Dear Mom, Dad, Aaron, Billy, Kendall, Family & Friends~
This past week has been an interesting one. It's also been a long one. And it has also been a sad one. To sum it all up, I am leaving Lake Butler. I'm being transferred to some other area, with some other people, and new experiences and opportunities to learn and grow. I wasn't the most excited person in the world when I got the call informing me that I was going somewhere else, but like everything else, sometimes it's simply time to move on. I will say; however, that I did feel like the Elder who left our area back home (mom's explanation: we just had an elder we have come to love get transferred to another area and he was very sad to leave...and we were sad to see him go!)...But I am so grateful for the people I have met here in this small community, they truly have helped me to change my life for the better. Despite the fact that we didn't have many baptisms, I think that the greatest time I had in this area was the many opportunities I had to serve the members of the ward. I got to know and love the parents and their children, and was able to get to know nearly every individual in the ward. The people here have been a second home and a second family to me. Hopefully one day we'll be able to come back together so I can show you all the wonderful friends I have made. I would have to say that out of all my experiences I have had on my mission, Lake Butler has been the best. I have learned more about myself here than any other place I have been.
The number one lesson I have learned up to this point on my mission is that it is okay to be yourself and not to be afraid to spend time to get to know and love other people. It would seem all my life I have had problems with being able to express myself to others, or to know how to talk to others without some sort of anxiety or another. Of course I still love my friends and was able to meet many new people before my mission, but this is different. The anxiety of getting to know someone feels like it has been lifted. I don't feel as though I have a metal box over my body locking me in place, drowning out my movements and speech and hiding me from the world as I once felt; I feel free. I feel free to be me. I know I have many lessons to learn, but this feels to me the one lesson that opens the door to all the others. I noticed as I was writing that I used the word "feel" quite often, and I "felt" to make a point on it: when I use the word "feel" my mind immediately gathers its attention to the heart and the feelings of the heart. As I have been out on my mission I have come to realize that the heart is the most important tool for guidance and progression we have while in this life. If our hearts are bleak, black, and devoid of hope and happiness, then unfortunately our futures will bear the same tone, and so will the eternities. As it turns out, like you told me, Mom, as you referenced the scripture to me, "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25), that our purpose in life is to find joy and to learn to love one another, and most importantly to love God. I have learned that selfless service gives us the greatest joys in life and in turn enables our hearts to be filled with peace, love, and happiness, which also helps us to progress toward the great joys of eternal life and perfection. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (3 Nephi 13:21). If your treasure is joy and love then that is where your heart will be and all your actions will reflect the desires of your heart bringing the same love and joy you have obtained to others. And so, to tie it all together, my heart feels happy and it feels like it has love that seems to grow each day, and because of it, I feel okay; I feel at peace; I feel like I am becoming me. Finally recognizing that I am an individual in a world with so many copycats, I am grateful to know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has made me free and separated me from the sameness of the world. I know that I am a son of God. I know that I am loved by God and that He is my Father in Heaven. I don't have to be like everyone else, I can be me, because I have a Father in Heaven who loves me for who I am and not because I am like someone else. If there was any lesson that I needed learned while being out here on my mission, I think that was the first and most important one.
I am grateful to hear that everyone is doing well and that Aaron, Billy, and Kendall are also "finding" themselves in the world and are beginning to experience joy and love in their own lives. I miss each of them, but I know they are going to be okay and that I will too....
Tell the rest of the family that I love them and that I am thankful for all their birthday letters and presents...
I also wanted to say that I was excited to hear of everyone who was leaving on their missions! That is crazy to hear! I wish them all the best and hope they have great missions.
I love each of you and hope you have a wonderful week this week and that all goes well. I'll let you know where I get transferred to on Monday. And one other thing, we have Elder Pearson of the Seventy coming to speak to us on Thursday, so that should be really neat. I'll let you know how that goes on Monday :)
Love~
Austin
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