Hey Everyone!

 

It was great to see you and talk to you this week. I enjoyed hearing your voice and seeing your face. You slowly start to forget those small features about someone. But I had a great Christmas! I enjoyed the things we did and all the gifts I got were so perfect! Everyone is jealous of that Bluetooth speaker you got me! It works super well! How did Christmas there go? Any fun gifts or new things you all did?

 

So in this area, there has been a TON of success in the past but it seems to have really slowed down. My companion told me that they had not done a lot of tracting and so I decided we better start talking to more people. Elder Ballard in Conference said that if we wanted to teach more we needed to talk to more people. Pretty simple but it seems to be working. We found some new people to teach and already our numbers look a lot better! I just really like going to areas where it is lacking or not reaching its full potential because it gives me the drive to make it a great place. It feels good to look and see the work you have done. I am super excited to see what the Lord will bless us with. I know that when you work hard and really lean on Him, He will lead and guide you.

 

How is work and life treating you? I hope you have enjoyed this Christmas and the New Year coming up! Thanks for everything you gave me for Christmas it really means a lot. Have a good week!

 

Love,

Elder Westover 

Hello Everyone,

 

Well as you know, I have been transferred. But not just cities, I am pretty much in a new country. I have moved from the Washington DC South Mission to Little Africa. Seriously, everyone is from some place in Ghana or Cameroon or Nigeria. It is so insane. The missionaries have good success here because the people are so accepting of the gospel. But honestly it is so weird to be here.

 

I have got one package from you but I am guessing that it is all in my last area so I will have to get that! It is so sad leaving before Christmas. I loved the ward I was in and we had such awesome plans. It has been tough for me but I am making it work. I know that we are going to have so much success here. I just got to get working. 

Our ward building is about 5 minutes from Washington's home and if you look out the church doors you can see the Potomac! It is cool you should look it up! 2000 George Washington Parkway! Cool eh? The ward had a baptism on Saturday, one on this Tuesday and another on Saturday. Its crazy here!

 

How is everything there? Excited for Christmas! I am so jealous but hey I knew what I was signing up for. How is the family? I hope to see pictures soon. Love you Dad and hope you are safe! Laura said Merry Christmas!

 

My new address is: 5811 Woodlawn Gable Dr. K, Alexandria, Va 22309

Love,

Elder Westover

Mission Christmas Conference

Hey Everyone,

I can't believe that it's Christmas time.  It honestly does not feel like it at all this year.  It is one of those things that you just get up and you go out and work no matter what the date is.  It has been a strange feeling seeing lights and everything but really not feeling like it is here.  When it gets closer it might start to hit.

Well, this week was tough.  People here are soo busy and with it being Christmas just even more busy than before.  It was hard to find people and to get people to find time for us.  That was a bummer.  I know that whenever you have a hard week you always see a miracle right after so I can't wait to see what happens!

It seems like you are getting prepared back home. I know it will be hard to know that the whole family will be there for Christmas Eve singing carols and having the Christmas program and missing it but I will be happy to know you are happy!

Well, transfers are this week and I have no idea if I will stay or go.  The bummer is that it will be right before Christmas and so I am not sure where I will be!  If I stay here, Christmas will be lots of fun but if not then I have no idea.  That will be interesting..

I hope you have a good holiday and enjoy the time of year.  Life is good here and I am learning and growing everyday.  I am studying the New Testament now and finished Luke today.  The Savior did some incredible things and I hope I can be half of what he was and try to represent Him.  I love this work and this Gospel.  Love you all!

Love,
Elder Westover

Hey Everyone!

The first snow has fallen! It has been a lot of fun actually.  They cancelled the 2nd and 3rd hours of church because of it and school today is also cancelled. The people here are big babies.  It really is not that bad at all. The assistants told us to stay in unless we needed to go out so we were not able to watch the Christmas Devotional.  None of our investigators were able to go either but the mission president really did not want us out. 

The snow has been fun! We went with the Elders in the Centreville 1st ward and the sisters in our ward and played in the snow at our complex.  We built snowmen and had a snowball fight.  The snow was not great but we had fun. I enjoyed just playing in it and having fun.

This week went great!  Every single lesson was with a member present which is super cool!  I am really proud of what this area has become.  I was reading in my journal from my first few weeks, not finding a person to teach and still having no one to work with was so hard.  Now, we have 10 to 12 people in our teaching pool and have 5 less active members that we are working with just feels really good. The Lord has blessed me so much here. The hard work pays off.  

Transfers are coming up and I have no idea what is going to happen. Either way, I have made great friends here in the ward and we have really got this area going!

Christmas time is here or so they say!  It really does not feel like December.  Time has been flying. I really want some Christmas Cd's like Michael Buble' or Bing Crosby; just classic stuff.  If you could send that stuff it would be awesome!  We can't listen to the radio but Christmas music is OK as long as it's a CD or IPod.  They say 16 days until Christmas but I am still waiting for Halloween to come.  It really is strange.

I love hearing about all the things going on at home.  With Aunt Kelli and Grandpa's talk and Christmas preparations!  I hope you have a safe week and a Merry Christmas! Love you all!

Love,

Elder Westover

These are crowns made from Origami! Also, a member made us these cookies that looked like turkeys! It was so awesome!

 

Hey family and friends!

It was fun to hear your Thanksgiving plans! I really missed playing/ watching football. It killed me not to be able to, but you just have to sacrifice some things in life. I also got all those pictures this week. I was going to say that was a lot of them. But it was fun to see all the things you have been up to.

The teaching is going well. I remember my first weeks here we did not teach a single lesson and now, I have been able to teach anywhere from 5 to 10 lessons a week which is very good for this area. It feels good to know that the hard work you put in pays off. I really do work hard and try my best. I have seen so much growth in my gospel knowledge and ability to teach with the spirit. I am excited to see what the Lord will make of me in this mission and for these people!

We are teaching some awesome people! There are two brother in laws from Brazil who we are teaching now. One is a man named Mauricio and he is very religious! He goes to 3 Baptists churches and has read the New Testament over 100 times and I believe him! The other is Leo and he has literally zero faith in God. It is super strange! But they are fun to talk to and I hope that they will read the Book Of Mormon and continue to grow in the gospel.

We are also teaching a man named Kevin. When we met him, he told us that he was looking around for different churches and trying to find the right one. Well perfect we would love to talk to you! We have taught him the first lesson and gave him a Book Of Mormon. We hope he is reading and praying! He said he would like to come to church so we should see him on Sunday!

So Transfers are on the 19th and so I don't know where I will be. But yeah you can send it to my place and I will get it. The mission has made a big deal about only sending mail to us so if you could let people know my address and that rule, that would be great. It is silly since they told us before I left only to the mission home but they changed it. Oh well.

My companion is awesome! I love Elder Fitzgerald! We have been together since the beginning of October and it has been tons of fun! It would be crazy if we stayed together for 3 transfers because that hardly EVER happens but we just might. I guess time will tell. He is from Rexburg Idaho and it's been a pleasure serving with him.

Crazy story! I had a gun pulled on me this week which was a new experience. Well kind of, he had it in his hand when he opened the door. That was insane! But I am doing great! No worries!

I am excited for this week. I feel like good things are going to happen. I know that if I work hard and give 110 percent, the Lord will bless this area and this work. That is all I want! I hope that you have a good month and enjoy your Christmas break when it comes! Be safe! I love you and pray for you! Have a good week.

Love,
Elder Westover

Hello everyone,

So this week has been pretty good. There was really no amazing miracles but just a solid week of hard work. It feels good when you are working hard and you are able to see good things happen! I really can't complain there!

For Thanksgiving we are going to the Browns home.  This family is a newly married couple and they both graduated from BYU Idaho.  Nice people that don't really have a lot.  Whenever we go over there for dinner, there is hardly any food and you just feel bad. But they signed up for Thanksgiving and Saturday so what do you do. There is a family in the ward that is AWESOME!!! They have become my best friends out here. They even ordered me there family pictures! How awesome is that? They offered for us to come over before or after the Browns so I know I will eat plenty. I am grateful for both families being willing to help us out!

So I will give you a list of all the people I am working with to keep in your prayers:

Peter, Helen The Seipel Family, Elizabeth and Michelle Newell, Kevin, Kristen, Mauricio, Leo, Glen Pollard, Hope and Steven, Jose, Raleigh, and Diego. That is just a list of the people that we teach at the moment. They are all really great with a variety of cultures!

Thanks for the sweaters! They are fantastic!! They have been great! I really can't think of a whole lot more I need! Maybe a box of candy but hey I am doing great!

I am going to miss playing football but I guess you have to sacrifice things. That is something I have learned a lot out here. Being willing to give up the world for things that really do matter! Love you all and be safe!

Love,
Elder Westover

Hey Everyone!

I have been trying to continue to find new things to try when going on splits. Anything cool that any of you have done? It is hard when you go out with people because you want to have solid plans and things just fall through.  We do pretty good about setting things up when people come with us. That does help them want to come back out.

So with Facebook, I can only do certain things but I have it set up that I have to approve things that go on my Facebook. So I will look and check it out and see what pics you posted. It is just all being tested so we will see what all the rules are and what we can and cant do.  People can friend me at Elder Austin Westover.

It sounded like Brooks first Scout camping experience was fun and I am glad he got to go. He needs to continue to grow his testimony and read his scriptures. I wish I would have been ALOT better at that.

Well not much new here, Life is good and I love working here. Love you all! Let me know how everything is! Love you! Be safe!

Love you!

 DC Temple

DC Temple Entrance

Hello Everyone,

My Ward mission leader has been great and has made a huge impact on the success we have been having. I hope that you can help the missionaries out a lot and I hope they are working hard.

So the car has been nice now that it is starting to get cold. It is really not that bad yet. The high is in the 40's and 50's and then in the 30's at night. I have been only wearing my vest and I have been ok. I wish I had another one just to change things up a bit, but I have really been OK. The car makes it super easy cause for the most part you drive from place to place.  No snow yet but they said it really does not snow a lot here. I guess we will see what happens.

Elder Fitzgerald and I are staying together again this transfer. I am now done being "trained" and this will be my third transfer since arriving here. It seems weird that I have been here for 12 weeks now. Time flies when your working hard and having fun! I am excited to see what President wants from me in the coming transfers and what some of my responsibilities will be. I guess they thought I would train after just being trained which is super rare I guess. I take that as a good sign! Oh well, I am working hard and that's all that matters.

I hope everything is going well and that your all safe! Thanks for everything!

Love,
Elder Westover

Hey Everyone!

I have become good friends with the Assistants to the President; especially since one was my zone leader before the last transfer. When they took our car at the beginning of the transfer, they told me they would try and get one for us. On Wednesday they actually were able to get us a car! It was awesome! Its a 2014 Chevy Cruze! I was pretty happy not to have to ride my bike in the cold anymore. The bike is fun when the weather is good but beyond that it is no fun. All of our hard work payed off I guess!

President has been super happy with the work we have done in this area. My guess is that I will stay another transfer and have another 6 weeks to see what I can do. I am not sure how excited he gets with other people but he told me that we are tearing it up right now. That's a good feeling for sure! I have been studying hard so that I can help teach other people when that time comes. I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for me.

It sounds like Halloween has been a lot of fun this year! For us we got to go to the church with our zone and watch movies and eat pizza! We watched Monsters Inc. and Monsters University. That was fun to relax with the other Elders and to enjoy the day. Also, we had a member come and reverse trick or treat at our place that night which means that they gave us a huge bag of candy. It was awesome!

Missionary work is not easy but I know I will grow if I can work hard and serve the Lord.  Riley and me are emailing which is fun. He sounds like he is doing well. I heard about Emery and her cheer competition which is so cool! What a great opportunity! The ipads are going to be cool so I hope that I can teach some of these people your working with or know at home. You might get a friend request on FB from me soon! We will see how long it takes.

On P-day, We play basketball usually. I went to DC once and I am trying to go to the temple this next week. But yeah, lots of basketball so I can't complain. Do my pictures look ok? My camera has been good so far.

I love you all! I hope everything is going well for you! Be safe! I am working hard. I am starting to see the Whys in the work. It helps me go out and serve each day. Thanks for your letters and the advice.

Love you,
Elder Westover :)

Hello Everyone,

This week has been great! Elder Fitzgerald and I found 5 new investigators, we taught 7 lessons to our investigators and had 5 lessons with Less Actives! I love being able to teach lessons and to talk to people. That is the best part about missionary work. I can honestly say after this week that I feel like I have adapted to missionary life. I never feel home sick or never get bored of working. It just has become something I enjoy to do. I think it will only get better as I get better! :)

So this week we had our Fall Social. It was SO fun. There were so many non-members we invited to come that we got to talk to a bunch of people! Also, we got to compete in the pie eating contest! That was definitely a fun experience! I have good pictures that I have included!

I was going to keep this a secret but I just can't. Don't tell a lot of people because its not official yet but, our mission is now going to 

[REDACTED] 

Is that not so crazy! They told us a lot of cool things. It is going to change missionary work.  How neat is that?  I can't wait to see how this all works but please just keep it on the down low for now. I don't want to spread things that I am not 100 percent sure about yet.

It sounds like everyone is busy and doing a lot of neat things. Any golf yet? I miss playing golf and I want to play on a Pday so bad! Oh well. The weather is getting cool but its not too bad. On bikes when the wind is blowing at night it's tough but I like the challenge. Good things are happening and are going to happen here. I hope I can stay here for awhile. We will see!

Love you all! I pray for you all and I hope that you are happy. It really is all that matters. Be safe and enjoy life!

Love,

Elder Westover

 Sweet bike shoes for $7!

 Elder Fitzgerald and I with matching ties

 Jonah IN the whale

 Missionaries like pizza

My new ride.  Hills and wind are not fun!

Hi Everybody,

How has this past week been for you?  In Centreville, they have Centreville Days, where it is just booths and a fair type of feeling. We had a booth and took family pictures for people and then got there information.  We will use that to get in the house! It was a fun day! I hope everything is going well for you! Love you all!

Love,
Elder Westover

Centerville Apartment

Hey Everyone!

The library was closed for Columbus Day so I am sorry I had to wait to email.

This week has been super crazy! Since we lost our car, the weather has just decided to be super rainy! When it rains here, it just constantly pours and never stops! At first, I thought a bike would be impossible but I must admit that it is hard because it is super hilly here.   Either your flying down a hill or your biking up one.  We have been on time and have got a serious work out this week.  It does not get much better than that.

A lot of good things have happened since we started biking. We found this lady who moved from the Philippines.  Her name is Feliciana. She was a member there but when she moved here she stopped going to church. It was a total miracle that we found her!

We have had some really good lessons and I have finally been able to be more involved in the teaching.  At times Elder Powell would really take over.  That has been fun and I already feel like I am a way better teacher. I love Elder Fitzgerald.  He is super nice and we both are very laid back people. It makes it pretty easy to get along.

We had such a crazy experience this week!!! A lady in the ward, who is very nice, has a daughter who is dating a guy who is Catholic and now she is starting to join his religion.  She wanted all of us to have a lesson with them. So it was us, James, Jennifer, the Millers and sister Millers' brother and sister-in-law.  It was INSANE! We said pretty much nothing. They were debating these questions he had and they were getting into super deep doctrine.  Some of the stories they were saying were insane!!!  I wish there was some way I could type what happened but it would take too long! This is a story that I HAVE to tell when I get home.   Everyone was yelling to "shut up" so they could talk. It was crazy!! I can't wait to explain this one! hahaha Wow!

We have meals (dinner appointments) an average of 3 times a week. Sometimes more but hardly less. The ward donates breakfast foods to us on Sunday and we have a cooler we put it in.  That is really cool.  I have already started to figure out how to cook some good stuff so that I don't have to eat the same thing everyday.  I love the pictures by the way! Its fun to see what you're doing and to see pictures of all of you!

There are some things that I don't love to do but I need to think about Why I do it.  I just need to push the Whys into all of the work and remember that this is for the people and not for me. It's easy to focus on you when it really isn't about you.  My mission President really trusts me.  In his emails to me, he told me that he has complete trust in me and that he needs me to study and work hard so that I can be a leader in the mission.  My companion and I have learned a lot together.  Elder Fitzgerald is great!  I love the advice I receive because it helps me grow so much!!

I love my family! You inspire me to grow and to want to be the best at what I do. I really want to be the guy that people look at and want to be like.  Not because I want to be looked at but I want people to know how much I care.  This matters to me.  I want my Heavenly Father to know how much I care.

I am excited to see how this transfer goes. Thanks for your love and support! You really have always pushed me to try and become great!

Love you,
Elder Westover :)

Hey Everybody!

Well, here is how my week went! Elder Powell is now the zone leader in Ashburn and I was bummed to see him go. At first things were tough getting used to the mission and daily life but I really became close with him. I then figured out that they would take our car and we would be on bike! WHAT?! NO!! Our area is so big and there are some roads we are not allowed to go on because they don't want any missionaries dying! ;)

I am now with Elder Fitzgerald who is from Rexburg Idaho. He is a fun guy and it has been pretty good with him so far. I have been very stressed because now it is on me to know the area, the people and the members. He is supposed to finish training me but I feel like I am more in charge. Elder Fitzgerald is a soft spoken guy! But he is funny and I am learning from him. President told me in an email that Elder Powell told him good things about me and that the Lord put me with someone who has only been out for about 5 months for a reason. I know that during this time I will be able to see a lot of growth in myself if I work hard and rely on the Lord.

Why does Virginia have so many hills?! They are just these slowly rising hills and they are killer. It has been tough. But in the days so far that we have been out we truly have seen great things happen. I know that we are being blessed for working hard on bike and truly trying our best. I know that I am new but the Lord has guided me to where we should be more than I could have imagined!

Conference was great this weekend! We watched the sessions in different members homes and the messages were great! They talked a lot about member missionaries and also how important the family is! I loved being on a mission and listening because you truly can apply all the talks to missionary work somehow. What were your thoughts on the talks?

The Government being shutdown has actually been very noticeable. I know of a few people who are on furlough. Its really sad but I hope that leads to us being able to talk to more people! I am not sure  why it is shut down because we really don't hear much but I know it has affected people here.

I love hearing about and from the kids and their stories! Make sure they take time to write me!!

We are trying now to work with part members better! I will make sure to tell you how that goes and see what we can do! Thanks for all the advice! Love you all! You are amazing! Be safe and have a great week!

Love,
Elder Westover :))

Hi everybody!

So this week went well you could say. We have been able to find some new investigators but a lot of them just want to learn about us and the religion more than really changing and coming closer to Christ. That part has been hard. What can you do to help them change? Too bad I can't choose for them ;)

Our investigators this week were either good or bad. We really had a hard time of getting a hold of them and when we showed up at the time we planned they were not there. That's no fun. That man Blake Woodhouse that I told you about who was so golden has not answered our phone calls or texts this week and we can't visit him because his parents get super mad when the missionaries go over. It really is sad when that happens. You want them so badly to come to church and you want to see the gospel change them but we are still working hard and good things are happening!

So the mission is so big that they are now creating 3 new zones to make the numbers in each zone smaller. My companion and my other friend are now going to be zone leaders. which means that I MIGHT go to another area to be with a new trainer or he will come here to train me. I don't know yet. It's sad because I was really starting to figure out my companion and we have been really getting along. He talked with President for awhile and he wanted to stay with me and President asked him if he was declining. He said "no," so I guess I will have a new comp and maybe a new place. That seems really weird to me that I have already been here for 6 weeks. Things change and you learn I guess to deal with it. We will enjoy these last couple days.

I hope that you all have had a good week! You are in my prayers and I would love to hear some cool stories of home :)

Love,
Elder Westover

Hey Everybody!

This week has been absolutely great! We now have found 6 new investigators and got to teach a good number of lessons! After a long time of not finding anybody to work with, we now have a teaching pool.  I have learned the importance of always making time to find people to teach!

While we were having a choir practice, this man came in with tattoos on his neck and arms asked us if we have a video called "The Testaments."  Some members found him one and he told them how he wanted to get back to church and that he has been reading the Book Of Mormon everyday and loves it. It turns out that he is in our area and so we gave him a call.  He said that he wants to bring his girlfriend to the lessons because he wants her to come with him! This was Tuesday morning! What a great way to start the week! We taught him and his girlfriend and he is such a stud! I really hope that things will continue to work out there!

The night before we were calling on former investigators and we met with this family in their home and talked to them.  It was just a great way to start the week!

There is also this family, the Watsons, that have two 19 year old twins, a 13 year old and a 7 year old that we taught!  We have not met the parents because they have been out of town but the missionaries have gone over there a lot so they knew who we were! We also got let in tracting by this 24 year old muslim kid.  We told him our purpose and everything and he was cool with it.  Muslims are hard to teach because if they convert and go back to their country they can be killed.  They have to go through multiple interviews with someone in the mission presidency!  Crazy for sure!

The Lord blessed us so much and he answers our prayers! The more we rely on Him, the more things just seem to work out! These weeks have been really tough. I feel like so many prayers have been answered this week.  Its just great!

I heard about the BYU game from the ward. There are alot of BYU fans everywhere. Bronco just can't get good QB's like BYU used to!

Thanks for all the advice! I use it everyday and write it in my planner! Love you all!!!

Love,
Elder Westover

Hey Everybody,

I love all the pictures you send! Im glad the kids are running cross county at school!  Thats really good! I just sent a bunch of pictures so that will help you understand my email!

CRAZY WEEK!! So this week we have now found a new investigator! Woohooo! Keep up the prayers! Her name is Elizabeth and she has a daughter who is 17 who listened in on the lessons! Super cool! 

Also we got to go the Washington Nationals baseball game on Friday! Now here is the crazy part! As the game ended we were getting ready to go but this one hilarious Elder wanted to check out all the team shops! Its now 11:30 by the time we are leaving to head to the Metro and we are in DC!  I was a little nervous! Then the miracle happened. As we are heading to the metro all of a sudden this super sick Mercedes pulls up next to us and the guy says whats up mormon missionaries?! As we turn to look all of a sudden one of the Elders says,  "Is that Bryce Harper?!?!"  IT WAS HIM!!!! We all crowded around his car and he just stopped in the middle of the road! These cars are honking so we told him to pull over to the side of the road! He pulled into this little alleyway and we all ran over there. This security guard asked us what we were doing? Then Bryce Harper gets out and the guy was like, "Holy $*#@," thats Bryce Harper! We all busted up laughing and he was like "get me a picture with him!" We all laughed and then he signed stuff for us and took pictures with us for about 20 minutes! How cool is that?! Sooooo cool!!

Then on Saturday we see this crazy cool Bat-mobile, however you spell it, car! It was in some storage unit! That was super cool! Then on Sunday during the sacrament this little girl in front of us told her mom she needed to go to the bathroom but she said she could hold it. Then all of a sudden we heard her going all over the floor!! Ahhhhhh crazy, crazy week!

I am starting to feel a lot more comfortable out here. I have met a lot of the ward members and I am losing my fear of tracting! Its been good to be here. I know its hard but I know I am growing! Thanks for all the advice! It helps me to look back at it.  I hope that work and family life has been good! It sounds like things are going good at home. Well, have a great week and keep up those prayers! I love you all. Thanks for everything you do!

Love,

Elder Westover

Bryce Harpers autograph.  Washington Nationals 2 time MVP

Bryce Harper

Elders at the ball game

??  All pictures don't come with an explanation

Elder Westover very excited to watch SPORTS!!

Nationals Baseball game

Elders Westover & Johnston in the MTC

Even the Bathrooms Have the Lingo Down!

MTC Provo

DC

President & Sister Riggs

August 2013 Zone Conference

Hey All!

Thanks for that advice Dad! That is something that I will do! We have been really trying to find ways to help find people and this will help a lot! Thanks!

This week has been pretty good for the most part! It has been tough trying to find people but I feel a lot better being here and a lot more comfortable. This week we had our zone conference on prayer and I learned a lot about praying and how to make my prayers more meaningful. That night Elder Powell and I decided to pray about who we should visit. As we looked be both picked names of former investigators and stopped by. We now have 2 appointments scheduled and we are hoping that we can actually teach them! FINALLY! We still have not done hardly any teaching but it was good to meet and know more people in the ward as well as others! The work will come as we continue to push hard and give it our all.

This week we decided to do a week of perfect obedience. That means that everything we do will be giving it our all! We are going to work hard when we have time and waste no time at all! We are praying harder and fasting for the people in the area. We know that as we do this we will be able to find people and have a good week to meet our goals! Please pray for the people and ourselves as we continue to work hard. I know the Lord will help provide a way!

How is work and everyone back at home doing? I pray all the time for you guys! I have come to realize how important you all are to me! It is something that I took for granted but now I realize how important it is! I love you Dad and your email will help a lot this week!! Have a good safe week!

Love,
Elder Westover :)

Hi All!

 

Its been hard trying to get used to a whole new life. With opening a new area we literally have tracted so much! We have to try and find new people though and that is the only way left. We work hard but its been tough trying to find people. I study hard and I am obedient but not much yet. This week went by slow. But as we find people it will go faster. I have prayed so much to find people and also for all of you at home. It has helped a lot when you feel alone.

 

I know I can do it. I just push and put my trust in the Lord. He will bless you when you put your trust in Him.

 

The area here is so crazy! I have already figured out streets but its crazy! Look up Centreville Virginia and you will see! So if you send things here it now HAS to be done to my actual address that I sent you. Its "Lotus" not "Locust" by the way! But yeah if you ever need to send something do it that way!

 

I love you! I pray for you and the family back at home! Be safe and have fun! I miss you but I know this is where I need to be no matter how hard! I can do hard things :)

 

Love you

Elder Westover

  So I am serving in the Centreville (yes that's how its spelt) 2nd ward. The weather has been great so far. It has not been humid at all and in the low 80's to high 70's. There are so many trees and everything is green. The problem is that there are so many cars here and its crazy to get around. And there are soooo many different kinds of people here. Koreans, people from Egypt, people from Ghana just so many! Its funny to see somebody who looks like me!

  Before I forget, my address is not Locust it is Lotus. That was my fault I wrote the wrong thing down!

  My companion is cool and it's getting a lot better together. At first I was really homesick but it has gotten better everyday and with time. It is just so different here then what I'm used to. We are in a car because we have a big area so at the moment a bike is not needed. It will take time to get used to the missionary life but I am working on it.

  How is everything back home? How is school and work going? I am glad to be here and with time it will get better. I have  really got big into reading the Book of Mormon and that has become my favorite part of the day.  I hope you are doing well and that the kids are as well. I miss you all so much! It still seems crazy I have 2 years of this. It only gets faster everyday. Let me know if you can think of things I need to get or would like to have in my place.  I think we are good but I am not sure. I love you Dad and I miss you!!

Love,

Elder Westover

My mailing address is:

14111 Locust Ln. #1711
Centreville, Va 20120

At the end of the transfer in 6 weeks, don't try sending anything until I let you know that is still my address! Talk to you Monday!

Elder Austin Westover

Opening the Call - Washington DC South

Going Through the Mesa Temple

Setting apart the night before leaving.

This is it!  Walking into the MTC!

WEEK #1

I only have 30 minutes and I cant copy and paste so it will be short! We work so hard and I love it! I miss you all so much but am focusing on the work. How are all of you? I have an amazing companion Elder Palmer from Gilbert. He is funny and we both work hard! Our district is awesome and we do everything together. I love them all. Even if there are only 6 of us!  i have no time! I miss you all and love you! Your in my prayers and I work very hard!

 

Love you all so much!!

Elder Westover

So I guess we get an hour so here I am. I love the MTC! It has been fun we work way hard and we have a blast while doing it. Im at the MTC West campus which has been so fun! The rooms are nice, which I love. We have such a fun District and we just have so much fun!

 

We got to hear a talk by Elder Bednar about forgetting ourselves and serve the lord. It totally made me realize that I need to be happy and help others be happy! It completely changed my attitude!

 

I fly out the 21st to Minnesota and than to DC and I'm excited!  Thanks for your email cause it made me feel really good. I miss all of you and sorry for the short email at first but they said we could get on real quick. I will figure out how to send pictures! I love and miss all of you!!

 

Love,

Elder Westover :))

WEEK #2

The MTC has been awesome! I love it! We study so much and work so hard! I love the feeling of the spirit that is felt here. It is so peaceful here and it helps us focus! So on our Tuesday devotional Elder Scott came and spoke about prayer. He talked about always praying for help and to give thanks. He also gave a blessing to those learning a language to have the gift of tongues through hard work and diligence. Pretty cool blessing. Also he said he felt his wife was in the room through the veil! So powerful. 

We also did some funny stuff this week! We one day all had super short ties and then some guy got all mad.. but we took pictures as a district and we laughed about it. So many cool experiences and I need to find a way to email pictures to you! I love  you all so much and miss you guys! I love to work and to grow in my relationship with my Heavenly Father and I know you all can as well. Be safe and know I love you!

I wish I could golf a little bit! That sounds like a ton of fun! How is the gang doing? Keep informing me with new things its fun to read them!  Try and send me some pictures if you can! I'm trying to figure that out but we will see! Also I fly out on Wednesday and I leave the MTC at like 2:30 am! My flight from SLC leaves at 6am and it says we will be in Minnesota at like 9:28? I don't know if that time is here or there. I think I might call you in SLC or maybe Minnesota I just don't know.. Its Delta airlines and its flight 1440 from SLC to Minnesota and flight 1764 from Minnesota to DC. If that helps? I'm just not sure when to call. Just PLEASE keep your phone on and around you and I will try. 

Love you!!

Elder Westover