December 20, 2010

Merry Christmasssss! I can't believe Christmas is this week! I feel like there's so much I need to update you on and I probably can't remember everything. You both look SO good! You look so happy and you're glowing for real. You definitely have the light of Christ in you! I love it. It also looks like you're having a wonderful time in Hawaii. I'm jealous but at the same time not because I love the mission. You know this. I'm excited to talk to you on Christmas. It will be great. I'll probably call in the afternoon so you can be up. Maybe around 9 or 10 AM your time. Man I can't believe it's already time for me to call you again. Mother's Day seems like it was just yesterday. Crazy. Alex Crook is going on a mission!? That's awesome. Tell her I say congratulations and tell me where she's going when you find out.

So this week was good. I said goodbye to Elder Packard on Tuesday when we dropped him off in Longwood. Then drove down to the mission office to pick up my new companion. I was standing outside the door and someone opened it quickly and almost tackled me haha. It was Elder Summers! Man it was so good to see him. He's doing awesome. Then I met my new companion named Elder Whitworth. He's from Provo. He lives out kinda by Geneva Rd and Center St. He's a good missionary. Out here for the right reasons. We're doing very well together. The first thing we did after we dropped his bags off was went tracting. And guess where we tracted...grandpa's street. His next door neighbors almost ruined it though! We contacted them and they were like "Oh yeah we know all about the Mormons. Our neighbor Vic Altamore (grandpa) is a member. He has told us all about the Church." So I was trying to rush them and I just gave them a pass-along card and said see ya hahaha. Then I had to lie to Elder Whitworth and tell him that Brother Altamore lived on the other side of the neighborhood. So we got to grandpa's house and and the prank goes down. Same thing he did to me. It was so funny! We got the whole thing on my camera. Elder Whitworth had no idea. Good times.

Thursday we had another appointment with Tom and Jessica. They haven't come to church the past two weeks...bummer. And she doesn't want to set another baptism date. Some people are hard to work with. They are great though. It's just hard to help people realize that waiting to get baptized is like telling the Lord you don't want blessings right then and that you'd rather wait. One day I will invent a chip that I can download all of the information in my brain to and plug it in to people's heads so they can understand the things that I understand about the gospel. One day. Then we got a call from a member in the New Smyrna Beach ward and she gave us a referral for a lady that was in the hospital because her water broke and she was only 20 weeks pregnant. She wanted us to go and give her a blessing. We did and it was a really great experience. The Spirit was so strong in that room. We had the opportunity to share the gospel with them after and give them some Book of Mormons. It was a spiritual experience.

Saturday we had the ward Christmas party at the church. It was fun. Such good food. They put on the nativity and sang some songs. The theme was "A Night in Bethlehem" so everyone came dressed up and they made the gym a little marketplace. They actually did a really great job. It looked real. I wore those cool pj's you sent me to it haha. I love those! They are awesome. Elder Whitworth wanted me to thank you for them as well. He's a lot shorter than me but they fit him alright haha. Oh and thanks for the pants too. That's EXACTLY what i was talking about. And they fit great. But Jeremy and Pam came to the Christmas party and brought a friend also. They had a really good time.

Sunday they only investigator at church was Pam. She'll be getting baptized on 1/1/11. I just got a phone call that she fell down some stairs at work and hurt her foot pretty bad. So pray that she can still get baptized on the first haha. Thanks. That family is so cool. We're going over there to eat tonight. They are making a bunch of green food for Elder Whitworth hahaha. Shh...secret.

So that was my week. Hope you're having a bunch of fun in Hawaii. Love you! Talk to you soon!

--

Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh

December 13, 2010

Mannn I can't believe you are in Hawaii! That’s great. It sounds like you're already having a really good time. I’m glad. Dad careful on the road to Hana. Seriously...hahahahahaha! I didn't know that you were going with the Overtons. Wish them a merry Christmas for me.


So on Saturday we found out that Elder Packard is getting transferred to Longwood in Orlando. I’ll be staying here and I’m training again! I’m so stoked. And we're going to get him so good with “Grandpa” hahaha. I’m going to record it so eventually I’ll send it home somehow. Guess who came back! I forgot to tell you. I think. Elder Summers! It was a few weeks ago. But he's training this transfer too so I’ll see him down at the mission office tomorrow. So glad he's back.

So I’ll tell you about my week. It was such a good one. We taught the seminary class on Wednesday morning at 6 am. I give those kids huge props for waking up that early. They get up before we do to go to seminary. There was only 3 boys there though ha-ha. It was still good though. There are only about 8 that attend anyway. The teacher wanted us to talk about our conversions, decision to go on a mission, trials and sacrifices on the mission, and the blessings of it as well. It went well. Being a seminary teacher would be SO hard. Pharrell. So hard.

We set 5 more baptism dates this week. So we have 6 total. Jessica, Sheryl, Shae, Pam, Shante and Greg. Sheryl and Shae are two people that we tracted into recently. Met with them and set dates for January 1st. Shante finally came to church with her boyfriend Greg. They said they wanted to get married and then baptized. Perfectttt. So we set their dates for January 23rd. Shante was taking notes and stuff in the young single adult’s class. So sweet.

Alright now I’ll tell you about Pam. On Wednesday night we were at the church for a meeting (which no one showed up to ha-ha) and a man (Jeremy) and a woman (Pam) walk in and ask some of the youth leaders for the bishop. He was just right there so they went over and started talking to him and saying how they wanted to meet the missionaries too. So the bishop, we, and Jeremy and Pam all met in the bishop's office and talked for a while. They said that Jeremy had been less active for a while and really wanted to come back to church. And that Pam wasn't a member and wanted to get baptized. It was a MIRACLE! And they are SO cool. I love them. We’ve met with them a few times since Wednesday and they came to a priesthood fireside to learn about the organization of the priesthood (which was such a spiritual meeting. it was basically just a one on one with Pam, Jeremy, and the teacher cause no one else showed up ha-ha). We are helping Jeremy get ready to receive the priesthood as well so everything is so good with them. The Lord blessed us so much with them and he is blessing them as well. Pam is getting baptized on the 26th.

Then Tom and Jessica...sad stuff with them. Jessica had a miscarriage earlier this last week. And they were struggling with money and keeping their house. So things are going kinda crappy for them right now. Keep them in your prayers please. But on a good note: that money you gave me to bless someone's life this Christmas went to good use. ever since they told me they were about to lose their house I had been praying a lot to see if giving them the money was the proper way I should use that money. Then the answer finally came that I definitely should give it to them. While Elder Packard and I were over at their house with a member the Spirit told me "what is money?" and then I got to thinking "money is a worldly thing". So the Spirit taught me some cool stuff and told me to give them the money. I couldn't deny it. So I took all that money, the money that Grandma and Grandpa gave me, and some funds from my card, then Elder Packard helped too, and we were able to give them enough to finish off the rest of the rent that they owed. It felt so good. Giving is great! Man I’ve learned so much on the mission ha-ha.

Oh and a less active member that we have been trying to get to church forever came on Sunday! Which was sweet. We go to his house on Sunday mornings to wake him up to come because he works reallyyy late. Or early I guess ha-ha. But we went yesterday and his son answered and said he wasn't feeling well. So we were bummed but then he showed up! Awesome. It was an AMAZING Sabbath day. And G-pa made us some scrumptious French toast yesterday after church which was so yummy.

So that was my week. Everything here is great. I love you both! Enjoy Maui and don't get sunburned. It’s freezing here ha-ha. Weird.

--

Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh

December 6, 2010

Hey! That Christmas present was the coolest thing ever! I was so happy and thankful when I opened that huge package ha-ha. I kept saying "hmm...I think my parents love me." Hahaha. So far I have that wood ornament from Jerusalem, the grow-your-own tree (which is fully grown), the scared of Santa book, the nativity tie, the cologne (smells so good), and the Elder dubee fresh ornament ha-ha. I love it all and am excited to open the rest. THANK YOU! I can't believe it's almost Christmas.

We had leadership training with President Hall all day Tuesday which was so good. He melted my face. I love President and Sister Hall. They are so cool and way spiritual. Everything President Hall says is killer. He truly is called of God. Then I went to the mission office and they had a wheel for me with a disk brake on it. Perfect. The Lord blessed me. So I don't need to worry about the bike anymore thankfully.

Saturday we had a movie night at the church that the four of us put together. We watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. So awesome. The Spirit is so strong in it. We were hoping more non-members would come but all together it was a good turnout. I think it helped the members feel the Spirit and understand the importance of sharing the gospel. We had some refreshments after. It was a good night.

 We received a call this week from a guy who said he was less-active and he just got out of the military. His wife is a non-member and wants to get baptized. They recently found out that she is pregnant and they want to raise their family with the church. So we're teaching them, getting him active again, and her baptized. It was definitely a blessing. We have been praying for miracles and we're seeing the fruits of it. We set a date with her for the 19th but after church Sunday she decided to push it back a little. We still have to talk to her about it. They both felt the Spirit really strongly in testimony meeting though. They both shed some tears. I love the HOLY GHOST! Yes!

Ha-ha anyway...that's about it. This week was good. Life is good. God is good :) ha-ha I love you both so much. Can’t wait to talk to you on Christmas! Have a blessful week!

--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh

November 29, 2010

Hey Mom and Dad.

I heard that you got stuck in Vegas because of snow! Bummer. I’m sorry. Hope you get home safe. This week was crazy. So crazy. Let’s start with Thanksgiving Day. In the morning we went to go play football with a bunch of people at a park. That was fun. And muddy. So then we were driving home. Let me set the scene for you. The road we were on has just recently opened up because they were doing construction on it for a long time. They are still doing construction on it but it's open to drive on. One lane going each way. On our right was a ditch. Elder Moore was driving, I was in the passenger seat, Elders Packard and Parsons were in the back. In the distance I see this girl riding a bike in the MIDDLE of the street. Right on the yellow lines. We’re going 40 mph. All of a sudden the girl swerves right in front of us. Elder Moore slams the brakes and we swerve. The girl rides into the ditch and falls on her back. We freak out. Park. And run over to her. If we hit her she would have been gone. Dead. This other guy driving saw what happened and came over too. We all started talking to her and we helped her get up. We called 911 but she said that she didn't need the ambulance to come. Right when I started talking to her I could smell alcohol. The other guy left and we talked to her some more. We find out her name is Laura and she is like 30. We told her that we were missionaries (even though we were way dirty from football). We told her we didn't normally dress like that ha-ha. And she explained how her grandma had just died and she started drinking again because of it. She told us how a lot of crazy things have happened to her in her life. She said she wanted to stop drinking and all this other stuff. We explained that it was no coincidence that we almost killed her ha-ha. We all testified of the love that God has for her and how she can change. We talked to her for a really long time but she was very thankful for us and she gave us all hugs and her information. And now Elder Moore and Elder Parsons are teaching her because she lives in their area. WE ALMOST KILLED HER! Like so close. Now she's going to get baptized ha-ha. Hopefully.

So there's more: Later that night we all ate dinner at a members' house. They also showed us their 3D TV which is SO sick. Anyway we were driving home from that and this car next to us was swerving allllllll over the road. It was an older lady. And we knew she was drunk. And I mean drunkkk. She was stopping at green lights and stuff hahaha. We followed her and called 911 because we didn't want her to kill herself or anyone else. She pulled into this neighborhood and almost crashed like 10 times. She pulled into a driveway and parked. We all got out of the car and went to talk to her to tell her she needed to stop driving ha-ha. But she wouldn't open the door or roll down the window. Then she started backing out of the driveway. I think we scared her. She almost hit the mailbox and almost ran me over too hahaha. We followed her again and she parked in another random driveway. The cop finally came and we watched him talk to her. It was pretty funny. Then the cop drove her home. It was just a crazy day. You don't get to call 911 two times in a day normally ha-ha. So that was Thanksgiving Day.

Then the next day we went to the mall for black Friday to see if we could get some good deals on ties. They had some awesome deals but I didn't buy any. Then later in the day we went to the Turkey Rod Run at the Daytona Speedway. It's this HUGE car convention. People come from all over with their nice cars and hot rods. The cars cover the entire speedway. We walked soooo far looking at all the cars. We got in free because the scouts had a hot dog stand thing. So that was sweet. Then Saturday we helped the Lunas (recent converts) put up Christmas lights. Awesome family. Then Sunday we tracted this area that wasn't too ghetto. Still ghetto. But not way ghetto. Then got picked up the go eat dinner at a member's house. We ate about 3 pounds of fish each. It was SO good. Anyway...he took us in his truck to go pick up the bikes and take us home. And someone stole my front tire, rim, disk brake, and front light. Not cool ha-ha. I was surprisingly chill about it though. I’ve learned to be that way. The Lord has helped me with that a lot. So if you could send me that other Visa gift card that I have as soon as possible it would be great. I need a new rim ha-ha. Thankfully this week is our car week and it happened the last day of our bike week. Maybe they needed the rim more than I did. I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.

But other than all that crazy stuff...this last week was pretty slow for the work. Thanksgiving put a lot of things on hold. Oh something cool though. Alvelo was supposed to come to church but didn't make it. We went by his house in the morning to pick him up but he wasn't there. Then when we were waiting for Brother Barrett to pick us up for dinner, guess who comes walking down the street to us? Yep. Alvelo. We were way far away from his house too. He said that he was over at his father's house for the weekend so he couldn't make it to church. But he said that he's been reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it. He's so cool. He'll get baptized. The Lord put him in our path. So cool. No such thing as a coincidence! Never! So that was my week. Love you both!

--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh

November 22, 2010

Greetings from the Sunshine State to the gloomy Winter State.

Ha! Just kidding. Sorry...but at least you only have like 5 or 6 months of snow. Hahahahahahahahahahaha! Just kidding. Sorry...sounds like you are busy back home. That’s good. This email might be short.

Dad to answer your questions, the district covers 4 companionships. The main cities it covers is New Smyrna Beach, Daytona Beach, and Bunnell. I try to go on exchanges every week. In fact I’m going to New Smyrna Beach tomorrow to exchange and also interview one of their gators getting baptized on Saturday.

This week was alright. Nothing big. On Thursday night Elder Packard and I went to the church to learn how to make empanadas. It was us and like 25 relief society ladies hahaha. It was great. I made a beef one and E. Packard made a cherry one. They didn't turn out looking that good but they were yummy. Friday night I interviewed the Daytona North elders' 7 PEOPLE that got baptized on Saturday. So many people. They are all really cool. It’s fun to interview people for baptism. "Spiritchal." It’s uplifting to hear people answer the questions about the gospel. It was a great baptismal service too. I was able to confirm one of them in sacrament meeting also. Then Sunday, Alvelo came to church. He stayed for sacrament and gospel principles. When we were walking out to give him a ride back home he said he learned a lot and really enjoyed it. He asked if he could bring a friend next week. We were like "uhhh...YES! Bring anyone!" Haha he's cool though. 20 year old black guy with sick dreads. His date is for December 11th. So everything is going well. Trying to find families.

I’d appreciate if you threw some prayers my way so the Lord will bless us with elect families to teach. Thank youuu! I love you both! Have a blessful week! Preach the gospel without restraint!


--

Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh

November 15, 2010

Helloooooo.

What’s up!!! I’m going to answer all your questions first. Yes I have a picture of me wrestling an alligator. But I need to find another way to send them to you because the computers in the office at the complex are locked up. I’ll figure something out soon. Dad...don't get your underwear in a bundle :)

I’ll spend Thanksgiving at the church probably. They have a dinner thing every year I think. We’ll see. Yes you can send things directly to my apartment. I’m drinking the protein shake. It’s good. I have a blender. For Christmas I’d really appreciate if I could get some more socks because all of them have at least one hole in the toes. And some black pants (that fit well :) like straight leg and a little skinny (but not too skinny ha-ha) that I can throw in the washing machine. Maybe ones that fit like my dress slacks that I came out with but not slacks. Get it? Maybe? Oh well ha-ha. Yes you need to go to Sundance and explain that the pass is on hold or something. My teeth are the same.

My week was gooooooood. We set two baptism dates. One with this guy named Alvelo for Dec. 4 (but he didn't come to church so we have to move it back a week). And then one with this wayyyyy solid girl named Shante for Dec. 11. Trysta is still doing well. She couldn't make it to church though...too bad. So we have 3 dates. And then we had two different investigators come to church. Mildred and Alicia. Mildred is this older black lady that is such a sweet woman. And her friend Alicia is cool too. They stayed for all three hours and I’m pretty sure they enjoyed it. Our priesthood class got out late so they bounced before we were able to talk to them. Before I got here Elder Packard had been working with Mildred for a long time and she had never come to sacrament meeting because of her attachment to her other church. She said she knows that everything that we teach is true though: Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, the whole nine. But we just have to get her some friends at the Jesus' church so she can feel comfortable there! She came to General Conference. And she came Sunday. So that's twice. That means that if she'll accept a baptism date she can get baptized this month. It’s the miracle we've been praying for. Keep Mildred in your prayers to get baptized and confirmed this month please.

The rest of the week was pretty slow just because of a bunch of meetings and other things. But things are looking good. I feel like I’m forgetting to tell you something...hmmm...I don't remember. Sorry ha-ha. Maybe I’ll remember later. Oh heyyy could you get me a copy of the General Conference Ensign? I would love my own copy. Thanks :) That's all folks! Love you! Have a blessed week.

--

Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh

Photos, November 15, 2010

Wrestling an alligator!!! Whoo!

Huge gator!

Even old ladies can wrestle gators! Yeeeee hawwww!

Elders Rydalch, Fullmer, Brown, me

Elder Langarica and me (I realized i'm obsessed with thumbs up hahaha)

Elder Packard and me

"Grandpa" and me

Elders Packard, Moore, me, Packard

Is that a missionary doing a wheelie? Yeah...it is.

Elder Moore and me after church

Biking at night

Beach puh eee duh ayyy

November 9, 2010

Hey!


I forgot to wish you a happy anniversary. I’m sorry ha-ha. HAPPY 25 FREAKING YEARS! That’s a long time. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Hawaii will be fun too ha-ha.

It feels like a long time since I’ve emailed you. I feel like a lot happened this last week. Last Monday Elders Fullmer, Rydalch, Brown, and I went to Gatorland. I bet you can figure out what it is just from the name. A park that has a lot of gators ha. It was a good time. I wrestled an alligator. Pretty cool.

Then on Tuesday I drove up to Daytona with some members from hunter's creek. I live with Elders Packard, Moore, and Parsons. Elders Moore and Parsons are our zone leaders and Elder Moore is my old district leader from down in Stuart so that's cool. Elder Packard is the man. I love him. They’re all awesome.

So I got situated and stuff and Elder Packard told me we had a media referral to go see. So we get there and through the door we hear this guy yelling at this other guy on the phone. We heard him yelling about how he "wanted his 50 g's back" and he was getting tickeddd. So he came to the door and asked what we wanted and thought we were Jehovah’s Witnesses. He let us in and told us to sit down. He was still talking to this guy on the phone though, so we were just waiting for him to finish. He talked for probably another 5 minutes or so about how this guy he was talking to borrowed $50,000 and went to Las Vegas and spent it on "some bimbo" hahahaha. He was crazy. I was just sitting there thinking he was in the mafia or something. And this whole time I saw a gun sitting on this chair so I knew he meant business. He picked up the gun while talking to the guy about how he was going to send his "Haitian friend" to get him. He was saying a lot of really funny stuff too that I probably shouldn't tell you ha-ha. But then he gets off the phone and tells us how this guy is going to get messed up really bad if he doesn't get his money back. He told us about his new "piece" that he just bought and I was just sitting there thinking this guy is freaking insane ha-ha. Then he asked why we were there and we told him we were there to share a message about Christ. He said "oh is that the guy those bums nailed to the cross?" So I just was thinking to myself "wow this is going to be really interesting." He said that some other guys came by the other week and gave him a book. He walked over to the table and picked up a book and started walking it over to us to show us. Then he threw it into my lap. I looked at it. And it was the Book of Mormon. Right then I knew that I just got punk'd hahaha. Right when I looked at it I said "Ahh you guys are so lame!" and started laughing. Then Elder Moore and Elder Parsons came running out from the kitchen laughing. They recorded it on a camera too. It was really funny. The crazy guy who was on the phone is the infamous "Grandpa". He's a convert of about 5 or 6 years and he loves the missionaries. He always pranks the new missionaries that come into the area. They got me pretty good ha-ha. After that, he took us out to eat and he has taken us out to eat a lot since then. He treats the missionaries really well. He bought us all Oscar de la Rocha sweaters for the winter. He's so cool. I love him ha-ha. He's hilarious.

Besides that I’ve just been trying to get to know all the members in the ward and stuff. The ward is really cool. And Daytona is AWESOME! I love it. It's just straight ghetto. Like guh-heh-tuh-ooo. Some of the people are hilarious. We tracted into this lady named Trysta and have taught her and set a date with her for December 4th. She came to church on Sunday too so that was great. She said she felt like the testimonies being born were speaking directly to her. So that's some good stuff right there. Yesterday was good too. Zone conference was amazing. Elder Zivic was awesome. Our new goal as a mission is one baptism per companionship per month. It used to be 100 a month. But with this new vision, things will run a lot better I feel. And everyone will be more unified in everything. It's going to take a miracle for Elder Packard and me to get a baptism this month. Because the investigators have to come to church 3 times before getting baptized and there are only 3 more Sundays in this month and the weekend after the 3rd will be in December. we want to try to work with some part-member families and see if we can have some success with that so we can get a baptism this month.

I love missionary work Mom and Dad. I feel like it's just pumping through my blood. I’m so used to the lifestyle that it's going to be really weird when I’m done. I’ve been thinking about that lately. It's just the way I live right now. I can't imagine not doing it actually. I wake up every day with missionary work on my mind and try to find ways to help people accept Christ. All day. Every day. I LOVE it. I’m becoming so much more receptive to the Holy Ghost Mom and Dad. It's the best. I am able to recognize answers to prayers allllllll the time! I am so much more in tune with the Spirit. I hope and pray that I can stay this way foreverrrrrrr :)

I’m not going to be able to make it to Doreen’s baptism. I have been asking president about it and yesterday at zone conference I asked him about it again and he asked me if it would take away from the work in my area. And I told him that we didn't have anything going on this Saturday so he said he'd pray about it. Then while I was sitting in the meeting listening to Elder Zivic I started to think about the baptism and the Spirit told me that I didn't need to go. It told me that Doreen will be fine and that Elder Fullmer and Elder Wood (his new companion) have everything covered. As much as I want to go, I can't deny the answer I received ha-ha. I’ll be working finding people to be baptized up here where my stewardship is! I told Elder Fullmer to send me a picture though. So that'll be cool. Anyway that was pretty much my week. but I love you both so much. I hope you have a great week. Keep it reallllll!

p.s. This computer I’m on has the computer locked in a cabinet so I can't send pictures right now. I’ll have to find some other way.

--

Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh

November 1, 2010

Hey Moms and Dad. 

I can't believe you cheated. I was excited to tell you where I was going and you already know. That’s not fair. Ha-ha. Cheaters. But yeah my new area is Daytona South. And I got called to be a district leader up thurr. My new companion is Elder Packard. He came out with Elder Fullmer so he's been out for two transfers. I’m pretty sure he's from Bountiful, Utah. Elder Fullmer said he's a cool guy so that's good. And yeah I’ll most likely be there for Christmas.

It sounds like you had a good week. And a good Halloween with the family. Ha I bet Grandma looked so good. I’m really glad you went to Chase's homecoming. I miss that fool! I’m also SO glad to hear that Linda’s tests came back negative. That makes me really happy. She’s been in my prayers and still will be :).

So my Halloween was missionary-ish. Wednesday was the ward party and that was pretty fun. Shorter than I thought it would be but a good time. I just dressed up as a missionary. You’ll see from the pictures I attach ha-ha. But then on Halloween (yesterday) we didn't do anything cool. It was stake conference and that was alright...a little boring not going to lie, ha. But then Elder and Sister Campbell fed us all lunch at their apartment. Then later in the night we just visited some members so I could get some pictures. Other than that, we had president's interviews last Wednesday and that was good. I love President and Sister Hall. They are so cool. President is so funny ha-ha. He’s a goon.

Doreen is still good for November 13th as of right now. Please pray for it to go through on THAT day. She’s ready. And yesterday I asked president if he could find it in his heart to let me go to the baptism. And he just might let me do it :) so that's awesome. Hopefully it works out.

But besides that...I’m outtt. Love you both soOoOOoooooOOOOoOooo much! Have a blessful week.
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh

Photos, November 1, 2020

Me and Allison (cutest little girl ever that does magic tricks for me haha)

Elder Wilks and me. we didn't plan to dress up the same but kind of did.

 

 

Mafia guy, nerdy missionary, nerdy missionary, weird Spanish guy, east side Elder Superhero

 

Me and the Joker

 

Elder Fullmer, Brian, Therma, Amanda, Sammy, Christian, me

 

 

Weird

 

Cliche? Yes. Awesome? Yes.

 

 

Elders Rydalch, me, Brown, Fullmer

 

Elder Fullmer, Doreen, me

Us and David Dalton (a member that always came on exchanges with us)

 

 

Christian having too much fun with silly string.

The Orantes family (they make some yummyyy Guatemalan food)

 

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Bye bye Elder Wilks

 

 Elders Schow, Gregson, me, swift, Lewis all just lookin fresh.

October 25, 2010

Hey hey heyyy. I’m glad you enjoyed the video from Brother Dion. He’s the man. We went to the BEST Cuban restaurant ever! It was so freaking good hahaha. I loved it. Just to answer some of your questions: we're having a ward party this Wednesday at the church. The ASL sisters are going to decorate a door and we are providing the candy. It’s going to be fun. The little kids will be trick or treating in the church. I don't know what I’m going to dress up as yet. I should probably figure it out though because it's coming up. Maybe I’ll dress up as the Book of Mormon or something like that. About transfers...I find out if I’m leaving or staying this Saturday so I’ll let you know next week. I have no idea what's happening to me so I’m a little anxious ha. Oh and thank you for the package! I loved all the stuff in it. About elder summers...I got a package of a bunch of sugary foods from him and a letter the other week. I wrote him back and he should be coming back out soon. Stoked about that. Tell Jake I say good luck with the National Guard thing. One of the counselors in the elder's quorum did that whole thing and he learned mandarin Chinese. I was actually talking to him about it yesterday at church. It seemed pretty intense.


This week was awesome. We set a date with this Vietnamese girl named Vy (pronounced vee) for November 20th but then we went back on Friday and she wasn't there so we'll see what happens with her. We only met with José for about 5 minutes on Saturday. We’re going to see if he's going to take it seriously and live the commandments that we've taught him and stuff. We might end up dropping him if he doesn't progress. That’s the way the cookie crumbles...but we taught a lot of other cool people this week. We taught a Chinese family with a RM that went to Canada, Mandarin speaking. All of our investigators in our teaching pool are foreigners haha. We’ve been giving out all these crazy languages for the BOM. Two Mandarin, one Vietnamese, one French. And they're all really cool but we just need to get them all to church! That’s always the problem. But it will work itself out somehow. On Saturday morning we ate breakfast at a members' house. The Pease family. That was fun. Then after that we went to help out a kid in the ward working on his eagle project. I remembered how much I appreciated the help I received for mine so I wanted to help him out. He’s collecting children's books to donate to the local library so we went around and put grocery bags with information on doors. Then Sunday, Doreen came to church like always. She was the only one there though. Then we ate a HUGE dinner at the Mapakoi's house. They always feed us so much food and make us eat it all ha-ha. They’re a really cool family. Samoans. Then we got an awesome call last night. Doreen called and said that she wants to get baptized on the 13th of November! It was great. Because up until that point she wouldn't accept a date. So she called us and set one herself! The best. Hopefully I’ll be able to be here for it. I either have to not get transferred or get transferred to an adjoining zone. We’ll see what happens. So that was my awesome week.

Love you both! Have a blessful week.

--

Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh

Photos, October 25, 2010

Happy birthday Elder Rydalch (we all dressed up in his clothes and took a picture on his bed)

All the greenies (I don't like that word but I have to use it to explain this picture haha) just happened to be wearing green at district meeting so I used this great setting on my camera :) I'm an artist . . . I know.

District Meeting

Brother and Sister Mapakoi

Elder Fullmer and me, with Brother and Sister Mapakoi

October 18, 2010

Hey Family. It’s me, Elder E.


Dad, I’m glad you talked to Therma ha-ha. She’s cool. I love her family. And yeah I met the Hamilton’s at church on Sunday. They have a son that graduated from Timpview with me. He’s serving his mission in Tennessee right now. They said someone that met their son sent them a picture of him. So they did the same for you ha-ha. It was cool. And Brother Hamilton knows mike Mullen (my MTC companion) because he serves in a church calling with his dad. So I talked to him about Mike and it was cool. He should be coming out soon! So stoked.

The weather is getting so nice! This is why people live in Florida. Winter time. Not summer. Summer = not fun. Maybe when I’m old and rich I can become a snowbird like all the other people that come here in the winter ha-ha. But this last week was an interesting one. We’ve been meeting with José a lot and he just has a straight up hard life. We went over to teach him the gospel of Jesus Christ and it turned into a huge tangent (like always ha-ha) and he was just telling us all this stuff about his life and it made us really sad. When we left we just wanted to start crying ha-ha. But it honestly made me SO thankful for the life that you both have provided me with. My life has been easy. I am so grateful for you both! I love you guys so much!!! We’ve also been teaching Doreen and it's a struggle. We’re trying to help her increase her faith and recognize the Holy Ghost. It’s really hard. She awesome and wants to do what's right but it's hard to find ways to help her. Keep her and José in your prayers please. We’re going to put them both on the prayer list at the temple. Speaking of the temple...how often are you both going? You should go a lot! The temple is the best! It blesses us with our Heavenly Father's love and power, while at the same time blesses those spirits waiting for their work to be done. I wish we could go more but I guess that's not what my calling is right now. Once a quarter will suffice :)

Mom, here are the answers to your questions:

1. I went to two different orthodontists. The first said that he didn't do retainers for people that he didn't put braces on. So he referred me to another one and they said I could either get braces on my front few teeth on top or get the gaps filled in with fake stuff. No thanks. I’d rather just wait and take my chances on you randomly finding my retainer ha-ha. That would be the best situation.

2. I’m sleeping great now. I stopped taking that medicine a long time ago because I didn't like it. But I’m sleeping really well. It’s a blessing for sure.

3. I don't think I need anything but thank you for asking! I’ll probably be sending a package home soon with things that I don't want with me like some books and other things. I don't know when I’ll get around to it but sometime soon hopefully.

Well...I love you both so much and hope you have an amazazing week! Be blessed family.

--

Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh

Photos, October 18, 2010

Steak n shake...mmmmmm...

October 11, 2010

Hello my family. First of all, Dad...HAPPY BIRTHDAY on Friday! I hope it's the best one ever! Here’s a hug from 3000 miles away: O. so yesterday was 10/10/10. It was pretty epic. I recorded my watch turning to 10:10:10 pm on 10/10/10 and it was a party. Exhilarating. 

So this week was gooooooooood. Doreen is progressing really well. But will you keep her in your prayers so that she can understand the BOM and that her family will support her. So we found out that José has schizophrenia (I think that's how you spell it). We’re still trying to work with him though. We were supposed to give him a blessing yesterday but he wasn't able to make it to church because of a death in his family. We’re still teaching Sister Christopher. I think I told you about her. On Saturday morning we went over to her house with a member and she fed us lunch after we taught her a lesson. Then we helped her organize her garage a little bit. Service is great. I’m going to serve you both more when I get home ha-ha. We also taught this awesome family of 5 on Saturday night. We aren't meeting with them for a couple weeks though so I’ll tell you about them later. Other than that we've just been working trying to find more people to teach. Today is zone p day and we're going to play dodge ball at the church. It’s going to be great. I feel like I’m forgetting to tell you something but that's all I can really think of right now ha-ha sorry.

I love you guys so much though. Have a great week! Stay fresh and be blessed! Oh by the way can you get me Bud's email address as well as matt's? I'd really appreciate that. I need to talk to them! Thanks :)

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Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh