Orange Park, FL
Hello My Dear Family & Loved Ones (which includes my friends as well!),
I'm glad to hear that things are going well back home. It's good to hear that Aaron and Billy are playing well. I'm excited to see how they do during the upcoming month. Funny thing is, three days before the State Championship game, should it be on May 25th, I will be in a meeting with Elder Russell M. Nelson, which all the missionaries will be attending. It should be a really neat experience. So we have two culminating events coming up this month, I can hardly wait...
...I will say, that this no sugar thing is kind of ridiculous...but I have noticed that more often than not, my body doesn't want it. I can't say that I have completely abstained from all sugar, although for the most part I've kept away from it. I made German Pancakes this week, along with syrup and other items of necessity that are required to make these pancakes delicious (meaning I didn't hold back on the powdered sugar! Haha!). Interestingly enough, and for whatever reason, it takes the pancakes 28 minutes to completely cook. It may have to do with the fact that the oven doesn't have a convection setting, only a bake or broil. So it takes double the time listed in the recipe you gave me, but it still turned out fine. I also made pork chops and served them on top of rice and black-eyed peas (all ideas from the southern chefs here in Florida). I seasoned the pork chops with onion powder, garlic salt, pepper, basil (I think), and a few other things. I cooked it in the pan and chopped up some onions and threw it in and let it sit there for a few minutes, then I decided to throw in some olive oil because flashes of the Food Network popped in my mind, and then I remembered we had a lemon, so I cut it in half and squirted lemon juice all over the pork. As far as the seasonings went, really the only things I thought of were the onions, olive oil, and lemon, also the pepper. Everything came together and it turned out pretty well! I forgot to take a picture of my dish, so I took one of Elder Clark's after he had already chopped everything to pieces. Chef Robbs begins his cooking career on a solid note thus far, we'll see how he fares as the coming weeks pass by.
As far as investigators go, I would like to only mention one. Kendall Jane, my dear sister, you asked me if I've had any crazy experiences yet--and also told me that if I hadn't, that I soon would. Well, Kendall, here is the beginning of what could be one crazy story. We were riding our bicycles along Blanding (which is a central road in our area), and we were passing by an A.C.E. Hardware store when someone along the side of the street called out for us, "Hey look, it's my Elder friends!", I heard in the background. I was ahead of Elder Clark cruising down the street when I heard the guy shouting. I, personally, didn't feel much like stopping, because generally speaking, when someone has called out our names in the past, the person/people calling for us are either crazy anti-mormons looking for a good argument, or just plain old crazy. But, as I waved hello and continued to ride onward, my companion pulled off to the side of the road behind me to go and talk to this guy. "Whatever" and "here we go again", is pretty much all the thoughts I had going into this unknown conversation. We spoke with the man for around twenty minutes, and it seemed as though all my anxieties about talking to crazy people on the sides of the streets were to no avail, and that this guy was a major prospect for being baptized within the coming weeks. We took down his name, but he didn't feel at liberty to give us his phone number or address, he merely said that he would call us a few hours later (which he did). He told us that he didn't know that the Church would welcome him back because he ran away from his confirmation after his baptism, and said that he fell back into some old habits. He gave us the names of the missionaries who taught him in the past, and told us this whole ordeal took place a couple months ago. He said he was taught in Gainesville, Florida. He also said at one point he was in Utah, and was able to walk around the Visitor's Center at Temple Square. He told us that at that moment, when walking around the Visitor's Center, he knew that the Church was true. So of course, Elder Clark and I were excited, and we told him we'd contact the missionaries who taught him in the past so we could find out his standing, invited him to church the following day (yesterday), and told him we'd find him a ride if he could make it. He told us not to get too excited about getting him a ride just yet, but to first find out his standing, then to inform him of his position when he calls us back later. So we parted, and went on about doing our daily things, then eventually returned to our apartment. We soon began the process of calling this guy's past missionaries. We came to find out that the reason he fled Gainesville was because he had conned some college professor out of $40,000 worth of property as well as a car. Great. Later we got a hold of the bishop of the ward he was in, and we were warned to stay away from this guy, or at least to be extremely cautious, and not to lend him any money whatsoever. One of our ward members (been a member for about a year now) is an officer for the county police station. We called him up and gave him the name, just to clarify whether or not the things we were told had been true. He said he would look into it. No less than ten minutes later he called us back and informed us that this man had warrants out for his arrest not only in Gainesville, but in Ocala, and even Boulder, Colorado. This may not be all the places, but that is what he had found out up to that point. We do know, however, that the police in Ocala want this guy real bad (and a little fun fact, John Travolta lives in Ocala, in case you didn't already know). So we have been asked to find an address if possible, but if we cannot, to stay away. I'll let you know how things work out Sunday when I call ;) Wish me luck!
Anyways, whatever things I forgot to include in this email, you can remind me when I call. And no, we haven't made any other horror films yet. There could be more...who knows. I hope everything continues to go well back home, and I will talk to you soon! I love each of you and am excited to call as soon as I can! Tell everyone hello for me, and wish them well.
I love you!
Austin
ps. Talk to you soon, literally!
