Shines the Gospel Light of Truth and Love...

Hello All!

Greetings from Canada!  And Happy Japanese Day!  It is kind of weird not being home for it, but I guess the boys will have to eat some gyoza for me. 

The weather has been fairly Utah-ish lately.  Cold mornings and they turn on the heater in the basement, the heater stays on all day and then the Lady upstairs complains that it is too hot, so they turn the furnace off, and then it's back to that cycle.  It has been interesting. 

But anyway, the work has been going well.  We picked up 5 new investigators this week and a few of them seem willing to progress.  We met Caroline on Thursday.  She is a 19-year old college student that lives with her boyfriend.  She was practically in her backyard, and we were walking on the other side of the street, so we just walked past, but as soon as we had done that, both of us stopped and felt like we should go talk to her.  We did so and taught her about the Plan of Salvation.  Her mom passed away when she was 13 and she has been wondering what happened to her.  We taught her and invited her to church.  Other than that, there is not much to report on with them yet, but I will keep you informed.  We are also working with the Bishop to get Jean-Guy confirmed.  We had Stake Conference on Sunday, so we could not do it then, but we are planning on getting it taken care of this Sunday in Sacrament Meeting. 

Stake conference was Sunday Morning.  Zone Conference was Sunday Evening and Monday Morning.  They figured that they would postpone Zone Conference a few weeks (it is normally in the second week of the transfer) and just have it in the Fifth week because all the missionaries would already be in town for Stake Conference.  It was great.  The theme of the Zone Conference was "Becoming a Master Teacher."  I learned a lot and am starting to apply it.  It was a great conference.  On Saturday, we had our interviews with President Middleton.  Let me just say, that President Middleton is the most inspired man I have met.  The spirit that he carries is so strong.  Talking to him is like talking to an Apostle.  He counseled me on a few things that I can work on, and we talked about how the work is going in Sudbury.  At the end of the interview, we knelt and He offered the most sincere prayer I have ever heard.  I was touched by the Spirit that rested upon me as he spoke.  As he prayed, he prayed specifically on my behalf.  He prayed that I might grow and progress and enjoy success on my mission.  The words were so sincere, the prayer so heartfelt that I wept with gratitude for even being in his presence.    His testimony is incredible.  He is an incredible example of how to be a missionary.  He truly is a man of God.

We had a session on Sunday night, after which President and Sister Middleton pulled out "The Other Side of Heaven" and let us watch that.  First Movie I have seen in three months.  That was fun.  Watching it with a bunch of other missionaries made it even better.  We had 10 missionaries staying at our new apartment.  It is always fun to have that many Elders in one place.  We learned a lot and we got to eat some really good food (always a bonus).  After the conference, Elder Opfar and I went with Sister Middleton to get some things for our new apartment.  We got a lot of stuff for the kitchen and a bunch of random things.  We have to wait until we finish the kitchen to put stuff in it, though.  We still have to finish painting.  It is coming along.  We don't want to spend too much time, because that takes away from Proselyting time, but we are hoping to get it done before the transfer ends (2 weeks left).  Overall, Things are going well and I am learning and progressing.  I can feel my testimony strengthening each day. 

And now for something completely Random.....Mom - I am working on getting a coat.  We were planning on doing that later today, but the Zone leaders are out of town and we don't have a ride.  We will see what we can do.  It is not too cold yet, though.....Dad - Good luck with the boards.  Hopefully Dan will be able to have a good trip to Japan next week.....The tree house tree is dying - how sad.  It is going to be weird without it in the backyard.  And it sounds like the Fence is going well.  And of course as soon as we decide to build a solid fence to keep the neighbor's dog out of our yard, they move and we get some great neighbors instead.....Bryson - Where is the Play by Play?.... Taylor - I got your letter.  Thanks Bro.  It was great..... I also got a package of cookies from Becky (Thank you) and a package that completely made my day when it came.  The package of letters from the primary was just what I needed.  It made me smile and was a wonderful piece of correspondence..... Anyway, have a wonderful day!  I mean it.  Don't make me force you to. I love you and miss you all!

Your Obedient Servant,

Elder Austin James Ashcraft

Oh How Glorious From The Throne Above....

Hello All!

How is everything back in Utah?  I hope all is going well and that everyone is getting into the swing of things with school and all your other endeavors.  It is also good to hear that my cougars are undefeated.  I would like to take this time to thank Bryson for the commentary.  I really appreciated it.  It was a great e-mail to read.  Keep it up.  I also hope that everyone is enjoying the fall weather.  It has started to cool down lately up here.  This morning we woke up and our apartment was a balmy 7 degrees Celsius.  That is about 45 degrees.  Quite a change from the 31 degrees Celsius that we had a day or two ago.  from about 90 to about 45 in one night (It happened, it was not pleasant - trust me).  I have not yet gotten a coat (sorry, mom) but I am working on that and I will be fine.  It is not yet that cold. 

Jean-Guy was baptized!  It happened right after church on Sunday.  It was kind of a hectic day.  Elder Opfar and I went up to the church at about 8:00 to fill the font so we wouldn't have to do so during the block, but we found that there was no hot water.  We had to wait for the bishop to come, and we borrowed his keys to get into the attic to check the water heater.  Reminded me of doing the same type stuff back at the stake center - good times.  We found the heaters that supplied the font, and when we checked them, we found that neither of them had been working.  They both had failed the ignition sequence (Sounds kind of like a rocket...). We were able to reset them and we waited for them to start heating water, but still no luck.  We ended up having to fill the font with cold water.  The person who was going to baptize Jean-Guy told us during church that he couldn't do it, so we ran back to the apartment to get my clothes so I could baptize him.  It was like running around with my head cut off, but it was worth it.  I was able to baptize Jean-Guy and it was awesome.  The Spirit was there and it was a great experience for everyone. 

We have been moving stuff into our new apartment.  We spent a decent chunk of time yesterday and Monday packing stuff and moving things to the apartment.  We have pretty much moved everything, though.  We took two loads with Brother MacIsaac, and one with Christa and Harley.  We don't have too much stuff, but it is still hectic.  We got to our apartment last night and started to set up our beds, but we could not find the screws to put it together.  It was interesting, but we put it together as best we could and prayed that it wouldn't collapse during the night.  It's all good though.  We survived. 

And now for randomness....It sounds like the work on the house has been incredible.  I hope it is turning out like you pictured it.  You will have to take pictures of it and send me some.  I am working on sending some pictures home, but it is difficult to get them developed (the place to do so is not in our area, and seeing as though we don't have a car.... it is a long walk and we don't have the time to do so), and the last few p-days have been very busy.  I will work on that though....Shanna - a new laptop - nifty.  hope that works out for you....BYU Football  - Undefeated!  And Utah is ranked as well.  It sounds like it is shaping up to be a great season.  Thanks again to Bryson for the commentary - if e-mail commentary ever goes big, you are the next Greg Wrubell.  It was so good I had to read it twice....I got the cookies and the Japanese candy - thanks.  It made my day.....I have been able to find most of the Ensigns that I sent home.  The last two would suffice.  And the notebooks - the purple one (yes that is the right one) and the red one that has my General Conference notes would be wonderful.... Elder Opfar and I are doing great.... Zone Conference is Monday - I am excited for that.  I have to do a musical number and I haven't given the slightest thought as to what I will do, but I am sure I will figure it out.  I would ask for suggestions, but I fear it would be too late when I receive them..... Oh, why not?  Any suggestions?....

Anyway, I hope that all is going well for everyone.  I love you and miss you all, and I pray for you every day!  Keep on truckin, Keep the faith, and Keep Smiling!

Your Obedient Servant,

Elder Austin James Ashcraft

Lights Every Land Today......

Hello All!

Greetings from the Frozen Tundra of Canada!  It seems that summer has hit late, here in Canada.  It has been an average temperature of 27 Degrees (it's not that hot in and of itself, but I am not used to it, and it is really humid.)  One of the days, was 28 Degrees and 99% Humidity.  It was really warm.  But that's life and I can't complain.  The work is progressing, and I am learning and growing a lot.

We have been doing some member work with the PEC lately.  We are trying to visit them and gain their trust.  We visited with the Bishop's Family, whose children remind me of Tanner, Braden, Brindy, and Noelle.  Same Ages and Everything.  Kind of weird, though.... The youngest, Amber, really was almost the spitting image of Pieface, except with the most insanely piercing blue eyes I have ever seen.  They were almost an electric blue color.  It was awesome!) But anyway, we also went to visit the Bymans.  They have three young kids and the oldest, Heidi, is five years old and now has a big crush on Elder Opfar.  Micah, the three year old, was sitting in Sacrament Meeting and during the Sacrament, he saw Elder Opfar and I on the stand (We  were blessing the sacrament) and he stood up and yelled, "Look at what the Missionaries are doing!"  It was really funny.

We also had a wonderful day on Monday.  We taught 4 lessons and picked up 4 new investigators.  One of them was stoned at the time and he said, "you know, guys, I am not really catching all that you're saying because I'm kind of high, but can we do this another time?"  We agreed and rescheduled our appointment.  It was kind of weird, because he wasn't out of it.  He was answering our questions and everything.  We also taught a lady who is frustrated with the Catholic Church because she had a son who died before he was baptized and she refused to believe that he was "not saved."  We talked to her about the Family Proclamation and hopefully she will come out to church.  She is supposed to call us today to schedule another appointment.

We are moving probably late this week.  The address changed and so now it is:

Elder Austin James Ashcraft
332 Eva St. Main Floor
Sudbury, ON P3C 4N3

the postal code changed as well.  I wasn't sure of that last time I wrote. It is a very big apartment.  1300 Square feet.  It will be a nice change.

Hey Dad, I am running out of time and the computer is going to kick me off, so this e-mail might be in two pieces.  If you could put them together and send it off that would be great. I probably could have finished, but I would have had to leave out the randomness.... that's just no fun....

Jean Guy is going to be baptized!  We have him planned to be baptized on Sunday after Church.  It is finally happening.  It has been a month since we first planned on getting him Baptized, but it's actually happening this time.  It is very exciting.

We haven't heard from Siscoe, yet.  He went down to Toronto, and we were hoping that he would show up at church on Sunday, but he was not there.  We hope to hear from him this week.  He is a good guy and he wants to be baptized.  We just have to wait for him to call us.

But now, let the randomness begin.... Mom - Pieface is in school.  That is weird.  She is a smart girl, and she will be a great student..... Tanner - Way to go on the Star.  You are way ahead of where I was.  Tay and Briz - Don't give up.  I know you can do it....Tay - how is everything with yearbook?  Did you find an adviser?  Are things working for you?  Play practice and everything else?  I hope that it is not too crazy.  Random tip -  drink lots of water.  It helped me for some reason.  And don't forget, among everything else that you have to do, to read your scriptures.  I didn't study as much as I should have in High School, and I wish that I would have.  Don't lose sight of what is important....That is pretty funny about Maria and the Tile.  Wish her well with her surgery.  I only have one question about it - did she catch the Frisbee?  Just kidding.  What a way to go out though.  Playing Frisbee..... Mom - about the food -  We are only allowed to have 3 Member only meal appointments a week.  If there is another person, a less active or a non-member present, we can eat there whenever we are invited.  We have not had to turn down any meal appointments because we had too many in one week, though.  We had one of the members take us to Costco and we got some stuff (big bag of hamburgers, chicken, veggies, etc.)  So we are taken care of.... But anyway, the computer is wigging out, so I will send this before I lose it.  Take Care.  I am praying for you!  I love you and miss you all!

Your Obedient Servant,
Elder Austin James Ashcraft

P.S. - Cougar Football - What's going on?  I know it's that time of year again.....

Bright As The Sun This Heavenly Ray...

Hello All!

Greetings from Canada!  How is everybody doing?  How was the start of school?  I hope all has gone well.  How is everybody's schedule?  Nothing too tedious I hope.  Things have been great here.  We have picked up two new investigators and one of them seems very excited to learn about the gospel.

Megan is the first one.  She is 17 and does not yet have a strong faith in our Father in Heaven.  We are working on that, and teaching her about the nature of God, as well as the first lesson about the Restoration.  We are going to be meeting with her later this week.  The other is Desiree.  She is a young mom, and she was very interested in what we had to say about the family.  She seemed eager to learn and wants us to come back.  Jean Guy is still smoking, but we are going to meet with him on Friday to see how we need to proceed.  Siscoe has not yet gotten back from Toronto.  We are waiting for that so we can keep teaching him.

We cooked dinner for Paula on Sunday.  She is a member who feeds a different set of missionaries each week.  She actually has the Sisters staying in her house.  We asked her on Wednesday if there was anything we could do for her, and she jokingly responded "cook supper on Sunday" and we jumped at it.  It was a lot of fun to be in a real kitchen again, with real ingredients to work with.

Last night we had a really funny experience.  We stopped by an appointment with Don, who we had met the day before.  He had forgotten about us, and he and his friend were completely drunk.  It was quite humorous.  It reminded me of in the movies when people act completely inebriated.  Quintessential
intoxication.  It was pretty funny, but we left and did some contacting, instead.

So everybody is coming home.... Dan, Bryan, Andrew.... sounds like a blast - especially for the rest of the young men, having to deal with the sacrament without the boys.   It is good to hear about how people come home with very strong testimonies.  I hope that mine can progress each and every day and I feel it growing just being out here doing the Lord's Work.  It is a great thing to be doing.  There is no greater work, no greater calling that I could have in my life than to be out here, among these wonderful people
(drunk as they may be) teaching the Gospel.  It is incredible to know how much this message changes lives.  How was Pace's Meeting, by the way?

Guess What?  I'm moving!  We are getting a new apartment!  The one that we are in right now is pretty ghetto, and we finally found an apartment to move into.  We should be there in about a week.  The 1st of September is the day that it becomes ours, but they have to go in and repair a few things, so it will probably be next Thursday or so.  My new address will be 332 Eva St. instead of 44 Humber Court.  I think that all the rest of the information will stay the same in the address.  I will let you know if it changes though.

Randomness! (it's wonderful, isn't it)....Larry is Young Men's President - magnificent.  He will do a great job.  I am excited for the boys.....The campout sounds like a lot of fun.  It always is a great thing to see a moose.  They are huge!  We have heard some stories about moose running through people's backyards and such.  The Sisters even told us about a bear that was up in the tree in Paula's Front yard - Crazy! ....Have fun with the Cookout - just remember the lemon pepper and everything will be fine....Mom -  it must be weird having all the kids away at school.  You have a half day to yourself.  What are you going to do with all your new "free time?"....Taylor - It has begun....The long days, the 3:00 AM homework parties.... Enjoy it.  Don't kill yourself though.  And that story about the dentist's office is hilarious.  I wish I could have been there.  I hope that you got your schedule figured out as well.... Shan - your trip to San Diego sounded like a blast.  And thanks for giving Dan my address.  I hope he writes.... I hope anybody writes....Dan and Moe.... interesting.... just kidding.... Anyway.... I love you and miss you all!  Take Care and Keep in Touch!

Your Obedient Servant,
Elder Austin James Ashcraft

Dad - could you forward please?  I am out of time... and there is a present under Taylor's bed that I was not able to get to Moe before she went to Nauvoo.  If you could please deliver that, that would be great....

Shines the Gospel Light of Truth and Love....

Hello All!

Greetings from Sudbury!  It has been an interesting week.  Transfer calls came on Monday, and Elder Opfar and I are both staying here in Sudbury.  We had a Blitz (finding day) on Monday and Tuesday, which didn't go too well (I think we only got two contacts), but the work is going forward boldly.

We had an incredible Mission Conference on Thursday.  Elder Packer from the Quorum of the Seventy spoke to us.  He covered a lot of territory.  His wife also spoke to us.  She went through the attributes in Doctrine and Covenants Section 4 and described how each of them, as we learn and develop them on
our missions, will be necessary and will help us throughout our lives.  One of the things that stuck out to me about Elder Packer's talk was that he described the need to learn the Language of the Spirit.  He described it as a language that cannot be taught, yet it is so vitally important to each of us that we learn how the spirit speaks to us individually.  We all MUST learn it, and we all MUST find out for ourselves.  It is something that I have been trying to work on.

On Saturday, we met with Siscoe, a big black guy from Angola who speaks Portuguese.  It was a miracle how we met with him.  We had taught him the first few weeks of the transfer, but he went down to Toronto for a few weeks and he kind of fell off the radar.  He told us that he was waiting for us to come visit him, and that he told himself that if we didn't come visit him, he would come visit us.  He walked to the church (He thought we lived there) and went inside.  There was a wedding reception (more a luncheon/open house) going on, and Siscoe went inside and asked if we were home.  The guy who had
just gotten married had served his mission in Brazil, and he was able to talk to him for a while in Portuguese about the gospel.  We got a call from this guy at the church saying that Siscoe was there and we went up and taught him.  It was great.  It could not have worked out better.  We invited him to come to church, which he did.  We told him that we would stop by and walk with him to church.  We were a few minutes late, and his wife told us that he was so excited, he could not wait any longer, so he started walking without us.  We caught up to him and he had a great experience at church. We taught him again on Monday, and as we sat down with him, the first question he asked us was "so how long until I can get baptized?"  It was a miracle.  We are Meeting with him again a couple times later this week, and he is planning on being baptized on the 31st.

Jean Guy is not doing too well.  He is still smoking.  We have to work on that.

Time to be random....Mom, I mailed a package home.  There is a letter coming as well that will explain a little bit....Dad, it sounds like the Safe Spots are doing well.  The campout also sounds like fun.  And the sprinkler system will be good for granddad's lawn as well.....Utah is cooling down – Mom would hate the weather up here.  The bosses party sounds fun.  And just so you know, the preachers from the other faiths are one of our favorite people to contact.  It either goes two ways - we place the Book of Mormon and commit them to read it, or we get completely shut down.  It’s good to talk to those with scriptural knowledge, though.  Good luck with school and everything else..... Bryson - it was good to hear from you....If only my other brothers would do the same....just kidding...but seriously folks.....I love you and miss you all!

Your Obedient Servant,
Elder Austin James Ashcraft

Oh How Glorious From The Throne Above....

Hello All!

How is life down in Utah?  It's the middle of August now, and I bet that it is a tad bit on the warm side.  I hope that everybody is having a great time finishing up the summer plans and getting ready for school to start.  It is that time again - kind of weird that I am not a part of it.  I hope that all goes well and that you are all able to get everything ready.

Canada is, as usual, being a great experience for me.  I am learning a lot from my companion and my study.  I have been going through the Book of Mormon again and I just have to reiterate how incredible that book is! Joseph Smith was truly correct when he said that it is the most correct of any book on earth, and that a man will get closer to God by reading it and abiding by its precepts than any other book.  We have given a lot of them away this past little while, as we have tried to utilize it more in our missionary service.  We have gotten into the habit of carrying one in our hand the entire time we are out.  It is great, although at times I just want to start reading while I am walking down the street.  It is such a learning environment out here.  On one hand, you want to study all day just because you are learning so much, but you also want to get out and share what you know with the world.  It is an incredible feeling that I wish everyone could experience.

Our investigators are proving to be an interesting challenge.  We passed Susan on the Sister Missionaries (one of which looks like Nicole Richardson - I will have to send a picture) and they have been teaching her.  She got antied and had not come to church.  We saw her in the bus stop and talked to her a little bit.  We walked with her over to the Tim Horton's (Canada's Equivalent of Starbucks - Interesting place for a missionary lesson, I know, but that is where she was going...) and we taught her a little bit there. It got pretty noisy, so we convinced her to walk with us across the street to the park, where we were able to teach her about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  We also committed her to be baptized this Sunday and set up an appointment for the Sisters to go teach her.  The sisters taught her and the lesson went well, but she didn't come to church again.  She said that she wasn't feeling well, but later she expressed a concern that she felt she wasn't ready to be baptized.  It has been an interesting roller coaster with her.

Jean Guy, our other investigator that was going to be baptized this Sunday, has had a hard time quitting smoking.  We went over the workshop with him a while ago, but when I talked to him, we went over the 15 steps and he has been skipping a couple.  Hopefully he will have kicked it by Sunday so we can baptize him.  His testimony is strong, he just has that smoking problem.  We talked to him last night, and he asked for a blessing, which should help him.  Hopefully he will have kicked the habit. We taught another lady, Elaine, who reminds me of Aunt Helen.  She was fairly receptive to what we taught, and we scheduled a return appointment, but when we showed up for the appointment, she was not home.  We will try to talk to her later this week.

So in about an hour we are going to drive down to Brampton.  Elder Packer from the Seventy is coming and all the missionaries are going down to meet with him.  I am excited.  It will be a long drive, though, and that is something that I am not used to.  It will be good, though.  It will give me a chance to study and write letters.  But anyway, life in Sudbury has been good.  The work is progressing and I feel that I am as well.  I am so grateful to know what I know.  We are a peculiar people, with a peculiar knowledge.  Use it well.

And now for something Completely Random....Boyos, have fun at scout camp. You will have to let me know how it is.  I don't really know anything about it, seeing as though you never write me (just kidding - love you), but let me know.  I still want to hear about youth conference (Especially the picture of Al as Fabio) and everything else - all your summer adventures....Taylor - did they ever figure out what is going to happen with yearbook because Hyatt is leaving?  I hope that you are able to find another adviser.  If you have any input, try Ms. Bishop - that is what we were shooting for, but it didn't work out.....Bryson - Happy Birthday!  I hope my letter got there in time.  It was kind of random, but I hope you enjoyed it.... Dad - Congrats on the ALPS contract.  It is good that the SafeSpot is doing well.  I hope that everything goes well with that....Chad is going into the MTC - All I can say is Have Fun, Learn lots, and don't lose your enthusiasm for the work! (and just so you know, mom, the practical jokes are not too bad out here <knock or wood>)....I got both of the picture packages this week - one on Friday and one  yesterday.  That was wonderful!  I love getting pictures!  It is so much fun.  (By the way, mom, I thought the Tithing Envelope was hilarious).  Pictures are great..... Anyway, Good luck to everybody starting school in the next little while.  Bryson - good luck in High School.  Taylor - Have an Awesome Senior Year (Don't be too lazy). Tan - Junior High, Baby!  Love it!  And to everybody at CEU, try to have fun without me.  It is weird not going down to Price, but I hope you are all able to survive (at least temporarily) without the Duck.  But, Alas!  My time to e-mail doth draw to a close.  Anyway - I love you and miss you all!!!  Don't be strangers!  I would love to hear from you!

Your Obedient Servant,
Elder Austin James Ashcraft

Truth is Restored Again....

Hello All!

Greetings from Canada!  Life here in Sudbury is great!  I am learning a lot as I teach people the gospel.  We had a goal this week to focus on finding people to teach.  We spent Thursday and Friday working a part of our area that we don't get to very often.  We started at 10:00 and pretty much walked all day until we got in at 9:00.  It was a couple long days of walking, and I can't really feel my legs anymore, but we were able to talk to people and get a few contacts.  That makes it all worth it.  All the aches and pains and trials that we go through are all worth it.  The gospel being preached is worth any price.

Jean Guy called us on Thursday night and told us that he had smoked.  We decided to push the baptism back a week.  It was good that he was honest with us, though.  It is good that he cares enough to have it done right. We taught him the stop smoking workshop on Saturday.  He came to church and said he was doing good, but then he went camping Sunday night and we haven't heard from him since.  Hopefully everything is all right.

Storytime - we were walking last night and Elder Opfar said, "Since we are in the neighborhood, should we go see Christa and Harley? (A member in the ward and her son)” I agreed and we went to visit them.  We visited for a few minutes and then shared a spiritual thought.  Christa asked her son to say the closing prayer but he did not want to.  She told us that we could say it if we wanted to, instead.  I almost spoke up, but I was prompted not to.  We eventually found out that Harley had been doubting the existence of God.  We taught and testified, and committed him to ask God if he is there.  The spirit was so strong in that room.  It is incredible how the spirit works.

I am running out of time on the computer, but the work is going well.

And now for complete randomness....Mom - good luck with all the kids.  It sounds like a fun time. And with Taylor and Bryson at work all the time I bet it was a handful (okay, maybe two).....Tell Wendy and Dan congratulations (out of complete curiosity, when does Maria get back from Nauvoo?).....And to answer your question about Canadian food - it is pretty much the same as America.  A few things I really miss (Real Beef, salsa, you know, things like that....), but there have been no really weird foods.  I will let you know though.....Dad- good luck with ALPS and with the logo. Let me know how it turns out..... Anyway... Gotta Run.... I love you and Miss you All!

Your Obedient Servant,
Elder Austin James Ashcraft