire to read it morE and more. and when fujita san said that it was hard to understand, murakami san came in and started acting like a member expressing to her that as we just read little by little our understanding with grow and we will be able to feel the power that comes from the book. it was awesome to see one of our inVestigators basically testify to the other one as we taught them both a lesson. they arE definitely progressing quickly and i know that as they begin Reading the book of mormon that theY will understand the truthfulness of this gospel and they will be more willing to follow christ and be baptized int his name. i love the book of mormon so much and i am so grateful that we are blesseD to have it so that we may come to more fully know christ and recognize his voice and know so much about how we can return to his presence and live happily with our families forever. i love this gospel so much and the peace it brings to my heart and mind. thank you all so much for supporting me while i Am out on my mission. i love You all and miss you tons!

愛しています！

elder allred

pictures and videos of the halloween party will come shortly…

Week 62 Sennan: 雨 雨、降れ 降れ

hey guys,

this week was incredibly rainy. it rained every day and then to finish off the week we had a super typhoon. it was epic. i have never seen so much water being dumped from the sky in my life. homes were being evacuated and safe houses were prepared all over town. it was super intense but we are all right. we actually confused a lot of people when we were knocking on their doors and inviting people to church and our english class. everyone was like, "just go home, don't you know there is a typhoon" we would just always say, "yeah, i know right, it is crazy" (as water is literally dumping on our heads) "... so, have you ever been to church before?..."

we were able to see some good things with our investigators too. we had a lesson with the family that we have been teaching and her christian friend and it went pretty good. we were really feeling the spirit really strong as we talked about how christ brings us so much hope in times of trouble. we asked them if they would follow christ and receive of his hope, and the mother said, "no, my family is buddhist i can't become christian." but then her friend came in and talked about how great christ is and encouraged her to keep praying and seeking for truth. it was awesome and then we offered them book of mormons (which they had previously declined) and this time they both accepted them and her christian friend was way excited about it telling us that she was definitely going to read it. we also finally got called by our investigator with a baptismal date shingo kun, after having not been able to contact him all week. he told us that now that his tests are over he will be able to start coming to church again and will start praying and reading the book of mormon. we are excited to meet with him this tuesday. then we also had a member bring a friend to church. we sat next to him and watched the ward primary program together. it was the most adorable, funny, and spiritually powerful thing i have ever seen as all the little kids testified and sang. the man was way touched and he wants to meet and learn more! i love primary programs and member missionary work! they are the absolute best!

well it was a great week and me and elder wieland survived the transfers this last week so we are together for another transfer here in sennan. it is the dream. i love all of you and hope that you have a great week!

elder allred

Ward service project!

One of the members drew me and Elder Wieland into Japanese comic book

characters.

Week 61 Sennan: Talent Dendo

hey everyone,

this week was great! we Started out the week with having one of our investigators named shingo kun accept a baptismal date! we are so excited to work with him in preparing for his daTe which is right now december 2nd. then we had A mission conference with one of the area 70 who came to talk to us and decide whether we were ready to start on-line proselyting. we passed! it seems like there is going to be a lot of changes in the mission coming up that will Really change the way we work quite a biT. but the message and the doctrine is still the same perfect gospel of Christ.

he talked to us Of the importance of using our talents to find people to teach aNd to strengthen members so me and elder wieland tried some new things. i brought my japanese flute and started offering to play

songs for people as we streeted and housed. elder wieland drew portraits for people in front of the train station. it was a lot of fun and turned out to be really effectiVe we found a guy named jesse who is from hawaii out herE for woRk. he had a great lesSon with him and he is now reAding the book of mormon and coming to church this

sunday. we have definiTely recognized the lord's hand in placing hIs elect sons and daughters in our path. Our only job is to open our mouth and talk to as many people as we caN each day. i know that there are prepared people out there who are Searching for this truth and need to know Who their savior Is. i love this opportunity That we have eacH day to go out and just talk to People about something i love and my savior jesus christ who i lovE with all my heart. i am sO grateful for this Privilege it is to serve. i Love you all so much. have a fantastic wEek.

elder allred

we had a family reunion the other day at the mission conference. 3

generations of missionaries. (wieland chōrō (my son/trainee), me, and

wheeler chōrō (my dad/trainer))

 Me and Wieland Choro at the Shinto Shrine

We spent P-Day with Shin Chan who is an Eikaiwa (English) student.

Week 60 Sennan: Coach Allred

もしもし、こちらは宣教師のオールレッド長老！

this week was incredible! so many crazy things happened, we had an amazing teaR filled lesson with onE of our investigators, i won a ping pong match, we saw some Aliens, we had a booth at a festival, all you can eat sushi, we got a job, and we watched general conference! we were Definitely blessed this week with some great experiences. The job part was especially funny. recently we have been trying to brainstorm different ways to find new people to teach since all of our Housing and streeting has yielded little to no results so far. so we went to the town gym to seE if maybe setting up a sports activity would be effective. we went and asked about the times and cost to rent Out the Basketball gym and the front desk guy suddenly asks us if we have any experience playing basketball. We tOld him yes and next he asKed us if we want a job. we told him that we are vOlunteers but can volunteer there if he needs help. he told us that they have been looking for coaches to teach junior high students how to play basketball at their saturday practices. he had us go up to the gym and try out the court. i miraculously drained a three after having not played basketball since the mtc and he was super impressed. he immediately told us that we had the job and that we would just need to come for an hour on saturdays for this month to help out. we told him that we would do it for Free and he was way happy. so now me and my coMpanion are vOluteering at the gym as basketball coaches. i Really hope that it turns into an opportunity to have Meaningful interactions with others and help them see the light of christ.

also this week we had a fantastic lesson with fujita san one of Our investigators. her little brother's baby passed away this last week and she has beeN really sad. we made her a letter and brought candy and have been trying to lift her up but she is pretty torn. we had an opportunity to teach her last week and felt to teach her the plan of salvation. as we got to the End of the lesson and testified that we will be able to see our loVed ones again, she started to question saying things like why is it so unfair that her little brother's baby will never havE a chance to live through life and choose Right or wrong? we opened up the book of mormon and shared with her moroni 8:10-12 which talks about infants that die before having the opportunitY to choose right or wrong will be saved in the kingdom of god. she started to cry as we read the scripture together and told us how she started to think that there was no god when the baby died, but now felt comforted reading this part from the book of mormon. we testified of the love of god and how we can be with our families again eternally in perfect joy and happiness. the spirit was really strong and we really felt what it means to be the lord's servants comforting his beloveD children and showing them the way home. i know that our father in heaven knows each and every one of us personally and has a plan for us. i know that though sometimes we can't see the big picture, our trials and challenges will be for our good and that if we just hold out faithful to the end we shall be "received into heaven, that thereby [we] may dwell with god in a state of never-ending happiness." (mosiah 2:41) i love this gospel and i am so grateful for the Amazing words of the prophets that we were able to hear this conference weekend. like always thank you so much for all of your love and support. i love you all so much. I hope that You have the week of weeks.

がんばりましょう！

elder allred

P-Day Activities

Conveyor Belt Sushi

Some "Aliens" we found in an abandoned bunker

Recreating an old picture

Elder Weiland was doing free sketches as away to meet people.  This was our sign.

Week 59 Sennan: いいね

man what a week,

it was full of meetings and craziness But was definitely a good week. mE and wieland chōrō have been working hard, but are Still not able to find any new strong investigators. we have however been working with quite a few less actives who have recently started coming bAck to church. they are way cool and their testimony seems to be sparking back to life. one of them got up during fast sunday yesterday and bore aN amazing testimony about how he Couldn't go to sleep the other night because he was Thinking so much about whether the church is true. he prayed and had an incredible experience and has built so much faIth. i was so happy as he bore his testimony. his name is itsuku and he is such a great guy. it has been such a privilege teaching him and being apart oF his conversIon process. the other less active that we are working with loves music, so we started a music activity that he can come to and help out. he seems to really Enjoy it and has been coming to church every week lately. he is going to help us become professional opera singers so that when we come home we can wow all our family and friends. i'm pretty stokeD.

this week we also saw some cool miracles. one of them was while we were working in a place way out in the outskirts of our area. we were trying to vIsit some less actives that lived out there but no body was home. so as we were going place to place wieland chōrō  stops and says, "let's knock oN this house, there is a soccer ball in their front yard so i want to talk to them." we rang the intercom and a woman picked up. we introduced ourselves and she told us that she was busy. we quickly said some things about our Eikaiwa class and put our

flyers in her mailbox. then about 5 minutes later as we were still in that neighborhood a woman Comes running down the street towards us with the flyers in her hand. she ended up being way interested in english class and also possibly in learning about the gospel too. it was way cool that her House was the only one we knocked on as we traveled down that street, and i was so proud of my companion for following his soccer ball pRompting. it has been a great week and hopefully the next one is even better. we are still looking for new Investigators but i feel like we are going to start finding lots of prepared people real soon. i hope that you all have an excellent week and that conference was amazing! i am so excited to watch it next week! i'm getting butterflieS just thinking about iT!

皆さん 郅筏皮い蓼梗

elder allred

We went to Nara Temple on P-day

Looking for those less active

Trainer, Trainee, Training Meeting

Zone Conference

Week 58 Sennan: Principal Lamoni

this week was so fast!

it was full Of all sorts of miracles, hard rejections, and adventures. elder wieland and i found a family that we had an oPportunity to teach this last week, and it went so well. we taught about the importance of following christ and the mother was so into it. she said that the gospel life was exactly what she wanted for her kids and her family and felt like she wanted to find a way to pay it back to christ for doing what he did for us. we talked about how we pay it back to christ when we listen to his teachings, learn of him and then follow his path. the lEsson went way good and she even told us that she thinks that she want to become a mormon! they are pretty much the most golden family ever. we are so excited to work more with them and their awesome kids more in the future and help them follow christ be being baptized and keeping his commandmeNts.

also this week we decided to be a little more bold. so we went to the local high schools and set up appointments with the principles where we could offer volunteer work as well as our free english class as a

tutoring program for the school. as we sat in one of the principle's office it was so intense. this guY was like the typical stereotype scary high school principle who wOuld bring down his wrath on any disobedient student. we had changed into japanese style shoes so that we coUld walk on his ornate flooring and sit on his leather couches across a coffee table that had tea on it that was brought out by his assistant. it was like we weRe big business men sitting down to make a big corporate deal with the big Man himself. what made it even crazier is that i was talking to this guy in japanese, looking at that situation in retrospect i can't even believe that about a year ago i wasn't even able to fully say what my name is in japanese withOut messing up, and now here i am. it was like we were ammon standing before king lamoni offering to be his servants by teaching his people free english. i was so ready to make this school the best english speaking school in japan. and then when he asked where we are so that he can thank us for this great accomplishment we woUld be out in the  parking lot polishing his car. but alas, in then end he thanked us for our willingness to serve and told us that he would give us a call and leT us know whether or not they could use our Help. nothing too crazy ended up happening, but we definitely left those meetings feeling bolder and more willing and confident to talk to everyone and anyone

about who we are and who we represent. i know that when we open our mouths to share the gospel or to serve and strengthen others and invite them to come unto christ that he will be right there to back us up. i have felt his prescence so close since becoming a missionary, it is truly incredible. i am so happy to be a missionary and servant of god.

i love you all so much and hope you have a great week!

バイバイ！

elder allred

We had an interesting activity with one of the members and ended up looking like this...

We went to the Beach to play frisbee last P-day and it was beautiful!