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.

What Glorious Scenes Mine Eyes Behold....

Hello All!

It has been such a good week!  The sun has been shining!  I don't have to wear my big coat!  You can walk outside and not feel like you are an ice sculpture!  It's so happy!  Anyway.....

We had an amazing week!  We have been working with some of our most progressing investigators almost on a daily basis.  Kara Stanton hasn't smoked since last Tuesday.  She has gotten into a habit of calling us when she feels tempted to have a cigarette, which is absolutely fine with us. She called us last night and asked us to come over and she told us that she was talking to her mom (who had previously been strongly opposed to her meeting with us) on the phone and she told her mom about how she wanted to have a cigarette and her mom said, "Call the Mormons!"  So we visited her last night with Brother Cook, and were able to strengthen her and talk to her about how she can protect herself from the temptations that come constantly.  We also taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ on Friday.  She
loved it and told us that everything she learns makes her want to learn more and more.  She wants to know as much as she can so she can make an "informed decision" about baptism.  We will continue to work with her.

We also met again with Len Longin yesterday.  We taught him about the Law of Chastity, the Ten Commandments, and Following the Prophet.  We invited him to hear the words of our Living Prophet at General Conference, and he said, "I am not going to say I will try to be there, I WILL be there."  He
also explained that he can feel his faith growing every day.  He can't go to sleep at night unless he reads from the Book of Mormon, and it never leaves the kitchen table.  "Dishes and food are pushed aside, but the Book stays. "I am very excited for him.

We also resumed working with Kim Bell.  She is the non-member girlfriend of a less active member, Justinn Coombs.  Justin called us on Thursday night. He had gotten into some anti about the end of the world and he was scared. So we set up an appointment with our resident Genius and scriptorian, Brother Witlox, and that went very well.  We talked about what we need to do to Endure to the end.  He has promised us that he will be at church on Sunday, and she is coming with him.  We are working on getting them married as well.

It has been a stellar week.  I feel that the Lord has blessed us so much. We are seeing the Gospel change people,  and that is the greatest reward that we can receive.

If I may ask a favor of you all - Please pray for these few investigators that are trying to come into the fold of God.  They are so close.  They just need a little extra push to help them exercise their faith and come unto Christ.

I love you and miss you all!  I hope that all is well with every one of you.  If I can do anything let me know.  Have a great week!

Your Obedient Servant,
Elder Austin James Ashcraft

Add you own favorite hymn verse here

Hello All!

Things are finally starting to warm up here.  The past few days have been wonderful and the sunshine has been invigorating!  The snow is melting and it is almost spring!

Transfer calls came on Monday, and...... I am staying In Orillia with Elder Day!  I am excited and ready for another 6 weeks.  the time passes very quickly out here.  Kind of crazy.  but anyway....

We had a pretty good week.  We did a lot of finding (More than usual, anyway) due to the finding blitz that we had over the weekend.  We got a few contacts (not quite as many as I would have hoped, though) and the Lord blessed us with a new investigator.  His Name is Mike Witwell and he is a very nice, very energetic man.  He was one that we tracted into about 3 weeks ago and when we dropped by on Sunday Night, he was excited to invite us in and have a "faith-based conversation" as he put it.  He willingly accepted a copy of the Book Of Mormon and the invitation to try it for himself.  We will be meeting with him in the next little while to follow up and teach him more.

We had 2 investigators at stake conference!  Jessica Haime drove herself down all the way from Orillia to be there.  She was at the meeting for investigators and new members.  She really enjoyed the  conference.  She said that one of the talks (given by Sister Zeugg) hit her really hard.  She said that everything Sister Zeugg talked about (The Word of Wisdom and marrying a non-member especially) applied directly to her situation.  We were able to talk to her about it yesterday, and she still isn't sure what she will do about Andrew.  She says that quitting smoking will be easy, but the fact that Andrew has no place to go makes it hard for her to kick him out.

The Other investigator that was at stake conference was Allan.  He and his girlfriend, Jessica Mallet (She is a member) drove down with the Witlox's and said as they were leaving, that they really enjoyed  it.  We haven't had a chance to meet with them yet this week, but we are planning to drop by tonight and either teach then or set up an appointment.

We met again with Len, and he is progressing well.  He is running out of excuses and questions and pretty soon he will be ready to get baptized. Kerra is also trying to quit smoking today.  She called us last night right before 9:00 and asked us to come over for a minute, so we talked with her and she told us about how she had tried all day to get some drugs, but that nobody would sell them to her.  She told us that every time she got turned down, she would say, "It's those dang Mormons.  They're praying for me, I
know it."  Her language was a bit more colorful, but for the purposes of this correspondence, I think this will do just fine.  She also called us at 7:00 this morning and asked us to pray for her because she is quitting smoking today.   That, and her ex-boyfriend (Bad influence) is now back in Australia.  So things are working for her to clean up.   It is exciting to see how the gospel can change people's lives.  I hope that all is going well.  Stake Conference was great.  Any conference is great.  So yeah.  I love you and miss you all, and hope that you have a great week!

Your Obedient Servant,
Elder Austin James Ashcraft

P.S. - Not that this is a hint or anything, but I would love to hear from all of you!  Have Fun!!!