The Morning Breaks.... Or Afternoon...Whatever...

Hello All!

Greetings from the sunny land of Orill - wait a minute - That's not right. I got transferred!  I am now serving in Woodstock, Ontario.  My New Companion is Elder Call.  He is from Queen Creek, Arizona, and he is fresh from the MTC on Tuesday.  I am grateful for the opportunity to be serving with Elder Call.  He is going to be a great missionary.  He is very humble and he is very willing to learn.  I am very excited to work with him.

We made it back to Woodstock at about 6:30 last night.  We got our bags inside and then went out to do some contacting.  As we were on our way we spotted a Moving Van and pulled over and helped them out.  It turned into a contact for Elder Call.  He was explaining to them what we are doing as missionaries
and they told us that we could come back after they got all settled in. Elder Call is a good man and I am excited to work with him here in Woodstock.

I got to Brampton on Tuesday Afternoon and then we went to the Mission home, met our companions and had a great night.  We had some training in the Morning and then we went to Lunch (The Mandarin - Great Place.  The Boys would have loved it.  Chinese Gourmet, but celestialized).  We got everything we needed from the Office, the Mission home, and The Mansion (Where the Brampton Zone Leaders live) and we drove to Woodstock.  It was a good couple of days.

The last week in Orillia yielded at least one miracle.  Len Longtin, when we met with him on Tuesday (right before I left), promised me that he would get baptized.  I didn't even have to ask him.  He just came right out with that.  I thought that was incredible.

Life is good.  The Gospel changes lives.  And it is through us (Each one of us.  that means you, too) that it is shared with our lost brothers and sisters.  Talk to your friends.  Talk to your Family.  Talk to a Parrot. But just Talk.  That's where it all starts.  Have a Great day!

Your Obedient Servant,
Elder Austin James Ashcraft

P.S. My new address is

Elder Austin Ashcraft
600 Chieftain St. #805
Woodstock, ON N4T 1S1
Canada

Oh, How praying rests the Weary....

Hello All!

How is everything back in the Blessed Land of Utah?!  I hope that everything is going just swimmingly for each of you!  The Sun is shining!  I don't have to wear my suit jacket anymore!  Things are so happy here! We had an interesting week.  We met with most of our investigators and some of them seem to be progressing.  Others, however, are not progressing as much as we would like.  Len came to church.  He really liked it and he said that he would be back next week.  We met with him again yesterday and taught the stop-smoking workshop.  We are praying for him to quit.  That really is the only hang up that he has.  He has been taught everything and he believes it.  The only thing he has left to quit is smoking.

Allen is doing well.  We have showed a few videos over the last little while and he really enjoys and learns from them.  On Sunday, we watched "To this end was I born."  He was amazed at the suffering that Christ went through. The problem with his progression is that he is still living with Jessica,
and there is really no sign of that situation being remedied.  They are looking for an apartment, but I think that they are looking to get out of the place they are in, not to live in separate apartments.  We will continue to pray for them and help them realize the importance of keeping the commandments.

Jessica Haime told us last week that things are falling into place for her. We are hoping that means she is ready to kick Andrew out.  We will continue to help her build her faith as well.

Kara is in an interesting situation.  On Saturday, we set her baptismal date for 26 April.  She went to church with her family on Sunday and called up on Sunday evening saying she doesn't think she should get baptized yet.  She will be going to rehab in the middle of May and thinks she should wait until after that so she can clear her head of the confusion.  We visited with her and left a commitment to read the testimony of Joseph Smith in the front of the Book of Mormon and Pray specifically about it.  She said she had already done it, but she agreed to do it again.  The problem that I am having with that situation is that I really don't know what she is going through and she knows that.  I haven't had to be disowned by my family.  I haven't had to overcome addictive drugs.  We encourage her to go to the one who DOES know and ask for guidance.  That's all we had thought to do.  We haven't heard from her since then.  We hope to visit with her tomorrow and clear things up some more.

It is sad to see people who are so close that get thrown off at the last second.  There is still hope,  though.   The Lord will make it right.  We just have to work as hard as we can and keep the spirit with us to direct us.  When you're doing what you're supposed to, the Lord will step in and take care of the rest.   (Thank you, Austin Collie).  Anyway.... I love you and miss you all.  I hope that everything is going well.  Have a great Day!

Your Obedient Servant,
Elder Austin James Ashcraft

Firm as the Mountains around us.....

Hello All!

Canada is finally starting to look springy for real.  We have had some insane April Showers, and some warm weather that makes me all nice and happy inside.  It feels really good outside.  But Anyway...

It was an interesting week.  Kara Stanton has fallen off the radar.  We met with her last Monday and she told us that she didn't want to get baptized (At least not yet).  We left her with the testimony of Joseph Smith to read and she agreed to pray specifically about the Book of Mormon.  We hoped to hear from her the next day, but she hasn't gotten back to us.  We have tried to stop by a few times and she has appeared to be home, but has not answered the door.  We decided it would be best to give her a little space, so we have not tried to drop by since Friday.  We will try again tomorrow to contact her.

Len is doing well.  He has not quit smoking yet, but he has cut back significantly.  We met with him again yesterday and that went well.  He had Family show up on Sunday right before church, so he stayed  home with them. He should be at church this week, though. Allen and Jessica were not at church on Sunday because they had to help one of their neighbors move, but they are still doing okay.

I did a companion exchange with Elder Layne last Thursday.  He is a great missionary.  He is very good at what he does and he has the spirit with him when he works.  I think I learned far more from him than he learned from me. It has been a good week.  I hope it was a great one for all of you!  Have a
tremendous coming week and "remember to do good always!" (Thanks Kathy).

Your Obedient Servant,
Elder Austin James Ashcraft

Go Forth with Faith to tell the World the Gospel is Restored...

Hello All!

Just when I thought that winter was over....we get another 6 inches of snow.  it's a little warmer,  though, so it shouldn't stay too long.

What A great week!  Zone Conference on Monday, General Conference on Saturday and Sunday!  I absolutely loved it.  The spiritual feast was incredible.  I hope that everyone else learned as much as I did.  I can't wait until the Ensign comes out and I can read them all over again!!!  Anyway....

We committed two of our investigators to be baptized!  Allen Langley is the first.  He has been taught all four lessons and he came to General Conference and loved it.  The hang up there is that he lives with his
girlfriend, Jessica.  They are planning on getting married, but she is still only 17 and due to legal complications, she can't get married until September, when she turns 18.  So they are looking for another apartment that Allen can live in until they can get married.  We have not set a date yet because of that, but we hope to in the near future.

The other is Kara Stanton.  She is doing very well.  She agreed to be baptized, despite her fears of being shunned by her family.  We told her that the Lord would make everything work out when we are willing to obey him, and she talked to her family and they are all (Except for one sister) okay with it.  One of her sisters is not talking to her, but Kara told us this morning on the phone, "I think that sometimes the Lord asks us to make sacrifices in order to do what is right.  Maybe the thing that I have to sacrifice right now is my relationship with my sister."  We told her that the Lord would make everything work, and that she can be an example to her sister of doing what the Lord Wants.  We are attending their "Family Meeting"
tomorrow evening to answer questions and, as Kara put it, "Tell my family more about the church."  We are planning on setting a firm date at that meeting as well.

We met with Len Longtin again yesterday.  We finished teaching Lesson 4 and went over the Word of Wisdom again.  He is a smoker and he wants to quit, so we will be going over the Stop-smoking workshop with him next Tuesday.  He tried to come to conference, but got lost in town and couldn't find the church.  We clarified his directions and now he knows where the church is. He also got his license back, so he can drive himself and doesn't need to depend on his wife for a ride. Things are going well.  It is so exciting to see the Gospel change people's lives.

I am so grateful for the opportunity we have to be members of the only true and living church.  The knowledge that we have helps us to get through even the toughest times.  If we stay close to the Lord, and follow the counsel given to us by his Prophet, We will never go astray.  I know that to be true.  The gospel has a tremendous capacity to change people.  Share it with whomever you can!  Give a pass-a-long card.  Write your testimony in a Book of Mormon and give it to somebody.  Anything you can give to further this great work of the Lord will be rewarded in heaven an hundred fold.  This is the Lord's Work.  and we are his servants.  We'll bring the world His truth.

I love you and miss you all!  I hope that everyone is doing well.  I would love to hear from you all and how you are sharing the gospel and "being an example to the believers."  Live it.  Love it.  Share it.

Your Obedient Servant,
Elder Austin James Ashcraft

Christ the Lord is Risen Today. A-a-a-a-a-le-e-lu-u-jah.....

Hello All!

Greetings from the almost Springy (I am not sure if that is a real word. If it's not, I just made it one.) Land of Orillia.  The sun has been shining and we have been getting Pre-April Showers off and on.  It is warming up a bit, which is nice.  I was dying a couple of days because it was hot!  7 degrees (I know, I know.....all things relative, of course.)  I am kind of excited to be able to take my suit jacket off when I am proselyting.

 Speaking of that time - I am SO EXCITED for conference.  I cannot believe that it has been six months already since we last had this incredible opportunity.  The marvelous chance to hear from a Prophet of the Lord.  He truly is an inspired man.  I cannot wait until Saturday!

We had a great week!  We were able to teach most of our investigators.  Some of them even several times.  Our most progressing would probably be Kara Stanton.  She has quit smoking and she says that she no longer even has a desire to smoke.  The habit disgusts her.  She was at church on Sunday, and,
coincidentally enough, Jessica Haime, another investigator at church, knew her from High school.  They hit it off pretty good.  Kara was talking about quitting smoking with Jessica and she was offering lots of encouragement.

We also took quite a few members with us this week to visit Kara.  We had Brother Cook, Josh Ribalkin, Brother Wilson, Kevin Witlox, and Dustin Pearce.  She told us that she knows she wants to be baptized eventually and that Elder Day and myself are not going to be here forever, so she wants to
get to know members of the branch. We were not able to meet with Len Longin yesterday.  He called during Zone conference and left a message saying that he had the flu.  He did say that he would see us on the weekend for conference though.  I am excited to have him hear from our beloved prophet speak and to feel that incredible spirit.

Justinn and Kim met with us a few times, but they bombed our appointment on Saturday and didn't come to church.  We haven't yet gotten in touch with them since.  Hopefully everything is okay. I am so very grateful for the opportunity to be here in this wonderful place doing this wonderful work.  I pray that each of you is striving to be a missionary as best you can.  As you live the gospel, you will see that it
truly has the power to bless our lives and the lives of those around us.

Preach My Gospel is an incredible resource.  At the Beginning of the Third Chapter, it says that the manual contains the important doctrines that we can "Study, Believe, Love, Live, and Teach."  I encourage each of you to use this incredible tool that we have been given.

I hope that everyone is doing well.  I love you and miss you all!  Have a great Week!

Your Obedient Servant,
Elder Austin James Ashcraft

P.S. - "Be the Labor Great or Small, Do it well or not at all!"

-It's not where you serve, but how.