Week of April 10, 2016

 Dear Mom,

I was talking about that really cool ten commandments video during the halftime show of the conference :) It was really powerful! I really hope that God will allow me to continue with my plans and I will always keep an open mind for his plans. I have a lot of back-up plans but I will have faith that things will work out if I am always faithful! I really hope that they serve as well, it will give them life lessons that they cannot learn anywhere else. My mailing address is 1000 Justice Way #907 Abilene, Texas 79602, I could of sworn I already sent it to you but there you go anyways. I am not getting any letters from Brother Stirland. Tell him that I said hi as well! My week has gone really well, we went to the zoo which was really impressive, I will send you the top pictures. There was a turtle the size of my study desk! We drove to San Angelo for zone conference through the buffalo gap mountains which was really beautiful hill country! Made me a little homesick. a few days later we went to Buffalo Gap to do service for a man that is building his own house. My job was to make sure the fire burning the garbage didn't burn the bunny hatch/chicken coop. We then went to a baptism of a man that I had interviewed, he is a really cool guy and he will be a blessing to the ward he is in.

We on the other hand are still slow on appointments, but we have been doing a ton of service and walking around so hopefully things will turn around soon! My favorite testimony building experience was interviewing that man and teaching him the things that he was still unsure on and him responding that my response was incredible. It really built my testimony on the Atonement (the subject that I was teaching) The funniest thing that happened, well we were doing service and I was supposed to hook up a hose to spray water on the fire. I went around the building to hook it up but I couldn't find the right hose, so I went back around to grab a new segment when I saw that one of the other missionaries had already lit the pile and the fire was 10 feet in the air and raging. I was in a panic and quickly got the hose done and started spraying. I was ready to kill that guy at the moment but it became funny later. The members are really nice but sparse. Only 30 members in total and only 12 or 15 are active so it is a work in progress, we are starting to get fed really well though! They are also coming out with us when we have appointments.

Being a district leader is fun but not easy. I have to constantly be on top of everything that is happening around here and I feel that I am doing a really good job! I have to make calls every week, I have to interview people in order for them to be baptized, I have to teach and prepare district meetings, I have to update everyone in my district on changes, and I have to go on exchanges. I think by working hard I am inspiring them. My district is a fun little group, Elder Lund is in it. I will pray that the surgery goes well, tell Grandpa that I said hi and hopefully they can fix his knee so I can take him on more hunts :) I can't wait to go swimming with the dogs, I remember when Luna was scared to death and almost drowned dad and I because she kept trying to get on top of us haha! That is really good on Connor, he is doing the right thing, I wasn't all the way ok to go out when I did but on the other hand. President Heap is the best judge of Israel I have had and he has helped me give up completely all of my chastity issues, language issues, and even my anger management. I still get angry every now and then but it is only to give me a drive to do better. my thoughts are cleaner and so is my tongue. I have become a completely different man because of President Heap and I know if Connor puts his trust in the council of his bishop than he and the Lord will be able to work things out a lot faster :) Tell him I said that please. You can include my story if it will help him even more. I love you guys so much and I can't wait to hear from you guys! The pictures are some bluebonnets I found, the mountains, the job :), the zoo entrance, and the turtle!

Love,

Austin

Week of April 3, 2016

Dear Mom,

Thanks for the post, I really liked reading it, it had some interesting insights about it :) I really liked the whole green beret thing haha. My favorite talks were those by Elder Holland, Uchtdorf, Christopherson, L. Tom Perry,(his talk in the show between conference sessions!) and President Monson. They taught me a lot about humility, fatherhood, husbandry :D, the choice of paths, and the ten commandments. I really know how I want to use my hunting business to benefit the lives of my brothers and sisters around the world. I want to make sure that as many people as possible have jobs, or at least food and water in their lives. I want to make sure that they can send their children to school and that they can keep their families healthy and happy. It is no longer about owning a large corporation, this is about employing a large corporation amount of God's children who need an equal chance in life to learn and progress and work and learn of God's love for them. I hope God will be behind me in all of my decisions as long as that is my ultimate goal. 

So being a District Leader is really enjoyable and I love it a ton! Elder Hatch is a great companion, a little less on top of things than Elder Cortez but I can't expect perfection from everyone. He is from Globe, Arizona. He likes sports, the gospel, and he is still struggling with Spanish but I can help him out a lot if he will let me. Elder Lund and I have been having a blast together, he is still the same great guy I knew in Odessa and it is a lot easier to get along with him since he is not with me 24/7 :) It was a hard week because we had no lessons, but I am getting the area whipped back into shape by talking to every Hispanic person I see! Only 2 families are actually Hispanic in the branch which makes me think that it shouldn't even be a branch... But I will give it a shot anyways. How is Caden doing this week? Bryson hasn't written me but that is ok, he still has next week! I hope that the restaurants go better these upcoming 11 weeks! I will pray for your success haha. But anyways, I love you and I can't wait to talk to you guys next week. I talked with Dustin just barely and he has held my job for me so that is good, and Stephany and I talked a little today as well so I will get you that address next week. But I love you guys and wish the best!

New Companion Elder Hatch... not sure what is up with Austin's hair! :)

Week of Easter 2016

Dear Mom,

Happy EASTER! I really loved the package! And guess what, I am a district leader now, I am going to end my mission in Abiline Texas. I will send you the address next week, I leave tomorrow. I am so sad to leave Elder Cortez because he was one of my favorite companions but I know that he will do great here in Carlsbad! Tell Dallin that if he is paying then I am all for it, but as a missionary, I am dead broke haha.(Trip to Disneyland together!) But that would be really fun! I think Sage will do really well as a missionary! Tell her that I said good luck and give me her email. I am really excited for General Conference this week, it will be strange that it will be in a Spanish Branch, with a new companion, in a new city but I am still excited! I am sure that I will learn a lot from the spirit for my last Conference on the mission. Brother Collet is a great guy, just got back from his mission in Ghana, and he came out with us a lot and was a big help! I am so grateful to him that he was able to deliver the package! The Farley family always seems so isolated which is a bummer because I think they are cool too in their own interesting way... haha. Yeah, well I hope that the kids don't have hard feelings when me and my hopefully soon to be girlfriend destroy them in soccer haha. (That was a joke)

Well I hope Caden is doing fine with everything, trust me, I have a really busy schedule, I am a missionary who is now a district leader who actually has Elder Lund as his zone leader who makes reports for the mission president, and makes study guides for the entire mission (president approved my idea) So I have a really busy schedule so I can relate to Caden. I am really happy about the restaurant, I hope that Clinton is as successful as the other two are! Why is Bryson branching away? (He's not) Haha, I can't wait to get back into that awesome Utah weather! Skiing, Wakeboarding, Hiking, I'm going to do it all haha. Alma is doing good, Kenny and Jessica are doing good except Kenny argued with me saying that marriage wasn't essential so they will be slow progress but It isn't my responsibility anymore I suppose. My lesson learned this week is leaving an area better than when you found it. We have worked so hard to get Carlsbad prepared for a new set of missionaries only to find out that I am leaving anyways. It really makes you think about your impact on others! I do admit that I did surprise you but again, I am not 100% sure about if it will work out or not, so I am just going to continue emailing her and than if it works out in 13 weeks, then great, but if not than Sadie Thompson is still single. :) But I will have faith that she will be the one and it will work out with I am faithful for the next 12 weeks. I love you guys and I wish all the best! Love you!

Your son,

Elder Farley