April 2, 2012

Hello my dear family!

I am so very pleased to hear that the Vegas trip went so well and that you were able to enjoy General Conference.

What a fun time!!  What a great treat it was to watch General Conference!! Last week I had written down five questions that I wanted to be answered. Within the first session, four had been answered. It is amazing to me how tuned our leaders are into our lives.

I received emails from: Grandma Crouch, Grandma Clegg, Blair & family, and of course - the great and faithful family.  Thank you each so much for your sweet time and I really look forward to reading them.

Well, I am not writing this letter from my usual safe zone in Miramar. I have been transferred to a town called Santa Rosa, in the providence of La Pampa. I love it here so far. It was a twelve hour bus ride from Mar Del Plata.

It was extremely hard to leave Miramar. I had been there since I got here in September. I have had so many spiritual experiences and the people were oh so kind. I am truly going to miss them. It almost felt like “leaving home” again. I will treasure the notes and kind words that they gave me. They are such special people. The best part was to see almost all of the recent converts there at the General Conference. That was really special.  This last weekend was really a spiritual feast with the wonderful words of the prophets and all of the many feelings I had of leaving.

Elder Yarger, my old companion, is the only one who stayed in Miramar. He will be training there with three new Elders coming in. He is a stud and will do great things.

My new companion I actually know…? I think he is from Boise and went to Meridian High. We had divisions awhile back and he was in my zone my 2nd and 3rd transfer. We are going into our new area pretty much blind.  Also they are putting in four elders in a ward that has only had two in the past. I have been assigned to be District Leader and am excited to be able to serve the wonderful Elders here. Your prayers are greatly appreciated! I told Elder Ochsenbien to look you up on Facebook so if a Skyler Ochsenbien adds you, that is my old companion who just went home. Elder Holmquist who was in our house in Miramar is now in Bahia Blanca. I was looking forward to having a new house with a little more space, but apparently this one here is smaller and this is the first time with four elders have been in this one house, so that means house hunting again. Haha! Heavenly Father has a sense of humor.  By the way I just heard the new Coldplay song in its entirety… The one that says “ahahaha aha Air Tax! Wooohooooo” Something like that?  haha. (We laughed pretty hard at this…it says “Paradise” not Air Tax! The computer center must have a good sound system! J)

So far Santa Rosa reminds me of St George, Utah. but I have not been to my actual area here yet because I am with my zone leaders….. I am waiting for my companion to show up because he missed the bus.

Dad- Thank you so much for your letter and I so look forward to reading it. Sounds like you had a great time and I am glad to hear that. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. I hope that you have  one of the Elders in my district is going to be training so maybe Elder Yost will end up in the same district as me. Or maybe Elder Yarger will train him!? Thank you so much for your encouraging words and the prayers and example that you offer to me. General Conference really does bring families together like I can’t believe. These messages twice a year are truly inspired. I lost it big time when I heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang... “Love is Spoken Here”. I love you Dad. I hope that your busy week is filled with good things and that the transition for Redfish goes extremely well. Thank you Dad!

Mom- I got thinking and I realized that the best compliment that I can ever receive is for someone to tell me that I have great parents. I had some very kind people tell me that and it humbled me greatly. I want to give because I have been given much and I know that I can do more. I do indeed come from incredible parents, grandparents, Aunts and Uncles. My family is everything! It was nice to hear so many family centered messages this conference. I am excited to read your letter and thank you so much for your letters and prayers. I miss you and pray for you daily.

Mikesell- How does that yellow and green feel? Mom sent me your “signing” picture for UVU.  I am so proud of you sis! You are amazing.  Enjoy this last couple of months of High School. When is your Prom? I sure miss you a lot. It sounds like you are doing awesome. Keep it up. I am excited to read your letter. Good luck in your track meets this week and go get them. I love you! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and love for the scriptures in the last letter.

Brennen- Thank you so much for sharing your testimony with me. That made my day. I sure love you brother and I am so grateful for your example in my life. I hope that you have a wonderful week and that tennis is going well. This is your last week of Drivers Ed and then you can hit the road! That is awesome. I sure love you brother. Keep doing the most important things. Have you thought anymore about your Patriachal Blessing? You can begin preparing today.  I sure love you!

Alex- Hey bro! Thanks so much for your awesome letter! I am glad that you had such a good time in Vegas. I hope that the adjustment into school goes really well. I love you man. How is your testimony?  I hope that you get my letter in time for your Birthday! Keep up the good work!! I love you so much!  Look up Alma 29:4

Harrison- You look so grown up in your pictures! What a stud you are! Did you like General Conference? That is kinda hard to pay attention for that long, but I bet you did it with ease. I hope that your school is going well buddy.  Keep trying to get the best grades possible. I sure miss you and love you little man. Keep being awesome! Have a good FHE tonight with the family!

McCall- McCall, I know how awesome you are, and I will never forget it! I am glad to hear that you had such a wonderful time in Las Vegas with the family.  I hope that you learned a lot. You are the girl. Are you and Harrison saying your prayers every night on your own?  I love you McCall and don’t you ever forget it.

Mom, I was wondering if next letter you could send a memory card or two?  Mine is getting full and I think I will send it home soon. Also I think I am going to need some new shoes. I wear size twelves. And I hear that the best way to send them is in two separate packages. That is how Elder Yarger got them. That is all I need… don’t worry about sending anything at all for a while. I have more than I need. Thank you for all you do. I love you!

Well, This was a great week. I can’t tell you how much I loved General Conference.  I thought of you often. I am so grateful to be able to spend this time here to serve and try to give back just a little portion of what I have already been given. Keep reading the scriptures and doing good things. I am grateful for this time to be able to mature and grow eternally. I challenge all of you to think of a vision of what you want in your life and to pray to receive the desires to achieve that vision. I asked a Zone Leader a little while ago what had brought him the most success and he told me that He prays for charity every day. I have done the same and have seen the change in my desires. May Heavens richest blessings be yours. I love you all so much. This time apart will only make us closer and stronger in the long run.  For this I am very grateful....

Have the best week of your lives!

I love you all.

Elder, Austin

March 26, 2012

Dear Family,

If all goes well this letter should be slightly easier to read this week.  I am glad that you were able to get a kick out of it all last week! haha

This week I received letters from:

Uncle Alan, Nikki Hernandez and Mikesell. Thank you each for your letters, they lift and inspire me to become.

Emails:

Grandpa Crouch, Grandma Clegg  and of course Mom, Dad, Mikesell, and Brennen.  I cannot tell you how much I cherish these letters. Thank you each so much and I love you all.

This week was a great week. Zone Conference was amazing times ten. If nothing else I was called here to learn from President D. I loved that so much. Tuesday we had District Meeting and then we got back in our area and continued to bust it. Tuesday was a great day. After our lesson with Claudio he and his daughter were set for baptism. He even asked if Elder Yarger and I would perform the ordinance. We came back the next day and as we sat down with the family Beloqui and he told us that he no longer wanted to continue investigating and that he was going to need some more time. It happened in less than 24 hours. We think that his wife told him she would leave him or something if he continued with the church. He was really sad. I was just absolutely shocked. His wife has cried in three of the four lessons that we have had. We scheduled an interview with our Branch President and the family after sacrament meeting. I don’t want to ever say that I have done everything that I could have, but we put a lot into them. So we are just patiently waiting and praying that he will call us. I know they have felt the truthfulness of the gospel and I know that if they would read and pray with real intent they would feel it. Heavenly Father really respects our agency.

The good news is that we had our first Argentine wedding on Friday! That was a cool experience and I will send pictures when I can. It was pretty informal and rather short, but it was a really special time. German was baptized the next day. He asked me to perform the ordinance and also we had a miracle because one of Elder Oschebiens and Elder Holmquists investigators that has been working with decided to be baptized and that was a tender mercy for Elder O since he goes home this week.  I am going to miss him a lot. Transfers always help me refocus. I think Elder Yost should get here this weekend. Mom, you asked what I am feeling about transfers.... I don’t dare say, really anything is game. I just got to work. We will spend the weekend in Mar Del for General Conference and we are excited for that. Elder Yarger and I spoke yesterday in church and it went really well. We had five investigators in church and that was great. Gonzoloes are the next baptism we are praying. We found him about a little bit ago. He is 17 and has a great heart and lives with his grandmother. He was teared up after Sacrament Meeting and that is a good sign….to feel the spirit there at church. We found some awesome couples that I hope can progress. Elder Yarger and I work really well together and he is a stud. I would love to have a couple more transfers with him. The family Gonzalez is doing really well and we had a BBQ with them and the family Beloqui on Saturday. I had one of the best talks ever with Hermano Beloqui. I learned so much from him. I asked him what was the most important decision that he made in his life and he told me his life story. I loved it.

Well, we are really cooling down here. The coats are coming out. 

Well my Vegas bound family, sounds like when you get this you will be in route to be with Mom. Sounds like you have some great things planned. Be careful down there. I will praying for you and I hope it is a spiritually uplifting experience. 

I wanted to share quote with you that I found the other day. By the wonderful Elder Uchtdorf...  “A heart filled with gratitude for the blessings of life and an earnest desire to hear and follow the words of counsel will prepare the way for personal revelation"

Ponder that as we prepare to receive revelation. I love General Conference. I don’t think that we will be able to watch Priesthood but unless I get transferred I should be able to watch everything else.

Dad- I hope your ankle is getting much better. You are going to need that do drive to Las Vegas! ;)  I hope that it is a fun experience for all of you. Thank you so much for your email. Sounds like you are doing well. I can’t think you enough for all you do for the family.  I love you Dad and I promise you to bust it out here. Enjoy your conference and I will be listening at the same time. I will most definatly think of you when we hear duty from President Monson. So get your ears ready to ring. J

Mom- Tell Jon and Raquel hello for me and that I love them both. I hope it is a successful time. Tell Jon about the Book of Mormon. I sure respect and love him, he is great. I hope that you enjoy your time there. When I went to Las Vegas last spring I remember the awesome group made  a circle around me and would make jokes like we have a "future Misionary here" as we walked around town. That was some really great times. I am sure you will have a great time. I sure miss you Mom. But am happy as can be when I work as hard as I can. Have a very fun week and make lots of memories. I am excited to hear about it. I love you.

Mikesell- I can smell the scent of that yellow fruit from that banana tree outside of our house from here! here. haha That is fun. What a great way to ask to Prom! Tell Jake he better take good care of ya. A whole world away just isnt enough to stop me. haha  Jake is awesome. I really respect him and miss him. Tell him hello for me. What are his plans for college? I hope you have a really fun week with the family. Just eat it up and do every fun thing that you can. That is my advice. I love you sis. Keep on keeping on. You are in my prayers. Go Wolverines!!! Once again btw who says by Salena is playing here..... hahaha

Brennen- Sounds like you had a awesome first tennis match - that is great. I don’t know too much about tennis but I am excited to learn from you. I sure miss you br. So did you get my letter you three? I hope so. Have a great time this week. It will be sick! I am pumped for you. Then you will almost have your permit! That is legit. Stay strong bro. You are the man. I love you. Keep focused in the important things.

Alex- Hey I am missing your email this week... I love you man. Have a awesome time this week. It will be legit for you. Learn a lot. Sounds like  AAU bball is going well. Keep working hard. I sure love you bro. keep being awesome and rocking life. Enjoy the time with the family. I love you bro.

Harrison- You are going to have a blast this week. How was your last week of school? What did you learn in Church yesterday. I love you buddy. How are your teeth doing? I bet you are growing so much. I love you bro. Keep it up and say those prayers.

McCall- I bet you will love that big 12 seat van. Are you still wearing a car seat? You’ll not know what to do with so much room. I am excited for that!!! I sure love you Cally. Have a great time. Remember I love you ok!!!!   Be safe.

Well I love you all so much. Have a wonderful week your spiritual thought for the week is in Alma 37. I love that chapter. Well, my dear ones  - Go have a great spring break and hold nothing back. I am excited for you all. Let me know how it goes!!!

Enjoy your drive and Mom, keep Dad Awake!  

Love,

Elder Austin

March 20, 2012

(K so this letter was an adventure because of the miserable keyboard he got on at the cyber center that I left it as - is....We didn't get his letter til 10:30 last night...saw it on my phone...read it...laughed at the typos and spelling...but loved how happy he is...so I left it as-is so you can appreciate your nice keyboards today...and feel a little of "Argentina" cyber center love today - and maybe get a good smile!!  )

Hello my be autiful  family ! I am  sorry that I am late.WE  jus t had an a mazing  z one conference.  This keybo ard that I am on  is terrible.  I hop e you can make out wha t  I w rite. 

  I  dont have time to read your  emails.  I have the great opportunity to do split s with the  AP and my zo n e  leader j us t    now.  WE had an awes ome conf erence. I love my MI ss ion   P resident so much.    

I wanted to share a  l  ittle of what I  learned.                                    Presid ent  h as g iven us the theme of           not being comp  lancent and always      striving for hi gher h eights.  We talked a boout intuition  and ince ntive. It was  amazing.        I  lear ned al ot ab o ut  wo rking with   you r   m embers and a lso what it means  to p ut a way childn ess.,  and become  who I want to become. 

 He  also t a lked ab out     h how only t he valient recieve celes tial glory. the honora ble people kno w wha t th ey ca n ddddo to obtain celest ital glroy.. I can not tell you al l how life changing my mission  has  b een so far. 

 I  guess I s  ound ed homesick l ast l etter. I a m doing  great. WE h ad three b aptisimis l ast S a  turday and hopefully two m ore this S atu rday!!   WE a re  really    bei n g  b  less ed.                                                    Th e  C laudios whole  family  came  to chu rch on Sunday.  Pl ease p ray for  them.

SO f rom wh at I can see it sounds like i t was a  r  ougher week for you all.

Mikesell, Your letter shows you r wonderful a ttitude.   Heavenly Father  has his eye on you and in   5 years you will lo ok back at all this and smile.  Lean on Mom  and D ad and P rayer. I wil l   pray        my heart o ut for you like always.

çI love you and will  writ e more when I can ac  tually  type ne xt week.  Go to work for track this  week. You  rock babe. I lov e you and p`ic tur e the         biggest                   hug                                   ever-

M om and Dad-      Sounds like you are all doing really goo d.   Thank you for your prayer s and all of your support. You   are two            truly     ama zin g     peop le. I am so e xtremely grateful for you   both.ç

  Brennen and Alex - Hey my s tuds , did you get my  letter  yet? I hope so. I s ure l ove  you both . STAY  STRON g.  i want to encourage you to if you can go on splits with the missionaries, read and prayevery day. THes  e times are  c  riticial for you.

McCa ll an d Harrison- I love you both so much.  I hope that you had a wonderful day. I miss you thank you for your examples. You two are a mazing. I h ope you  lea rned alot at  c hurhc.  

WE wat ched a video  today by Elder Holland .    I t was so touching. I want to testify to  you o f the  real ness of our SAvior and my love for him. When we understand who  we ar e and      where         were can  go, this all becomes real. I   w a nt to c halleng e  al l you  to  find o ut what   you can  do to help others to find the joyy that comes  f rom him.   I  testi fy of this  wo r             k. I love you a ll.

      German, Nicholas, a nd Y essica were bap  tized. THe y are all doing really well. On l ast tuesday  I ha d on e of the most spi rtual mo m        en ts in my mission. W e  had ta ken the b us to maR del pLata  fo r o ur Dis tric t Mee ting. WE went and ate in  Mar del Plata af ter o ur  district  meeting                                                                        with    the fa milia Belo        qui.  We got talking and it was just am zing the storie s that they hav e.  If you remember we bap tized  two To rres byos a couple of weeks a  go.  T hey h av e a older b  rother.     He is now living with the B Elo  qu is famil y  and  t hey are  paying for his school and helping with his mi ssion. They chagned his life forever. I started cryigng w hen we ate with theym. THe b o y  is  c al led ALe jo and h e  is one of the fa  vorite people that I hav e met  h e re.  I am so so rry for this l etter.  THis  can be yo ur fami ly home ev e                                                                                                                         n                            ing ga        me  to f  I gur e   ou t   my letTe r.                                                                                                                                        

 I am so sorry for a very short email. Please know How much that I love each of you. I know my prayers reach you and I hope you all have a excellent week.                                         I p romise a better letter ne x t week. h aha

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A llmy love.

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Elder Au stin

March 12, 2012

!A big abrazo para todo!

Hello you all! Sounds like you are all doing very well, that is wonderful!

Emails from:

Grandma Clegg- Thank you so much for your email, I am glad that you were able to have a good time with Dad and Alex. Sounds like you are all adjusted in your ward and you are all doing wonderful. I am so glad to hear that. I sure love you Grandma and am so extremely grateful for your emails each week. Thank you for your example.

Aunt Julie- I also appreciate your emails so much. Thank you for the update on your family.  Sounds like everyone is rocking life. I am glad you could spend some time in Montana. I love you Aunt Julie, thank you for thinking of me and know that you are in my prayers. Please tell Alan, Cass, Bey and Allie I love them. Have a wonderful week.

And the Faithful Family – thank you so much!!

Well this week was a good week. Yesterday was a great day because we had branch council and the stake was here. The Gonzales family was there and it was just precious. I firmly believe that they are in this for life. This Saturday Nicholas and Jessica will be baptized. They are the two nephews. Also we hope that Claudio Heriqez will be baptized this Saturday and also a nice man named German Jiminez. The work is progressing and it is great to see!!

We found some pretty solid people this week and I am excited to start working with them. The city population is starting to drop and things are starting to slow down. Winter will be here shortly I suppose. We kind of found a house. It is a huge apartment. It is just kind of run down, but very livable. We will see what happens. It is like two blocks from our current house. So we will see what happens there. We also had divisions this week. It was fun to work with Elder Ochsenbien for the last time. He is anxious and we are all kind of anxious for him. He has had a very different mission with going home in the middle of his mission and coming back. I really respect him for hanging in there. This transfer will be on conference weekend so I hope that we can watch it still - I am sure we will. Other than that I am doing really well. I want to let you know how much I love and respect my comp right now. He is a stud and we are good buds. It really makes all the difference. Has taught me a lot about the power of teamwork. God answers prayers. 

Missions are awesome and I am grateful that I have this time to be able to grow. I sure miss you all. Some P-days it hits me how long I have been gone and I really miss you all….but I am so happy and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I love doing this.

This week I thought a lot about the scripture in Mosiah 2 :41. I have come to truly love that scripture. We use it all the time. I would like to encourage all of you to keep finding the joy in keeping the commandments. That is the way to be happy. I thought about one conference when our Mission President taught us that sin is any time when we don’t act on the knowledge that we have of God. I thought that was interesting. He is such a great teacher. I am looking forward to zone conference in about two weeks. 

Dad- Sounds like you are enjoying your spring. You are all really busy right now. With Redfish coming up…it is definitely that time of year again! Sounds like you had a great time in Boise. I had to laugh today because we walked into a shopping center and I heard Coldplay. It was a song I have never heard before and it sounded awesome. Funny how you run into things like that. I have Ecos shoes right now. They are holding up alright. I’ve got some more time out of them. How are the snow levels up North? Thanks for your insights from your class that you have been teaching. I have always felt like you were the best teacher ever. You have been for me. I can’t thank you enough for your example of covenant keeping Dad. I really miss you but am at peace. Thanks for being such an awesome Dad. May heavens richest blessings be yours. Have a wonderful week and thank you for your prayers. 

Mom- Thank you so much for your letter.  Thank you for your thoughtfulness and ability to know what peoples needs are. Thank you always for sharing your thoughts and insights with me. Sounds like you are oh so busy right now. Spring is so busy…always has been for us. Please tell Tyler and Maggie congrats for me. That is the best stuff ever! I love those two very much.  They both are great example - both in high school and now. I hope Tyler s keeping up on his swimming! I hope that have a great week and are able to grow in all the ways that would like to.  You are an angel. Thank you for your prayers and I feel yours. I am glad you and Dad were able to go to the temple last week. I love you Mom. 

Mikesell... I am dying to hear the news…this college stuff just keeps going on forever! I keep praying for you and your attitude is awesome. It will all work out great in the end. Sounds like you are having a great time in school. I am excited for you to have your meet. You will have to keep me posted. Go rule the world! You will do great. Thank you for your sweet letters very week.   I hope I get your hand written one. I don’t know if I have gotten all of them that you have told me you sent, but it’s all good. Well keep working hard and focusing on the good things. Your decision to go to the temple and do baptisms every week will bless you for all of your life. Thank your for being my best friend. I did see the moon. Keep being awesome sis. Enjoy this last couple of months of school. Just have fun and enjoy your time.... I have a song for you. Amberland -Unwinding Cable Car. One of my comps has it on his ipod. 

Brennen- Sounds like you are living the very busy life right now. I am excited to hear how your first tennis meet goes. I love you so much man. I hope that you are keeping strong and fighting those temptations that are being thrown at you. You are keeping busy and that is good - just keep doing the things that bring you real "life" results.  How much more Drivers Ed do you have? How has the weather been? Well buddy - I sure love you man! Keep doing good things!! Have you been able to go to the temple? I sure hope so. I don’t think I really realized the power that comes from that before my mission. But you have a great example in your sister. Sure love you!! God speed and keep being the big man on campus at JHS!!   Hey good job on the Piano. What a stud!

Alex- You don’t have to hand write me …. I am just talking about emails. ha ha. But you all should get a letter from me soon anyways by the way. Sounds like you did really good in the tournament. We can’t play sports at all here. I am going to have to learn from the “A man” when I get back! I am running still in the park. It is getting colder and a little harder to do but I will do it as long as I can. How is your attitude and effort? Are you telling everyone you love them all the time? Ha-ha I sure love you buddy. One more foot and you will have got me. How tall is Brennen now? That is crazy you are that tall! Well buddy. Keep doing good things. I sure love you! Rock on!  Thanks for the email.

Harrison- What’s up little buddy?? Sounds like you are being your happy awesome self that is great. How are your friends in school? Did you like your sleep over with Ty?  What did you learn in Church yesterday? I love you little man.  I hope that you are learning a lot in school!!! Have a wonderful week ok??? Do 10 pushups for me ok? Ha-ha.  Love you bro. I hope that your teeth are doing well. You sure looked like a stud in the picture Mom sent.

McCall- Hola mi vida. I hope that you are doing great. Are you excited to bang on those big drums with Ms. Lock this week at your concert? I had her as a teacher also! That is great. How are all of your friends and are you learning a lot? Are you excited for Spring break here in a couple weeks? Sounds like you have a fun vacation planned. That will be awesome. I sure love and miss you Cally. I hope that you still remember your brother Austin. Thanks for being awesome. Have a great week. I love you!!

Well, I sure love you all. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Keep doing good things. Our family is our biggest support we have!

HAVE THE BEST WEEK EVER!

Love,

Elder Austin

March 5, 2012

IT’S ALL GOOD!!!!

Well, here we are again!

Letters from:

Nanny Kim and Matt- Thank you so much for your sweet note. I loved hearing of your fun times.  I couldn’t stop smiling reading your letters. Thank you both for being such wonderful examples to me. I love you both. Keep pushing on! I am excited to see your brother Nate here in a couple of weeks! Isn’t it great we are going to be here together!?

Scott Maughan: I know Scott won’t see this but so you all can know. He is doing really well. He is so awesome. Tell his family hello and that I love them. What a wonderful roommate and friend he is to me.

Emails from:

Cameron Stauffer- Hey my brother~ so good to hear from you!!! Sounds like you are still the great Cam I know!  I hope that ISU is going great for you. I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate your friendship. You are the man! Keep dominating life. Sure love you man.  Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me. I think of you often and we have a lot of good times together!

Grandma Clegg- Thank you so much for the update on everything Grandma. I loved hearing that you are doing well in the new ward. I loved hearing all the miracles with two weekends ago. What a special time. Please send my love to Grandpa and Uncle Alan, Julie and the girls. You are amazing.  I love you Grandma.  

And the Faithful Family:  I can’t tell you how grateful I am for each of your letters and support!! I love you!

This week was a great week. We didn’t find too many new investigators, but it was truly a week of true miracles. Well, on Saturday we had six baptisms. The entire Gonzalez family was baptized!  Ignacio included!

                                               Carmen, Maria Eve, Elizabeth and Ignacio.

                                               The Torres brothers, two were baptized

Last Sunday we fasted so that the entire Gonzalez Family could be baptized. We went and visited them on Wednesday and they were having a hard time because they didn’t have money for that days food. Maria Eve is looking for work. We were with the family Beloqui who came down for the day and they are awesome.  We were able to help them and hope that was an answer to their prayer.  That is the first part of the miracle. On Thursday we were in the Church for the interview and only the three girls showed up so we were happy but also a little sad because Ignacio was not there.  As were teaching with Elder Holmquist and Yarger… I was talking and I saw him walk by the window outside. I said to Elder Yarger, “Will you finish teaching?” and I left with Elder Holmquist to go find him outside. He looked at me with a little shock. Elder Ocsenbien was in the room next door interviewing so he wasn’t “too alone”.  We went outside and saw him walking down the street. We walked following after him for a little bit but we turned and we decided to give him his agency. I was just praying he would come back. We got done with the three interviews and he still wasn’t there. So they left and we were putting chairs away getting ready to leave when I see Ignacio and his two sisters walking back in the gate. I was so pumped. The four of them were baptized. And on Sunday, one of the cousins who has been visiting came up to me after Sacrament meeting and asked me if he could be baptized the 17^th of this month because he was going to be moving here. I told him that would just fine with us! :)  The Torres family is really special and has been through a lot.

Yesterday we had a great dinner with the Heriquez family. It was great and I have the faith that they are going to progress. Claudio was in the Church and he loved it. 

I want to thank Grandpa Crouch for his letter.  Papa thank you so much! I loved your insights and I have thought so much about that word on my mission. (desire) More than any other. Thank you for your time to write – I loved it so much.  I hope that all is well with you both!  Please send Grandma my love.   

Yesterday was a tender mercy day. I bore my testimony and got really emotional. Then right after me, Hermana Blanca got up and bore her testimony. She was recently reactivated when Yael,  her grandson was baptized. Then Branch President got up and bore his testimony and talked about how happy he was to have his wife in church with him. She never comes but hopefully she is changing. Then he told a story about me that was really nice of him. He said how the first day he met me he asked me a question and I smiled and said (beuno) and he looked at Elder Perez my companion and asked “what was up” and then Elder Perez told him that I didn’t understand much Spanish. Then he said how he was a little frustrated that the branch got a missionary who couldn’t speak well.  He was really nice and bore a great testimony.  It is going to hurt to leave this branch one day. I am just going to enjoy everyday. 

Sounds like you are all doing really, really well. I am glad to hear that.  Thank you each for your letters and your updates on life. I really enjoy them. That is an understatement.

Dad- Your email got cut off a little, but it sounds like you are doing really well. Glad to hear your back is getting better. Yes, this is the time when our weather is very appreciated. This week we had it all - we had rain, really hot weather, and wind. Today it rained like crazy, but yesterday it was so hot. We will go look for a house sometime this week we hope. I am excited for that. I hope that you have a great week Dad. I sure love you. I can’t not thank you enough for all you do. The other day he heard a Billy Joel song and I thought of you. I am excited to hear a little of the “Spain Spanish” when our new mission president comes in July.  You will have to keep me updated on the political race. It will be hard to not talk to people about it.  I sure love you Dad. Have a great week. Thank you for your prayers.  Hey! I just saw your other email. I just read that talk this morning by Elder Scott. I have read all of conference and just eat it up. I am seriously stoked for April.  Funny how you talked about that. I love you Dad.

Mom- You seriously freak me out. I am not kidding. This week I brought my shoes into a shop here to get fixed and he did a great job. Why in the world would you think to ask me about that this week? haha. Sounds like you had some crazy weather up there. Thank you so much for you letters. I just treasure them. Tomorrow is eight months. It is go time. Elder Oschenbein goes home at the end of this month and he is hanging in strong. He has had a rough mission and is a really great example. I am excited for him. I sure love you Mom. Thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts. I miss you bad; it doesn’t ever really go away. But we keep going forward, after the storm comes the Sunshine. You are the best Mom. I love you!

Mikesell- Oh my gosh - I am being tested with patience here also. Ya gotta hear from BYU soon it is killing me. You are so good to keep it up.  I am excited to hear. That is too bad about Jake getting hurt in the state game. Tell him I love him. What is he looking at for college? It is so wired to think that your class is Seniors. I hope you are enjoying your new trimester.  Bust it in Track. It will be awesome for you!   You will have to tell Lon Egbert hello for me. He was a great influence for me. I really respect him and think a lot of him. He does a great job there. You have a lot of great people to be able to work for three different people in Work Base Learning.  Well, Sis I think we go a full moon coming up here soon. I sure love you.   I miss you bad!  Keep doing good things.  Have a wonderful week.

Bdog! Hey my man -- How is tennis? I am so excited for you!! You are going to do really well. Sounds like you are really busy right now. You asked if I speak Spanish or English with my companions… we try to speak Spanish outside all day and at night we do tend to speak English. I set my alarm to go of every two hours to remind me to speak Spanish. I need to do it more; because that is the only way I am going to get better.   How is seminary? How is the Book of Mormon coming? Be sure you are in that book every day. I cannot beat that drum enough.   It is the determination of your future.  I sure love you man. You are such a great example to me.  Keep doing great things. 

Alex- Hey man!  Dude. I expect an email from you every week for the next 16 months. Deal? If not I am going to have to send some kind of torture devices for McCall to use on you. How are you? Are you making good choices? How is the Book of Mormon coming? I sure love you man. Do real things that bring real, results.  Half page letter next week deal? I love you buddy. Sure miss you so much. Have you thrown a disc in a while? I hear AAU basketball starts this week – right back into it!

Harrison -I love your braces that Mom sent. That is awesome.  I sure love you buddy! It sounds like you are doing really well!   What are you learning in school right now? Keep being awesome buddy!! You are the man! I hope that your teeth get better and your visit to the dentist goes okay!

McCall- Hey sweetie! How are you? I hope that you had an awesome week. How is school going? I am glad that you watched some Andy Griffith and that you are having some sunny days. I love you Cally. Thank you for your prayers. Keep being the special wonderful person that you are. 

l like the the scripture that I read in 2 Nephi 25:29 this week.. Helps you so see what is most important. 

I have so many blessings. I cannot thank my Heavenly Father enough or live well enough to show my gratitude for all that I have been blessed with in my life. These blessings include you.

Love you all so much....

Until the next time!!!!!!!

Elder Austin

February 26, 2012

Subject: Because I have been given much....

Manuel Parreño, María Magdalena Piñol de Parreño! The new Mission Presidents of the great Argentina Bahia Blanca Mission!! You will have to read about them. They are from Spain Dad! Pretty great!!

Good Afternoon! 

Another week has passed by! I read in Jacob 7;26.  Where Jacob talks about how their lives passed as if it were a dream. That is kind of how I feel like right now. There is a scripture for everything. ;) 

Emails from-

Papa Crouch- I can not tell you how excited I am to read your letter more deeply. I have had an intrigued with the word desire for a long time. Knowing it has to do with seeking and hearts desire.  Thank you so much! I pray for you and Grandma daily. Words fall empty when I try to express my gratitude for you both. I love you and try to honor you in all that I do. Have a great week and thank you again for the letter. Please send my love to Grandma.

Grandma Clegg- I bet that you are tired from a very memorable weekend!! I thought about what a special experience this weekend was for you and Grandpa. I love you both and hope that the new ward adjustment is going well. You two will have no problems getting to know other people and jumping right in. Your ward is blessed to have you. I love you both and hope that all is well.

Amy Ellsworth- Thank you so much for you email. I look forward to reading it tonight. Please tell send my love to your family. I actually wrote you a letter today so it should be coming ¨around the mountain¨ in the next few weeks. Thanks so much Amy. You are great.

And of course the faithful fam. Thank you so much!!

This week was pretty awesome. It has been rainy and is cooling down quite a bit. I think it is just the first wave of Fall and it will get a little warmer here in a bit. On Tuesday, we had a great district meeting. Our whole zone has changed and it was great to get to know some other Elders. I truly love getting to meet all of these outstanding young people!! All of them have different back stories and you can learn so much from them. 

Wednesday was our normal weekly visit with the Beloqui family from Mar del Plata. They are so awesome. I think they are the greatest blessing of my mission so far. They are just giving everything to this branch. I attached a picture of them.

Thursday we had a good day of tracking and found some new investigators. The week has been pretty solid in all. The Gonzalez family is doing well. Three of the girls have committed to baptism this Saturday. The son has had some problems with drugs and we are working with him. Your prayers in the behalf of Ignacio would be really appreciated. Also the two Torres boys Ariel and Jesus David will be baptized this Saturday! I gave them the “HLJ” rings after we taught the Word of Wisdom and Chastity.  Ariel asked if he could have one more to give to his wife when he got married. He is 8 years old. What a stud. They loved the rings there are 8 kids and they all got rings. They just loved them Mom - you were inspired!! There are more stories of the week. But we will have lots of time to talk!! :) I would like you all to know that I am know a banana and tomato man!! Hard to imagine huh? Dad, I hope you were sitting down for that one!! haha  (he has hated them with a passion most of his life)

Sounds like you all had a really awesome week! That is so wonderful. I am glad that you could have the time with the family and everything went well. I am sure it meant the world to have all the family together for Uncle Alan birthday celebration. I felt almost apart of it on Saturday. What a great thing!! 

How is Elder Lott doing in SLC? I am glad to hear the Elder Williams is home safe and sound. Keep me posted on Jordy and Chase. If you could get me their MRC address I would love to write them!

Before I write you individually I wanted to tell you about a scripture and the experience that really taught me this week. I was thinking about the scripture in 1 Nephi 11:16-17 it may be my favorite scripture. I have felt that so much during my mission. I am learning more and more that LOVE is what brings people to Christ. This week also we ate with a member and we were talking about doing something for Elder Ochsebein who will be going home conference weekend. She gave him a nice compliment and said how she thinks that he will be a great father and that she has always admired his testimony, because he didn’t get active in the church till he was 17. I told Elder O this one day, a couple minutes later he lit up and said how something in his Patriarchal blessing talks about that. I thought about how important it is to give praise. I love the classic Og Mandino ¨when I am tempted to criticize I will bite my tongue, when I am tempted to praise I will shout from the roof tops¨. This compliment meant the world to an Elder who is going home and I am sure wonders if he has touched the lives of people like he wanted to.  I would like to encourage you all this week to look for ways to tell people that they are doing something good. Be sincere. Positive words change lives and help people feel there true worth.

Dad- Mom said you hurt your back digging someone out on their snowmobile at Redfish last time you went up…  How is your back feeling? That is not a very fun pain to deal with. I am sure that you had a wonderful time with your siblings this weekend in Boise.  To think everyone flew in, drove up, and spent the weekend together is just amazing. What a special time for Uncle Alan. I thought about you and what a special week this was for you. I hope that you enjoyed it! Thank you so much Dad. I hope that you have a successful week this week. Spring is rolling in there sooner than you know it!  Thanks for being not only a father but a best friend to all of us. I love you Pops.-  Go get em.

Mom- I was thinking that the train wreck was on the news up there. It was big here. They closed everything. It was really sad. Sounds like you had a busy week and you will have one again this week. Thank you so much for the letters every week. They mean so much to me. I love the little updates and it helps me know what to pray for. You are so amazing in your service to others. The thing is that you get so much joy out of it...selfless service.  Yeah, sometimes two years seems long. But we are eternal beings; it is less than a drop in the bucket. Eight months out scares me! I got to pick it up! ;) I love you Mom. I was praying this week in the morning and felt a zinger moment. I could picture you praying and felt your love and prayers in my behalf. Thank you. 

Mikesell- Oh that is rough to wait like you are having to hearing from BYU. I know that it will all be good in the end. I sure love you. I am glad you had a good time with Jake. Does Jake know about the Book of Mormon? Try and get him to ask you some questions before you talk to him about it. That makes it easier to teach him.  He is a great young man and his potential is huge. I hope that track is great. Hey, just work your tail off. What do you got to loose!? Tell Coach Nordquist hello for me and that I am running strong. I sure love you Mikesell. Thank you for your giant example and influence in my life. You are just incredible. Thank for being my best friend. Learn a lot in seminary now that you have it this trimester!!

Brennen- Hey there my tennis playing bro! I am so proud of you for making that decision. That is awesome! I hope you just eat it up! And Drivers Ed starting this week! That is awesome. I hope that you just love that. How is seminary?  You do still have it this trimester? I love you so much. Keep doing the REAL good things in life. Love you man! Thanks so much for your email.

Alex- Last game man coming up! Live it up! Are you going to do track this year? I sure hope so!! Keep strong in the face of all the things that you face. Elder Yarger and I were talking about the huge temptation that our brothers are facing. He was a brother the same age as you. I can not possible tell you enough how important it is to stay close to the things that matter most in life. I love you buddy. Keep being awesome. May heavens richest be yours! Mom says you sleep in my bed the night before a game- yea - thats okay with me!!! Maybe its good luck!?

Harrison- Braces!? WOW! Have Mom send me a picture! That is great! I bet your teeth are hurting a little right now! It will all go away. I didn’t think your smile could get any better, but with those straight teeth you will be unstoppable! Are you done with Basketball? Did you have fun with the cousins? I loved your valentine thank you! My companion is doing really well. He is my best friend! I love you little man. Watch an Andy Griffith for me. You’re the MAN!!! 

McCall- Hey there little angel! How is life going for you? Thank you for your story of the pillows with Allie. That sounds really fun and thank you for telling your teacher my name. You are so sweet. I love you Cally. Have an awesome week. You are so great. Have a fun family home evening!!! You are the best Cally!!! 

Well I love you all so much. Thank you all for your prayers, kind words, and just being you. I hope that you have the best week ever!! 

Life is what you make out of it!! 

¡¡¡CHAU!!!

Elder Austin
P.S. I sent three photos of just some funny things we've seen this week... Enjoy!

February 20, 2012

Hello All!!

Emails from-

The Jackson Family- So good to hear from you!!  I hope that all is well. Thank you so much for thinking of me. If I remember right Neil is in the Marines now. I hope that he is doing well. I love your family and am so grateful to know you. Have a great week. Thanks again for taking the time to write to me!!

Grandma Clegg- So good to hear from you… I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your letters each week. I just love them. I hope that the changes in the Stake go well. That is always hard, but you both can handle it really well. I sure love you Grandma!  I hope that you have a wonderful week and are able to enjoy every minute of your week! :). Thank you Grandma.

Letters from:

Bishop Prince- SO loved your letter - it was wonderful!!  I will send you yours tomorrow. Thanks for all the little updates. Have a great week!! Thank you so much for all you have done for all those you know. Thank you for writing~ I love you Bishop. 

Ethan Lopez. Hey buddy - I finally got your letter! I just loved reading about your experiences. It was just awesome! I hope that you have a great week at school. Your’e the man. Thanks for all you do!

….and letters from the faithful family at the ranch!!!

Well, here we are again:)

I am writing you from a little place we like to call... MIRAMAR. I did NOT get transferred!  I have been very blessed and I get at least one more transfer here in Miramar. I am so happy for that. This transfer is going to rock. We added a couple of zones to our mission because our mission is seeing a lot of growth. We get lots of new missionaries! It is great!!

This last week was really a good week! We did divisions between us four as a district and that went well. We also organized a big branch activity this last Friday and it was a huge success. We had like 15 investigators there! The age groups were all different and so we had to re-plan the activity and luckily the holy ghost brought back to my mind all of our nights of playing games and doing activities at Redfish!!!  ha ha. We had a great time and we are slowly growing as a Branch. To be honest right now, we are trying to baptize pretty much just to keep a Branch!! We work so much with less actives and some of them are not even letting us come in their houses now. But, all in all things really are getting better. The Branch has a lot more energy and things are looking up. Oh the stories I could tell you all....

After the activity on Friday night, we had 8 investigators at church so that was nice! We found a less active family with three kids who want to be baptized. The Mom and Dad were recently separated so it was great to have the 17 and 14 year old kids in church yesterday. Hopefully we can get a Young Men’s leader here soon!!  The Gonzales family is awesome! They will be baptized the 3rd of March - four of them….and the other two shortly after.  It was really touching because they always talk about their Dad and how he taught them.  (he passed away) He told them if they were ever to join a religion they should talk to the kids with white shirts and ties. I guess he talked with the missionaries before, they obviously didn’t have any success but that is the importance of planting a seed. Really neat experience. The family Henriqez is doing well. The mother is having a hard time because she lives next to her parents - who are very deep into their religion. But she says she is praying and reading and we are having lots of lessons with members so if she can just come to church… I have all the faith and vision in them. I can see them in white already!! Marta is also doing great, she is very involved and is part of the branch.  She bore a very sweet testimony. Other than that - we keep pluggin on!!  I love it here and am so glad to be here!!

Sounds like you all had a very great week!  That is so fun that you all could be with so many wonderful cousins – Putnams and Cleggs! Just Awesome! I hope that the trip to Boise to get the cousins back goes really well. Please send my love -

Dad- What an awesome week you have coming up. I hope that you can enjoy it and make some really good memories. Tell everyone hello for me and that I love them. So what is the deal with the Muldoon ranch house? That is terrible it got broken into! It sounds like lots of basketball going on…hang in there!  Thank you for sharing your insights about your lesson. I can’t tell you how much I crave and love my personal study every morning! Thank you so much Dad for all that you do. Thank you so much for your prayers. I hope that all goes really well this week. Have a great week!!

Mom- It sounds like you had a great week! I did get the package - Thank you so much! You are so thoughtful and I am amazed at your kind ways.  I loved the letters from everyone and all of the fun little things. Thank you so much! That was really nice of all of you. I am glad that you had a good week and that substituting seminary went well. I love to hear that! You would be great at that - right up your alley. I loved what you said about knowing really good people. Relationships are the most important form of ¨wealth¨ that we can have. Even when it comes down to our relationship with our Father in Heaven. I sure love you Mom! Thank you for all you do. Have a great week and a great time with the family today and meeting Grandpa and Grandma Clegg halfway to Boise today. Oh Mom, Elder Ochsenbien is on his last transfer. He will end his mission here in Miramar. 

Mikesell- Wow -sounds like a great week. Jake is a great kid. Your story about getting the flowers was great!  Your letters are so awesome. I love you. I hope that you find out this week about BYU. It will be hard for me to wait to hear. Tell Tanner that I love him and that there are lots of amazing schools out there – not just BYU. I love Tanner so much. I hope his bday was good! Good luck with finals this week Mikesell!  I am excited for you and YOUR LAST trimester of school. I was thinking about that today. That is just crazy. Enjoy it! Well sis, you are awesome. I love you and hope you have a great week. Hit your knees, run on your feet, and keep looking for what Heavenly Father wanted you to learn every single day. Your’e the girl!  

Brennen- Hey man last week when I went home at night and re-read Moms letter. I saw you dropped ten points in your last game! That is legit! What are you thinking for a Spring sport? Have you ever though about trying out for like speech or anything? I am excited to hear you play the piano! Good work ~  that is so awesome!!   I sure love you man. Keep learning and growing!! You are awesome!! Talk to you later – thanks so much for your letter!

Alex- Hey man, hope your doing well! How was your week? I sure miss you man. Have a great week this week and I hope that BBall is going really well!! Keep doing the important things that get you places -  REAL places. Well buddy I love you. Thank you for all you do! I hope your talk in church went well!

Harrison - Hey my friend! I sure love you! How is life? Thank your for your Valentines card. I hope that you have a great week.  I miss you man! How is school? What  are you learning right now? Keep up on your reading! Are you sad to see basketball end now?

McCall- The mighty 7 year old! I am glad that you had such a good day!! That is so wonderful! I hope that you also had a great first week as a 7 year old!! I sure love you angel!

Well my dear ones  - Tell Kevin Williams hello for me!  When I got here to Argentina there were some missionaries here going home from Salta and they spoke very highly of Kevin. 

Go do good things. This is the time!!

I love you all! Thank you for your prayers and your letters!

Love,

Elder Austin