Test Post to ensure email deliveries are successful

I have noticed that Austin's post has not been emailed this week, so I am creating a test post to ensure that the problem has been resolved.

If any of you are wondering where his email is just follow the link and you can read his latest one on his blog.


Happy reading!!!

http://elderaustinainsworth.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday To Me!

Hello Everybody!

This week has been a very interesting week!  First off, it was my birthday a few days ago and that was awesome to be able to go and celebrate it out here in the mission field!  We had a member of the ward, the mom of the girl we baptized recently, feed me an awesome birthday dinner.  We had smoked honey salmon and kabobs!!!  It was a great day!  Thank you to all who sent me birthday wishes!  It was really cool reading all of the nice things that you wrote to me!  I miss all of you like crazy, but I know that this is what I need to do.  Thank you again for all of the love and support you have given me!

Something funny that happened to me this week, I hit a bird and a squirrel with the mission car.  It was pretty crazy.

We were also able to have Dani set a baptismal date this week!  She has been doing fantastic and I know she will be a great member of the church.  She has been super willing to listen to us and has felt the Holy Ghost a lot! It's been truly amazing teaching her more about the gospel!!!  With every week that passes, I've been able to see more and more of people's lives changing from the gospel.  Now I will be able to bless even more people, because as many of you know, my mission boundaries have changed and I'm now part of the Maryland Baltimore mission!  I can't wait to teach the people of Maryland!  I hope all of you have a blessed week!!!!

Happy Birthday Elder Ainsworth!

Just As One Baptism Ends, Another Begins!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you have had a nice week over in cool Utah, because it's still really hot and humid here!  I've been managing better, but man, am I glad for air conditioning!  Thank you all for your kind words and support.  It's been super awesome to see it!

Yesterday, Elder Gray and I were able to confirm the girl that was baptized last week.  It was an awesome experience being a part of the confirmation circle and the spirit was definitely strong!  The best part was seeing her Mom in tears, but they were good tears!  That family has been through so much lately and her mom was so happy for her.  This was definitely a highlight of my week!

Just as one baptism ends, another begins!  I have another baptismal date being set up today!  We invited a member’s friend to be baptized and she said, “yes!”  She will be baptized in July.  It's awesome to see how the gospel has been changing her life in just the short amount of time that we've been teaching her.  I'm so happy to be able to share this message of happiness, that has not only blessed my life, but the lives of so many other people.  This truly is His work and I'm loving every minute of it!  I hope you all have a fantastic week!

 This was the last photo with my district! Transfers are this week, so I will have new Elders and Sisters to work with! Elder Gray and I  are still together.

We found this while tracting and thought it was pretty cool!

We had s'mores with a family we're teaching!

The friend who wants to be baptized isn't in this photo,

but she is friend's with the girl in the batman hat! 

We went to a fair to see if we could find people and

ended up getting some interesting free stuff!

A new world translation bible, a political dollar bill about Trump and Hillary,

and a fan that talks about another religion. It was interesting, to say the least!

Since you love the road kill selfies here's one with a skunk!!!!

See you all next week! I hope your week is great!

-Elder Ainsworth

Things in Pennsylvania have been awesome!

Hello, everyone! The weeks keep flying by faster and faster! I have had a super great week! Me and my companion are getting along very well! I'd say we are pretty good friends now.

There is a 12-year-old girl that we have been teaching for a while now and she was finally baptized 2 days ago!!!!  It was super cool to see all of the people who showed up to support her and the decision she has made. The spirit was definitely there and I couldn't stop smiling the whole time!  She was baptized by Matt, who was also recently baptized about the time I was getting ready to ship out from the MTC.  He received the priesthood a few weeks ago and has now baptized someone!

I was recently at a zone conference where we receive inspired training from the Mission President and the Assistants to the President. While we were there, we were given 2 new pamphlets to use out in the field!  One is on what goes on at church and the other is about families and temples.  They are super cool and I have loved using them!  I have also been on two exchanges where I go to another area in my zone and switch companions for the day, as well as stay at their apartment for the day.  It's a way for the district leader to see how each of us is doing and how the work has been progressing.  It's been super cool!  While I was on exchanges, this guy named Johnny Joe came with us and he is a recent convert.  All of our appointments had fallen through, so he went and gathered some kids together.  We taught a lesson to a group of kids!  One of the kids then asked if they could come to church, so Johnny Joe went to talk to their parents.  They said yes and they want to be taught the gospel!  Elder Perry and I were flipping out because we didn't think it was going to work!  It was a very cool experience!

The Lord has truly been with me and my companion, recently.  Because of our efforts to find those to teach, we have been able to find more people who are willing to hear our message!  We had a “Meet the Mormons” movie night last week and one of the members brought her friend to it!  This friend came to sacrament meeting yesterday and we are now meeting her today for a lesson!  I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I have had to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands.  I have the greatest front row seat ever with the amazing experience of seeing entire lives change, by trying to follow the example that Jesus Christ has set for us.  Though we are not perfect, with Jesus we can be perfect.  I know this work is true and that the power of conversion is a real thing!  I have seen people change their habits and attitude about life because of it!  I hope all of you have had a great week!

 She was soooooo excited to get baptized!

 I love teaching this family!

The spirit was definitely present for this joyous occasion!

I love this family and I have had so many cool experiences teaching them!

 Filling up the baptismal font for the first time!

Chambersburg Zone

 This is the house where the Declaration of Independence was charted.

This company didn't know until half way tearing it down. So now it's half a house! :)

 Thought I would have some fun with my hair.

 I found this while tracting and thought it was pretty funny!

This was a pretty bridge we drove by!

While I was on exchanges I had to pull a lawn mower out of this guys storage unit.

As you can see it was mess so it was really hard to pull it out!

We just finished playing an intense game of volley ball. I'm pretty pooped.

It Feels Like I Just Sent An Update Yesterday!

Hello Everyone!

Time definitely flies by when you are doing the Lord’s work!  I have had a good week!  It has been a lot cooler here, so that has been a great blessing.  Elder Gray and I have been having more success lately, as we have diligently searched for the lost sheep and organizing our area book!  We have found a lot more people teach and I can't wait to see how the gospel will bless their lives!  We have one less active member that we found through it and she has agreed to have lessons again!  Although she did have her kid running around commando during the lesson, soooooo it was kinda awkward. :/   Chip, a less active member, has been doing better and told us that he wants to come to church.  His wife came yesterday, but he wasn't there and he said he would come only when his wife was off work and could make it.  We are trying to figure that one out.  I was also able to give another blessing!  The priesthood is such an awesome blessing and I'm so happy to have it in my life!  We are having a “Meet the Mormon’s” movie night tonight that we have set up and we are hoping that this will help us to find more investigators!

I don't believe I have mentioned this yet, but there are a lot of cat owners here in Carlisle.  My lint roller has definitely had a workout lately!  Yesterday, it rained a ton and we were confined to our car for an hour because the rain was so bad!  Earlier that day though, I had my very first missionary basketball experience!  We found a group of kids and they wanted us to play ball with them, so we agreed! Obviously, we won, but it was cool to mess around with the neighborhood kids! 

I know this gospel is true and that the message we share has the power to change people's lives!  I'm so grateful to be able to witness this awesome change in others!  I'm very grateful for the love and support that I have received from everyone!  I hope you all have a great week!

-Elder Ainsworth

I broke my shoelace last week! 

Guess what I found while tracting!

(Elder Ainsworth had a log cabin playhouse like this, when he was little)

This is a cool bridge we found! 

The view from the bridge was pretty! 

Two missionaries sitting on the bridge