Sisters are interesting creatures...

Elder Paxman and a member from Columbus just before transfers.

Dear Mom,

How have you been feeling this week?  Better? I have been alright this last week. My health has been not the greatest. I have gotten very sick three times this last week including Monday. So I am not sure what is going on there.  I am nervous when I get sick. Anyway I do not want to stress you out anymore with that.

How are things going with your new companion? My companion and I get along decently. So far I really like him, he is a good kid. His trainer taught him some interesting things.

How are you adjusting to the new area?  Learning your way around? Did apartment cleaning ensue?  The new area is interesting; I am basically working from close to scratch again hahaha. It seems President likes to keep things interesting. We are really going to be making a push with less actives and part member families. So we will see how that goes. I am hoping that it goes well. We haven't really gotten the opportunity to clean the apartment. It is better than it was before, but overall not the best. We are hoping to get another chunk done today. I am starting to learn how to get around. I do live in the Bluffs apartments, yes right next to a cemetery. As far as rural goes... Not really.

Any requests for your package? Just both the anti-biotics, those will come in handy the way my health is acting. I am afraid I will lose more weight, because while being sick it is hard to eat, because it only makes it worse. So yep fun adventures of health :).  I can't think of anything else that I need in this package. Snacks are always nice. I am really not sure;  because I in reality do not have much time left in the mission, sadly!! 

Has the weather warmed up and is your car ungrounded?  The cars have been ungrounded now for a bit. The weather is starting to warm up which is amazing! I like the warmer weather.

How has The Work been your first week in the new area? The work here in Lafayette is slow as of right now, but I am hoping to change that with the help of the Lord.

Just when you had some commitments for baptism in Columbus you were transferred. Yea it is sad that I was transferred out of Columbus, but I am definitely here for a reason, I can feel it. I hope I can finish out my mission here, or really wherever the Lord needs me. We have found one man, he is the husband of a return missionary women. He is from the Dominican Republic, he is near impossible to understand sometimes haha. He although I feel will progress rapidly if we keep working with him, and do our best as missionaries. His name is Franklin. and he is a very nice man and wants to come closer to God. So we will see how that goes here shortly.

Do you feel as if you are a hard working missionary?  I know this is a dumb question but, I’ve been thinking about it lately, you hear of lazy missionaries or Jack missionaries, and I of course am biased and think you would be a hard worker, but what is your take on your own dedication? Mom I have asked myself that question many a times. Am I a good worker or not? My answer as of this moment, yes we are. We were not perfect and we had days where we were definitely not the best workers or missionaries for that matter. Although we had those days, I feel that we did good work in that area. I always strive to better myself. Although you will find, if you have not already, I am very very hard on myself. Why, I am not so sure, but I am. I feel as though I can always be doing better than I am, and when I don't do enough, or what I feel is enough, I beat myself up about it.  It’s hard to realize that there is only so much I can do, I am but one man, although, this one man can do many mighty miracles with the help of God. Maybe one of the biggest miracles is what happens with my own life. Who knows though maybe I need to humble myself more I am not sure. I feel as though the people in the mission feel my desire to teach and help others, yes. All of them I am not sure, but I feel as though they know what I am here to do. So yea that is a hard question, In the long run, I feel I have done what I have been called to do, and sometimes more.

Any lessons this week?  Anything stand out? We were able to teach a few lessons this last week. Not many, but a few. I am more of a quality versus quantity kind of a guy though. So we will see how things go. We are always trying to teach more lessons. It does not help that I was really sick for a good few days.

How do you feel investigators respond to the law of tithing?  Is it hard for them to commit to this? As far as the Law of Tithes and Offerings, I do feel it is hard sometimes for people to grasp it. I have not had too much of a difficult time with it though. Most people have the faith to do it; it is just committing them to act.  It is hard though, because many of these Hispanic members do not have much to start, so it is a lot to ask them to give up a tenth of what they have. They usually do their best though to do it. It is more of a person by person scenario.

Do you help members with Family Tree?  I have heard a lot of missionaries are helping members to do family history? We do work on that stuff with members. We helped a lady in the branch find and reserve 20 names just this last week. It was nice to help her with that. So yea we work on it with others.

Tell me about your new district?  How many companionships etc.? There are 3 companionship's in my district. Us, the sisters and the ZL's. No others are Spanish except us. Yes the district here is bigger, although I am not sure if I will really ever do exchanges because I don't do them with sisters and then with the ZL's I am not sure how that is going to work. We are also working with Frankfort which is stripped right now, so we will be blitzing that area at times, which means both me and my companion go down there and work. We are their only Spanish support in the Stake. I am the district leader still. We have district meetings about once a week. Sometimes that changes.

How do you feel about having Sisters for the first time?  Be kind to them. I will be kind with the sisters don't worry mom haha. I will be supportive to them, don't worry. Sisters are interesting creatures that is for sure though... Missionaries are kind of weird though. I have come to find this out in the last little while haha.

I told him a bit about my weekend at the Missionary Mom Retreat.  The mission couple that served in the office there in Indy were a part of a panel. That sounds like a cool thing with the panels. I am glad the Hodges sat in on that panel. They are amazing people. I am glad that you enjoyed them sharing that little tid-bit about me. I usually don't tell people much about those days. I feel weak at times when I talk about my illnesses and such. Although they have made me so strong it is hard sometimes for people to see that. I am not sure if you knew all that stuff that the Hodges said. I never included much of what happened in my letters home. Even when I got home, I don't think I told you and dad a ton of what happened. Dad a little more than you, sorry mom, but I am sure he told you none the less. I am glad I have made an impression on someone, but I do not wish to be talked about as some great young man. I only do what I believe is right, what I believe should be done. I am not some great person by any means. I am a simple servant of the Lord. I will do my best, and sometimes I don't it is sad, but true, but when push comes to shove I want to be able to stand and say, my mission wasn't perfect, but it changed my life and the lives of others. To this point I feel it has. Especially my own life, with all the experiences with my health. I have learned more than pen can write, or tongue explain. I hope I do enough to live up to the expectations of others.

I heard Sister Dawn Armstrong from “Meet the Momons” speak this weekend.  She said something I liked.  “Missionaries love people even when they are doing bad things.”  “We all need to be like missionaries and more like Christ and Love people better.” I am really glad she talked on those things. They are things that every good missionary wishes they could teach to members and take home with them after the mission. I have always tried to be loving in my life, at times I have done well, and other times I have not. We all work to improve, so I am glad she asked all to be better at that, because we all can be, even missionaries. We have some people in our lives that need that love. I shouldn't even have to name them for you to know. There are several people I have in my "sights" so to speak when I get back home.

Also we learned that Fear and Faith occupy the same space.  In Preach My Gospel is says the only thing that keeps you from finding people to teach is fear.  That is very true and at times I have had a lot of fear. Courage is not the absence of fear, but being able to move forward and act with Faith even when the fear is present. At least in my point of view. Fear is the opposite of Faith that is true, but many times we have to push through the Fear before the faith will come. Elder Holland says that if you have any converts on your mission the first one better be YOU! I hope that if there is one thing I have gotten out of my mission it is that. That I have been changed, sometimes I don't feel any different, and other times I look in the mirror and feel like I have no idea who I am looking at. The goal for me and I feel many missionaries is to keep that change even when we come home.

One other topic discussed was that the best kept secret in the church is how truly hard it is to watch your son or daughter walk away to serve the lord.  It is true that people do not realize the difficulty of the parents sending out a child to live on their own for 2 years or 18 months in places that are many times dangerous. It is also incredibly hard for the missionary themselves. Many people shrug off how hard it is because many people do it. This does not make the sacrifice any less. In fact, sometimes it’s harder. The decision to serve a mission the first time for me was easy. It was something I had desired all of my life, and that is a story in and of itself for another day. The second time though... Deciding to return, was nigh impossible, you know how hard it was for me, at least in part. I never shared all, nor may I ever, time will tell I am sure :) I am doing my best to finish strong; it makes me sad to think it is almost done... At least the part with the tag is...

Well this letter has gotten really long. So I am going to wrap it up after the spiritual thought of mine, although it was also throughout the whole letter. So as you know this week it will have been 2 years exactly from when I left home that first time, as a young man. My oh my how things have changed. Almost died once, well maybe a few more times than once ;) I have grown in these last two years I feel. Even if some of the things I have learned were things I knew before. There is a poem on my desk or maybe it is still on my desk. It was called my mission. Griff sent it to me at the beginning of my mission. I want you to go read it, and post it on the blog if you can. Some of its thoughts have been on my mind lately. Not all for I am not yet finished, but some. I hope these two years has treated you as well as they have treated me, blessed our family as much as it’s blessed me. These two years may not have been the best, but they will definitely be remembered as some of the greatest. Then again, our best year should be the one we are living right now. I am grateful for all the love and support I receive from all of those in my life. There are many, and many that I do not know very well, and for that I am sorry. Maybe that will change one day. I continually hope and pray that these two years have changed some other soul and not just my poor soul. If not though, at least I have grown. In around 3 months time, I feel as though I will be saying many of the same things. I know though without a shadow of a doubt that God Lives, and that He loves YOU! Each and every one of you!! Trust me sometimes it is so hard to see, but we cannot see what He can. You are divine spirit children of God. Never forget that He loves you. I have at times in my life, and it makes things a lot harder than they need to be. I hope that we may love others as He loves us. Overall I know that the mission is worth it for anyone who is thinking of going. Anyone who is on a mission or anyone who is back from one, you get out of the mission what you put into it, I do believe. If you put in your whole heart and soul, you will get it back, but refined and more pure. I am out of time, but I love you all so much and I hope this week treats you to a few pleasant surprises. My prayers are with you always. 

Love, Elder Paxman     

Be a LIGHT unto those who need it!

I captured this image from the Indianapolis, Indiana mission

Touch All the Lines facebook page. 

It was taken the day Elder Paxman arrived, 

and all the other newly arrived missionaries from that day.

Dear Mom,

My week has been pretty good!  I will get to that probably throughout the letter.

Did you have the car this past week or were you on your bike?  By the way how did you get your bike back?  What about your helmet?  How does the sharing of the car work?  Which day do you trade on?  If you’re on your bike how do you go to the grocery store on P-day?  How are you holding up riding the bike?  Do you feel like you are getting stronger physically?  Okay so we actually share the car split week, because we are a 40 min. drive from church we have it usually Saturday to Tuesday, and they have it the other times. Elder Rowberry had found my bike and brought it to Columbus when he found out I was coming. Helmet no, I had to buy a new one. So we trade the car on Saturdays and Tuesdays usually, but that sometimes changes upon convenience. We always have the car on P-days which is super nice.

 Do you spend p-day with the missionaries from Columbus or is it just you and your companion?  It depends on the P-day and what is going on whether we drive up to Columbus for them or not. It is a lot of miles to be going back and forth several times a week, so last week we stayed down, and this week we will be going up to play sports and such.

 How are you holding up riding the bike?  Do you feel like you are getting stronger physically?  I am holding up alright on the bike, although it is a serious piece of very bad words!!!! I hate the thing!! If I knew that for sure at the end of my mission you guys were coming to pick me up I would buy a new one, and a nicer one. So kick that Idea around between you and dad. If not, to ship it back home isn't worth it. I will probably try and ride this bike into the ground which honestly has mostly already happened.  It makes terrible noises as I ride it and is bound to break any day now. Stronger physically... Probably a little, I am tired a lot still which stinks, and not like fatigue tired, but like low energy. I feel like I am getting stronger, but not very fast, so really about the same as far as that goes. My stomach has been a little off set lately I am not sure if it is because of the Iron pills or what, so I have had to be really careful with how much I eat, and what I eat.

So tell me about your new area.  How many square miles does it cover?  Square miles I have no freaking clue mom.... A lot, we cover several towns, it is just us and the other Spanish Elders for an entire stake, so we probably cover at least 80 square miles. Something about my new area is this, I have been using a lot of personal funds, because we don’t get fed by members, because we have no members here close to us, so if we are lucky we get fed on Sundays. So kind of how opening a new area works is you move in first. Then after that, you go by and visit all the members in the area (we have none) then after that, you go by any investigators that were recent, and then you just start pounding pavement. We have tracted a butt ton load lately. We usually do create a map and start gridding things out. So we are still working on that. We have found 4 new investigators over the last week and a half so an alright amount, but we still need to find a ton more. There are a lot of corn fields here and I would love to go sprinting through the corn, but we would probably get shot by the farmer or something. There is another plant they grow a ton of here, but I have no idea what it is...

Are there English Elders/Sisters in Seymour?  Or is it just you and your companion?   Have you eaten at any more members houses?  Were they English or Spanish? There are English sisters here in Seymour and that is it. I got to eat at the Nehrings, and we had snacks at the Hammonds. Both are English.  The Hammonds are interesting. They have 7 kids and are pretty much like a white picket fence Mormon family. We spent some time with them yesterday and they are really cool, they have their own pond, and a very nice house. SOOOO I am going to try and become really good friends with them so I can have a place to chill when we come back and visit ;) hahaha teasing.

How are things going with your companion?  Are you getting along well?  Things are going well with the companion we get along well.

I understand that you had specialized training for the Spanish Elders this past week.  Did you get to see Elder Hj. or any other Elders you know?  What did you think of the training, helpful?  Did you guys have to drive to Indy for that?

Specialized training got moved to October 1^st.  We do have a mission conference from an area 70 tomorrow, but it is just my zone and I think one other, they broke it up into different days for convenience. So I haven't seen anyone since transfers. Sorry if there are a lot of errors with this email I am trying to type fast because I do not have a lot of time

I do feel like I am getting back into the swing of things. Also I am quite a bit less homesick, so it just took a little adapting, and will probably get even better as the time goes on. Sounds like fun with all the weddings and everything. We did not get to see the Temple dedication; in fact I do not think it was even broadcast here. I know that feeling of missing the temple seeing as while I have been out here I was only able to go once.  Church was good we had an investigator come, which is a miracle in itself because of the distance we have to drive to get there. His name is Bertin he is new here from Guatemala about 6 months, he speaks 5 languages and the 5th is Spanish.  He is young, 21 years old, and I really like him a lot. I believe he will be baptized if all keeps going well, we will see here in the coming weeks. I hope to hear from Alex soon, I didn't this week, but maybe next.  Bai told me about the surprise party for Grandma, it seemed like it was a lot of fun. In my package with my coat could you include some snacks, and my other set of scriptures and those two little books I need that I told you about last week, and some mechanical pencils, good ones. Thanks for fixing my coat.

Ok so this will have to be quick, I am almost out of time. So a spiritual thought. So this week with getting sick for a day, I was quite terrified that I would get really sick again while out on the mission, and then they would send me home again, which I don't know if I could handle. Anyway throughout the week things had been normal, but in my quiet moments by myself I would often ponder various things. One was why am I back? Another was How have I changed through all of this? And many many more, but one thought that I will share a little bit on today, is that of patience in afflictions, which I feel I have been blessed with throughout my life. Well whilst being afraid and worrying of being sent home again and all of that stuff. I realized that once again, I have been blessed with an amazing amount of patience and aid when it has come to my sickness. While at a members they commented on how I have done a lot with my life in the short time frame I have had, and while being so sick. I paused for a second, and said: "I want to prove people wrong" He was curious by that so I continued. "People think just because one is sick frequently or has trials of their own whatever they may be, that they are broken or able to do less. I know this because I feel it and have felt it many times. But I have set out to prove that I can do everything the guy next to me can, and I can do it just as good. I wanted to be an example of those who aren't always healthy in whatever way, whether physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental. I wanted people to be able to hear my life story see some of the things I have done, and say there is someone with the heart and will to do hard things. With the ability to stand out, and do what needs to be done, someone who knows that yea, I am broken, but that doesn't mean hopeless. Life is meant to be hoped for and lived for. Even in those moments of darkness. I am terrible at expressing my words, but I feel if I could sit down with people who are just going through Hell right now, and tell them some stories and share some knowledge that I believe I have gained and am still gaining. I could help them be just a little happier or better off in some way. I honestly don't know why I am back, and I may never know, all that I do know is that I am, and I am going to do my best to be a light unto those who need it. I am truly no different than anyone else, experience has made me learn and grow as it does or should everyone. Yes I am broken, but weak or (broken) things are to become strong. I know that God lives and loves each and every one of us, yes even the broken ones. I actually think everyone is a little broken in some way. We all could use a little fixing, I myself could use a lot, but that is what this gospel is about right? Being better, improving, realizing our potential, becoming what we were meant to be. I wish I was better with words so I could tell people this in a more poetic or beautiful way, but my simple words are gonna have to work.  This Gospel is amazing, and I am honored to be a part of spreading it once again, even if that is only for another week, or however long, it is another week in the service of my God and King.

So overall a great week, as is every week, even if it takes hindsight to realize that. Well Mom I need to wrap up, I love you so much and I hope this didn't sound preachy... Was not intended to be that way. Anywho I love you so much, I hope everything is going well back home. Remember the Bike discussion because this piece I am riding is a pain hahaha. Anyway love you all and can't wait to hear from you soon.

Love, Elder Paxman  

Missionary Vacation of Awesome Revelation!!

Dear Mom,

Man I miss the classic food that we have for conference! We were talking about that today even haha. That is sad that Dad went alone, but I am glad that him and Eric hooked up there! (He is speaking about Priesthood Session) How is Eric doing by the way? How is all the gang? Scott? Kenny? Eric? Perkins? I was curious how they have all been. I loved conference as usual.  It is like a missionary vacation of awesome revelation! We did get food in between sessions. For the sessions we just watch them in English in the Chapel with a bunch of missionaries and members. I loved all the talks, but especially and as always all the ones in the Priesthood session, they were amazing. I also really enjoyed Eyring’s talk, he is one of my favorites to listen too. I just loved all of conference!!! Elder Holland’s talk reminded me of a movie that a recent convert showed us the preview too, and it looks way good.  It is called the Saratov Approach, It is about two missionaries in Russia that got abducted and beaten, it is a true story, although you probably shouldn't watch it... knowing you, you will have weird nightmares... hahaha.

(We have had quite a few auto break in’s in the last few weeks in our neighborhood, it’s teenage riffraff I’m pretty sure and the neighborhood is starting a neighborhood watch.) That sucks about the break-ins and stuff.  I always hated the stuff that goes on especially by the delinquents... So hopefully all will go well in the meeting and things that follow.

(I asked how it has been returning to an EXACT area he had already served in.  Same apartment and everything.)The coming back into an area is not very common at all on the mission, and so far I have not heard of that happening at all! So that is kind of awesome. We will keep the car I am sure, but I will probably have to ride a bike again sometime in my mission... Driving in the city is stressful there are a lot of morons out there hahaha, but it makes for good and funny stories. I really like my companion, he is a great guy with a good heart.  He is a crier like me, so I don't feel so alone on that front anymore haha. We get along well and I am sure we will get along better with even more time. We have investigators of course, but we are trying to find a lot more.  (I asked him if they still do language study, companion study and companion prayers.  Just because I don’t know and was curious.) Yes we do language study and also we do companion study every day. We go over lessons and do a bunch of stuff like that we also talk about things we have learned and know and all that kind of fun stuff. I like them they are fun for the most part. We do pray together.

(I always see reports on their weather and asked him about tornado plans etc.  And I had heard that they had flooding in the White River and wondered how close he was to it.) We have a few tornado plans, pretty much hide and pray hahahha, I have no idea. The White River is right next to the church and there hasn’t been that much extreme weather yet, but sometime here soon I could see that happening. Yes, the river you have seen in my pictures of Indy is the White River, I know not very white...  

Bahahahaha!! Thanks for sharing the story about Trenton buying whiskey, knowing Trenton it was probably him that made that mistake hahaha that is a really funny story. Do you remember my Friend Tyler Augenstien, he is serving in Florida near Disney World and he is baptizing Mickey Mouse!! I died of laughter. 

I had the follow up Doc appointment; he just changed the anti-biotic I take, so we will see how that goes. Also sadly I got really sick this last week after I started the new medicine, which sucked because it has been a while since that happened... (But not too alarming, it’s not uncommon for him to have problems with his stomach when he first starts new medicine before his body adjusts)

(I told him that as a family we started a new thing called The Book of Mormon Translation Challenge.  It is that the book of Mormon was translated from April 7^th to June 30^th 1829.  The challenge is that if it could be translated in that amount of time we could read it in that amount of time.  So we took the challenge and I said if he had time he could do it also.) I might try to read that much, but time wise we will have to see if I can do it, I read slower usually so I can get more out of each verse, and I’m already studying some other things.

(How long do you think you will serve in this area?  Any ideas?) I am thinking… well really I have no idea for how long I will be back in this area, we will see with time I guess.  Well so far not a whole lot new has gone on, we are just looking for new investigators, but it is funny because I swear I have knocked every house in this place so knocking them again is weird and fun. Not much new has happened though.  Conference and the Doc and being sick took up most of this week... So I will go to studies and such until next week haha sorry not much new like I said. So, one thing that I have and am going to start studying again is the Pre-earth life. I really enjoy this subject, I am not sure why, but I always have. Also, I like to study a lot about Christ and our relation to him. One thing that stuck out to me though this past week was with the story of when Christ drove all the merchants and stuff out of the temple.  I found in Jesus the Christ it elaborates on it as well, so I read that and also the story in the bible to get my own insights. One was that no one really tried to stop him or got angry at the moment, I think this is because they all deep down knew he was doing the right thing. Something came up like Vice cannot stand when the hand of Virtue is raised, I related this to a comment in a talk at conference, that talk about how there will always been opposition to Truth. This is so true. As a missionary we fight opposition daily, we are the front lines if you will, and that opposition can come from many different sources. One of the greatest sources of opposition is trials, but, another one that is more subtle but just as deadly is one’s self. I feel as though often times we are the only thing getting in the way of happiness in our own lives. Whether that is Pride, a lack of Confidence (my personal fall back) or simply a lack of desire, we all have those things inside us that make continuing on the straight and narrow more and more difficult as the days go by. Overall though these things can way us down and drag us back as chains of great weight or they can help us move forward. I have also found that after carrying a large load we often feel lighter than before, not because the load got lighter but because we got stronger.  So yea, it also related to Elder Bednar’s talk and how we can gain traction. One last side not before I end, Do you remember that night Damon and I got stuck in the Blizzard hahahaha, I do and Bednar’s story reminded me of that moment which is actually a pretty spiritual story, that I realized I have never shared with you. Oh well a tick for another day. Well I love you all and hope you have a great week! Stay warm in the wonderful weather..... And have fun!

Love, Elder Paxman   

Hope is NEVER lost!!

Dear Mom,

I am going to answer the list of questions and then go from there.

1.  So with your companion just finishing his training period does this mean you are the Senior Companion? What are the different responsibilities of being a Senior Comp?  I am indeed senior companion, there are not a whole lot of added responsibilities. Just the normal stuff. He is super green, I would like to teach him some of the good things I have learned as far as being missionary.

2.  How many miles is your area?  Is it in a stake with wards or branches?  Do you attend the same branch/ward each Sunday or will you rotate?   I do not know how many miles my area is, I just know that it is a big area and that is about it. It covers several cities. We do attend the same branch; there is only one in this area.

3.  You said you will have a car in this area, are you the driver now?  If so, how does it feel to be behind the wheel of a car after so long?  What kind of car are you guys driving? Does driving make you nervous at all?  I am the driver now, driving a car is a little different after such a long time, but overall it is not too bad. The snow is sometimes a pain for our little Chevy Cruze.

4.  Is your apartment in a house or in an apartment complex?  Our apartment is in a house it is divided top and bottom, so other people live upstairs from us.

5.  How did you survive the cold weather?  What did you think of the weather?  Was it a crazy experience?  Was it like anything you have experienced before?  I would love to hear all the details about the week of bad weather. The cold weather survival was rough, but overall not too bad. Lots of layers, and freezing anyway.  They also kept us in for the most part of it.

 6.  What did you guys do during all this bad weather?  Were you able to get out at all or did they want to you stay indoors? We got out during the weather a little, but not that much overall.

7.  If you stayed indoors what did you do with all of your time? While we were indoors we got to know each other, and cleaned the house a little.  This place is an absolute pig sty and it drives me insane because it isn't even my mess!!

8.  Are you and your new companion still getting along?  What are your thoughts about your new comp?  We get along really well.  I like him.

9.  Have you had a chance to get out and interact with the people?  Are you teaching anyone?  Are there many members who speak Spanish?  I have had a chance to get out an interact with people, so that has been good. There are only 3 members who speak Spanish and they are really nice.  One is a recent convert and is kind of going less active.

10.  What do you think of the area?  Is it nice, etc.? I really like the area, it will be great!

11.  Will you be working with both English and Spanish speaking investigators?  If so how will that work?  I assume you will get out and try to find Spanish investigators.  What are your feelings about the members in the area?  Are they nice?  I did teach my first Spanish lesson alone yesterday and we have another tomorrow so that will be really good. We will be working with both English and Spanish investigators and as of right now we only have English because of the weather and our limited time being able to get and search for investigators.  But now the weather is improving, so hopefully we will get some here soon. Also, all of the investigators are English, because I opened this area to Spanish people. I really like the members there are a lot of older folks out here so that is nice. There are only a few younger families so we are hoping to find more of those with time. There are also over 200 less actives with this branch.  It used to be a ward a little over a year ago so we are hoping to see if we can't boost those numbers at all.

12.  What types of food have been being cooked for you?  Are you eating more English food?

Food wise we have only been fed by the Spanish people.  Pretty much we have been given goodies by the other people, but as far as food goes still Hispanic so far haha. (We were hoping being in a split area he would get fed more English food, and giving his stomach a chance to improve)

13.  How is your health?  Make sure to continue to avoid foods that give you issues.  Make good health choices. :)  My health is good and I will continue to watch my health mom don't worry.

14.  Do you interact with other missionaries at all in this area, or are you guys on your own there in Logansport?  We do interact with the other Elders a little bit, but not a whole lot.

15.  What instruction have you received from the local priesthood authorities on what they want from you as far as Spanish goes?  The local authorities say go for it with the Spanish, but they have no idea, so it will be interesting. We do interact with the other elders a little bit, but not a whole lot. I am not a big fan of them. This is not to offend anyone or anything but it just seems that the Spanish Elders are a little more on top of the game and not as lazy... That is just my observation.  So I am trying to break my companion into a different work ethic that I was trained with, so we will see.

(Last week we received a letter late in the week and I haven’t put it on the blog, but he talked about meeting with Pat and her adult son Donald and having an experience where the spirit was really strong and he felt prompted to challenging Pat to pray.)We did meet with them again and had another really good lesson, about baptism and families. So that was really good, she did pray but she doesn't think that it will work, but I really feel as if it will. I know it will if she truly does it with an open heart.

(We attended a Music Theatre program at the high school that all the alumni from that program were invited to attend and sing.  A lot of people asked about Ben.) That is really good that the MDT thing was great it would have been super cool to be able to participate, but I wouldn't trade this for anything. haha They still remember me!?!? Well that is good.  If you see any of them again tell them I say hi too.

So today marks my double digits sadly... 10 months. "Double digits the big One O!!”  I know some people have told you it seems I have been gone for a long time, but for me the time has been so fast.  Too short.

So far my health has improved and I have had less sick days but we will see.  I already love and enjoy my mission so much I wish I could jump back and start again with the knowledge I have now, but that is not my place in life.

(Our ward starts each year with a theme.  I told him what our new theme was for the year, it is from D&C 4 about serving with all your heart, might, mind and strength.) I like the new theme it is a really good theme.

(We are getting a foreign exchange student from China this Thursday, and we told him all about it.) THURSDAY!?!?!?! WHAT DA HECK!!! I AM ALREADY GETTING REPLACED BY SOMEONE AND I HAVENT EVEN HIT A YEAR YET!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahaha I’m just kidding, It doesn't really bother me I just like to complain about it. |:D That is crazy you are going to have to prepare really fast and then learn whatever you can in Chinese in less than a week!!! That is super crazy, and that there is going to be a new kid in the home, that will probably be nice for Brooklyn and hopefully it will be an amazing experience, make sure you council the lord in all of it. That is sad to hear about Shauna Dumont tell her she is in my prayers as well.

Well my experience story for the week before I wrap us will be this. So yesterday was fast and testimony meeting, because of them canceling church the week before. So we had that in our small branch. I have taken up the tradition that on my first Fast and Testmony meeting in every branch I bare my testimony and share a little bit about me. So I got up about 45 past and went up there. While up there I told the story of how I found out I was going to Logansport and told the members about everyone’s input on being in a stripe.  I even shared my own thoughts on the subject, one of which being I am getting banished and am not going to be able to speak Spanish and my mission just went to hell in a hand basket.  I said that over the pulpit, so maybe not the best choice of words for a missionary. (mom sighs here, naughty boy)  I continued to tell a quick story to show people who I am, a lot of people were laughing and stuff. Then I got more into the spiritual part and my actual testimony.  In all the other testimonies before there were always babies crying and things of that nature going on, you know like a ruckus. My companion told me something, that I had never heard before, he was like your testimony is one of the greatest I have ever heard and it brought the spirit so strongly it is unbelievable. So I start getting into some of the more spiritual things I feel,  one of the things that my testimony has grown in so much is the love of God for each and every one of us no matter our circumstances.  I talked about how I believe so much of this church is based off the Love of God and our love for him. So I start talking on how none of us are less loved than the other in the eyes of  god, Using a good scripture from D&C 18 I believe it is very popular and I quoted it. I said "Every soul is great in the eyes of God" I continued to emphasis this over and over, as I was talking I paused for a moment and saw a few people crying and it was dead silent, there was no noise... In that moment I REALIZED just how much I have grown since I came out. Coming out here I had been a very blessed child with many blessings and challenges. But I always tell people that my life has been an easy one, they usually scoff and say yea right shortly after, but to me it is true in some ways. Yes I have been through a lot, but there is one thing I know for sure and I will use some of the words from Elder Holland and others to express my point, but I shall use them as my own so I will not quote them. And those thoughts are these. Hope is NEVER lost! Ever in all my experiences I have always seen that, even in the darkest night there is still hope for the glorious break of dawn just beyond the horizon and that is what moves us forward, that brightness and hope for a new day. Because to every dark night the Dawn will always break, that is a Promised blessing of God.  I know it and have lived it and no one can say or do anything to convince me otherwise. As long as we strive to be better every day and we continue on the long path ahead, the winding road the treacherous climb whatever it may be, even if you only get 10 yards down the trail... Isn't that farther than you were before? And don't you already have that much more perspective and Gratitude for those 10 yards because you had to give it your all to have them! Overall this gospel is a promise of Hope, not for those who are perfect because that does not exist in this life, but for those who are broken and scarred and fighting with all they have just to be a little better today than they were yesterday! And when we get to the end or that tomorrow or that judgment seat of God we can or at least I hope to say with tears rolling down my cheeks, I know I failed in many ways, but I have given it all I have and I hope you forgive me and that that is enough. He then will crouch down beside us as we feel his loving arm on our shoulder and says you have done amazing, and I could not wish for a better son. We all have the bright promise of a better future, today is the day to start and to make what you want to happen come to pass. I know that God, Our Loving Heavenly Father loves us, each of us the same, and even though we may go through the darkness of adversity if we keep going with hope for a brighter future we will be one day enjoying the sunrise as it splits the darkness around us.

Anyway that is it for this week I love you all so much and hope you have an amazing week, you are all in my prayers, and I hope that you may feel the Love of the Godhead in your lives. Love you.

Love, Tu hijo Elder Paxman  

Great News!!!

Dear Mom, 

(We told him that Brooklyn is going to try out for the Skeet/Trap shooting team at RHS next year.)

No way, they have a shooting team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is this a new development or did I just space cadet it. AWWW MAN... That bites. But that is amazing for her and I am sure she will get in, she is a really good shot. Although the true test of her skills will be the older brother when he gets home!! Oh, and maybe after a week of warm up to get my skills back hahaha. So she will always have a training buddy, either me or dad. And not to brag or anything like that, but me and Dad are pretty good shots. I am excited for her, that will be something really fun for her to try out for and she will have to practice a ton.  

You should be getting some friend requests on Facebook from some great people here in Indy.   So be ready to have some friends from Indy. Oh also Sister Romero posts pictures of us on her Facebook so you will get to see those. (I did and they are great!!  It is so good to see him, we haven’t seen a photo of him in over 5 months…he looks skinny.) 

This letter I sent him a list of questions: 

Did you find a new place to live?  IF so what is the address? Do we send stuff to a new address or still to the one you already gave us?
How has it been living with multiple elders and will you miss it when you move?  We are really interested to hear about the new living arrangements. Did you guys have to find furniture and kitchen stuff for it as well?  How does that work?  Details. :) We did find a new place but we will not be moving in for a while, so keep sending things to my current address. I do really enjoy being with all the Elders, it makes nights fun and same with our breaks if they fall at the same time. Details about it, well I am living out of my suitcase which is interesting. I have no bed so I am on the couch. Although, I will have a bed in about 2 days. As of right now we live in their living room. The new house is an old church an investigator is renting out and re-doing so we are moving into the top floor, after we consecrate/dedicate it or whatever that is called. It is nice, it has all the stuff kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom all of it. It is good sized too and we are renting from an investigator who is a very good man!!  He kind of reminds me of dad a little bit. As far as furniture, we will ask the branch, same with all kitchen ware and stuff. Beds, the mission gives us as well as study desks. That is about all I know about that stuff.  

How are you and the new companion getting along?  Where is he from? My new companion and I get along.  I like him and we get work done, so I am really excited and I like him a lot! He is from Mexico City, but he moved to Utah when he was 10.  But, he spent a lot of time back there so kind of both places.  

What did you do for Thanksgiving?  Where did you go?  What did you eat?  Was it fun? For thanksgiving we first went to the church for the branch activity at 12 to 3 and they had food and music and we all just socialized and such, which was good because now I know quite a few members. They danced, I did a little but not really because it is not suggested for missionaries. It was really fun. They had this really good turkey in a spicy sauce and also this green pasta that is a tad spicy that is my absolute favorite Hispanic food I think!!!  After that we had P-day, but we had food at Presidente Alarcon's house at 7 and we had leftovers from the party and some really good ham. It was a really great holiday overall.  

Do you still email us from a library? I sometimes will email you at the library, but today we are using the Clerk’s office in the church.  

How is your health?  Are you feeling well? I am feeling well.  I have lost like 12 pounds since last time you saw me. I weigh like 175 instead of 180 something. So that is new.  

Were you able to buy groceries and do you have plenty of good food? :)

Are you being fed by members at all?  IF so how many times per week?
We were able to buy some groceries but not a lot still, so we will be working with that. I should be ok though because we get fed almost every night. Well actually like 6 days a week so not too bad at all.  

How has your weather been this week?  Snowy or warm? It has been both as far as weather goes. Snowed quite a bit, it turns out we get lake effect pretty bad some times and stuff. Then it got into the 40's for two days which was really nice. 

Do you study your scriptures in Spanish now?  If not, we think you should.  It will really help your Spanish.  Also when you and your companion live alone you should try speaking only Spanish in your residence!! It will also help with your language! :) I read my scriptures in Spanish during Language study, the mission Pres. has encouraged us during personal and comp study to use our native language. Which is fine with me. In comp study though we do kind of both and in Language study we use only Spanish. Although my language is doing alright I feel.  

Have you had a chance to teach any lessons this week?  Do you have new investigators if so who?  We have taught several lessons this week which has been really good. We have about 9 or so investigators which is a pretty decent amount and we have 3 with a baptismal dates for this next month and December. One Investigator I love is a 60ish year old single women named Juanita she has kids but they are all grown up. She is preparing to be baptized the 28th! So that is good, she is very nice and always calls us hijo, which means like child or son. She is just like a grandma to us missionaries, she is very sweet. We have several others but it would take forever to explain all of them so we have Manuel and Roselia, she is a less active and he is a non-member but he is preparing for baptism for the 28th as well. So that is really good and probably the two most progressing investigators we have. We have a lot more but like I said it would take a while to explain them.  

How was the branch in your new area?  Are you and your companion the only Spanish Elders serving in this area?  Did we understand correctly that you and your comp are re-opening this area to Spanish? We are indeed reopening this area it has been closed for a bit. There are 3 pairs of missionaries for this branch and they are in the cities of South Bend, Elkhart, and Goshen. So some people have to drive a while to get to church. We live in Elkhart where the branch meets and the Branch is wonderful!!! I love it!!  It is small, we have about 35 active members but they are all wonderful and do missionary work. In the entire city of Elkhart though, we are the only Spanish missionaries. The branch overall though is amazing.

Did you get your package?... Are you being a nice boy and only opening them as they are numbered?  What did you think when you opened it?  Were you excited?  I am so excited for you to have this fun thing to do for December. I hope it didn't get smashed up too much.  I had a hard time fitting it all in. I did get my package like 3 days before December!! So I couldn't open any gifts for like 3 days that was hard. Also I have only opened two and the first one was awesome!! I really like that tie bar! The stories with both were really great and I also loved the Clementine’s, they are some of my favorites. I really like the 25 days of Christmas package and I really like the gifts inside.  

How is the mission in general this past week?  Do you love the new area?  Write any great stories or thoughts?  Ok so now for mission stuff. So yes I do indeed love this area a lot!! I am having a really good time up here and hope I can stay in this area for a couple more transfers and hopefully be here for a bit. We have been this week mainly looking for a house until about Thursday. Then we got to finally do some more lessons, so the work in general is going really well here. 

One thing that I am super excited for is this; The Diaz family is being baptized this TUESDAY!!!!!!!!! So I will be making the 3 hour trip down to baptize them!!! I am so excited!! It is an answer to many of my prayers. On that note comes the story of the week. So yesterday I was told that they will be getting baptized, so we then got in contact with the mission president and asked for permission to travel back to Cumberland.  He then said he would only let me go if I got a member to take us!! So I was devastated because usually members don’t like to drive missionaries 3 hours to Indy than back again, not to mention they would have to find a place to stay because of the baptism being at 7 at night. That is very difficult for members to do.  So it was looking impossible, but I called tons of members both here and in Indy and tried my best to get someone to take me and my companion. But no one could. So I texted president pleading, and he told me to call him this morning. I think that I prayed some of the hardest I have had to for a while. Well while praying and pondering I got this thought and a quote came into my mind... It is a lesson I learned long ago but had forgotten. It was this. "If you truly love someone you will do whatever it takes to make them happy, even if that means cutting yourself out of the picture..." That thought was a hard one to come to grips with, but I knew from the moment I thought it, that it was true. So I went to bed that night with the belief that if it was the Lords will for me to make it than it shall happen, and if not, than it is what is best for me and for them. This is of course after I tried just about every person I could think of.  Oh, I also forgot I was allowed to text the Diaz family to let them know that I most likely would not be able to make it. So we text back and forth me and Ivonne for a while and then at about 9 I get a call from her number.  So I pick it up and the 12 year old boy Andee answers. I can hear the sadness in his voice as he says "so Paxman, you aren’t going to be able to come" That just about broke my heart right there... It was hard to hear... So I explain to him what was going on and said something along the lines of it will be fine, I will call you that night and see how everything went if I can't come, but I will try anything within my power to make it there okay. It was hard, then after that Ivonne is handed the phone and she starts talking and starts bearing her testimony over the phone, than I hear this pause... I knew she was trying to not cry and I was too at this point (I know I am a boob) and through tears she chokes out some words. Some of which were this, I will be forever grateful to you for coming to my home and blessing my family with this and for being the example to all of us especially to see my kids accept this and hopefully one day become missionaries like you. She continued on and was crying pretty good now, and was like we will post-pone the baptism for you to come if we have to. Which than had me probably sounding teary because I started to cry shortly after her, not for my sake but for theirs, I said (in Spanish) don't you dare do that, it is far more important that you be baptized, than that I be there, I will do my best to make it down there but if it doesn’t happen I want you to be baptized ok? She complied and said yes and bore some more testimony as did I as well. She then said that if God wants it and if I want it deeply enough it will happen.  I told her I want it more than she could imagine. She then gave the phone to Jesus who talked to me and also thanked me for being there for him and how I was an example, he said that he wanted me to baptize him as well and that he would be forever grateful for me guiding him to the truth... After which they all told me that they want me to baptize them, but I had to tell them that It seemed as if it were not going to happen, but that I would do my best and that if not I would call them and talk to them after.  I told them how much they have impacted me and then they did the same and we hung up. It was probably the most spiritual phone call I have ever had. Well, this morning the President changed his mind, which I am sure was an answer to many prayers!  I can take a car and drive down to baptize them!! I was ecstatic. Than this morning during personal study I was thinking over this and reading in Ether 3 which is one of my favorite all time chapters in the Book of Mormon.  The same thought came back into my head. Along with the feeling of Sacrifice, and how when we truly put ourselves out there on the line, in everything, we will see miracles unfold. It then made me think of our Father in Heaven, and how that quote from earlier comes into play. He loves us so much he was willing to send us down to this earth where we will be tried and tested and some will not come back to him, but He loved us so much that he was willing to do it. And then give his Only Begotten Son, for that same great cause of bringing us back into his presence, which brought a whole new meaning of Sacrifice and Love. So that was just a sliver of all the story, but I feel I have grown so much from this experience in many ways, and it has and will shape my mission and my life.  

Well I have taken a very long time with this email, but I love you all and hope you have a great week. I am also excited to be able to speak with you all on the phone. Love you all once again and hope to hear from you shortly. 

Con amor,

Tu Hijo, Elder Paxman