Austin "The Not-So-Fabulous" Dog Whisperer

2.08.10
...The Spirit definitely knows all things. I certainly don't, haha! Anyways, Eureka Gardens has been going downhill quite rapidly. Our investigators don't seem to want to work toward their goals any longer...who really knows why? There just so happened to be a murder right in front of the people we were teaching. I believe it happened yesterday or possibly Saturday. We saw an officer interviewing the people nearest the crime scene, but he told us that "of course nobody happened to see or hear anything." At first when he saw us he asked if we were lost. I laughed quietly under my breath and told him "no". He told us the Eureka "horseshoe" we were in was the hotspot for all sorts of crime. Wonderful. We will probably be over there for the next few days anyhow.

The other day we were out tracting in a somewhat country style neighborhood. There was a lot of property between each house, and every home had two or three guard dogs. All of them barked, and all of them wanted to tear us to shreds. I don't recall how many pitbulls I saw, but there was plenty to keep us on the lookout. We went to one of our investigators (who we later dropped because of lack of interest) and their neighbor happened to have a very athletic, and very aggressive brown and white pitbull. Elder McFarland and I enjoyed throwing sticks over the fence to make the dog go and chase them. All the while the guard dog continued to bark at us. I walked up to the fence to see if I could get him to calm down and to my surprise he jumped for my throat! I got out of the way, luckily. I wasn't finished with the dog, however. We came back the next day to visit this person (for the last time), and the dog was there again on the other side of the fence screaming and yelling at us. I pretended to throw things over the fence to try and trick him. He fell for it a few times. As we were about to leave, I started making quick moves to make the dog flinch. He wasn't too happy with me. As I got on my bike to ride down the street, I began to ride around in circles in front of the neighbor's property just to see what the dog would do. As I did so, the pitbull ran to the side of the fence, hopped up onto a tree stump, straddled the fence for what seemed like a lifetime (while I watched, slowly realizing that I was about to become lunch meat for this angry monster) and hurdled himself straight at me and my companion. the thing took off at lightspeed. We peddled as fast as we possibly could, and he just about got us! Whooh! I learned my lesson. No more messin' with lockjaw pitbulls that would happily eat you for breakfast!

As far as everything else goes, nothing new has happened. Pretty much everyone in our district has been sick lately, so not a whole lot of work got done this week. I do know, however, that I'm finally starting to understand the work of a missionary. All these things I've been figuring out lately are finally culminating together and I'm positive I can see the light. I think a lot of times we think that in order to be successful we need to do more things, to focus more on the mechanics of the situation instead of viewing the thing as a whole. It is kind of like trying to perfect the baseball swing. You can spend all the time in the world trying to make your swing flawless, always worrying about what it looks like, and why it isn't working, and never going anywhere with it--or you can forget about your swing, and trust that you've practiced enough and go out there and hit the ball. I don't know how many times I've been told this, but now it makes sense.

Throughout my life I have searched for ways to be happy, focusing on whatever I could to make things work for me. I listened to my own instincts for the most part, and allowed that to control my decisions. Not that I shouldn't. But the downside was I spent my energies and focus on myself instead of letting go, and trusting the examples of those around me. I have found that when you try to do something completely alone, it usually never works. You need the help of others to be successful. Why was I so happy in my first year of football? Because I trusted that Dad knew what he was talking about and I did everything I could to do what I thought he would do. Why was my experience much more enjoyable, because I allowed others to support me. I finally realized this a few days ago, and it has been a major help in all that I do. Sometimes I wonder why it takes so long to learn such easy lessons.

For the record Dad, I hope you know I love you and am glad that you are mine. Your example has helped me to overcome many things and will continue to do so throughout the rest of my life. I remember when we were a team when I was much younger, and how much fun it was and how happy I was. Well, I'm back! I've moved past my own pride and I trust in you as the one I can count on. I love you too Mom, I'm lucky to have you as my parent. Your unconditional love has been my stronghold for as long as I can remember. I know I have the best parents this world could offer. I also know I have the best family this world could possibly offer. How great it is to know that we can count on each other in all that we do! What a wonderful thing! Let's always keep it that way.

Anyways, we'll talk soon. I may be getting transferred this coming week, I'll let you know as soon as I can.

Love,

Austin