A Tough Week

Hey Mom,

Yes I have heard the news and it has been very hard for me as well. I met with President Fagan onWednesday and he told me all of the details. President Brown wanted to tell me himself, but he was in a Mission President's Conference in France. President Fagan and I talked for awhile. When he first told me there was a tragedy in the family, I was so scared because I thought something happened to you, Dad, Erin, or Ashley. When he told me about Jesse, I was very shocked and sad, but I was relieved that you guys were alright. My prayers this week have been focused on Weez and the Bowler Family. Thank you for telling me all the details and I'm glad that you got to see Cara and Ashley this week.

Along with all of this, I think I'm starting to get sick. It's getting colder and I'm not feeling great. I have a soar throat and my nose is running, but I'll be fine with that, it's just not very fun. Transfer call came yesterday and I found out I'll be staying in Clondalkin for another six weeks. I have now been on my mission for 2 months!

So enough with the sadness. We had another guy baptized on Saturday! His name is Ian and he's 22. He's from Malowi and he's a great guy, I love em! I didn't baptize him, but I got the chance to speak at his service. I don't know why but I got really nervous about speaking. I didn't even know if my talk made sense, but one of our investigators that was there said he really enjoyed my talk and he really felt the Spirit. That made me really happy! Attached is a picture of Ian along with some cool pictures of beautiful Ireland!

I love you and all of our family so much. These hard times are tough, but who said enduring to the end would be an easy task? Elder Holland said, "Salvation is not a cheap experience. Be prepared to walk the path the He (Christ) walked." It's not easy, but it's worth it.

Elder Austin