Austin's Missionary Journal

Ah man! Being on bike is exhausting!!! But I'm glad to be  in  Olympia! ​Here's the Legislative Building. Yup, the capitol is  in  my area. We cover Downtown Olympia, and it is the sketchiest place I have ever been... well, that's a lie; downtown Lakewood is the sketchiest, but this comes  in  as a close second. The funny part is that members here tell us that it's not as bad now as it was a few years ago, so I can only imagine what it was like before. But Olympia is exactly what I imagined when going off  of  what other people have told me. Tons  of  hippies everywhere, lots  of  homeless people, and the most prevalent color  in  the city is either green or rainbow. I mean, the effect  of  tree huggers  in  the city is so apparent, you can't even get plastic bags  from  grocery stores. We went to Walmart to shop this morning, and all they had were paper bags! It's a fun area though. It's...

Alright, let's get to it! Transfer calls are here, and I will be leaving Belfair. Instead, I will be serving   in   Olympia 3rd ward, with Elder Kido! That's exciting! I've never been   in   Olympia before, and I've already served as companions with Kido, too. Just the right amount   of   adventure and familiarity for me. I'm sad to leave Belfair, mostly because the members here are so cool and we've got a recent convert here, but I'm ready to see somewhere new before my mission ends. The only thing though is Olympia 3rd... is a bike area. I've gone my whole mission with a car  in  my area, and sure I've ridden my bike here and there, I haven't actually used it on a daily basis. This will be interesting... not sure if I'm excited, but at least I know I'll be  in  shape by the time I come home at the end  of  it. I'll probably end my mission  in  Olympia. I've put the apartment address I'll be going to down at the bott...

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGH! I didn't expect to get so trunky when I hopped on here to email today! But Dad emailed me about how the mission office is beginning to coordinate my departure and release, everyone else wrote about Black Belt Testing and how awesome everyone did  in  it, and now I've been presented as a candidate for Black Belt Testing next year!!! Oh, I'm way excited to go home! I love the mission immensely; never felt so alive  in  my life, but I'm rearing to reach the end! Great job on getting Black Belt, Caleb, Tami, and Jeff! Better work hard  in  preparation for next year!! Yeah, I'm totally going to test for black belt next year! Thanks for having me presented, Mom! You're the best! I know it'll be a challenge with me going to school  in  Logan, but I'm up for the challenge and willing to put  in  the work and sacrifice necessary to get 'er done!... Well, granted I don't know all the details...

  We had a baptism!!!!! This Saturday, Jennifer Djordjevic got baptized, and she came to church yesterday and was confirmed. ​And I got to baptize her! First time baptizing anyone, and I'm glad to say that I didn't mess up on any part  of  it. Seeing Jennifer get baptized was the big highlight  of  the week. We only found her 3 weeks ago, and she came to church every week since then, and she wanted to get baptized as soon as possible. Everything we taught, she was just like, 'yeah, I'll do it!'. She only had a little trouble with getting off coffee, but she gave us all her coffee so she wouldn't be tempted by it. It worked, cause now she has been baptized and received the gift  of  the Holy Ghost. That was a really great experience, and probably the best part  of  the week. We met our new mission president, President Leishman! He's pretty cool, very nice and friendly, but also very determined to get this mission working and baptizing even mor...

Hey Everyone!!! We had a way good week, albeit a very stressful one. The biggest highlight would be Jennifer!!! She's probably the most awesome, solid investigator I've had! She's been to church every week, and she's willing to try everything we teach her. Last Saturday we visited her, and she's been struggling with coffee. So, she gave us all her coffee, so she wouldn't be tempted by it, and now she's replacing it with a cup  of  hot chocolate each morning. It seems to be working out for her. She wants to be baptized on July 8th, this Saturday!!! So we're busy pulling that together. She's been taught all the lessons and been to church the required amount  of  time, so now she just needs to keep off  of  coffee and get a baptismal interview and she'll be completely ready.  From  the start, she's been mostly casual about it, thinking it'd just be a good idea. But this Friday she had an experience that changed the way she looked at it. On F...