Letter from Elder Scott Austin Dated April 7, 2014

Hey Mom!

I feel like sometimes with the journal letters, they don't express my feelings so much, so I think every once in a while I'm just gonna write you a normal letter to let you know how I feel.  Not much happened this week anyway, so this is a perfect opportunity to do so.

General Conference was this weekend and I loved every minute of it.  It is different watching it as a missionary because there's a different spirit to it.  I believe it's because I testify of these men daily and it reminds me of why I do it.  My favorite talk was by Henry B. Eyring about heroes.  I think it's because I've had quite a few heroes while I've been growing up.  

So I've been here in Stranraer for about 4 1/2 months now.  Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but things are getting tough.  I almost think that the area would do better if someone new came.  I think everyone in this town knows me and what I do, which isn't bad but maybe someone else could do better.  I think this is just a test of my faith and endurance.  I will stay here as long as the Lord wants me to.

So while we were in Ayr this weekend, I got the opportunity to visit with a member by the name of Brother George Sharkey.  Before joining the Church, he was in the British army where he killed many people.  He was in a special forces group where he killed people for a living.  Long story short, he met missionaries and joined the church.  He told me of the transformation that had taken place in him through the atonement.  At the end of our meeting, I felt so much love and faith pouring out of this old man, I was almost in tears.  It's amazing to see that a killer can be forgiven and changed through the atonement.  I hugged the man tight and he told me that he loved me.  Never will I forget Brother Sharkey and the Spirit that I felt in that room. 

I have a wii homework assignment for you!  Go on YouTube and look up "Missionary Work and the Atonement".  It helps me a lot when I feel discouraged.  It's a combined talk by Elder Holland and President Eyring.  Make sure you fasten your seatbelt because Elder Holland gets very fiery and passionate in it.  I don't know why, but I love it when he gets loud and shouts.  I think you will like it and draw some strength from it.

Well that's all for me.  Sorry about not doing a journal letters this week.  I love and miss you.  

Elder Austin

Elder Scott Austin's Journal Letters from March 24th - March 30, 2014

Monday, March 24, 2014

Well it was a jam-packed P-day today!  I had so many letters to respond to, so that took up a big chunk of our day.  Our landlord got us a new study desk, thank heavens!  Our old one was about 2 feet x 2 feet and very wobbly.  Now we have a really big one!  After P-day was over, we went over to the Corrigans and had mince and tatties.  It's weird to say that instead of potatoes.  Crazy Scottish people!

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Today was what we call Zone Interview Training.  It's where President Brown comes down to interview everybody.  I always love being interviewed by him because he always gives me new insights on things I've never thought about.  It was a great meeting all around as usual.  After it was over, we went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders.  I was with Elder Jones from Las Vegas, Nevada. Me and him get along great so we had a fun exchange.  He used to be a chinese speaking Elder but then he got promoted to being a Zone Leader.  It's cool because his name tag is half english and half chinese.  So yeah, we had a good time!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Me and Elder Jones had a little bit of time to work in the morning, but then we had to exchange back.  We had a few appointments but those fell through, so we hit the streets for some finding.  It was one of those days where we had good solid conversations with everyone.  I love those days. We found a few good people then went over to the McLeans for dinner.  Nancy made us chili and rice, delicious as always.  It was a pretty good day overall.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Today was one of those days where we had quite a few appointments, but everything fell through.  That forced us to knock on some doors, but that wasn't successful either.  Really the only good thing that happened today was that we received two referrals from the McRobbs.  Members don't do a lot of missionary work here, so that was kind of exciting to see.  Days like this remind me of how tough this area really is, but I try not to think of it that way.

Friday, March 28, 2014

It wasn't that bad of a day today.  Our number of lessons are dropping a little bit, but that's just because we're doing a lot of finding.  We had a good lesson with our less-active Jim McDonald.  It was a bit of a harsh lesson for him, but he needed it.  He's gone from drinking gallons of alcohol a night to only having a few bottles a week.  It is truly a miracle to have cut down that much so fast.  Tonight we had a good lesson with the Campbell family.  Angela is only one Sunday from being reactivated!  I knew that Bethany's decision would have a big impact on her family.  Bethany got me a present for baptizing her,  that was really nice.  It was a great finish to the day!

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Well as usual, today was our day to visit those people who live out of town.  Our area is giant!  The furthest you can go is up to an hour away!  Of course we visited Peter in his rest home.  Today his advice to me was to always love my wife.  Most of his advice to me is about marriage because he misses his wife really bad.  When we got back to Stranraer, we had to do a lot of knocking because our teaching pool isn't doing so well.  There was no luck there, but we were in a scary moment walking home at night.  A bunch of drunk people surrounded us and started talking to us.  We had to push our way out and jog home.  Some of them started to follow us, but we lost them eventually.  It was weird!

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Did you know that today was British Mother's Day?  The U.K. is different from everyone else.  So today we had a nice Mother's Day church service.  Nancy gave a talk on the love that mother's have and it was wonderful.  I gave her a hug today because she is my Scottish mummy.  She enjoyed that.  She fed us today too!  Ahh, I just love her.  It was pretty successful today too.  Bethany's older sister came to church and we met quiet a few people on the street.  It was a good end to the week.

Love you!!