Hello Everybody,

This was one of those crazy weeks! We were booked with tons of
meetings and it kept us pretty busy during our days. Tuesday - Friday
we had a Specialized Training from 9am - 4pm. We took two zones each
day and did some training on The Book Of Mormon, planning, and iPad
use. We taught the planning section and I thought overall we did well.
I won't lie, it's hard to teach an engaging lesson on planning for and
hour and a half but somehow we did it. Its been a big relief to have
finished that training.

Zeph is still progressing! He recently got a job and since he is new,
they asked him to come and do some training on Sunday. We had a lesson
with him last night and told him that he needed to be at church on
Sundays. We promised him that God would help provide a way so that he
could be there. The gospel has really started to change him and he
promised to do all he could to be there. Pray for him this week and
that something will turn up!

I am excited for the upcoming week. On Wednesday, we get to go to the
temple with the departing missionaries. Thursday is Return and Report
for the new missionaries and trainers. Friday is Mission Leadership
Council. Staying busy is always a good thing, but I am really starting
to feel very tired every day. Its amazing that somehow I feel
refreshed and energized from the day to day work. The grace of Jesus
Christ is a real power!

Love ya!

Elder Westover

Dad,

Zeph is progressing great and his baptism is scheduled for April 2nd. That will be his 21st birthday and so he is motivated to really have that fresh start. I am happy for him because he has decided to make this decision and has kept every commitment that has been given to him. Faith is a principle of action and Zeph is willing to put forth his faith and he has seen the blessings come from that. It is great to see the blessings come into his life.

On the other hand, I feel like the mission is on the other side of that. Since September, we have seen a lack of baptisms and just miracles in general. I almost feel like I have let the mission down. I feel like I have done training after training and motivating after motivating and nothing seems to click. I am just frustrated with myself. I love the missionaries and I want to help, I just don't know how. If they could recognize the happiness that comes from being consecrated in the work, they would always choose to work hard. President Riggs has done amazing with continuing to train and help. I follow his example and do the same. I just want to make a difference and feel like I made an impact on individuals, the same way that Jesus Christ did. I would love to hear your advice and thoughts.

Our big news this week is that we have a specialized training with 2 zones each day for 4 days. We will go from 9 to 4 and hopefully the principles taught will really change individuals hearts.

I hope you have a great trip with the scouts and are able to take great pictures. I love you. You are in my prayers.

Love,
Elder Westover

Dad,

Sorry this is coming to you a little late. We got tied up yesterday so
I had to email at a different time. I'm glad that I can still email
now.

My thoughts have been focused so much on obedience lately. I am
finally realizing that with the ability to make choices, we also have
an option to choose either obedience or disobedience. Every single
person will be affected by the choices they make, no matter how great
or small. If we will choose each day to be obedient to what we know is
right, we will see blessings flow into our life and change will come.
Let me tell you a story about that principle.

Elder Walters and I had been praying to know who needed a visit from
us. When we looked through our LDS Tools, we picked a few names that
we did not know and that we felt would be good to see. The next night
we went and visited a kid named Dennis. We were happy when he opened
the door and it was obvious from the start that there was a lot going
on his life. I was grateful to share with him the knowledge that only
Jesus Christ could really understand what he was going through. He
talked about how he had suicidal thoughts and felt like life was too
big for him. Choices that he had made weighed him down to the point
that he felt like there was no hope. We talked for a while and he
agreed to let us come back and to continue to talk with him. I'm so
grateful that God places people in our life who need us at the right
time.

That is great that Brooks got to speak at church. What a good
experience for him. I also was called upon at the end of church to
fill sometime. The talks had been on Mercy so I continued with that
theme. We all three got to speak from the pulpit. You will have to let
Brooks know.

The weather has been pretty fun. It seems to be getting better from
now on but it hurt a lot of the wards sacrament meetings. I am glad
that the weather will start getting warmer because people will hit the
streets more often. Also, the plan as of now is for me to leave after
my third transfer here. I told President that I would like to go back
to one of my old areas and to white wash and train. He wants me to
white wash a struggling area and train. It will be good to get someone
in after me to be prepared to have President Huntsman come in. My
companion will be here for that first transfer. He is an incredible
missionary.

I hope this week is fantastic and that you are able to get done all
that you need to do. Have fun while doing it. I love you Dad and am
thankful for all that you do.

Love,
Austin

Dad,

It's really hard to believe how fast the time is going. President
Riggs realized Saturday morning that he only had about 120 days until
the end of his mission. He called us together to talk about what we
could do as a mission in those 120 days. To make a special point, we
texted out the MLC and decided to have a meeting at 9:15 Saturday
night. The goal was to do something special that would show the
Mission Leadership Council the sense of urgency we want to create in
the mission.

Once everyone arrived in the Stake Center, we did some opening items
and then split them up in two groups. Elder Walters led one and I the
other. We took them around the building and showed them the picture of
the first vision and the Savior in the garden of gethsemane. We told
the story to each picture and asked, "Did this really happen? If this
really happened, what are you willing to do?"

The point was to bring in them that inner fire to want to share the
gospel. A fire that truly will never die. The spirit was strong and
then we met in the chapel were President talked about a few things. It
was a great meeting and I hope people will leave from there and change
because of it. I know I have set new goals and recommitted my self to
giving it my all.

Something that we feel the mission has lacked is a sense of urgency in
this work. People are content with letting things pass by and not
creating a sense of ownership. How do you create a sense of urgency in
people? We have done exchanges and one on one but still no growth for
the most part. I would love to hear your thoughts about motivation. I
can't imagine trying to motivate an Elders Quorum because I feel at
times they really don't care much. But those are some of the thoughts
I have had of late.

I am glad you are running again! I would love to run with you once I
am home but I won't ever let you beat me anymore!! I have to start
putting you in your proper place! Hahaha Just kiddin. How far are you
running in your runs? Where are you going?

It sounds like some fun times are ahead. I hope you have a great week
and continue to enjoy what you do. I love you and am thankful for all
you do.

Love,
Elder Westover

Hey Everybody,

It feels great once transfers are complete. The new missionaries
arrived safely, missionaries made there flights home, and every one
has a companion and an area. We made it! Now it is just post transfer
items, helping close apartments and training at other meetings. Lots
of fun! We are teaching a guy named Zepheniah and he is pretty cool.
We have taught him the first 2 lessons and he has been to church 3
times. He enjoys it a lot and now we are just confirming a solid
baptism date with him. I think he will make it. Finding is hard in a
singles ward so we just hope that people will be placed in our path.

My new companion is Elder Walters. He is a great guy and a fantastic
missionary. We both are hard workers and so we get things done quick
which is great! I could see him being one of my favorite companions of
my mission. We will probably do 2 transfers together. Which is good!

It has been very cold here and it really hurt the week. They cancelled
church in a lot of places even though the roads were not bad at all. I
am glad we still had it though because it would have been 2 weeks
without the sacrament. We had Stake Conference the week before. I am
thankful for the sacrament and the cleansing effect it has in our
life. I feel so much better after and have a new desire to work hard
and to live up to the covenants I have made.

The white shirts were great! Thanks for doing that. I use them for
meetings or for church and so that is nice. Have a good week. I love
and miss you.

Love,
Elder Westover

Hello Family and Friends,

It has been a great week for us in the Braddock ward. We were able to find a couple new people and to put an investigator on date. He committed to be baptized on the 2nd of April and so we are going to push to make it happen. What I have seen in a singles ward is that there are lots of people who have heard about the gospel before but we're never baptized because they did not care at that time of life. It's neat to see people have experiences that lead them to the desire to learn about the Church. I am thankful for our lives and the experiences we have that help us come closer to our Father in Heaven!

I had the opportunity to be on a lot of exchanges this week and I learned a lot from the missionaries I went with. I hardly felt like I was in my area at all this past week but it still was a great week. Yesterday, we picked up my new companion and went to dinner at the Riggs home which was really fun. Then last night, we had our New and Returning Member Fireside that the mission runs. It went really well and it was fun to hear about those individuals stories!

Transfer week has come! The work load will be tiring and so I would love to have your continued prayers! I am excited but I will be tired for sure.

How was your week? I am excited to hear about the adventures you had. I love you all. Be safe this week.

Love,
Elder Westover

Hello Dad,

Thanks for all the pictures you sent this week! It seems like you had loads of fun this week. My week was fun and busy but I don't have that much to report on. This is what I have been up too.

I went on a lot exchanges this week. I was in Gainsville and also went on exchanges with the Elders in Manassas. We found a new investigator which has also been really good! We had MLC on Friday and it was weird to not have to report on how the Alexandria Zone was doing. Last night, we got to help President Riggs with Transfers and that was actually really fun! It is cool to know who is going where and what is going to happen, especially when we still have 12 or so days to transfers. It is hard to keep your mouth closed though when people ask! Haha

I am excited to hear about your week! Have a good week and be safe. Love you.

Elder Westover