Braden's Homecoming will be on August 26th, at 10:50am at 2977 East Saddle Rock Road, Eagle Mountain.
We hope to see you there!
Monday, August 6, 2018
Week 102 Senri: The Best Two Years
兄弟姉妹の皆様、
It has been by far the greatest and most worth while 2 years of my life. I have been having a lot of mixed feelings and thoughts and emotions swirling through my mind this past week, and I have been talking to Trevisan Chōrō about a lot of things. It is hard to summarize everything these past 2 years have meant to me. I am so grateful for all of the people that have changed my life and have taught me things that I will never forget. I am grateful for companions who have supported my ideas and have laughed with me and cried with me in the good times as well as in the hard times. I am grateful for members who are examples to me of a missionaries who never stopped being a disciple of Christ and who are Joyfully living the Gospel the way it is meant to be lived. I am grateful for missionary leaders who have inspired me and trained me to succeed as a missionary and taught me that numbers are not the only way to measure that success. I am grateful for my family at home who never missed a week sending me love and prayers and support, who have been with me this whole time in the principles they taught me in my youth and who will be with me for eternity as we work towards exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom of God. I am grateful for President Smoot and his Christlike example of Charity and Love and of a true disciple of Christ working with all your heart might mind and strength to serve God and help us become converted to the Lord. And most of all I am grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and my Father who is in Heaven watching over me. I am grateful for the strength, and courage, and comfort, and peace, and Love, and Joy, and Desire and so many more things that He has given me throughout these past 2 years, the countless miracles, the answered prayers, the tears of Joy and every Spirit filled testimony. I am grateful for Their words contained in the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. I have gained an unshakable testimony of the Book of Mormon’s ability to answer the Questions of the Soul and bring the Spirit to both lessons and contacts. I will never forget the lessons that I have learned here in the Japan Kobe Mission walking with the Lord, serving alongside Him in His vineyard, inviting all to come unto Him and taste of the immeasurable Joy and Hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am a Disciple of Christ and will be forever. I am still very imperfect and weaker and less than the dust of the Earth, but I know the God in whom I have trusted and I know that in His strength I can do all things. I have a long way to go in putting of the natural man, but I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ my heart can be changed to be more like Him each day. I will never stop progressing and finding hearts that need healing and pressing onward ever onward in the Work of the Lord. I love my Father and Savior so much. I will forever be Their servants. I will miss this land and the people here so much, but I can’t wait to transfer home and continue serving amongst my family and friends. Well I will be back in America this Friday, so I guess this is my last one of these Emails... It has been fun.
It has been by far the greatest and most worth while 2 years of my life. I have been having a lot of mixed feelings and thoughts and emotions swirling through my mind this past week, and I have been talking to Trevisan Chōrō about a lot of things. It is hard to summarize everything these past 2 years have meant to me. I am so grateful for all of the people that have changed my life and have taught me things that I will never forget. I am grateful for companions who have supported my ideas and have laughed with me and cried with me in the good times as well as in the hard times. I am grateful for members who are examples to me of a missionaries who never stopped being a disciple of Christ and who are Joyfully living the Gospel the way it is meant to be lived. I am grateful for missionary leaders who have inspired me and trained me to succeed as a missionary and taught me that numbers are not the only way to measure that success. I am grateful for my family at home who never missed a week sending me love and prayers and support, who have been with me this whole time in the principles they taught me in my youth and who will be with me for eternity as we work towards exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom of God. I am grateful for President Smoot and his Christlike example of Charity and Love and of a true disciple of Christ working with all your heart might mind and strength to serve God and help us become converted to the Lord. And most of all I am grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and my Father who is in Heaven watching over me. I am grateful for the strength, and courage, and comfort, and peace, and Love, and Joy, and Desire and so many more things that He has given me throughout these past 2 years, the countless miracles, the answered prayers, the tears of Joy and every Spirit filled testimony. I am grateful for Their words contained in the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. I have gained an unshakable testimony of the Book of Mormon’s ability to answer the Questions of the Soul and bring the Spirit to both lessons and contacts. I will never forget the lessons that I have learned here in the Japan Kobe Mission walking with the Lord, serving alongside Him in His vineyard, inviting all to come unto Him and taste of the immeasurable Joy and Hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am a Disciple of Christ and will be forever. I am still very imperfect and weaker and less than the dust of the Earth, but I know the God in whom I have trusted and I know that in His strength I can do all things. I have a long way to go in putting of the natural man, but I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ my heart can be changed to be more like Him each day. I will never stop progressing and finding hearts that need healing and pressing onward ever onward in the Work of the Lord. I love my Father and Savior so much. I will forever be Their servants. I will miss this land and the people here so much, but I can’t wait to transfer home and continue serving amongst my family and friends. Well I will be back in America this Friday, so I guess this is my last one of these Emails... It has been fun.
Love you guys! Thank you so much for reading these emails and supporting me throughout my mission! See you soon at the home-front.
What an adventure!
Elder Allred
オールレッド長老より
 |
| Ishikawa Kyoudai was finally Baptized. He has so much Faith. What a happy day! |
Week 101 Senri: Exchanging Miracles
Loved ones and relatives,
This was a week full of lots of Comanion Exchanges and tons of miracles. The first Exchange of the week was with Huber Chōrō. He is such an amazing missionary and he taught me so much. We met a man while we were doing companion study in a mall and he was so prepared to hear the Gospel. We taught him of the Plan of Salvation and the Hope and purpose that it brings about in our life and he wanted that same hope. He was so excited to meet again and told us over and over again how happy he was that we sat down next to him at the mall. Then on that same Exchange we saw the most amazing miracle. We miraculously met a kid our same age who is studying English in preparation for a 9 month foreign exchange in Utah that he leaves for on the same exact day that we do August 10. He knew that we were Mormon because he has been studying about Utah a bunch to get ready to live there for the next 9 months. It was so amazing we told him that we could be his friends when we get home and can show him around. We also told him that we can teach him about the Church and meet with him! He is interested and way excited to be friends and he felt like it was definitely divinely guided that we met each other like we did. I am so excited that I have a friend that I can introduce the Gospel with from Japan even after I return home. It is such a miracle and tender mercy form God. I never have to stop being a missionary.
I also went on a Exchange with the assistants where we taught a college student the message of the Restoration and he received it so well and wants to learn more and read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if this is truly God’s church. He was so sincere and humble that I am confident that he will feel that it is the truth.
Lastly I went on another exchange with Haroldsen Chōrō where we again saw such an awesome miracle where Haroldsen Chōrō felt like we should go to McDonald’s and try to talk to someone in there. We sat down with a shake and started talking to the guy next to us. We eventually did the Book of Mormon Challenge with him where he asked us how he could be more confident. We opened the Book of Mormon and answered his question with Helaman 5:12 and he suddenly opened up to us and told us of his grandma who had recently passed away and how he was feeling really sad. We comforted him with the hope of the Plan of Salvation and asked if he wanted to know more about where his grandmother is and how he will be able to meet her again someday. He was so happy to hear that news and joyfully set up a time where he would go to the church to meet us and learn about the rest of God’s Plan for him.
It was such a week of miracles and finding people prepared to hear the Gospel in all sorts of areas outside of our own. In the end me and Elder Trevisan didn’t really have that much time all week to work in our own area, but Sunday night we finally had a couple of hours and we prayed to find someone who we could lift with the Gospel and could exchange contact information with and set a return appointment. We went walking down some of the main streets where there were a lot of people but at one point felt to turn down a very empty street. We walked behind a big public building and found in the back a man on a bench about to eat his dinner that he bought at the convenience store. We walked up and started talking to him. We did the Book of Mormon Challenge and he told us how he is now struggling to figure out what to do with his life. We shared 3 Nephi 13:31-34 and he became way happy. He told us that he was having a really bad day but that we turned it completely around. He really wanted to learn more and agreed to meet again in a couple of days. We got his contact information and he thanked us so much for finding him and talking to him. He told us that he felt like it was fate that we met and was really excited to meet again. I am amazed at the Love of God and His willingness to answer prayers when they are offered sincerely. What a blessing it is to be made an instrument in the Lord’s hands in finding those who are honestly seeking truth. I love my mission. I love the Gospel. I love my God! I hope you all have a fantastic week! Believe in miracles and Joy in the Gospel!
This was a week full of lots of Comanion Exchanges and tons of miracles. The first Exchange of the week was with Huber Chōrō. He is such an amazing missionary and he taught me so much. We met a man while we were doing companion study in a mall and he was so prepared to hear the Gospel. We taught him of the Plan of Salvation and the Hope and purpose that it brings about in our life and he wanted that same hope. He was so excited to meet again and told us over and over again how happy he was that we sat down next to him at the mall. Then on that same Exchange we saw the most amazing miracle. We miraculously met a kid our same age who is studying English in preparation for a 9 month foreign exchange in Utah that he leaves for on the same exact day that we do August 10. He knew that we were Mormon because he has been studying about Utah a bunch to get ready to live there for the next 9 months. It was so amazing we told him that we could be his friends when we get home and can show him around. We also told him that we can teach him about the Church and meet with him! He is interested and way excited to be friends and he felt like it was definitely divinely guided that we met each other like we did. I am so excited that I have a friend that I can introduce the Gospel with from Japan even after I return home. It is such a miracle and tender mercy form God. I never have to stop being a missionary.
I also went on a Exchange with the assistants where we taught a college student the message of the Restoration and he received it so well and wants to learn more and read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if this is truly God’s church. He was so sincere and humble that I am confident that he will feel that it is the truth.
Lastly I went on another exchange with Haroldsen Chōrō where we again saw such an awesome miracle where Haroldsen Chōrō felt like we should go to McDonald’s and try to talk to someone in there. We sat down with a shake and started talking to the guy next to us. We eventually did the Book of Mormon Challenge with him where he asked us how he could be more confident. We opened the Book of Mormon and answered his question with Helaman 5:12 and he suddenly opened up to us and told us of his grandma who had recently passed away and how he was feeling really sad. We comforted him with the hope of the Plan of Salvation and asked if he wanted to know more about where his grandmother is and how he will be able to meet her again someday. He was so happy to hear that news and joyfully set up a time where he would go to the church to meet us and learn about the rest of God’s Plan for him.
It was such a week of miracles and finding people prepared to hear the Gospel in all sorts of areas outside of our own. In the end me and Elder Trevisan didn’t really have that much time all week to work in our own area, but Sunday night we finally had a couple of hours and we prayed to find someone who we could lift with the Gospel and could exchange contact information with and set a return appointment. We went walking down some of the main streets where there were a lot of people but at one point felt to turn down a very empty street. We walked behind a big public building and found in the back a man on a bench about to eat his dinner that he bought at the convenience store. We walked up and started talking to him. We did the Book of Mormon Challenge and he told us how he is now struggling to figure out what to do with his life. We shared 3 Nephi 13:31-34 and he became way happy. He told us that he was having a really bad day but that we turned it completely around. He really wanted to learn more and agreed to meet again in a couple of days. We got his contact information and he thanked us so much for finding him and talking to him. He told us that he felt like it was fate that we met and was really excited to meet again. I am amazed at the Love of God and His willingness to answer prayers when they are offered sincerely. What a blessing it is to be made an instrument in the Lord’s hands in finding those who are honestly seeking truth. I love my mission. I love the Gospel. I love my God! I hope you all have a fantastic week! Believe in miracles and Joy in the Gospel!
Next week will be my last email...
最後まで頑張りましょう！
Elder Allred
 |
| One of my friends that I will miss so much |
 |
| The Guy we found that is coming to Utah August 10 |
 |
| Ward Music Night |
Monday, July 23, 2018
Week 100 Senri: Questions & Answers
Hey friends,
It was a week of good things. We worked really hard and were able to give out a lot of Book of Mormons. I figured out that since me and Mecham Chōrō started 2 and a half transfers ago doing the Book of Mormon Challenge with people, where we tell them to ask us any question and we answer it with the Book of Mormon, we have given over 100 Japanese people a copy of the Book of Mormon just in our companionship. And from what I hear there are missionaries all over the mission who are accomplishing similar feats. It has been such a blessing answering people’s questions with the Book of Mormon. My testimony of its truthfulness and the power of the Word of God contained within it has been strengthened so much. Just yesterday we were at a YSA activity and we were going around to everyone and daring them to ask us a question that we couldn’t answer with the Word of God. Nobody could. It is such a testimony of the perfectness of Christ’s Gospel that through it we can answer all questions. Some answers may not be the most direct, but every one directs us to Christ and gives us the direction we need so that we can receive those answers on our own. I love the Gospel of Christ so much!
I have began to understand how Nephi must have felt when he declared,
“2 And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people... 4 Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ” (2 Nephi 11:2,4)
I too truly delight in the Words of the Prophets and I delight in likening them unto others to prove that Jesus is the Christ and will come again and His people shall be redeemed. I love the Scriptures! Study and ponder them everyday and it will change your whole life. I challenge you to come up with a question you have and then find the answer this week in the Scriptures. I promise that the answer is there. Have a fantastic week!
Elder Allred
万博公園
オールレッド長老より
Week 99 Senri: Tender Mercies
Hey all you awesome people,
This was a pretty crazy week that included getting the police called
on us. The guy downstairs got way mad because we had 4 missionaries in
our apartment and apparently in the apartment contract it says that we
can‘t do that But our mission president used to be a lawyer and he
said he will take care of things, also I am pretty sure that the guy
downstairs has settled down quite a bit, and it was a miracle because
one of the members that showed up to help happened to be his old
coworker. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
As for the work we have 2 people who we are teaching who are converted
to Christ and will for sure be baptized in the coming weeks. We are
working with several others and we have great hopes and are really
hoping to see the miracles of the Lord in helping these precious souls
come unto Him and partake of His Love and Joy. We also however have
been saddened by the disappointing choices of some of the other people
we are teaching though, but we will continue to press forward in
Faith.
Also this week we focused as a Zone on Family History and in helping
others download the Family Search app and create their own accounts to
do Family History. We saw a lot of Miracles and it was way exciting to
help people get excited about making their own genealogy. I have grown
to love my pedigree so much and I love talking to people about my
family! I hope that everyone in our Zone came to feel a similar
excitement and spirit as they lead people to engage in this glorious
and divine work.
I am also loving the Jesus Christ Challenge that we are doing as a
mission reading through the whole Book of Mormon so much! It has been
filling me with Love towards Christ and an increased clarity and
motivation to apply the things that I am learning at Zone Conference
and District Meetings. Our week was just full of exciting steps of
progression and Faith. Thank you all so much for your love and
support. Have a fantastic week!
Elder Allred
 |
| We went to KFC on a Companion Exchange with my old pal Elder Satō! |
Monday, July 9, 2018
Week 98 Senri: 15 Copies of the Book of Mormon
Hey Everyone!
This was such an exciting and eventful week in the Kita Osaka Zone. We
had MLC, Zone Conference, a 4 day typhoon, and a challenge to give out
as many copies of the Book of Mormon as possible. All along the way we
saw many miracles and received great revelation for our areas and the
work. This last week during our Book of Mormon Week. We ended up
giving around 50 people a copy of the Book of Mormon as a Zone even
with the rain and Conference. Elder Trevisan and I were able to see
such a tender mercy of the Lord last night too. We had a goal to give
15 people a copy of the Book of Mormon throughout the week and at
about 8:30pm last night we were at 14. We didn’t know how we were
going to give out one more copy that late at night when there are not
many people out and about, but we had faith that God would provide the
way. We said a prayer and then felt to go to a nearby Lawson and try
stopping someone over there, but there wasn’t a single person around.
We tried stopping a couple people on bikes but they wouldn’t stop for
us. Finally we saw an older man with a bike pushing it towards the
main road. We stopped him and he remembered meeting missionaries
decades ago. He said that he felt that we were very pure people and we
told him about the Book of Mormon and shared Jacob 3:1-2,
1 But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart.
Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding
faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead
your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your
destruction.
2 O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the
pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your
minds are firm, forever.
He loved the scripture and then we offered him the Book. He was so
happy to take it and and said that he might call us to meet again. We
were able to get back home just in time for curfew and were both so
filled with Joy because of the Miracle that the Lord provided for us
in accomplishing our goals. It is so great to be a missionary of the
True and Living God. Onward ever onward!
オールレッド長老より
Week 97 Senri: Miracle Homestretch
皆様、
It has been a week full of transfers and miracles! I am especially grateful for the miracle it is to stay in Senri and serve here for one more Transfer. Me and my new companion, Elder Trevisan, have already seen so many miracles and are excited to see big progress with this area, the members and all of the wonderful people that we have the privilege to teach. Trevisan Choro has been out for about a year and is from Italy 🇮🇹 in a town near Venice called Udine. He has been making me some way delicious pastas and is saying that we will have to make Pizza of the motherland one of these times. I am way excited to work with him and also to learn a little Italian. We are really going to try to focus on Unity this transfer, as a companionship and as a Zone.
It has been a week full of transfers and miracles! I am especially grateful for the miracle it is to stay in Senri and serve here for one more Transfer. Me and my new companion, Elder Trevisan, have already seen so many miracles and are excited to see big progress with this area, the members and all of the wonderful people that we have the privilege to teach. Trevisan Choro has been out for about a year and is from Italy 🇮🇹 in a town near Venice called Udine. He has been making me some way delicious pastas and is saying that we will have to make Pizza of the motherland one of these times. I am way excited to work with him and also to learn a little Italian. We are really going to try to focus on Unity this transfer, as a companionship and as a Zone.
I am so excited for MLC and Zone Conference which are coming up this week. I have a stronger desire than ever to work with all of my Heart, Might, Mind and Strength in order to be a tool in the Lord’s hands to bless as many people around me as possible. I look forward to receiving guidance and revelation for the Zone and for the friends that we are teaching and leading unto Christ this week.
The other day we had a really amazing experience with one of the people we have been teaching who has a baptismal date but just doesn’t want to go to church. We told him that if we first study it out in our mind and heart and then ask God with real intent whether or not it is right for him to go to church and be baptized then God will cause our hearts to burn to tell us that it is right or he will give us a stupor of thought if it is wrong (D&C 9:8-9). We spent the lesson studying it out through scriptures and lists of pros and cons and concerns and then finally we knelt down to ask our Heavenly Father for direction. Before we began to pray we asked our friend if he believed that God can answer our prayer right then, and he answered at first hesitant but then finished with a confident “Yes, I will choose to believe this time” and so we bowed our head and asked Father in Heaven if he should go to church and be baptized or if he should not. The Spirit answered our prayers and afterwards he described how he and all of us felt during the prayer. He said that when we asked about being baptized and going to church and paused that inside his chest he felt it a warmth and a calm and he started to feel really excited, and then when we asked if he should not be baptized he said that that feeling immediately left. He told us that it was the first time that he has ever felt something as he prayed and that he now understood what it means to feel the Spirit. He is now committed to come to church and be Baptized. And because of his experience with prayer he has become more converted to the reality of God and the truthfulness of His Gospel. It made me reflect a lot and think about how we are not just trying to get these children of God baptized, but we are helping them to be converted to Christ and desire to be baptized. We teach repentance and Baptize Converts. I am so grateful for this experience and for the Lord helping me to deepen my Conversion. I love my mission so much and I promise that I will serve my Father in Heaven for the rest of my life. I hope that you all have great weeks this week filled with miracles and tender mercies.
The other day we had a really amazing experience with one of the people we have been teaching who has a baptismal date but just doesn’t want to go to church. We told him that if we first study it out in our mind and heart and then ask God with real intent whether or not it is right for him to go to church and be baptized then God will cause our hearts to burn to tell us that it is right or he will give us a stupor of thought if it is wrong (D&C 9:8-9). We spent the lesson studying it out through scriptures and lists of pros and cons and concerns and then finally we knelt down to ask our Heavenly Father for direction. Before we began to pray we asked our friend if he believed that God can answer our prayer right then, and he answered at first hesitant but then finished with a confident “Yes, I will choose to believe this time” and so we bowed our head and asked Father in Heaven if he should go to church and be baptized or if he should not. The Spirit answered our prayers and afterwards he described how he and all of us felt during the prayer. He said that when we asked about being baptized and going to church and paused that inside his chest he felt it a warmth and a calm and he started to feel really excited, and then when we asked if he should not be baptized he said that that feeling immediately left. He told us that it was the first time that he has ever felt something as he prayed and that he now understood what it means to feel the Spirit. He is now committed to come to church and be Baptized. And because of his experience with prayer he has become more converted to the reality of God and the truthfulness of His Gospel. It made me reflect a lot and think about how we are not just trying to get these children of God baptized, but we are helping them to be converted to Christ and desire to be baptized. We teach repentance and Baptize Converts. I am so grateful for this experience and for the Lord helping me to deepen my Conversion. I love my mission so much and I promise that I will serve my Father in Heaven for the rest of my life. I hope that you all have great weeks this week filled with miracles and tender mercies.
頑張りましょう！
Elder Allred
 |
| Me and my new Companion Elder Trevisan! |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)