gunten tag

Well gosh ya all, I don’t really know exactly what to say! It was so great to say some things to all of you the other day! Its been a wonderful week, we’re very blessed here in this area, we all had a wonderful Christmas. At least I definitely did. SOO awesome to talk to Michael and Laura! That was a real Christmas gift for me. Wish I could have said so much more to all of you, but I think it was right about perfect as it was.

Well, we had transfer calls last night and … I’m staying here in Hartford another transfer with Elder Pikyavit. It’ll be 6 months here! Wow. But I like it mostly, so I’m happy to do it. And Elder P and I get along pretty well so that’s a plus too. I was thinking the other day, and especially last night as I heard where some Elders were going and such, how much I have been blessed with good areas and good companions. I’ve been pretty lucky. There are so many little ways to be blessed that I think we often barely think about. Guess you don’t know what you got till its gone kinda thing. Count your blessings!

I had this real interesting and strange realization the other day. I think it was like a week ago now maybe. I don’t know. Anyway, I seem to really enjoy both conflict, and chastisement. I don’t know exactly why, but when there is some problem we/I have to try and solve, or something of that nature, I like it. I don’t always have a smile on my face if it’s a serious situation, but I like the feeling. Its strange. Maybe the seriousness is what I like. I don’t know. But conflict seems so be something I get a kick out of.

And Chastisement. Another very strange thing to enjoy. I think both of these things I might just enjoy in the setting of missionary work. Being a missionary. Maybe. I like when our mission president calls us out on things. I like when he corrects us. Maybe its because if were getting corrected its a good thing and an opportunity to become better. Something like that. I just like hearing specifically what is to be done perhaps. Its many things. Maybe I think of it as instruction or something. I guess it also makes some things easier – like if I’ve been told exactly what to do, then I don’t have to figure it out so much for myself. I don’t have to put up so much of a fuss around other Elders because “we’ve been told.” Something like that.

I just thought it was a strange thing to enjoy and I keep thinking about why I like these two things, and what that means and what I might do about it.

We had dinner at another awesome family's house last night. Seriously seeing all these sweet families makes me so excited to have a sweet family! I hope I have a sweet family. Lindsay made the comment to me some time ago about how there are so many things in life she wants to do. Goals and such. And many of them she can’t even work on at the present time in life. How that's kinda frustrating and we need to be patient. Something along those lines. Well geeze I feel that sooo much out here! Its like I’m seeing all these things I want in life. Things I want to do, accomplish, be, achieve, have, etc! And so many of them are but thoughts right now. Dreams. I can’t work on so many of them right now. I just have to wait. Its also tough because I think some of them I can’t do. Like I have to choose between doing one thing and another. Whats really important, ya know? Crazy how much one learns and is exposed to doing this.

Sorry, all those thoughts were pretty scattered. At church yesterday (I like church here), the first councilor made a good comment after reflecting on how he never turns the light on in the morning coming down this stairs, and how really this could be slightly dangerous. Why, when light is available to us at the flick of a switch, do we fail to use it? To take advantage of it? Surely you can see the gospel analogy/principle in there. There is much light available to us that we often times don’t take advantage of. And I guess I thought that perhaps with the gospel, we sometimes don’t realize we are in darkness. We feel content or comfortable and don’t let ourselves progress or grow when we could be. Something like that. I can’t remember my whole train of thought on it right now.

I am afraid to come home. Not that much, but its starting to become apparent that all the things I want to learn and study that I don’t have time to study out here, that I keep telling myself oh I’ll have to get a little deeper into that when I get home or whatever, people keep saying that there is so much less time for all of that when you get home! I don’t want this to be the case, but so many people keep saying things like it. Frowny face. Seems like its just in one’s commitment to make time for it. For the gospel. But it seems like real solid people even have this problem. Why does life have to get so hectic? Ha ha, that’s a funny question. And there is so much to remember about all the things that I learn out here. I feel like I’m just going to have to read my journal every single day. If I do that I’m pretty sure it’ll make me want to come back on a mission like 10 times more than I want to come home right now! But I don’t want to come home that bad, so who knows. Hm. Gosh I know my thoughts are super scatter brained, I just don’t have a whole lot to write about right now. I’m just venting. Just rambling.

Alright well I’m just drawing blanks. I love you family. So much! It was so sweet to talk to everyone! I seriously can’t wait to all sit around our dinner table in 14 months and be together as a family again. Talk about all our experiences and such. I can’t imagine what we’ll all be like when we get back!

Love from the ice coast!

Elder David Austin