Hoosierville and Chasing Chickens

Columbus, Seymour and Mt Vernon missionaries. This picture was taken before last transfers.

Dear Mom,

This last week has been pretty good.

Have you adjusted to being in Columbus and living at the Nehrings house?  Did you get a bed or are you sleeping on what? As far as living with the Nehrings it’s pretty good. It is really nice of them to let us use their house. As for a bed I am using a couch... So yea it isn't that bad luckily.

Living in the basement of the Nehrings, do you interact with them much? We do interact with the Nehrings quite a bit.

I imagine living in Columbus where the branch is located; maybe you get dinner appointments more often.  Is this true?  Or are you mostly still cooking for yourself?  I do get fed a little bit more; it is a lot easier to budget things when you get fed every-once in a while. Now the only problem is with traveling back and forth we eat out a fair amount which bites.

So do you guys drive out to Seymour a few days a week or how does that work?  How are you teaching the investigators that you already had out there like Bertin and Carlos?  Do you still look for new investigators out in Seymour or just teach the ones you already had? We are usually in Seymour about 3-4 days of the week. We do look for new investigators and such, but it makes things hard with the cold and the weather and everything. Also we are now not allowed to tract after dark, which is like after 6... So this is going to be very interesting.

Did you move all of your stuff out of your apartment in Seymour and do you still get your mail there or should we start sending your mail to Columbus? How many miles is it exactly out to Seymour and how long does it take you to drive there? I am about halfsies in both apartments, because we don't have a ton of room in Columbus, and we do spend nights every once in a while in Seymour so it all works out alright; it isn't ideal, but it works. You can send mail to either address we get it from both of them. It takes about 35-45 minutes to drive between the two cities; it will probably start to take longer seeing as it is getting colder and icier here.

I have noticed on your personal debit card that you have a charge to a place OLFY quite often.  So I googled it to see what it was and it said it's called Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt?  Is this what it is? Orange leaf frozen yogurt, yea we eat there quite a bit. It is one of the places we eat here in Seymour. It is mostly frozen yogurt, which is what I get anyway. It is filling and tasty. In fact we will probably go there tonight, I like it, but we will see.  

Have you found any new investigators since becoming a trio or just continuing to teach people you already had? How is it going being in a trio? We have not found any news since we have been together. We are teaching some investigators that they already had and some I had, so we are working with them, and LARCS as well as members. I love being with Elder Rowberry again; he is a great friend of mine. I also really like Elder Blood.  I feel for the most part the trio is going pretty well. We are also getting better as time goes on and we are growing more accustomed to the way we teach, act, and work.

How are your investigators from Seymour doing?  Carlos is going to be baptized on the 29^th, he just has to pass his interview. Bertin is coming along, but is struggling with a testimony of Joseph Smith so if you could pray specifically for him about that, it would mean the world to me.

I see that you got snow today, Sunday.  Did you get a lot of snow or just a little bit?  Do the people of Columbus get snow often?  You are quite a bit south; do they know how to drive in the snow there?  Has it been really cold? We did get snow today only about an inch though as of Monday. Elder Blood was freaking out hahaha, oh Californians haha. Mom no one knows how to drive in the snow here in southern Indiana... We get a bit of snow, not a lot, and really only this last winter. Usually it is a little cold and maybe a tiny bit of snow, but we keep getting the polar vortex thing or whatever the heck that is. I have a blanket now, so I am good there, for the most part I am staying warm.

My hair is quite long haha I am getting it cut on Wednesday by an English member. So that should be fun. Although a lot of people like my hair this length, it is kind of strange I actually don't mind it too much either.

Daddy is going to make 3 big lighted Christmas trees to avoid hanging lights on the house.  I will miss them on the house. I think the big trees thing is a lot cooler than the ones on the house. I’ll make you a deal though, if he does all of those trees, when I get home, I will put up some on the roof, just for you mom.

I love how my room becomes the bunker haha. Makes me chuckle. Special Christmas Candy I would like are those freaking Butterfinger bells!!!!! They are the best!! Little chiming pieces of heaven are what those are right there. Good looking sweaters for Christmas maybe...? Not just plain ones either, ones with stripes and designs, they let us wear those. Also, I will probably need mediums.  One cool Christmas present idea is to go online and get all of the families or some of them anyway favorite conference talks and burn them onto CD's and have them sent out to me. Or you know a girl, that would be nice. Just to write me of course tehehe. Other things about Christmas I am not sure. Music is a huge one. I am not sure though really... I will try and think more on that. Wow I can't believe that Grandma and Grandpa are already about done with their missions, it just blows my mind... It will be nice to be able to go to their house again for holidays and have some of Grandmas bread again. Maybe some of grandmas bread for Christmas haha.

Do you have an invite for Thanksgiving dinner yet? Someone will probably feed us, but I am not sure who, or whom. Sometimes we get like 5 meals on that day, but we will see.

Is Elder Rowberry excited to go home or sad?  And I commented to his mom via his blog… no motorcycle. I think he is both; I will miss him a lot though.  Why no motorcycle? We need to get a gang together so we can ride and have fun adventures.

Brooklyn has been hanging with a really good group of guy friends and we told him about some of her adventures. Good friends my freaking BUTT!! Those young boys better keep their eyes peeled, because when I come back... ooooohh man I will be on the prowl like a freaking wild beast! They even look funny and I will hit them so hard when they wake up their hair will be out of style!! Well maybe not... Ba ha. We will see when that times gets here 8/  

Joel comes home in December. I think I will now be the last of all my friends to come home pretty much. I was lucky to have good friends throughout most of my life.

Sounds like you will be in the mission for the Indiana Temple open house and dedication.  I’ll bet that news excites you. Yes if it goes according to schedule I will get to do a lot of stuff with it hopefully! We will see when that time comes. If I think too much of the future it seems the present escapes from me.

So I am running out of time, but I will try and tell the stuff I wish to before I have to go. So, a little funny story, we went to this street mid-week because the Columbus sisters needed us to go to a lesson with them. So we drive to this road called Dawson St. which is pretty infamous I hear. Although I did not know why, well we show up and I am talking freaking Hoosierville!! PWT out the wazoo!!!! It was crazy! There was a Deer head freshly lopped off hanging from a tree like a Christmas decoration, and garbage everywhere, along with tons of other junk. So we show up to the house we are supposed to go to with the Sisters and there are probably 80 chickens walking about, and cats and other creatures. Well Elder Blood being the Cali boy he is, wanted to catch one... He then proceeded to chase chickens around for a good 15 min. It was like a small child. (he is so funny).  I was like okay you stink at this, so I go and surround one with him, and he has like 20 chances to catch this stupid fat chicken and he doesn't do it. It turns out he was afraid they were going to attack him or peck him with their "sharp beaks" as he referred to them. It was pretty funny. Also we got pictures of the sister teaching a cat the law of Chastity... Man mom we are weird as missionaries... Anyway that was a funny story of the week.

Okay so now the spiritual stuff. This week I was struggling with my own personal self-worth. Wondering if I was doing all I could to be a good missionary, and to do all the things that are required of us. Not only this, but also if I could do it, because I am imperfect, and broken. Yet after a prayer that literally felt as if I was communing with God (as every prayer should probably feel). I was reading in the scriptures and I ended up in D&C 76. In which is described many things of the Plan of Salvation. One part of which, being the kingdoms of Glory. I was reading about the Celestial kingdom when one verse stuck out to me. It said something along the lines of. "these are those who have overcome..." Overcome, this made me think deeply for quite some time. Overcoming can only be possible if there is something to overcome. Which is proof to me that those who inherit the highest tier in the Celestial Kingdom of God will be those who although imperfect, broken and weak, will have Overcome themselves and the challenges of this life to inherit eternal Glories with our Father above. This brought great comfort and peace to my heart. I know that through the Atonement of Christ we may all overcome those things that are affecting us and binding us down to the gulf of endless misery and woe, even if that is ourselves. So cling on to God and run forward never doubting, that he is by your side waiting to deliver you in those moments of need! I hope to inherit that great kingdom above with all of those whom I love. Well my time is pretty much up, but I know that we can all make it to that Kingdom if we but follow the precepts and Commandments of God and His Son Jesus Christ the very Savior of the World of whom I testify.

Well I love you all and hope that this week is full of enjoyable adventures. Love you all and have fun!

Love, Elder Paxman

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