Monday, June 4, 2012

Last pic with our Mission President


The Newly Baptized Garcia Family!!!


The Newly Baptized Garcia Family
Hello Family and Friends,

I hope and pray that you all have had a wonderful week...

Thank you Bryan Harper for your letter!! Thanks so much for taking the time to write and I am glad to hear that you are doing well. You are such a great friend Bryan. I love you brother and have a great week. Thanks for taking the time to write -- I will be sure and write you soon.

Thank you to all you sent letters:  Papa and Grandma, Grandma Clegg, Joel Prince, Trisha Cox, and each of the family. I really appreciate it!

Well it sounds like by the end of this week the whole family will be officially up at the fish. How wonderful! I even can see briefly that the first frisbee game will be tonight maybe for FHE. What a joy that brings me! I am glad to hear that you all had a great week and the adjustment goes smoothly to being full time Stanley residents.

This last week was absolutely crazy, but in a good way!! The conference was a amazing and I learned so much!! It was great to see so many Elders that have been such great examples to me in my mission. I talked with Elder Yosts companion  and it sounds like he is doing well. My whole MTC roomies are district leaders now so it was so great to see each of them and talk to them. They are doing really well. We had a great room full of people I love and respect. I also received a letter from the family Gonzales and Elder Yarger in Miramar. It was great to hear from them. The family Gonzales all have callings and are progressing well. The two boys have received the priesthood and the whole branch sounds like they are doing awesome. That was the best news ever to me and it was so wonderful to hear from them. 

We got back from Bahia at about 2 am in the morning and I slept in an area close to our house and then we had district meeting the next day. It was great. President wants every missionary to baptize his last month in the mission, and this weekend two of the three pairs of Elders baptized. We just can’t conform and must keep going. 

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were some of the sweetest days of my mission. The familia Garcia was married and surprised by all of their family.  Then, they we all baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. Elder Hansen and Elder Henry baptized a great kid named Marcio. Our ward is growing and the energy shift is changing. I was disappointed greatly with the attendance at the baptisms, but the ward was really nice to them on Sunday and the Famila Garcia is awesome.   They were greeting out new investigators at church on Sunday and last night when we went to visit them… I kid you not the spirit in that house was so different. They want to go visit with us, they want callings, they are just on fire! I love it so much and the members are loving them so much. They have a FHE with the Bishop tonight and I am excited to hear how that goes. Maria is fasting and they are asking a lot about the temple. I am so grateful to know this family, they are studs. I just pray with all my heart that the ward can keep them. I am confident that they will. Maria Ochoa and her family was in the church and they are doing really well also. This week we will have some splits and I am excited for that. Last week I was also able to talk with one of the APs on the bus for like a 45 mins and that was precious. Elder Taylor has four more weeks in his mission and he is just so sad about leaving and working like a madman. He is such a great example. 

I cant believe that this week I turn twenty. I can’t really compute it in my mind. I was reading back through my journal and it was great to see how the mission had changed me, not in great ways but just in small simple ways. I feel so blessed. I set a goal for baptisms at the beginning of the year, and back then my vision wasn’t very good. I have to raise that goal because I reached it last week. I can not conform.  

Please wish Aunt Cynthia a Happy Birthday for me and that I love her and all the family. If you could pass me their address that would be awesome actually. I know you are all super busy. 

President talked a lot about daily excellence this conference… among lots of things but he shared two scriptures that I thought were great… one of them is in Mosiah 4: 26 and the other is Psalms 96: 2. I love breaking up the days and just trying to do the best with one day. That is the way to progress I believe. It is more doable in my mind if I think just about how we can do little better things just today. President has changed the standards of excellence to finding two new investigators every day and it used to be 15 a week I have noticed a huge difference in my work ethic and in the ethic of the Elders. We have not had book of Mormons for two months in the mission and it might be because of this change. So I challenge you all to be excellent in your daily lives. Thank you for your examples and the way that you are happy and always doing good. 

Dad- I was so pumped to hear that there was a baptism in the Stanley branch. What a great thing to hear. It sounds like you are all doing very well and busy. It is so beautiful up there right now and I love the feel of all the new people. I hope that you can travel safely and I glad that all is well up there. Thanks for your great letter. I love you Dad. Have a great week!!

Mom- Thank for your letter Mom. I love you very much and thank you so much for your support and I hope that you have a great week. My goal is to have the birthday go by as unnoticed as possible… I don’t want it to be about me at all. But I have a loving comp who likes to tell a lot of people so I think I lost that battle. I love Elder Knuteson and we get along great. I love you so much Mom.  Oh hey, some members here added me as friends on Facebook FYI.

Mikesell- So how is that foot?  Did you forget that today is the moon day? I love you Mikesell and I hope that you enjoy your week and all the restaurant staff and guests. You are the best and I hope that you have a really fun week. I love you.

Brennen- Good work coming back and beating Al’s team!! That sounds like the big battle. haha I wish I could have seen it. I love you so much Brenn. You are such an outstanding person. Have a great week bro. You the man!

Alex- Hey little buddy. I thought  good and hard about the tic tac toe game before I put that piece of paper in the envelope and depending on where you went I either win or we tie. We will keep playing though.  I love you man. Keep being happy and awesome.

Harrison- Thanks for your letter and I am glad you got mine!! I sure love you little buddy. You are so special to me. I am glad that your birthday went well. I was praying for you extra hard.  Keep doing life the Harry way.

McCall- I can hear the way you talk in your email. You are so cute. I hope that you are loving the lake and that you have a great week. I love you Cally. BIG KISS!

I love you all so much. Have a great week and know that I love you all very much.


I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior and am so grateful for His Atonement.

Elder Austin

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