The Work

Hey there,
The work this week wasn't as good as I expected. But, if my expectations aren't high then we wont get anywhere. We had a district meeting yesterday where we went over the importance of being bold with our baptismal invitations, we need to constantly be repenting, and we need to drop investigators/less actives if they are not progressing.

The reason why I am out here is to baptize people. that is the doctrine of Christ. So this week I plan on being more bold and introducing baptism with more importance and more directness. We need to start putting some people on date! Elder Boswell and I have some investigators that we could drop and we need to make more of an effort to get our investigators to progress if it is possible for them to do so. so pretty much we are going to be cutting the "dead weight" so to speak. We didn't get any investigators to church this week so that was depressing, but next week is General Conference of course so we will try really hard to get investigators to listen to what the prophet has to say.

We are having a lil get together at a members home with all the missionaries on Saturday for conference. A barbecue and General Conference watching party. Maybe we can get people there!

We never got to see Kimberly this week. She got caught up in the fair that is going on. The central Washington state fair is happening in Yakima right now and there was a parade on Saturday. Kimberly canceled on us on Saturday because she was at the parade and then she skipped out on church because she was too tired from the day before. We will try and meet up with her on Thursday. we have an appointment and we are going to baptize her! soon... she just needs to work out the W.O.W.  stuff... her daughter wants to be baptized though... 8 years old, julia, watches tangled every day. cute kid.

Joe is going no where. he needs to come to church

we met with Marcus and he rescheduled on us. he could be a really good find though.  we meet with him tonight.

Denim is M.I.A. we have not been able to contact him.

Steven and Bryar. I think we need to get more serious with them and tell them why we are here. TO BAPTIZE THEM! but seriously...

So, I got bit by a dog. and I got a Gatorade bottle thrown at me. pretty funny stuff hahaha.

Yesterday we ran into this girl who called us over and asked us what the difference was between a mormon and a christian. we told her that we are christian and we love Jesus. She proceeded to give us her address, phone number, name, she was pregnant and she told us she was having the baby in a couple weeks. she was very open with us, but she was nice. we are seeing her tonight after basketball... it could be fun. her name is Nichole and she is kinda on her own I believe. Her baby daddy isn't a great guy. I'll learn more tonight.

We met with this guy named Eddie on Saturday. He is in his 60's and he lives at an apartment downtown that is a rehab apartment. He is kinda in charge of making sure everyone stays off drugs and booze. He was a really nice guy and we taught him a first lesson. We invited him to read and pray and invited him to church. We should have asked him if he wanted to be baptized but we didn't. we had a member with us. Brother Delaney. and when we were describing the Holy Ghost to him we asked Brother Delaney to bear his testimony on the Book of Mormon. Brother Delaney is a real soft spoken person but he is way funny when he does talk. But he bore a really great testimony. In essence he said, "the feeling you get when you read the Book of Mormon is an overwhelming feeling of joy. You can be addicted to a lot of things like food or cigarettes (eddie smokes) but those only bring temporary joy. The Holy Ghost brings a lasting joy that you feel throughout your whole body and it just makes you happy." It was a great testimony and Eddie ate it up. He really appreciated what we had to say and I really appreciated what Brother Delaney had to say. It was an awesome visit. I hope we can see him again soon. He didn't come to church but I feel like he is progressing well.

Those were some of the experiences of the week... I cant think of any other ones.

The weather is getting colder. Everyone in Yakima has a dog. A lot of people smoke and its really hard to get them to stop. People in Yakima use sprinklers at all hours of the day, it makes no sense. The streets are really narrow here. the population of Yakima is about 120,000. I was surprised to hear it was that many. Its basically the size of St. George. A lot of people here still love the Seattle Super Sonics even though they don't exist anymore. Everyone is a seahawks fan and a mariners fan even though they both suck really bad. People cant pronounce my last name. Boswell can but he chooses not to. He calls me Pac-man, Paxamillion, Paxmaaaan, Paxton.

I hear Elder Boswell's mom is going to st george in november?

I love you all!
Love,
Elder Paxman

I'm Getting Old

Elder Boswell tells me daily that he is getting old. He turns four on Sunday. We are still so new to the work and we are kinda learning as we go because of our lack of experience but time moves fast and Boswell is getting old apparently. I look at elders who have been out a year and longer and they seem so old. I have no doubt that I can be where they are. It just seems like it will take forever until Ive been out a year. But then at the same time if you blink then its been a week and you didn't even see it go by.

So I tweaked my ankle last week right after I was done emailing. I was playing basketball... oops. But I walked ten miles the very next day and its all good. It still hurts a little but I am going to play basketball again today and try not to step on anyone's foot. Ill be fine. My feet hurt at the end of every day from walking so much. I usually fall asleep around 10 even though I am allowed to stay up until 1030. It is hard to wake up in the mornings and it seems like I'm always tired.

As far as the work goes it all looks very promising. Right now we are in the stage of preparing. We could be very busy in the near future with a lot of really good investigators, so right now we are just trying to get it all going. The investigators that are progressing for us are Kimberly and Julia, Joe, Steven and Bryar, and Denim. They are well on their way to make the changes in their lives that are necessary for baptism. Kimberly is Julia's mom and she dropped the missionaries a few weeks ago after being on date for baptism and quitting smoking for almost two weeks. She dropped the missionaries because she started smoking again and it just didn't feel right to her. We contacted her again on Wednesday and Elder Boswell was bouncing off the walls with joy because we got her back and she wanted to see us again. We have been meeting with her since then and she came to church on Sunday. All we need to help her with is her smoking and coffee issues. Its hard to know how to do that, but we will try and guide her. Julia, her daughter, loves us and she wants to be baptized and apart of the church.

Joe is a 60 year old man who loves his car, motorcycle, family, and cigarettes. He has been baptized in the roman catholic church and the stone church and now he is kinda just living his life and praying for guidance. Last time we met with him I was pretty straight up with him and I told him that the Elders coming to his home was the guidance that he was praying for. He was convinced that god wasn't answering that prayer, but I was there to tell him that God had answered him. He just didn't recognize it. I think he took it well. We invited him to church and prayed all week that he would come, but he didn't show up.

Even though Joe didn't show up we had a great day for less-active members and investigators showing up to church. Carey Neil showed up to church. I didn't realize it was such a big deal, but she apparently hasn't been to church for almost a year and she came two weeks into my mission. It was great to see her there but Elder Boswell was way excited. Which of course made me more excited. Also, Davit Knott came to church too. He has come two weeks in a row and it seems like he is getting back into the habit of coming to church. I know he likes coming, he just comes for sacrament and then leaves before we can talk to him.

Denim Meere is a new investigator and I am way excited to start teaching him. He is a referral from another companionship. His father in law was recently baptized and he is going to come with us to teach Denim. I have met Denim once and he is a way nice guy. We had an appointment with him yesterday but he forgot about some other commitments that he had made so we rescheduled. I'm super excited to get in with him and talk.

One other thing that happened this week is that we contacted a guy named Marcus Hartley. Elder Boswell found this guy in the area book and he and Elder Petersen knocked his door probably 20 times with no answer. He was on date to be baptized about a year ago but he was told he needed to wait a year before he could be baptized. Well its been a year and we are trying to find him. So i had knocked his door probably 4 times with no answer but one night he actually answered the door. and we were so surprised that the first thing Elder Boswell could think of to say was "are you Marcus Hartley?" he said yes and we made a return appointment ha ha. we meet with him on Friday. It could be a really good meeting. I'm excited to see him again.

Yakima is the best area to be born in. The crazy stories come daily. We walk down into the hood and talk to the crazy people and plan on meeting them again and you just hear some crazy stuff. Yesterday we were yelled at because we aren't taking care of the children enough ha ha.

I have still only knocked one door on my mission. we don't knock doors... We just walk. a lot.

I love you family!!! I sent personal emails to mom, dad, ciera, and mason.... Ill send some more. but that is all I will put in this email. I will try and write you all back. All the time I have to email is at night and I am usually pooped so I write a little bit. Talk to Betty. Then go to bed early. Its hard work. I love it so much.

Love you all, I hope I answered some questions and didn't leave anything out...

Love,
Elder Paxman

First E-mail From the Field

Hey all. So much to say and so little time

P-day is Tuesday first of all. You know that now. I got here last tuesday and stayed the night with the AP's in their apartment. There were about 20 of us in one 3 bedroom apartment. I got a bed though, lucky me. On Tuesday we basically went through orientation took pictures and ate food. There was a lot of information thrown at us and it was hard to process it all in the short time we had and I am still learning a ton. I don't think I will ever know it all. I'll always be learning the technical stuff of being a missionary.

I was told that I was going to the Selah Zone which is pretty much just Yakima. I hear Yakima and I think farm country. But its not, its a town, no farm land in my area. And mom, you told me you could handle it and to tell you everything, so let me tell you about Yakima :). I get here and Elder Boswell, my dad (trainer) tells me that it is the best place to be born as a missionary. He is correct I love it here in Yakima. The people are awesome and the members are helpful. The downtown area is pretty rough. "the hole" as we call it, is the hood of Yakima and it gets pretty rough. We just try not to walk around too late at night and if we are close to home then it is perfectly fine. Well, at least its safe enough. Yakima is known for its crime, violence on cherry street, car theft, and other things. A lot of the people we teach are white trash or hispanics and they are trying to get out of the hood. I love it so much.

The other day we were down on 2nd street which is the middle of the hood and we finished an appointment with Alvina Arora, as we were walking away we OYM'ed (Open your mouth - contacting) this young african american male. We gave him a card and complimented his outfit and as we were parting he said "Im on the prowl for some heroine shhhhh" then he walked away hahahaha. It was pretty hilarious. Things like that happen every day here. It makes missionary work much more fun.

Yakima is a walking area. walking/biking. But we walk. a lot. usually about 10 miles a day. The reason we walk in stead of bike is first because I dont have a bike yet. But also, because its easier to OYM people when you're on your feet rather than on a bike. Boswell and his dad, Elder Petersen, set the standart for OYM'ing. One week they got 140 OYM's which is insane. The standard of excellence set by the mission president is 84 and they destroyed that. So we are trying to keep that up even though school has started and people aren't on the streets as much.

Don't worry about my safety. Yakima is kinda rough, but I dont feel unsafe at all. I feel more safe then ever with the lord at my side. And really, its not as bad as a lot of people make it sound. We dont have very many investigators right now. Thats why we are doing so much contacting and finding. But the investigators we do have, Rebecca, Joe, Steven and Bryar, and others, are all on the verge of really wanting to change. Yakima isn't a great area if you want to baptize a ton as an english missionary, but there is definitely the opportunity for some hard work. Our OYM numbers show how hard we are working, and that will manifest itself into some more lessons taught and new investigators. Im excited for the work to keep moving forward.

Elder Boswell loves basketball, as Mom found out. He is 6'3" and a red head. Ryan will love that I'm sure. He is a real hard worker and a great dad. He has only been out 12 weeks so he is almost as green as me and he knows how I feel in a lot of situations. He is great at giving positive feedback and I always have to ask him for some criticism because he doesnt want to be mean. He is way nice and we have a lot in common. I am still learning a lot of things but I'm glad to have Elder Boswell to facilitate a lot of that learning.

read proverbs 26:11. Just for a laugh

Sunday was stake conference and I got to hear Jeffery R Holland speak again! it is amazing. he is following me. He said we need to stand in holy places and he gave three places that we should make holy and can use as sanctuaries. Home, church houses, and the temple. Good talk. Not as good as in the MTC, but still great to hear from the apostles.

We are staying with a member. I didnt know that that happened very often. Elder Boswell and I live with sister Betty Williams. She is about 55 years old and she is awesome. Her and Boswell get along real well. I'm out of time. I can tell you more about Betty next week or in some letters

Letter From Chase

I am going to the Selah Zone.  Yakima 3rd ward.  Elder Boswell is going to be my trainer.  All I know about him is that he has only been out 12 weeks.  That means that he just finished being trained and now he's a trainer.  I assume that's because he's an amazing missionary.  I will meet him tomorrow.

We just went through orientation at the President's home.  It was way nice.  Beauitful home.  We had such a nice lunch and dinner too.  President and Sister Greer are way nice and they're going to take care of all of us here.  I had an interview with the President, we ate, they gave me my area and trainers name.  And the AP's talk to us. 

Also, we went out and taught an actual appointment.  I taught with Elder Bowen and we went to a young family who had just been baptized about 2 months ago.  So we went and retaught the first lesson, the restoration.  I was nervous going into the lesson, but I know what I'm teaching so it gets easier.

When I was told where I'm serving I got so pumped.  I'm way excited to get tehre tomorrow and start the work with Elder Boswell.  I had the thought that he's only been out 12 weeks so he's not going to know anything and it's going to be hard.  But I'm not worried.  I trust President Greer, and the Lord. 

P-days are on Tuesday which is today.  So from now on that's when I'll be e-mailing and writing.  I thought P-day for all missions was Monday but apparently not.  Tuesday is the day.

I am safe.  Tell everyone that I love them.  By the way, Kennewick is a desert.  Not very pretty at all.  The mission is divided East and West.  West side is green.  East side is desert.  Selah is directly in the middle and to the north.  It should be green.  But not as much as Vancouver.

Elder Paxman

Safe Arrival

Leaving the MTC

So. Coolest thing that happened this week was Elder Holland coming on Tuesday for the devotional. I took three pages of notes and tucked them in my journal. It was the best. I have been to conference before and seen the apostles talk in person, but with Jeffrey R Holland talking to the missionaries it seems so much more personal.

He started by talking about God's love for us all. He is grateful for us and stuff like that. Eventually he got way passionate about us. He said "You dont have the right!' he kept saying that. You dont have the right to taint the good image of the missionaries. he said "Its almost painful how perfect people think you are". and he was almost yelling at the stand. Telling us that we didnt have the right to be anything less than perfect in the members/investigators eyes and we shouldnt do anything stupid to change that.

He opened it up for questions too, which reminded me of Grandma C and her letter she sent me. grandma, send me more letters like that. It was awesome to read about Elder Oaks and the questions that he answered. Elder Holland answered about 6 questions after going about 20 minutes over his time and then he departed. It was really really awesome.

I leave tomorrow. After spending three weeks in here its hard to believe its over. It went so fast. Like I told mom in one of my letters, the days move like weeks and the weeks move like days. Creative, huh? I'll be packing today, I hope I'm under the weight limit for my bags and that they dont get lost on the flight. Although I'm not terribly worried. I will be able to call for 15 minutes tomorrow at the SLC airport and I have everyones number so be by your phones around 10:30.

Today is p-day obviously, but we didnt get to go to the temple. It's closed for labor day. So we went twice while I was at the MTC. I loved going, the Provo Temple is really cool.

So, no more MTC basketball. we had gym time every day and I either played basketball, volleyball, or bocci. Is that how you spell it?? Bacheeee. botchee. we played bocci. That is a fun game. Elders wouldn't get too competitive in basketball. it was relatively tame. There are rules that you cant touch the net, backboard, or rim ever, and only half court basketball can be played.

We sang come thou fount as a district on sunday in sacrament meeting. the departing district from the zone always sings a musical number the sunday before they leave. it was awesome to sing. I had to sing the harmony most of the song, but luckily my companion is a music master. He is way good at singing and swimming. Any other sport he kinda sucks at. Oh well, I love him anyway.

Off to bigger and better things hopefully. what I've learned from the MTC is that missionary work is impossible without the Holy Ghost. I am slowly developing a better relationship with the spirit so that I can be in tune with the investigators needs and show them what God is trying to tell them.