Letters from Caleb



















August 15th, 2010
My Loving Family,
Lanae and Caleb performing in Sunset
            Wow. So that's it? I can't believe it! It's amazing how much we have been able to do here in so short of time! The YPM's have put on over 530 shows!! More shows than I have ever put on in my whole life!! How we did it? Easy...with the Lord's help. We honestly could not have done it without Him. We have all gotten sick many times while we have been here and have united ourselves with the Lord and through our faith in Him and through our sacrifices He has blessed us this whole summer with strength to bring about His work. I think I have been sick pretty much the whole summer and still am a little. I have found that as long as I was willing to keep moving and work hard, the Lord blessed me with the strength to do His work even though I wasn't my healthiest. The Lord will accomplish His work through willing hands and humble hearts. Sacrifice truly brings forth the blessings of Heaven. The more I have been willing to give, the more I have received from the Lord. The Lord's hand is more in the work than we can know. This summer is a testimony of these things that will never be shaken for me. I feel so fortified and lifted up by the Lord. This mission has brought me closer to the Lord than I have ever been and in more ways than I expected. Anyways, the talent show was too epic to actually write about in an email. If I start, I won't stop so...yeah. Just know that it was absolutely epic. We will probably see videos of it on facebook or youtube. I'll tell you about it when I get home. Elder Nelson and I will bust out Muscular tomorrow or Tuesday. Just when the YPM's don't expect anything. It was awesome to see the Smiths! They actually saw High Hopes and I didn't know they came to the show until they came out of the theater after the show. So cool! I'm excited for my date with Jeff! I miss him very much! Congrats to Caleb (Frost)! He's a real man now! What an amazing experience! Anyways, I honestly don't want to leave. I don't know how to actually. This has been my home and these YPM's have been my brothers and sisters. Tuesday will be a very sad day. Yesterday was a very sad day. We were all crying through our last High Hopes. Very sad. Well, I love you all sooooo much and am so very grateful for your support while I have been here in Nauvoo. I will see you in a couple days. That sounds so weird. It really hasn't hit me yet. I will forever remember Nauvoo. Until we meet again, may the Lord be with you and may the Spirit be your guide. I love you!
 
Love, Elder Allred
August 8, 2010
My Dearest Family,
             Good Sabbath!! It's been a fantastic week!! Oh boy! It went by too fast!! The days seem long because we do so much everyday but the weeks go by like days! It's such an amazing feeling being dead tired every single day from giving your all to the Lord! It's an amazing feeling being strengthened by the Lord, when you feel like the living dead, just enough to accomplish the work His has given you to do! What a blessing it has been to serve here and in this capacity. This week has been great. It has been nice to go home or do other things after Sunset now that the Pageant is over! On Monday, all of the YPM's went to Annie's after Sunset and got some custard. Delicious!! It was actually really weird going up on the bluff at night and having a little extra time. I also went to Lands and Records that same day and found a bunch of information about all the Allreds who lived here in Nauvoo! Way awesome! I'll have to burn it on a CD to take home. On Tuesday, Elder Walker, my companion, and I worked in the Family Living Center in the morning. I love teaching everyone about the saints and bearing my testimony to them. After Sunset that night, we reblocked the last scene of High Hopes. What we did makes William more of a gentleman. It makes him more like able as well. We are filming the shows this week so you will be able to see the finished product. On Wednesday, I helped Elder Walker give a blessing to one of the sisters and then a few minutes later, another sister wanted a blessing as well. I gave the blessing. It was my first time! I was kinda nervous but I received a warm, comforting feeling as I gave it. It was amazing! What an amazing privileged I have to exercise the priesthood! I gave the blessing right before Anna Amanda. I never would of thought I would give my first blessing in my Twin costume! Haha! EFY was here this past week and they came to Wednesday night's Sunset performance. Great crowd! It was my group's turn to do the Audition. They loved it!! After Sunset, Elder Shepherd, Elder Steglich, and I went to Annie's again. After that, we went over to Casey's and got a pizza! What? We were hungry! :) On Thursday, we had our P-Day and we also went to the temple as you did! and we also did sealings as well!! So awesome!! It was my first time doing sealings!! Amazing! I think it's so cool that we both did sealings on the same day!! The rest of the week was tiring but very satisfying! Our talent show is actually tomorrow. Yeah. A week earlier than what we expected. So the last couple days we have been throwing things together. Crazy! All the stage elders are doing American Celebration which is a sweet twist on Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus. It's gunna be sweet! All the stage YPM's are doing Run, Freedom, Run! That's gunna be sweet as well! I'm also playing the drums for a group number, Would You Go With Me by Josh Turner. I'm excited for that one as well! We hope and pray that we will all be ready in time! Elder Nelson and I will just perform Muscular sometime for all the YPM's. It'll be a private showing! It'll be great! It's so good to hear from you and I'm excited to see the Smiths! Don't worry about the farewell! It's fine! I can't wait to speak! I'm also excited and ready to get right to work on my missionary needs right when I get home! Congrats to Becky and Ray! Wow! You guys got married when I was 5! I actually remember that day! Good times! Anyways, congrats and may the next 14 years be merry and bright! and may all your Christmas's be white! Happy Birthday Christine!! I hope it has been just grand! Well, I am healthy but very tired! I feel like I have mono. I still feel kinda shaky. Besides that, I feel great!! I love serving here and learning here! Thank you so much for everything! I love you all!
Love, Elder Allred
August 1, 2010
My Dear Family,
            Wow wow wow!!! 2 weeks left! I can't believe it! It's gone by soooo very fast!! However, at the same time it feels right that it is almost time to end this mission and take what I've learned and continue to learn everyday and put it into my daily life. It will be hard to leave my home hear in Nauvoo and it will probably be the last time I will be here as a missionary and set-apart and entitled to His special blessings as His representative. I'm forever grateful for the many experiences and blessings that I have received while I have served here. I really need to stop talking like this. I'm not leaving yet! Anyways, this week has been one of the hardest weeks for all of us YPM's. One of our sisters went home on Tuesday morning. Sister Barrientos has been suffering all summer with stomach problems. She went to the doctor while she was here but it didn't really help. She hasn't been eating really anything and what she did eat she would throw up. The last week she was here, she lost 18 lbs and we all suffered as we watched her slowly waste away. It was really apparent in her face that she was losing so much weight. The past couple days she was here, her energy level was incredibly low. On Monday when we performed Anna Amanda, she was leaning on people to hold her self up. So sad. When we got the news that she was going home the next day, we were so very sad. We all gathered after the Pageant and sang "Invocation" one last time and said our last goodbyes. Although we were sad at her parting, we rejoice in the hope that she will take care of her problems. Today all the stage YPM's are fasting for her and her health as well as for the hearts of her parents to be softened. Sister Barrientos has grown tremendously while being here. We pray that her parents will see that in her and will feel of the Spirit by being around her. Crazy crazy week! Emotionally draining as well as physically draining! I don't know if we could have made it through this week without all your prayers and also the Lord constant blessings in our time of need. It also helped to have Neal L. Anderson come and speak to all us missionaries to inspire us and lift us to a higher plain through the beautiful Spirit that he carries with him. What an incredible experience! Wow! He truly is a chosen mouthpiece of the Lord. One the most important things his taught us was that what we do here is not as important as what we become here. Truly inspired of the Lord this man is. He also taught us to not fear the future and just move forward with faith. So many young people today are afraid that they will make the wrong choice in what we do with their lives. This totally was for me! I feel so comforted and strengthened by his words and counsel. I have a greater desire to serve the Lord fearlessly! What an amazing blessing it has been to have him here. He didn't see any of our shows but that's ok. He's very busy. Anyways, the shows have been packed all this week. We all have loved the Pageant soooo much!! What a powerful and moving testimony! I have been blessed and changed from being able to be apart of it! I hope you get to see it someday. It's amazing! I will miss it deeply. I will not miss all the bug bites that I've gotten though. The work is moving forward in a way we don't even know. The Lord is truly preparing the hearts of thousands for the gospel. I'm so grateful to be here and like it says in the Pageant, when we are here in Nauvoo, the early saints are here too. I truly believe that. I'm honored to honor the early saints and their sacrifices. Anyways, I haven't been able to talk to anyone about my shots. Now that the Pageant is over we should have more time. Eli!!!!! That's soooo awesome!! Eli is a character in High Hopes!!! Soo cool! I'M SO EXCITED!! It's soo wonderful to hear from you and your journeyings! I'm feeling soooo good and yes I love my Sabbath days of rest and site seeing. I love you all so much and may the Lord bless you.
Love, Elder Allred
July 25, 2010
Well Hello!!
       My week was amazing! My health has improved soo much this week! Thank you so much for your prayers! I definately felt them! I went to the doctor on Wednesday and I got a Z pack of antibiotics and boy do they work however, not right away. My cough had gotten so bad this week that I didn't really sleep to well at all Wednesday and Thursday nights. I really started to feel it kick in the past few days. Chicken soup and bed rest would be really nice! Except I would feel bad not being on my feet working somehow. It's really crazy how much I view free time now. I actually try to take advantage of it now. I'm grateful for the lessons and habits that I am aquiring out here. The Lord blesses me so much everyday! I have now many personal experiences of the Lord's hand in my life! It's incredible!!
        Yes I met up with my Light family this week! It was soo wonderful to see them all!! It made me happy to see them again. I got the package and it was delicious!! I got the jury summons as well. Thank you for all the packages! I can't think of anything I need but if you want to give me things that's totally fine :)
         Thank you so much for all the money!! I'm fine though really. It was $138.00 for the appointment and then 13 something for the Z pack.I think I should be good for the rest of the mission though. I'm going shopping only three more times. Crazy!! This has gone by so fast!! My debit card has been working fine. Be sure to let Cory know how very grateful I am for that!!
         Pioneer Day is everyday here! :) We didn't do anything special for it. Same old, same old. Performing like crazy and loving every moment of it. The shows are going so good and I feel like I improve upon my last performance. I feel the Lord's strength in my weak and tired body. The Spirit is strong in our shows and we can all feel it. The crowds are soooo big. We have full houses almost every show! The weather is so unpredictable here which is fun. What's it gunna be like next?? It was really humid this week and we've been sweating buckets. It's great! I bought a sweet water bottle this week. It's pretty handy.
         It's good to hear that the Taylors have an awesome new house and so close to the shop! I might have to check it out before I become a Mexican and all. I need to see that crazy Spencer boy and his crawling skills. I'm going to miss the Taylors not being at home when I come home.
         Congrats Kaitlyn!!! I'm very proud of her! When did she grow up?! I hope she will always remember her baptism and the feelings she had. Happy b-day to Boney Pizza and Miss Maren!! Congrats to the Porters as well!! Wow!! 25 years!!!!! That's older than me!! Congrats to Spencer for finishing off the high chair!! Wasn't it mine to start off with? If so, that's pretty sweet!! Congrats to you Mom for teaching double duty in church!
         The summer has gone by so very fast!! Words really can not describe the experience that I have had out here! I feel so closer to the Lord! Closer than I've ever felt. I'm starting to be able to regonize His promptings and have been blessed for following them. I'm using my priesthood and have seen great miracles take place. I can feel of His love and protection because of the covenants I make in the temple. I know I am on the Lord's errand and I know that I am doing His work. I know that my mission didn't start in May but a very long time before then. It was planned out before I even came to the earth.
         Thank you so much for your support and love! Have a great week as well! Thanks for your prayers! I'm so grateful for the loving guidance you all have given me!
Love, Elder Allred
P.S. Elder Andersen is coming on Tuesday!!!!! I'm soooo stoked!!
July 18, 2010
O Family My Family,
              I say hello from Old Nauvoo! It is so fantastic to hear from you and to hear all your adventures! It sounds like things at home are just barrels of fun and full of activity. Nauvoo has been pretty humid and sticky! I mean like really humid and sticky! Like you walk outside and you're wet. It's fun! If you aren't sweating a ton then that means something is wrong with you like you're probably going to die from not drinking enough. Everyone is sweaty and happy here in Nauvoo. We all sweat so no one cares. It's great! It's a really different kind of heat from Mesa and I haven't decided which one is worse. But anyways, the shows have been going great and we have had full houses almost all of our shows. There are so many people here because of the Pageant. It's awesome! They bring a lot of energy! I've been taking some drugs for my knees and I feel a lot better. I put the backflip back into the show and I don't feel so much like a 80 year old man when I walk. It's marvelous! I've been meeting soooo many people here and I can feel of their desire to feel the Spirit while they are here and I feel extremely blessed to be able to be here and to provide them with the Spirit through song and dance and also just talking with them. I feel that being a YPM is so very important because we get to provide the Spirit to people in a special way that in some cases is the only way for them to feel the Spirit and touches their hearts and opens up doors and opportunities for other ways we can bless their lives with the Lord's gospel. I truly believe that the more we put forth our best efforts to further His kingdom and the more we continue to make great sacrifices, the more His hand will be in this work in bringing those people who are ready for the gospel to us. No sacrifice, no matter how small, goes unnoticed by the Lord. He will bless us for are sacrifices that we make in bringing forth His work. I'm honored to bear His name on my chest, above my heart, everyday. There is nothing that brings me greater joy than bearing witness of the truthfulness of the restored gospel. Anyways, we have all our performers back with us again and our Zion is complete. Things really have been going so great. The love we have for each other is so wonderful. We lift each other up. The pride is gone and the love is abundant. It's amazing how better you feel when there is nothing dragging you down. Now that everyone is unified and all, and a different trial emerges. Sickness. Elder Walker and I have got a cold of some kind and have been battling that for the past five days. My voice is almost completely gone and he's been having fevers on and off. There's really not much you can do after all you can do. Patience is a wonderful lesson I'm learning once again. I take what the Lord gives me and go forth cheerfully. It's His voice anyways. He gave it to me. His will be done and not mine. I am so grateful for all the Lord's blessings that He has given me. He's made me all I am. Anything that is good has come from Him. I'm grateful for the Lord's hand in my life. Jumping back, that story about Elder Arnett and the island boy is amazing! So awesome to see the Lord's tender mercies! I'm so excited for the wedding and all and for my family being able to have houses to living in! Yay! :) Chris Udall sounds familiar but I can't really put a face on it. That's awesome though! I can't wait to serve with him. I can't wait to see the Filichias and to get my what?? Jury duty summons?!?! What the nanny?!! I keep forgetting that I'm old enough to do that. Weird. Cool beans. I'm sad I missed the girls performance!! I bet it was inspiring! I miss all those little cuties!! I can't believe that Kaitlyn is old enough to get baptized!!! Time flies!! Hooray for Chris and Aubrey!! They are going to have very talented children. That's funny that Chris said that. Ha! Do I look like someone that would be called to Mexico or something? Funny funny. I sent in my visa application and I'll try to see if I can get shot while I'm here. My body's tired and shaky still but I don't care at all. I'm doing the greatest work there is and I love it!! I love you all so much!! Thanks for your counsel and support!!
Love, Elder Allred
July 11, 2010
Hello Family!!!!
             I only have six weeks left?! Really?!! WHAT!!!! Ok, this has gone by way too fast!! Wow!! That's nuts!! Seems like we just got here!! but at the same time, I have soooo many different stories and memories to tell of my experience here! I just wish I had the time to tell you all about it!! It really has been a life changing experience!! It has been a lot harder than I thought it was. I adjusted quickly to supporting myself on my own and fending for myself. What I didn't expect was how exhausted we all have become. I didn't think about it before but we perform really all day. We put on 6 to 7 show everyday!! Most performing groups put on one show everyday and feel tired after two weeks. It's really incredible that we are still able to chug along. It's really hard to explain unless you actually do it. It's like a marathon race. Full speed for a long time. I know for a fact though that the Lord has been blessing us the whole way!! I feel His love and support daily. My knees are still hurting and I still have body shakes and I told myself that if I still had problems by today that I would tell Elder Camp and Elder Bowers. I'm going to tell them within the next hour or so. Anyways, this week has been one amazing week. It started off as it usually did with our two performances of Anna Amanda on Monday. By then, I had been having a shaky body and been extremely exhausted for a week now. I knew this wasn't healthy at all and began to wonder when I would get over this. By the end of Tuesday, I was sick and tired of being so exhausted and wanted my full strength back so that I could perform to my best abilities. What happened Wednesday was something I didn't expect. Elder Shepherd was extremely sick with a 103 degree fever and would not be performing that day. He plays William and John just like me. We switch off. So....what to do.......Elder Camp made the decision to take John out of the play completely and give all of John's lines to William. I would then just be William for both casts. Oh boy. My load just doubled with that swift decision. I was pretty nervous. I had to transfer all of John's lines into a British accent. Yeah. We all had to adjust actually to fix the blocking on some scenes and dances. Oh yeah, and to top it all off, we had General Authority Elder Evans and his wife attend the show. When it came time for the show, we humbly pray for assistance. The show was one of our best we had ever put on!! It truly was a miracle!! We did the same cast for the next show so we would have to make any more changes and I was William again. I figured out that with this double role play I was doing that I became apart of all but two of the scenes in the whole show. Crazy!! It became High Hopes, The Elder Allred Show. It really was pretty crazy!! Haha!! We then continued on with our day and performed with the Pageant after Sunset. I absolutely love performing in the Pageant!! Thurs-Sat became just like Wednesday in that we were missing Elder Shepherd. It really was an incredible blessing to me. See before I received the double role, I thought that life was hard being so tired and all. Being given this double duty, I was strengthened by the Lord and felt an extra focus. I was able to observe how weary all the other YPM's became with their single roles they had. I was so very grateful for such a humbling experience. It brought me closer to the Lord than where I was before and because of that became more loving and grateful instead of weary. I'm so incredibly blessed it's not even fair! The Lord knows exactly what our needs are and whats to bless us and will if we humbly seek Him.  know that to be true!! I love hearing about all your adventures back home and I miss you all so much! I'm sending in my visa application this week and I'm fine with my money situation. Thank you so much!! Much love to you all! You brighten my life!! :)

July 4, 2010

Dear Family!!
It's always great to hear from you!! Sorry about the lack of letter! I'm sad that I missed out on the performance that the kids put on!! I missed out big time I'm sure. I'm sure it's really hot there. Have fun with the Arizona sun :) I'm sure all the kids are just brown. It's actually not to bad here. I'm doing sooo well here! Well, actually I'm having a lot of knee pain and haven't been able to do the standing back flip in High Hopes. Hopefully I can get over that soon. I've also been having a shaky body for the past week. I don't think I eat or sleep enough. Oh well. I'm trying extra hard to eat more now and sleep more as I can. It's gunna be even harder now  with the Pageant and all. The Pageant s soooooo fun! I love it!! Everyone in the Pageant treats us with like celebrities. It's really funny actually. I feel like I'm working myself to death but I love it!! I come home everyday and feel so satisfied that I gave my whole entire day all to the Lord. I feel His love and support daily. I know with all my heart that He will always be there for me. I've prayed many times for His strength and have been blessed immediately. It's sooo amazing! Yes I did visit many times with Leslie and the YA's. It was a blast having them! Vocal Point has been here for the past two weeks and it's been soo awesome!! There show was ridiculously awesome!! They are all men of God with strong testimonies! Well, everyday here feels like a week and the weeks here feel like a day. It's really weird! I love being able to work in sites here and being able to teach people about the saints that were here and to learn so much about them. They were truly some of them most amazing people and children of God. I love learning all the stories of all the different saints. Each story is so inspiring. I'm so blessed to be able to serve here on hallowed ground . On the ground that these amazing people walked on and where they sacrificed so much. I worked with my NEW companion, Elder Walker, at the Family Living Center and taught people how to make rope and worked with him again in the Tin Shop. I'm learning sooo much!! The Pageant dancing is sooo fun! We learned it all really quickly. It's a blast and all the Elders get to wear ridiculous clothes! Awesome! There are tons of people coming in now for the Pageant and it's really exciting!! It's a booming town! I see a lot of them in the temple. I love going to the temple every week and being able to do work for the dead. I'm so very humbled to be able do such a great work. I love you all and I love this work! Happy Fourth today!!








Love, Elder Allred

June 20, 2010
My dearest family!
               I know it's early but this is the time that my companions wanted to write so I didn't have much of a choice. I haven't received your email cuz it's so early but that's ok. :) This week has been an amazing
week! Every week is amazing! It's been so awesome having the Young Ambassadors here with us these past two weeks! They are amazingly talented and are wonderful examples of how to be a true follower of Christ!  I want to be in Young Ambassadors so bad when I get home from Mexico. I would love that!  I hope we had the same impression on them. We sure try to be worthy representatives of Christ.  I'm so grateful for this experience. It's been a great experience! I've learned a lot in a way that I thought I never would! Of course, I knew that I would come closer to Christ in being his set-apart missionaries. I've never been so happy in my life and I cherish every moment! 

Something that I have learned being out here, is how grateful I am for LIGHT Entertainment Company. I testify that LIGHT is truly inspired of God. Tim Filichia is an inspired man of God. I've changed more in those 3 short years of being in the group than I have in my entire life. It has really made me a completely different person. I have come to know especially in these past two weeks that I am out here to shine that LIGHT. Being out here with 21 highly talented performers who are all leaders have been quite interesting. The first month being out was a very stressful and quite humbling. We were expected to learn three complete shows. Everyone relied on each other to learn everything and bonded very quickly with each other. We relied heavily on our leaders to teach us everything. Through our efforts
and faith, we were able to put everything together. As weeks went on, we all became more and more comfortable with our shows which felt good. As more weeks went by, everything became second nature and we really didn't have to think about our shows really because we knew them so well. Many YPM's let their egos and their pride get the best of them and our Zion that we continually strive for was starting to crumble. It was really quite sad. I hate watching people argue with each other and hate watching people not listen to each other and try to prove their point rather than try to see the other person's point of view. Many would say it was bound to happen but I never thought it would. I truly have been so blessed and spoiled to have been and forever be apart of LIGHT. No egos and no pride. Just the Light of
Christ. A way to share our God given talents in a way He would want us to. Truly amazing!! Those of you in LIGHT, I pray that you will never ever take it for granted!! It will change your life if you let it!! It changed mine!! Those 3 years I have been in it, I've felt that it truly was inspired and was thrilled to be in it. Now as I look back on the kind of opportunity I had and the kind of humble and loving and talented people I have associated myself with, I can say for a surety that LIGHT is truly inspired of our
Father in Heaven!! I have been so tremendously blessed to be apart of it!! I am so extremely grateful for Tim Filichia and for the man of God he is!! 

Those of you in LIGHT, LISTEN TO HIM!!! He will help you to be the best entertainer you can be in the way the Father would have you be!! 

Elder Nelson and I were talking about LIGHT so much in the past two weeks and having been missing it greatly!! We decided that if you are gunna be a performer and are LDS, you have to have a LIGHT experience to set the foundation of your life as a performer and more importantly as a child of God!! I will forever strive to shine His LIGHT!! I Love the Lord with all my heart and I hope that we can all have His Spirit to be with us!
I'm doing great here! I'm getting over my sickness...slowly.  Oh well. I sent out my acceptance letter on Friday!! Wooohoo!! I can't wait to serve the Lord in Mexico!! I have loved working at the sites here! Oh
yeah, I burned my hand working at the blacksmith. No big deal. I made a horseshoe though! I'm learning so much about the saints that were here! I love it so much!! The shows are going great and the temple experiences are absolutely amazing!! How are things at home?! 

How's the 80 billion degreeweather? Ha!! Well, I love you all so much and I would be here without you!! Thank you for making me the person I am today!! I am eternally grateful for each one of you in my life!! I hope and pray that I can be better able to show you all how much I truly am grateful and blessed to have you all! Until next week!
                 Love, Elder Allred



June 13, 2010
Hey all!!










      It's wonderful to hear from you all!! I'm really pressed for time today so this might be very short! Sorry about that! Anyways, things are just wonderful here in Nauvoo! I love every second of it! Yes I did get my hair cut and it is very short on the sides but still long on the top. I haven't written my acceptance letter yet and I didn't see anyone I recognized. Sorry.
I love getting letters from you guys as well! It makes me so happy!
      I'm getting very very excited for Mexico and I love telling people that I'm going there on my mission. Elder Lewis here is helping me with my Spanish and PMG is one of my best friends!
      I'm so happy that you get to be with Joekim and the girls! I'm very jealous! Brightley is hilarious!! Hahaha!! and I can't believe that Kaitlyn is 8 years old!! Wow!! Where did the time go?! I'm so proud of her wanting to be baptized!
      Congratz M and B on having the first Allred boy! That's so awesome!! I'm sure Michael is pretty proud of that! Hahaha!!
      Yay for houses!! That's awesome that the Taylors found a good one!! and so close to the shop! What a great blessing!!
      Scout Day Camp!!! One of my most fond memories of my life!! What an amazing and straight up fun time of life!! I'm so glad Trent's loving it!! I hope he is living it up to the fullest! I'm sure he is!! That's awesome that he's friends with Thomas Tech! TT! Haha!! That's awesome!! May they have the most memorable adventures together! Trent really is quite the business man! Ha! He's going to have a successful life ahead of him if he continues what he is doing!
      I'm glad Ryan is getting in touch with his feminine side over at Camp LoMia! :D You can tell him I said that. That's stinky that the suburban isn't working ever! Billie's can whistle?! Really?!
      Zack IS crazy! That makes sense though! He's one of us. :) I bet his head's going loco with everything happening this summer! He's getting married!! In the temple!! So crazy and awesome!! I'm proud of him and all my siblings for their example to me!
      It's good to hear that you all are doing fine. Fine's ok I guess. I'm great!! :) I'm in Nauvoo though! I'm glad that Dad is back to his 80 billion projects and that you are still working for a criminal. That's just wonderful! Congratz for Todd! He'll be great!
Thanks for all the updates and such! I love hearing them! I miss the Allred girls and can"t wait to see them!
In short, I'm sick...but don't freak out! I'm getting better...I think. The work will go on. I can still perform so it doesn't even matter. I love it here and I love the Lord and all His tender mercies! I love you all!
LOVE, Elder Allred



June 6, 2010


Dear Familia!!













         Hola!! I've been practicing my Spanish. Can you tell? :) Mexico, here I come!! It's still so crazy that I'm actually going to be serving there! I'm soooooooooo excited and I've been waiting all my life to serve a full-time mission! Now I have the call! Now the time has come! Being here in Nauvoo is truly an enormous blessing for me though. What an absolutely gorgeous place and it's not just the beautiful scenery. It's the incredibly faithful and hard-working saints who built this city. I can feel of their presence and their unwavering testimonies. I wish I could be like them and have the faith that they had. I'm truly humbled to be in the "City Beautiful" and ride my bike down the streets where the prophet Joseph walked. I'm so thankful for the amazing examples of the early saints! If they wouldn't have moved forward in faith, I would not be here. I would not be serving this mission. I would have never had the call to serve the people in Villahermosa. Some people would not hear the gospel. It's amazing how one decision to remain faithful through trials can have a huge rippling affect. I'm so grateful and proud of my pioneer heritage. I get to honor them and serve the Lord every single day! How lucky am I? You should be jealous! :)
         It was sooo GREAT to see you guys last week!! I loved every second we had together. They really were like seconds but I was grateful nonetheless. I'm so glad that you were able to come and partake in the spiritual feast that I'm having over here! I may not come back physically fat but I hope to come back spiritually obese! The temple was amazing!!! I've never felt closer to the Lord in my life!! It was sooo awesome to go through with some of my family!! I can't wait to go through with all of my family! I can wait to get married though. That's for sure! :) I was smiling the whole entire day on Thursday and can't seem to stop! I feel like a new man! It's amazing! I feel like I know so little about the gospel but I loving learning! As much as I love performing, I wish I could just study all day! There is soooo much to learn about the gospel! I love it! I'm treating my new, comfortable garments with respect so don't you worry! I'm constantly seeking the Spirit and constantly praying and doing all those things you are concerned about. I've truly never felt closer to the Lord before! I feel of His love for me everyday! I definitely need to take care of my body though. I beat myself way too much and it doesn't help that I like to fall down! It's ok I'm TORO TOUGH!! At least I try to be.
         It's awesome to hear about everyone's activities and adventures! I keep forgetting that it's hot in Mesa and that it's already time to go swimming and such. Spencer has probably got a better tan than I do! I miss that little guy!! I miss all y'all!! I feel like I haven't seen you all in a year and it's only been a month! I hope that you all are doing fantastic! Tell Trent to be grateful for his short hair. It'll be a lot cooler with it short plus he'll look like a missionary. Just not a performing missionary :) and why wouldn't you want to look like a missionary? Being a missionary is cool. Bringing others to Christ is pretty cool!  Well, I best be going now. I love you all so much and I'm so grateful for each of you in my life! I'm so grateful that we can live together forever! Mucho mucho to all of you!! Hug hug, kiss kiss, little hug, big kiss, little kiss, big hug, little kiss!
Love, Elder Allred



May 23, 2010

HOLY COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(moo) Oh my goodness!!! I don't even know where to start!!! Wowoowowow!!! My call's there!!!!!!!! I. CAN. NOT. WAIT. to open it!!! This is going to be the longest week of my life!!!!!! It's going to kill me!!! That picture on the blog killed me!!!! Sheesh!! Anywhoo, it's soo good to hear from you guys!!  It seems like I've been here for like two months!! Thanks for all the updates and such. I'm proud of my MV wardies!! Way to be!! I feel so old! That's so awesome that you got to go to the G.V. temple!! I can't wait to go inside someday! I feel like I'm living in a different world. I love love love every second of it though!! I feel like we get more done here in a week than I usually would get done in a month. It's amazing!! The Lord has blessed me so much and I can feel the Spirit so very strong here. I'm so honored to be one of the few who get this opportunity. We actually just got back from Carthage. Wowzers! Such an amazing place and such a sacred and sweet spirit there. We sang a few songs in the room where the prophet and his brother died. The Spirit testified to each one of us the truthfulness of the Prophet Joseph. Everyday out here is amazing and full of experiences that you can't find anywhere else. You can't explain it to someone until they actually come and experience it themselves. Truly amazing! I can't wait until all of you that are coming come! I can't wait for you to feel of the peaceful spirit Nauvoo has! Well, to begin answering all of your questions, I am William and John in High Hopes and one of the Twins in Anna-Amanda. Each show is double casted (A and B) so when I'm not William, I'm John. I'm William in the B cast and John in the A cast. I'll be in Anna-Amanda every other day. Anna-Amanda is just one cast for each show. I'm also in Rendezvous as Jimmy. Please get your tickets now!!! My cast for H.H. and A.A. performs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I have no idea when I perform in Rendezvous. You guys will love it!! Yes yes I want to go to the temple!! I need garments! I want my mission call for my birthday! I will probably get my recommend today! I will come find you at 7 on Saturday or something. I don't know. It'll be fine. I gotta go! I love you all SO MUCH and I love the Lord and His Plan!

Love,
Elder Allred


May 16, 2010

HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How are my loving parents and family?! I hope all is hot and dry in good ol' Mesa, AZ! HA! But really, I hope you guys don't miss me too much. Anyways, Nauvoo is absolutely gorgeous and I've never seen so many living things! There are 80 billion bugs here and everything is GREEN! Crazy huh? The weather has also been amazingly perfect and we had a really good thunder and hail storm one the nights. It's freezing in the mornings though! The mornings here are like the winters in Mesa! Anyhoo, I feel like I've been here for a month. It feels like the we have like 36 hour days but it's awesome! We've gotten so so so much done in this past week! It's amazing! We all can feel that the days truly are longer than 24 hours. I know that it's because the Lord has stretched the day longer so that we can get done what needs to get done so that we can spread His gospel. There really is an amazing Spirit of peace here and I'm so extremely blessed to be serving the Lord in this beautiful place. Nauvoo is a secret escape from the world and all the unnecessary distractions that can dull the Spirit. It truly is a sacred place and a city frozen in time. As far as what we've been doing the past month, I mean week, we've been dancing, singing, acting, singing, praying, acting, singing, singing, acting, dancing, doing lifts, doing lifts, praying, eating, singing, dancing, acting, lifting, doing stunts, dancing, singing, praying, eating, sleeping, eating, praying, singing, daning, acting, singing, dancing, lifting, praying, eating, singing, giving blessings to the injured, dancing, dancing, dancing, singing, acting, acting, praying, eating....Shall I go on? This is strictly have we've been doing. We don't have the time for anything else. That's how dedicated we are. Hehe just kiddin'. In all honest though, it's not that different from that. My companion is Elder Shepherd and he's from American Fork, Youtah. He went to Rome on his mission and he's one cool cat! We study every morning and it's bomb-diggity!! He has so much advice for me and he's a good cook. Each companionship cooks dinner for all the elders on a certain night each week. There are 11 of us elders in our house. 2 techies and 9 stage elders. The church is true! Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I feel as if I live with in the same time as the saints of old and that this place is a constant dwelling place of the Spirit. The past week has been the best week of my life!!!! I feel so close to God here in Nauvoo and I the Spirit so much more in my life. I feel like a different person even though I've only been here for a week. I know that God knows us personally and wants us to trust Him with all of our hearts so that He can bring forth His work. I love the Lord and I love you all!
Love,
Elder Allred
P.S. My name tag says Elder "Allerd". Good times haha! The funny thing is, most people that see me and read my tag actually say "Allred" and I correct them and say "No. It's actually Allerd." I've had way too much fun with that. One senior elder called me Elder "Allero"and sayed, "Allero. Ooo that's romantic." Hahaha! Most of the stage Elders call me "Yero" (in a Spanish accent) cuz of the two L's.

1 comment:

  1. I am so happy for you guys. It sounds amazing. I hope to see you later this summer.

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