August 6, 2011

Hi my wonderful family!

Things are going great. Elizabeth is getting baptized this Thursday. Then Alex the next Saturday. Then Huan the next Saturday.

Listen to this cool story about Huan: We taught this girl in our ward named Hannah the other week and helped her with her missionary work. We role played with her and had an awesome experience where she really figured out what it was that she needed to do in a certain situation. It was great. Anyway we promised her that before she left on the 12th of August she could find someone to accept the Gospel and be baptized. The Spirit was super strong. Anyway, so on Sunday we see her walk into Church with another guy who we had never seen before and she just had a huge smile on her face. Elder Gregson and I were both thinking "YESSS!" She did it. It was so cool, she was so happy. That's why missionary work is so cool. You're just so happy when people accept the Gospel.

So the person she brought is named Huan. He is Vietnamese. He's really cool. The next day we taught him at the Church with Hannah there too and had an amazing lesson. He accepted to be baptized on the 27th of this month. Then at the end he prayed and said one of the best prayers I've ever heard on my mission. So sincere. And the Spirit just filled the room. Corner to corner, top to bottom. I felt like I was on cloud 9 during the whole prayer because I was just so stoked for Huan and the journey that he was beginning.

I love working with the YSA ward. The ward is definitely performing. We will be getting a ton of new CPs within the next couple of weeks so Elder Gregson and I are going to pump them up quick so they can get focused on missionary work right away. There are soooo many people in the College Program waiting to be baptized. It's unreal. We just have to have the members find them.

We had a testimony building experience the other night. We were teaching Alex and her roommate Lyn Thursday night. We were focusing a little more on Lyn because she had a ton of questions and we were trying to help her understand. And she brought up the Sabbath day because she had heard us talk to Alex about it in a previous meeting. She started talking about how she doesn't think that shopping and things like that on Sundays are ways of breaking the Sabbath. Then all of a sudden Alex jumped in and just TOTALLY stood up for the Church and for the Sabbath. It was so cool! She bore her testimony about it. Elder Gregson and I were looking at each other with our jaws dropped because we were so proud of her. You could just see the Spirit working through her. It was great.

So we're meeting with Lyn again tonight. Hopefully it goes well. She is an awesome girl. Really outgoing and has a way strong faith in Christ. She is getting stuck on the Book of Mormon though. If only she understood the power that the Book of Mormon has within it. And that it doesn't take anything away from the Bible. I have gained such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon on the mission. I will NEVER deny it. Ever. It's sad to see people not even give it a chance. They don't accept it before they even read it. If they just humble themselves a little by cracking it open and reading they can feel the power of it. I love it. I've gained a strong testimony of the Bible too. It's cool to see how the Book of Mormon and the Bible have their unique stories to them but they go so well together. Hmm...it must be like God wrote both of them or something...haha. Please pray for Lyn to feel the Holy Ghost as she reads the Book of Mormon.

So we had an amazing experience this morning during companionship study. We were role playing for our investigator Mike, who I have never taught but Elder Gregson has. So he was Mike and I was Elder Engemann aka me. The first and second time we practiced I didn't even know where I was going and I couldn't feel the Spirit at all. I was just pulling random words out of my head. I was trying but it just wasn't working. I truly did have a "stupor of thought". Then we tried it a third time. This time, after we had started role playing, we said a prayer. The Spirit came and from that point was the teacher, not me (thankfully). As we went on the Spirit was there the whole time and it told us exactly what it was that Mike needed to hear. It was so comforting to sit there after the role play, relieved, with a confidence in our hearts from the Holy Ghost that THAT is what he needs to hear. The Spirit is such an incredible source.

So...life is good! And crazy busy. This next week is Zone Conference. Tuesday-Thursday. Three separate meetings. And Elder Gregson and I are training on Accountability. Please pray for us to have the Holy Ghost with us as we teach. Thank youuuu! :) But I hope you have an awesome week! LOVE YOU!!! Oh to answer your question: we don't bike anymore haha.

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Elder Austin Gable Engemann