EVERY SOUL IS GREAT in the eyes of GOD!!!

Elder Paxman and Elder Trapp on Easter Sunday.

Picture sent to me via text from the Branch Presidents wife. 

Dear Mom,

Were you able to watch all of the sessions of conference?  Where did you watch it?  Did you get any food as part of your conference weekend? I was able to watch all of the sessions of conference and they were amazing!! I loved them so much! We watched them at the church, like usual. We had food with Priesthood and also with the Sunday afternoon session.

Did you hear the people who opposed the sustaining vote of the First Presidency? Yea it made me mad, we laughed a little after the fact though, just imagining like a shoe flying from the audience and nailing the person who objected in the head, hahaha it made us giggle. People are ridiculous, they even managed to get President Uchtdorf in a little bit of a mood. Which I thought was impossible.

Did you have any favorite talks? Sister Burtons was one of my favorites. She did give an amazing talk, as did everyone. I loved Elder Holland's!! It was amazing, I really loved many talks this conference. Dad better get Saturday off for this next one in October, so our dinner tradition continues when I return!

Did you get your package? Was it all intact or did it fall out of the bags? I did get the package and I did get the candy, although my comp did not want any, and it was a little mixed up, so that means more for me!! Which is yummy, but sucks, I am getting fat mom!! I can't get fat!! I am though I am getting a gut!

Did you understand what the itinerary for the cruise meant when you saw it? I did and I was stoked to see it!! That made me excited! It will be fun to go and speak my Spanish as well! Plus by then hopefully I can shed all this weight and look lean and mean.

Transfers are this week?  Are you staying?  Is your companion staying? As far as transfers go I will be staying and Elder Trapp will be leaving. I will miss Elder Trapp, and I hope I get a good companion for this next transfer. So we will see how everything goes.

It seems like you had a really fun time with the wedding and everything. I wish I could have been there, but I am glad that I am out here. In fact I am really sad that so little time is left... I wish I could extend or something. Although that is never going to happen.  I did the math, and I will already serve a little longer than most missionaries. So that is a bonus.

How is the work?  Were you able to meet the goal of 20 lessons a week? The work is going good. This week we were not able to teach as many lessons because of conference and we did a lot of service. It was still great none the less. We did not meet the 20 lessons a week goal.  We were able to tract a little and we found a young man from Guatemala, he is really nice, so hopefully that goes well, and we meet with him tomorrow. The less actives we are working with are doing alright as well. They are hanging in there. Nothing too ground breaking.  We are going to keep working with all of them and hopefully things will continue to progress. We had Franklin and Santiago's baptism yesterday that was amazing. I had to conduct which was not fun... But it was really good overall.

How is your companion Spanish?  Does he hold his own or do you have to do most of the talking? I have to do most of the talking as far as Spanish goes, but he has a good heart and he is trying. So I think he will do just fine. He struggles with it at times, but he has got a good work ethic so it will all pay off. He is only 18 weeks in the mission.

Do you still do language study each day?  Do you still read the scriptures in Spanish as part of your language study? We still have language studies; we always try and have them. I am still reading in Spanish I also found the BOM in Spanish on CD here in the apartment. It is kind of nice when missionaries leave behind old stuff. So yep that is going good. I still do that, but Elder Trapp and I haven't done it together, but he reads it and I do.

How has your health been? My stomach health has been good, but I have caught a doozy of a cold and cough. Now it is mostly just in my throat. I hate colds, more than flu's. My throat is still bothering me, but other than that I am doing alright.

I am sad my mission is coming to a close, but I will do my best to work hard and still have fun. You know me mom... Okay so now as far as the spiritual thought goes.  The thing I have been thinking of a lot and was even addressed in conference is this; Nobody is too far gone! This is a very powerful and sometimes hard lesson to learn. We hear it so much from Apostles and Prophets, but I thought maybe from an ordinary young man, who has committed mistakes just as much, if not more than many who will read this, it would have more of an effect. If we are willing to give up those things we do that are wrong and return unto Him there is no distance too great nor too difficult. This is true for many reasons, but for one that I have believed for most of my life, and that is this: "The worth of EVERY SOUL is GREAT in the eyes of God." I have been blessed to see a fraction of the worth of many souls in this life. Believe that you are a daughter or son of God; you need not ever doubt your worth. No matter the sin, the mistake, the trial, the heartbreak, your worth to Him was enough to make worlds, send a savior, and offer as a sacrifice his only Begotten. Along with many other things. I wish to have a few words brought to your remembrance... "He is not here..." and because He is not in that tomb nor ever will be again, ours will only be a temporary place as well. If I could grab people by the shoulders look into their eyes, and peer into their soul, I would tell them that you mean something to HIM! I cannot say I love all of those who will read this email, for I have not met some, and others I know very little. This does not matter, whomever you are and whatever you have done, you are never too far from His loving embrace. The question is, are you willing to give up whatever it is to get there? It is a question I ask myself often, and sometimes it is harder than one thinks to give it up, but it will always be worth it, it will be worth more than we even thought. If we keep bettering ourselves and keep trying we will obtain the promise in D&C 90 (I believe), (This is the Lord speaking) "...You will see my face and know that I am..." What a great promise. I wonder when that opportunity comes, to see His face and know that He is, what will my reaction be. What will your reaction be? To me this changes as the days go by, but I hope that when that moment does come, I can look Him in the eyes and hear those sweet words "Well done thou good and faithful servant, you have been wise over a few things, I will make you ruler over many". Although I wish to change it a little. This is what I think it will be more like, "Son, peace be unto thy soul you have done as I have asked, come and inherit what is laid up in store for you". Many of us have and will fall short on the things He has asked us to do, but just because we fall short once does not mean we are doomed to fall short forever. Today is the day to turn around, to start heading back, the way is long, and hard, but it is with many journey's: The destination is only as good as the worth of every step. The journey is part of the destination. “If you do not ponder on the pathway of thy feet, both that has gone by, and that is yet to come, you will never reach where you wish to go.” Every day is a journey in and of itself, every week a legacy, but the life we live is just part of the adventure to be had. In my mind an adventure is the combination of a lifetime of journeys, and a journey is a combination of exhilarating events, we can perhaps call those seconds. Anyway I probably phrased that all funny. It is hard to put how you feel onto paper at times. Although I may never do it justice one can but try right? No pen or pencil can write the true feelings of one’s heart right? Or at least not all of them at once. Well this has gotten long. I love you so much and hope that you have a great week. You are in my prayers often. I hope this week treats you to many fond moments on the journey which makes an adventure. Anyway love you and I am excited to hear from you next week!

Love, Elder Paxman