"So this week we were able to watch Meet the Mormons on Tuesday."

How is it going everyone? So this week we were able to watch Meet the Mormons on Tuesday. It is a really great movie and portrays the members of the church as normal people. I really like it and would recommend it.  For the General Conference Saturday sessions, all the missionaries were at a families house who own 140 acres of land in the mountain including their house which is on the peak of one.  We watched the conference in their theater room with reclined leather couches haha, super nice.  In between the morning and afternoon sessions (12 to 2) we helped them put up fences for their property and cleared out some brush for more fencing, and doing that I got to drive their side-by-side. It is a 900 razor, which was a ton of fun going on dirt roads up in the mountains.  For  the Sunday session, we went to a part member, less-active family's home and watched the morning session with them, and for the afternoon we watched it at our ward mission leader's house with the Spanish Missionaries.  As for the rest of the week, we spent it going to member homes, both active and less-active, inviting them to invite others to watch conference and to share something about it before and after on social media.  So this week has been pretty good.  This morning I went with the Zone Leaders and played tennis, which was a lot of fun.  I am actually not that bad, so it was pretty fun haha, just like playing it right before I left.  So transfers are this week, so I might be leaving to my 2nd area, but it is all up in the air -  but most likely I will have a new companion whether I leave or not.  I hope to hear from everyone soon. I miss you all, and will do my best to take more pictures Mom, haha maybe.

Love,
Elder Austin
(this update was emailed to everyone

on Oct. 6th)

"Guess working with your dad would come in handy out here."

So this week on P-day we played zone versus zone football, which was a lot of fun. We had enough missionaries to where our team, so we could have an offense and a defense haha.  I played as running back and got a couple of touchdowns, because a lot of people are slow haha.  This week we did exchanges and I stayed in our area, so I was in charge for the day. We knocked on a lot of doors and me and Elder Hernandez had a good time doing it.  We have been helping this guy build a barn, and I have been on the roof using a nail gun putting in plywood and after that we put waterproofing on top of that, and I cut it with a razor.  At first one of the other missionaries was trying to cut the waterproofing with the razor and absolutely shredding it doing it.  So I was like "I'll do it" and I cut a clean, straight line in one try haha.  Guess working with you dad would come in handy out here.  [Elder Austin's dad is a floor installer.]  We also had zone training this week, which mainly had to do with district leaders and the changes around leadership.  Oh, and I will be watching "Meet the Mormons" here exclusively for missionaries on Tuesday, so that is exciting.  We went over and had a lesson with Mackenzie, and Kailee walked out and talked to us.  She was still really friendly, but we aren't sure if she is still interested. We will work on that in the upcoming week.  We met with the less active mother who wants her kids to be baptized, and she said they were going to try to make it to church, but didn't end up coming, so we are going to have to help them to know the importance of it and the blessings that come from it as well.  She has a sincere desire for her kids to be baptized, but is still uncomfortable coming back to church.  Remember them in your prayers.  Hope you guys are doing great and I hope to talk to you all soon!!

Love,
Elder Austin

So basically I have become a professional mover here in Castle Rock haha.

So for this week - We've done a lot of service.  On Monday we went back to Castle Wood Canyon which was a lot of fun. One of the elders right in front of me almost stepped on a rattlesnake on the trail. It was about four feet long, and it started rattling like crazy.  We mainly ran across the top of the canyon, and I climbed a bit on the rock faces which was fun.  This week we helped move a lady who is leaving the area. We helped her move her stuff into a storage unit a couple of weeks ago, and now we were moving it from the unit into a truck. I ended up being the guy almost stuck in the back of the truck cramming stuff in to fit it tight haha.  We also helped a guy in our area move from one house to another in our area so we were moving stuff in and out, and also while we were doing service for a member, we ran over to help this family move in close by, they were really grateful because there were like eight of us, and we got it done pretty fast.  So basically I have become a professional mover here in Castle Rock haha.  We also were helping a member family landscape their yard.  We were leveling out the ground the way they wanted it  -  laying down rocks and mulch and digging holes for plants.  It was a lot of fun, but the worst part about it was that the dirt was filled with big rocks, so digging and leveling took some effort haha, but we got it all done.  We have been teaching lessons with families in the ward and that has been going really well.  We have been trying to meet with the less-active sister in our ward who wants her kids to be baptized.  She hasn't made it to church yet, so we are going to be working with them this week.  We also are going to try to meet with other less-actives as well.  We still haven't been able to find investigators, but we are working on it.  Through hard work, I have truly strengthened my faith no matter the results we get.  And I know that I will continue to do my best and let the Lord take over the work here.  I hope you guys are doing great and I'll talk to you soon!

Love,
Elder Austin

"...Friday morning it actually snowed!! - in September!!

Week of September 15th update:  

So this week was transfers, me and Elder Shepherd are still together for a third transfer which is pretty crazy!  We have two new elders in our district so it has been fun.  Since Elder Shepherd is District Leader now, we will be going on exchanges a lot, so I have the opportunity a lot to be senior companion in our area.  Oh, and Friday morning it actually snowed!!  - in September!!  Apparently this winter is going to be brutal, so I'm in for it haha. Anyways, this week has been going pretty well but still no investigators, but we will keep praying for them.  I went on exchanges with Elder Rodriguez this week.  He is a visa waiter and a Spanish missionary who is 7 months out, and while we were on exchanges he got a call that he got his visa!  So that was pretty cool.  He leaves to Brazil at the end of the transfer.  On exchanges we went around our area and tried to set up some appointments with less actives in our ward.  No one ended up being home, but while I was pointing out the one massive house at the end of our neighborhood, we decided to go knock it.  It has its own road and a whole gate that we hopped over haha.  We knocked the door and the lady wasn't interested, but she asked how we got through the gate, and I just told her straight up we hopped it, hahaha.  She informed us it was private property, but that was all that really happened, but it was something to remember.  We went around our area a lot and me and Elder Shepherd are going to try and continue to do the same.  Love you guys and hope you are doing well. I love my area and am glad to be here!! Talk to you soon!

Love,
Elder Austin

"Its amazing how much of yourself you find when you aren't worried about yourself."

So this past week has been kinda everywhere, but it still was a good week.  So to start off for transfers me and Elder Shepherd are staying here in the Foothills ward for a third transfer! Which is really rare, but it will be fun.  We have basically lost all contact with K... now, we are not completely sure what happened or what was going on, because now she won't respond to us so we don't know.  We still continue to pray for her, but thats all we can do right now.  We got to me with this family this week where the Mom is a less active member and her kids, ages 9 and 11, are not.  But they said they are going to start coming to church on Sundays, and then we will start the lessons with them.  The kids with the support of their mom are going to work towards baptism, so that is pretty exciting.  We also got to meet with a Part Member, Recent Convert, Less Active family haha lot of stuff.  The daughter B... was baptized last year, the Mother and the Son are not members and the father is a less active member.  We have been trying to get a hold of them since we got here, but they are never home.  Recently B... who is active, invited her parents to do the Book of Mormon challenge with her and they accepted! And the ward has really been working hard with them and they set up a dinner for us there.  They are a really great family, and you wouldn't even know the mom isn't a member.  After dinner we shared a thought on the first vision and the Spirit was so strong, both the father and the mother were in tears, so we are excited to continue to work with them over the transfer.  I love it here in Castle Rock and will do my best to help all the people here. Its amazing how much of yourself you find when you aren't worried about yourself.  I miss you guys and ill talk to you soon!

Love,
Elder Austin

"It's great to realize that teaching comes really easy to me now and that I can really help the people I am teaching."

We were able to meet with a good amount of families (members) this week and teach them in their homes.  It's great to realize that teaching comes really easy to me now, and that I can really help the people I am teaching.  We were able to meet with the family with the two nonmember boys who want to get baptized.  We taught them about the plan of salvation, and they were really excited about everything. They have been taught by the missionaries for a while now, but their mother won't give the consent for them to be baptized, so they can't.  Their dad was less active for years, but since last year has been active and working to receive the Melchizedek priesthood.  We went over to K..  a lot last week and she was really committed to go through with her baptism on Saturday. But at 10 am on Sunday morning we got a text from her saying that ...  her parents said if she goes to church any more that she has to live somewhere else, so we are in a really tough situation right now at the moment.  She needs all of your prayers.  We are going to try to help her through this, but we have to figure out what is going on first.  She really wants to go through with this, but I don't know how she can if her parents are threatening her this way.  We are going to pray and fast for her and do what we can, so we will see what happens.  I love you guys and I am happy you are all doing well hope to hear from you and talk to you soon!

Love,
Elder Austin

The Book of Mormon brings power in teaching and in spirituality overall.

Hey everyone - 

I'm not going to be able to write much this week, but I'll try to cover most of it.  To start off we had an appointment with K... this week on Tuesday, but we went over and she ended up not being home, so we texted her later that day and had to reschedule for Saturday. We went over and she ended up not being present again, but Mackenzie called her and said she would be there in about and hour, so we ended up waiting until she arrived.  The lesson overall went really well, but as always her two year old son Liam took it over a lot of the time, by pulling on his mom's scriptures and identify each part of my face by poking it  haha.  She said she was going to try to make it to church which is good but it has been a while.  I felt impressed to fast Sunday morning and pray that she would make it to church.  We were worried as always at church, because she has missed about 5 weeks in a row - but she made it!  She really enjoyed church and said she will definitely be there next week, so her baptism is scheduled for the 31st.  The power of fasting is real, and I am so thankful that I decided to do that.  It's funny that Jo also had great blessings come from fasting this week.  I can't wait to here from you guys and I'll talk to you soon!

Love,
Elder Austin  8/25/2014

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A letter received from Elder Austin on Tuesday:    8/20/2014:

Dear Family,

How is it going everyone??  Any exciting things happening lately or coming up soon?  So for us, we have been setting up lessons with families to help them invite friends to church for talks/baptisms or other things so our afternoons are starting to get filled here.  I really love all the members here and enjoy visiting with all of them.  Over half the members in the ward moved here in the past year, so it is a very young ward.  Our work with K... is still going well, but she can't get baptized until she starts coming to church.  We are going to do our best to help her feel the Spirit as we teach and help her understand to recognize it as well.  Her determination amazes me and continues to as well.  We are going to do a lot more finding next week to try and get some potentials ourselves, so we will see how it goes.  So how is Seminary Jake??  How is driving coming along?!  When I get home we are definitely going to jet ski and parasail.  So what is everyone up to on a daily basis?  Still 'shimming' Jake??  Sunny still working out? So I still absolutely hate working out in the morning, so I end up doing it after we get home.  No hurricanes coming in this year?  I know my car is getting fixed soon.  Have fun with it before Jo steals it from you Jake haha.  It's weird to think that Jo will be home early next year.  It's still pretty far, but not really.  When I first got here, I started the Book of Mormon at Helaman and finished it, and about last week I finished it again all the way through, so I will definitely start reading it again.  The Book of Mormon brings power in teaching and in spirituality overall.  If you want to have a good day, start it off with some meaningful Book of Mormon study! The blessings that come from just reading a bit a day are incredible, and it will allow you to be guided by the Spirit for the rest of your day.  I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here in Colorado and even though I miss you guys a lot, I know where I am supposed to be and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I miss you all so much and hope to hear from you either through email or letters.  Keep doing what you're doing and I'll see you soon!!

Elder Austin, III

(He's the third Elder Austin out as a missionary!)  

"..we are working a ton better with the ward so things are going well here!"

For this week we have been trying to work more with our investigator.  We've met with her a couple of times and we read the Book of Mormon with her and encourage her to pray and strive to continue to progress.  We met with her Sunday morning (since church is at 1pm) and we talked and reminded her of church.  She ended up not being able to come, and while we were texting her at church, she expressed that she truly believes and wants to do her best to be baptized, so she can raise her two year old son in the church.  She also said she has prayed and has felt the Spirit and still has a desire to come, but it is hard for her, especially because her sister has just recently stopped coming as well.  She has such great faith and has taught me so much more than what I have taught her.  She really needs your prayers, and we are going to fast and pray for her this week. because she really needs it.  We have also been working a lot more with the ward, which includes meeting with the members who give a talk the coming week and inviting them to invite people to come to their talk and listen to it.  We also are going to start meeting with children in the ward who are about to get baptized and teaching them a little and inviting them to invite others to their baptism as well, so we are going to be full with appointments this week.  So far as finding goes, it gets really difficult sometimes, but we are going to try and go to the park here and talk to people. because a lot of people are there all the time.  Last p-day we went to Castlewood Canyon, which is this really cool rock canyon and we hiked in and on top of it which was fun. I don't know what we are doing today, but I am going to get some envelopes so I can actually start writing you guys! If you want me to send you a written letter, send me an email of your address!!

Love,
Elder Austin

We have been working really hard... here in the Foothills Ward.

Hows it going everyone!! Well there isn't much to report on this week, but I'll try to remember everything.  We played baseball for p-day again and it started pouring, so we went back to the church and played volleyball.  We were going to go to Devil's Head for p-day but the A.P.'s bailed, so now no one really has a ride - so not sure what we are going to do today.  We met with K...  a couple of times last week and she seemed committed, but she wasn't at church on Sunday.  We are going to visit her sometime this week and have to see if she is truly interested.  We have been working really hard with her and talking to her sister who is a recent convert.  She wants to be baptized, but hasn't been to church in a while so that is where we stand.  As far as finding other people to teach we haven't had anyone else yet.  We talk to a lot of people on the street, but it is hard to get investigators without the help of the members.  We are doing great here and hopefully we will find someone else to teach this week or in the weeks to come.

8/4/2014

Blessing others is so much better than thinking about yourself and the happiness you receive is worth it all.

Hows it going everyone?? hows life been treatin' ya? So for me this week has gone by really fast, and also it has been pretty slow haha.  We got to meet with K... this week, and she is trying really hard to quit smoking, but it is still difficult.  Her family is against everything so it is really hard for her to commit to things.  She couldn't make it to church on Sunday, so we have to move her date back again to the 10th.  She really wants to do this and knows that it will help her, but it is really hard for her to change so much.

Transfers are next week, but I'm not going anywhere because of training and actually our whole district is staying the same so that's awesome. I really love my district, and its exciting to know they are all staying here as well.  We woke up early to play tennis this morning.  We were all really excited at first, but we were all about to drop dead while we were playing. haha  so that's not happening again. this coming week is transfers, so it will be a little slow, but we are going to try and do a lot of finding, because it would be nice to have more people to teach.  I always love reading the Book of Mormon.  I started it again on the 10th and I am on Alma chapter 24!!   It is awesome to see how much more you can understand when you are truly looking for it.  I always feel the spirit stronger every day the more I read so I end up reading about 8 chapters at a time haha.  The work is slow, but it has helped me to be patient with the Lords purposes here for me in Colorado,  and I am so grateful for that.  Blessing others is so much better than thinking about yourself and the happiness you receive is worth it all.  I have no clue what we are doing for p day today, but we will see.  I'll see you guys soon!!

Love,

Elder Austin

Samuel Austin	Aug 4 (8 days ago)
to Elder, Emiliano, Jace, Jake, Jon, Jon, Joshua, Kevin, Kim, Mark, Maustin109, me, Nathan, Nick, Sam, Sara

Hows it going everyone!! Well there isn't much to report on this week but I'll try to remember everything.  We played baseball for p-day again and it started pouring so we went back to the church and played volleyball.  We were going to go to Devil's Head for p-day but the A.P.'s bailed so now no one really has a ride so not sure what we are going to do today.  We met with Kailee a couple of times last week and she seemed committed but she wasn't at church on Sunday.  We are going to visit her sometime this week and have to see if she is truly interested.  We have been working really hard with her and talking to her sister who is a recent convert.  She wants to be baptized but hasn't been to church in a while so that is where we stand.  As far as finding other people to teach we haven't had anyone else yet.  We talk to a lot of people on the street but it is hard to get investigators without the help of the members.  We are doing great here and hopefully we will find someone else to teach this week or in the weeks to come.

Samuel Austin	Aug 11 (1 day ago)
to Elder, Emiliano, Jace, Jake, Jon, Jon, Joshua, Kevin, Kim, Mark, Maustin109, me, Nathan, Nick, Sam, Sara

So this past week went pretty well, I can't believe I have been here over two months already!  For Monday we went to Castle Rock which was the first thing we have actually done out here besides sports on p-day.  It was an awesome hike and a ton of fun.  Today we are actually going to Castle Wood Canyon today in Parker so that should be fun too.  We have been reading a lot with Kailee recently and she seems really committed but she couldn't make it to church on Sunday because she was sick.  We also were able to go on exchanges this week which was a lot of fun, we have be doing a lot of finding but it isn't the most effective thing in our area.  She is still improving with smoking and still wants to work hard so we will continue to help and strengthen her.  At Ward Council yesterday we had the Area 70 and the Steak President and the Mission President and they really stressed about getting us appointments in the ward so we are probably going to be busy next week.  We are also working with a guy and his two sons, he is divorced and was less active for years until last year, he has been coming back to church for almost a year now and is working to get the Melchizedek priesthood.  His sons also want to get baptized but their mother is against it so that is whats stopping them.  Remember them in your prayers because they need it!  I love having the spirit guide me through teaching, their is no other way we would be able to help others know for themselves without the spirit and I am so thankful that I can feel it everyday through my prayers and scripture study.  I miss you guys and hope you are doing great!!

A QUOTE

 So I asked Elder Samuel Austin today, "What do you LIKE about being a missionary?" His answer, "I love being able to focus entirely on the gospel, so that their is nothing in the way of me learning and growing in it!"    7/28/2014

I feel like my Heavenly Father has carefully set up each and every day to help me move closer to him.

This week has gone by so fast!!  We were able to meet a lot of new people this week which is basically what this week is comprised of.  We met with K... again this week and she is really committed to being baptized.  We went with our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Searle, and when we were leaving her 2 year old boy started crying uncontrollably. it was so sad that we had to leave, and he was just screaming as we walked away.  We talked about the commandments and she understood. Everything really well.  She wasn't able to make it to church yesterday, because she had work, and also one of her cousins passed away.  She is ok, but we are going to have to bump back her baptismal date now.  She is still having trouble quitting smoking, but she is trying hard.  Her uncle, who is always offering her cigarettes, is part of the problem but she told us she yelled at him to cut it out so maybe that will help, haha.  She really wants to raise her son in the church, because she knows that it will bless his life.  We will continue to work with her as she tries to conquer smoking.  Keep her in you prayers!

 I also went on exchanges again this week with Elder Bolton a Spanish missionary, and we were in our area so it was cool to kinda lead the way for once.  We went and talked to this lady who has been inactive in the church for a while.  She has a good testimony, but her beliefs have been a little distorted from the past.  We are going to try and get her to read the Book of Mormon to help strengthen her, but we will see.

Transfers are coming up soon!!  It will be my first transfer in the field even though there is almost no chance I am moving since I am in training, but other missionaries in my area will.  It will also be nice to say that I am not in my first transfer haha.

I have begun to realize that each day that I am given I learn something that can help me in my life.  Every day no matter if we have great success or not at all, I continue to be strengthened in the work.  I feel like my Heavenly Father has carefully set up each and every day to help me move closer to him, and I have begun to see it more and more clearly especially when you have the spirit.  I am so grateful to be here in Castle Rock and I love everyone I meet, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else and can't wait to see what lies in the future.  I hope that I can continue to study and pray and ponder for the welfare of others.  Not a day goes by that I don't think of home, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Miss you guys and talk to you soon!!

Love, 
Elder Austin

7/21/2014

"It is amazing the joy that you can receive from watching someone change their lives through the gospel."

Hello everyone!

So this week has been awesome!!  First off we are finally starting to know the whole area, all of the members, and we're getting the ball rolling with member lessons.  The week started off really slow with zone training and mission president interviews.  Our numbers were really low.  But Monday night I did as you told me Mom, and I prayed for a miracle- still hoping that we could get something going.  So for Tuesday, we had a new member lesson with Mackenzie set up, which was great, because it would be only my second or third time to teach a discussion.  Her parents weren't home, so we decided to go sit under this pavilion in this park by her house.  As we started to teach the lesson, all of these kids with their bikes and scooters started riding through the pavilion like crazy.  We finally decided to go back to the garage and have the lesson there.  When we began again to teach the lesson, her sister, Kailee, asked her sister to ask a question to us that she had earlier.  We then turned to her sister and started talking and answering a couple of questions she had for us.  She had a question about Joseph Smith, and I sad "Well the lesson we are about to teach really explains it if you want to listen in",  so she sat down and we started to teach the lesson again.  We ended up being over there for about two hours  - answering questions she had about the church and the word of wisdom.  We talked about how we don't smoke or drink and she said "well I guess I was going to have to quit smoking once in a while."  The lesson went great!!!  and at our next appointment on Friday with her she accepted the invitation to be baptized!!  She was also at church on Sunday, and she really enjoyed that as well.  Never be afraid to pray for something, even if you feel like it may be too much.  During  our gospel principles class at church, I handed her my triple combination so she could read along on a verse we were reading, she ended up reading  during the entire class and at the end I didn't want to take my scriptures from her!!  It is amazing the joy that you can receive from watching someone change their lives through the gospel.  I hope to feel that way for the rest of my mission as I try to help all people come closer to Jesus Christ.  Our schedule for this week is finally filled up, and I can't wait to see what will happen next!

I was also able to go on splits with the Spanish Elders.  I went with Elder Hovorka, and even though I didn't understand much of it ,it was still a lot of fun.  We were going around trying to contact potential investigators, but to no avail haha.  We got done with all of our names at 4 o'clock haha.  it was still great getting to know Elder Hovorka, and we get along really well.  Miss you guys and I'll see ya soon!!

Love,

Elder Austin

"No one can change without the gift of the atonement in their lives... Through the atonement, we can all become closer to our Heavenly Father and improve in ways we couldn't imagine." Elder Austin

So this week went by really fast lets see if I can remember it all.  So for P-day last week we went and played some volleyball at this mansion that some other Elders live at.  It was HUGE! haha.  It had a pool table, a huge living area, and a basketball/volleyball court in their basement where they live-  with a whole back porch for them haha.  So we played a little bit of pool, and then we played volleyball for the rest of the time which was pretty intense.  The net was a couple of inches shorter than our normal one at church back at home so I was able to slam it hahaha. It was fun. 

         So after that we went back to the house and a member who couldn't have us over for dinner brought by two large pizzas and a 2 liter of root beer for the both of us hahahaha.  We still haven't finished either of them.  And right as we were just finishing eating and getting ready to tone down, I realized  "Wait!  Don't we have an appointment with Mackenzie?" haha  So we scrambled to throw our clothes back on, and we biked as fast as we could over there.  We were 30 min late haha.  But the lesson still went really well.  She is having trouble integrating into the ward and hasn't come to church lately, but definitely wants to.  We are going to be teaching her the new member lessons starting this week, so that will be good.  On Tuesday it was our regularly scheduled day of going and visiting members we haven't met yet and talking to people in the streets on the way to each house.  That is basically what every day is comprised of for us.  On Wednesday we got to meet the new mission president! His name is President Rehm, and he has great expectations for the future.  We will actually be getting iPads!!!  But it might not be for a year, but we aren't sure.  He is changing a lot, and it looks like the strictness of the President before us is getting toned down a bit and is being replaced with trust from the new president, so expectations are high!!!  We will see what changes are made in the next coming weeks.  So this week we are going to try and start doing some assist the member lessons which is just teaching members the discussions and asking for referrals or a nonmember to sit in on the lessons or something like that.  Another big problem we have is that it is summer, haha, so no one is really home, especially in this rich neighborhood where everyone has long vacations or is out all the time, so getting into houses or at least having someone answer is a challenge haha.  We got to talk to a lot of people though, and they are really nice, but once we bring up the church the conversation shuts down haha.  So we are trying to get referrals more from the members here.  I was also able to give a priesthood blessing to Brother Yearsley, a member that we had brunch with this past week.  It was so cool to be able to just stop my thoughts and let the spirit guide me in what I was to say.  When you just put your mind aside the inspirations just flow and it was really cool to be able to be the Lord's mouthpiece in that.

  On Sunday we taught a lesson on repentance in Gospel Principles which was really cool.  It is getting easier and easier to teach and talk to people, but I still have to work hard to improve.  No one can change by themselves without the gift of the atonement in their lives.  It is such a great tool, and I would suggest to use it to your advantage.  Through the atonement, we can all become closer to our Heavenly Father and improve in ways we couldn't imagine. I know that without it I wouldn't have even made it this far.  I love you guys and hope to hear from you soon!!


Elder Austin

I actually read the entire book of Helamen and 3rd and 4th Nephi yesterday!! I haven't felt the spirit so strong in my entire life.

Hello everyone -

So far, this week it feels like the week went by like so fast haha.  Everyday is comprised of going around our area talking to people on the street and visiting the member homes in the area.  We get to talk to alot of people but not many people are interested, and since it is summer a lot of people are not home, so it is hard to use up our time out here since we don't have any investigators yet.  The elders before us didn't leave us much information and we are still trying to pick up where they left off.  All the members here are great. Almost all are young families and have moved here recently, so it is a really young ward.  This week we tried to meet with this lady that we had a really good discussion with on the street, but we always would show up at the worst times.  Hopefully, we will be able to talk to her this week and go from there.  We were walking down the street meeting members at their homes when this guy yells at us to come over.  He was on his porch dead drunk with a cigarette and a beer in his hand haha.  He really wanted to talk with us though, so we sat down with him in his garage.  Turns out he is a member of the church and has been inactive for over 20 years.  He had actually went on a mission when he was young and knew almost everything about the church.  We talked to the Ward mission leader, and he said that they haven't been able to contact him in years.  So we were the first to break through that barrier.  We will be going over to his house on Thursday for ribs haha.  That will be great and maybe we can find out more.  We also got to talk to this other inactive guy who hasn't been coming to church because of work.  He also went on a mission and is a great guy as well, hopefully we can figure something out for them.  I also slipped in while talking to him that we would like to come by some time and maybe have a lesson, so that will be good.  We ate at Chipotle this week with a member family for dinner and it was really good.  I couldn't finish the whole thing though  haha.  We are still working hard, but Im not sure if the work will pick up anytime soon.  We are just going to try and work with the members as much as we can. That's about all we can do at this point.  Miss you guys a ton but I'm in the right place right now.  I actually read the entire book of Helamen and 3rd and 4th Nephi yesterday!!  I haven't felt the spirit so strong in my entire life.  I know I am in the right place and that the spirit is guiding me in all that I do.  I hope as I am gone that y'all will increase in faith and continue to study the scriptures and pray.  Acting and being diligent is so important in increasing your faith.  I promise that you can do the same.  Love you guys and see you soon.

-Elder Austin

MY FIRST EMAIL - IN COLORADO!!

Hello everyone!

So this week has been crazy!  First I finally left the MTC and we got here at about 4,  We got picked up by the assistants and the mission president and we all went to the mission home.  For the rest of Monday and all of Tuesday we were at the mission home doing introduction stuff with the assistants and the rest of my district that came out with me.  On Wednesday we finally went to transfers and we met our new companions.  My companion's name is Elder Shepherd.  He is awesome and we are working hard.  We got sent to Castle Rock, Colorado in the Meadows - in the Foothills Ward!  Our area is only about 2 miles long and a mile wide.  It is basically a super nice neighborhood and we mostly walk everywhere.  Everyone is really nice and basically all really young families who moved in less than a year ago.  It is a very young ward, but it has about 600 members!  They are expecting to split probably at the end of this year.  Oh and both of us are new to the area, and the elders before us didn't give us anything, so we have to start from scratch.  We have talked to a lot of people in the streets in the neighborhood, but it is hard because everyone here is rich and doesn't feel like they need anything that we have to offer.  We just have to work on the referrals we have, but it is the summer and no one seems to be home haha.  But its all good we are still having fun.  So far we have been going around meeting the members and getting to know the area but we will figure it out.  

Miss you guys! Have fun during the summer!!

Love, 
Elder Austin

Elder Austin's class at the MTC (Missionary Training Center, Provo, Utah)

Elder Austin's desk at the MTC! 

Do missionaries have good showers?  This one does. 

A rabbit that got into there apartment!  They see them everywhere. 'like we see squirrels in the south!'

Elder Austin's companion, Elder Shepard getting a pic.

A little PING PONG? Yep, in their apartment.

So this could be Elder Austin or Elder Austin (ha  Joseph or Sam?) An MTC selfie!  I think this is a first for Elder Sam Austin!

Elder Austin is having a wonderful experience. If you'd like to write him.  Here's his address:  

Elder Samuel Austin

c/o Hill                    

3665 Elk Run Dr.     

   Castle Rock,CO 80109

Heavenly Father has really guided me to teach the gospel in the way he always knew I could!!!

I can't believe I am the one now who is actually emailing on my mission!!!  It still hasn't been quite a week yet, but this has been by far the longest week of my entire life!!  The first and second day were really difficult, just because of the huge change in life from home to mission, but I am really starting to be able to teach lessons pretty well now.  I get a slight advantage in learning from my brothers, because I am already fluent in the language! haha,  It is also crazy how much you get to love your district even though we have only been together for about a week;  it feels like we have known each other for forever.  My companion, Elder Mogle, is great!!  We get along really well.  We both take the lessons and the gospel really seriously, but at the same time we can have fun together.  I will miss my whole district and companion once we leave next week.  So this whole week has been focused on the Restoration of the Gospel.  You really dive straight into it, and you even start teaching on the same day you are here!!!  I didn't do so well my first time, but it is all about learning; now I am so much better at teaching the first lesson and am pretty good at teaching lesson 2 as well (the Plan of Salvation).  It is crazy how much I have learned just from a few days of sincere study.  I feel like Heavenly Father has really guided me to be able to teach the gospel in the way he always knew I could!!!  I have still got a lot to learn, but now I am more really excited, (instead of discouraged) about learning more about teaching.  Me and my companion did our first TRC investigator lesson yesterday, and it is crazy how much joy you can get from teaching someone the gospel.  I wish I had taken the opportunity to do that at home more.  It would have saved me a lot of learning and trouble out here!!!  I leave next week which is crazy to think.  It is like I am preparing to leave home again, and go to Colorado where I have no idea what awaits me.  I will do all I can to prepare to serve the Lord, and I never want to let him down.  I miss all of y'all and I will talk to you soon!!

Love,
Elder Samuel Austin