7/14/14
That's awesome that you got to listen to Easton and Matt speak! One leaving and the other one coming home. Reading that email, especially about Matt, made me feel like I was coming home soon. I didn't like that too much. I actually got very sad thinking about it. I've got so much more to learn and do here. Seeing miracles happen all around me and being a part of them, helping people and seeing them accept the gospel in their lives is an experience one does not ever forget. Great, now I'm getting teary eyed because I'm thinking about how much time I have left and now I don't want to come home, ha ha! Nine months is not much time. I'm just going to be a missionary forever, I'll keep the tag on and just go out with the missionaries when I get home and never let President Baker release me! :) In all seriousness though, I know where Matt is coming from. The mission life is life changing, as long as you become a missionary on your mission.
Brenda is going to be out of town for the 3rd week in a row. Her baptism will no longer be this weekend because of that. She is going to church in Chesapeake though, so that is great! We've rescheduled her baptism with her to the following weekend, the 26th! There is never any time to rest when you share the gospel with others. We're literally at war with Satan. Brenda is so prepared though and ready for the gospel, as I have said before. We're excited for her! Ray is still on date for the 23rd of August! He could hop in the font right now if he wanted to! At least that's how I feel like at times. Now Chad, is the man who has read the Book of Mormon cover to cover and is doing it for the 2nd time! He has such a strong testimony of the Gospel! He came to church last Sunday and he was looking sharp in the suit of his! He told quite a few people how we found him just as he was in his darkest moment in life and how much we've helped him and done for him. It's weird because all we've done is point him in the right direction. He's taken every step on his own. We just called him one day after looking through the area book and feeling like we should call him. I really don't want to sound prideful or conceited, but missionaries really are inspired and guided by the Spirit! I love Chad, he's awesome! We feel like he can be set on date for August 9th. That's what we plan to talk with him about this next Friday. I'm excited! Missionary work is wonderful! It brings you joy and you have fun doing it because you enjoy it!
I'm not kidding when I say some people can't read here. In the more secluded parts of the state, out in the country, some people can't read. I didn't believe it either until I tried getting investigators to read the Book of Mormon. They could just be messing with us but with most of them you know after meeting with them a lot that they can't read. That's why we're trying to get the CD's. And the comprehension part, like reading a chapter from the Book of Mormon for example. In first Nephi where it's pretty simple, we find out what people have understood through asking questions. When it all went over their head that's when we break down. And when we know that they didn't understand that's great! Then we know what we have to do and do what we should always be doing, which is teach according to their needs.
Elder Langford and I are still companions, but the 29th is transfers. We're pretty sure one of us is leaving. We are still in a car and we got a new car this last Wednesday! ...It's Red... I wanted ANYTHING but red. Red sticks out way too much. They're more likely to be pulled over too. It's a Toyota Corolla. I like the Corolla. It handles well. Our day is always different but we usually try to teach about 3 people in a day and we'll do what we can to make that goal. Sometimes EVERYTHING falls through. That happened this last Friday and we had nothing all day. It was a little frustrating, but that happens. We got over it though. Other days we find people to teach pretty easily! On Thursday, we were going to see one of our investigators, just a drop by, and two people across the street called us over and wanted to know what religion we were and how our religion was different from the Baptist religion. PERFECT TEACHING MOMENT! We answered their questions and ended up teaching the restoration to Randy and Necole. Randy started reading the Book of Mormon as soon as we left and said he had been searching for a religion that fit more with the teachings of Christ. Well, he found it!
Elder Langford has taught me a few things. How to be patient is the biggest with him, he has to be right most of the time (usually it's at home about something there). However, we've worked on it though and we work really well together. He's also taught me about humility and sincerity. He always is turning to the Lord in all things. I admire that about him. He's a great companion and he knows why he is out here serving the Lord. he's an awesome friend.
It's weird that I'll be 20... I'm the oldest out of the 4 missionaries serving here. Both in mission time and in years. I used to be the young one, ha ha!
I love y'all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
Thursday, July 31, 2014
7/7/14
It's great to hear from you guys every week too and see how y'all are doing! I'm glad everyone's having an awesome time and doing well! I always loved the 4th in Carnation! Hopefully, I'll have one again. My fourth was a normal proselyting day and I'll be honest...I do not like holidays one bit as a missionary. They are a stumbling block for the work for one whole weekend, THREE DAYS!
The work here in the Burkeville Branch is progressing. It can be frustrating though at times too. Here in the more southern part of the state in the country, almost nobody knows how to read and those that can have a hard time understanding the Book of Mormon. We're doing our best to help them and describe what the meanings of certain words are. It also is a challenge when people are just content with having you come over and feel the spirit we bring. It's a very...content area. It challenges my patience as a missionary at times, but it's good for me, still a challenge though. Kate and Ellie have a better understanding than some of the people we meet with, to give you a better understanding. In the end, the most important thing we can do for our investigators is get them to church! And that is something we are working on because that is where you can feel the spirit. We're also trying to get copies of the Book of Mormon on audio to some people because as I said, reading in general for some people is pretty much impossible just because they don't know how.
Brenda and Ray are still on their scheduled dates for July 19th and August 23rd! I love teaching them and it's always such an experience because they invite the spirit with their desire to learn as well and you see someone accept the Gospel in their life! I've never been happier than when I see someone accept the gospel in their life! I wish I could just take y'all with me to one of the lessons, Luke or Alex especially!! You two could go out with the missionaries and help them out. I know you are, but I just thought I would give some encouragement. Luke, now that you are a priest, you have many opportunities to go! DO NOT LET THEM PASS BY!! I only went twice before my mission. Alex, go out with the sisters in our ward. You and Luke can go together!!! There's nothing better that you both could do together as siblings than share the Gospel! Your testimonies will grow as well as your relationship with one another. The Lord is hastening his work now in these latter days and you both are a part of it, catch the vision. (Proverbs 29:18) Be happy!
Chad is a former investigator that I may have told y'all about. I guess I should say he WAS a former investigator, but we found him in our area book and I decided to call him up to see if he would like to meet with us again. Long story short, he agreed! We met with him for the second time today! He became a former because his wife was anti towards the church, but she recently left him. She didn't show up after work one day. She came back briefly but it didn't work out. He's very down right now, but we know that Heavenly Father has prepared him to receive the fullness of the gospel now! We love Chad and we are doing everything we can to help him. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer! Our last lesson with him I asked him before we left, "Chad, do you know that the Book of Mormon is true?" Chad answered, "With all the surety of my soul!" Everything we have taught him makes perfect sense to him and he is progressing rapidly!
I love y'all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
It's great to hear from you guys every week too and see how y'all are doing! I'm glad everyone's having an awesome time and doing well! I always loved the 4th in Carnation! Hopefully, I'll have one again. My fourth was a normal proselyting day and I'll be honest...I do not like holidays one bit as a missionary. They are a stumbling block for the work for one whole weekend, THREE DAYS!
The work here in the Burkeville Branch is progressing. It can be frustrating though at times too. Here in the more southern part of the state in the country, almost nobody knows how to read and those that can have a hard time understanding the Book of Mormon. We're doing our best to help them and describe what the meanings of certain words are. It also is a challenge when people are just content with having you come over and feel the spirit we bring. It's a very...content area. It challenges my patience as a missionary at times, but it's good for me, still a challenge though. Kate and Ellie have a better understanding than some of the people we meet with, to give you a better understanding. In the end, the most important thing we can do for our investigators is get them to church! And that is something we are working on because that is where you can feel the spirit. We're also trying to get copies of the Book of Mormon on audio to some people because as I said, reading in general for some people is pretty much impossible just because they don't know how.
Brenda and Ray are still on their scheduled dates for July 19th and August 23rd! I love teaching them and it's always such an experience because they invite the spirit with their desire to learn as well and you see someone accept the Gospel in their life! I've never been happier than when I see someone accept the gospel in their life! I wish I could just take y'all with me to one of the lessons, Luke or Alex especially!! You two could go out with the missionaries and help them out. I know you are, but I just thought I would give some encouragement. Luke, now that you are a priest, you have many opportunities to go! DO NOT LET THEM PASS BY!! I only went twice before my mission. Alex, go out with the sisters in our ward. You and Luke can go together!!! There's nothing better that you both could do together as siblings than share the Gospel! Your testimonies will grow as well as your relationship with one another. The Lord is hastening his work now in these latter days and you both are a part of it, catch the vision. (Proverbs 29:18) Be happy!
Chad is a former investigator that I may have told y'all about. I guess I should say he WAS a former investigator, but we found him in our area book and I decided to call him up to see if he would like to meet with us again. Long story short, he agreed! We met with him for the second time today! He became a former because his wife was anti towards the church, but she recently left him. She didn't show up after work one day. She came back briefly but it didn't work out. He's very down right now, but we know that Heavenly Father has prepared him to receive the fullness of the gospel now! We love Chad and we are doing everything we can to help him. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer! Our last lesson with him I asked him before we left, "Chad, do you know that the Book of Mormon is true?" Chad answered, "With all the surety of my soul!" Everything we have taught him makes perfect sense to him and he is progressing rapidly!
I love y'all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
6/30/14
Glad to hear everyone's doing very well and that Luke had the opportunity to go to EFY again and be ordained to the office of a Priest! That gave me chills! Alex is lucky to be working at Genie! I want to do that when I get home and work to save up for school the next semester after the summer. At least, that's the plan, it continuously changes, so I'm not really setting anything in stone until the end of the mission draws closer. Enough about that though, not important right now. I'll be sending the SD cards asap! if you could get them back to me quickly as well that would be awesome!
So, to answer your question Dad, about getting out of my comfort zone. That's actually been very eas I've noticed. We do it everyday and sometimes I even surprise myself! I was actually thinking about that yesterday as we went out with one of our members, Brother Johnson. Talking to people really isn't that hard. I do have to sit ad listen to the spirit at times in some lessons because I don't know what to say at some points, but something good usually comes out of my mouth once I just open it. At least I hope it's good, ha ha!
Love is definitely the only way you can become a missionary. You can go through the motions, but until you love the people or the specific person, you will not get anywhere. It can be very hard at times too, at least I feel it is for me. It's definitely a gift of the spirit that I'm constantly praying for. I've also noticed that after you love the person, you have to get them to feel the spirit as soon as possible. That comes from reading the Book of Mormon sincerely and coming to church with an open heart and contrite spirit. So, I guess to summarize all of that, we really just help and invite people to develop their faith in Jesus Christ. That is literally all we do and it's the best!
To answer your question Mom, about how I have felt the spirit most this week. I finished the Book of Mormon for the second time as a missionary and acted on Moroni's promise, even though I've received a witness that the Book of Mormon is true many times before. I decided to do so again. No huge amazing witness came to me, I didn't see angels or anything, but I felt that still small voice that is the spirit, giving me comfort and peace. There was no stupor of thought whatsoever, I felt the spirit and knew as I had before that the Book of Mormon is another testament of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I'm not exactly sure how we will be spending the 4th. I think we're going with a member to a potential investigator's home. I really am all over the place in my head. It's a good thing we carry around planners! Our investigators are doing very well! Brenda was in Chesapeake this weekend so she wasn't at our sacrament service. She is going to be moving to Chesapeake in September so she said she was going to go to church there when she visits. She is also getting baptized on July 19th! So that will be an amazing day! Ray Smith is going to be baptized the 23rd of August! We are still working with him. We think they were out of town this weekend, he and his wife, but the work is progressing here and we're finding more and more people to teach every week!
Love y'all,
-Elder Austin Mounts
Glad to hear everyone's doing very well and that Luke had the opportunity to go to EFY again and be ordained to the office of a Priest! That gave me chills! Alex is lucky to be working at Genie! I want to do that when I get home and work to save up for school the next semester after the summer. At least, that's the plan, it continuously changes, so I'm not really setting anything in stone until the end of the mission draws closer. Enough about that though, not important right now. I'll be sending the SD cards asap! if you could get them back to me quickly as well that would be awesome!
So, to answer your question Dad, about getting out of my comfort zone. That's actually been very eas I've noticed. We do it everyday and sometimes I even surprise myself! I was actually thinking about that yesterday as we went out with one of our members, Brother Johnson. Talking to people really isn't that hard. I do have to sit ad listen to the spirit at times in some lessons because I don't know what to say at some points, but something good usually comes out of my mouth once I just open it. At least I hope it's good, ha ha!
Love is definitely the only way you can become a missionary. You can go through the motions, but until you love the people or the specific person, you will not get anywhere. It can be very hard at times too, at least I feel it is for me. It's definitely a gift of the spirit that I'm constantly praying for. I've also noticed that after you love the person, you have to get them to feel the spirit as soon as possible. That comes from reading the Book of Mormon sincerely and coming to church with an open heart and contrite spirit. So, I guess to summarize all of that, we really just help and invite people to develop their faith in Jesus Christ. That is literally all we do and it's the best!
To answer your question Mom, about how I have felt the spirit most this week. I finished the Book of Mormon for the second time as a missionary and acted on Moroni's promise, even though I've received a witness that the Book of Mormon is true many times before. I decided to do so again. No huge amazing witness came to me, I didn't see angels or anything, but I felt that still small voice that is the spirit, giving me comfort and peace. There was no stupor of thought whatsoever, I felt the spirit and knew as I had before that the Book of Mormon is another testament of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I'm not exactly sure how we will be spending the 4th. I think we're going with a member to a potential investigator's home. I really am all over the place in my head. It's a good thing we carry around planners! Our investigators are doing very well! Brenda was in Chesapeake this weekend so she wasn't at our sacrament service. She is going to be moving to Chesapeake in September so she said she was going to go to church there when she visits. She is also getting baptized on July 19th! So that will be an amazing day! Ray Smith is going to be baptized the 23rd of August! We are still working with him. We think they were out of town this weekend, he and his wife, but the work is progressing here and we're finding more and more people to teach every week!
Love y'all,
-Elder Austin Mounts
Monday, July 28, 2014
6/23/14
I'll give you a little run down of how our week has been! Well, not a little run down but the real interesting things!
We currently have 2 people on date to be baptized, Brenda Wishart and Ray Smith. Brenda's baptism is this Saturday and we have so much to do to prepare her for that still! Also, I do not like Satan at all, because like always, he's working hard to prevent this baptism. Brenda's been very stressed out this week and just fell apart with everything that has been going on in her life yesterday. We are still there for her and working with her and doing the best we can to help her. If the spirit wasn't there to guide us I'm not sure what we would do. She's so prepared for the Gospel though and we know it, and she knows it! We're going to give her a blessing of comfort when we see her again. It's amazing how much you can love someone and that enables the spirit to be present in every lesson we have with Brenda. If the spirit wasn't there we wouldn't and couldn't teach. We learn that lesson the hard way sometimes with other investigators. Yes, even missionaries make mistakes, but we're constantly trying to better ourselves! Back to Brenda though, she's very in tune with the spirit. It's great that she's our next door neighbor. Satan's got to get past her missionaries/bodyguards first to get to her, ha ha!
Ray Smith is our other investigator on date. His wife is a member and has been for a long time. He's been coming to church off and on for about 15 years. We honestly thought he was a member the first few times we met with him, ha ha! The Spanish Elders thought the same thing because they dropped by and shared a spiritual thought with him! A little while after that he said he wanted to be baptized after thinking for a long time about the blessings that come from the gospel! He's on date for the 23rd of August! We're teaching him every Tuesday after a delicious meal provided graciously by Sister Smith!
Chad Byerly is a former investigator we found in our area book. We read the information on him and I called him up and set up an appointment to meet with him. That was about a month or so ago, we've been able to see him once and I think I may have mentioned that. Well, his wife has returned home and we were going to meet with him but that happened. We're hoping she won't be as hostile as she was in the past to us, because Chad is ready for the gospel! He is prepared! He does have a copy of the Book of Mormon that we left him that he said he couldn't wait to read again. We will have to see what happens this week when we meet with him again.
So, sorry to freak you out with the pictures. I'm still thanking Heavenly Father for keeping us safe! Before the crash and up to that point I had always been a backseat driver with my companion telling him that he drove too fast! It was a wet day too. He said he wasn't used to driving in rain. I will be driving once we get a car again. So, a few more details about the crash, when we hit the tree, we didn't roll or anything, we spun out till we were about 50 feet from the tree. It all happened too fast. I still have a muscle on my left side that I think I pulled in the crash from the whiplash, but it's healing.
That's awesome to hear about stake conference. I'm excited to go to another stake conference here myself but I keep missing it because of being transferred. Dad, I'll be able to send the SD cards I have to you next week, hopefully the family reunion is after that. Luke, how was your birthday? Kate and Ellie, did he go on a date yet? Are you two still in soccer? Alex, how goes the prep for college? When is the reunion?
Love y'all,
-Elder Austin Mounts
I'll give you a little run down of how our week has been! Well, not a little run down but the real interesting things!
We currently have 2 people on date to be baptized, Brenda Wishart and Ray Smith. Brenda's baptism is this Saturday and we have so much to do to prepare her for that still! Also, I do not like Satan at all, because like always, he's working hard to prevent this baptism. Brenda's been very stressed out this week and just fell apart with everything that has been going on in her life yesterday. We are still there for her and working with her and doing the best we can to help her. If the spirit wasn't there to guide us I'm not sure what we would do. She's so prepared for the Gospel though and we know it, and she knows it! We're going to give her a blessing of comfort when we see her again. It's amazing how much you can love someone and that enables the spirit to be present in every lesson we have with Brenda. If the spirit wasn't there we wouldn't and couldn't teach. We learn that lesson the hard way sometimes with other investigators. Yes, even missionaries make mistakes, but we're constantly trying to better ourselves! Back to Brenda though, she's very in tune with the spirit. It's great that she's our next door neighbor. Satan's got to get past her missionaries/bodyguards first to get to her, ha ha!
Ray Smith is our other investigator on date. His wife is a member and has been for a long time. He's been coming to church off and on for about 15 years. We honestly thought he was a member the first few times we met with him, ha ha! The Spanish Elders thought the same thing because they dropped by and shared a spiritual thought with him! A little while after that he said he wanted to be baptized after thinking for a long time about the blessings that come from the gospel! He's on date for the 23rd of August! We're teaching him every Tuesday after a delicious meal provided graciously by Sister Smith!
Chad Byerly is a former investigator we found in our area book. We read the information on him and I called him up and set up an appointment to meet with him. That was about a month or so ago, we've been able to see him once and I think I may have mentioned that. Well, his wife has returned home and we were going to meet with him but that happened. We're hoping she won't be as hostile as she was in the past to us, because Chad is ready for the gospel! He is prepared! He does have a copy of the Book of Mormon that we left him that he said he couldn't wait to read again. We will have to see what happens this week when we meet with him again.
So, sorry to freak you out with the pictures. I'm still thanking Heavenly Father for keeping us safe! Before the crash and up to that point I had always been a backseat driver with my companion telling him that he drove too fast! It was a wet day too. He said he wasn't used to driving in rain. I will be driving once we get a car again. So, a few more details about the crash, when we hit the tree, we didn't roll or anything, we spun out till we were about 50 feet from the tree. It all happened too fast. I still have a muscle on my left side that I think I pulled in the crash from the whiplash, but it's healing.
That's awesome to hear about stake conference. I'm excited to go to another stake conference here myself but I keep missing it because of being transferred. Dad, I'll be able to send the SD cards I have to you next week, hopefully the family reunion is after that. Luke, how was your birthday? Kate and Ellie, did he go on a date yet? Are you two still in soccer? Alex, how goes the prep for college? When is the reunion?
Love y'all,
-Elder Austin Mounts
6/16/14
Wow, everyone is growing up! I love my siblings and both of you Mom and Dad!
So, I guess I'll just jump right into what happened regarding this car crash. Elder Langford, was being a dumb driver and trying to "race" or keep up with the Spanish Elders in getting back to their trailer out in the country, before we went to Crewe for the day. It had been raining on and off so the roads were pretty slick. Elder Langford took a turn, not slowing down too much going about 78 he said. That's when we went almost completely went off the road, our back left tire hit the outside of the road as we turned that corner. Then we got back on the road sliding sideways with my side facing the way we were going. Elder Langford tried to maintain control and got us facing straight again, but it was too late and of course he was going too fast and we were coming up on a right curve in the road. He couldn't make the curve and we headed straight into this lawn full with a few decent sized trees. I could probably hug one barely, that's about how big they are. The front left end smashed the tree and we spun out on the lawn. We were wearing our seat belts though, always do. Elder Langford shakily told me that we had to get out of the car as soon as we stopped. We had to climb out of his window, it had shattered, and I couldn't open my door. We were both a little shook up of course and the ambulance was there within 5 minutes. Elder Langford and I both rode in the ambulance. I only did because he is my companion, I was only a little bruised and had two cuts that needed band aids. Elder Langford has 20 stitches in his knee and won't be driving on his mission again. We are staying together for another transfer too. We've been cooped up these past few days with recovering. I'm about done, no longer too stiff and sore, Elder Langford will also get his stitches removed next week. Cool thing too, his doctor was LDS.
We got to teach Brenda yesterday and it's so cool to see her just get so excited about the Book of Mormon! We also contacted and are now teaching a former investigator named Chad! He was only a former because his wife was totally against the church, but she recently just didn't come home from work one day and left him. He said we contacted him at just the right time, and that the Lord truly guides us to the people that need to hear the Gospel. So, Chad will be getting baptized this summer, we haven't set an exact date yet. Also, a part member texted us, we thought he was a member too! He wants to be baptized August 23rd and he is ready! We don't know what we're doing but we know that miracles have constantly been in our lives this past week!
Love y'all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
P.S. Paramedics told us that we had hit the tree more to the center of our car by a foot we would have both been killed. The Lord truly was watching over us and He still has a purpose for both Elder Langford and myself.
Wow, everyone is growing up! I love my siblings and both of you Mom and Dad!
So, I guess I'll just jump right into what happened regarding this car crash. Elder Langford, was being a dumb driver and trying to "race" or keep up with the Spanish Elders in getting back to their trailer out in the country, before we went to Crewe for the day. It had been raining on and off so the roads were pretty slick. Elder Langford took a turn, not slowing down too much going about 78 he said. That's when we went almost completely went off the road, our back left tire hit the outside of the road as we turned that corner. Then we got back on the road sliding sideways with my side facing the way we were going. Elder Langford tried to maintain control and got us facing straight again, but it was too late and of course he was going too fast and we were coming up on a right curve in the road. He couldn't make the curve and we headed straight into this lawn full with a few decent sized trees. I could probably hug one barely, that's about how big they are. The front left end smashed the tree and we spun out on the lawn. We were wearing our seat belts though, always do. Elder Langford shakily told me that we had to get out of the car as soon as we stopped. We had to climb out of his window, it had shattered, and I couldn't open my door. We were both a little shook up of course and the ambulance was there within 5 minutes. Elder Langford and I both rode in the ambulance. I only did because he is my companion, I was only a little bruised and had two cuts that needed band aids. Elder Langford has 20 stitches in his knee and won't be driving on his mission again. We are staying together for another transfer too. We've been cooped up these past few days with recovering. I'm about done, no longer too stiff and sore, Elder Langford will also get his stitches removed next week. Cool thing too, his doctor was LDS.
We got to teach Brenda yesterday and it's so cool to see her just get so excited about the Book of Mormon! We also contacted and are now teaching a former investigator named Chad! He was only a former because his wife was totally against the church, but she recently just didn't come home from work one day and left him. He said we contacted him at just the right time, and that the Lord truly guides us to the people that need to hear the Gospel. So, Chad will be getting baptized this summer, we haven't set an exact date yet. Also, a part member texted us, we thought he was a member too! He wants to be baptized August 23rd and he is ready! We don't know what we're doing but we know that miracles have constantly been in our lives this past week!
Love y'all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
P.S. Paramedics told us that we had hit the tree more to the center of our car by a foot we would have both been killed. The Lord truly was watching over us and He still has a purpose for both Elder Langford and myself.
6/9/14
Wow, you are both awesome parents! Dad, Happy Father's Day! It's early but I'll be late if I said that next week! Also, Happy late birthday! I honestly have lost track of how old you are. That could be a good thing right? Well, I loved the graduation pictures! I had voice recordings to send this week and a picture I think, but of course, I forgot my stuff at home...again.
This week has been pretty crazy, awesome regarding miracles, zone conference and spanish lessons. I don't remember too much about who spoke, but I remember that we learned some principles that we can apply to our missionary service to help the tiny branches that we serve. I may have said this before but branches are crazy, ha ha. Also regarding Spanish, we do splits with the Spanish elders when we carpool to certain areas for the day because of the large area we cover. So, we're able to cover both English and Spanish. I am sometimes able to follow along surprisingly! When I think I got it completely though that's when I get lost. I love helping everyone come unto Christ though so even if I don't understand everyone I try, ha ha!
So, here's where we get to the amazing miracle of the week! So, our neighbor Brenda lives literally 5 feet from our door, because it's an apartment complex. We have gotten to know her very well from conversations, running into each other, and it's been great! Elder Langford told me he was never really too sure that we should share the gospel with her though, otherwise things could get awkward. I admit I wasn't too big a fan on that. So, this last Wednesday night we were talking to Brenda and she just told us how she was having a hard time with her family not too happy with her because she got into a car crash and is now being sued for it. We didn't really know what advice to give her, because she asked us, "what would you do?" I knew that Brenda needed to hear about the gospel, because that's the only thing I know that could help her then and there and forever. The Spirit was very strong too, in prompting me to talk to her about the gospel. We introduced the Book of Mormon and taught Brenda the Restoration, answering all the questions she had along the way. She took it all in. You could see the Spirit working through her, like a light was turned on and she was recognizing the truth we put in front of her. At the end of the lesson we testified of the Book of Mormon, a favorite thing of mine to do. I also had the opportunity to invite Brenda to baptism. I'll never forget her answer as she thought for a few seconds, looked me right in the eyes and said yes so very sincerely. Brenda has been reading the Book of Mormon now and has done every homework assignment we've given her! She came to church with us this past Sunday and a returning Sister missionary gave her homecoming talk. The Spirit was so strong and Brenda loved every bit of it and easily made friends with all of the members! Brenda is going to be baptized this month on the 28th! Brenda also shared with us that we were the first Mormons to reach out to her since 1988! She had an LDS friend back then who introduced Brenda and her family to the Gospel. Brenda almost got baptized then, but her husband at the time was against the church. Now here we are 26 years later! Isn't it amazing how Heavenly Father prepares people to receive the Gospel and puts them at the right place at the right time? Elder Langford and I have been working hard to help people come unto Christ and be baptized. We're just happy that we've been obedient to have the Spirit with us to help Brenda in her time of need. There are no such thing as coincidences in the Gospel.
Well, that about sums up our week, but something funny is that there is a family in our Branch that is exactly like the Croods! The mother asked me, "Can't you see it?" I couldn't help laughing and saying yeah ha ha!
Love y'all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
Wow, you are both awesome parents! Dad, Happy Father's Day! It's early but I'll be late if I said that next week! Also, Happy late birthday! I honestly have lost track of how old you are. That could be a good thing right? Well, I loved the graduation pictures! I had voice recordings to send this week and a picture I think, but of course, I forgot my stuff at home...again.
This week has been pretty crazy, awesome regarding miracles, zone conference and spanish lessons. I don't remember too much about who spoke, but I remember that we learned some principles that we can apply to our missionary service to help the tiny branches that we serve. I may have said this before but branches are crazy, ha ha. Also regarding Spanish, we do splits with the Spanish elders when we carpool to certain areas for the day because of the large area we cover. So, we're able to cover both English and Spanish. I am sometimes able to follow along surprisingly! When I think I got it completely though that's when I get lost. I love helping everyone come unto Christ though so even if I don't understand everyone I try, ha ha!
So, here's where we get to the amazing miracle of the week! So, our neighbor Brenda lives literally 5 feet from our door, because it's an apartment complex. We have gotten to know her very well from conversations, running into each other, and it's been great! Elder Langford told me he was never really too sure that we should share the gospel with her though, otherwise things could get awkward. I admit I wasn't too big a fan on that. So, this last Wednesday night we were talking to Brenda and she just told us how she was having a hard time with her family not too happy with her because she got into a car crash and is now being sued for it. We didn't really know what advice to give her, because she asked us, "what would you do?" I knew that Brenda needed to hear about the gospel, because that's the only thing I know that could help her then and there and forever. The Spirit was very strong too, in prompting me to talk to her about the gospel. We introduced the Book of Mormon and taught Brenda the Restoration, answering all the questions she had along the way. She took it all in. You could see the Spirit working through her, like a light was turned on and she was recognizing the truth we put in front of her. At the end of the lesson we testified of the Book of Mormon, a favorite thing of mine to do. I also had the opportunity to invite Brenda to baptism. I'll never forget her answer as she thought for a few seconds, looked me right in the eyes and said yes so very sincerely. Brenda has been reading the Book of Mormon now and has done every homework assignment we've given her! She came to church with us this past Sunday and a returning Sister missionary gave her homecoming talk. The Spirit was so strong and Brenda loved every bit of it and easily made friends with all of the members! Brenda is going to be baptized this month on the 28th! Brenda also shared with us that we were the first Mormons to reach out to her since 1988! She had an LDS friend back then who introduced Brenda and her family to the Gospel. Brenda almost got baptized then, but her husband at the time was against the church. Now here we are 26 years later! Isn't it amazing how Heavenly Father prepares people to receive the Gospel and puts them at the right place at the right time? Elder Langford and I have been working hard to help people come unto Christ and be baptized. We're just happy that we've been obedient to have the Spirit with us to help Brenda in her time of need. There are no such thing as coincidences in the Gospel.
Well, that about sums up our week, but something funny is that there is a family in our Branch that is exactly like the Croods! The mother asked me, "Can't you see it?" I couldn't help laughing and saying yeah ha ha!
Love y'all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
6/2/14
That's super weird that Luke will soon be the oldest one in the house for awhile... I wish I could be there to support Alex but I believe being out here is the best way to help out Alex and everyone. I'll have to see some pictures of Alex's graduation next time! How did it go? Did everyone have an awesome time?
So, my week was pretty sweet! I would say the funniest thing that happened this week would be... Well, that's a tough one. One I can remember was yesterday when Brother Berryman, an older member of the branch, said during Linger Longer, "There's watermelons growing up my cucumber vines." It was pretty funny, ha ha! Maybe you had to be there but it's a funny branch! We love it! Now, the most spiritual thing that happened this week... also a tough one. I would say that was yesterday. So, we were going to see one of our investigators and we missed the turn for her street, but we just said, "Hey, we can still get to her place turning on the next street." So, we did that and we ended up running into her son Alvin! He's about 16. We talked with him a bit and he said we could go to his house for a lesson. It was just him home. So, we went into the Plan of Salvation and the spirit was very strong as we got into the lesson. He had a lot of questions for us that we were able to answer. He also doesn't know a lot about Jesus Christ. I was able to have the opportunity to testify to him about how much the Savior and our Heavenly Father love him and how the Atonement is the greatest act of love ever performed and how the Atonement works and how we're able to repent of our sins. In that same lesson we also talked about the Book of Mormon and testified of it's truthfulness and invited Alvin to read 3 Nephi 11. Promising Alvin that he will be blessed and that he will find out if what we taught him was true by sincere study and prayer is my favorite thing to do with everyone we teach! After the lesson, Elder Langford and I were just thinking, "We never would have taught Alvin if we missed that first turn." We were truly guided by the Lord, and it's funny that even we missionaries don't always recognize when that happens!
So, the most inspiring thing that I studies this week would have to be about Nephi, the son of Helaman. Nephi never wavered to keep the commandments of God. There is one moment when he is about to return to his home after already fulfilling a commandment God had given him and he is then commanded to go forth and preach the Gospel. Nephi doesn't even go home to rest after receiving this commandment. He immediately goes forth and fulfills God's commandment. That's definitely something I can apply to my life as a missionary and for the rest of my life! We can always do better.
I will send a picture of me and my companion next week. I didn't realize I didn't have one. My address is:
325 2nd St
Apt. 108
Blackstone, VA 23824
I love y'all!!!
-Elder Austin Mounts
"When we strive to do our best, we will always succeed." I don't know if I quoted that word for word but it's from Elder Ballard.
That's super weird that Luke will soon be the oldest one in the house for awhile... I wish I could be there to support Alex but I believe being out here is the best way to help out Alex and everyone. I'll have to see some pictures of Alex's graduation next time! How did it go? Did everyone have an awesome time?
So, my week was pretty sweet! I would say the funniest thing that happened this week would be... Well, that's a tough one. One I can remember was yesterday when Brother Berryman, an older member of the branch, said during Linger Longer, "There's watermelons growing up my cucumber vines." It was pretty funny, ha ha! Maybe you had to be there but it's a funny branch! We love it! Now, the most spiritual thing that happened this week... also a tough one. I would say that was yesterday. So, we were going to see one of our investigators and we missed the turn for her street, but we just said, "Hey, we can still get to her place turning on the next street." So, we did that and we ended up running into her son Alvin! He's about 16. We talked with him a bit and he said we could go to his house for a lesson. It was just him home. So, we went into the Plan of Salvation and the spirit was very strong as we got into the lesson. He had a lot of questions for us that we were able to answer. He also doesn't know a lot about Jesus Christ. I was able to have the opportunity to testify to him about how much the Savior and our Heavenly Father love him and how the Atonement is the greatest act of love ever performed and how the Atonement works and how we're able to repent of our sins. In that same lesson we also talked about the Book of Mormon and testified of it's truthfulness and invited Alvin to read 3 Nephi 11. Promising Alvin that he will be blessed and that he will find out if what we taught him was true by sincere study and prayer is my favorite thing to do with everyone we teach! After the lesson, Elder Langford and I were just thinking, "We never would have taught Alvin if we missed that first turn." We were truly guided by the Lord, and it's funny that even we missionaries don't always recognize when that happens!
So, the most inspiring thing that I studies this week would have to be about Nephi, the son of Helaman. Nephi never wavered to keep the commandments of God. There is one moment when he is about to return to his home after already fulfilling a commandment God had given him and he is then commanded to go forth and preach the Gospel. Nephi doesn't even go home to rest after receiving this commandment. He immediately goes forth and fulfills God's commandment. That's definitely something I can apply to my life as a missionary and for the rest of my life! We can always do better.
I will send a picture of me and my companion next week. I didn't realize I didn't have one. My address is:
325 2nd St
Apt. 108
Blackstone, VA 23824
I love y'all!!!
-Elder Austin Mounts
"When we strive to do our best, we will always succeed." I don't know if I quoted that word for word but it's from Elder Ballard.
5/27/14
This week has been pretty good. I've noticed that in this area you have to be very bold with the people you teach, otherwise everything will just go over their heads or they're probably just drunk like one of our investigators usually is. We're referred to the Jesus Boys here, ha ha! Anyways, we found a new investigator named Marshall this week. He's a 7th Day Adventist. Brief background, they don't believe in a Pre-Mortal life or that Jesus Christ is the literal son of God. So, when we were teaching the Restoration, it was kind of hectic between him and Elder Langford. It wasn't like bashing, but it was close. Finally, I opened up my mouth and said to Marshall, "Marshall we're not tearing down what you believe in. We're simply trying to help you increase your faith in Jesus Christ. That book (The Book of Mormon) contains the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything we have to teach you is in that book. I know it is the word of God. I've read and prayed about it sincerely desiring to know and act on my answer. All we do is invite you to do the same." (It's not exactly word for word but close.) As I testified to Marshall of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, the Spirit came back into the room and I was just the mouthpiece of the Holy Ghost. I had the Holy Ghost testify to me again that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and does contain the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I even almost started crying as I testified to Marshall. Elder Langford said, "Man, that was powerful. I could tell you were getting emotional because of how powerful the spirit was."
The amazing thing though was it wasn't until I really just wanted Marshall to know what I know that I said those things. Everything comes back to love. We have to love people. If they do, then every other commandment will be fulfilled that has been given to us, or we will keep every other commandment.
Yesterday, I also had an experience teaching our investigator, Ira. He's 59 and was baptized into a Baptist church. He's usually drunk when we see him, but he was sober a little bit that day. We reviewed the Plan of Salvation with him because he didn't remember anything we taught him last time we went over it. When I invited him to be baptized he said he already had been baptized. I couldn't leave it at that though, so I just told him the truth and brought up how only one church has the Priesthood authority to baptize and that is found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I testified about the Book of Mormon and how he has to read it to find out if what we taught him really is true. We also told him that he needs to come to church. He told us that he'll come to church one day. He also told us that, that got him thinking (the baptism and priesthood authority) and that he would definitely read and pray. We told him to just start in the beginning, 1 Nephi 1.
So, I've been reading the war chapters this week in the Book of Mormon. I could have finished Alma this morning, but I think I will tonight! I'm a fan of the war chapters. It's amazing to see the faithfulness the Nephite leaders had as well as the soldiers themselves. None of them fought for gain, glory, wealth or praise. They fought for their families, religion, country and liberty. They always trusted in God in all things. They were constantly seeking his direction in their lives. I honestly see how we can apply that to our lives. I mean, we're not fighting a war with swords these days, it's more like words and persecutions and vain things of the world. Prayer plays a huge role in helping us stay close to Heavenly Father during the trials we're given to endure in this life.
Also, for tips in getting everyone to understand the scriptures when reading them. Honestly, you both have done this, just ask inspired questions about the reading every few verses. So, those aren't yes or no questions. Just make them ponder on what's being read.
I'm doing great food wise! Loving my chicken and rice! Oh and don't forget oatmeal for breakfast! It's cheap and easy and delicious! I got my peas too! I think I'll be saving next month with the system I've got going now! Also, my new favorite snack food, I may have mentioned this, carrots and peanut-butter! Yum! Also, thanks for the pictures! I'm loving them! I'll be sending you a few after I send this email!
Love y'all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
This week has been pretty good. I've noticed that in this area you have to be very bold with the people you teach, otherwise everything will just go over their heads or they're probably just drunk like one of our investigators usually is. We're referred to the Jesus Boys here, ha ha! Anyways, we found a new investigator named Marshall this week. He's a 7th Day Adventist. Brief background, they don't believe in a Pre-Mortal life or that Jesus Christ is the literal son of God. So, when we were teaching the Restoration, it was kind of hectic between him and Elder Langford. It wasn't like bashing, but it was close. Finally, I opened up my mouth and said to Marshall, "Marshall we're not tearing down what you believe in. We're simply trying to help you increase your faith in Jesus Christ. That book (The Book of Mormon) contains the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything we have to teach you is in that book. I know it is the word of God. I've read and prayed about it sincerely desiring to know and act on my answer. All we do is invite you to do the same." (It's not exactly word for word but close.) As I testified to Marshall of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, the Spirit came back into the room and I was just the mouthpiece of the Holy Ghost. I had the Holy Ghost testify to me again that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and does contain the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I even almost started crying as I testified to Marshall. Elder Langford said, "Man, that was powerful. I could tell you were getting emotional because of how powerful the spirit was."
The amazing thing though was it wasn't until I really just wanted Marshall to know what I know that I said those things. Everything comes back to love. We have to love people. If they do, then every other commandment will be fulfilled that has been given to us, or we will keep every other commandment.
Yesterday, I also had an experience teaching our investigator, Ira. He's 59 and was baptized into a Baptist church. He's usually drunk when we see him, but he was sober a little bit that day. We reviewed the Plan of Salvation with him because he didn't remember anything we taught him last time we went over it. When I invited him to be baptized he said he already had been baptized. I couldn't leave it at that though, so I just told him the truth and brought up how only one church has the Priesthood authority to baptize and that is found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I testified about the Book of Mormon and how he has to read it to find out if what we taught him really is true. We also told him that he needs to come to church. He told us that he'll come to church one day. He also told us that, that got him thinking (the baptism and priesthood authority) and that he would definitely read and pray. We told him to just start in the beginning, 1 Nephi 1.
So, I've been reading the war chapters this week in the Book of Mormon. I could have finished Alma this morning, but I think I will tonight! I'm a fan of the war chapters. It's amazing to see the faithfulness the Nephite leaders had as well as the soldiers themselves. None of them fought for gain, glory, wealth or praise. They fought for their families, religion, country and liberty. They always trusted in God in all things. They were constantly seeking his direction in their lives. I honestly see how we can apply that to our lives. I mean, we're not fighting a war with swords these days, it's more like words and persecutions and vain things of the world. Prayer plays a huge role in helping us stay close to Heavenly Father during the trials we're given to endure in this life.
Also, for tips in getting everyone to understand the scriptures when reading them. Honestly, you both have done this, just ask inspired questions about the reading every few verses. So, those aren't yes or no questions. Just make them ponder on what's being read.
I'm doing great food wise! Loving my chicken and rice! Oh and don't forget oatmeal for breakfast! It's cheap and easy and delicious! I got my peas too! I think I'll be saving next month with the system I've got going now! Also, my new favorite snack food, I may have mentioned this, carrots and peanut-butter! Yum! Also, thanks for the pictures! I'm loving them! I'll be sending you a few after I send this email!
Love y'all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
5/19/14
I don't have any pictures to send this week because all of my stuff is in my backpack. We had a miscommunication about going to WalMart and coming back for our stuff before we went to email. So, I have nothing on me today.
Well, Wayne's baptism was wonderful! The Spirit was very strong and he was very excited to see me! It kind of caught me off guard, but he told me he never would forget me or Elder Skinner and that he sincerely meant that. Wayne is going to be a great member! Before the baptism, Wayne, Elder Skinner, Elder Schumacher and myself prayed and Wayne was the voice of the prayer. He is one of the most sincere people I know and he just told God how ready he is to follow Him and strive to constantly do God's will. After that, we started the service and Elder Skinner had the privilege of baptizing Wayne. He probably has helped Wayne out the most, and Wayne is so appreciative of him. Elder Schumacher and I also taught the Restoration while Wayne and Elder Skinner were changing. I did not know I would be doing that until the last minute, lol! It went well though and the Spirit was continually there during the whole service. It was great to be a part of Wayne's baptism and to have it on the same day as Ellie"s baptism! I'm very happy to hear about your experience Ellie! I still remember how I felt on my baptism day! I don't think I could ever forget it. Dad baptized me and I think Grandpa Mounts confirmed me a member. Were you able to be confirmed in sacrament meeting?
Wow, it does sound like this week really is busy for y'all! I remember that it was always busy this time of year with all the choir events, but now that everyone is in sports now too. I can't imagine how much running around that has to be! I mean, I guess I can imagine it a little bit because I feel like that's what we do a lot out here in the boonies! Lots of driving.
I'm adjusting a lot better this third week. I was in a bit of a culture shock from going to the suburbs close to downtown Richmond, but now I'm where no one has ever been before unless they live here, ha ha. Elder Langford is great! His sense of humor is pretty hilarious and can be different, ha ha. He is also a scary driver, sometimes taking corners too fast for my taste. At this point, I don't know what we've learned from each other just yet, but I'll be looking for something. We work very well together though and it's great!
Our teaching pool is pretty big, but it's always a matter of setting up appointments and catching people when they're home because people here don't like to set up times to meet too much. They're all also a little content with us coming over and that being it, so not too much progression yet. We're always inviting people to baptism though and inviting people to continually study and ponder the Book of Mormon, because everything we have to teach them comes from the Book of Mormon and they have to learn things for themselves. We're working on it. I also haven't seen anything yet because time is very short and the nearest Post Office is a ways away.
The weather is getting too warm now...I remember the summer from last year and I'm not excited for another one. This is probably the only time I wish I had a car. I can have a bike in the cold and deal with it, but the summers are brutal because of the humidity. It doesn't help when we wear dark slacks all the time either, but we wear shorts when we can like during service or sports or on a P-Day. Oh, would you be okay with sending my baseball glove out here? There are some missionaries that have gloves and are looking to play some ball on P-Days. I finally have found more people that like baseball! WooHoo!
I'm eating well too! I've figured out how to spend $15 on food for the beginning of the month and have that food last for 2 weeks! Well, most of it! I need to restock on chicken. I have definitely learned how to get the most with the least, if that makes sense. A very useful skill to have I think!
Love y'all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
I don't have any pictures to send this week because all of my stuff is in my backpack. We had a miscommunication about going to WalMart and coming back for our stuff before we went to email. So, I have nothing on me today.
Well, Wayne's baptism was wonderful! The Spirit was very strong and he was very excited to see me! It kind of caught me off guard, but he told me he never would forget me or Elder Skinner and that he sincerely meant that. Wayne is going to be a great member! Before the baptism, Wayne, Elder Skinner, Elder Schumacher and myself prayed and Wayne was the voice of the prayer. He is one of the most sincere people I know and he just told God how ready he is to follow Him and strive to constantly do God's will. After that, we started the service and Elder Skinner had the privilege of baptizing Wayne. He probably has helped Wayne out the most, and Wayne is so appreciative of him. Elder Schumacher and I also taught the Restoration while Wayne and Elder Skinner were changing. I did not know I would be doing that until the last minute, lol! It went well though and the Spirit was continually there during the whole service. It was great to be a part of Wayne's baptism and to have it on the same day as Ellie"s baptism! I'm very happy to hear about your experience Ellie! I still remember how I felt on my baptism day! I don't think I could ever forget it. Dad baptized me and I think Grandpa Mounts confirmed me a member. Were you able to be confirmed in sacrament meeting?
Wow, it does sound like this week really is busy for y'all! I remember that it was always busy this time of year with all the choir events, but now that everyone is in sports now too. I can't imagine how much running around that has to be! I mean, I guess I can imagine it a little bit because I feel like that's what we do a lot out here in the boonies! Lots of driving.
I'm adjusting a lot better this third week. I was in a bit of a culture shock from going to the suburbs close to downtown Richmond, but now I'm where no one has ever been before unless they live here, ha ha. Elder Langford is great! His sense of humor is pretty hilarious and can be different, ha ha. He is also a scary driver, sometimes taking corners too fast for my taste. At this point, I don't know what we've learned from each other just yet, but I'll be looking for something. We work very well together though and it's great!
Our teaching pool is pretty big, but it's always a matter of setting up appointments and catching people when they're home because people here don't like to set up times to meet too much. They're all also a little content with us coming over and that being it, so not too much progression yet. We're always inviting people to baptism though and inviting people to continually study and ponder the Book of Mormon, because everything we have to teach them comes from the Book of Mormon and they have to learn things for themselves. We're working on it. I also haven't seen anything yet because time is very short and the nearest Post Office is a ways away.
The weather is getting too warm now...I remember the summer from last year and I'm not excited for another one. This is probably the only time I wish I had a car. I can have a bike in the cold and deal with it, but the summers are brutal because of the humidity. It doesn't help when we wear dark slacks all the time either, but we wear shorts when we can like during service or sports or on a P-Day. Oh, would you be okay with sending my baseball glove out here? There are some missionaries that have gloves and are looking to play some ball on P-Days. I finally have found more people that like baseball! WooHoo!
I'm eating well too! I've figured out how to spend $15 on food for the beginning of the month and have that food last for 2 weeks! Well, most of it! I need to restock on chicken. I have definitely learned how to get the most with the least, if that makes sense. A very useful skill to have I think!
Love y'all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
5/12/14
I don't really know what to say in this email because I said it all yesterday, ha ha! I'm happy too that we got the chance to skype yesterday! I was very worried we wouldn't find a place to do it out in the boonies! I'm still in a bit of a culture shock from going to suburbs to Richmond to almost the middle of nowhere! I'm loving it though! I'll send you those pictures now and I'm looking forward to telling you more about my missionary adventures!
Love y'all!
I don't really know what to say in this email because I said it all yesterday, ha ha! I'm happy too that we got the chance to skype yesterday! I was very worried we wouldn't find a place to do it out in the boonies! I'm still in a bit of a culture shock from going to suburbs to Richmond to almost the middle of nowhere! I'm loving it though! I'll send you those pictures now and I'm looking forward to telling you more about my missionary adventures!
Love y'all!
5/5/14
I'm not exactly sure where to start right now, so I'll just jump into it and see what happens. So, Elder Bednar came to our mission and they combined it with the Chesapeake mission. It was very cool! I saw every single person from my MTC District! That was cool and exciting! Saddest thing though is that I saw Elder Gremmert from a distance but he didn't see me and by the time the meeting was over I could't find him. It's okay though, it was a great meeting with an apostle.
The meeting was three hours long of just having Elder Bednar on the stand after the General Authorities and Sister Bednar spoke. Want to know something funny and unexpected? Elder Bednar is VERY funny! He's great when it comes to involving us as well and loving us. He's very humble and sincere. He didn't really give a talk at all. He had us study 3 talks of his the week before and the meeting was more of a discussion in which we were involved in asking and answering questions back and forth with Elder Bednar. I didn't ask him any questions but now I wish I had. However, all of my questions were answered that day. The number one thing that stuck out to me, or that I learned was that a testimony is a knowledge of spiritual truths that you have obtained. Conversion, however, is applying your testimony to everyday life. You have to live your testimony, you have to live the Gospel. That is the only way one becomes converted. One can go through the motions, but until our will is alligned with God's will, we will not become converted. I also recorded the whole thing on my voice recorder. It's about 3 hours so I can't send the file because it's TOO big, ha ha! I will have that with me all the time now! Another thing I learned is how we can best sustain our leaders, mainly the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is to love the Savior. If we truly love the Savior then everything else will fall into place because we will be, as I said earlier, allighned with God's will.
So, now to answer the next question regarding transfers since we just got transfer calls last Saturday...I am getting transferred! I don't know where though. We find out the day of the meeting. They keep changing how they do transfers. Elder Skinner has taught me and continues to do so, how to open us and say what's wrong when I'm frustrated or upset with him. I usually go straight to the silent treatment and bottle everything up. It's not good and I know that, but I'm doing better. I still don't like opening up too much, it's hard. We listened to a talk this morning that brought up marriage and it said how we are not supposed to do that. I was like, "Oh, man." Good thing the mission is practice!
Kate and Ellie, how's it going? I got to talk about your pig yesterday Kate, Bacon Jr.! The members we ate at, the Lipscombs, thought it was pretty cool that you are raising another pig! Also, people think it's cool that you, Ellie are getting baptized soon!
Mom, you aren't idle at all. When I read that part regarding Laman and Lemuel in unwillingly keeping the commandments at times, I thought of myself. Sometimes, I even feel like that as a missionary, like when I feel like I just don't want to do anything today and just relax. It's worth it to go out and work though and be obedient because I've noticed the huge difference when once isn't. You have to be obedient if you want to have the Spirit!
Well, I don't know what else to say...Oh! I'll text you the information regarding skype the night before. If I don't call you in the morning of Mother's day regarding the time we will skype. I sure hope my companion has everything set up already so that we're not struggling to set this up at the last minute. :) I love you all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
I'm not exactly sure where to start right now, so I'll just jump into it and see what happens. So, Elder Bednar came to our mission and they combined it with the Chesapeake mission. It was very cool! I saw every single person from my MTC District! That was cool and exciting! Saddest thing though is that I saw Elder Gremmert from a distance but he didn't see me and by the time the meeting was over I could't find him. It's okay though, it was a great meeting with an apostle.
The meeting was three hours long of just having Elder Bednar on the stand after the General Authorities and Sister Bednar spoke. Want to know something funny and unexpected? Elder Bednar is VERY funny! He's great when it comes to involving us as well and loving us. He's very humble and sincere. He didn't really give a talk at all. He had us study 3 talks of his the week before and the meeting was more of a discussion in which we were involved in asking and answering questions back and forth with Elder Bednar. I didn't ask him any questions but now I wish I had. However, all of my questions were answered that day. The number one thing that stuck out to me, or that I learned was that a testimony is a knowledge of spiritual truths that you have obtained. Conversion, however, is applying your testimony to everyday life. You have to live your testimony, you have to live the Gospel. That is the only way one becomes converted. One can go through the motions, but until our will is alligned with God's will, we will not become converted. I also recorded the whole thing on my voice recorder. It's about 3 hours so I can't send the file because it's TOO big, ha ha! I will have that with me all the time now! Another thing I learned is how we can best sustain our leaders, mainly the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is to love the Savior. If we truly love the Savior then everything else will fall into place because we will be, as I said earlier, allighned with God's will.
So, now to answer the next question regarding transfers since we just got transfer calls last Saturday...I am getting transferred! I don't know where though. We find out the day of the meeting. They keep changing how they do transfers. Elder Skinner has taught me and continues to do so, how to open us and say what's wrong when I'm frustrated or upset with him. I usually go straight to the silent treatment and bottle everything up. It's not good and I know that, but I'm doing better. I still don't like opening up too much, it's hard. We listened to a talk this morning that brought up marriage and it said how we are not supposed to do that. I was like, "Oh, man." Good thing the mission is practice!
Kate and Ellie, how's it going? I got to talk about your pig yesterday Kate, Bacon Jr.! The members we ate at, the Lipscombs, thought it was pretty cool that you are raising another pig! Also, people think it's cool that you, Ellie are getting baptized soon!
Mom, you aren't idle at all. When I read that part regarding Laman and Lemuel in unwillingly keeping the commandments at times, I thought of myself. Sometimes, I even feel like that as a missionary, like when I feel like I just don't want to do anything today and just relax. It's worth it to go out and work though and be obedient because I've noticed the huge difference when once isn't. You have to be obedient if you want to have the Spirit!
Well, I don't know what else to say...Oh! I'll text you the information regarding skype the night before. If I don't call you in the morning of Mother's day regarding the time we will skype. I sure hope my companion has everything set up already so that we're not struggling to set this up at the last minute. :) I love you all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
4/28/14
Sounds like an awesome week! Way to go Ellie for doing softball! I miss playing baseball a lot and being determined to hit the ball every time I got up to bat! Who asked Alex to the prom? That's very exciting! I feel like I just went...Weird. So, all of your questions pretty much are answered with Michael's baptism! This is my favorite part of missionary work, helping someone enter into the waters of baptism! You really do develop a love for the people you teach even though you have never met them before! Michael was baptized and confirmed a member yesterday because he was leaving to move to Utah the next day. It is going to be a five day trip! He will be in Provo! The spirit was so strong at Michael's baptism. We knew, everyone there knew, that what Michael was doing was the step God wanted Michael to take in his life. I was privileged to be a witness and it's something special to be sure the ordinance is done correctly. I feel like I was able to focus on the ordinance more. When Michael came up out of the water he just stood there speechless, then smiled and hugged his former college cross country coach who baptized him. He looked at us and smiled too! That's the greatest feeling when the person you have taught recognizes and feels the spirit.
During the time Michael and Brother Tucker were changing back into church dress, Elder Skinner and I had the opportunity to teach the Restoration. This was my first time teaching it at a baptism! We had another one of our investigators there too. Wayne Smith, he's very sincere like Michael. Wayne is scheduled to be baptized on May 17th! As we taught the Restoration, the Spirit was there with us and filled up the room and it was there already, it just grew stronger. Wayne had tears in his eyes as we bore testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel and the Priesthood. We connected it with the Book of Mormon and the reason as to why we were serving our mission. Michael also shared his testimony of coming to know of the truthfulness of the Gospel. The day and week couldn't have been any more perfect!
I was able to also give a talk on the Holy Ghost. I had things brought to my remembrance as I prepared myself! I was able to share with Michael how to receive the Holy Ghost is a commandment and we can be worthy of his Spirit if we remain worthy to our baptismal covenants. I also told him how to recognize when we receive promptings from the Holy Ghost. It will be something that will not go away, or be erased from our minds. It is the spirit speaking to our spirit and it leaves a distinct impression on us.
I am excited for Michael and I can't wait to hear more from him! He gave me a space pen before he left and that thing is pretty cool. Also, yes, I am still with Elder Skinner. We do receive transfer calls this Saturday though so we will find out if we are together for his final transfer! I'm kind of hoping so and so does he!
I hope you got my pictures! I sent them recently! I love you all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
Sounds like an awesome week! Way to go Ellie for doing softball! I miss playing baseball a lot and being determined to hit the ball every time I got up to bat! Who asked Alex to the prom? That's very exciting! I feel like I just went...Weird. So, all of your questions pretty much are answered with Michael's baptism! This is my favorite part of missionary work, helping someone enter into the waters of baptism! You really do develop a love for the people you teach even though you have never met them before! Michael was baptized and confirmed a member yesterday because he was leaving to move to Utah the next day. It is going to be a five day trip! He will be in Provo! The spirit was so strong at Michael's baptism. We knew, everyone there knew, that what Michael was doing was the step God wanted Michael to take in his life. I was privileged to be a witness and it's something special to be sure the ordinance is done correctly. I feel like I was able to focus on the ordinance more. When Michael came up out of the water he just stood there speechless, then smiled and hugged his former college cross country coach who baptized him. He looked at us and smiled too! That's the greatest feeling when the person you have taught recognizes and feels the spirit.
During the time Michael and Brother Tucker were changing back into church dress, Elder Skinner and I had the opportunity to teach the Restoration. This was my first time teaching it at a baptism! We had another one of our investigators there too. Wayne Smith, he's very sincere like Michael. Wayne is scheduled to be baptized on May 17th! As we taught the Restoration, the Spirit was there with us and filled up the room and it was there already, it just grew stronger. Wayne had tears in his eyes as we bore testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel and the Priesthood. We connected it with the Book of Mormon and the reason as to why we were serving our mission. Michael also shared his testimony of coming to know of the truthfulness of the Gospel. The day and week couldn't have been any more perfect!
I was able to also give a talk on the Holy Ghost. I had things brought to my remembrance as I prepared myself! I was able to share with Michael how to receive the Holy Ghost is a commandment and we can be worthy of his Spirit if we remain worthy to our baptismal covenants. I also told him how to recognize when we receive promptings from the Holy Ghost. It will be something that will not go away, or be erased from our minds. It is the spirit speaking to our spirit and it leaves a distinct impression on us.
I am excited for Michael and I can't wait to hear more from him! He gave me a space pen before he left and that thing is pretty cool. Also, yes, I am still with Elder Skinner. We do receive transfer calls this Saturday though so we will find out if we are together for his final transfer! I'm kind of hoping so and so does he!
I hope you got my pictures! I sent them recently! I love you all!
-Elder Austin Mounts
4/21/14
This week has flown by and we have had some amazing miracles happen! So, I may have mentioned this last week but two new investigators of our, pretty much popped up out of nowhere and came to us prepared to receive the Gospel into their lives! Michael wants to be baptized more than anything right now and he will be getting baptized next Sunday and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost that day as well! He will be moving to Utah the next day and is looking forward to continue his eternal progression.
Wayne came to church again this last Sunday too! It was his first full time at church and he brought a friend! He is already being a missionary! He's gone through a lot and I don't know anyone who could be more grateful and humble than Wayne. We taught the restoration and a little bit about the Plan of Salvation with him after church. He gave some great input in our gospel principles class too. We taught that day and it was all about the Atonement and the Resurrection. Perfect for Easter Sunday! He also committed to being baptized on May 17th! My favorite part of that lesson was promising Wayne that he would receive an answer before that time that what we are teaching him is true and that the Book of Mormon is true and that the fullness of Christ's gospel can be found in the Book of Mormon. The spirit is always there when you testify of truth and do so from your heart.
Michael and Wayne are incredibly sincere and so I know God will answer their prayers and lead them on the path to eternal life.
That's really cool that Trent was able to speak in church last Sunday. I wish I could have been able to hear his talk! Glad to hear everyone else is doing great and doing what they love and progressing!
Love y'all!
-Elder Mounts
This week has flown by and we have had some amazing miracles happen! So, I may have mentioned this last week but two new investigators of our, pretty much popped up out of nowhere and came to us prepared to receive the Gospel into their lives! Michael wants to be baptized more than anything right now and he will be getting baptized next Sunday and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost that day as well! He will be moving to Utah the next day and is looking forward to continue his eternal progression.
Wayne came to church again this last Sunday too! It was his first full time at church and he brought a friend! He is already being a missionary! He's gone through a lot and I don't know anyone who could be more grateful and humble than Wayne. We taught the restoration and a little bit about the Plan of Salvation with him after church. He gave some great input in our gospel principles class too. We taught that day and it was all about the Atonement and the Resurrection. Perfect for Easter Sunday! He also committed to being baptized on May 17th! My favorite part of that lesson was promising Wayne that he would receive an answer before that time that what we are teaching him is true and that the Book of Mormon is true and that the fullness of Christ's gospel can be found in the Book of Mormon. The spirit is always there when you testify of truth and do so from your heart.
Michael and Wayne are incredibly sincere and so I know God will answer their prayers and lead them on the path to eternal life.
That's really cool that Trent was able to speak in church last Sunday. I wish I could have been able to hear his talk! Glad to hear everyone else is doing great and doing what they love and progressing!
Love y'all!
-Elder Mounts
4/14/14
I'm doing pretty fantastic! Especialy this week! We had some crazy miracles happen way us in the way of finding new investgators. One, was a self referral from mormon.org! He's 27 and his girlfriend is mormon. She lives in Utah. They have had a long history and to shorten it up, he was intrigued a few years ago about eternal marriage and has learned a little bit from his girlfriend since then. He has had some events happen in his life that have led him to come closer to God and he has been reading the Book of Mormon, all before we met him We're also the first missionaries he's met with! So, when we got the referral I called him up and left a message. A few minutes later he calls us back and we set up an appointment with him that day! He's bee prepared and he's going to be baptized when he moves to Utah at the end of the month!
Our second miracle happened this Sunday right after Sacrament meeting! (Michael came by the way!) An older gentleman, Wayne, walked in dressed for church and started asking about the services to one of our members! The member then handed Wayne off to us and we asked him if he would like to stay and learn more, come next week, and meet with us again during the week. He agreed to all three! Wayne said he felt so loved and very good while he was there. It was great too, because the whole Sunday was focused on the Savior and His atonement! If you've heard of the conversion story of Glen Beck, that's kind of how Wayne's is. We found both of these brethren from praying for Heavenly Father to lead us to those He has prepared to receive the Gospel. Our prayers were answered and Heavenly Father has put His trust in us to help these men! I am so grateful and excited!
Now to answer your question about Marti, she isn't committing to anything anymore other than reading and appointments. Doesn't come to church, or commit to baptism. It's very sad. From what we've gathered, just from being with her a lot and teaching her, she is looking for a church that teaches for convenience only, and not commitment. She has her agency and we still love her, but it can be frustrating and sad just because we know how the Gospel is the perfect thing for her and everyone!
The funniest thing that happened this week was yesterday actually. We were at a members, the Tate's, for dinner and this guy is probably around Garrett's age. Maybe I just say that because he reminds me exactly of Garrett ha ha! So Elder Skinner couldn't lie about what he's going to be doing when he gets home because they asked if he had a girl waiting. He said, "Well, I'm actually getting married in July..." Brother Tate flips out and asks, "ARE YOU ON CRACK?" It was so funny! I wasn't expecting it so my food almost flew out of my mouth!
Now, one major thing I've admired and gradually learned from Elder Skinner is once he sets a goal, he sticks to it! It's nice! I hope we're together for his last transfer in May to June!
Something that could be included in the package...hemming instructions? I thought I could figure it out, but I don't dare try after looking at everything! Glad to hear that Luke got to speak! It's crazy how old he looks now! I'll have to send some new pictures of them soon. I don't have any pictures of Marti.
I love you all!
-Elder Mounts
I'm doing pretty fantastic! Especialy this week! We had some crazy miracles happen way us in the way of finding new investgators. One, was a self referral from mormon.org! He's 27 and his girlfriend is mormon. She lives in Utah. They have had a long history and to shorten it up, he was intrigued a few years ago about eternal marriage and has learned a little bit from his girlfriend since then. He has had some events happen in his life that have led him to come closer to God and he has been reading the Book of Mormon, all before we met him We're also the first missionaries he's met with! So, when we got the referral I called him up and left a message. A few minutes later he calls us back and we set up an appointment with him that day! He's bee prepared and he's going to be baptized when he moves to Utah at the end of the month!
Our second miracle happened this Sunday right after Sacrament meeting! (Michael came by the way!) An older gentleman, Wayne, walked in dressed for church and started asking about the services to one of our members! The member then handed Wayne off to us and we asked him if he would like to stay and learn more, come next week, and meet with us again during the week. He agreed to all three! Wayne said he felt so loved and very good while he was there. It was great too, because the whole Sunday was focused on the Savior and His atonement! If you've heard of the conversion story of Glen Beck, that's kind of how Wayne's is. We found both of these brethren from praying for Heavenly Father to lead us to those He has prepared to receive the Gospel. Our prayers were answered and Heavenly Father has put His trust in us to help these men! I am so grateful and excited!
Now to answer your question about Marti, she isn't committing to anything anymore other than reading and appointments. Doesn't come to church, or commit to baptism. It's very sad. From what we've gathered, just from being with her a lot and teaching her, she is looking for a church that teaches for convenience only, and not commitment. She has her agency and we still love her, but it can be frustrating and sad just because we know how the Gospel is the perfect thing for her and everyone!
The funniest thing that happened this week was yesterday actually. We were at a members, the Tate's, for dinner and this guy is probably around Garrett's age. Maybe I just say that because he reminds me exactly of Garrett ha ha! So Elder Skinner couldn't lie about what he's going to be doing when he gets home because they asked if he had a girl waiting. He said, "Well, I'm actually getting married in July..." Brother Tate flips out and asks, "ARE YOU ON CRACK?" It was so funny! I wasn't expecting it so my food almost flew out of my mouth!
Now, one major thing I've admired and gradually learned from Elder Skinner is once he sets a goal, he sticks to it! It's nice! I hope we're together for his last transfer in May to June!
Something that could be included in the package...hemming instructions? I thought I could figure it out, but I don't dare try after looking at everything! Glad to hear that Luke got to speak! It's crazy how old he looks now! I'll have to send some new pictures of them soon. I don't have any pictures of Marti.
I love you all!
-Elder Mounts
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