Elder Jason Allred: Brazil-bound!: WEEK 2 IN CINCY!

Hello Family and Friends!

What a wonderful week. The public library is PACKED, so I might only have 30 minutes this week to email, but I'll try to get it all in :)

Heavenly Father has REALLY helped me this week! Last week, during my first few days, I was so unsure about everything it seemed. I felt like I didn't belong here, like this was just 'temporary' and was feeling a little down. Thankfully, He's really helped me out this week! I'm so much happier, and EXCITED to do the Lord's work! Sure, most people poo-poo us, but when you can feel you've touched someone, it makes it all worth it. Here are some of the adventures from this week:

-We bike A TON! I love it! I'm always hungry, but the ward members always feed us. They're so great! I'm pretty sure I'm losing weight.... Guess I should up my daily calories to 4000 or something!

- We did a LOT of service for this lady we found named Molly. It was hot, and we were at her house for about 4 hours trimming high hedges, trees, and bushes on her very slanted backyard with a wobbly ladder. Elder Christensen accidentally sawed through her extension cord (oops!) so we had to work EXTRA hard and do the job with hand saws and hand clippers. Ouch! She was super thankful and invited us back to her home for a "presentation" she was doing. We were delighted at the opportunity to get some potential teaching time in, so we committed to be there and invited her to our church. Turns out her "wellness" meeting was actually a multi-level marketing ploy.... BUMMER! She's not interested anymore.

- While out and about, we called to invite a part-member/investigator family to church. They don't have a car, so they couldn't make it, but reached out to US and offered a time for US to come by and teach them! They've been really hard to contact, so this was such a blessing!

- Just yesterday after church, we were going door-to-door, and a man with the biggest, meanest dog I've EVER seen brought him to the door and threatened to let him loose on us... Yikes! I almost laughed at him... Good thing I didn't because I don't think he was kidding. The next house after him, though, was an 84 year old man who could be a golden investigator. He welcomed us in and we talked for over 90 minutes about the Gospel, Church History, and his life. His wife passed away at 55, and he had a miracle heart transplant just two weeks after being put on the list for one, so he's wondering if there's some reason why God spared him and gave him this second chance. And, he's SUPER interested in family history (spirit of Elijah! Yay!) We bore testimony of the Gospel, and left him with the Book of Mormon which he said he'd read. We hope and pray this will end well.

-We helped a new family in the ward move a 100 year old piano out of someones basement. Even with 6 adult men, that HUGE, old piano must have weighed at least 500lbs.... It was a DOOZY.

These were just some of the highlights of the week, but man, Centerville really is so gorgeous. It's SO green, and just about every neighborhood, though older, is lovely! Lots of big yards, and TONS of old people :) Most of the residents are either Air Force families, or born and raised in Dayton. I'd say about 1 in 3 homes have a Buick in the driveway.... or two. Haha

God is good! He WANTS to bless His children! The Gospel is TRUE!

I've attached some silly pictures of me that I took throughout the week.