Letter from Tacoma #47: September 19, 2016

 Hey Everybody!

Oof! I am tired! It's starting to get hard to think about what happened last week. I'll try to write the best I can for this letter today, but it might not be very long.

Yes, it is getting very cold, and also very rainy out here. I'm glad I still have my winter coat from last winter, and I'm also glad that it's still not raining as badly as it did last year... yet. But supposedly the rain doesn't last long here in Ocean Shores. There aren't any mountains to catch the clouds, so they just pass us by.

But we also had a depressing moment, too. Our most solid investigators, Andrea and Gordon, dropped us. They said they needed time to get their life back into order, maybe a month. It's sad that they want to halt the lessons and attempting to come to church, but I hope they do get back into contact with us, if not other missionaries in the future.

But a few good things happened this week, as well. On Saturday, Elder MacQueen and I spent the whole day driving to Belfair, where one of MacQueen's past investigators was getting baptized. It was really cool to see how many missionaries actually had an effect on him, because every missionary that taught him in the past six months was there.

​My companion's on the left of Convert Rob.

Also, it was great to see a baptism in general, because it's been a while since I've seen a baptism! I haven't had a baptism of my own since my first area, and yet I just keep hearing about all the dozens of baptisms happening across the mission... I want to say I'm being patient with that fact, which I think I am, but it was refreshing to be able to see one.

Yesterday was great though, because we had a teaching appointment after church with a referral we received from some members visiting the branch. It's been a couple weeks since we got it, but we finally nailed down an appointment, and we went over with a member of the Branch Presidency, Bro Carpenter. The referral was a older woman named Rachel, and it was actually two of her kids that referred us to her. She was interested in learning more, and Bro Carpenter did an amazing job at helping to teach and establish a connection of interest. Both Rachel and her boyfriend who was present for the lesson, John, committed to read the Book of Mormon and to pray about it, and we have another appointment with them for this Tuesday. Their situation seems promising.

Oh yeah, and you know how Ocean Shores is a tourist trap? Well, that means there are a lot of shops that sell candy and sweets, especially salt-water taffy! Elder MacQueen and I got some taffy, and there are some interesting flavors they come up with. My favorites are Oreo and Maple Bacon, because guess what? They actually taste like the real things! It's so weird! I didn't think there could be a candy that tastes exactly like bacon!!! I'm gonna have to get more at least once before I have to leave this area... whenever that may be.

Transfers are in two weeks, so anticipation is slowly starting to build up, but not enough to distract us from working. Personally, I think it's a 50-50 chance that I go somewhere else or I stay another transfer in Ocean Shores.

And lastly, GETTING HYPED FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE! My second general conference on the mission, and I'm looking forward to it. April's conference was so insightful and beneficial, probably 'cause I actually listened, as opposed to back home where I maybe listened but didn't really apply any of it to myself. The mission has a way of aligning your focus on the things that really matter. Can't wait to hear what more the prophet and apostles have to say for us this time.

Also, I'm loving how my companion is a total nerd like me. Check out his wallet!

​Kirito from Sword Art Online! (It's anime, and probably less than half of the recipients of this email will know what it is. Sorry!)

Oh yeah, and I got a haircut on Monday:

​My hair grew super fast this past month and I needed to get it cut again. Hopefully this lasts me at least two months before it gets too long... though I'm still having to get used to how short it is.

Everything back home sounds exciting, and the progress on the new house is cool to see!
Great job for Kamryn, Kyler, and Kenzie for learning all kinds of new stuff. I wish I knew how to sew before I came out here.😜

I love you and miss everyone!
Thanks for reading!
-Elder R. Austin Moe
Wa-Tac Missionary

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