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Saturday, February 18, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
February 6, 2012: Austin's FINAL email before returning home!
Hello!
Thanks for your excited emails haha. I loved them! This week was soooo good! Monday night we went to the Wilson's house to have a FHE/scripture study with them and their niece Alex was there. She sat in with us and we ended up teaching her about the restoration of the gospel. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted a date for February 25th! She's really cool.
Tuesday we met with Sister Old and found out that she had smoked since Sunday. We had a really really Spirit-driven, long talk with her and she committed to stop for good. FOR GOOOOOD! All week we were praying day and night for her. Praying SO hard. And Saturday came along...and she got baptized!!! It was a miracle. It was the best baptism service of my entire mission. Short, straight to the point, and super spiritual. As we were in the font I was just burning inside. The best burning ever! I raised my arm to the square and said the prayer slowly. The Holy Ghost was right there with us. Very strong. I opened my eyes after saying "amen" and Sister Old had tears in her eyes. Then she went under and came back up a new person. All of her past mistakes...gone. It was the greatest way to spend my last Saturday in Florida.
Then Sunday was the best Sunday ever too! Sister Old got confirmed. I bore my testimony and was filled with the Spirit. And one of our investigators, Lene, who has been investigating the church for like 50 years got up and bore her testimony saying that she felt a strong peace that she had never felt before and that she knew the Book of Mormon was true! Coolest thing. Then I got to say by to everyone that I have grown to love in the Winter Garden ward.
It's so weird that I'm coming home in two days. I can't believe it. I am really excited to see you Mom and Dad. So stoked!!!!!! And all my other family and friends. It will be a sweet experience for me. So tomorrow I'll drive down to the mission home to be with President and Sister Hall, the Assistants, and all the departing missionaries. We will eat lunch, have a little "goodbye" meeting, go to the Temple to do a session, eat dinner, have a testimony meeting, then go to sleep. And then I'll see you the next day. Be prepared for a bear hug! I love you both so much. See you soon :)
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Thanks for your excited emails haha. I loved them! This week was soooo good! Monday night we went to the Wilson's house to have a FHE/scripture study with them and their niece Alex was there. She sat in with us and we ended up teaching her about the restoration of the gospel. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted a date for February 25th! She's really cool.
Tuesday we met with Sister Old and found out that she had smoked since Sunday. We had a really really Spirit-driven, long talk with her and she committed to stop for good. FOR GOOOOOD! All week we were praying day and night for her. Praying SO hard. And Saturday came along...and she got baptized!!! It was a miracle. It was the best baptism service of my entire mission. Short, straight to the point, and super spiritual. As we were in the font I was just burning inside. The best burning ever! I raised my arm to the square and said the prayer slowly. The Holy Ghost was right there with us. Very strong. I opened my eyes after saying "amen" and Sister Old had tears in her eyes. Then she went under and came back up a new person. All of her past mistakes...gone. It was the greatest way to spend my last Saturday in Florida.
Then Sunday was the best Sunday ever too! Sister Old got confirmed. I bore my testimony and was filled with the Spirit. And one of our investigators, Lene, who has been investigating the church for like 50 years got up and bore her testimony saying that she felt a strong peace that she had never felt before and that she knew the Book of Mormon was true! Coolest thing. Then I got to say by to everyone that I have grown to love in the Winter Garden ward.
It's so weird that I'm coming home in two days. I can't believe it. I am really excited to see you Mom and Dad. So stoked!!!!!! And all my other family and friends. It will be a sweet experience for me. So tomorrow I'll drive down to the mission home to be with President and Sister Hall, the Assistants, and all the departing missionaries. We will eat lunch, have a little "goodbye" meeting, go to the Temple to do a session, eat dinner, have a testimony meeting, then go to sleep. And then I'll see you the next day. Be prepared for a bear hug! I love you both so much. See you soon :)
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Monday, January 30, 2012
January 30, 2012
Hello!
Thanks for the inspiring words! And thanks for the birthday package! Those cookies were so cool haha. I loved it. And they taste really good.
This week was awesome! We set three new baptism dates with people for the 25th of February. Timothy, Frances, and Terrance. And we also had one new investigator, Robin, come to church. It was a great week. I'm looking forward to the miracles that will happen this last week in the mission field. Crazy it's coming to a close.
Sister Old quit smoking once and for all yesterday! Please keep praying for her because she needs it this week before her baptism on Saturday. Ask that she will be given the strength and will power that she needs. Ask for angels to minister to her. We are praying so hard that she will be able to do it! She asked me to baptize her, which I am very honored to do so.
I've been thinking a lot about the things that I have learned on the mission recently. There are so many things I don't want to forget. Going back out into the world is going to be a big change. It will be harder to leave the mission than it was to leave home. I have pretty mixed and tender feelings about leaving. My heart is here in Florida. My main motive for coming home is seeing the both of you though :) haha. I have become a missionary. I still have soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much more to learn and become in this life but the mission has set a pretty solid foundation for all that is going to come. I don't even know what to say right now haha. I'm starting to tear up so I will probably get off the computer now hahaha. I'm just filled to the brim with a thankful heart right now. And when I see those that I love next week, it will be overflowing.
I love you! Have a great week family!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Photos, January 30, 2012
My birthday party at district meeting
Elder Dupaix, Brother Dennis Herald, Elders Bingham, Dawson, Me
Saturday, January 28, 2012
January 23, 2012
Hello Mother and Father!
Your emails were great this week! Thank you for the birthday wishes! Your comments were really touching :) And that letter for the scouting board...thanks Mom. I'm really thankful you sent that to me. I love you both a ton!
So this week was pretty good. Just trying to make these last few weeks wonderfully memorable.
So Elder Mullen is next to me right now and he wanted me to tell you "Hi." hahaha. Now he says I can tell you that "I love them" and "I send my best wishes" and Elder Bingham says "Thanks for giving birth to Elder Engemann 21 years ago." Elder Grimm says "Thanks for having such good genes to make Elder Engemann cute." Hahaha these guys are funny.
Sister Old is doing great. She is working towards February 4th to be baptized. Please pray that she will be given strength to overcome her habits so she can live the word of wisdom. We are still trying to find more people to teach. We taught this really cool family of 5 this week and also a lady that is interested in family history.
On Saturday we had a stake zone conference with the leadership of the wards in the stake and all the missionaries in the stake. It was really really good. President Hall, the stake President and others spoke about how missionary work is centered in the ward and also how the wards and missionaries could work together in more unity. The only problem was that no one in our bishopric was able to make it. That was a huge bummer because it would have been perfect for them. But our ward mission leader was able to be there, thankfully.
Then later that day there was a stake baptism for all those who were being baptized that day. Four people got baptized. One guy named Geoff that the other Elders in the ward have been working with got baptized. Sister Old was able to make it and she loved it! We introduced her to President Hall after it was over and he explained to her how she was my "tender mercy" before I went home and how the Lord does that to missionaries who have been faithful. Sister Old started to cry. I almost cried too haha. I love President Hall. He's one of my best friends. I look up to him a lot.
So yesterday at church we had two people that are friends with the Kirkland family in the ward. We are going to try to teach them sometime soon. They seemed to like church. Then we are also starting to work with this lady that got her name removed from the church years ago. She did it because her husband wasn't too friendly towards the church. Hopefully now is the time that she will come back.
Anyway, thanks for everything! I love you! Have a great week!
-- Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Monday, January 16, 2012
January 16, 2012
MOM and DAD!!!
I love you. I hope you had a great week. Our week was pretty good.
I went to a Leadership Training on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. It was the best one I've ever been too. The main focusof the training was on this quote from President Boyd K. Packer: "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behaviors." It was such a good conference. Best one of my whole mission. And I got to see a lot of my friends for the last time that came from all over the mission.
Other than that, we have just been trying to meet with the members of the ward more. The members in the Winter Garden ward are great. I've been blessed to serve in some great wards in Florida. Elder Dawson is
doing good. He's so funny. I love him.
Last Monday Elders Dawson, Bingham, Dupaix, and I went to a bee keeper's bee place. I don't know
what they are called haha. But Brother Allison in our ward is a bee keeper. It was so cool. I'll attach some pictures. SO MANY bees.
Things are going great though. Thank you for your love and prayers. I love you a ton. Have a great week!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
I love you. I hope you had a great week. Our week was pretty good.
I went to a Leadership Training on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. It was the best one I've ever been too. The main focusof the training was on this quote from President Boyd K. Packer: "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behaviors." It was such a good conference. Best one of my whole mission. And I got to see a lot of my friends for the last time that came from all over the mission.
Other than that, we have just been trying to meet with the members of the ward more. The members in the Winter Garden ward are great. I've been blessed to serve in some great wards in Florida. Elder Dawson is
doing good. He's so funny. I love him.
Last Monday Elders Dawson, Bingham, Dupaix, and I went to a bee keeper's bee place. I don't know
what they are called haha. But Brother Allison in our ward is a bee keeper. It was so cool. I'll attach some pictures. SO MANY bees.
Things are going great though. Thank you for your love and prayers. I love you a ton. Have a great week!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Photos, January 16, 2012
Cool bee suit
Partying with the beeeees
The bee pad
Getting up close and personal :)
Buena Vista Reunion
Monday, January 9, 2012
January 9, 2012
Hey Mom and Dad!
Things are going pretty well in Winter Garden. This week wasn't the best, but we're hoping for a better week this week.
Cristal didn't come to church again...so we have to push her date back again. She hasn't been showing a lot of committment to the gospel recently. It has kind of faded with her within the past week or so. I think her family has something to do with it. The family is really nice to us but I don't think they want Cristal to join the church...we'll see.
Then the Kvitkauskas family's progression has stopped. The 14 year old daughter understands everything and knows the church is true. It's not really clicking for everyone else though. I have been praying for patience with them though. They will get there eventually. We have had spiritual experiences with them, but they don't know how to put two and two together yet to understand that what they are feeling is an answer to their question/prayers.
A lot of things fell through this week. It is disappointing but we aren't going to let it slow us down. I think we kind of put all our eggs in one basket. Missionary work takes so much effort haha...it's unreal. I love it though. It takes every part of your soul to be successful, but I wouldn't expect anything less to be a servant of the Lord. I know He doesn't expect anything less either.
I really want my last few weeks in the field to be miraculous. I'm going to do my very best to help others come unto Christ. I have vowed to the Lord in prayer that I will do my best. And I really don't want to disappoint Him. That's about it for this week! Hope you have a good one! Love you!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Things are going pretty well in Winter Garden. This week wasn't the best, but we're hoping for a better week this week.
Cristal didn't come to church again...so we have to push her date back again. She hasn't been showing a lot of committment to the gospel recently. It has kind of faded with her within the past week or so. I think her family has something to do with it. The family is really nice to us but I don't think they want Cristal to join the church...we'll see.
Then the Kvitkauskas family's progression has stopped. The 14 year old daughter understands everything and knows the church is true. It's not really clicking for everyone else though. I have been praying for patience with them though. They will get there eventually. We have had spiritual experiences with them, but they don't know how to put two and two together yet to understand that what they are feeling is an answer to their question/prayers.
A lot of things fell through this week. It is disappointing but we aren't going to let it slow us down. I think we kind of put all our eggs in one basket. Missionary work takes so much effort haha...it's unreal. I love it though. It takes every part of your soul to be successful, but I wouldn't expect anything less to be a servant of the Lord. I know He doesn't expect anything less either.
I really want my last few weeks in the field to be miraculous. I'm going to do my very best to help others come unto Christ. I have vowed to the Lord in prayer that I will do my best. And I really don't want to disappoint Him. That's about it for this week! Hope you have a good one! Love you!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Photos, January 9, 2012
Lots of free bready stuff.
Elder Dawson and his friend Steve.
Elder Dawson and a huge bag of croutons (his favorite food).
Monday, January 2, 2012
January 2, 2012
Hey! Mom and Dad!
What's going onnnn? Sounds like you had a happy new year with the family. Send them my love. I brought in the new year catching some zZz's haha. We pretty much don't have holidays on the mission. Especially winter holidays because it is still warm weather in the winter here haha. It's different.
This week was good though. AJ got confirmed yesterday. We start church at 1 pm now so our whole day is almost over when we get home. We study from 8-11 am. Eat lunch from 11-12 pm. Leave for church at 12 pm. In church from 1-4 pm. Come home and eat dinner from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. Then we have a few hours left to work haha. Crazy. Cristal didn't come to church this week so we will push her date back to the 14th. But sister Old and 3 of the Kvitkauskas family came. Sister Old reset her date for February 18th so she can figure everything out with the word of wisdom and be ready for baptism. We had an amazing lesson with the Kvitkauskas family at a member's house on Saturday. We all ate breakfast and then talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are having them pray about the 21st of the month for baptism. We love them and they are SO great! They need the gospel.
This week also I got to go back to Buena Vista to see Mike Dixon get baptized! It was awesome! He is someone I worked with when I was there. Things are great here though.
So about people at the airport: you don't worry about it haha. Just go by the Spirit. I trust you :) That's about it this week! I love you! Have a wonderful week!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
What's going onnnn? Sounds like you had a happy new year with the family. Send them my love. I brought in the new year catching some zZz's haha. We pretty much don't have holidays on the mission. Especially winter holidays because it is still warm weather in the winter here haha. It's different.
This week was good though. AJ got confirmed yesterday. We start church at 1 pm now so our whole day is almost over when we get home. We study from 8-11 am. Eat lunch from 11-12 pm. Leave for church at 12 pm. In church from 1-4 pm. Come home and eat dinner from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. Then we have a few hours left to work haha. Crazy. Cristal didn't come to church this week so we will push her date back to the 14th. But sister Old and 3 of the Kvitkauskas family came. Sister Old reset her date for February 18th so she can figure everything out with the word of wisdom and be ready for baptism. We had an amazing lesson with the Kvitkauskas family at a member's house on Saturday. We all ate breakfast and then talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are having them pray about the 21st of the month for baptism. We love them and they are SO great! They need the gospel.
This week also I got to go back to Buena Vista to see Mike Dixon get baptized! It was awesome! He is someone I worked with when I was there. Things are great here though.
So about people at the airport: you don't worry about it haha. Just go by the Spirit. I trust you :) That's about it this week! I love you! Have a wonderful week!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Monday, December 26, 2011
Photos, December 26, 2011
Le District
My three sons: Elder Whitworth, Elder Fullmer, Elder Dawson
Carlie and Preston's Baptism
Family Picture
Me and Carlie after her baptism
AJ's baptism!
Monday, December 19, 2011
December 19, 2011
Hey Mom and Dad!
Love you! You met Elder Hirschi's mom!? Haha that's awesome. I love him. We were in the same district when I was in Daytona. Thanks for the package! It was yummy. And the books will be cool. For Christmas I'll probably call around 11 am your time.
So this week was great! We set 4 new dates. One with our investigator Cristal. The other with a family of 5 (three baptism age). Our baptism with Ruby fell through last minute because she got in a fight with her mom and her mom said she couldn't get baptized. We are working on that. This weekend we should have a baptism though with a part-member 9 year old named AJ Baker. We have so many investigators right now. It is hard to keep track of them but the Spirit is doing His job while we aren't there. We had an amazinggg lesson with the Kvitkauskas family (4) on Saturday. We reviewed the Plan of Salvation briefly and then watched "Together Forever". The Spirit was so strong. They were crying, because their family is having some problems. But the mom is living the Word of Wisdon and they are working on fixing the family. They really appreciate what we have tried to do for them. They are a blessing to us. We love them. We were expecting 9-12 people on Sunday and almost EVERYTHING fell through the morning of. Brother Kvitkauskas was our one ray of hope. It was so good to see him walk into the Chapel; a big relief. Things are great though. So great. Love you! Have a great week!
A Short Testimony of the Atonement:
Words won't do justice to my testimony of the Savior. He is everything to me. In this world things are temporary, but because of Him, the important things can be eternal. He dealt with the worst so that we could all achieve the most. Throughout the mission, my testimony of the Atonement has grown mostly through seeing it work through other people. But at the same time, Jesus Christ has done so much for me while I've been here in Florida as well. I still have a long way to go, but as I've been here I have learned how to be a disciple of Christ. I know what it takes: you give Him your heart. If He has that, He can mold you and shape you into what He knows you need to be. I LOVE HIM. I know I understand very little of the Atonement, but of what I do understand...I know it's true! I am so humbled to be a missionary, serving the people that He suffered for in the Garden and on the Cross. And not only that, but the people that He lived EVERY day of His life perfectly for. I can't express enough of my devotion or love for Jesus Christ and what He went through for me. I don't know how he did it...but I know he did it! And I am grateful.
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
December 12, 2011
Hellooo!
You are on a cruise. I bet that is nice. Soaking up the sun.
This week was awesomeee. We set 5 new baptismal dates. One with AJ Baker for the 24th. He is the son of a recent convert that got baptized over a year ago with her 3 daughters. AJ was 7 when they all got baptized. But now he is 8. And he is turning 9 on the 24th, the same day as his baptism. What a perfect way to celebrate Christmas! It's going to be a white Christmas! Then the other four is the Kvitkauskas family for the 31st. They are so great! A family. That is what the gospel is about. We are excited to work with them. Sister Old dropped her date because she needs a little more time to live the word of wisdom. She is trying so hard. The adversary is a tricky little dude. He uses that junk to keep people from receiving the REAL blessings of keeping the commandments. Sister Old has such strong faith and she will get there soon enough. Brother Old came to church again. We have been teaching both of them so we will see what happens. Another girl that we are teaching named Crystal came to church too. We are going to see if she will accept a baptismal date when we teach her tonight. RUBY is getting baptized on Saturday! Right before the ward Christmas party, so hopefully a lot of people will come. She has really strong faith. She told us a story from when she was competing for acting two weeks ago. She felt like she messed up and got really bummed and started to want to just give up everything, including the church. But she recognized that that was the adversary and wasn't going to take it from him. She remembered the great spiritual experiences she has had since she started learning about the restored gospel, so she sat down and popped open the Book of Mormon. Dun-dun-dunnnnnn! God prevailed. It made her feel a lot better and her attitude instantly changed. Awesome stuff. The Spirit is real.
What else...I don't know. Things here are just on fire. Miracles happen every day. Things are going to keep going up. I love you both! Life is great. I can't believe it's almost Christmas haha. Have a great week!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
You are on a cruise. I bet that is nice. Soaking up the sun.
This week was awesomeee. We set 5 new baptismal dates. One with AJ Baker for the 24th. He is the son of a recent convert that got baptized over a year ago with her 3 daughters. AJ was 7 when they all got baptized. But now he is 8. And he is turning 9 on the 24th, the same day as his baptism. What a perfect way to celebrate Christmas! It's going to be a white Christmas! Then the other four is the Kvitkauskas family for the 31st. They are so great! A family. That is what the gospel is about. We are excited to work with them. Sister Old dropped her date because she needs a little more time to live the word of wisdom. She is trying so hard. The adversary is a tricky little dude. He uses that junk to keep people from receiving the REAL blessings of keeping the commandments. Sister Old has such strong faith and she will get there soon enough. Brother Old came to church again. We have been teaching both of them so we will see what happens. Another girl that we are teaching named Crystal came to church too. We are going to see if she will accept a baptismal date when we teach her tonight. RUBY is getting baptized on Saturday! Right before the ward Christmas party, so hopefully a lot of people will come. She has really strong faith. She told us a story from when she was competing for acting two weeks ago. She felt like she messed up and got really bummed and started to want to just give up everything, including the church. But she recognized that that was the adversary and wasn't going to take it from him. She remembered the great spiritual experiences she has had since she started learning about the restored gospel, so she sat down and popped open the Book of Mormon. Dun-dun-dunnnnnn! God prevailed. It made her feel a lot better and her attitude instantly changed. Awesome stuff. The Spirit is real.
What else...I don't know. Things here are just on fire. Miracles happen every day. Things are going to keep going up. I love you both! Life is great. I can't believe it's almost Christmas haha. Have a great week!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Monday, December 5, 2011
Decenber 5, 2011
Hey Mom and Dad!
I didn't know that you were going a cruise this week! That will be fun. I got the Books of Mormon with the primary kids' testimonies in them. They are awesome! I think we have already given them all out haha. We showed everyone and gave a little background about what the primary kids did and everyone we gave them to loved it. Sharing the gospel! Good job primary kids!
I haven't gotten my driver's license yet but I should be doing it soon. I tried once a few weeks ago but I needed proof of residence in FL (like a water bill or something).
Mom, good job sharing your testimony in Sacrament meeting. That is great! I shared mine too :) Love it. Every time you share your testimony it grows! Funny how it works.
This week was amazing, as always. The Spirit helped us so much this week. There were many instances where we felt prompted to talk to certain people on the street and we ended up teaching them. I've learned that even if you think a prompting is just something you thought of in your mind...FOLLOW IT! It doesn't matter. As I've applied that in my missionary work I've realized how much it really isn't "just you". It truly is the Spirit. And if it's not...the Spirit will teach you after the fact and you will learn how to better recognize His promptings. It's a win-win situation.
The Lord is blessing our investigators a lot right now. One He is helping to quit smoking. The other He is giving strength to resist the temptations of the adversary through her mother. The others He is helping overcome heartache that has been caused in their family because of unrighteous decisions. And while He is doing all that...He still has time to lead and guide Elder Dawson and me to continue to find more people who are searching for the truth. I don't know how He does it, but He does!
Sister Old and her husband came to church this week. Ruby came. And the Kvitkauskas family came (I don't know if I told you about them but it is Patti and her husband and two daughters). 7 people! It was great! Please pray for these people. They need prayers. We also set a baptism date with our new friend Sam yesterday night for the 31st of December. We will end up handing him off to the Buena Vista Sisters though because he is 21 and it will be better for him in the YSA ward. Things here are moving! I love the Winter Garden ward a lot. The members and leadership are awesome! Last night we went to this thing called the Festival of the Nativity at the stake center across from the Orlando Temple. They featured nativity sets from all over the world. It was really cool. And then after that we watched the First Presidency Christmas devotional. Patti and her two daughters came. Good times. Well I hope everything is going great for you in Utah. I love you and hope you have fun on your cruise! Talk to you next week :)
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
I didn't know that you were going a cruise this week! That will be fun. I got the Books of Mormon with the primary kids' testimonies in them. They are awesome! I think we have already given them all out haha. We showed everyone and gave a little background about what the primary kids did and everyone we gave them to loved it. Sharing the gospel! Good job primary kids!
I haven't gotten my driver's license yet but I should be doing it soon. I tried once a few weeks ago but I needed proof of residence in FL (like a water bill or something).
Mom, good job sharing your testimony in Sacrament meeting. That is great! I shared mine too :) Love it. Every time you share your testimony it grows! Funny how it works.
This week was amazing, as always. The Spirit helped us so much this week. There were many instances where we felt prompted to talk to certain people on the street and we ended up teaching them. I've learned that even if you think a prompting is just something you thought of in your mind...FOLLOW IT! It doesn't matter. As I've applied that in my missionary work I've realized how much it really isn't "just you". It truly is the Spirit. And if it's not...the Spirit will teach you after the fact and you will learn how to better recognize His promptings. It's a win-win situation.
The Lord is blessing our investigators a lot right now. One He is helping to quit smoking. The other He is giving strength to resist the temptations of the adversary through her mother. The others He is helping overcome heartache that has been caused in their family because of unrighteous decisions. And while He is doing all that...He still has time to lead and guide Elder Dawson and me to continue to find more people who are searching for the truth. I don't know how He does it, but He does!
Sister Old and her husband came to church this week. Ruby came. And the Kvitkauskas family came (I don't know if I told you about them but it is Patti and her husband and two daughters). 7 people! It was great! Please pray for these people. They need prayers. We also set a baptism date with our new friend Sam yesterday night for the 31st of December. We will end up handing him off to the Buena Vista Sisters though because he is 21 and it will be better for him in the YSA ward. Things here are moving! I love the Winter Garden ward a lot. The members and leadership are awesome! Last night we went to this thing called the Festival of the Nativity at the stake center across from the Orlando Temple. They featured nativity sets from all over the world. It was really cool. And then after that we watched the First Presidency Christmas devotional. Patti and her two daughters came. Good times. Well I hope everything is going great for you in Utah. I love you and hope you have fun on your cruise! Talk to you next week :)
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Photos, December 5, 2011
Awkward...Jen, Me, and Cindy right before I bounced out of Buena Vista
Gabriella's Baptism! Elder Dawson, Elder Gregson, Gabriella, Me, Elder Vilorio
Photo bombed by Elisheva and Kirsten
My new companion, Elder Dawson
The district
Potativity (potato nativity) super funny
Monday, November 28, 2011
November 28, 2011
Hello!
Thanks for the great emails! Sounds like you had a week full of thanksgiving and family. That's wonderful. Our Thanksgiving lasted about an hour and a half :) it was perfect. We went over to a family's house named the Spurgeons and ate with them and their non-member neighbor. It was delicious and a good time. We were taken care of, don't worry haha. But then we went right back out and got our work on. Holidays on the mission are super weird haha. It's not even a holiday. It's just another day of missionary work. Love it.
We had a great week though. Fullllllll of miracles. Sister Old accepted a date for the December 17th and is working towards that, trying to get over a few roadblocks but she's is doing great! Very sincere and willing to follow Christ.
We met with Ruby again on Wednesday and it was the most amazing lesson ever. The member family that was supposed to have her over at their house cancelled last minute, so we had to call another family to see if they could help us out. They accepted and we were SO thankful for that. We ended up teaching Ruby about the restoration of the gospel. During the lesson things were a little hectic. People were getting up and sitting down, texting, the dog was moving around, and other things were going on. The Spirit just wasn't there like it needed to be. So we finally got to Joseph Smith and popped in the Restoration DVD. It was perrrfect! Because it provided an environment where everyone present could focus and feel. After the video, we asked Ruby how she felt and the Spirit swarmed the room. She said things like "I've never felt this before! What is this!?" and "My chest feels tight!" and "I feel different, but joyful!" and "I feel light!" She went on and on about how amazing she felt. We invited her to be baptized and she willingly accepted. She said "I know this is what I need to do." It was a miracle! We've taught her a few times since and she is on track for the 17th of December. She and Sister Old both came to church and loved it!
We also met this family that is going through a rough time together. We are trying to help them work things out through the gospel. The father's stepmother was a member of the church and his father's funeral was at the local chapel. They have two teenage daughters also. We will be teaching them more this week. Good stuff.
Other than that we are just working our tails off trying to sow while we reap. The Lord has blessed us a ton since we've been here and we don't want to slow down because of that. The Winter Garden ward has only had 2 baptisms this whole year. Compare that to a few years ago when they had about 30 baptisms in one year. There is so much potential here. It's a great ward! The ward and the missionary efforts just need to be united and things will blow up.
I'm so stoked to be here you have no idea. And being a district leader again is so fun! We've had some spiritual district meetings so far. It's great. So yeahhh. But Sterling Stolle! At RiteAid! I lived with him when I first came out. I thought he looked familiar and then we both found out that he worked at the Orem RiteAid and I had gotten prescriptions from him before hahaha. It was crazy. But when you see him, tell him I say I love him!
Oh yeah and the thing with Uncle Larry won't work out. Sorry. You shouldn't even try haha. All those cities are out of the mission and there is no way that is happening haha. It would be cool though. I'll have plenty of opportunities to do stuff like that after the mission :) I LOVE YOU BOTH! Have a great week!
p.s. The pictures still aren't working. You'll have to suffer a little longer ;)
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Thanks for the great emails! Sounds like you had a week full of thanksgiving and family. That's wonderful. Our Thanksgiving lasted about an hour and a half :) it was perfect. We went over to a family's house named the Spurgeons and ate with them and their non-member neighbor. It was delicious and a good time. We were taken care of, don't worry haha. But then we went right back out and got our work on. Holidays on the mission are super weird haha. It's not even a holiday. It's just another day of missionary work. Love it.
We had a great week though. Fullllllll of miracles. Sister Old accepted a date for the December 17th and is working towards that, trying to get over a few roadblocks but she's is doing great! Very sincere and willing to follow Christ.
We met with Ruby again on Wednesday and it was the most amazing lesson ever. The member family that was supposed to have her over at their house cancelled last minute, so we had to call another family to see if they could help us out. They accepted and we were SO thankful for that. We ended up teaching Ruby about the restoration of the gospel. During the lesson things were a little hectic. People were getting up and sitting down, texting, the dog was moving around, and other things were going on. The Spirit just wasn't there like it needed to be. So we finally got to Joseph Smith and popped in the Restoration DVD. It was perrrfect! Because it provided an environment where everyone present could focus and feel. After the video, we asked Ruby how she felt and the Spirit swarmed the room. She said things like "I've never felt this before! What is this!?" and "My chest feels tight!" and "I feel different, but joyful!" and "I feel light!" She went on and on about how amazing she felt. We invited her to be baptized and she willingly accepted. She said "I know this is what I need to do." It was a miracle! We've taught her a few times since and she is on track for the 17th of December. She and Sister Old both came to church and loved it!
We also met this family that is going through a rough time together. We are trying to help them work things out through the gospel. The father's stepmother was a member of the church and his father's funeral was at the local chapel. They have two teenage daughters also. We will be teaching them more this week. Good stuff.
Other than that we are just working our tails off trying to sow while we reap. The Lord has blessed us a ton since we've been here and we don't want to slow down because of that. The Winter Garden ward has only had 2 baptisms this whole year. Compare that to a few years ago when they had about 30 baptisms in one year. There is so much potential here. It's a great ward! The ward and the missionary efforts just need to be united and things will blow up.
I'm so stoked to be here you have no idea. And being a district leader again is so fun! We've had some spiritual district meetings so far. It's great. So yeahhh. But Sterling Stolle! At RiteAid! I lived with him when I first came out. I thought he looked familiar and then we both found out that he worked at the Orem RiteAid and I had gotten prescriptions from him before hahaha. It was crazy. But when you see him, tell him I say I love him!
Oh yeah and the thing with Uncle Larry won't work out. Sorry. You shouldn't even try haha. All those cities are out of the mission and there is no way that is happening haha. It would be cool though. I'll have plenty of opportunities to do stuff like that after the mission :) I LOVE YOU BOTH! Have a great week!
p.s. The pictures still aren't working. You'll have to suffer a little longer ;)
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Monday, November 21, 2011
November 21, 2011
Hellooooo!
Everything is great. My new companion's name is Elder Dawson. He is from Plainfield, IL. He is a boss hogg outlaw missionary. Love him. He has such a sincere desire to share to gospel and help other people accept it. He is the man. Our new area is good. It has some ghetto parts and some rich parts. We saw miracles this week. We worked out little tails off.
Our first day we met this guy named Jose, who lives in our apt complex. We set up an appointment for the next day. We went by and he asked us how he could know God was really there. He believed he was but he just didn't know. We read a little out of Alma 32 and the Spirit was so strong. We invited him to be baptized on December 10th and he accepted, willingly. The next day we texted him to see how he was doing. He texted back and said that he wanted to stop our meetings because it wasn't the right time. We think his family was involved in that...so we were a little bummed but it didn't stop us.
That same day we went out and saw this lady named Kathy getting out of her van with two young kids. We stopped and talked to her a little and asked if she had 20 minutes that we could share something with her. She accepted and we sat out on her front lawn. We found out that she is married, has 5 kids, AND has a car! What more could we ask for? So we taught her about the restoration of the gospel and invited her to be baptized on December 17th. She accepted and cried after she said the closing prayer. Sunday came along and we went by her house before church to double check and make sure she was coming. She answered the door and said they were getting ready to come. We were so excited! Then she texted us 20 minutes before church started and said that she and her husband "changed their minds about coming to [our] church" and to "not come by [their] house anymore." It was another kick in the face but we didn't let it get us down. We just kept moving forward.
A non-member daughter (49 years old) of a less-active woman that we met earlier in the week came to church though! We were very happy about that. We are meeting with her tonight with one of the sisters in the ward that knows her. We will see where it goes. Then last night we found this wayyy cool girl named Ruby who is a senior in high school who says that she always feels judged at church and never has friends. So we set a dinner up with a family in the ward that has two daughters around her age that she can be friends with on Tuesday. It will be great.
Church was good. The ward is nice. We have been praying for them a lot to get more stoked on missionary work. Please say a prayer for the members and the Bishoprick. On Saturday we went back to Buena Vista for Gabriella's baptism. She asked me to baptize her. I was so excited :) I love her. She is going to be the best member in the world. Pharrell.
So yeah, I'm a district leader now and the district is awesome. We had district meeting this last week and set some goals as companionships for baptisms this transfer. Good stuff.
I'm sorry to hear about Mike Aiken and Grant's father. The news of the gospel is great though. They are happy. Send my love to the Heaton family. I am very grateful for Mike and all the letters he sent me. I was really really really really really looking forward to thanking him personally for all the thoughtful letters he sent me on how I could improve as a missionary. Now I will have to wait a little while but I hope Aunt Emily and all of her family knows how much I love and appreciate Mike and all that he did for me. It really meant a lot to me. Just to have someone, besides the two of you, who wrote on a consistent basis.
My address is 180 Windtree Lane, Winter Garden, FL and I don't know the zip. For Christmas...I really don't need anything. If I could ask you to do one thing it would be to go make someone who is less fortunate happy. Not even in a big, extravagant way. Just something simple that will help someone to feel the love of our Heavenly Father.
I love you both so much and am so thankful that you are my parents. I am such a baby. I feel like I cry about everything now hahaha. I cry during hymns, during testimonies, during baptisms, everything hahaha. It's crazy. But I really love you a lot. I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving. And please give my love to all of the family and friends that you see. Talk to you next week!
p.s. This computer isn't letting me attach pictures for some reason. Sorry!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
Everything is great. My new companion's name is Elder Dawson. He is from Plainfield, IL. He is a boss hogg outlaw missionary. Love him. He has such a sincere desire to share to gospel and help other people accept it. He is the man. Our new area is good. It has some ghetto parts and some rich parts. We saw miracles this week. We worked out little tails off.
Our first day we met this guy named Jose, who lives in our apt complex. We set up an appointment for the next day. We went by and he asked us how he could know God was really there. He believed he was but he just didn't know. We read a little out of Alma 32 and the Spirit was so strong. We invited him to be baptized on December 10th and he accepted, willingly. The next day we texted him to see how he was doing. He texted back and said that he wanted to stop our meetings because it wasn't the right time. We think his family was involved in that...so we were a little bummed but it didn't stop us.
That same day we went out and saw this lady named Kathy getting out of her van with two young kids. We stopped and talked to her a little and asked if she had 20 minutes that we could share something with her. She accepted and we sat out on her front lawn. We found out that she is married, has 5 kids, AND has a car! What more could we ask for? So we taught her about the restoration of the gospel and invited her to be baptized on December 17th. She accepted and cried after she said the closing prayer. Sunday came along and we went by her house before church to double check and make sure she was coming. She answered the door and said they were getting ready to come. We were so excited! Then she texted us 20 minutes before church started and said that she and her husband "changed their minds about coming to [our] church" and to "not come by [their] house anymore." It was another kick in the face but we didn't let it get us down. We just kept moving forward.
A non-member daughter (49 years old) of a less-active woman that we met earlier in the week came to church though! We were very happy about that. We are meeting with her tonight with one of the sisters in the ward that knows her. We will see where it goes. Then last night we found this wayyy cool girl named Ruby who is a senior in high school who says that she always feels judged at church and never has friends. So we set a dinner up with a family in the ward that has two daughters around her age that she can be friends with on Tuesday. It will be great.
Church was good. The ward is nice. We have been praying for them a lot to get more stoked on missionary work. Please say a prayer for the members and the Bishoprick. On Saturday we went back to Buena Vista for Gabriella's baptism. She asked me to baptize her. I was so excited :) I love her. She is going to be the best member in the world. Pharrell.
So yeah, I'm a district leader now and the district is awesome. We had district meeting this last week and set some goals as companionships for baptisms this transfer. Good stuff.
I'm sorry to hear about Mike Aiken and Grant's father. The news of the gospel is great though. They are happy. Send my love to the Heaton family. I am very grateful for Mike and all the letters he sent me. I was really really really really really looking forward to thanking him personally for all the thoughtful letters he sent me on how I could improve as a missionary. Now I will have to wait a little while but I hope Aunt Emily and all of her family knows how much I love and appreciate Mike and all that he did for me. It really meant a lot to me. Just to have someone, besides the two of you, who wrote on a consistent basis.
My address is 180 Windtree Lane, Winter Garden, FL and I don't know the zip. For Christmas...I really don't need anything. If I could ask you to do one thing it would be to go make someone who is less fortunate happy. Not even in a big, extravagant way. Just something simple that will help someone to feel the love of our Heavenly Father.
I love you both so much and am so thankful that you are my parents. I am such a baby. I feel like I cry about everything now hahaha. I cry during hymns, during testimonies, during baptisms, everything hahaha. It's crazy. But I really love you a lot. I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving. And please give my love to all of the family and friends that you see. Talk to you next week!
p.s. This computer isn't letting me attach pictures for some reason. Sorry!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann
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