"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