"Golden"

Dear Mom,

Ok, so to start today, first I did indeed send my SD card, it should get to you today would be my thinking. So you will get to see all of those adventures in photo, it also includes the Diaz family baptism. 

You have been busy, you’ve got to love those busy Christmas weeks, with shopping and activities and all of that stuff. I knew that Bro. Ford played, but I have no idea who the Brooks and Dunn is. I know songs better than artists. What kind of music did they play? It is weird in my head trying to imagine those people (a group of people in our ward sang in a band for the ward Christmas party) doing all of that, but it was probably really fun. (A man in our ward who taught Ben Sunday School for a few years is moving for a better job) That is sad that they are moving to Seattle, but it will be good for them in the long run, but they will surely be missed as you said. That is weird to think that Gma and Gpa had their farewell talks... That is good that everyone was able to go, it was probably really fun.  

I heard that the weather has been really cold there, and the inversion is never fun. (I received another friend request on Facebook and asked Ben about her) Jaunita is actually an investigator soon to be member, her baptism is the 28th and she is super nice.  She always calls us hijo or chumacos or something along those lines, she is very sweet and she treats us like her grand-kids. There is a group of members here that are really close, there are about 3 or 4 families in this group and it kind of reminds me of the gang back home, it is really funny. We have shoveled a few walks, so that has been fun. Yes we did get a good chunk of snow, like 9 inches or so. (I saw some more photos of him and some other elders on Facebook) The other two Elders would be Elder Aranda and Elder Hardester, Elder Hardester followed me up here from Indy and Aranda and I are very close, I really like him a lot he is also the oldest Spanish missionary in the mission right now.  

We are having a Christmas Conference! That is what the mission does for Christmas it is this week on the 19th and I am stoked for it! So for fun things that will be really fun and I have made a really good friend in this area well 2 really, they are English Elders that used to live above us till we moved, Elder Reeder and Elder Haverts, they are awesome and both from Utah, so I hope to keep in contact with them even after the mission.  

I have received a few packages and letters, one was from the priests and the other was from some of the younger kids in the ward. They were really fun to read. Also, I might be writing Bro. Steck through you, he asked a few questions so I might answer them in another e-mail if I have time. I got a package from Gma and Gpa filled with goodies and food hahaha it made me laugh. Also a pooping reindeer, it was super funny because it reminded me of the duck in their house and also a life saver book like always haha. Other than that I haven't received anything else. We have pretty much no Christmas decorations, it is sad... (I guess I should have sent him some, what can I say…I am new at this missionary mom thing. I’ve sent him a lot of stuff, but not decorations) but we make the best of things haha. 

We actually have been on bike this entire month so far.  We get the car tomorrow and will have it till transfers which are Jan. 1^st.  Right now the other elders are teasing me that I will be training or District Leader bahahahaha yea right, I am still junior companion. That isn't happening. We met a few new people this week and I met a fun potential on exchanges with the Zone Leaders this last week/ They are a family from El Salvador, they have only been here about 6 months and this is their first snow, so they asked me and the Zone Leader that I was with to build them a snowman.  The problem was my companion for the day (the Zone Leader) was from Vegas so he was just as foreign to the snow so I had to do most of it. In the end though it didn't work, it wasn't really that good of snow, it didn't pack real well.  We attempted one and then taught them to make snow angels instead and went on our way. We will hopefully meet with them in the next few days.  

Health wise I got really sick again so I started the pills to see if it would help because it had lasted 2 days, so far it is going pretty good. My cough has pretty much gone a way, I still cough pretty bad every once in a while, but usually it isn't too bad. Other than that health is good. 

One more thing you might be interested in is the fact that we might get to Skype on Christmas instead of just a phone call. We got permission; we only need to now find a member who has it so we can Skype.  I am not sure, we will see what happens, but I believe we get to call the day before like last time just to set up things and make sure.  

One of the best new things I have eaten and is one of my all-time favorite things is Mole, it is amazing! I have to find a place or find out how to make it when I get home so we can have it, because I love it. Although, the family might not like it, but you have to try it anyway. When/if we come back to visit my mission, we are going to go to some places that make some killer Hispanic food, so you can try some of the real stuff.  

We have tons of opportunities to speak in Spanish, most of the members speak very little English so it makes it easy to speak Spanish, and church is all in Spanish, all the classes and everything. Yes we actually do speak in Sacrament meetings quite often, in fact I was asked to give a talk yesterday on missionary work, but they cancelled Church so I didn't have to give it. It would have been my first one in the mission yet, haha I have escaped for now, but I will probably give one here in the next couple months or so. If I stay in this area, probably weeks or next month, if I leave I have no clue. I really hope that I get to stay in this area though, I like it a lot.  

I am glad you liked hearing about the Diaz family baptism, I really enjoyed it. That is good that Kathie thought of me and put my name on the prayer role, the prayers and thoughts are always appreciated.  

Well this week in the mission not a whole lot has changed.  I had a thought come clear to me, and I expressed it in the first District meeting I had up here in Elkhart, and the statement was this, "Christ did not suffer for all of us, he suffered for each of us..." Everyone loved it and so did I, so I have that written down as a quote by me!! hahaha another is the thought that needs a little bit of background. So in the mission we have an expression of someone or something as being Golden or in other words super good or awesome. So for investigators that are solid we say they are Golden. Well while on exchanges I expressed a thought that I have had for a while now, and it was this. "Everyone is Golden it just depends on how much earth it is buried under." I found that to be very true. There are not some of us who are only made silver or bronze or Wood or whatever material you would like to think of, but we are all Golden it just depends on how much we have buried it. God didn't make people half way, he didn't make anyone non Golden, he wouldn't do that. We all have the potential as we know to become like him, so we all have that Gold somewhere inside of us, and Christ knew that better than anyone, which is why he suffered for each and every one of us, not for all of us as a whole. Those were some of my thoughts lately. The fact that our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ love us so much to send us here to choose whether to come back or not, knowing full well that maybe everyone won't make it back, but that he loves us enough to let us go, and hopefully to watch us come back one day. So yep these have been a few of my thoughts and studies well pieces of them anyway. I thought they were pretty cool. Other than that things are moving forward in the mission and we are just trying to enjoy every day. No real crazy adventures this last week, but we will see.  

Well this e-mail has gotten super long mom and I still have to write to other people so I love you all very much and hope you have a great week, and I am stoked to be able to hear your voices soon! Have fun with all the joys of the season. 

Love, tu hijo, Elder Paxman