Austin: 9/5/2013 - Last week in the CCM!

This week was the hardest and the best week of my mission yet. Mostly this letter is going to be stuff out of my journal because I wrote a ton and I was able to have time to think about what I want to say.

On Saturday was one of our teacher´s last day. He was pretty sad to leave. He got another, better job I think. I feel bad for him. He was a good teacher.

We started to learn Subjunctive today...wowzers. Life blows when it comes to subjunctive.

Saturday, August 31st, 2013

Today is my monthiversary. I can´t believe its been a month already! It has seemed so long, and yet so short! I don´t feel like it has been that long since I´ve seen my family. I´m so glad I´m here. I wouldn´t trade this month for anything. I´ve learned so much about myself! I´ve learned I´m a stubborn, prideful, son of a gun that doesn´t like to work with people I´ve learned Spanish is hard. I´ve learned prayer is real. You cannot feel closer to the Lord than during a sincere prayer, led by the spirit. He hears you. I´ve learned the gospel is so true. I know Jesus Christ is my Savior. I´ve learned when I live my life thinking about Him, I will never regret anything. When following Him is my goal, I am happy because I´m doing what´s right. I´ve learned I can do everything with the Lord´s help. He loves me, and I love Him. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and restored The Church of Jesus Christ to the earth, the only true church. The Book of Mormon has more power than any other book on earth. There truly are living prophets today. I´ve learned one of my greatest blessings is the family I am a part of. I have been raised to live and LOVE the gospel. That has helped me so much! I know and LOVE the scriptures. The key to conversion is the spirit and testimony brings the spirit, but you need doctrine to testify of. I´ve learned you have to choose to let the spirit guide you. I´ve learned I sometimes have the authority and right to speak, and others I do not. I´ve learned sometimes I´m not respectful of others and it´s a problem for them and for me. The Savior is charity, and I need to be like Him. I´ve learned true peace comes from the Lord. I´ve learned commitment is a powerful gift. I´ve learned you CANNOT change another person, no matter how hard you try. I´ve learned service is a way to learn to love somebody. I´ve learned how important confidence is. I´ve learned I have to forgive others, but I also have to forgive myself. I´ve learned everybody is different. I´ve learned companionships are chosen by God to bless the investigators and also the missionaries. I´ve learned you need to share talents. I´ve learned you much be humble. I´ve learned you can´t have the spirit with you while you have the spirit of contention in you. I´ve learned you must open your mouth for the Lord to fill is. I´ve learned that nobody truly knows you, including yourself, except for our Savior. I´ve learned the priesthood truly has power. I´ve learned I truly LOVE the gospel. I´ve learned LOVE is the key to missionary work. I LOVE the Lord, and I must LOVE everyone. I´ve learned a mission is not meant to be easy. Trials really do bring growth. The mission is hard and one of the reasons is to bring the missionary closer to the Lord and His spirit, but also to help prepare the missionary for life. I´ve learned happiness is a choice. No matter how hard it is, you will never regret smiling. A happy person helps everyone around. I´ve learned that patience is an important key to success. I´ve learned when you trust in the Lord with all your might, and lean not upon your own understanding, the Lord will bless you. I´ve learned the Lord will carry you through trials, if you let Him. I´ve learned the gospel is simple and extremely repetitive and that repetition is there because we are mortal, we forget. We need the reminder again and again. I´ve learned that I truly am of the dust and nothing more. I´ve learned that the Lord created me and blessed me with many spiritual gifts, of which I am grateful for. I´ve learned the importance of gratitude. I´ve learned only through God´s way can a missionary be successful. I´ve learned there are times to be bold and times to hold your tongue. I´ve learned you cannot deny testimony when it is given through the spirit. I´ve learned no amount of preparation will prepare you fully for a mission. I´ve learned that I do not regret going on a mission. I've begun to learn why I´m here. With all I´ve learned in a month, I can´t imagine where I´ll be in 23 more.

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013

Today was a really good day. I don´t even know why, but it was.

We had an interesting devotional tonight. Elder Uceda of the Seventy was supposed to come, but couldn´t. So we just watched a video from the Provo MTC with Elder Bednar. It was really cool. I had some good spiritual experiences. About 10 minutes into the video, it stopped and Pres. Cardon said that Elder Uceda was on his way. So he spoke to us. I had one of the coolest spiritual experiences of my life. As I was listening to the translator, I realized I was hearing everything twice. I understood Elder Uceda and then heard the translator say it. I almost heard a voice in my head saying "Thank the Lord. You are being blessed with the gift of tongues right now." I took of the headphones and still understood. A few minutes later, I felt the Lord tell me "put your headphones back on, this next part is important and I don´t want you to miss it" My thought was "I´m doing good. I´m not putting headphones back on." I couldn´t understand. I had to put the headphones back on. A minute later, I got the feeling that the Lord was blessing me and wanted to tell me that it wasn´t my power, it was a gift from Him. I was able to take the headphones off then and understand again. It was the gift of tongues, I have no doubt.

I´ve realized in my studies here why the key to the Lord´s plan is agency. Everything hinges on it. We choose our lives. We choose to obey, we choose to be disobedient. I´ve realized my success as a missionary depends on choosing to follow the Savior. By choosing to set down my pride, myself. I MUST choose the Savior.

Wednesday, September 4th, 2013

Elder Jensen and I taught our best lesson yet today. Since Hmo. Bernuy left, we had another teacher fill in for us, Hmo. Laslo, this week. We taught him on Monday too. He was an investigator, a week from baptism, but he had a little problem, which turned out to be he researched the church and found out about polygamy. So we taught him a bit and told him to read Jacob 2. It was a good lesson, but today´s was a lot better. Today we went in and honestly, I don´t remember what we taught. I couldn´t remember five minutes after because they were not our words. We taught through the spirit. Just before the lesson, Hmo. Laslo taught about asking questions. In the lesson, there were two times when he said "Buena pregunta" as both an invest and a teacher. I, for the life of me, don´t remember them, because they were the spirit´s questions. I know at one part I read with him 2 Nephi 32:8, about prayer. I testified that I cannot tell him why he needs to, or how to accept the fact that polygamy happened, but the Lord can tell him. My Spanish was even good. It was so simple, but so powerful. We were on a serious spiritual high after. Just thinking about it brings the burning in my heart back. If every lesson had that spirit, every person would be baptized.

I started reading Matthew today. I realized sometime this week as I was talking about the Bible that I don´t really have a testimony of it. I believe it´s true, but I haven´t studied it for myself. I decided I at least need to study the 4 Gospels. After only 7.5 chapters of Matthew, I want to shoot myself for never studying it before. I had heard all the stories before, but it was powerful to read about Christ teachings for myself. I don´t know where I would be without the scriptures, it's a terrible place to think about"

Speaking of Matthew, it´s a pretty crappy thought to think that I may not see Tato and Jared for 4 years if they´re already on missions when I get back...

An elder bore his testimony on Sunday and said he was from Albacookhowintheworlddoyouspellthatcity. I went up and asked him after if he knew the boyacks. Turns out he´s in their ward, and graduated with Cassi. Small world. His name is Elder Miller. Apparently the Boyacks told him to look for me.

Mom - I´m sure the principal isn´t worried about you. He was impressed enough to offer you a job on the spot. I think you´ll be alright. You´re a new teacher anyways. You´ll do great, I´m sure you already are, whether you think so or not. As for Zully´s niece, I was gonna write about that before, but I forgot. She came and gave me a present. I´m not totally sure what it is. It´s a couple of books, one about Lehi´s Dream, and one about the D&C. I think they´re commentaries, but I´m not totally sure. i haven´t looked at them, there hasn´t been time. And yes, she speaks english. She was actually the translator for part of the devo on Tuesday, so she´s got really good english. Pictures. I´m working on it. I forgot my camera every other time, but I´ve got it today so I´ll try.

Dad - thanks for the letter, I´m super jealous of the cabin. Three times in one year...

John - I´m pretty digested that BYU lost to Virginia. As for the girls my age, it´s a start. Hahaha that made me laugh super hard. Also, a kid in my district is in a band called the Flying Surgeons and they´re on iTunes. He put in a shameless plug with my district to have our families look them up. I figured you would appreciate it most.

Jordan - I heard you have a story for me...

Austin - Good luck. Don´t blow it

Tashie - ya blew it with the joke this week...

Shaylee - No letter? Sad day.

I love the gospel!

Love,

Elder Schouten

ps. it´s cracy that i´ll be in the field next time I write...