Herrmiston

The best part of any week is to read Mason's emails. I also loved looking at all the pictures. Grandma is right, it's fun to see what actually happens at the MTC. And it's nostalgic to me haha.

I got 19 emails this week... I'm so popular. It took me 56 minutes to get through all of those... Soo. I will definitely be going over time today. But this will probably also be short. Or not. We'll see

line up: Kentucky Hillbilly, Teonna's baptism, Joe Kindle, Mike Munoz

We did a lot of work in Heppner this week. Heppner is a tiny town just a little bigger than Cathlamet. It's part of our area so we drive down there once a week and do work. We stopped by Floyd White's home. He is a member and we were told to stop by his place. When he answered the door he introduced himself as a "genuine Kentucky Hillbilly". And I believe it. I asked him what the requirements were to be a Kentucky Hillbilly. He said you need to wear Overalls, Have a rocking chair on the porch, talk with a country drawl, and own a hound dog. He meets all the qualifications. We talked on his porch for a while. He needs to come back to church. But it was fun to talk with him nonetheless. It made me think of a friend from school. Stetson Earl. I went to the U with him. He's from Ohio, but he was a big fan of the University of Kentucky haha. Good ol' Stetson.

I got to baptize someone this week. That was kinda unexpected. We've been teaching Jeremy Raymond in the YSA for awhile now. Jeremy showed up for church one day and wanted to start coming. He had never been before but something told him to give it a shot (the spirit!). We've been teaching him ever since. He lives outside of our ward boundaries but we cover the YSA so we teach him. His sister is 16 and wanted to be taught too so we sent the missionaries who cover her ward over there too. So for the past 2 months there have been two sets of missionaries coming over to teach Jeremy and Teonna. usually we see them once a week and the other elder see them once a week. So we pretty much both taught both of them but officially Elder Hutchens and are Jeremy's missionaries and Elder Camba and Knight are Teonna's. Teonna progressed much quicker than Jeremy and got baptized this weekend in Butte ward and asked that I perform the ordinance with Elder Knight doing the confirmation. It was kinda surprising since I wasn't even her teaching missionary but I was honored and it was a great experience. Normally someone from the ward would do it but she only knows Young Women and their leaders, not any priesthood holder except for the missionaries. That was good. Hopefully Jeremy follows her example.

Also in our time in Heppner we talked to Joe Kindle again. Joe was the first door I knocked on in Heppner. And he let us right in. We taught him a little of the restoration and left. Two weeks later we came back and taught a little more and he told us about how he talked to his friend Charice Lemmon who lives in the area and is a member. She taught him about the Word of Wisdom (which he wasn't even close to living) and he decided to give it a try. So for those whole two weeks that we didn't see him he stopped all drinking and drugs and everything (except for chewing tobacco, he couldn't kick that one). After that we couldn't get a hold of him for a few months. He texted us about 2 weeks ago and said he was going through a rough time because he had changed his lifestyle and he was losing all of his friends. We took that as good news because his friends are all drunks and druggies and they lived with him so it was making it really hard for him. He told us that he would get a hold of us when things calmed down. And he actually did! That never happens... He texted us on Thursday and asked if we were in town. We told him we were and we met up. He is a completely different person already. We set a baptismal date of May 18th. He wanted to get baptized before I got transferred so we set it for that day. And we went through all the requirements and preparations. It was a little bit more of a commitment then he first imagined but was still willing to try. He was up in Hermiston the next day so we met at the stake center and we had another lesson. He is on probation... Felony charges for possession of a firearm. He had a machine gun for some stupid reason and got caught with it. So he was on probation for two years and wont be off until August. So, we are doing everything we can to get him integrated into the branch now so that he will be ready for baptism in August. I went down to church in Heppner this week with our Branch Mission Leader and Elder Hutchens stayed in Hermiston. Joe didn't show up... But we went over afterwards and talked. It was a good meeting and he got to meet some of the branch members, Brother Chick (BML) and Brother Petzoldt, who is a recent convert. It was a huge miracle to run into Joe and to have him be so ready to change. We hope we can keep that fire alive. So cool :).

We taught Mike Munoz last night. It was about 8:00 and we didn't have any appointments so we decided to stop by this family that we tracted into a few weeks ago. Normally 8:00 is late to stop by but it's getting lighter at night! Which I love. It makes missionary work easier. They let us in. Camille Munoz is a Less-active member and Mike is her husband. They have a 3 year old named Gracie. Mike is kinda lazy and told us if it was up to him he wouldn't have anything to do with church but his wife has a desire to go back. We were there for about 15 minutes and taught a quick lesson. Sister Munoz definitely felt the spirit and we told her and her husband that as missionaries we had the opportunity of carrying that spirit with us and that's why it felt different with us in their home. Camille started crying and Mike had a change in his countenance. By the end of the lesson Mike asked what he needed to wear when he came to church. There was a big difference in a short amount of time. It was very cool to see.

Deanna Badgely is doing well. She wont be baptized on May 11th but she has met the Relief Society President and we are having a church tour with her today. It's very good. We're excited for her.

love love

Elder Paxman


P.S. Sorry I didn't send this until Tuesday. The computer freaked out on me yesterday and locked me out of gmail.

Updates from Hermiston

Alright. Here's the lineup this week. Ray Warnstadt, songs about Israel, Chuck, Stake Conference, lunch with the Greers, and maybe some other stuff.

But first, I love reading mason's emails. Isn't it like the best part of your week? Wow. It only took Mason 3 weeks to become a zone leader. It took me like 14 months. He's the best.

We were on exchanges with the AP's this week and Elder Manning called AP Draeger from Yakima. He had a question for him and I happened to be in the car so I got to talk to him! He had some good news. There is a man in Yakima 6th ward that has been actively attending all three hours of church for years now. His wife is a member and his daughter got baptized when she was about 14 even though grandma was vehemently opposed to it. Ray Warnstadt is his name. Ray has been holding off from being baptized because his mother is so opposed to the church and he didn't want to disappoint her. But Elder Manning informed me that he walked up to the WML there and said "I want to be baptized". Yes! It was bound to happen some day. You can only deny the Spirit for so long when you're doing everything to invite it into your life. The Elders Quorum lesson was on priesthood and how you can bless your family with it. It finally got to him and he realized that he need not wait around any longer. He wanted those blessings for his family. That was a cool story to hear over the phone.

NEXT. I might have told you this before but when Israel Mendoza was baptized we thought it would be just great to sing hymns 6 and 7 during the service. Redeemer of Israel and Israel, Israel God is Calling. We thought it was funny. And Israel doesn't really get it because the church is still new to him haha. I'm pretty sure he didn't even know why it says Israel. But the next day at his confirmation hymn number 6 was on the schedule haha. Then the next week we sang number 7 and number 259, Hope of Israel. hahahaha. So it was getting ridiculous. And he came to another meeting where we sang Redeemer of Israel. Then he didn't come for a few weeks and we didn't sing any Israel songs. Then yesterday at stake conference Israel wasn't showing up but he came in about an hour late. Just in time for the special musical number. President Snell stood up and announced that the special musical number would be sung by all the priesthood holders in the congregation and we all stood up and sang hymn number 319 "Ye Elders of Israel" hahaha. He has to think we're insane. Maybe that's why he's stopped coming to church consistently haha we just keep singing about him! Oh man.

We had interviews this week with president and sister Greer. Elder Hutchens asked weeks ago if we could go out to lunch with them afterwards. They said yes! So we got to go out with them to lunch. That was tons of fun.

The next day was stake conference as I said. Sister Pearson (aunt lillie's niece) came up to us and said she was engaged (which we knew) and that her fiance wanted to be baptized (which we did not know)! So that was good news. His name is Chuck. Sister Pearson lives with Aunt Lillie. 96 year old who got baptized. Remember her? Yeah. And she has been taking Chuck with her to church recently so we've got to know him but didn't know he was so interested. He went up to President Greer after stake conference and said "I'm getting baptized" hahaha. I talked to president about it afterward and he said "how long has he been investigating" I said "We haven't even taught him yet" hahaha. President was surprised and basically rebuked us for not teaching him sooner. Not really. But you know. He doesn't even have to say anything. hahaha.

Well that's everything right? Imma send this now. I have no more time left.

Love,
Elder Paxman

I'm Still Here

Well. I'm still here. Ever since we were given the option to email friends I have spent a lot more time doing that and my large email has suffered greatly. So I apologize. But you'll probably just have to deal with it until President Greer authorizes us more time to email.

 

Mason's emails are the best. Greatest part of my week. Hands down. I love hearing from him. Because it's exactly what I did in the MTC! How cool is that? Man. I hope my emails are half as good as his. I need to work on that.

 

Well. Four months left. Everyone seems to keep reminding me of that haha. I guess that's just what happens. I'll probably get it for the next four months.

 

Ummm. I have a mission great grandson. Elder Burgess (my son) trained and his trainee is training. So I'm a great grandfather! Splendid.

 

We still only have one person on date. We're working on that... Troy and Jeremy and Mary came to church this week. Mary is our duplex neighbor. We share a wall with her. She only complains sometimes about the noise... Jeremy and Troy are in the YSA. They're doing alright... Not too much progression. Jeremy's 16 year old sister is getting baptized on the 27th but he's moving a little slower because he's 23 and likes to party. Sounds like the life.

 

The zone is focusing on something a lot different than we ever have before. We're focusing on working with the members and contacting referrals. That has always been a focus but never this big. It's a different way to do it for sure. It's something that needed to happen though in preparation for all the missionaries that are coming. We need work to do! We have work to do... But we also need it. So we're working a lot with our ward mission leaders and all members of the ward. And we're tracking daily our contacted referrals as a zone.

 

We're trying to keep the focus on New investigators too but we're broadening our focus. Hopefully it will be successful. This was Elder Hutchens' idea so if it fails then all the blame goes on him! But if it succeeds then all the credit goes to me. Because I'm the best. None of that is true. I'm backing Elder Hutchens up. It's a good idea. We're sticking with it. I promise. Believe me!

 

Elder Camba is living with me again. It's so good to hear about all the people in Pasco that are still active. Kinda a bummer to hear about the ones who are inactive. I looked over it and it looks like about half of the people I taught and baptized have stayed active thus far. It doesn't take long to find out how committed you are... The ones in pasco are doing great though. It sounds like all of the people in pasco 2nd ward have stayed active whereas a lot in 4th ward stopped coming. Roni Gardner. The Scott family. Zack and Olivia Milton. Baby Ann Jorimle. And many others. They're all doing great :) It's good to have Elder Camba back.

 

Well. No more time to chat. Write mason stuff. He needs it more than me.

 

Elder Paxman

Hermiston

Transfer calls came and went and I'm staying here with Elder Hutchens! Wonderful.

Also, more importantly, General Conference was stupendous. I loved all the talks on missionary work. Of course... It has led Elder Hutchens and I to redouble our efforts to work with members. Especially our Ward Mission Leaders. Great stuff. We got to see Stake President Snell in between sessions yesterday and Bishop Reynolds after the afternoon session. Very good meetings. It's great to get on the same page as them and we are going to use a lot of the advice they gave us.

It was so wonderful to read Mason's email. He sounds so overwhelmed! The MTC is the best!! Lucky guy. He's doing so good, I'm very proud of him. that was such a good email. I hope they're all that great. I deareldered him. He will be alright I'm sure. He's such a good kid.

Well. I ran out of time 26 minutes ago... I ran out of time before I even started. Soo. This is short.

Oh well. I'm happy. What else do you care about?

Love,
Elder Paxman

Summary of the Week

Well. This week was a good week. Let me try to sumarize:

As a mission we had a goal of getting 55 baptism in March. 50 in April. and 64 in May. We have been setting monthly goals instead of yearly goals recently in anticipation of all the missionaries coming into our mission.We are unable to predict what is going to happen with all the missionaries and mission splits and so on. So we set monthly goals now. Three months at a time. It is referred to as a "Rolling Three". We have a mission Rolling Three, Zone Rolling Threes and Companionship Rolling Threes. As a mission it was 55-50-64. And we were getting really close to not hitting our March goal. We needed 20 baptisms this weekend as a mission. And we did it exactly! Elder Hutchens and I were the last Zone to send in numbers and when Elder King answered the phone he said "you better have two names for me" meaning two people who got baptized. And we did! The sisters baptized two siblings this Saturday so we hit our goal of 55! It was very exciting to be a part of that. Now we have to hit 50 in april! Which will be hard because we really only have 2 weekends in which we can baptize. We have general conference this weekend and stake conference on the third weekend... So we're working with that. We will set our June goal this Thursday at Zone Leader Council.

That was fun.

New investigators this week took a drop for Hermiston Zone... Only 14. That sucked. Which means we will have to find 36 as a Zone next week to make up for it! We set a goal for 150 on the transfer. We have to get it!

I am very excited about General Conference! It's the best. We love watching it. It like the best and stuff.

Easter was good. We had a very very good ham dinner at the relief society president's home. She's a good cook. We also got in to a bunch of homes yesterday. Everybody was home! Imagine that. So we taught a lot of quick lessons yesterday.

We also got to go over to Brother Puzey's again. He's so smart... He always has a ton of good insight.

What else happened this week... Let me check my planner...

Oh yeah. Our baptism this week didn't happen... Kinley's mom called up on friday afternoon and let us know that it wasn't going to happen that day. I asked why and she had no response. So we're not going back there until they contact us... Two cancellations the day of and the day before the baptism are good enough for me not to go back. I thought they were more solid than that. I feel bad for Kinley. She has to suffer because her parents wont get on board. Too bad.

Natalie called us. She is still super iffy about getting baptized. Probably not going to happen soon. She wont even meet with us... She's being dumb.

Jeremy has also hit a road block. He feels out of place at church and has told us that he is done trying out the church thing... He will still meet with us but doesn't want to give up his Sundays. Lame.

Elder Hutchens are trying to take this time to start fresh. We are dropping a lot of investigators. We went over it last night after the week was over and we are pretty much going from 30 investigators to about 12. So we're starting fresh which I love. It means we get to find new people! Exciting times.

The most progressing investigators that we have now are Robbie and Michael Storagee. Single mom and her youngest son. They are pretty cool. I'm super excited for them. I'll let you know what happens!

That's all. I gotta go. I'm out of time!

Love,

Elder Paxman