Austin: 6/16/2014 - "That is simply stupid"

 

 

From: Austin Schouten [mailto:austin.schouten@myldsmail.net]
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2014 10:23
To: Julie Schouten; Mike Schouten; Jordan Schouten; John Schouten; Natasha Schouten
Subject: "That is simply stupid"

 

Hola Familia!

 

So you might be wondering the reason for my title. "That is simply stupid". It`s a quote that I know you all haven`t heard. It`s by Elder Oaks when he came to a conference with my mission on Saturday. He came with Elder Clayton from the presidency of the 70, and Elder Grow from the 70 and the area presidency, each of them with their wives. It was an awesome conference. I don`t actually remember why Elder Oaks said that, but it was really funny and had a really good point. I wrote it down in my study journal, but I don`t have that with me. It was such a blessing to be in the conference. There were three parts that I loved more than the rest. One was "that is simply stupid" and another is something that Elder Oaks said that President Faust said one time. He said "English is the language of commerce, German is the language of science, Frech is the language of love, and spanish is the language of prayer. And when somebody prays in spanish, the Lord answers his prayer is Portugues." jajaja. His point was about humor. That humor is an important part of life. "adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy." It`s our purpose here in life, to be happy. Sometimes I feel bad for how often I laugh here in Wiesse. People sometimes tell me that I should be more serious. But I know that I need to be happy, and when I`m happy, I`m laughing. It truly is an important part of my life. I`m so tired, discouraged, all the time, it`s a part of the mission, but I`m so happy because I fight the frown with a laugh. My invitation is the next time you want to cry, tell yourself a stupid little joke or something to make you laugh. Because that`s what the lord wants you to do. The other part that I loved was Sister Oaks` talk. She pulled out the testimony glove, which I haven`t seen since Mom was my primary president. It helped me remember that my purpose as a missionary is not to teach the commandments. My purpose is to invite people to christ, to build their faith in Him, help them repent, and help them learn how to make covenants with the Lord. If they have the faith to come unto Christ, they will show their faith through their repentance and their obedience to the commandments. There`s a reason the first question in the baptismal interview is "do you believe in God the eternal father?" It all is based in faith, in the testimony. 

 

For the rest of my week, it was hard. On Wednesday, I got sick. It was just a cold, but on the mission, a cold kills all of your energy. I couldn`t focus on putting a smile on my face like I normally do, I had to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. It was hard, but I kept working, kept fighting. It really helped me realize how much I love to serve these people. Because I couldn`t give all that I wanted to give, I realized how much I love to sacrifice myself. How much I love to teach. How much I love my mission. This week, I`m praying that I`ll feel better, I just want to give all that I can, plus all that I couldn`t give last week. I want to be better, I want to help more, I want to love with the pure love of Christ.

 

Another trial we had was the kid we were teaching. He was preparing for baptism for next week, and out of nowhere, he didn`t want to talk to us anymore. We didn`t know what happened. We told our district leader, who that day happened to be with my zone leader, who is a boss of a teacher. They decided to go visit him with me. So we went, and we taught him. And we discovered that he didn`t want to be baptized, because he didn`t feel ready. Well, that happens a lot in peru. They think they`re not ready, when they`re really just afraid. But this time, it was true. He didn`t have the faith in Christ to make the convent yet. He needs more time to get ready, to build his faith in Christ. That is the reason that Sister Oaks` talk hit me so hard. It all is based in faith. 

 

Mom - I`m glad the reception went well. I saw all the pictures of the yard (almost. Some were too slow loading so I skipped them). It was super trunky. haha. to see my yard, marraige. Dang. Trunky. hahaha. Not really. I do miss green though....you should probably take a week of p day now so you don`t explode...hahaha

 

Dad - Happy Father`s Day! I hope it was great. The food you said that you ate made me really hungry......haha. I hope all is good for your work and running and all that jazz

 

Johnnyboy - your letter was really long...but I liked it. It`s so true what you said about trails. I think the lord gave the trial of being sick this week to help me give my all again. I haven`t been giving everything lately, and this week humbled me and made me want to do it, to give all I`ve got, and then 20% more.

 

Jordan - Now I understand why you thought I was dead during your mission....I`m glad life is good. And I`m glad my letter inspired you? I have no idea what I said either? I hope school goes well. I`m jealous of your microbio class your gonna take. I love that kind of stuff.

 

Tashita - I loved that joke. A lot. haha. What are you doing for youth conference?

 

Shaylee - how`s your summer going? What grade are you going to be in?

 

I love this work. I know that Christ guides His church today through apostles and prophets. I am so grateful for the opporunity to share the glorious message of the restoration. I know this is true, and through our faith, all things are possible.

 

Love

Elder Schouten