Progress is Being Made

This week was really good. This week we had Tausch which is just exchanges so I was in Linz for a few days. Linz is the 3rd largest city in Austria behind Graz and obviously Wien. While I was there I got to meet some of the sisters in our district because Linz is both an Elders and Sisters area. Linz is pretty cool and I did some finding there. Nobody was interested but it was still a good experience. 

Saturday was zone conference for all of Austria. It was really good experience and I really enjoyed it. I got to see a lot of friends from the MTC and it was really good to catch up with them and talk about our experience so far. The lunch that was provided was really good, it was snitzel. It was great to have had a bit of a break for a day. On the way back home, we didn't know which train to take but we figured it out. Because we live in a Dorf, we had to change trains and so we got off at the stop we needed only to find out that we just missed the second train. This train only runs once an hour so we stuck at a Bahnhof for a solid hour. It was some good wholesome fun.

This we week we taught the Nigerians again. On Tausch, Elder Summers and Elder Hammerstrom, one of the Elders from Linz, were able to teach Emanuel and Emanuel said that he wanted to be baptized. So we went back on Sunday and set up a date for him to be baptized. We are trying to get him baptized before the end of the transfer so Elder Summers can at least see his baptism.

That's really about it this week. I am so thankful to have had this opertunity to serve my Lord and Savior with this work here is Austria. Till next week.

Getting Shredded,

      Elder Gavin Damron

P.S. Linz is for show-offs

Zone Conference reunion with MTC friends: Elder Pickard, Elder Larson, me, Sister Moffett, and Elder Richardson

 Big old tree

Walking a members dog as he just had both hip replaced

Countryside

First week in the Field

Lieber Freude,

This week I finally went to the field. I am currently in Haag, Österreich(Austria). Haag is the Austrian country side and there aren't too many families in here, there are a lot of old people though. 

My companion is Elder Summers and he comes from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He is really cool and he is going home at the end of this transfer. We have a few investigators, Alex (who I haven't met yet), Emanuel, Bishop, and Henry. The last 3 we teach all together because they live together. They are really cool and funny. They are all from Nigeria and speak English. I think that they might get baptized which is really cool. 

Alex, from what I have heard, has been taught all the lessons and really just needs to commit to baptism. My companion says that they have been trying to get him to go to church but he is too busy to go. Really, he just needs to come to church then we think that he will commit to baptism. 

We went over to a guy's place on Friday that another companionship found.  We go there and teach him about the Book of Mormon but he is fine with his church because it is good. He doesn't believe that there is a true church on the Earth today and he doesn't care if a church is true. He only cares if it is good. The only hope that we have from that lesson was that his girlfriend, who was present, got something out of the message. I now see why missionary work is so difficult for so many reasons. One of the reasons is you are sad when people just don't understand the importance of the Gospel after having it explained to them and having felt the spirit testify of the truthfulness of the gospel. 

On Wednesday, we helped a member move in and the house they moved into was the house where the first LDS meeting in Austria was held. It was really cool and I am glad that I got to see that.

So apparently where I currently am in Austria is really close to where Hitler was born. I live in Ried and Hitler was born in Braunau which is about a 20 minute drive. So that's cool I guess. 

Sorry for the lack of photos of Österreich diese Woche. Ich werde besser nächste Woche versuchen (Translation: Austria this week.  I'll try better next week). Just know that Austria is beautiful and very hilly. That's all for this week and if you want to send me letters, send them to 

Elder Damron 

Johann-Georg-Hartwagnerstraße 24/2

Österreich 

Ried im Innkries 4910

For packages, send to

Elder Damron

Lommelstrasse 7

Deutschland

D-81479 München

The reason for 2 different addresses is because packages won't fit in my apartment's mail box.

In loving memory,

       Elder Gavin Damron 

P.S. German's for show offs

Travel Notification from England MTC

This email is just to tell you about my journey to the field. I am excited to go. This email is approved by the Mission President. In fact he told us to send this out.

On Tuesday morning at 03.30 we will be leaving the MTC to go to the Manchester airport. Our flight leaves at around 05.30 to München. From there we will be picked up and taken to the mission home and do orientation stuff for the field. We will get our first area and our trainer. And that's about all I know so far. I will email again eventually.

Final Week in the MTC

So this is the final week in the MTC. I am excited to get out to the field and start the work. It is pretty bitter sweet because the teachers are really cool and the Greeks are really cool, too. The Greeks still have 3 more weeks after we leave. This next week will be filled with more lessons and review of the grammar. This past week some funny things happened with lessons and just because we are a goofy bunch of 20 year olds.

So this past week we have been sitting with the teachers during lunch just to annoy Brother Robertson as well as the other teachers. Mainly brother Robertson though. We've been wanting to get to know what he does in his free time but he won't tell us. I don't know why we want to find that out about him but Elder Richardson does. 

Yesterday, almost all of the elders in my district took a picture together with our ties out of our sweaters. We do some weird stuff every now and again. Yesterday, as well, we taught a person named Rumi. Rumi is played by brother Murray and it's supposed to be an African from Uganda. The meeting was quite funny as he would say at different points in the lesson "Preach brother preach!" and "that's the truth my friend, that's the truth!" in English. When we said the prayer, he would put his arms up and while we were saying prayer and would say "preach!" Most of the people would crack up during lesson out loud. Elder Pickard and I chuckled a bit but we held it in pretty well until we left the room. We were told that we were the best behaved out of the district.

Ever since we have gotten to the MTC we have been trying to make long range baskets in the gym with a basketball. Elder Goodwin finally did it and we got on video.

Elder Bennion during meals, has been stuffing food in his mouth, like an entire pastry in his mouth. I don't why he does this but I do it as well and there are pictures of him doing, but not of me.

Elder Pickard shared with us a short story that his Mom told him. I really like so I thought I would share it with you. When I heard it I felt the spirit so strongly and it just proves to me the truthfulness of this Gospel. I am out here to serve the Lord with all my might and strength. I know that this church is true and I have a desire to share it with others around the world so they have the opportunity to feel the joy that I get from this Gospel. I don't care what others say about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it's true and no one can tell me otherwise. I just implore others to give it a try see what I know to be true.

Next week I will be somewhere between Germany, Austria, or Switzerland serving the Lord speaking broken German but loving it every step of the way. I am leaving German incredibly fast and I know that the progress I have made in the language is not just by myself. The Lord blesses his missionaries and the Gift of Tongues is something that I have been blessed with. No human being can come as far as we have in this language in 6 weeks without the help of a supreme being. It is incredible and a major testimony builder.

If you want to send me anything by mail

Alpenländische Mission

Lommelstrasse 7

D-81479 München

Till next week from the field

Mit Liebe,

         Elder Gavin Damron 

 

Fourth Week in the MTC - Two weeks left.

This week in the MTC was rather boring compared to other weeks. We are all getting bored of the MTC. We got a new batch of missionaries in this week and so far everyone that stayed seems to like the people of the last 3 weeks more than the current group. They want to have a volleyball match between them and the more experienced missionaries. 

Sorry for the lack of pictures this week but nothing really happened that was too picture worthy. This week Elder Richardson discovered a treasure trove of old LDS ads. The Homefront Videos. They contain some of the worst acting ever and they all carry the same slogan, family, isn't it about...time. We want to find an excuse to use it in one of our lessons but haven't gotten to that point. We think that the investigator would break character and it would be a great time.

Sundays are the best days in the MTC because we get to take naps and the spirit is really strong. We have devotionals and the spirit is really strong. We watched Bruce R. McConkie's final talk which is really good. I really like it a lot. 

This is a really short email because nothing too interesting happened this week. I bet when I get out to the field there will be a lot more to write. But, while I am here in the MTC, the schedule is planned out for me and the same things happen everyday. 

We will be leaving in 2 weeks and we are getting pretty excited for it. We are ready to leave but it will be pretty bitter sweet because we will be leaving the Greeks who are here for 3 more weeks after we leave. I do plan on keeping in contact with them to see how it goes but we will see what happens.

         Mit Liebe,

               Elder Gavin Damron