Monday, January 9, 2012

January 9, 2012

Letters From:
Bryan Harper- Thanks brother!! I am glad to hear life is going well for you. It was so great to hear from you!! Keep up the good work. You the man! Great times together!!

Coach Messick- Coach!! It was so great to hear from you!  Thank you so much for the uplifting words. It is strange to think that those great times were a more than two seasons ago. I will cherish them forever. Thank you for all you have taught me. I am glad to hear that you are having success this year in basketball it sounds like. Keep it up and tell the team to go for it big!  You don’t get a second chance at it!!  Thank you Coach for influencing the lives of so many for good. It is people as you that make that real difference in others lives. Tell the team I love them and to bust it out there!  Send my love to Mrs. Messick and Mackenzie for me. Have a great rest of the season!! Thank you so much for taking the time to write!!

Cousin Cass- Oh wow is was so good to get your letter!  Thank you so much! I will write you.  Would you mind sending me the address of your dorm? I wrote a letter to your whole family… it should get there in a weekish but I would love to write you and Ash! Thank you for writing – it was so good to hear from you.

Oveson Family- I so loved the pictures! Thank you so much!  Tell everyone I love them. You are so good to me.  It is around 95 here and very hot. I am not sure if I like your weather or mine better…? Thank you!

Karen Call- SO good to hear from you Karen!  I am glad to hear of your service and thank you for the lesson you taught. You are a very gifted person and thank you so much for your example. Have a great January! Thank you for writing to me!

Sharee Jeffs- Oh so good to hear from you! Thank you for your advice. It is all so true. I am in the south part of Argentina. I hear those waterfalls are pretty sweet though. Maybe I’ll catch them in on the plane ride home…!?  Love you Sharee, thanks for reminding me to bust it!

Grandma Clegg- Your emails are so sweet. Your messages always lift me up. Thank you so much! I hope that your calling is going well. I love you and sent my love to Grandpa and Uncle Alan.

Emails from the faithful Dad, Mom, Mikesell, Brennen, Alex, McCall

Well thank you all for your emails and kind words. My Mondays are days of rededication.

This was a great week. On Friday we got the transfer call. It turns out I will be training here in Miramar. Elder Ochsinbien, my companion will be also. So we are going to have four elders now here in Miramar!! We have been the only two elders here thus far.  I am very excited about this!!  We now need to divide our investigators and bust it out. However, we have a big problem with our house because it is extremely small. I spent a big chunk of this afternoon trying to figure out how we can fit four beds upstairs and it is going to be a treat let me tell you. I am praying we can find another house to rent but as of now, everyone we says it is impossible because of all the tourists here now for the summer. But I know if we work hard and trust we can find one if it is Heavenly Fathers will. If not, then I am going to learn a lot of patience!! We go to Bahia Blanca tomorrow to pick up the brand new missionaries. I am praying I get a native Spanish speaker, but if not, well even more patience. I am grateful our Mission President has the trust in me and it really is an answer to my prayers because I want to grow, but at the same time I did not much care to leave Miramar. We had a really spiritual day yesterday in church. Guisermo is an investigator who is 75 years old. On one street we contacted his daughter and son and then we found him and it has been a miracle. He says the most sincere prayers about The Book of Mormon. He had a stroke within the last year and is just starting to get the mombility in his left side of his body. But his mind is totally there. His family is very nice and treat us kindly. He had a very good experience yesterday. He was very emotional. After the testimony meeting a sweet widowed lady, who is the rock of this branch, came up to him and bore the most straight-forward and sweet testimony to him. It was really a neat experience. And also we have been working with a less active lady who has a boyfriend and grandson who are investagators. She bore her testimony and that was really great. Good stuff!

The sad stuff is literally two families in our branch split up this week. On Tuesday we got a call from a sister who wanted to talk to us. Turns out she had a problem with her husband and left... long story... so we gave her a blessing and she is with her three girls... We can’t do much because it is the Branch Presidency stewardship. Really sad. And then another couple is having big problems who is in the leadership here in the branch.  Neither of them are coming to church and they wont see us....Then the call came that we were going to have four elders here... President is inspired. So it has been a roller coaster of a week, but so it is… we must press on!

Now I get to talk about you all!!  My favorite. Sounds like it was a busy but great week. All I could ever ask for as far as blessings from my mission is to continue to hear about how all of you are growing and doing so well and helping other people. It is the greatest blessing to me. It is amazing to me how I can be so far away and still ¨feel¨ like you are just a city away. I feel your prayers more than ever.

Dad- I am guessing you will be taking a trip to Redfish to check on things soon. I hope that you had a wonderful week. Thank you so much for sharing that First Presidency message. We get the Ensigns about two months after they come out. Sounds like you have a busy week ahead of you. I cannot bless the Sacrament without thinking of blessing of it with you in Stanley. I get emotional every time. Yesterday I blessed with our ward mission leader form Mar del Plata and it was a little close to home. Thank you for being my best friend as well as my Father. Enjoy the time in Utah for the wedding! I love you.

Mom- Hello you Angel. Sounds like you had another great week serving others. You need a tag!  I was able to read a little in the scripture book you sent for Christmas and was interested because a lot of some of my favorite scriptures are in there! I am very interested in it. I know that it is real. What we put out in life we get back. This week will be a very memorable week for the Putnam’s and I am very glad you get to help out with the reception. Please tell Richard, Robin, Crystal and Josh and kids, Drew and Emily, Dani and Lis  - that I love them. What a great week for their family!! I also have been thinking about Blair and Anneli - I hope that they are all doing well. Please send them my love. I am looking at my little book I keep in my pocket to write things down to tell the fam every week and I wrote down a couple scriptures to share. Proverbs 29:8, Mark 11;22-24  and 2 Nephi 9:39. I love you so much Mom! I loved the picture of you and your college roommate at the reception. Crazy how Nanny Kim knows her!  Thank you for your prayers. Have a wonderful week. You are an angel.

Mikesell- Hey sis ! Today is a  full moon! I have been monitoring it al week. ha ha. Sounds like you had a really fun week. I am so happy you are giving it like you are. You are so amazing. I love you very much. Thank you for being the ever faithful letter writer. Have a fun week. ¨ Popcorn and Lemonade¨¨

Brennen- Hey buddy! Sounds like you had a great week of bball and everything. I remember those feelings of feeling like you “did not play well”. Just keep your head up and do your best. When you step out there on the court, that thing is yours. You are the boss, so go attack somebody. I love you man. Keep close to the important things. Have a wonderful week!

Alex- Hey man, so you sent me an email on your iPod? cool. Sounds like you are doing well. I sure love you  buddy and pray for you every day. Keep doing good things and follow the example of Brennen. I love you buddy. I am going to kick your trash in bball in a little while. no jk  - take care bud. Have a great week.

Harrison- Hey little man! I hope you are doing well. Are you excited to go to Utah? How was church yesterday? Has bball started yet? I love you buddy. I bet you are getting so big. Have a great week. Thanks man.

McCall- you get to see another pretty girl in a pretty dress this week at the wedding! Do you get to miss school? I bet you are so excited. I am very excited for you! I love you Cally.Thank you for your joke. I have my favorite for you!  Ask someone in the fam “what time is it?” They will tell you the rest of the joke. Hey - by the way I hope it is ok if I taught a ten year old boy here “our hand shake”…? He wants to be baptized so I figured it was ok. But don’t worry I won’t do it again. I love you Cally.

Well... Another week!  A quarter of my mission has passed. Crazy. I want you all to know that I know that Christ lives and that the closer we come to him the happier we are in this life. Life is wonderful, even through the hard times, temptations; all trials make us what our eternal destiny should be. May we all grow closer to Him and accept His role in our lives is my desire. Do all you can to protect our family from Satan. I have seen enough things here that destroy families that I get very ... I guess “angry” when I see families fall. STAND UP FOR THE FAMILY. Church member or not - help others have stronger families. That is when the world will change!! May Heavens richest blessings be yours. I love you all with all my heart.

Go get em!!!

Love,
Elder Austin 

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