Last week in Concord!

Familia,

Oh, first off I sent my heart report last Thursday :)

I will have to agree with you mom that this week was so long. It was an amazing week, but it was filled with so many things that it was super long. It was a great week to end it here. To answer your questions: I am doing really good! I have gotten to say goodbye to people, the Garcia family understood and I will continue to write them. I told them that when I get back from my mission I will be coming to visit them and talk and talk with them. I love Brother Garcia’s stories! Also, last night I visited one of our less-active families that I have worked with for months, the whole time I have been here. It was really sad to say good-bye to them. I actually think I shed a tear or two when I left. I love that family so much! (Below is one of the less active families.)

I will be finishing my packing tonight hopefully. I have so much stuff that I’m trying to figure out what to do with it. I think I will be able to fit it all though. I gave some of my older shirts to my companion because he doesn't have really any. He loved the jacket you sent him by the way. He wears it everywhere! My companion is staying here and his new companion is from El Salvador and is the district leader. My companion is excited about a native speaker in Spanish, but keeps telling me every day that he is going to miss me a lot. I will be missing him a lot too, even though it was a hard 3 transfers. We really had some great experiences and really grew together. The baptismal interview I did went perfect, no problems and she will be baptized this Wednesday!

So things that happened this week. This week has been so busy.

Monday we had a great P-day. We gave a blessing to a member and then at 5:30 we got to the Bishop’s home of an English ward. We were with the whole Zone for New Year’s Eve. We watched Brave and Emperor’s New Groove. It was so awesome! It was awkward though because we were on the same coach as the sisters. We put a big pillow in-between us haha. Brave was really great! We got pictures as a Zone with out Zone shirts also. (Mother's note: Missionaries do not watch TV or movies. Because it was New Year's Eve and they try to keep them in where it is safe, special permission was given to watch these movies.)

Tuesday was awesome! We had district meeting. Before district meeting though, we ate lunch with a part-member family. They made some seafood noodle dish. It was messy, but good. It had clams and lobster and crab!

 
(Apparently, it was messy. He had to wear a T-shirt over his white shirt to keep it clean)

District meeting was great though. I taught it on how to help investigators develop real intent. It went really well and we learned a lot in that meeting. To end, we took district pictures. We also sang, "God be with you till we meet again." No one knew that I was leaving yet so it was funny.

Ward members say good-bye too.

 On Wednesday we had a neat experience. We found a lady named Sister Siegal (Galvez). She speaks English but she is from El Salvador and speaks Spanish when we talk to her. She is amazing! When we first found her we were knocking doors and her house was a house that we never knocked in the past because it seemed American. This time I had the thought to knock it anyway. So we did. She opened the door and the first thing she said was, "Oh Elders! It is so good to see you!" We thought she was a member already, but as we talked she is from the Seventh Day Adventists church but has met with missionaries for a long time before and has been to Utah and knows a lot of members. She said that she reads the Book of Mormon every night! We were blown away. SO yes on Tuesday we finally were able to visit her and boy she did talk. We brought Brother Garcia with us for the first time. He was so excited to join us! When we got in, we had some problems when she got offended with us bring someone from Mexico. We tried to fix that but Brother Garcia was good and he fixed it. After that she started talking about everything from Bill Clinton to priest craft and spells. We tried to stop her and teach but she just was like a snowplow and just blew us over. She finally let us talk about an hour later, but by then we had to go. We set some expectations of what we will be doing and set another appointment with her to have it in the chapel too.

We are teaching another brother named Hermano Alvarado and he has a date for the second of February. We taught him twice this week and it was great! We read with him in the Book of Mormon and we gave him his conversion calendar to help him progress to be baptized. Wednesday I had the interview and it went really well!

Thursday was quite the day! We met up with other elders and I was the companion of the Zone Leader here, whose companion already went home. We headed to San Leandro for Zone Leader Council. It wasn’t a training it was ZL council! I was thrown right into it. When I got there Elder Rodriquez looked at me and asked me what I was doing there. He said, "Oh don’t tell me? YOUR A ZONE LEADER?" He was so happy and gave me a big hug.

I met up with Elder Bradford there too. He didn’t even know that I was going to be his companion and he was actually really excited. We then started Zone leader Council and we gave our accountability. Elder Bradford and I went up and , He haha gave the accountability for the Oakland Zone. We then listened to the the other leaders give their accountability. I loved it because we could give advice or make comments and I love making comments. One of the leaders asked a question and I stood up and responded. I was nervous of course being new, but I did it. After, President Meredith did business and things and then we went over the mission baptismal goal. We had a big council and we all went up and wrote our Zone baptismal goal for the year. The Oakland goal has the highest goal of 108. We all commented and it was quite an experience. We finally decided on a goal of 723 baptisms for the year of 2013. It was amazing to see this happen and to be part of it. Afterward we had lunch and I talked to the assistants and other missionaries. They all told me that I was going to be in the biggest and also most stressful Zone in the mission. I was excited! Elder Bradford and I talked and went over some business. Wednesday I am already going to be doing the Zone meeting with Elder Bradford. The first day off of transfers and then we have Zone Planning and Zone Interviews later this week. I am excited to get to work!

Friday was the greatest day! We had a lesson again with Sister Siegal (galvez) that morning in the chapel. We picked up Brother Gomez and went to her house. She followed us over to the church. He taught her the restoration and it was one of the most powerful lessons I have ever had. She cried during the first vision and also to finish we gave her a tour of the chapel and when we were in the sacrament room we explained about the sacrament and she asked us, "What do I need to do to be baptized" We explained some things and then we left. It was the most amazing lesson, she committed to come to church and everything.

Sunday was great also! A great day to end my time here. At church so many people came. One thing though, the branch president is new and is my favorite member and in coordination it was sad. He asked me to share a spiritual though,t but yeah it was hard to say goodbye. I was so excited to work with him. We then waited for our investigator to come. As we waited a less-active family that we have been working with lately showed up! I was so happy! I was seriously happier than ever. Then to top it off Sister Siegal (Galvez) showed up also! We sat down by the member we want her to be friends with. She was very impressed of the testimonies and everything. She enjoyed all of the classes. In one of the classes of gospel principles they taught about eternal marriage. What was amazing is Sister Siegal said, "Well because of this lesson I now know that my last marriage wasn't preformed  right because it wasn't in the temple or by the priesthood." We were so happy. She then went with her fellow shipper to relief society. After, we talked to her, and they had given her a book and also a Book of Mormon - a triple. She was excited. She also wanted to pay tithing but we explained that only members do so she said she was going to give an offering and paid an offering instead of tithing.

 After church we pulled a lesson together quickly with her to go over her experience. In that lesson of 15 minutes it was so powerful. She said that she knew all this was true and we then talked about baptism and she said, "I want to be baptized." I then invited her to and she accepted and also to the date of the second of February. The spirit was so strong! She cried when she accepted! It was the most amazing way to end the transfer!

Then of course later that night we were teaching a guy and in the middle of the lesson the member said something and the guy got angry and through the pamphlet and told us to get out of his house. I guess there is always opposition is everything. The best experience and the worst. We just laughed afterward. oops.

I am excited for transfers. I have a lot to learn! Love you all! I will send some pics! Oh my new area: I cover Oakland, West Oakland and then Berkeley. Oh yeah...It’s going to be good!

Dinner as a district at a member's home.

Love, Elder Austin Hill