Elder Austin's Journal Letters from December 8-December 15, 2013

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Holy Cow, today was a crazy day!  Church was kinda sad because I treated it like my last Sunday in Clondalkin.  Saying goodbye to the members I've gotten to know for 4 1/2 months is very hard.  We took pictures and said some goodbyes.  Later tonight we headed in and waited for our moves call.  So you'll probably know already by the time you get this..... but I'm going to Scotland!!!!   The area is called Stranraer on the Southern tip of Scotland.  My companion's name is Elder Spackman.  And guess what?  I'm Senior companion.  Ahh, so many emotions going through me at once.  It makes me tired, so goodnight.

Monday, December 9, 2013

It wasn't P-Day today, but we email anyway to get that out of the way.  I told you all about where Im going and who I'm with.  Later tonight we went over to a member's home and watched the Christmas Devotional.  If you haven't seen it yet, you should.  It's awesome!  Russell M. Nelson's talk about becoming little children really nailed it home.  I love Jesus and I love Christmas!  I had to say goodbye to some more members today and it was really sad.  I leave tomorrow night so I don't think I'll be able to see them all before I leave.  I'll call all of them so I can at least say goodbye to them. 

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Today, was filled with visiting and saying goodbye to members.  A sad day!  I didn't get to see them all, so that didn't make me very happy.  I almost teared up when I was talking to them on the phone.  They all told me how they loved me and how they will miss me so much.  Ugh, this stinks!  The zone leaders picked me up and took me to their flat so I could stay the night there.  I take the bus out of Dublin tomorrow.  I'm gonna miss the big city.  It's Christmas time so there are lights and trees all over the place.  Oh well, new adventures to be had!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

So this morning we got up at 5 to get ready to leave.  There were about 7 elders sleeping there because they were leaving with me including Elder Benesch!  I don't know if I told you this, but he's serving in the same zone as me .... Again!  I just can't get rid of him!  Hopefully we'll serve together soon.  My bus left at 7 am for Belfast.  From Belfast we took a bus to get on the ferry over to Scotland.  I love the Ferry because they have good food.  From the Ferry, I took a bus to Glasgow where my companion picked me up.  Did I mention we have a car?!  No more buses!!  We got back to our flat and had dinner and planned for the rest of the night.  The flat is nice and roomy.  I hope this is a good transfer! 

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Alright, my first day in Stranraer!  Since we have a car, we see so many more people.  Elder Spackman took me around to most of the members so I could meet them and get to know them.  They're all very nice people and I'll get along with them.  I'm not joking when I say this, but we have one lady in our branch who has a beard!  I think she may have hirsutism so she has a little chin hairs, it's hilarious.  Other than that, it was a pretty normal day.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Our area is really big, so sometimes we have to do a little bit of driving.  There are a lot of less-active members so we are doing a lot of work with them.  The drives along the coastline are absolutely beautiful!  Did I mention that the car is a stick shift?  Elder Spackman taught me today and I picked it up pretty fast.  I still have some trouble with certain things, but I'm getting hang of it.  Today was basically visiting some more people so I can get to know them and so I can get to know the area.  They are all very nice and they feed us well, so I'm not complaining!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Being a leader is hard sometimes, but I'm getting the hang of it.  Right now with Elder Spackman, I'm stressing personal obedience to the mission rules.  We are taught that personal obedience effects our spiritual conviction.  His last companion wasn't completely obedient and didn't work very hard so I'm gonna change that!  We are getting out there and not wasting a minute of the Lord's time.  Being an example is where it starts so I'm trying my best to do that.  Right now we're doing so much less-active work and that is what our day consisted of.  Hopefully, we can inspire these members to come back to church!!

Sunday, December 15, 2013

This Sunday was a little different to what I'm used to.  It's a really small branch so we don't even have a church building.  We meet at a day center in the middle of town.  Even though it's not an official building and it doesn't even look like it, I could feel the Spirit during the sacrament.  You don't have to have a big chapel with lots of people to have a spiritual experience at church.  All you need is a couple of faithful people and the correct authority to feel the Spirit and renew your covenants.  This branch is struggling because of the people that keep falling away, but I made a goal with the Lord today.  I said that I will try my very hardest to help this branch take a step forward and contribute to the Kingdom of God.  Failure is not an option.

Love you!!