March 27, 2017

Dear family and friends,

What an amazing week we had this week! It started out with us going to
the temple. It was my very first time going to the Draper temple here
in Utah. It's a very beautiful temple but so hard to find. Me and my
companion got lost on the way up so we arrived a little late. I
absolutely love going to the temple. It is the most holy place I can
thing of. It's a place where I can feel the Spirit of the Lord. As I
was pondering the many families and people that we're trying to work
with, I received many impressions on how we can help them.

Later this week we had a miracle! We were able to teach a family of 7
in their home. They're brand new investigators and we taught the
Restoration. The father of this family has already gained a testimony
of the Book of Mormon. When I asked him to share it with his family,
tears filled his eyes. He told us of how the Lord spoke with him and
caused his heart to burn with fire. He could not deny the truthfulness
of the Book and he knew that it was true. They consider themselves
members since they are a branch of our faith but we're going to take
them to General conference this weekend and testify about the current
prophet and apostles. We hope that we can set the sights of this
family towards the temple and help them prepare by being baptized.
Elder Sandino and I are very excited!

I love this mission and I love these people. I can't imagine what my
life would be like if I had never met them. How wonderful it is that
we know that life didn't start in this world and nor does it end with
the grave. Everyone on this world needs to know these things! I love
being a representative of Jesus Christ!

Everyone please pray for the Watson family that the Spirit will fall
upon them and prepare them to be taught.

I love you all and wish you the best this next week!

March 13, 2017

Dear Family and Friends,

We ended this transfer with a great miracle! Elder Holmes and I found
6 people who wanted missionary lessons and to come to Jesus Christ. We
sent many referrals to other areas knowing that they were prepared by
God all the while hoping that the Lord would bless us for our
diligence. This past Friday we were at our dinner appointment and the
family we were eating with told us of a new family that had just moved
into their basement. It's four adults and two kids. We decided to
teach the family we were eating with the restoration and encouraged
them to invite their friends to come to church this Sunday. They did
and we sat next to them. They loved church and we were able to set up
a lesson for later that day. It was an amazing lesson and they're all
amazing! They are the Sanchez family from Colombia. We were super
happy to have picked up 4 new investigators for the Lord.

Transfer news came in and Elder Holmes and I will both be transferred.
Elder Holmes will be going to English speaking in a stake in Draper. I
will also be going English Speaking in Draper and my new companion
will be a missionary named Elder Sandino. I've met him a couple
transfers ago when we were in the same zone. Elder Sandino is a great
missionary from Nicaragua. He has been out for a while so we're both
going to have a lot of experience between the two of us. It is going
to be interesting going to English Speaking but I'm very excited.
Elder Sandino will be teaching me a lot.

Recently I've been reading in Doctrine and Covenants and in the early
sections many people are asking Joseph Smith to ask the Lord
concerning their role in the work. Many of them were anxious to
proclaim all that they had learned of the restored gospel even before
the Book of Mormon had been published. Many of them were told by
revelation to wait until they could obtain the word and then their
mouths would be loosed. It is amazing to me how willing they were to
do what I'm doing right now. Some of the first such as Hyrum was not
called to be a missionary before he held community sermons over the
restoration and the Book of Mormon. They are an example to me of faith
and diligence. I hope that we can learn from them and continue to do
the work out of our own desires to serve our Lord whether we've been
called to do so or not. I know that this work is directed by the Lord
Jesus Christ. Just as Christ said in D&C 15 and 16:

"And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the
most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people,
that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the
kingdom of my Father. Amen."

I love you all and I wish you the best! Have a great week!

March 6, 2017

Family and Friends,

We're having an excellent time here in daybreak! Recently Elder Holmes
and I had the opportunity to do service at the University of Utah. The
event was called "give a kid a smile" and it is a free day of dental
work. We translated for all of the Spanish speaking people there. On
the way we used tracks and there were many non members. elder Holmes
and I tried to talk to every single person on that train. We had
talked to many people and were able to share the restoration with a
few of them. As we wee reaching the few people that we hadn't talked
to, there was a young woman who told us that she was a member who was
going through the worst day of her life. She told us that watching us
Preach the gospel was what she needed and it was an answer to whether
she should serve a mission or not.you member know who's watching I
guess.

Some exciting news is that last week we picked up a new investigator.
It's a woman named Drea. When we met her we shared a little of the
gospel with her and she told us that she would be interested in
meeting with us. We set up a lesson for the next day and taught her
the restoration. She is amazing and is completely solid. She is going
to meet with us this next Wednesday and we're going to go over some
scriptures that she read. She knows that she needs to be baptized and
we're hoping that she accept a baptism date this next Wednesday.

Recently Elder Holmes and I have been learning a lot about prayer.
Presiden Eyring describes it as "approaching the throne of God." Elder
Holmes and I have been trying to focus on our prayers more and make it
as sacred as it should be as we pray for our area and for our
investigators. Our goal is to receive revelation over what we can do
in order to better accomplish our missionary purpose here in daybreak.
If you want to learn about prayer, I encourage you all to watch the
new face to face with President Eyring and Elder Holland.

Have a great week!


Elder Kallin James Austin
Utah SLC South Mission

February 20, 2017

Dear Family and Friends! 

What a wonderful week the Lord has blessed us with! We have seen some amazing miracles! 

Firstly there is a man we have been trying to teach for the Longest time named Manuel Rodriguez. We've stopped by his house several times last transfer and every time we did his wife (who is a member) told us that he wasn't ready yet. So we ended up dropping him for future missionaries. This past week during planning, Elder Holmes saw his name in the area Book and felt really impressed to stop by. So we did and we knocked on the door again. His wife answered the door again and looked more cheerful this time. We asked how she was doing and then I said "the reason we are here is to share the gospel with your husband." She smiled, turned, and yelled "Manuel, the missionaries have a question for you!" He let us in immediately and we got to know him a little. We taught him the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was attentive the entire time and when we invited him to be baptized he said yes but that he needs time. We asked what he was doing and he told us that he was reading the Book of Mormon with his family. Elder Holmes and I then both shared our testimonies and how we came to know that these things were true. We're going to meet with him again this week and help him exercise his faith towards a baptism date. Please keep Manuel Rodriguez in your prayers. 

This week I finished studying Jacob 5 and what an amazing chapter!!!! I want to share a couple verses that impacted me. This is the Lord speaking to His servants right before He gathers Israel for the last time. 

 70 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard sent his servant; and the servant went and did as the Lord had commanded him, and brought other servants; and they were few.

 71 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them: Go to, and labor in the vineyard, with your might. For behold, this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh; and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself against the time which will soon come.

 72 And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things.

 73 And there began to be the natural fruit again in the vineyard; and the natural branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly; and the wild branches began to be plucked off and to be cast away; and they did keep the root and the top thereof equal, according to the strength thereof.

 74 And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard, even until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved unto himself that the trees had become again the natural fruit; and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning.

 75 And it came to pass that when the Lord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt, he called up his servants, and said unto them: Behold, for this last time have we nourished my vineyard; and thou beholdest that I have done according to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even like as it was in the beginning. And blessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the naturalfruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard.

Let's all choose to be one of the Lord's few servants as all who are a member of His church have been called to do the work. I know that Jesus Christ lives and guides us and that He is preparing the wold for His second coming. 

Have a great week!