A New Padowan

Dear Parents,

We thought you would enjoy receiving a photo of Elder Ehlers and Elder Fuller and their new trainee, Elder Agle, from Laguna Niguel, CA, posing with President and Sister Cannon.  It is a pleasure serving with such wonderful young missionaries in the Idaho Boise Mission.

Regards,
Sister Waller
Idaho Boise Mission

Mission Conference

Here was a bit on the meeting we had when the general authorities were here. I am in the second row back, second from the right, hiding behind the sister missionary.

From President Canon to all the missionaries:

Dear Elders and Sisters,

I still find myself reflecting on the amazing weekend we had earlier this month with the members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and the other general authorities.  We are so very grateful for what the Holy Ghost taught us. Last week, I sent a note talking about how we can become consecrated and converted disciples of Jesus Christ. We pray that you are continuing to do all you can to achieve this noble and worthwhile objective.

To help in our journey towards conversion, I have attached below a portion of Elder Bednars General Conference talk from this last conference.  I pray that we might become converted like the Lamanites by accepting his invitation to bury our “weapons of rebellion.”  We add our invitation to each of you to follow Elder Bednar’s invitation.

We promise you're conversion will deepen as you do so.

We love you and we love serving with you.

With love and gratitude,

 President and Sister Cannon

Getting Ready for the Holidays

"I want a party! I want a cookie! I want to stay up! I want I want I want me me me my my my now now now now....my child, your parents read you bedtime stories to shut you up." (from the movie Hook)

Maaaaan...I really miss Christmas Eve watching either Home Alone, Hook, or Scrooged in new jammies - which I got in your Christmas package yesterday.

THANK YOU!

I am doing quite well, actually! Elder Ady and I are kept extremely busy, too. Life is pretty good. This past week we received a pantload of referrals, both believers and infidels, and we've been riding hard to contact everyone. Winter is FINALLY here and it has already rained and snowed a little bit, complete with frigid cold temperatures. I keep warm and somewhat comfortable though. I wear wool socks, gloves, ear muffs, and layer on another jacket and that takes pretty good care of me. The bike I road for the first 14 months finally bit the dust and so Ady had another bike that was left by the missionary I replaced. It works very nicely.

Elder Ady is a STUD! I really think he's the best companion I've had in this mission. I feel we work exceptionally well together. He keeps me going and staying on track and I help him when it comes to meeting folks and knocking on doors. He's helped me improve so, so much in the past couple of weeks. I can't speak any higher of him.

And I received the Christmas box and it was perfect! I also got the envelope with the stickers and stamps and Eric's letter....I sure do miss that kid. I look forward to getting home and taking him to the gas station for a cold one. And what's the mailing address for his school? I'm getting ready to return his Flat Stanley and I'd like him to get it at school like I did when I sent mine to Jackie. It was the COOLEST thing when I got it in school and got to show it off in class.

I think Eric might also enjoy something like that.

Christmas cards are gonna be a little late this year. I was all ready to send them a couple of weeks ago but then when I went to Walgreen's to print them off, they were super expensive so I put it off until the next week when we could go to Walmart. And then the photo shop was swamped and I couldn't pick them up the same day...lame. They'll be late but they will eventually get there.

Cow Manure

"The gospel is kind of like cow manure. If you keep it to yourself, it stinks. If you spread it around, it actually does some good." - Elder West

So the first cool thing that happened this week was on Thursday. This past week life has kinda sucked because Ady has been sick and then on Friday I got sick, too. Between the two of us we've been taking a lot of sick time this past week, but miraculously enough, we still managed to hit our quota for the week.

Anyway on Thursday we were moseyin' along to an appointment a couple of miles away and we stopped at a Chevron to use the john. After we had finished we were sitting still for a moment so Ady could recoop. Being the stallion I know I am, I bought him a Sprite to help his stomach-ache. At the same time I was checking out, there were these two kids who we'd seen a week earlier playing at a member's home, probably about 9 and 11, dumping out nickels and dimes and a few crumpled $1 bills to buy some candy and junk. While they were fussing trying to count out the change, I leaned across them and handed the other cashier my card and told her I'd pay for it. The two cashiers that were there beamed with appreciation for my kind act and thanked me. The kids didn't realize what I had done after I had finished paying and then the older of the two earnestly tried to hand me some of the wrinkled cash and I didn't accept it. I just shook their hands and then sent them on their way...

It was a really neat feeling. I mean, buying my comp a drink is cool and everything but it's something I try to do often, just because I like to buy folks drinks and I'm a stud like that. But it was really cool "paying it forward" and forking out five bucks for stuff that I had nothing to do with. I know it wasn't a huge thing but it felt good buying something for complete strangers, when so often people I don't know do the same for me. It was sweeeeet...

And I got the temple pants in the mail. They fit nicely but I do have some weight to lose so they fit even better. I weighed myself the other day and I'm up 40lbs since June 2011. Ew. Pretty soon here I'll begin the "6 Months to Sexy" missionary workout so I don't look like a hobo in June. Some stuff I've been meaning to add is to tell you that the ward building we attended in my last area in Fruitland is the EXACT same design as our building in the Avra Valley ward in Marana.

It was super nostalgic and I kind of enjoyed it. Also, about a week before I got transferred my comp and I went and donated BLOOD! Mom - I gave them the address to the place in Vernal so it's likely you'll get stuff in the mail soon. That was also cool because I know my pint o' blood will go to help someone else who is a complete stranger.

We had a baptism on Saturday! XX, originally from the Dominican Republic but raised in Georgia, who had been meeting with mercenaries for the past year finally got dunked. She's in her late 40's, about 5'nothin and portly and maintains a sort of monotone enthusiasm, always making jokes about something. She's got a rock-solid testimony and we're expecting that to influence her family. We're getting crap DONE!

Saying Goodbye to New Plymouth

Dear Julianne,
Elder Ehlers was transfered to Kuna, Idaho on Monday.They came over to take pictures with our family on Sunday night and he asked me to send them to you. There is a award that they were given at a meeting about them like Sully and Mike on Monsters Inc. They were given a picture with their names on it with Sully and Mike and Boo on Sully shoulders. They both thought that our little Sarah was like their Boo, so they wanted to have a picture taken of them like the one on their award. I hope that kind of explains the pictures taken just with Sarah. We really appreciated getting to know Elder Ehlers. He is a good boy and has set a good example for our sons. Thanks for raising such a great son and for sharing him with us!
Love,
The Austins

Lance, Jody, Seth, Levi, Jared, Aunna, Samuel, and Sarah