I told you I would get muscles!!

Dear Mom,

(Elder Paxman was informed via email today by his grandparents that they will be going on a mission.  Their papers are in and they are awaiting a call) I Know I was super shocked to hear the news it was awesome!! I am super excited to see where they are going!!

My week has been good, my bowels have been crazy to say the least!  I swear it is ridiculous!! Ha-ha but oh well. Overall my week has been good, Ivonne and Jesus, I don't even know anymore, we have really good lessons and they want to be baptized but they are not coming to church, so we will see here soon. Although they want me to baptize them so ha-ha, they said maybe the 16th because the 20th is transfers and I am almost guaranteed to go. We met one new Investigator but his room-mate it a pastor and even a little more interesting a Jehovah’s Witness Pastor!!! So that will make that very interesting. FHE with Fransico's family has gone well we are doing it again tonight so we will see how that goes. Roberto we haven’t been able to get in contact with him but we will keep trying, other than that not much new.  We eat with members probably 3 times a week.  They feed us a ton so I have to deny some or not finish my plate.  I could finish, but I get to the point of too full and than get sick, so I don't finish.  I feel bad because it is a big part of the culture, the food is, but I just kind of take a hit on that one.  I usually try and explain but they still give me a fishy look, it is kind of funny. This week we ate out once and only because we were up in the top right corner of our area, about 10 miles from home, on bikes, and some appointments went over so we didn’t have time to go home.  I think I spent around 10 bucks on my personal debit card, but I have really refigured budgeting and stuff so that should be the last of that.

I got your package, and I really liked all of them, the V necks were really awesome, and I was wondering if I could get more of those and also the Wing Necked ones.  I don't know what they are called but that is my best explanation. (I also have no idea what he is talking about when he refers to Wing Necked sweaters) Also Tie-clips, we cant do lapel pins any more and I don't like tie pins because they put holes in my ties, but clips are awesome and there are probably some really cool ones. Also for the ipod,  I just need a cheap one don’t spend a lot of money on that.

The weather did drop to 34 degrees during the day here once already, that was freezing!!  I need Beanies, Scarf’s, A boloclava thingy, (What is that?!?  Anyone out there who can enlighten me?) Or something to cover my face, so bandannas would be fine. And yea winter stuff, I got some gloves from mi compa, he didn’t want them so that was good. I hope all the winterizing at home goes well.

That is good Rachel is back in the mission, speaking of which I need a picture of her.... My companion wants to see her hahahaha he is such a doofus, but I told him I would ask you. (Sister of mine if you read this let me know if your okay with me sending a picture) Someone told me a bunch of people were going on missions from home and I was curious who and what else is happening at home. Look at face book and get me info.

The cat will not stop whining now?  At least she comes back and feels a little more free.

(Excerpt from my letter to him: I read a great conference talk given By Henry B.Eyring a few years ago.  He said that he realized that he needed to record the blessings he was receiving from his Heavenly Father.  So he started every day at the end of the day asking himself this question... "Have I seen the hand of the lord at work in my life or the lives of my family today?"  Then he would ponder it a while and write down 2 things he had seen in his life from that day that were a blessing. I LOVED this!  I am going to try to do it every day this week, and then continue on.  I think it would be a great thing for you to do as well.  It would be something for you to put in your journal each night.  No matter how small the blessing.  How neat would that be at the end of your mission to look back and see how the lord had blessed you each day?  Even if it's just a small thing, like you feeling great all day.   He said sometimes they were small things.  Just things he considered a blessing or the work of the lord that day.  Let me know what you think?) I really like that idea, but I will need a separate journal, because this one is filling up, even though I am bad at writing in it though. Although, I am getting a lot better at it.

For Halloween the ward is doing something this Tuesday so we will do that. But we have to be in at 6 on the actual night so that is how that goes.

(I always leave him with a scripture or quote, this was the quote this week: President Thomas Monson said:  "To express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven.")
 I really liked the quote today. This week I have been studying a lot of stuff but something that is kind of new is Diligence, not just that but true diligence. A quote I found that I really like is given by Elder Uchtdorf, and this isn’t exactly right. But it says. "Diligently doing the things that matter most, will bring us closer to the savior of the world" He also says how diligence is not frantic movement but being settled on a firm foundation of Righteousness and Truth. So that was really good!!

Something I am missing are pictures of the family, even the ones we took right before I left. Also I really want that picture of Christ saving Peter as he is sinking in the water that we have at home, if you could find a smaller one that would be awesome. 

A small funny story, I was getting ready to eat some cereal, like honey smacks but it comes in a huge bag, so I go to open it and I ripped it in half and all the cereal went all over the floor and everywhere!!  One, I am a lot stronger than I remember and two those bags aren’t built very well.... So that was really funny. I can also do like 6 pull-ups now it is awesome!! I told you I would get muscles on my mission, I hope just not fat. So other than that not much new in the mission, just learning to love it more and more each day and finding joy in the work. Well I still need to write some other people.  I love you all so much and I hope you have a great week and I hope all goes well on the home front.

Love, Elder Pecoso Paxman