Training

This week went well. Tuesday was sad. It was really hard to say goodbye to Elder Camba. He is the type that didn't want to talk about it. Even when we said goodbye we didn't prolong it. I felt really bad for him. He wasn't excited to go. I hope I don't bother Elder Burgess too much when I mention him.

Elder Burgess is my new companion. He is not from Utah. Or America. He is from Samoa. It's so cool. You wouldn't think that Samoa would be too different but there are a lot of things that I've had to explain to him ha ha. He is 23 years old. He already has a degree from Wellington University in New Zealand. It's a degree in internation relations, media, and human sciences. He also managed a gym/bar before his mission. He's already an adult ha ha. I asked him why he waited to serve a mission and he said he just wasn't ready until now. He plans on going back to college (or university as he calls it) to get his masters when he gets home.
So he was born in New Zealand, raised in Samoa, he did a foreign exchange program in Japan for awhile, and He went to school in Wellington, New Zealand for three years. He has visited the states before but has never lived here. Until now.

The differences in culture are funny. For him and myself. We went to Subway today. There are no Subways in Samoa but there are in New Zealand. He says his favorite sub from subway is the lamb sandwich. That's his favorite kind of meat for anything, lamb.

Another thing is that he hasn't ever been to a Walmart and he was a new missionary so he had no clue what to buy on the first day here. So I shopped for him ha ha. He didn't know what to do.

Also, He swears periodically ha ha. I wasn't sure if I misheard him the first time he dropped the H word because he speaks with a Samoan accent but I heard him correctly ha ha. I asked him about it and they just aren't swear words in Samoa. He accidentally said the A word at dinner the other night ha ha. He said "ya I think it's pretty bad a** that Elder Paxman was born in Israel" ha ha ha. I don't think the members heard, and if they did they just ignored it. So that's when I asked him about it and I let him know what were swear words in the US. He felt bad. And I don't think he'll swear anymore. At least not on purpose.

I've been making a list of words or phrases he says that are different than the way we speak ha ha. It's fun. He is a big big movie buff. He loves movies and music and TV and anything pop culture. He doesn't talk very much around other missionaries. He talks a lot with me and a lot more in lessons. It's hard for me to get a word in in lessons... So we're working on that ha ha. He knows a lot but I'm trying to teach him that we don't need to tell people everything we know about a subject. We just need to stay focused on our lesson plan. It takes a lot of patience on my part. And I don't want to make him feel bad when I criticize his teaching. But if I don't say anything he wont learn... A lot of things will come with time and repetition. He already has a very good basis of gospel knowledge, so he's doing better than I was when I was new.

We get along well. And we're getting a lot of work done. He is amazed by how many Mexicans live in Pasco ha ha ha. I love it. He's got some weird quirks that come along with being a little bit older, but nothing too weird. He's just particular about lights being on and blinds being open and fans being on ha ha ha. I just let him do his thing. It's fun to be around a new missionary. I just hope I can be a good companion for him.

No more time! Sorry family. I will update you more on the work next week. Elder Burgess and I are still keeping it up.

Love,
Elder Paxman

p.s. I love you tons and tons Kristen Woodbury.