Austin's Bill of Health

Palatka, FL

Dear Mom, Dad, Aaron, Billy, Kendall, Family & Friends~

Well, I guess I have a lot to report on this week. First off, I will be staying in Palatka with Elder Lucas. Secondly, I will now be serving as a District Leader in the Palatka District. I am in charge of four companionships, five including mine. We may not have the largest district in the mission, but it is certainly a larger district compared to many. Elder Zabriskie, who was with Elder Clements, who were our roommates, is leaving to another area to be a Zone Leader. He was our District Leader prior to today. Elder Greco is Elder Clements' new companion. He has been out for four and a half months, but is also twenty-six years old. He seems like a really neat person. It turns out that he actually went to Brookwood Elementary! What are the chances?! Anyhow, I think we will all get along really well inside our apartment and even district. Elder Greg Fuller made it to Florida, however, he will not be serving nearby--at least I don't think. I only had time to give him a quick wave, but he looked happy and excited to be here. I am sure he will do well (in case you can't remember, we went to Butler Middle School together!).

Transfers are different because President Barry wants the new Elders and Sisters to be able to go out and have a day of experience before transfers come around. So instead of having P-day be Monday, he moved it to Tuesday. That way, on Monday we can work and on Tuesday, our P-day, we can have transfer meeting and also give the new missionaries a chance to go shopping for groceries and other necessities. It is all about using our time efficiently. President Barry wants us to be the best and the most wise we can possibly be and he is holding us accountable to everything. I'm glad he is doing it though, because I think I am going to grow much more this coming year than I did in the past year because of his consistence and persistence with us. Main thing, despite President's reminders, he leaves it entirely up to us to decide if we will obey or not, and he works with us according to our various levels of commitment. He is certainly doing a good job of helping me to set goals and accomplish goals and to stay on top of the little things. I'm glad to have him as my mission president.

Next on the list comes a discussion on my wonderful bill of health. But let me first start with a story. Elder Zabriskie, in his wisdom and genius, remembered a trick he learned from one of his friends in school. This clever stunt; however, requires at least two Hot Tamales. Anyhow, apparently Elder Zabriskie found out that if you chew on a couple of Hot Tamale candies the burn that it causes inside your mouth will temporarily disable a gag-reflex, which would therefore make it possible to stick your fingers halfway down your throat without making you puke! Wonderful!! Of course, after showing us this little trick, Elder Zabriskie readily encouraged each of us to try! So, I tried... it worked! It was an odd experience that I don't think I'll try again soon, but it did work. Afterward, I had to take a look in the mirror just to see if anything might have happened to my throat, just in case. You never know... So I looked, and to my happy surprise, I saw two yellow globules growing on one of my lymph nodes. I'm pretty sure I haven't ever had that happen before, but I was a little uneasy about it, so I called Sister Barry to let her know I wasn't quite better yet. She sent me to the doctor's again and he decided that it was probably tonsillitis (maybe strep...) and so he set me up with a prescription of Penicillin and a daily salt-wash/mouth-wash gargle program. Exciting news...I know. As far as the blood work goes, it should be figured out by next week when I have to go in for my follow-up appointment. They are testing for allergies, anti-bodies, and other various things to see if it is allergies or bacteria that is causing my ongoing symptoms. He also gave me an inhaler because I told him at times that I felt as though I were wheezing and he said it could possibly be signs of asthma. I doubt I have asthma, but he said to try it just to see if it helps. I did it once, but it didn't make much of a difference as far as my breathing went. I'm sure it will get figured out soon enough. But back to the story, who knows if I didn't try that "experiment" with the Hot Tamales if I ever would have found out about my throat? It might have been when it was too late!! Thank goodness for that adventure. :)

Mom, I don't know what it is, but it seems like I'll never get to the end of it. From mono, to sprained ankles, to a broken back, nerve damage, shoulder damage, back to bronchitis, sinusitis, and now now tonsillitis, along with ingrown toenails that are still attempting to mess with me...who knows what's next? Whatever, I'll just continue to laugh. That is about all I can do. I can either laugh or I can cry, right?! I only wonder just how much every person goes through in a lifetime, I'm not sure I really want to know. Pain is inevitable, but to be happy is always a choice. We may never control all that befalls us in this life, but we can always control the way we view our circumstances. It is good to know that we always have a choice.

When it comes to thoughts I've been having lately, most of them center around what our mission has been focusing on this month, what they would like us to focus on for the rest of our missions, and life. Namely, the Doctrine of Christ. Simply put, these are all the teachings of the Savior. These are the eternal truths that help us to know God, the Eternal Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. These doctrines help us to know our Heavenly Father's purpose, which is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). The more I have paid attention to these basic doctrines as I have read the scriptures, the more I have realized that these truths are scattered throughout all of the scriptures and more especially the Book of Mormon. A good example of the principle would be these scriptures:

"13 Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you--that I came into the world to do the will of my Father because my Father sent me.
14 And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil--
15 And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works." (3 Nephi 27 13-15)

"19 And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.
20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.
21 Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin.
22 Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of god. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved." (3 Nephi 9:19-22)

The main reason I share this is because I know that as we search these basic truths out in the scriptures, our lives will become filled with peace, our studies of the scriptures will become more meaningful, and we will be blessed with spiritual blessings and gifts from our Heavenly Father. That promise was given to us by a member of the Missionary Department and he told us the truth. Something to think about. :)

I got the package today, but I haven't been able to really look inside it yet, but I can definitely smell all the treats. I will share them with everyone else, and especially the children in the ward. I'm sure they will love all the candy. Thanks Mom :)

I hope that everyone is continuing to do well and that the school year sails a smooth course for each of you! I hope you have a Happy Halloween and that you are able to enjoy a chili dinner without me. That is, provided you have a chili dinner, haha. I love you and I'll talk to you next week.

Love~

Austin

Writing...

Palatka, FL

Dear Family~

I am glad that things are going well back home and that you were able to meet Albert's older brother. From what I hear, he sounds like a really cool guy.... [tell him] the young men are doing awesome [in Lake Butler] for the most part, there are a few who could use a little motivation and inspiring, but it would seem that all of them, young men and young women, however, are getting the spark of missionary work lit up inside them, so you can tell him if he writes the ward letters of his success stories, that would surely motivate them! Also, I tried sending the boxing match over the Internet, but it didn't exactly work. Maybe I'll fiddle around with it some more another time so I can get it to you...and him.

As far as missionary work goes here in Palatka, we are still struggling to find people to teach, but our Bishopric seems like they are very willing to help us with the work. Throughout the week we visited many less-active, part-member, and inactive families. we had a small amount of success and there were certainly times when we knew that we were guided by the Spirit to visit various families. Hopefully as we begin to work with the Bishopric we'll be able to have more success and even find more families who are prepared and ready to be taught the gospel. Tracting doesn't seem to be doing the trick, but we'll keep on trying anyhow. You never know just when someone in your path happens to be that individual who is prepared.

I have to say, I didn't expect to see that Billy and Kendall had grown that much in the span of one year! Holy Cow!! They probably don't realize it, but I definitely do, especially after being gone this long. They look so much older!! Tell them I said they can't keep doing that, because if they do I might not be able to recognize them when I get home! They look great though :)

On another note, I didn't expect to get an email from Grandma Mary telling me that Brittney just had her first child! What?! That was out of nowhere (mom here: we did tell him she was expecting months ago, but it must not have registered!)! It was neat to see her picture. Hopefully Brittney is doing well, it seems like it's been forever since I've heard from her. Send her congratulations from me if you can, please. :)

This email seems to be going back and forth from topic to topic, but one thing that I wanted to write about this week is something that seems to be a recurring theme in my life. It has to do with writing. I have discovered that when it comes to speaking out loud, often times it is very hard for me to express how I feel, but whenever I write, I always seem to know what to say. At times, it would feel that the closest I am to the Spirit is when I write, rather than when I speak. Whether this is true or not, I'd imagine only the Lord knows. Perhaps that is how it is for all of us. I know that when we write, at least for myself, it requires a greater amount of focus to get on paper what you are unable to express vocally. It requires fine-tuning of the mind to the heart, and aligning it with the voice of the Spirit, and as it happens words simply seem to flow. One thing I have noticed is that as I try to apply that same focus to my studies or even as I go about my day I am able to a much greater degree to hear, or rather feel, what it is the Spirit is guiding me to do. But it truly requires a sincere and concentrated mental effort to be able to be aligned with the Holy Ghost. Our minds tend to wander a million different directions seemingly every moment and so it takes a massive effort to gain control of our minds. It is almost a constant battle to see who is going to win, our sporadic thoughts or the Spirit. Writing is a good way to train ourselves to listen and to recognize the voice of the Spirit! I think I never would have guessed it, but through all the times I have studied and written letters it is clearly apparent that the Holy Ghost guides our thoughts as we place them on paper. Of course, we can only have that guidance if we humbly ask for it in prayer and live our lives the way we are supposed to, but when we do, He freely guides us in the right direction. Revelation has a smooth, free-flowing motion about it. When it comes, it ties all loose ends back together. Things make sense as the Spirit speaks to us. Even today, Uncle Mike sent me an email of something that I absolutely needed to hear and I sent him back a reference of a scripture it reminded me of, and then he sent me back an email telling me how he studied that very scripture this morning! Heavenly Father knows us personally, and works through each of us to bless the lives of all His children. I am amazed at how He works all things for our benefit, despite our lack of knowledge and understanding about the things which He has in store for us.

I don't know, perhaps that was slightly redundant, but those are the thoughts which came to my mind as I was writing. :)

Out of everything I could share right now, I feel impressed only to do one thing. And that is to share what I know. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and that He is watching over each and every one of us. He knows our thoughts, our hearts, our greatest joys and our saddest moments. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to come to this earth and live a perfect life and to atone for our sins and sufferings so that one day, we too could return to live with our Father once again. I know that life sometimes can be more difficult than we are capable of dealing with and that through Jesus Christ's Atonement, our heavy burdens can be lifted and we can find peace. God gave us this gospel, and these truths, so that our families can be blessed, and even eternally united. He wants all of His children to return and be with Him again. I know as we trust Him, and follow the example of His Son, that one day we will return to our Heavenly Father and that He will receive us with great joy. Like Nephi, we can say, "...I know that [God] loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." (1 Nephi 11:17). We may not have a perfect understanding of what lies ahead of us, and it may even be scary, but the one and only thing that matters is that God loves us and He will do all withing His power to bless us as we strive day by day to prepare ourselves to live with Him again.

I love each of you and hope you have a wonderful week...that this week will be a more peaceful and hopeful week than all the other tired and difficult ones. :)

Love~

Austin

p.s. please tell Aunt Rachel and Uncle Brendon for the cheesecake! It was awesome!

p.p.s. next week p-day is on Tuesday due to the coming transfers.

Missionary Work

Palatka, FL

Dear Mom, Dad, Aaron, Billy, Kendall, Family & Friends~

Thanks for the uplifting email, Mom. :)

I am quite positive that I've been needing some of that lately. Sometimes I think that life can be really difficult. I don't always know why that is the case, but that is just the way it seems to have been for me the past little while. However, moving past the difficult times, I think things might be on the upswing here in Palatka, Florida. I'm not sure what to expect in the coming weeks as far as missionary work goes, but finally [this week] we were able to meet with our Ward Mission Leader and Bishop for the first time. It really helps when you have their support as a missionary, because without it, you might as well not even start. Or rather, start with a focus on finding new people. The goal immediately has to be changed to earning the trust of the Membership. Visiting members, getting to know their names, serving the members, and most importantly, ALWAYS being a good example are key to building trust in the ward. At this time, that apparently needs to be our focus. However, and very thankfully, our Bishop seems very willing to help us and to let us help him.

My sickness seems to be on the downswing, finally. I went back to the doctor's last week and they put me on a different antibiotic. It seems to be working. I think it is called Amox-Clav Potassium Tablets, but anyway, the pills are huge. They also had me take Mucinex -D. Hopefully within the next few days, or week, it will all clear up!

I am glad to hear Uncle Mike got called as a Bishop. I think he will be great! I enjoyed being able to go on hikes with him last summer and it was always good for me to be able to talk with him. He always knew what to say to help me the most. I know he will be able to do the same for the people he now has the opportunity to serve. Tell him and Aunt Jenni, and my favorite little cousins Evan and Nora, that I love them and that I know they'll be wonderful.

I think I know one reason [Mike's stake president] spoke to Aaron--nearly one of the first things President Monson said during General Conference was that every young man should prepare themselves to serve a mission and then to be faithful to go and serve when they are the right age. I was surprised that was one of the first things he said, but as I have thought about it, I understand why (obviously not as well as he does, though). All I have to do is take a look in the mirror and see how I have grown and changed over the past year to know that a mission can work miracles in someone's life. Of course, if you are serving for the wrong motivation or reasons, it may not be as great an experience, if not damaging. I do know that I would never take back the decision I have made to serve a mission if all the money in the world were offered to me. The testimony I have earned through being on a mission is worth more than this world has to offer. I know I have a lot of room to grow, but I am forever grateful that I can serve and that the Lord has allowed me to help in His great work. Truly, missionary work is one of the greatest blessings I have ever been given.

Elder Lucas is doing well. It is kind of surprising that we are almost more than halfway with our first transfer together. I don't know where the time has gone. He has grown a lot these past few weeks and is doing a good job with his efforts.

I only have ten minutes left, so I better hurry and finish. I am glad you were able to talk with Coach Crawford. Those were some very kind things of him to say. Perhaps maybe when I come home I will help coach, you never know. I hope the team continues to do well and I am glad to know that Billy is going to get the opportunities he needs to be able to succeed. I know Billy will be great and I can't wait to be able to watch him play on my team. Tell Aaron, Billy, and Kendall I love them and hope they have a good week. I love you, Mom. I love you, Dad. Until next week, I wish the best for each of you. I pray always that Heavenly Father will watch over and protect you, my family.

Love~

Austin

Everything I Learned From General Conference...

Palatka, FL

Dear Mom, Dad, Aaron, Billy, Kendall, Family & Friends~

Things are going pretty well here in Palatka. My sickness seems to be floating right along, but I'm sure I'll eventually get over it. I got the package with the Azithromycin and the other goodies (that I shared with everyone). Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you want to look at it--I went to the urgent care to get my sickness checked out (since it has been a good 3 weeks now of being sick) and it turned out that I had a sinus infection as well as bronchitis at the same time. She prescribed Azithromycin to me as well. So I have two packs of them. I'm on the second to last day with the one and probably won't take the other--unless perhaps I need to? I don't think that would be the greatest of ideas though. If it doesn't get any better within the next couple of days, then I'll probably go back and get it checked. I am going to make tapioca pudding within the next couple days, so hopefully I can do it right! Thanks Mom :)

I got Grandma and Grandpa's package and thought it was great. I shared the pumpkin bread with all the other Elders and they thought it was the best thing ever... I loved the ties and I wore each of them over the course of the weekend...

...by the way, I just received a super heavy wool cold weather dress jacket. It was supposed to be for another set of Elders, who then gave it to Elder Lucas because it was too big for them and it turned out to be too small for him, but ended up fitting me well. Of course I'll need to wear my suit underneath to make it fit right, but it is a neat jacket. I'll probably go and dry clean it soon. Awesome!

Tell Aunt Rachel and Uncle Brendon thanks for the email last week, I forgot to mention. Also, Uncle Mike and Aunt Jenni sent me a cool package containing quotes from Elder Neal A. Maxwell. I've already skimmed over much of it, and I really like the things he says. As far as getting a southern drawl goes...well, you can be the judge when we talk at Christmas. But I can say that I have had people comment on the speed at which I talk, which is S L O W...whatever, I guess I am understood well then, I match the speed of the South.

Tell Aaron good job for me! That is so awesome he struck out the All-American. I wish I could have watched!! But, soon enough I'll be able to. College man...wow! Just keep working hard--perhaps set some goals as well, they always seem to help!

I'm glad that Billy had fun dancing the night away. I never could, nor would--even still, and perhaps more so now. But hey, as long as he enjoyed himself! He's more brave than me. I will say this, however, as I have been out I have learned to love to listen to and play around on the piano. I have learned a few songs and I am determined to learn many. When I get home I want to get lessons. Hopefully Aaron is still keeping up on his talent, because then we could play together. Of course, I still need to catch up with him, but I'll get there. So, Billy, you and your craziness beats mine, but I am doing something musical--just not with my body. You can Kendall can do all the dancing you want. :)

Lexee sent me a package a few weeks ago, and I feel bad for not sending her a thank you yet. Could you tell her thanks for the things she sent and that I will write her soon? I hope she is doing well.

My favorite conference talks included Elder Holland's on the Saturday morning session. He spoke on his gratitude for all the things we do and it was neat to hear it from an Apostle. It was an expression of God's love for all His children.

One question I really wanted answered as I went to conference was how to know that the decisions I make are the right decisions and that God approves of them. I'm sure no one wants to make the wrong decision either. So my question was how can I know the difference between the good, the better, and the best of choices; how can I discern the difference between those choices which are a mere distraction from doing what is most important and what really is the most important. Decision making can be difficult, especially when faced with seemingly many ideal choices. It's like taking a test when all the answers are right, just some are more right than others...I hate those kinds of tests by the way! The answer, we know, is in relying on the Spirit. But we need to be able to know the difference between the Spirit and the near identical fake. Elder Ballard spoke on this in the second to last talk this conference--and Elder Oaks also gave some essential pointers.

Some key things I pulled from all the talks to answer my question, or at least in part (I'm still learning here...) were these:

1. God gives us good feelings in our minds and hearts to help us know we are receiving guidance from Him.

2. Emptiness, confusion, and doubt are evidence of a bad choice.

3. A prophet of God tells us what we need to hear and learn, not what we necessarily want to know and learn.

4. It is always better to keep God's commandments and do His will rather than trust in ourselves or others--so, in essence, ask God in prayer for guidance first.

5. If we want to know whether a decision is good or bad, we should spend some time and think about it first, and we should think about it as long as we absolutely need to.

6. Scripture study leads to answers and a majority of revelation comes when we spend time pondering, or thinking, about what we have just studied.

7. Setting goals helps us to put to action the direction we feel we should take.

8. God will witness to us the goodness of our choices after the trial of our faith.

9. As with points 1 & 2, our feelings really and truly help us to make good choices.

Those were some of the things I felt like I learned, but in all reality, I still feel like I need to do a lot more thinking about this one. I do know, however, that scripture study, as one of the Apostles said, helps us to learn to recognize the voice of the Lord. And so, as I study the scriptures and write my thoughts, I am learning, slowly but surely what it means to listen to and hear the voice of the Lord. Concentration and desire to know and willingness to act are key.

Anyhow, I'm about done right now. My body is ready to collapse. So until next week, I hope each of you have a wonderful week and I love you all!

Love~

Austin