5 weeks left to serve: A mission visit from Dad!

Elder Paxman got a visit from Dad this past week.  Lincoln was on his way home from a cross country trip to the National Fire Academy and stopped to spend a few hours with Elder Paxman and his companion.  Following are the pictures that he sent me to make me feel jealous.  :) 

Elder Paxman and his companion took his dad to one of his favorite little Taco places for lunch.

Elder Paxman and his companion Elder Labrum.

The study are in their apartment.

Elder Paxman's favorite choice of food this week. 

This dresser has been in the mission in one of the apartments since 1992, and every missionary that has used it has signed it!  I absolutely love this!  The history!!  That means this dresser has been in the Indianapolis Indiana mission and been used by missionaries for 23 Years!!  When the missionary is transferred out of this area/apartment they sign the dresser.  Elder Paxman will sign the dresser in 5 weeks! 

Linc with Elder Paxman and Elder Labrum inside of the Taco place.  It is also a little store. 

Dear Mom,

I knew you would be super Jelly when I found out that dad would be coming to visit on his way home from his trip. It was really fun to have dad come.

In the pictures there is a dresser that missionaries have signed; daddy said you told him there is also a table in one of the other apartments.  Did you sign it as well?  Where is it and did you get a picture?  I think these are the coolest things ever!! I did sign the table although I do not remember if I took a picture... It was in Logansport.. So hopefully I took a picture I think I did. I would have to look through all the photos I have taken. The dresser is super cool! I am excited to sign it and get a picture next to it!

It was really fun to take dad to the taco place! Not to mention yummy!! It has really good tacos. I am glad you enjoyed the pictures. Plus you can just look at the pictures and see if I have gotten a little more in shape! haha Or maybe you can't tell, maybe I puffed out my shirt just to make it look the same... Mwahahahaha evil laugh of awesomeness!!! Or… maybe daddy took pictures of him with things in the way.  I actually think I have gained weight... That's not good! Having Dad visit me in the mission was a fun memory and one we will not soon forget I am sure.

Did your companion mind spending a few hours with Daddy?  Did it bore him? Yes my companion was just as excited as I was, and I loved spending the day with dad. It was awesome! No he wasn't bored; he is just quiet all the time. He enjoyed it though.

I hear Elder Rowberry, Hayden changed his wedding date?!  Yep he did, and I am excited that now I will be able to be there!!!!

What did you do with the rest of your Saturday after Dad left? We went and taught a few lessons, and just did the work.

How has your week been?  How is the missionary work? My week was pretty good I would have to say. We tracted a little so it was all good. The work has been going good; we had a few good lessons. We also helped with the temple prep class which was kind of fun, especially since I never took it haha. We were able to teach Lupita, Vicenta, and Maria which was really good. Also we had a really good lesson with Daniel. I also made a bet with him, so I might need some money on my personal funds... hahaha Anyway....The bet was about going out to eat not actual money, so don’t worry about that mom. So they are doing well, we hope to help them get baptized at the latest the 27th of June. We are still working on finding new investigators and really helping that family progress to baptism within the next month. Church was good, we had a really amazing lesson with Daniel at church so that was awesome!

What percentage of Sacrament meeting do you think you understand?  I got this question from Griff… he was asking Trenton the same question this week. Spanish Sacrament meetings I say I understand about 99% Of what is being said, general conversation more like 90% sometimes there are still a few words I do not know. Actually there are a lot of words I do not know.

Here at home Brooklyn is gearing up for her 9^th grade Lagoon Day and we were remembering the last time we went what a big chicken Elder Paxman was on the scary rides.  In his defense it was quite a while ago.  I reminded him of how funny it was.   Yea I am sure you all got a good laugh out of that. Talk about humiliating... I am kind of a pansy mom, if you have not realized. I still am one too. Maybe if I watch some more Grimm and Supernatural when I get home I will do alright, who knows, my guess is no. I have not been to Lagoon after that event, man I was a freaking chicken... I still am, but not that bad thank goodness. Plus what is the purpose of scaring the crap out of yourself? I heard it is like drugs for some people. They need that adrenaline rush, and their body loves it so it wants more. Hence addictions to scary movies. I would like to stay free of that one if I could hahaha.

You mentioned you teach a weekly English class?  What day do you teach it?  Is it mostly members and how many people usually come? We usually have the class Fridays and it depends usually around 6 people. Not a ton, but enough. Most are members, but there are a few that are not. There is not much more to tell you about the class.

How was P-Day/Memorial Day?  Did you do anything with the members or investigators?  For Memorial Day we played sports with a bunch of members and Lupita and Daniel were there, which by the way, at 2 man volleyball Daniel and I being on a team destroyed everyone!! It was awesome!! We make a good team, it was really fun. After that we went and had a BBQ with most of the same members that came and played sports. It was really fun. We got Lupita to play wall ball with us. Which I realized is like a white kid’s street game. No one knows how to play it!! Which is sad because I love it! I have also reached one other goal that I will not tell you about, because it has to do with secret stuff hehehe. So this last week was really good, and the Memorial Day activities were really fun. Okay so yep we are really working with that family to come to a knowledge and be baptized, I want it to be before I go home, but if it must needs be till after as long as it happens. I learned a lesson similar to that one, with another family. It was a great lesson on Humility, but If the Lord will's it, I would love to be here for their baptism.

Okay so now on to the spiritual thought. This actually came up two weeks ago, and I wrote it down to write about this week, and it was a nice coincidence that it fell on the week dad would come visit. So I was reading and pondering one day and with the help of my Pat. Blessing and a few scriptures I realized a few things I thought were cool. One is the immense love that God has for each one of us. Which is pretty frankly stated so I won't elaborate. The next was of my own thinking. As missionaries we are always asked "Why can't you talk with your family over the phone? Why can't you see them more?" I came to this conclusion. One of the big reasons I think is so that we may have at least a sliver a mere speck of what it will feel like when and if we return to the presence of our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Imagine the sweet joy of going back into our Heavenly Parents presence. The joy we feel after being reunited with our families after two years must be similar, just not quite as glorious.  Also in an interview I had with the Stake Pres. He said, If we live to be like 75 I think it is approximately 2.2 years Heaven's time. So just about the amount of time we are on our missions!! I thought that was pretty cool! When we reunite with our families again after that period of time, we feel a piece of the Joy that we will feel with our Heavenly Father when we return home. I thought that was a pretty cool thought. The other is how much the mission resembles our own lives and the way we learn and grow. We come in not knowing hardly anything, but through the things we suffer and experience we learn. We continue to grow and progress throughout this life, we continue to fight for things we want, and make mistakes. In my eyes with the purpose that when we come back, we will be thoroughly converted, much like we do when we come to this earth. So in reality the mission is like a little life we have that plays with our entire life and journey along the pathway to eternity! I thought that was pretty cool. Mission is the preparation ground for life we have heard, but in all likeliness it is like a little model of our life in many aspects. We are called and serve with people we are supposed to meet, families, companions, friends, Investigators and members. Things we are in need of learning, and obstacles to make us grow. I think anyone who has been on a mission has felt this. As well as those who have seen an Elder or Sister come home a different person then when he or she left. As we left our Heavenly Fathers presence we were yet learning and young, and when we get here we are put to the test and grow substantially. Then we are called back home, and receive an “interview" of all we have done with our time. Then we receive all the blessings we have worked for and maybe not all at once. For there is "Eternal Progression in The Celestial Kingdom of God". Of course they are not exact mirror images, but a very close analogy. So when dad came to visit it was like my own little glimpse into heaven as the apostles and prophets have experienced. When we have Calls and Skypes home, and the fervent prayers that on occasion grant such miraculous experiences. Also the weekly emails or the daily prayers and conversations we have with our Father in Heaven.  There are many more that I have thought about, so I could go one forever, but I won't. This was kind of a cool thought I had for the week. Anyway I love you so much and hope you have a great week! I look forward to hearing from you next week!

Love, Elder Paxman

6 weeks left to serve: "Average is the Enemy of Excellence!"

Dear Mom,

I will be staying in Lafayette to finish off my mission! So that is crazy!

With only 6 weeks left, do you think you are Trunky? Man mom you always ask me if I am trunky but I think you are much more trunky than I am. Although, with the arriving in the airport. Remember to invite EVERYONE!!!!!!!! Friends the whole 9 yards mom!! Come on! Please!! It would be awesome! Yea I don't know what time they will release me. They usually try to do it earlier than later I am sure.

How has the mission been this past week?  Teaching any investigators, LARCS or even members? Okay so the mission this past week. Not a ton new has really happened. We have taught Lupita and Vicenta more. They are both doing well and really trying to learn. Lupita is reading in about 1 Nephi 14, which is really good. So we are hoping all goes well with them. Members we taught a few of them, and LARCS we actually didn't really teach any this last week. Which was really strange, but we have a few we will be hoping to go by here in the next few days. We are also teaching a weekly English class for anyone who wants to come, which has been really fun actually. We have done a ton of service this week, almost all day Saturday, and then on and off throughout the entire week.  We feel like we have worn our service clothes more than our proselyting clothes, which is really funny. Service has been everything from moving people, to helping with yard sales, to a bit of gardening, so just about everything.

Have you had any Zone conferences or District meetings this week? I noticed on the Indy Facebook page that there have been some zone conferences. We had a Zone Conference this last week with President which was really good. There was a lot of good training and such given. One thought that I loved was continually trying to be better, because we all fall short on what seems to be a daily basis, but if we are trying and really put forth a good effort we will be blessed.

Do you have any exciting plans for P-Day today? Plans for P-day, we ended up doing mostly service which was different. We were busy all day. Sorry that is why I didn’t write you until today. (Tuesday)

Do you get along well with all the Elders and Sisters in your area? I feel that I get along alright with the Elders and Sisters in the area. They are really nice; some I am good friends with and others more like associates, but still fun either way. We actually went out with some sisters that work on Purdue Campus and ate some food. It was really fun. Sister Goodstein (probably spelled that wrong) was one of them, and I met her back in Columbus, she also goes home the same time I do. So she is really nice, it was fun to hang with her and some others this last week.

How are the investigators doing that were at our Skype? As far as the ones I skyped you with, they are doing alright. Lupita, Vicenta, and Daniel are doing really well, so that is awesome. Aurelio, Maria, and Perla are not doing as good, but we are hoping to get them investigating more here soon.

How about your health?  Staying steady? Your Iron is really low.  My health is hanging in there, I was pretty sick one night, but other than that, I think it is doing alright. I don't know why I have trouble sleeping every once in a while, I just do. I am not overly stressed, well not more than usual or anything, so who knows. Oh also before I forget I bought more Iron and Hair gel so there is going to be a 20 some odd dollar charge on my card. We are also going out to eat today, so that might be on there as well.

I am jealous that you and your compo get to go out to eat with Daddy this coming weekend.  Are you excited? I am so excited to meet with Dad!! It will be awesome to see him, so he will get a sneak peak haha. Although, I really haven't hardly changed at all, I just like to joke around and say that I have. Yes mom I got it cleared with Pres, don't worry haha!!

Six weeks left can you believe it? I really want the time left to count and make them memorable so I will be doing my best to do that.

Anyway, like I said this email will probably be a little shorter because of the fact I am emailing Tuesday because of the service.  Spiritual thought... Well this will probably be all over the place. This last week has had me thinking a lot how this will be my last transfer on the mission, and what will happen when I get home and everything... Well one thought was this. I was never a big fan of people saying your best two years are the two years on the mission. For a few reasons, one if they were my best years than that would make the rest of my life just average, and in a talk given in this last conference "average is the enemy of excellence." So that would be lame. So I narrowed it down, also because there are many days in these best two years where we don't do our best or could have done something differently or whatever you wish, but in the long run it is far more than worth it. So I narrowed it to days. If you can try and make every day your best day, you will live a good life, filled with hardships and mistakes, but you can say that you put it out there and at least tried. Many of us shoot ourselves down before we even try. I will relate this to a story with Calin. So we were on a hike when I was back home. It is a beautiful hike called Kanaraville Falls. Well I will make the story shorter and less interesting for time’s sake. We were going along and decided to go up a little slot canyon thing. First off bad idea, I was home to recover, not go adventuring, (but like that was gonna stop me..... it never has before). Anyway we get up there, and before we know it, (and this has happened on many different occasions with Calin and many other people), we didn't know how to get back down... So we sat contemplating... Finally since I was lower I needed to go first, also if someone was going to get hurt, better me than him. So thinking of ways I am going to get down, I eventually decide I am going to have to jump and use the opposite wall to bounce off to get to the lower bulging rock. So after many almost attempts I finally leaped. Now as anyone whom has ever had to make a jump where there might be unsavory results knows the feeling of everything goes into slow-motion as you go through the air. Well after the leap, I managed to actually do what I had planned, which kind of surprised me. We then continued on our merry way and were able to do many other awesome things that little outing. So One thing I learned from that. Never let fear get in the way of you doing something that could change your life and the lives of those around you. Perhaps another example. So me trying to be nice and an idiot at the same time decided to jump a chain-link fence to grab a ball some investigators hit over a fence. So I get to the top of the fence, you know the awkward position with one foot on and the other kind of dangling on the side you just came from. Well the fence started to shake, which made me a little nervous so I grabbed the fence through one of the diamonds that the links form. Well then like an idiot letting my fear get the better of me I just jumped, which caused my arm and hand to double back on themselves.  Let me just say that didn't feel too great, along with a few cuts. So again I learned that, fear will stop us from doing many things in this life. It is indeed a chain that can bind us down to the gulf of endless misery and woe. So let us shake off those chains and be better always improving and overcoming our fears. I jumped the fence again to make myself feel better.... hahaha, It’s a guy thing. Anyway, that is my spiritual lesson that I was taught this week. Sadly there is a lot more to it, but I do not have more time.

Well I love you so much and hope that you have a great week. Remember mom, don't be trunky, you still have 6 weeks. That is like forever... Okay maybe I just tell myself that to make myself feel better. Anyway I love you and hope you have a great week. Sorry again about the pictures. 

Love, Elder Paxman   

P.S. We can't be here in Indy the 6th or 7th of August that is now when Elder Rowberry (Hayden) will be getting married!!!! So I have to be there for that! 

Jesus is the Christ, 7 Weeks left to serve!

 He is holding a microphone, it was supposed to help with background noise. 

We convinced him to do something funny... this was his pose. :)

WE had an amazing 1 hour Skype with Elder Paxman last night, our last one..  We feel blessed we have had 5, 3 mother's days and 2 Christmases. So this letter is very short.

Also, it is official, we received Elder Paxman's travel itinerary, he will arrive home June 30^th at 10:12 a.m. 

Dear Mom,

I am not getting buff sadly, we have been struggling the last few days working out. My body is trying to kill me lately; it feels like yesterday and today I have been running a fever and have been achy all over and tired... It stinks, also sleep is going pretty bad, so hopefully that will fix itself here soon.

  

Are you okay with having your homecoming on July 19^th?  I know it’s almost 20 days after you get home, but the weekend before is Calin’s farewell and I thought you would want to be to that. Yes I do.  I am excited to hear him speak and be there for him!

During our skype you said you were wearing a suit that was left in the apartment.  Do missionaries often leave stuff on purpose and have you left stuff behind before? Yea we always leave stuff. I have left all sorts of things it various on the area, mostly just food, sometimes some random stuff. It all depends.

Elder Paxman skyped us from an investigators home after giving them a lesson and having dinner.  How did the lesson with the investigators go?  Did they seem really interested? We kind of made a return appointment, they were not the most interested, they are a little hesitant, but they said we could come back. So we will see we are hoping to just go little by little with them.

Are these investigators the same ones you asked us to add to our prayers last week? Yes if I remember right it is.

Transfers are next week, do you hope you get to stay and finish out your mission in Lafayette?  I hope you do. I hope I get to stay as well, but I will go and do the things that the Lord hath commanded, right?! Yea I will keep you posted about that.

How has the work been this past week?  I wanted to ask more about that in our Skype, but with the investigators being around I didn’t want to do that. Any fun stories? Well as far as the work goes, things are going good. We are still trying to find more people, and help as many as we can along the way. Other than that a lot is pretty much the same. Stories, I do not really have any, except me trying to jump a chain-link fence and cutting myself on a rusty fence and maybe breaking a finger... tehehehehe yea that was right before I talked to you guys hahaha. No just kidding, I just jammed it badly I think, it’s a little swollen and starting to bruise. The cut wasn't deep just enough to draw a little blood that is about it. So yep adventures.

Anyway spiritual thought. I shared it in my testimony at the end of our Skype, but it was in Spanish so you probably didn't understand it. So this last week I was reading in Jesus the Christ (it is next to the toilet in our apartment, hehehe).  I read a part and for some reason it coupled with the scripture touched my heart in such a way, it was amazing. It is one I have heard so many times, yet it was very powerful to me at this time, I think for several reasons. So the scripture is in Matthew and probably a few other places haha. I am not sure; I am not the greatest at the scriptures. Anyway it goes like this basically. Christ after talking to a multitude asks the disciples "Who do you think I am?? "Or whom thinkest thou me??”  If you want more scriptural sounding. One of the twelve then goes on to say, stuff like people say you are a prophet, some say Elias, and some John the Baptist brought back to life. Anyway Christ than asks again but whom do YOU think I am? Peter being that eager apostle and loving friend says "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God..." Afterwards Christ says something like, “you do not know this by wisdom or sight, but because my Father which is in Heaven has given it unto you”. When I read this it almost brought me to tears, because I felt then as I do now, that Jesus is indeed the Christ, and I know it not of myself, but because the Father hath granted it unto me by the Holy Ghost. I have known this in degrees throughout most of my life, but I have found out, that often times we learn the same lessons over and over again in this life. It was one of those sweet moments for me to re-learn or realize again that great knowledge, which in turn helped me to realize something of my Pat. Blessing which was really cool. So anyway that was my cool experience for the week. I think we all strive like Peter to say those same sweet words. I know, as I have known earlier in my life, that Jesus is the Christ, the very son of God. It has blessed my life, and can bless the lives of others. I know it. It means so much to me and can to so many others. I love that I have come to know this, and I cherish it greatly. Well I love you and I will talk to you next week. I hope you have a great week! I love you all so much.

Love, Elder Paxman 

8 weeks to serve: We got a referral from a member!!!

Dear Mom,

I am doing pretty good this week. Father in Heaven definitely likes to put me to the test sometimes that is for sure. The motivation has returned, I guess being trunky is a real thing. 

We went and saw “Children of Eden” at RHS, have you seen it? I can’t remember. I actually have not seen the show, but I really enjoy one of the musical numbers in the show called "lost in the wilderness". I believe it is sung by Cain. I really like it.

Will you be calling/skyping/FaceTime for Mother’s day any idea? I actually have no idea what it will be like for the mother’s day thing... We still have to work all of that out. My guess is face time if we can do it. If not it will be skype, we will see. I will do the phone call the day before to set up everything. So don't worry about that. It will be weird because of the short amount of time between the Mother’s Day call till I will see you all again.

Do you still hear from any of your friends now that they are home from the mission?  I am not hearing from any of those hoodlums. They all have lives now, so I don't even really expect an email from any of them. I haven't been in contact with hardly any of my friends from before the mission. Which I don't blame them, I am sure they are super busy, plus it is hard to write when you are at home. Trust me.

How has the mission work been this past week? The mission work has been going pretty well. I will probably talk about that more at the end.

How long does your companion have left in the mission?  Are you still getting along and do you work well together? Elder Labrum still has a year on his mission. We get along alright yea. I feel we work pretty decent together. The lessons are a lot of me talking, he is really and I mean really quiet. There are lessons where he doesn't say a single word... I even stop and look at him and wait, but I can't wait for too long or the investigator gets uncomfortable. He talks in some, and not in others, so I think he is working on it.  It might be that he is not super comfortable with the language. I am trying to think of a way to help him grow as a missionary. 

How was our blitz of the other area of Frankfort?  Explain to me do you go there and stay overnight with the Elders or what? Is it part of your district?  It was really good, we did a lot and I mean a lot of service, which isn't what we were expecting, but it was really good anyway. Except the fact I got fried that wasn't cool... Oh well. Frankfort is striped right now, so both Spanish and English. We went down to help the Spanish work, although not much of it was done. That is okay though. It was still really good though. Yea so blitzing is where we go work with the Elders of that area to help strengthen it. Yes we stay with them in the apartment for the days we are there. This will be something we do more frequently, so it should be good. So pretty much we go down there and change companions and work in their area to help build the area. It usually only lasts over one night, but we did a long one with 2 nights so three days. That is pretty much it. So blitz both companionship's work in the same area, and exchanges you split up and work in the two different areas with a different companion. Does that make sense? It was not part of my district, I am kind of over the Spanish work in the area, but not really, I am a source of help for the Spanish elder there.

I told him that a new sister in our ward who just moved here from the Midwest got up and bore her testimony on Sunday and talked about how in their old ward you had to shoulder your way up to bear your testimony.  We have talked about this before, why outside of Utah the members really love to bear testimony and there is a constant flow,  but here sometimes there are not very many people who do.  I wondered what the difference is and what his thoughts on it were. Okay so as far as the testimony meetings go. I have put some thought into this. So many ask what is the difference between the saints in Utah and the saints in other places around the world? In my opinion… First, I think sometimes it is just dependent on the Ward/Branch. There are many other things too. So I will talk about a few of them. First off, Members of any ward or branch or unit of whatever size around the world, stop doing what I do all too often, and that is comparing yourself to others!!! So what if the guy next to you was a Bishop or Stake President once, it does not mean his testimony is more valuable than yours! Get that out of your head right now! You are a beloved son or daughter of the Great and Eternal Living God! You are special and unique to Him!! So quit thinking my testimony is of little worth, you never know the impact you may have on those around you. Second, you can only grow your testimony to a certain point without sharing it!! That is why we are COMMANDED to be "Every member a missionary!" If you do not share what you have, all you are doing is letting it rot in the corner. Testimonies grow in the act of sharing them! If you don't have one or it is weak, it does not matter, Heavenly Father and The Christ have both said, that the gospel will be preached by the weak. I am so weak, at times our faith falters, that is alright, but do NOT let it hold you back. Peter walked on water, and then doubted and sank, but after his faith faltered he got back up and tried again throughout the rest of his life! He denied the Lord 3 times, but he testified of his love for him three times as well. He then lived his life the best he could, I am certain with mistakes along the way, but he did not let his weakness hold him back. If he would have let his fear and doubt hold him down, there would have been no chief apostle, no rock, only the shadow and fading’s of a great man. So do not let your fear and doubts stop you from bearing the slight testimony you have. Every person has a testimony of something, so use it. Third, Many will say, when I feel inspired I will go up. Of course there are times and seasons for all things, but if you are not willing in the first place to bare your testimony, then why would he urge you to go against the very gift of free agency he gave you and bare a testimony. If you are not willing he will not make you! Today is the day of decision. So where do you want to be? We all dream of greatness whether that is in the courts above or the earth below, either of them do not come by sitting and waiting! Faith is a principle of action! Testimonies are so precious no matter the strength or size, they all have worth, and they are all written in the books of records in Heaven. My testimony has faltered at times in my life, as has everyone's I believe. Even Joseph Smith, we have three sections in the D&C of him asking God some very deep and saddening questions. We are all weak in one way or another. Ether 12:27 states it perfectly. 27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.  So do not let it stop you. Fight for what you want, because it is the only way you are going to get it! These apply to everyone including and maybe especially me. So those are some of my thoughts on that subject.

How are lessons going?  Teaching many people?  Things are going pretty good, we are really trying to still find more people to teach. So I hope and pray we may continue to find more. I have a few goals I wish to accomplish before I come home, that are very personal to me. I hope and pray that I may obtain them. We actually got a referral from a member!! It was awesome and I haven't gotten one of those in what seems like forever! It was for her soon to be mother in law, also we got invited to the wedding of her soon to be sister in-laws kind of thing... The sister of her soon to be husband. Anyway we went and at first it was a tad awkward, but after a few moments I relaxed and was able to talk to a lot of people. We have three appointments from it this coming week! So that was awesome! They are such a great family with a lot of potential! So we are hoping that they will have a desire to come to church, investigate and be baptized! Their names are Maria, Vicenta, Daniel, Guadalupe, Perla, and Aurelio. I hope it all goes well! So if you could add your prayers for them that would be amazing! So that was the big thing for the week! We have another wedding to go to this Friday which will be awesome!! So that should be great. It is of the member who gave us the referral! 

Anyway this has gotten long. I love you so much and hope that things go well for you this week. Remember those daily prayers both when you get up and go to bed! ;) hahaha. Oh so tiny spiritual thought. Do not put a restraint on God for there are none! Do not doubt His potential to lift you up, to guide you, and to bless you. He loves you and is in the details of your life! So don't put limitations on Him or on yourself, for you have that same seed of divine potential, I mean our spirits are the literal off-spring of God! So go out there and fight for what you want and believe. He will not fail thee nor forsake thee if your desires are righteous. Anyway I love you so much and hope you have a great week! I am also excited to talk with you on mother’s day!

Love, your son, Elder Paxman

9 Weeks to Serve: Singles Wards, Vultures and Tigers!

Dear Mom,

This last week though was a rough one for me mom that is for sure. Not as far as health goes, but motivation. I will get into that later, well and it wasn't that bad, just different than I am used to.

I told him that we had a serious hair crisis with some highlights for his sister. Hahaha, you women and coloring your hair. I am sure it did not look that bad. Plus if Bai were to just keep it natural it would look plenty cute I am sure.  I am sure it was a lovely mess of things; I can see it now... ooohhohooh freak mom, I am not looking forward to those antics and female drama again, and I am supposed to marry one of you weird creatures!! The excitement level for that just went down a few solid notches. ;-)

Your aunt told me that your Cousin Alex is very excited for his buddy to get home so you can hang out.  I am excited to hang with him when I get home.

Thoughts on taking less active cousins to the singles ward with you when you get home? Singles ward!! What makes you think I am going to that torturous place where happiness and souls go to perish? You know how outer darkness is never shown to man for very long, it is because it would be a singles ward, where you are the only single!! Which is what actually happens!!!! It is freaking insane!! You show up the first time and they give you this dinky flower/boutonniere  thingie;  that says one of two things. Either: "Here I am a nice hunk of fresh meat!!" (Now imagine a a deer shaking its butt at a hunter who intends to kill the thing with his bare hands) Freaky I know!!!! Or option number two, (Some voice calls from the background) “Did anybody ask for a reject!! Anyone! No well if you need to find him, look for the flower!" What is this Prom!!! Freak mom, I am not even home yet and you bring that terrible place up. I would give a full discourse on singles wards, but it would take too long. Okay so maybe that was a little exaggerated... It isn't all that bad, just a giant meat market with vultures and tigers. You want to scare someone away... Send them to the singles ward. After you get friends it is alright. Until then, freaking nightmare! Now like I said maybe exaggerated, but it won't be as bad if you are one of the people who actually has a girl to sit with. Then you aren't in the recall section. Which in the ward I went to was the middle. Anyway, enough about evil things. ;)   I think his description of singles wards is harsh… remember the only time he attended one he was home for medical from the mission and his heart wasn’t in it, and all of his friends were on missions.  The people in the ward were actually very nice to him.

There is going to be a pot luck type gathering in Indiana when we visit, would you be interested in attending this?  Many members from Elkhart and Indianapolis will be there plus other returned missionaries that are there to go the temple open house. That would be awesome!! Although are we invited? I do not want to crash someone else's party I would feel really bad. Although that would be awesome! Plus it would be great to see some of the old missionaries again. Although, I hope to see Elder Hjelm before then. He is busy I am sure, and might not be able to make it to my homecoming.

How has the work been this past week? We continue to pray for you and your investigators. Thank you for the prayers. As far as the work goes this week, nothing too crazy has come up. We are really trying to find, and to this point with no avail. So hopefully things will improve on that front. I would love to find, teach and baptize a family before the end of my mission. Margarita is doing alright; she is still in the same place as she was before. She is so close mom, I can feel it. I just do not know when it will happen for her. I hope and pray that I get to see that day while I am still out here.

We did teach an English class this weekend which went really well actually. So we are doing that every Saturday and are hoping that it will open plenty of doors. There is a fiancé of a member here that we are really trying to teach. He has a desire, it is small, I think he is scared and a little nervous, but he is a really good man. So we are really hoping and working with him. Also we did find 3 really cool guys last week. They are not super interested at this point, but they are willing to have us come back. So we are really working on establishing friendship with them. Yesterday we went and spent time with them, watched some of a good soccer game, and also just talked about their lives and just hung out. It was really nice. They have potential; it will just take some time.

Have you heard from the Diaz family lately?  Will you get to see them before you go home? We will see them when we go back in July? I have not heard from the D family, I need to give them a call sometime and see how things are going. Thank you for the reminder to give them a call. Yea when I go down for my last doc appointment here on the 17th I really hope to be able to see them one last time before I go home.

You mentioned doing yard work, was this service? Yea the yard work is just for service, it is not too bad and I don't mind it.

You said you are working on listing or where you make an index using a map and list all the Hispanic people on it.  Is this to help with tracting.  It will help those that follow you as well. Yea we hope it will really pay off for those whom will come after us, and that we can really have a good base to work from. This week we will be in Frankfort for about half of the week really trying to help that area grow. So I am really hoping that all that goes really well.

Do you like the Branch President in this area? I really like President Horton, he is a really nice guy and way down to earth. He also has a motorcycle. So that is awesome as well. He has been the Branch Pres for a good amount of time, I want to say a good 5 years or so, maybe less. He has a family our size. He has 2 sons and a daughter. They are a super nice family.

Did you know Natalia Coffin had gone to China to do some sort of Study abroad? I actually did know that. Elder Labrum served in White River not too long ago, and she left when he was there, or close too. So he mentioned it. That would be really a really cool experience, although I would like to go to somewhere in South America or Spain. I hope she is enjoying it.

So more onto the spiritual thought. I have been thinking a fair amount about desires. I will continue to do so, because I have just started at the end of this last week. Well I found some very interesting things. As I mentioned earlier, this last week was really hard for me to get motivated, I am not even entirely sure why. My desires to really teach were just not as strong as usual. Luckily I would just drag myself out anyway. So I realized something, and I knew it, because we had been taught this principle since we were little, but it had never come to me so strong. That is this; that God grants us according to our desires. When we truly have the desire, God gives us the ways and the means to accomplish the task or whatever it may be. Many times it is just by helping us to continue to have those great desires. The will of one person can change the course of the world, not to mention the lives of those around them. Now Agency will not be hindered in this of course. But our influence will spread far beyond what we know, as I have come to find out. Now with me being unmotivated, there were several things I did to try and help. One of which was to try my best to be happy and go out there and do it anyway. Sometimes we obtain a desire whilst in the middle of the journey. Another one is when your goal is in sight it is easier to obtain it. For example I suffer from what I call hiker's syndrome. As many people can testify once I get to my destination or some point along the trail and I see something better or another peak ahead, I immediately press on to go to that mountain. Now there will always be more mountains so usually someone has to stop me or something else dissuades me from the next adventure. Overall though if we pray to our  Heavenly Father to help us to have a righteous desire, whatever it may be, He will help us obtain it. To me this just shows the great love our Father in Heaven has for us. He loves us so completely that He is willing to answer our prayers and even give us small mercies. Heavenly Father in reality cares for each one of us, so deeply and tenderly He is willing to give us what we desire. Now if our desires are not pure, we are the workers of our own destruction. I was talking once with a companion about this and how he thought it would be at the last day. We discussed it for a while and we came to the conclusion that we will judge ourselves just as much as He will judge us. Now this isn't doctrine or anything just the thoughts of some young men when they are bored. Heavenly Father will never force us to do anything. So if we like to drink, and have "fun" that is what we will receive. As Alma said Wickedness never was Happiness. I have learned that Sin is never happiness, but as many people know it sure can be fun. That is what makes things so tempting, if sinning sucked than nobody would ever even have the temptation to do wrong things. Fun is momentary and not all the time bad, Happiness and joy last forever if we let them. They are those memories we can look back on with joy and peace, and yes sometimes this does include fun, but I think you get my point. Some of my greatest memories are with Dad; we have had so many great times together. Like the time we tried to go Dove hunting on our pretty much last weekend together. The trip went anything but as planned, but we made the best of it, and I doubt dad or I will forget that trip for many years to come. I guess all in all, God will grant us what we desire, those who desire riches work for them till the point they obtain them. Therefore in a roundabout way, God grants them what they desire, no this isn't like a genie wish or anything. Desire means you are willing to work for it, I believe that is the difference between desire and want. Desire like faith is a concept of action, wanting like belief often times requires very little effort, and a thing of the mind. Now I am not the greatest with words so if I explain something wrong I am sorry, I hope this helps someone though. Desires are great if they are based on those things that matter most, and are of "good report". They can also be hindering if they are after something that brings about bad consequences. In my experience this week though I learned that we can always obtain those good desires, sometimes they take work in and of themselves, but they will come if we are willing to work. Dad used to say stuff like All things come to a man that works. Of course I phrased it differently, but overall to have righteous desires is the start to living a happy and righteous life. Now we must use those desires to fuel our lives and help us be better.

Well my thoughts were probably all over the place, but that has been my thoughts over the last week or so, along with a ton of others of course. Well I love you mom and you and the fam and many others are in my prayers often. I am excited to talk with you in about 2 weeks!! It is crazy that the time has gone by so fast! Then after that, I will only have around 50 days till you see me in person 8/ not sure how good that sounds. Well I love you and I hope to hear from you next week!

Love, Elder Paxman

10 Weeks to serve: "Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee."

Dear Mom,

I am doing pretty good mom. Although you won't want to hear this, I am tempted to keep my SD card till I come home, to make it more of a surprise hahahaha.

How are you and your new companion settling in? We are settling in pretty good. We are different, but we get along well. I am interested to see if I will finish my mission with him and here in this area. We will see I guess.

If your companion is from West Jordan, did he attend West Jordan High school or Copper Hills? He went to West Jordan for a little bit, and then went to Itineras or something like that

How is your health?  Did you get over your cold? I am feeling pretty good. I have mostly gotten over the nasty cold, only thing left is the cough and it is good except at night. My belly has been doing alright. The drink was working really well, so I wanted to see if I could go without the antibiotics. I have been really tired lately, but I think it is just from the lack of sleep from the cough.

With transfers are you still a District Leader and if so were there any changes to your district besides you getting a new companion? I am still DL and we got a new sister. Her name is Sis. Bulman she is from Iowa. The sisters are really nice, other than that, the district is still the same. The number hasn't changed there are 3 companionship's including ours.

We are trying to plan our trip to Indiana for July.  How many days do you think you need in Indiana and which areas do you want to visit? As far as how many days visiting, as many as we can get! hahaha I would like at least 2 Sundays.  Mainly so I could go to some of the Sacrament meetings. We would have to hit two or three in one day. So it would be a little hard. Maybe do like Logansport and Lafayette Sacraments on the same day, and Indy and Columbus on another. I am not sure. I would like to take you to all of the areas, if I could. Although I am not sure how much time we will have. Elkhart only needs maybe one day. Logansport and Lafayette maybe 2 or 3. Indy maybe 2 or 3 and Columbus probably 2. So maybe like 10 days total in the mission area, just in case you want to see anything else. Also so I can take you by as many people as possible. It would help to plan if I could get in contact with people better. That will have to wait till I get home though. Also I will need to check with church times and everything. We can definitely talk more about it on Mother’s day. Also that way I know how many days the family wants and can spend and stuff like that. That way I can plan a little better on how to do things. So maybe like 18 days total trip. (He is delusional… 18 days. Ha ha :-D ) Also the thought came to me just barely if we only want to spend like 8 days in the mission that is okay. I can come back on the bike with dad or something again. Or me solo. Whatever works.

Mom.. That isn't good that Brooklyn has been really sick! Take her to the doctor! Goodness it reminds me of the time I broke my wrist nice and well, and it took you and dad like freaking 2 weeks to take me to the doctor. That is not exaggerating either! Okay so maybe it was like one week, but still, freak! hahaha.

That is good you did some yard work. I have been doing the same hahaha. Service of course.

You mentioned that you had a lesson with Franklin, isn’t he one of the people that was baptized a few weeks ago.  Do you keep teaching them after Baptism? We do keep teaching them, and they become a LARC after that. We usually keep an extra record with us for about 1 year. We teach them less, but still try to teach them when we can.

How is the teaching of Margarita going?  How has the work been this week?  Have you taught many lessons? Keep praying for Margarita mom. She is so close, so so so close. I can feel it.  She is coming to church every week pretty much, she knows it’s true.  I really hope I get to see her be baptized either before I leave this area, or before I leave the mission. You know whichever happens first. We teach an alright amount of lessons. We are really really working on trying to find more people to teach. Especially the elect. I kind of set a passive goal for me to find teach and baptize a family by the end of my mission. I really hope I can accomplish that goal. I will try my best. If not, that is okay as well. But I think it would be an awesome way to finish it out. Also baptizing anyone else I can find haha. If not though, at least make the difference in someone's life, even if it is just my own. (Which has already happened a lot!).

How was your Sunday?  Did you have a dinner appointment? We usually eat with President Horton and his family after church.

What are you plans for P-day?  Anything fun? Also as far as today, we did laundry, lounged and just the normal stuff. Tonight we will play b-ball with some members and that should be really fun.  We also have an FHE with some other members so that will be really nice.

Any unusual adventures this week?  As far as anything unusual I gave a golden statue of an angel to Margarita. It was in our apartment, and when I saw it the only thing that came to my mind was... "Has anyone heard of the story of Moses with the snakes? Anyone! Goodness freaking Idols in my apartment freak! I was going to junk it, well probably throw it in a river, (more fun), but she wanted it. So I thought that would be better than chucking it in a river.  Hispanics are super superstitious, I knew that before, but she did not want us throwing out that angel.  We are working on listing, which is where we get a street index and write down all of the Hispanics we can find on the streets so we can go knock on those doors later. So finding will be the big push here soon. I think I might have already told this story, but if so that is fine. So the Rodriguez family a while back with Elder Trapp and I, we were getting super duper close. So now I feel really close to that family. Well we are teaching Sis. Rodriguez and Jocy some English at times. Well this is some background. Other than the 2 kids that are with them here in the states they have two other daughters. One of which is dece. (Pronounced dees). Ask Bai or one of my friends what it means if you can't figure it out. So anyway she talks about them a lot. So Elder Trapp and I are leaving, and as we are walking down the hall to leave the apartment building she calls down the hall. "Goodbye son in laws!!" Of course Elder Trapp and I try not to lose it so she doesn't feel bad. We say bye mom, and get to the car. We laughed for a good 30 min. It was hilarious! So we told her and she laughed about it after. So it was really funny. I really love that family mom, they are amazing. Jocy reminds me a ton of Brooklyn it is crazy! Anyway so that was a funny story of the week. We had a few others, but I feel as though you would have to be there for them to be really funny. Also I play the hand slapping game with them; I think we call it bloody knuckles. They are either very slow or I am like freaking lightning!! hahahaha I wail on them, especially Jocy, she thinks I am magic or something. So that always makes for funny stories. Okay maybe one more. We were with the Rodriguez family and as we were talking Sis. Rodriguez stops and is like, you sound like a little kid Elder Paxman. She thought my voice sounded like a child. I was a little offended it reminded me of all the times people would mistake me for you or my sisters over the phone. So we laughed about that, and then she looks at Elder Labrum and says, although he looks like a giant baby... I couldn't help it I started dying hahahahaha mainly because people used to tell me I had a baby face all the time. It was really funny because he didn't understand what she was saying either!!! I got a kick out of that. Another awesome part about that is then the next like 5 lessons and meals with members they all said he looks like a giant 12 year old. I got a good bunch of laughs out of that one. I have felt his pain many a time.

How about the weather?  No chasing tornados..:) The weather has been warm, sometimes borderline hot. Some days have been rainier and cold though. Like today and yesterday have been pretty rainy and cold. hahahah I knew dad would agree with me about chasing a tornado, I mean come on, if you are going to have to go through one, might as well get pictures while it is still coming.

What do you think about me adding a countdown to the title of your blog?  I was thinking weeks. You can do a countdown if you like. Although days might be easier. Seeing as I only have like 68 or 69, something like that.

Okay so now onto more the spiritual. Again, as my mission comes to an end I think a lot about the blessing of being able to return. I expressed it to Pres. in an email once about I was curious what some of the reasons I was able to come back were. He has mentioned a few. This was from the response I got to that letter this week. There are probably a myriad of reasons you returned, but most important has been your example and influence on your companions and the members. You are also growing spiritually and establishing the church in each area you have served. You have an opportunity to help Elder Labrum become a confident and more effective missionary. Helping him realize his potential through your example of faith and diligence. That was really touching to me. It made an impact on my mind and heart. Also he said in an Interview once, that one of the things I needed to learn from coming back on the mission was Confidence. So I have thought a lot about that lately. I think Confidence comes from many things, but to me it is more directly related to the attributes of Faith and humility. Although I want to know what all of your thoughts are. What is confidence? How can it be built? Why is it important?  I have never seen myself as an example of anything to really anyone. I am but a young man trying to do my best. I do hope that I have impacted others for the better though. My second mission as far as I call it, has done many a thing for me in my life. It has been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. That is for sure. I really hope I can be worthy of all the faith and love people place in me. I hope to touch the lives of people when I return home as well. I love you so much. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that He indeed suffered for all mankind. His love for us is so amazingly unknown. I hope to prove myself worthy at the last day, so that I may obtain the blessings of an eternal family.  I know and have felt that this life is indeed a time to prepare to meet God. We will all meet Him again someday, and I look forward to it. I am so far from perfect or even tolerable, but I am trying to be better every day. “The man who travels the journey of a great distance risking nothing and has no troubles learns very little. But the man who makes another Journey, with the intent to learn, grow, and try to do things no one else has ever done before, they are those who learn a great many things, and help others learn along the path.” They are those heroes we think of. We all have our own heroes. And we all have our Champion, even the Savior Jesus Christ. I hope to be the man he needs me to be, so that I may not only be on the best path, but help others on theirs as well. I think often of Peter, who denied his Lord three times and whom later would have a personal appearance of the Lord. I wonder what happened in that moment. I am sure many tears of joy and sorrow were shed. Let us try to live our lives so when we come to meet The Savior of the World and Our Father of the Heavenly Courts, that we may be as Peter and say "Lord, Thou knowest that I love thee". So we may be worthy of all the blessings we deserve and wish to obtain. Well have a great week and I hope to hear from you again here soon!!

Love, Elder Paxman

P.S.  HR just told me he is getting married!!!  On the 27th of June!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!  I will just miss it by 3 days dangit!!!

The Lord invites us to change.

Dear Mom,

It does seem like a busy summer indeed! I am not looking forward to it as much as you are though... I am sad to see my mission coming to a close.

Did you know about the tornado warning they were having in your area last week? No and mom you just need to calm down, if a tornado hits here in Indy somewhere I will get video and then hide ;) bwahahahaha!! I think it would be so cool to see a tornado! Although not so much if it destroys things.

Brooklyn made MDT. She was so excited and we were so relieved. That is awesome that she made it! She will love it! So now the Paxman legacy will continue. I just had a freaky thought of Mr. Eaton thinking it would be cool to have us three in a musical number together... hahahaha no... That would not be cool, I would look like an idiot compared to those two on the stage.

Who is your new companion? Tell me about him. My new companion is Elder Labrum, he is from West Jordan, Utah. I knew of him before we were put together, but I did not know much. I think it will be a good companionship, he is very quiet and he has a good heart and I really like him. So we will see how the following weeks pan out.

How is the work? The work is going good and we have found a few new people to teach, but they are all in the beginning stages so we will see how they pan out. So we are going to keep finding as always and really work on helping people progress.  The baptisms last week went really well. We are teaching Franklin again this week so that should be good. Other than that, we are still teaching a few less active sisters, we are continuing to work with them and trying to keep the work moving forward.  We are still doing some service, we have a few things planned, but as of right now nothing too spectacular. As far as the teaching goes in general it is going really well. We are really working with Margarita Burton, she is a part member family that I have mentioned before. She is like a grandma to us. She is probably only in her 50's though. She knows the gospel is true she just has to make that jump. She is so close; I really hope to see her enter the waters of baptism before I leave my mission. So include her in your prayers. She is so close I can feel it.

Did you have flooding with the rain you have been having?  I read on the internet that there were some flood warnings in your area, because of the river.  We have not had any flooding that I know of, and we have had some rain, I wouldn't say a ton.

How are you settling into the branch?  Making good friendships and building trust with the members? I think I am making good friendships with many of the people in the branch. In fact we are going to go play some ball with some members tonight, which I am excited for.

Are the Branch President and his wife both Hispanic?  If so where are they from?  No they are both white. They are very nice people I really enjoy them, they are very nice.

You said you are getting fed dinners quite often, are you eating mostly Hispanic food or is there some American food as well? We are eating a lot of Hispanic food, but also American food. It is neither one way too heavy or the other. As far as the teaching goes in general it is going really well. Do you get together with the other missionaries from your district/zone for P-day?  Do you do fun activities? We do get together on P-day although lately we have not been going because we have been so busy doing other things. We will probably start getting together with them more often.

Do you have a washer and dryer in your apartment? We do not have a washer and dryer in the apartment itself. It is in the building, but we still have to pay for it. Which sucks!

How is your health? Are you still exercising? Only 11 weeks left to sexy. Ha ha. My health is hanging in there. Yesterday I was very sick, it stunk. I threw up and was in really bad pain all day... I really felt bad for Elder Labrum, he has been with me for less than a week and already has to deal with me being sick. So that really stunk. I feel a little bit better today, not full speed, but better and out working. I am still working out although I have also been trying to get over a really bad cold and cough which I have had for I swear two weeks now. That makes working out hard. But I am still trying, I am also trying to eat a little healthier to help with that. So now it is more like 11 weeks to not so ugly... Oh well...

The Lord does communicate with us in many different ways, sometimes we just have to be willing to listen. That is okay we drop the ball sometimes and that is okay as long as we try and improve more for the next time. Now for more of the spiritual thought. This week has been a good week; my mind has been put to thought on a topic I have thought about a lot at different times throughout my "second mission". One of the big thoughts I have been having is "why was I permitted to come back out and continue to serve...?" This question has been on my mind a lot lately. Yesterday with me being sick and all it was in the fore-front of my mind. I had a stark and very clear thought, I would say an impression. Well of course there are many reasons I feel that I was able to come back, but the one I felt so strongly about yesterday was this. I was permitted to come back, for me... The reason I was able to come back a second time was not because I didn't do a good job the first time, or because I had to come home to meet someone important, (although that could still yet to be foretold). I got the very strong impression that it was for me personally. I kept thinking well why. Several thoughts flowed into my mind. One was this, would we really be called to serve a mission for 2 years so that when the calendar hit 24 months we could just pick up where we left off. That is not only false, but a lie of the adversary, we young men and young women serve a mission to FOREVER CHANGE OUR LIVES!! And if your mission isn't doing that, or did not do that, then it is no one's fault, but your own. So the Lord invites us to change. Even missionaries I have seen come out on a mission and hate it for their time here has had their lives changed while here. So whether you serve for 5 months or 30 months the outcome is the same, lives are changed and the first is your own. Another thought that comes from that, there are still more things that I must learn while out here in the field. I have already learned so much, but it seems every day I learn more. Again, for me to remember that the mission is not just for two years, it is for life! Yes it is true the tag comes off after 24 or 18 or however many months, but the things we learn are meant to stick with us to and through the eternities! Many lives that a missionary will touch are found after the mission is done. I have struggled with the thought that my mission is coming to an end, and it is. I cannot change that no matter how hard I try, it must end. But the person whom I have become must get on and off the plane with me! If we leave what we have learned in the mission field; all the lives we have touched and all the things we have done, may be in vain, because we did not learn maybe one of the greatest lessons. The mission changes lives, and especially our own! Yes we go back and things change, and we change as well, but we must never forget whom we have become through those two years of sacrifice or however much time we serve for. The tag will go in a box and the memories will fade, but the person we become, must never be forgotten, in Elder Holland's words: "One missionary that goes less active is too many!!!..." Every member is a missionary, so every member that goes less active is too many! They are our brothers and sisters, the very sons and daughters of God! That is what we believe and teach isn't it?! So why at times do we judge those poor souls whom have left the church as being of less worth than those who sit next to us during sacrament meeting!? This should not be so. As I said last week, every soul is precious to God, and should at least have a piece of that worth to us! I learned that my second mission is supposed to have a profound impact on me. I may be the most important convert on my mission. I don't know, I just felt that this second time around is supposed to especially mean something to my own soul. Which, I felt it has had an impact and is continuing to do so every day. Now I and many others are so far from perfect, and that is okay, we are not meant to be perfect. But to try is worth more than we can imagine. I hope my mission can impact many lives, but if one person is to be impacted it better be my own soul. I am really sad to see these days go by. I am sad to see my mission ending. Although when it does, I hope to move on to the next phase of life, with a hope and dream of the future. Faith is in the future. If we don't fight today, than tomorrow we have already lost, in a way anyway. Every day is precious, everyday has a chance to change lives, and every day will count in the end. I hope we can use our days to the fullest and if we don't well that's okay, we try harder the next day, and keep going forward on the journey of life. Well I love you and I hope that this week goes well for you all back home!! :) I am excited to hear of the adventures of the next week. As I am excited to live some of my own. Well I hope you have a great week and I hope to hear from you soon!

Love, Elder Paxman

and Juan [:{D