Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Hello

Chris's email this week is very short. He is always very
busy on his p-day. Yesterday my parents (Grandpa
and Grandma DeMond) got to see Chris and said he
is doing well. He is very happy to have his bike, but
now his companions need to get bikes so they can
all ride. He told my parents that his companions have
been offered bikes to borrow, so they may be riding
soon. A little exercise will do them good!

Still waiting for pictures, hopefully he will send some
soon. He has to send us his new camera so that we
can get it replaced, so I am hoping the memory
card will come with it too.

Here is what he wrote this week:

Hey mom how are you guys doing....????
Well my companions and I are doing really good
and just last week after coming from an okay week
with spring break this last week was a little a
better one...

On Friday the 26th we had a baptism and her name
is Alexis Platt and she is just a little angel....I mean
before we even met she has been going to church by
herself and she is only 9 years-old. It's just amazing
how the Lord works his miracles. It was really cool the
other night we taught a Hispanic guy and we were
reading in the book of Moroni 7, it kind of focuses
on how we are able to gain faith in our Savior Jesucristo.
I really love how things really flow after we do our part
and try to do the best that we can he has got our
back and especially when we are doing his work.

Sorry this letter is really short but we are very busy today
and we need to get going.

Love,
Elder Paxton


Tuesday, March 23, 2010

I have some bad news...

I hope you got insurance on my new camera because
Elder Pauni cracked the screen and I can't see anything
on it. (that is the bad news)

Nicole I sent you a letter today to home.
I don't know you address up there.

Anyways, life is going pretty well here, we are trying
to keep busy. This last week was spring break for
everyone so there was no one home all week.
We did meet this really nice Mexican guy, but he
told us that he won't go to church because he is poor
and everyone there is rich(which is not true in the branch).
Also there are A LOT of in actives and they don't always
do good things, as we all know, and that has effected
many peoples view of the church.

So I am really looking forward to riding, also I am looking
forward to putting my bike back together, that should
be fun times. The other day we had dinner with a guy
who got hit on his bike about 6 months ago, but I got to
talk bike with him. He told me that I have to do the Spud
man it is a tri comp that goes right through my current area.
The only hard part would be the running, it is an Olympic
sized one so I think it is a 10k run but that would be really
fun I think.

So that is pretty much everything that is going on in my
life here. This week I am really looking forward to
interviews with President Yardley it really is such a
great opportunity to be able to speak with him one on one.

Okay I love you all bye bye
Elder Paxton

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

I need my bike!

I already told dad but I need my bike sent to me ASAP!!!
We are planning on saving miles on our car and we are
feeling fat so we want to be more active. The sooner I can
get my bike the better.

This week has gone by quick. I am really enjoying Oakley.
I am planning on getting Dad some Oakley sunglasses,
not the brand just sunglasses from Oakley.

We are really trying to teach a lot of people but since
it is spring break no one is around. We are trying to focus
on the Spanish work here since there is a good amount
of potential and right now there is next to nothing going.
Hopefully that will work out for us.

Some more sad news, I have lost the memory card
from my old camera so those pictures are probably
not going to be sent home seeing as I don't know
where they are. I have been taking a lot more with
my new and improved one.

One of my favorite things about here are all the
opportunities for service. We could probably help
someone everyday here if we wanted. Yesterday we
picked up around 1 or 2 hundred dead birds. We seem
to pick up a lot of dead animals, cows, pigs, rabbits you
name it we have probably picked it up. We really love
doing service. We also met some potential Hispanic
investigators through service. We helped move some
minks (living). It is mating season so they need to be
moved around a lot, that was fun. They also like to bite,
and are hard to catch when one gets loose. They aren't
very fast but are pretty slippery.

We are always looking for more ways to serve people
and have seen some fruits of our labors.

Well we have an appointment to go to now and we still
need to get ready.

Love Elder Paxton

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Answers...

My email this week was full of a bunch of questions, so
Chris answered some of them. His email may seem
a little odd, but I think you can figure out the
questions by reading the answers.


Answers,
I'm not sure what happened to the bus driver and
I don't know who got cited. I think one of the bus
drivers was cited. One kid had to get two stitches
from an accident that happened before he got on
the bus, he fell and hit his head on a curb. So far
we haven't walked into town but we are planning
on doing it again. President just called and made
sure we were all okay, he didn't have much to
say. The three of us will be together for the
whole transfer. No one really knows why we
got put in a three some. Elder Pauni has been
in three threesomes his whole mission, maybe
he is a trouble maker and needs two to watch
him haha.
Elder Riquelme is from Chile and his family
lives in Santiago, but they are all fine. He hasn't
been able to call because the phones are dead.
They were very well prepared as well as the
missionaries because of the mission president
told everyone to prepare for an earthquake.
That is another example that the lord watches
over his servants.
Elder Pauni is originally from Tonga, and has
lived in Samoa and Hawaii and Texas and
Utah. He has 8 brothers and sisters. He is
really funny and is the veteran of the area.
He has been here for a day and a half longer
than me. So it is kind of the legally blind leading
the clinically blind. We are starting to get to
know the area and have a couple of people that
we regularly teach. One is 9 and has a baptismal
date for Mar 20. She has been going to primary
for years and we have taught her three times
now. We also have another person that is
getting very close to being baptized.
Our area covers just south of Burley and goes
down to a small town in Utah, Grouse Creek.
We are planning on going down there sometime
soon.
Also we woke up today with a blanket of snow,
and it is still snowing a little bit. Everything is
white and fun. We should be going and playing
in it soon haha.
Well all is well here in Idaho and I haven't
been hit by another bus which is nice. We
need to go and do some shopping so bye bye.
Love
Elder Paxton

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

I ALMOST DIED!!!!

No, an email titled like this is not what a missionary mom
wants to see! As you will read below, our missionary had
a close call this week in his new area and all I can say is
thank goodness Heavenly Father protects his missionaries!


Yes the rumors are true, I almost died this past Thursday.
We were walking, the walk of faith, south on highway 27
just outside of Burley. A very nice hispano se llama
Luis picked us up just south of the road 500 S. He
was very nice and just wanted to help us out so we all piled
into his Silverado, only has 3 seats in the cab. Elder Pauni
is a big Tongan and there was Elder Riquelme, me and Luis,
the driver. It was very tight, but it probably saved us.

So we were driving, thank goodness his truck wasn't a stick
or that would have been interesting. He tells us that
he is going to drop us off at this house, because he had to
go to work. He turns on his left turn signal, slows down,
and a school bus goes flying by us (unlawfully), going around
70 mph. All 3 of us missionaries chuckle because it is not very
often that you get passed by a bus. So the bus goes by, Luis
starts to turn and all three of us turn and look back to see
a second bus coming straight at us. The bus hit our driver
rear quarter panel, also going around 70 mph, filled with
50 kids. Throwing everything out of the back, including
his tool box that was full of tools, it took 4 guys to put it
back into the truck. We did a 360 and ended up in the
field just off of the road. Luis got a bump on his head
and went to the hospital just to be safe, Elder Riquelme
got a scratch on his thumb and Elder Pauni's coat tore,
besides that nothing happened to us. The bed of the
truck was completely smashed and twisted and there
were potatoes all over the road.

So that is how we have started off our transfer, we are
always laughing about it. We have had a whole lot of fun
so far trying to find people that were being taught. So far
we all get along very well together and are always laughing
about something.

We did have a baptism on Saturday of a man named
Roberto Tigre (really its Robert Tiger, he is English speaking).
It was really great, one of our investigators went and
really enjoyed it. Also the next day, Sunday school was
on baptism which she found interesting. We all think that
she is very ready for baptism and we are going to commit
her this Wednesday.

Our apartment is pretty good. It was a garage that
they turned into a place for the missionaries,
but it has everything that we could need including
a lazy boy and another couch.

The only bad part about the accident, for you,
good for me, is my camera is now broken. I have
taken it appart and havent been able to tell what
is wrong with it. There is no visible damage that
I can see, inside our out, it just doesn't turn on.
So I need a new camera. Riquelme's camera is a
Sony so I have been able to use my memory
card in his, but it is a pain and I need a new one.

That is pretty much how everything has gone here
and all looks like it will be good, just as long as
another bus doesn't hit us. I am really looking
forward to getting to know the area better and
I am excited to serve here.

I am not sure what my address is so if you want
to send me mail send it to the office
(1111 s cole rd, boise id 83709) and they will
forward it to me.

Love,
Elder Paxton