David and Goliath

A missionary's Christmas celebrations:  On Christmas Eve- we had several companionships over to our apartment and made a Mega-bed. We stacked all of our mattresses together and watched "Mr. Kruger's Christmas" right before we went to bed.  Then we were all together to share Christmas morning and our packages from home.

Talking to y'all over Skype was great, although a little bit weird. It's almost like talking to complete strangers! I'm excited to work hard through these upcoming months though and continue learning and growing so I can bring home the lessons I've learned and help those that stand in need of them.

Transfer news! I'll be staying here in Lubbock with Elder Bench while Elder Walker leaves us and heads to Clovis, New Mexico! Due to the weather and road conditions transfers are occurring on this upcoming Saturday.  

As you've probably heard, a huge winter storm hit Lubbock. Dubbed "Goliath" by local news channels it's the largest storm that has hit Lubbock in over 30 years, if not its entire history! We got 11 inches of snow and fierce winds that didn't help conditions at all. I'm not sure how much y'all know about Texas but snow down here isn't to normal- and this much of it is outright ridiculous! Luckily we were one of the few that kept our electricity.

The city was not equipped for a storm like this, and people were even less so. The night before the storm hit stores were flooded with people trying to stock up on food and water and prepare for the long days ahead. Missionaries were included in that rush for supplies because we'd been warned by President that the weather would be bad. 

Things seemed calm as Saturday drew to a close, with only dropping temperatures, but we woke up on Sunday to find about 8 inches of snow on the ground. Church was canceled, but we weren't about to pass up an opportunity to do missionary work in a winter wonderland! Elder Walker went with another Elder and said goodbye to members around town while Elder Bench and I walked to Peggy's home to shovel her out of the snow. (In case I haven't talked about Peggy here's a quick background- she's our investigator that we've been working with for the past few months. She's blind and has a guide dog named Danika. She's really sincere and searching for answers that we're hoping the gospel can provide!  She made me the scarf you see in some of the pictures).

Due to the awful weather all mission vehicles have been grounded so Elder Bench and I ended up walking the 5 miles to her house to shovel the walk and spread some rock salt near the door and on the porch so she could take Danika out to go to the bathroom without slipping on ice!

Peggy only had one snow shovel... so while one was shoveling the other would build a snowman. We named him "Goliath" in honor of the storm.

The weather got progressively worse and we continued walking determined to teach a few lessons that day or provide service to those that needed it. Sadly, we received a call from our mission leaders that said we needed to return home now because the storm was only going to get worse. At this point we'd walked over 7 miles away from our apartment and so the walk back was going to be a long cold one, but luckily we hitched a ride back safely to our apartment!  Luckily not before we had this photo-op on campus:

The following days were filled with more snow and more wind. Monday and Tuesday were both days of heading out as soon as the sun was up to help cars stuck in the snow and ice, shovel walkways and driveways, and provide help in any way we could, all while teaching the gospel when the situation required it!

Coming to Texas I didn't expect to ever be doing missionary work in the SNOW, but here I am, loving every minute of it! Elder Bench and I prepped every morning with wool socks, grocery bags over those, our proselyting shoes, sweats underneath our slacks, and layered clothing underneath our sweaters and jackets. Oh man, its been an adventure!

Nothing beats good, physical, hard labor!  We also went and shoveled out the temple so the night session could take place.

We've learned a lot of tricks- one of which is if you dig underneath a car tire and throw a towel down a stuck car can get enough traction off the towel to propel itself out of the hole or snow that it's stuck in. So, our bags were stuffed with towels we had from our apartment, left by departing missionaries and we descended on the city helping wherever we could with our snow shovels, towels,  and sheer will!

Lubbock declared a state of emergency and sirens have been going off 24.7 as emergency responders make their way to accidents and to the aid of those in need. Its been quite an experience.  Look at this icicle I found.

We walked over 15 miles in the snow over the course of the next few days and continued our journey of helping anyone that needed it! Its been a great week. Service truly does soften hearts. We rarely, if ever, mentioned the gospel, but as we helped and refused payment people began asking questions and we got a few return appointments. Why were there two young men, dressed in dress pants and shoes, out shoveling walkways in their free time? It got a few people thinking.

But like I said, its been an adventure, and I've loved every minute of it! People noted that my shoveling skills were, "quite amazing"... I told them I'd had some practice in a job before my mission- Thanks Grandpa Sork!

Shoveling and walking. I LOVE MY LIFE! I did get burnt to a crisp though- sunburned in snow!

At times, we DID have to go inside. So I got a little crafty. I wanted a new tie- so I went to work. Sewing was a pain, but it turned out okay!

We served and had fun along the way, as I'm sure you can tell from some of the pictures I'm sending. It's always possible to do both of those things- there's always a time and a place for everything. The snow is beginning to melt which brings yet another problem- flooding! There's no drainage here in Lubbock so all the water will be causing yet another problem here in a few days. But- eat the elephant one bite at a time, right? Baby steps!

I'm excited to be serving with Elder Bench yet again in the Heritage ward, and we've got a lot of work cut out for the both of us! There's always new lessons to be learned, taught, and people to help! Being a missionary is the greatest.

Here's my thought for the week:

Matthew 5:44-45

"But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth the rain on the just and on the unjust."

Now,  re-read that passage and replace the word "sun" with the word "SON". Christ has come to atone for the sins of all- his sacrifice was made for every one of us. It's easy to forgive and love those that do it back to you, but it's a whole different matter to say, "Lord forgive them, for they know not what they do," when people curse you, hate you, and despitefully use you, and persecute you. Love people. 

David A. Bednar said, "Love should be our walk and our talk." Because like Moroni said, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing. As this new year begins I encourage you to shrug things off just a little quicker, forgive just a little easier, and love a whole lot more. Because..."If it were an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, the whole world would be blind and toothless."

Keep strong, and stay gold. Love you always,

Your son, brother, friend, and missionary,

Elder Austin Sork