We are a Christ centered church!!

*A little note before you read this letter that will help explain some of the context. Elder Paxman’s greenie unfortunately had to come home last week; he was given an honorable medical release.  Elder Paxman has really struggled with this process as he has grown to love his companion very much and was sad to see him leave. 

Dear Mom,

Okay, so first on the list of things I guess.

Where are you living?  Who is your companion? Are you on a bike or in a car?  Were you able to stay with Elder Seegmiller until he came home?  My address is still the same for now. It is kind of confusing because I am living with the Nehrings in Columbus, as well as in our apartment in Seymour.  That leads me to the next thing, I am in a trio, haha and this part is good, I am with Elder Blood and Elder Rowberry!! We are covering both of the areas. So we also have a full time car. I kind of wish though that they would have just given me one of the visa waiters, it would have been easier.  I will miss Elder Seegmiller he is a great friend. He did indeed stay with me the whole time. In fact I gave him a hug and said goodbye and helped him load his luggage into the car that would take him straight from there to the airport. My friendship with Elder Seegmiller was in my opinion amazing. We were very close, at least in my eyes. We left on really good terms, one of the last things he said was, “I will see you at your homecoming”!  So that was nice and I really hope to see him there.

Anyway, funny thought, Elder Rowberry "killed me off" as we say in the mission (Elder Rowberry was Ben's companion when he had to come home on medical) and now it is my turn bwahahaha.  I will kill off Elder Rowberry! (Elder Rowberry will finish his mission in December)

Were you able to get out and teach much this past week with all that was going on? Did Bertin make it to church this week? We were able to teach a little bit, not much. This week though looks as though it will have some promise! Bertin was able to come to church with us this last week which was awesome and so was Carlos. Carlos also had some amazing comments and testified of the power of prayer in Priesthood it was amazing. He will probably make his date of the 29th unless something goes awry.

Have you heard any details on the possible sealing of the Diaz family and if the President will let you attend? I have not heard about the sealing, but I am sure President would let me go up, if not I will freaking walk!!!!!!!!! I am very excited for the day that they go and get sealed in the temple! It will be an amazing experience for many. I hope and pray that I will be able to go. I will definitely get a hold of them at the end of this week to get all of that sorted out. 

I shared with him that we attended the farewell of a family friend.  At this farewell another returning Elder also spoke and was telling a story of a man named Nefi.  The missionary  realized he was saying Nephi in Spanish and soon apologized.  The congregation thought it was funny. I am glad that Brayden will be serving; it will be a great blessing to him for the eternities. Yes Nephi in Spanish is pronounced Nefi. It does become a habit; we do not get it as bad as some Spanish speaking missionaries because of our being in the states.

We celebrated our anniversary and I shared with him the sweet things his dad did for me. Man I am glad I do not have to worry about pleasing women for another 7 months, it makes me at ease haha. 27 years, wow I can't believe it has been that long. haha Dad has always been good at being "cute" like that. I bet he enjoys doing it as well haha. I hope to be like that, I have watched Dad carefully to try and mimic his ways, although he will have to teach me the tricks of the trade when I get back. That sounds like a really fun anniversary.

We went and saw Shrek the musical, do you know about it?  It was funny slapstick humor. I do and the musical is pretty funny as well. It is not one of my favorites, but I do rather enjoy it. Dad and I probably would have laughed at the funny bits you mentioned, haha.

I hear you are in for a COLD 10 days, have you heard this as well? Yea that is what I have heard as well, we are in for a few cold days... So we will see how all of that goes.

Any ideas for things you might want/need for Christmas? For Christmas, first more music!! There is an LDS artist named Christian Hobbs, I have only heard a few songs, but I really like it so that would be awesome! Also any other music, and maybe some ties. That is all I can really think of right now...

We were excited to hear you had gained 6 pounds, which is the first weight gain you have had in a year. I know it is the most weight I have put on in a while because I am finally feeling kind of fat, which has pushed me to exercise a ton! So now I am starting to get some serious abs!! Probably not as serious as I think, but hey one can dream! Plus I feel as though I am getting stronger, but we will see as time goes on.

Okay so now thoughts on the last week, which involves the spiritual thought. This last week in reality was really hard for me. I had grown so close to Elder S. it was hard to see him go. I balled like a freaking baby... oh well. There have been many things I have learned from this experience over the last 3 weeks. I will touch on a few of them today. One is the simple fact that we are a Christ centered church. Often times people get so wrapped up in the Book of Mormon and in all these different things, that they forget who the Book of Mormon testifies of. A fellow missionary brought up something this last week that rubbed me so far the wrong way. It had to do with an investigator who knows the Book of Mormon is true, but its struggling with some of the other things. One, for example is his testimony of Joseph Smith. Anyway the missionary said something like. "well having a testimony of the Book of Mormon is all he deserves... what else does he expect to get.". I just about lost it!! I will tell you and everyone else right now, that we all deserve a lot more than that, especially those who are still coming to know of the truth of these things. It is said that the Book of Mormon is the keystone to our religion, this is true for a few reasons that I will not go into. But something this missionary and others forget is that just having a testimony of the Book of Mormon is not enough to save you in these last days. The Book of Mormon which I know to be the word of God is an amazing book, but it must not replace or substitute the corner stone of our religion which is Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is "Another testament of Jesus Christ". With that little splurge of slight frustration, I wish to say something more. It is in Christ Jesus that comes Salvation, for there is no other name given under heaven wherein the children of man might be saved! Jesus Christ is indeed the Living Son of the Living God!! I have come to know this with a surety in these last two weeks. I have known for a long while, but this experience has helped me to know that even more. I want my words to go down with those of old, Testifying that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world, that He suffered and bled and died for us. He is the great I Am, the very Prince of Peace who one day will return again to reclaim his people. He loves each of us with such an intensity it is nigh impossible to describe! This love is shared and also shown by Our Father in Heaven. The most often and possibly one of the most important Doctrines that is changed by man is the Nature of the Godhead, and our relation to them. We are ALL sons and daughters of God, and if you are not sure about this I invite you to pray to know for yourself, for if you do so, with real intent, and doubting nothing, it will be made manifest unto you. We invite all to come unto Christ as well as to God the Father. We know that this is true, that God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son. I know it and I hope that many of you know it, and if not, use my knowledge and the knowledge of those around you to carry you, until that day when you shall know for yourself.

I love you so much mom and I hope that everything goes great for you back home! I can't wait to hear what is new with all of you in the next week. The days and weeks seem to fly by out here. I miss you so much, and appreciate your prayers. I love you so much and hope and pray you have a great week.

Love, Elder Paxman