October 10, 2016

Hi everyone! 

Sounds like things are going good back home, I'm glad CC and BYU were both able to pull off good wins this week!! And sounds like Jamal has been having a monster season!  

I haven't been able to see the Morgan's yet, but we have Why I Believe this Sunday so hopefully I see them there! Like you said this area has opened my eyes tons. I feel like DC 3rd was like the warm up for this ward. So many tough situations, people who are in bad places in their lives. And sadly usually because of decisions they have made themselves. There is so many drug and alcohol problems. And I swear everyone is smoking when we are out and about. The ward is still struggling, we still only have about 50 people TOPS at sacrament. Of the 6 people who do sacrament, 2 to bless and 4 to pass, it was all of the missionaries in the ward. And then this will show how interesting out ward is, get this...so we had a child of record baptism yesterday and I conducted the service. We were missing so many ward leaders Sunday that they asked if we could do it, so a little unconventional but add it to the mission journal.

We had a pretty good week. We have been getting a TON of Mormon.org Bible referrals that we had to go check on. And then also did quite a bit of tracting this week. Kiawana is really struggling, we wanted to pick a new baptismal date with her but she just isn't ready. Her life is really kinda falling apart and it's super sad. But she finally came to church yesterday!! She just wanted to talk so we skipped gospel principles and had a lesson in a spare room. We were talking about trying to find blessings Gods given her even in all this hard stuff, and all she said was "I haven't smoked Crack Cocaine again and I still have my kids". Let me tell you we aren't in Kansas anymore Todo. 

But Valorie is doing awesome! We went and taught her yesterday and she's been reading the BOM! And she said she believes the Plan of Salvation is true. And yesterday during the lesson she started doing The whole, "if I did believe this and join your church..." game. So we really feel like she's going to commit to baptism soon! 

To top the week off we had Elder Bennett of the Seventy come and speak to the mission! It was such an amazing meeting! It was soo long but so spiritual! I took away a lot of awesome things from it. Plus we were combined with Rockville and DC Zones so I got to see some friends!! I sat next to Elder Jenks and it was awesome so see others there too!!

Well you counted right Mom, Transfer call out is this Saturday! It is so crazy how fast this one went, and I only have 6 more after this one. So nuts!! But it will be interesting to see what happens, I really have no clue. I could see it going both ways of going or staying, but I'll be happy either way. 

Love you all lots!!

Love,

Austin 

Tracting in the rain.. here is the difference in our companionship haha

 But it's okay cause we still love each other hahah. Oh man I love this guy!

October 3, 2016

Hi Everyone!! 

Sounds like it was a good week for you all. A little low key, but those are always good weeks to have. Sounds like Caleb and Hailey are doing great in the activities and I'm glad BYU could get the W!! I'm sure the colors in the mountains are great as they usually are! It hasn't started to get that cold yet. It is starting to change though, we are in the low 70s to 60s on most days. And it is going to be a little off and on rainy for a few weeks. The colors will usually turn here at the end of October to early November if it follows like last year. 

Well with General Conference it was a little slower week. We taught some good lessons and things are going really good with Valorie. We have taught her a few times and she knows it is true, she's made comments that we know she does. Now it's just getting her to let go of the social side of her church, which she's only been a member for 6 months. We are hopeful! Sadly thing with Kiawana have made it that we are gonna have to bump her baptismal date, but we are hoping she will find her desire again and keep progressing!

Big event of the week (besides Conference) was interviews with President! He's said he's going to keep up trying to interview every missionary, every transfer. And props to him cause those are some long days! Ours went SO long! Since he's still new and getting to know people he talked an average about 20-30 min with each missionary when he is slotted 10. Then we had a few problems come up in the zone so a few missionaries took as long as AN HOUR!! Holy smokes! It was such a long day. We showed up at 9am to have a pre interview meeting with him and then we didn't walk into our interviews until around 9:45 pm. My interview with him went great, I love that man! We talked about some problems in the Zone, then he looked at me and said," Elder Carroll I so appreciate you" kinda teared up and said "We are gonna be friends a long time". I'm glad I have developed such a close relationship with him, and he's helped makes this transition to all the new rules and policies so much easier. I'm in a good place with them all now. 

Then we talked about the transfer to come and how Elder Zocca and I will most likely get broken up since there is a need to train new Zone Leaders. (Earlier that day he had said he was on the phone with Pres. Morgan the day before the Morgans will get here this week I think and he's assigned them to live in the Annapolis Stake but will serve with all the YSA wards in the mission) I jokingly said "so you're gonna move me to DC 2nd YSA to be a Rockville Zone Leader so I can work with President Morgan right?" And he laughed, then looked at me and said he actually liked that idea a lot and would think more about it. So fingers crossed! We ended the night with the Johnsons wanting to take us to dinner! So we went to dinner at 10:30 with them to Applebee's haha. Not many people can say they have been in a restaurant with their mission president until 11:30 at night! But it was great, a more casual environment to get to know them even more! 

Then of course the big event of Conference!! Wow I can't believe that I can say I only have 1 more as a missionary!! It's so crazy! But I love Conference so much now. Like I don't know if it's just I pay way better attention than I did back home, or if being set apart helps, but I get so much out of each talk. Like so much!  So we weren't able to go up to the Visitors Center for conference, we tried but we couldn't get an investigator or recent convert to go. Since we are over the Zone we went on an exchange to WP1 and actually got to watch Conference at the Beal's! So I got Conference crab again! Then we watched Priesthood at the stake center. Then both sessions on Sunday at the Stake Center. Like you Dad I can't wait to be able to go to Priesthood with all of you. Only thing that's a little sad during conference weekend is for sure after Priesthood session knowing you all are going to dinner together. But like you, I'm glad I'm here, it will be all too soon we get to all go together next fall. We got to watch all the sessions and the talks were great! I can't really pick a favorite but I did really like Elder Hales, Elder Cornish, President Nelson, Elder Yashita, Elder Oaks, Elder Uchtdorf (Priesthood Session), Elder Eyring (Priesthood Session) talks, wow that got a lot longer than I thought as I was looking at my notes. But you get the idea haha 

Well I hope you all have great weeks! I sure miss and love you all!! But guess what, 83 days till Christmas! 

Love ya tons,

Austin

here's a pic of me watching Conference with my friends

from our district Activity today

September 26, 2016

Hi Fam,

Congrats to Leby on his game! And yeah a huge bummer for BYU.  It was crazy with how many members were in town. I'm sure the DC 3rd Ward was packed! On the metro Saturday I felt like a celebrity with BYU shirts everywhere trying to talk to me haha. That's where I ran into Adam Blogett. I was talking to him and his friends, they asked were I was from then he said Draper.  So of course we asked each other where. And then when we were taking Bellevue I saw the light go off and he realized that I was "the Elder Carroll from my ward!" So it was pretty cool haha. But we are all so jealous, a lot of senior couples and even Pres Johnson went to the game.

Well it's been another pretty good week here! Elder Zocca and I have been seeing a lot of good things happen. Early in the week we did some weekly planing and made some good goals for the transfer as a companionship I think we will see some great things happen from them. Plus we did the planning over an early dinner at 5 Guys so that always helps haha. 

It was kinda a same old, same old week so it might be a thinner email. We are still meeting with Kiawana and her kids and hoping to keep the same baptismal date, but we will see. There are a ton of hurdles we are dealing with. It's so sad to see these good people be gripped by all of these horrible things in their environment and situation.  The other person we are excited about is named Valorie. She was a Mormon.org referral and we called to see if we could visit her and she said we could come over right then. We went and taught her and she told us her daughter is a member so she knows some stuff but had tons of questions. And it's so awesome to teach her cause that's all we do is answer her questions. And it's been cool for me to see us answer these questions and just again show me the church is true. We have to answer all of her questions first with the Bible and then the BOM and we can answer them every time. I'm so glad I'm serving in a place like this, cause my whole mission I've had to learn the Bible to be able to answer all of the questions that people who already are in Christian denominations have. And I've gotten pretty good at knowing what scriptures to use and like I said it just confirms everything. #ChurchIsTrue

Then Saturday was the best!! Former Elder Herring was in town for the game since he's red shirting at the Y. And him and his parents took a few of us out to breakfast! It was so sweet to see him! We was the AP when I came into the mission and he's such a stud! After that I got to go down to WP2 on an exchange!! I got to see the Vances, Heaths, and of course I had dinner st the Chamberlain's! Ah it was the best. I'm glad I've got to stay connected with them my whole mission. Things are slowly still getting better! Sister Chamberlain, even said.. "ya know when the kids finally get to be baptized you better come down to baptize one of them". Ah man that was the best to hear!! All in all that day ended up being 14 hrs.. out at 8 back at 10 at night. It was a killer one 

Sunday was then filled with stake coordination meetings in the morning. Which was nice cause we got to see Elder Torgerson and Jenks, love those guys! Then church with our always interesting congregation, and going to the refugee community for Elder Zocca to teach in Swahili. 

Hope you all have great weeks!! I sure miss and love you guys! Time is going so fast though plus 90 days till Christmas so 90 days till Skype! Have a great General Conference too!!

Love you all!!

Austin

#NoFilter....like really. There is no filer on that!