Austin's Missionary Journal

  July's reaching a close, and it looks like it's going out with a bang! Happy Birthday Kamryn, Jake, Ryan, and also Aunt Donelle and Uncle Don! Why are there so many birthdays  in  July?! Heck, out here, there's a member who is turning 100 years old this next Sunday, on the 31st! She's still pretty high-functioning, getting around with a walker and dressing herself, so I'm impressed! We're going to her birthday open-house this Saturday to congratulate her on the accomplishment. Anyways, hello  from  Ocean Shores, where the tourists are plentiful and all the locals are just crazy. But I love the area! According to my mission president, dozens  of  missionaries request to come here throughout their mission. Heck, I didn't even ask, yet I still got sent here. I'm glad though, because everything is just beautiful! The beach especially! This is turning out to be one  of  my most favorite areas! We had a spare moment before we had to be inside our...

  Hey everybody! Hello   from   Ocean Shores! This first week  in  the new area was awesome! I'm at the beach! ​ This area is pretty great! It's right next to the ocean, surrounded on three sides by water, so it's hardly ever too hot. We get to go street contacting on the beach occasionally, especially on weekends, cause that's where all the people are during the Summer. ​So many cars on the beach! Summer is the best time for this area. Ocean Shores is more  of  a Summer Vacation city, so it's really booming with visitors and tourists at this time  of  year. We meet a lot  of  members here  from  all across Washington, too. However, I'm not assigned to a ward, but rather a branch. There's only about fifty or sixty regular members here, though it is steadily growing during this season. Also, it turns out we never quite know exactly how many people are going to be at church each week, because apparently sacrament meeting can...

  Hey, everybody! Finally it's P-Day! This last week was super slow, and also a little stressful. I had been excited for the 4th  of  July, but I guess I overlooked the fact that it wouldn't be as exciting as back home, since we had to be inside before it even got dark enough for fireworks. I'll have to keep that  in  mind for next year. But  in  other news, transfer calls were this Saturday! I'm getting transferred to Ocean Shores! So, I've spent the last day and a half after hearing that telling everyone if they want to mail me, just put it  in  a bottle and send it down the river; It'll wash up on the beach eventually. LOL   I'm excited, but I'm also sad to be leaving Mountain View. It's been a fun area to work  in , and not to mention we have a lot  of  solid investigators here that we'll have to hand off to the next missionaries, because, guess what, my companion, Elder Jensen, is getting transferred, too. Yeah.....

  Hey, Family! You know what day it is?! JULY 4TH; INDEPENDENCE DAY! This last week was pretty usual... except for the fact that my watch broke right after we got back home for P-Day. Literally, it quit right as we got back to the apartment to plan, which I would have been fine with, except for the fact I wouldn't be able to get a new watch until next P-day, seven days away. Oh well, my old watch was really cheap, but it lasted me almost nine months  from  the start  of  the MTC, so I can't complain too much. Anyways, this was a good week work-wise, but we had a bit  of  a funny miracle. It was basically like a message  from  God saying, 'I know you were expecting chocolate cake, but it has to wait a while. Until then, have a brownie to tide you over.' ... If you're confused, don't worry, just read the story: You know how I wrote about our solid investigator, Lorie, and how she said she was interested  in  being baptized? Well, befo...