Austin's Missionary Journal

  Merry Christmas!!! Here's a pic  of  all the stuff I got this year: ​Everything you see on the desk was a Christmas Present... except that yellow shoe box, which contains most  of  the edible presents... Yeah, that box is packed very tightly and to the brim with candy and sweets...  It's almost too much! So,  in  honor  of  Aunt Tami, I proceeded to do this: ​Yay, Sucky-Day Food! This week was fun. I was grateful for the Emry's letting us use their computers to call home. Not only that, but the Emry's gave us both stockings as well, which had things like an orange, candy, guava nectar, and other things. And they gave me a Gingerbread House kit. When we got back to the apartment last night, I started working on it... and let's just say it started to turn out a bit pitifully as far as the frosting went. It's not that I didn't have patience, it's just that the frosting wasn't sticking. So, I improvised. I call it, Snowed  In  On...

  Merry Christmas everybody! I'm excited to talk to you guys back home on Sunday! This week was pretty fun, too... except I was sick for the first bit  of  it. I was alright on Monday, enough to go to Zone Activity and play some games there with the other missionaries  in  Elma. We played chair soccer, or at least, I watched the other missionaries play chair soccer, which was still hilarious to watch. But afterwards I was feeling good enough to join  in  for a game  of  Signs. Ah, it just brought back memories  of  home, especially when we'd play it with the foster boys. But after zone activity, we went on exchanges with Raymond. So, I went back to Ocean Shores with Elder Zhou... Now, Elder Zhou is a good kid, very smart and intellectual, and a way more dedicated missionary than I am. I mean, he will stop at nothing to be exactly obedient all the time...which turned out to be a bad thing sometimes. His only problem is that common se...

 Hey everybody! First off, It snowed!!! ​YEEEEEEEEES! We had Zone Conference this week on Thursday, where all the missionaries  from  Olympia, Elma, Centralia, and Lacey zones got together to here some trainings  from  President Blatter. It was a bit  of  a mix between a regular conference and a Christmas party, which was really fun. At the end, we grabbed our presents that were sent to the mission office. (Yeah, I got my big box  of  presents, too! Thank you!) But as we were grabbing presents, we looked outside and it was snowing! Basically every missionary  from  Utah ran outside and started throwing snowballs! It never snows here! It really felt like Christmas that day. And it continued to snow the whole drive home, the whole hour and a half trip. Let's just say that... was an adventure! It was epic! Just trailblazing down the snow-swept highway. Pretty scary, seeing as I could barely make out where the road was through the blizz...

  Hey Everybody! I'm  in  the mood to tell about my week  in  chronological fashion. Monday: P-Day like usual, just dinking around, finding something to do, took a nap, etc. Then that evening we went and saw a couple  of  former investigators, Andrea and Gordon. They had stopped investigating because life was a whirlwind, but now things have settled down and they're willing to make the effort to investigate again. The whole time they just talked about how they liked the church because "it all made sense". That's a good sign. Hopefully we can drop by tonight and see them again. Tuesday: We spent most  of  the morning street contacting, but then we saw Diane  in  the afternoon. While we were there, we read the Book  of  Mormon with her, some  of  2 Nephi. We're getting into the Isaiah chapters, and it's both funny and frustrating because Diane wants to understand it all, but when it brings up a metaphor or a simile...

Hey everybody! I might make this email a bit shorter because I've had a pretty rough morning. Last night there was a big storm going, which woke me and my companion up about three times during the course   of   the night... which ended up with both   of   us sleeping through the alarm and waking up when we were supposed to start studies! So yeah, still super groggy. Ugh!!! I miss Grandma and Papa's! Thanksgiving there looked like lots  of  fun! Thanksgiving here was pretty good, too. We spent the morning and afternoon serving at the Lion's Club, a local community club  in  Ocean Shores. Every year they hold a big free Thanksgiving Dinner, so we helped set up and get the food ready. Here are some pictures: The place before people arrived: ​ We cut up all  of  these pies: ​ A lot  of  people showed up: ​ After we finished serving there, grabbing a nibble on our way out, we went to the Giles' for dinner. It was great! Sister Giles...

  Oh, COME ON! SERIOUSLY? KRISTA AND JOSH WENT SKYDIVING WITHOUT ME?!?! I'm just kidding, but oh, I'm pretty jealous. That looks like so much fun! That snow looks fun, too. The little kids look like they enjoyed it. I miss snow. It's too humid for snow most  of  the time. The only times it has snowed during my mission was last December; It only snowed twice, and both times the snow had melted by the end  of  the day. Although this week we did get some hail, so that was cool. And way to go at that TKD tournament, Kamryn and Kyler! Both  of  them got first place? Awesome! This week has been pretty busy busy, what with transfers and all. I got my new companion this week. Meet Elder Devenburg: ​ Yeah, he made that sword himself, out  of  duct tape, foam, and pbc pipe. He's really creative, very athletic, and overall just bursting with energy. I don't think I've ever seen him stop moving. There was one time he was trying to show me a picture on hi...

So transfer calls have come, and I am.... STAYING, for a fourth transfer   in   Ocean Shores. Instead   of   me, my companion, Elder MacQueen, will be heading out to Silverdale. Meanwhile, I'll be getting Elder Devenburg. That's kind   of   funny, because Elder Devenburg came out with me to the mission   in   October. He will officially be the youngest companion I've ever had, and he's just as old as I am. LOL! So, not a whole lot happened this week. It was mostly just suspense for transfer calls, because neither Elder MacQueen or I knew what was going to happen. I kind  of  thought I'd be leaving, while MacQueen stayed, but it turned out to be the opposite. But I'm not worried. By the end  of  this new transfer, I'll have spent 6 MONTHS  of  my mission  in  Ocean Shores. Even where I am now, I already know this place like the back  of  my hand. I think this transfer will go by incredibly fast, for...