I'm Getting Transferred! I'll go where you want me to go...

Dear Mom,

I am doing pretty good. Freakishly stressed for a variety of reasons, the biggest of which is I am being Transferred!!!! I am so sad to be leaving this area. Although I have been sad leaving every area. So at least I am used to it by now. So, like I said I am going... Which has its ups and downs, but I wish I was staying. As far as details go, President has changed how he does things a little. Unless you are being trained, you have no idea what is happening till you get to transfers. So I am freaking out!!  I have no idea if I will stay DL or be going back down to normal missionary... That could be very nice. Elder Ryan is staying in Columbus which is good for our investigators he is such a fun kid, and in Seymour Elder Porter is getting transferred and Elder Baird is staying. Also, because of transfers hold off on mailing any letters or anything.

I have also started something you might find interesting. I think Griff challenged me to do it. When I had 138 days left I started at section 138 in the D&C and am reading it backwards one day at a time. It is crazy!! I like it though.

Do you think this will be your last companionship change or do you think you will have two more before you come home? I bet I at least have 2 more companions before the mission is done though.

So you have been getting a lot of snow and cold how is it? The snow was awesome. I quite enjoy snow, the cold no, but snow yes indeed!! We were able to do lots of shoveling service so that was really nice. hahaha I do not mind the snow at all though. Although, you guys do need the moisture over there at home big time.

Did Calin (his cousin) write and tell you about his mission call?  He did. He will love it! I am jealous, that will be so cool for him! I hope we get to spend some time together before he leaves on his mission. That would be really nice to see him once before he goes.

To the family: That is awesome you were able to go and see Bailee’s show of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I bet she loves it! Well I know she does haha. She told me she highlighted her hair, I bet it looks good on her, although I would have to see a more recent picture. I am sure you do get lonely with Brooklyn being gone so much, although you realize that there is a possibility of within a few years of me coming home, I will be gone too? Also Brooklyn will be in High School which means even more lonely. I hope Brooklyn’s knees start getting better, I am sure that does not feel good when they hurt. All these cousin weddings, Alex and I both agree, "They are dropping like flies!". I am happy for them though. Here soon he and I are next in line for marriage as far as the grand kids go!!?? HA!! Yea right, maybe in like 4 years or so!!

How is the work?  How are your investigators?  Who is the Karina Banda you mentioned I don’t think you have told us about her? The work has been good; we still have been teaching both Sergio and Judy, so that is really nice. Although, neither of them were at church this week which was a bummer. Yea I have mentioned Karina Banda before. She is the one who asked me what I was thinking and also the one I gave the tag to. She is 28 and married. It is crazy! I also hope that whomever takes my place does the work and helps this area grow. I have grown to love many people in this area. I will miss them. Although on to a new adventure right?!

I’m glad you enjoyed your time in the temple.  It’s such a blessing in our lives. The temple is amazing and it will be great when the one here in Indy is done.

Would you like a Spanish CTR ring sent to you instead of your English one?  We have the camera ready to send to you as well. If you want you can get a Spanish one that looks really cool. That would be awesome. You can also include it on the chain. Just get it maybe a half size smaller than the one I have or the same size. You will want to post-pone the camera mainly because of the transfers. So when I find out where I will be I will let you know. If you could send me a blank SD card that would be great as well, then I will send you the older one. I have tried to take pictures when I remember, but it has been hard.

How are you doing after being sick a while back?  Are you watching what you eat? Do you need more antibiotics to have on hand? My stomach is doing pretty good, some days better than others, but for the most part doing good. I watch my diet more than you know mom. Although I have found it is much less what I eat, as it is how much. I have to really watch how much I eat. I have no anti-biotics right now. So I am on the C ones right now. I can't remember what they are called.

 I would agree this has been some of the best times of my life, along with many other moments throughout my life, I am sad to see that they are going so fast... Oh well we will go on and do our best.  Okay so now some stuff on the work. So with Karina it has turned very sad. We ran into problems with the cousin that lives there as well as the husband. They do not want us to come back, and let’s just say they were very forward about it. I hope all goes well there, even with the new Elder who comes in. She means so much to me in my second mission life. I hope and pray that things will get better every day. We are hoping to at least be able to stop by and get a picture and swap contact info. So we will see how that goes. Sergio is doing well, we have another lessons with him tonight. Judy I probably won't be able to see before transfers which will be sad.  We have found more people to teach and I hope they pan out for the new companionship over the next little while. So hopefully all will go well with this area. I will be sad to leave it.

This week was a very trying one in many different ways... Sometimes I feel we are tried not to see if we will break, but to see how much we can take and keep going forward. I have been blessed with a life filled with joy and happiness. I have had the pleasure of seeing the miracles of God in my own life as well as the lives of others. I have enacted the powers of heaven to perform miracles many times in my life. Whether through simple prayer, through blessings I have received, blessings I have given, or simply actions I have done or the example I have been, and that others have been to me. I asked my Heavenly Father that there might be a miracle this week in the life of Karina with all these issues and problems that are going on... We fasted and prayed and worked hard to make it come to pass. Although, it has seemed as though it has not happened. I learned some very key things from this event, and I am continuing to learn from it as well. Maybe that was the miracle in and of itself. One thing that has come to my mind, is that of timing. We in our lives often ask for something and expect it now or in the near future. When we in reality should be willing to accept whatever time frame that God has set. Another thing I have learned is that a miracle is determined by the one who sees it. I have had many of them in my life some so incredibly small, others immensely large. Just because a miracle is not perceived as one does not mean it is not there. When we ask the powers of heaven to intervene in a cause, we in reality do not know by what means it may come. Some will be as the Brother of Jared others as Enos. In whatever form they come, it matters not. Sometimes we are the very means of heavens power that we ask to be given to those around us. So sometimes we just must simply be willing to be the miracle in someone else's life. Then at times when it seems that no miracle has happened, remember that you are still breathing, the world is still turning and prayers are still being answered. Miracles are an everyday experience; sometimes we just don't see them as such. I hope that we may be able to see that. At times I forget it, and when I do, life is a little harder to bear. To be happy is an active decision, only to be determined by the one who wishes to be happy. Miracles are there for the taking, and or ceasing, but only to those who are willing to look, no matter how detailed. Hope for me has come in the quiet moments when I can appreciate the very breath I take, the snow on the ground, the mountains all around, and maybe even the weight of trial of which I am passing. Hope, Happiness, Faith and Miracles are always there for those who are willing to see them. Well I hope that this week is a great one for you, and that it is filled with those things which you desire. As for me, I will be panicking and trying to figure out what is going on. So wish me luck. I love you so much and can't wait to hear from you soon.

Love, Elder Paxman [:{D

It's in the Lord's Hands

This letter requires a preface from mom.  Elder Paxman had an upper GI last week at the request of a surgeon at Riley Children’s Hospital at UI.  The surgeon called me Friday to give me the results.  Elder Paxmans small intestine is not working as well as it should.  Because of this, there has been a lot of discussion from us on his diet and what he can do to help matters.  So this letter has a lot of reference to this. He will meet back with the GI on Halloween.  He is doing well and working hard. 

Dear Mom, 

First I don't drink soda out here hardly ever, only when members don’t have anything else.  It is expensive and it isn’t as good as it used to be. Also I know what to do when I have bloating, whenever it does happen I usually cut way back on eating because I figure that I would rather be hungry than in a lot of pain. My thoughts about it (the test results) all are still unsure and in the air... One, I am glad that as of right now the times when it gets bad are few and far between.  The only thing I don't want to happen (which probably won't) is sometimes in the past when we have gone with waiting and time, it has gotten worse. Because of the slowing I worry that my intestines could dilate more, which could cause some more problems down the road... But overall I am just game with whatever goes as I usually well pretty much always have been. Other than that, just to keep doing everything I know how and put it in the Lord's hands! He knows what is best for me, so I shall do his will and not my own, even with things as simple as my health, well okay maybe not so simple haha.

Conference I loved!!!!!! Of course!! I had three favorite talks because I felt they applied exactly to me and everything that is going on, they were Uchtdorf's on Saturday it was amazing, Holland's and Nelsons. All three were amazing and touched me very deeply and will probably continue to do so as time goes by. We were able to watch all 5 sessions, and in English at our chapel.  Ivonne and Jesus came to a session which is really good, they finally are starting to have that testimony and act, so their baptism is this month and I am more than excited.

Yes I need to get all the Grimm's and watch them when I get home, as well as a bunch of movies and other things.  Me and the guys already have some plans forming for that. (I had told him of a goal I have started to re-read the entire Book of Mormon in a certain time frame) Also with the Book of Mormon thing it takes about 36 days for those things to become habits so keep it up and if you slide one day pick it back up and start again, the day to start is now, "You can do it now!!" that was a quote from Uchtdorfs priesthood talk. J

Transfers are this week and me and Elder Hjelm are staying together in the same area again for another transfer.  This will make 7 and a half months in my first area haha. Yes I still write Elder Johnston every week me and him were very tight and are planning to get together after our missions on multiple occasions. Well Trenton, Joel, Cameron, Garrett, Elder Johnston, you, Dad, and usually a few others are who I get regular letters from. Mi compa is the designated driver so he only drives which means I have to do back ups,  which makes me look like a doofus at times, last time mi compa clipped me with the car.... it was very funny after the fact. There is a good chance I will get to drive at some point.  We drive a Ford Fusion like 2012 I think, it is nice I like them. Yes I still listen to CD's but we can now have I pods so I am debating that possibility.  Yes I need more music, lots of cool renditions of hymns of like solo singers and instrumentals, also that musical thing about Christ that Bai has, oh and another musical opera thingy called the Garden, Oh and Ryan Shupe and the Rubber band Christmas and a bunch of other Christmas music. Also some movie soundtracks like Dances with Wolves, Lord of the Rings, movies like that. And not the real heavy stuff of those either.

As far as the field goes not much is new this week because we had Zone training and doctor and conference, so this week wasn't very eventful.  Although, it dumped here big time. I got soaked again. Also I spent 60 bucks on the card today because I tried those drinks dad suggested and it is pricey, I got 2 bottles and than 10 bucks cash back and groceries as well. We had a very spiritual lesson with Fransico and his family this week that was powerful.  They are not progressing and have been investigators for around 10 months, they were almost baptized but than they had some issues to work out.  But we are working with them and had a very powerful lesson. We also had a revelatory moment for Ivonne and Jesus where they discovered how true the Book of Mormon really is and also how much Jesus wants the priesthood for his family.  They know this church is true, but they like the social aspect of the other church, which our branch is sometimes not the greatest at but we are working on them and once they stop going to the other church and come to ours more frequently they will be baptized.  Probably around the middle of this month!!  Also Ivonne asked me to baptize her, so that will be cool if that happens. That was it for this week, oh and Celeste is getting baptized this month as well, which I am very excited for. That was it pretty much. Also my Spanish is going alright I can communicate and operate so that is good.

Well I love you all so very much and I hope you enjoyed conference as much as I did remember it is just as important to study the talks after the fact so we may receive even more revelation!  Well love you all and I will hear from you next week.

Love, Tu Hijo, Elder Paxman