Austin's Missionary Journal

 Hey everybody! Sorry about emailing two days late, but then again, if you read my last letter you would have seen this coming. So, last Monday, we had visit  from  Elder Uceda  of  the Seventy coming  for  a visit to the mission. The meeting we had  with  him started  at  7:45 that morning  in  Tacoma, though that time was a bit  of  a problem  for  my companion and me; The drive  from  Ocean Shores to Tacoma takes about two and a half hours, so we had to wake up  at  5 that morning to make the long drive. Also, since my last companion was transferred out, that means I'm the designated driver now. So... that was fun, though I was exhausted by the time we drove back into Ocean Shores  at  4:00 that afternoon. But the training we received  from  Elder Uceda was great. He's very funny, and you can really tell  from  listening to him that all that he says a...

  Hey everybody! Glad to hear everything is going great back home! Finally the building permit for the new house is all verified and construction can start! I'll be looking forward to seeing the new place when it's done! So yeah, transfers is here again, but this time I'm staying  in  Ocean Shores for another six weeks. My companion, Elder Hansen, is getting transferred to Port Angeles, and I'll be getting Elder MacQueen. I've only ever met him once, during a mission picnic  in  Olympia last Flag Day. He seems like a fun enough guy, and everyone else says he's great to be around. I'm looking forward to it. I'll be picking him up  in  Tacoma tomorrow, so we've got a long drive ahead  of  us. These next two weeks look like they'll be really busy. Next week a general authority will be coming to the Wa-Tac for a mission tour. Elder Juan A Uceda  of  the Quorum  of  the Seventy will be here on Monday and Tuesday, both days we'l...

  The wedding looked incredible! I'm happy for you, Ryan and Tia! Enjoy the honeymoon! Yeah, that looked like a blast! I miss you all, too! Wait, they changed Soaring over California to Soaring over the World? When did this happen? That sounds like something I really really really want to try! Although, I assume it was pretty hot everywhere. There were a bunch  of  members over here on vacation  from  just about everywhere else: Utah, Arizona, California, Washington. And they all commented on how hot it was back home, which is super hilarious because Ocean Shores just seems to be set apart  from  the heat. Once you're within a mile  of  the coastline, the temperature  in  the air just plummets by at least ten degrees. It was hilarious riding  in  our Branch Mission Leader's car into Ocean Shores, because when we watched his thermostat, it did exactly that. Heck, it might even be too cold. This morning, I woke up  in ...

  Hey everybody! A lot  of  crazy stuff is going on back home! I can't even believe it!! Ryan's getting married this weekend, Kamryn got baptized, everybody's getting new cars (or at least repairing old ones). Ryan and Kamryn's birthday parties looked really fun! Oh, and speaking  of  which, Happy 3rd Birthday coming up, Kaysen! Good Luck this weekend, Ryan and Tia! I can't believe another one  of  my siblings is getting married while I'm serving out here. At this rate, both Kylie and Eric will be hitched before I'm even home! Yikes! Meanwhile, this last week wasn't that exciting. Just a lot  of  talking to people, finding a lot  of  people who  aren't  interested, and just trying to contact our other investigators.  However , we just found out this week that not just one  of  the people we're teaching, but  two  different investigators are already members; They've just been less-active since they ...

 Hey Everyone! I'm gonna make this letter a bit  of  a shorter one, mostly because I just feel lazy today. Whoo! Lazy P-Day!​​ This week was pretty slow near the beginning, but everything was awesome at the end! Last Tuesday we had to drive all the way to Elma, which is about an hour drive, to have interviews with Mission President, but the drive back was three hours long because  of  traffic, so we didn't even get home until dinner. Overall, it was a round trip  of  over 100 miles. Then Wednesday we drove to Aberdeen for district meeting, about a fifty mile round trip. So  from  Thursday onwards, we were officially out  of  miles for the rest  of  the week, so we were left to bike everywhere for the rest  of  the week! It was a great workout, but Elder Hansen and I would be exhausted by the end  of  the night. Thankfully most  of  our work is  in  Ocean Shores itself, and not to men...