In the Hospital
Still in the Hospital.
A cake i made yesturday for a converts birthday! Two Story Cake!
Finished Cake
A slice of my homemade Choclate cake, we vannilla frosting, with crushed up oreos n the middle!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
April 21, 2010
In the HospitalStill in the Hospital.A cake i made yesturday for a converts birthday! Two Story Cake!Finished CakeA slice of my homemade Choclate cake, we vannilla frosting, with crushed up oreos n the middle!
April 21, 2010
hey everyone,
From what i understand I think Pres. Cox called and told everyone I was in the hospital. Hopefully he made sure to not make it sound bad, because it realy was not that big of a deal. Well lets see last Wednesday I was in the church, and my stomache started hurting. After about an hour I was curled up in a ball on the floor, in some of the worst pain I have ever felt. I called Hna Cox (The Presidents Wife) And she called the Doctor of the mission who is in Monteray, Mx. Well He called me I explained to him the pain, and he said it could be my appendix or a Kidney stone, so he had me drink a Liter of Water and then call him back in an hour. Well the reason I was in the church was to do an interview, so I went in the room with the guy to do the interview. Well he told me he was realy excited to be baptised, but the day before someone talked to him and realy scared him, and although he knew that the church was true, he just felt realy scared. Well I just testified (And cryied a bit) I cant remeber exactly what i said, but he looked up, and told me thank you, and asked for the white overall to be baptised! It was realy a cool experience. Well during the hour, the pain continued, but it moved alot lower, about to my waist line. The doctor called back and said he was sure it was a kidney stone, and that i needed to take some pain medicine, rest, and drink lots and lots of water. Well everything went normal after that, Except for ALOT of pain. Well we had 5 baptisms on Friday, a realy awesome family. Well Saturday night I started throwing up,and Sunday I could not even walk, so they had me get on a bus and go to the hosptial. Well the hospitals definatly are not the same here, but it was still pretty good. They did alot of tests, and blood tests, and kept me there over night. Well they decided that i was ok to leave, and yesturday morning i passed another Stone, and i am felling TONS better! So all that was just a fun experience, i hope i never have ever again!
Well tonight we have 6 baptisms. One lady we have been working on getting married for along time, and then another family that was comeing to church along time ago, but never were baptised and called us and told us they would like to be! So that will be good, but other than that, next week are changes so we will see if i get changed or not, sounds like everyone is doing great!
I love you all, and will talk to you next week!
Elder Adam Paul
April 12, 2010
Hello Everyone,
Well this was another good week. I think I was in my own area probably 1/4 of the week. But, it has been well worth it, I was able to take part in ALOT of baptismal services, it was realy cool! So how is everything doing there at home? How was the fair? Emily has a boy friend, some leavitt kid? Is it vances brother? How is Eric doing? Did Dallas and Jaycie come down for the fair?
Well this week we have alot of work, and things planned, lots and lots, starting today, we are going to go over to the church, clean the baptimal font, and also the HUGE filling and Emptying tanks. We opened them up the other day, and they each have like two inches of crud, so we are going to climb down there and clean them up. And, a member in our ward told us that if we would do this this week, he will take us next monday morning to see some ancient pyramids that are here in my area, so i should have some pretty cool picuters next week!
Hey Dad, that is way cool that you are all going to be running a marathon.
Well other than that I dont have much new. I love you all, and hope you all have a great week,
Elder Paul
April 6, 2010
Good Day all,
Well another week down. Starting out I have a scripture that I realy liked, I realy felt a power when I read it. So if you have it turn to Doctrine and Covenants 19:15-24:
"Therefore I command you to repent-repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore-how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.
"For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
"But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
"Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit-and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink-
"Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.
"Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit.
"And I command you that you preach naught but repentance, and show not these things unto the world until it is wisdom in me.
"For they cannot bear meat now, but milk they must receive; wherefore, they must not know these things, lest they perish.
"Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.
"I am Jesus Christ; I came by the will of the Father, and I do His will."
I realy like it, especially just passing Easter. I am finaly starting to understand how grand the atonment realy is. How great the suffering of Jesus Christ realy is. We had a conference today, and our president talked to us. He talked about the suffering he passed through in the Garden of Gethsemani. Not only for our sins, but as we have learned, and learned in conference, for every feeling doubt, pain, and disair we have or will ever face. It made me remeber when Elder Bednar told us that he does not understand how, but that Christ saw, each and every one of us, each one of our faces. After that the suffering continued to go through, being spit upon, whipped, and caring his own cruz until he could not carry it any longer, and another had to help cary it to the hill were he was then brutaly crucified. But one thing that I realy liked that our president told us today, was that no man ever took his life. Christ if it was his will could have liven forever, but giving up his will to the will of the father, Christ gave his life for us. Then after so much torment, he did not go to rest, but as we know he worked in the Spirit World, until the third day was resurected, breaking the chains of death. It just has been amazing to me to see the difference when we realy realize what it is, and how great it is what Christ did for us. I finaly am starting to understand, in order to have success in this life we realy do need to say not my will but thine be done!
So that was kinda my cool experience of the day. Just all kinda hit me. Well the week went realy well. The sun is definatly out to stay, and I look realy funny with my missionary tan. But, lets see, well we worked realy hard, and accomplished a goal as a mission. We set the goal to bring 500 investagators to church in the mission. Well, me and my companion took that to heart. We searched the city and ranches for people who wanted to see conference either Saturday or Sunday. Well at the end of Sunday conference my companion and I were able to have 21 investagators in the church, and in the mission we had 503. Im realy excited, because most the investagators left with a realy testimony in prophets and apostles.
Well now for yesterday and why I didn't write. Well we are doing a month of sacrifice, so we decided that yesterday we would sacrifice preperation day, and write home at night. Well we all worked together as a zone yesterday, breaking up in districts. Well in my district, i led it and we knocked two hours in every area, ending at aoubt 9 oclock last night, not giving us time to write last night. But, it was amazing the blessings we recieved for sacrificeing, so yesterday in my district, we have 4 companionships and 3 areas. We ending up having 115 lessons and 116 new investigators between the four companionships yesterday alone! For those that dont know, that is Amazing, something i never would have dreamed possible. So ya we were amazed and Pres talked to me and couldnt believe it. And today passing with people we have in our area 50 new investigators in just our area. just amazing how the lord blesses us when we say Let your will be done!
Other than that , I can not beleive how much the girls ALL OF THEM have grown. Wow Zoee and Zaylee are like young laddies now, and emily and Heidi, wow look way older! cant believe the baby sisters are growing up! Well I love you all, and take care everyone, and thank you very much for the pictures!
Elder Paul
March 29, 2010
A power pole in front of our house, someone hit it, and they just decided to leave it! I thought it is a little miracle from god it is still standing!
The Miracle power pole again!
The big ax man Elder Paul. That was a lot of work, but alot of fun! (Paul bunion i think they call him!)
My horse with no name. I'm trying to get pres to let us ride these around town!
I cut my companions hair. It kinda reminded me of Grandad, so thought you'd like it!March 29, 2010
Hey everyone,
Well I am way warn out, it was a realy big week. Well we ended up a little short of our goal of 80 lessons last week only teaching 68, so we are going to try to teach all them this time, so we are going to cut p day short today and go and get a head start! Also we had 4 baptisms this week. They were realy cool. I think I told you about the four brothers we baptised about 2 months ago. Well their mom dad and grandparents finaly accepted, along with there little brother who is 14. So that was realy cool. I have also been keeping realy busy doing baptismal interviews again this week. They are great, i think i have already sayed this, but i love doing interviews, getting to know so many different people, and just being able to testify. They are great. They zone is doing pretty good, we just have one companionship who do not like to work AT ALL. but they should have gotten a call from pres today, so hopefully that will all change.
Lets see other then that, well we had 29 people to take to church, we set up divisions, and three different cars to go get everyone. Well we were waiting sunday morning and only one of the members showed up to help us go get people. So we only ended up being able to bring 9 people to church on Sunday. It is definatly hard not to get upset with the member that said they would help but then didnt, but i guess it just is going to help me learn to forgive! But hopefully next week for General conference we will fill up the church. Did you guys know they let us watch conference in inglish? And this is my last general conference in my mission! Crazy.
Well so this last week my companion and I decided that we were going to do a week of service. I know we are here to serve, but sometimes we focus so much on finding people to teach we forget. So everyday walking we just kept our eyes open. Well some things we have done, are help push LOTs of cars, I have changed the oil in a van. Checked transmission fluid. Fixed a blown tire, fixed a broken door handle on a ford explorer. I fixed a big screen tv, a stereo, and some speakers. We have cleaned a yard, taken out trash and cleaned prches, and one of the big ones, was we went and helped a guy cut down trees! That was actually a cool story, you see we were asking for a ride across town, he told us to hop in. on the ride he told us he had to go to his house to cut down all the trees around. We offered to help and went over. Well we got there to his house and all he had was one ax. Well since my comp could barly pick up the ax, and the other guy got tired realy qick i ended up cutting almost the whole time! But it was way fun. Since it was out on a ranch all the little kids came out to watch the big white guy. They also all laughed becasue they could bairly pick up the huge trunks with they two of them, but i would bring them myself, carrying them above my head, with two little kids hanging on each end. All though i ended up with my hands covered in blisters, it was a ton of fun, a ton of work, and a great family we are teaching now, but wow i have never been as tired and sore as i was that next day. i think the only thing more tireding than hell week, is cutting down trees for 5 hours. But in total we got about 20 trees cut down!!
Well I am going to try to send some pictures, But i love you all,
Elder Paul
March 22, 2010
Hey Everyone,
Well another week is done. I know i say this every time but I realy cant believe how fast each week flies by! Well this week was realy busy yet again. But, it was crazy it feels like i was never in my own area. We had to do alot of divisions this week, so I could get all the interviews done in the zone. It was alot of work, and alot of traveling, but interviews realy are my favorite part. I love being able to talk to people, find out what part of the message touched their heart, and then just testify!
Lets see, me and my companion only taught about 48 lessons this week, so we were a little down from some of our past weeks, but we are going to work realy hard to get them back up, and we want to teach 80 in one week! So hopefully this will be that week.
Lets see, as a district we have the goal of 8 baptisms every companionship in April, and me and my companion have the goal of 15. So please keep us in your prayers.
These last few weeks we have realy been trying to help out a couple. They have 5 kids and are not married. They have about 5 weeks assisting the church, but we just have had alot of problems getting all the papers we need to get them married. Well with some funding of "Angels" We were able to send the husband to another state to get his papers, and he should be back today, and they will be married, and baptised tomorrow. They are realy excited, and so are we!
Well I think that is about all that I can think of this week, but i love you all
Elder Paul
March 15, 2010
Hey everyone,
Well this week was changes. They put me back up as a leader, and my comp stayed with me. But about everyone else in my district was changed. We are still trying to work very hard. But, I am feeling way sick today, so i am going to cut this short, but all is well, and I love you all!
Elder paul
March 8, 2010
Hey everyone,
Well this week was realy slow, It was pretty much just a normal week. We did not have anything too big happen, but like every day in the mission we had alot of miracles happen! So first before anything else, I need Mom and Dad to put some names in the temple for me. There names are Armando, and Marisol. They are recenct converts, and the devil is hitting them hard. I had her call me up crying from some of the problems they are facing, but she is strong in the church, i just know they could use the prayers!
So i used most the time sending pictures, but i will make sure my letter is much larger next week! I
love you all
Elder paul
March 8, 2010
The spiciest Tacos I have ever seen or eaten in my life! The red stuff is just salsa! The taco is underneath!
Cleaning our baptismal font, because It looked like animals used to live in it! (Took us about 3 hours)
The Power lines are like this here! Ya not really to code!
We bought an acid to help us clean the font. Like my outfit?
Our beautifuly clean font! Sparkling and CLEAN!
So we got a ride from a Truck driver out to a ranch that is like 2 hours away from the city (Still in our area!)
Me asking for a ride, And the truck driver was a member!
This is the ranch Abasolo. It is beautiful, and we found the man who wanted to be baptised too! He is in one of the baptism pictures!March 8, 2010
Here are some picuters of some of this last months baptisms. I know I didn't send All of them, but this is all i could fit on this email! Hope you like them!
Elder Paul
March 1, 2010
Hey everyone,
So it has been a realy productive week, we have been working realy hard. Well We did not get time to focus as much on finding new investagators this week, so we only had 7 in the church on Sunday, but we had 12 confirmations! Well so this week we realy just focused on baptisms. We had 5 days in a row with baptisms, so as you can imagine we had alot of work and planning to do! My camera still is not working, but I have alot of pics from my buddy, so i will try and send those! But ya we had 19 baptisms in the ward this week. One of my good friends, and the other missionary in the ward is Elder Delagado. He is from Texas, and we have been working realy hard this morning. Well president called us up this morning to tell us that we both are the Companionships of the Month, we are the District of the month, and we are the zone of the month. It is definatly not about winning any of those that pushes us, but it was kinda cool to get a call up and find that out.
Well we ended up finishing with only 14 baptisms for the month of Febuary, one short of our goal, so for March we had the goal of 20 baptisms, but we changed it to 21 to make up for the one person who missed their chance in Febuary. So pray hard for us, and we will work hard.
Other than that everything seems about the same, just lots of work, and lots of sun. I feel like im getting realy tan, you will have to tell me if you think so. Hey you never told me, did they ever end up building a new church were the old one burned down? That is weird thinking that THere may be a different one there.
Well that honestly is about all i can think of this week, we are going to try and beat our own record of 63 lessons in a week, and teach 70 this week, as well as we have 11 baptisms planned for this week.
I love you all so much, and thanks for all the support,
Elder Paul
February 22, 2010
Hey everyone how is it going? Well I am pretty pooped! It has been another big week. We baptised 5 this week. Although we are still a bit away from our baptism goal of 15 for the month, we can still do it. We also reached our other goals. We taught 63 lessons this week to investagators, in one day teaching 21 lessons and finding 26 news, and yesterday we were able to have 15 inv. in the church! So that was a realy cool experience, and i want to see if we can maybe hit 70 lessons this next week. Im going to keep pushing till i see what i am actualy capbale of.
Also i have started working out realy hard again. Me and one of my good buddies Elder Touti, Also Tongan, have been doing a new work out plan. It is a good way to start out the morning at 6 in the a.m.
Some stories for this week, Well the baptismal font stopped working, and no one could figure out how to fix it, so it took me about an hour, but we finaly got water pumping, pumps working, and we took another 2 hours shinning the font up. It looks good, and works great now! We are actually heading over there in a bit for another baptism tonight!
Other than that we have just been trying to work very hard, How are things there at home going? What happened with the Disney land tickets?
Also, ya i got about 1000 of the 1300 pasos stollen that you sent me. But i am doing ok, i sold my old electric razor, and I have some money still. i am still trying to work out that other ways of getting the package sent. So i will let you know as soon as i get more details. Thank you dad for everything! I love you tons!
Well i love you all very much, thank you for everything!
Elder Paul
February 15, 2010
Hey everyone how is it going. I am way worn out, and feel pretty terrible as well with a pretty bad sore throat. Well yesterday we had two baptisms. We had it planed to have three, but one of the people, was not honest with us until his interview yesterday, so we are going to wait two more weeks with him. Well the rain has cleared up, and the sun is starting to make a presence. It is nice to have things warm up, but im sure in a few months im going to want the cold weather again. Well we have been working realy hard, and we went over our goal of teaching 40 lessons this week, by teaching 53. We have our goal set this week at 60, so I probably wont be here to much time, so We can get a head start on it. On Friday we went out to a little ranch called Abasolo. It was crazy, we were climbing around in the moutains trying to find some old investegators. Well then we had the problem yesterday, of needing to bring all our investegators to church. SO we got up at 6 in the morning, brought 5 people to the morning ward, and then I headed off with a member in a old beat up pickup to get investegators from the ranch about an hour away, and my comp stayed here with an american member to get people here too. In total we were able to bring 11 people to church. It was a fun experience, but we didnt end up eating anything yesterday until about 6:30, so i was pretty tired.
We are still trying as hard as we can, and trying to put everything into it that we can. My Pres. Showed me an article in the church news about Jace. It was realy crazy to see him there, and read about all the things, and reember all the good times with him, but i am still going to keep working, like im working for both of us.
I think that is about all I got new for this week. I hope everything is going well, and cant wait to hear from everyone again!
Elder Paul
Hey do you know if brad is home yet?
February 8, 2010
Baptism of Marisol. The Wife of Armando that we already baptised!
Cooking Mac and Cheese on my iron, when we didnt have gas.
Ready for his Baptism.
Baptism of Lalo Vargas. I have been working with him for awhile!
The Vargas Family. I have been there for baptisms of four people in their family.
Spider bite on top of my surgery scar! Gross! i'm going to be the next spider man i think!
Ready for her Baptism.
Practicing for baptism!
Wiped out after a had day of work!February 8, 2010
Heidi,
Hey what is up my long lost sister? What have you been up to lattly, it seems like quite awhile since i have heard from you! Can you believe I am going to be coming home in like 7 months? it goes by crazy fast! Let me know how you are doing, read the scritures often, and Pray always!
your brother,
Elder Paul
February 8, 2010
Emily,
Hey Mrs. Terrible writer! That would be cool someday if you would actually start writing. I just figured that I would write you to congradulate you on the straight A`s! Nice work, i knew you had to have some of my brains. i mean I know it is not very fair, because I took most the brains mom and dad had to give us, but i figured i left a little bit for you last three! ha, but keep working hard, you will not regret it, and it will help you out a ton in school. Also, you are going to want to start, looking on the internet for a house to rent, and find us some roomates ok? Well emily keep up the good work, and keep finding me options!
Edler Paul
February 8, 2010
Dad,
Thank you so much with the money. i am realy excited to send that package, it still is not there in the account, but thank you.
So it sounds like you are doing amazing things with the priests. So just a storry I would like to share with you when you get discouraged. So I doint know if you know how much of a diference Pres. Alma Whipple made on my life, but I know he never did. I loved the man, but honestly I was a punk to him. Half the time I blew off my duties, and didnt even realy listen to what I think he was trying to tell me. But little by little he realy did help me alot. I even want to name my second sons middle name after him. (my first son will have his grandpas name) I cant share the whole story with you rite now, about what Pres Whipple did for me, just because i cant ttake more emotions rite now, but please know, you are makeing more of a difference in those boys lives than you will every know!
I love you dad,
Elder Paul
February 28, 2010
Hey everyone,
Well it has been a long week. So Ill try to sum it up as well as I can, and I am also going to see if i can send a few picutes. Well The day that I got moved to my new area (Last Monday) It started to rain, and did not stop raining til Saturday morning. And when I say rain, I mean rain, and rain hard, with no stops in between. So I think it goes without saying, that it has been very wet and cold. ANd though you may laugh like it was not much, you must rember, that we are very well equiped for the heat. Well on Tuesday night, the house flooded, and we had to wade through it to climb upstairs every night. You would be pretty proud I think, all though most the missionaries in the mission, were chilling in there houses or with members, my companion and I left every day and WORKED until we had to be in the house! Well, this is my companions second change, and since his first companion didnt realy teach him anything, he was realy reluctant at first, But after a while we started joking and having fun, and loved having the streets to ourselves! Well every door we knocked i think the people couldnt believe we were standing out in the rain in only our white shirts and ties, and everyone invited us in. We have gotten to know alot of people, and At one point we even had to brake a rule.... We were walking across a puddle that only seemed aobut knee high, when we fell, and ended up swimming, walking to the other side! Since we are not suppose to swim, I hope I will recieve forgivness for that :)
Well I told you last week im going to take to heart, what president told me about working hard enough for Jace and I, and though i am sure we still have a ways to go, I found a new level of work. It is funny, because there is times i feel like ive given it all, and then I realize there is still alot more to give.
So I got here, and as usual we didnnt realy have anyone, my companion came to pick me up, DRIVING A CAR! and there was a few inapropriate things in the house. Well I talked to my comp, and told him he can decide what kind of a missionary he wants to be, and then we cleaned the house out, and then we got to work. He is realy exicted because in the last month he has had 1 baptism, but we put down the goal for 15 baptisms. Well We were able to bring 16 investagators to church yesterday, so that was realy cool, and we both come home pooped each day. So it realy is probably the most fun i have had in my mission in awhile!
Other than that we are just going to keep trying to work realy hard. My companion just reminded me that i complited 16 months today. Crazy!
So that is what is going on here in this mission, oh and I heard that the Saints won by 14 points? is that true? Did you get the chance to record it for me? ha thanks.
Well I love you all tons, and hope everything is going well, I am going to try to send that package out to you all, but im still waiting for somethings to dry, including my camera. My backpack says its water proof, but i guess without practice int he water, it had some problems. But i got my camera all opened up on my desk drying, hopeing i will not need to get a new one. I love you all!
Elder Paul
February 2, 2010
Hello Charlene! I'm Marisol from Mexico, first of all we want to congratulate you, you have a very special and unique son, he's one of a kind, and we were really sad when we heard he had to leave Salamanca, but the good news is he's 15 minutes away from him and maybe we'll visit at church soon. We really found in him a true friend.
(This is information about the timeshare pictures that were posted earlier.)
We are really thankful for helping us with the time share, things in Mexico are a bit tough right now and it's difficult to find people willing to buy a time share right now. The condo is very spacious; I don't know the exact square footage but it is what they call a suite with two rooms, in the first you'll find a full bathroom, a fully equipped kitchen (dishwasher, stove, fridge, microwave oven, silverware, chinaware, pans etc.), then a living room and dining room with a great view to the ocean, interconnected there's the other room which is the main room, it has a king size bed, a full bathroom and a balcony with a jacuzzy also with view to the ocean. The accommodations they have are:
- Bell Boy
- Wake up service
- Laundry service
- Room Service
- Car Rental
- Safety Box
- Fax
- Medical Service
- Babysitter
- Groups and Conventions
- Express check out
It accommodates from 4 to 5 people. or they can upgrade to a unit with 2 rooms if required (this has an extra fee). The beach it's a good one to swim in. The time share it's completely paid off, there is a maintenance fee of 800 dlls a year which they wouldn't have to pay till next year. There are 50 weeks of the year guaranteed every year you can choose from, whenever they want except christmas week and easter, besides those two they can choose whenever they want. Yes they can do the time share exchange, between the raintree resorts it's practically automatic they just have to choose one or we are also with RCI which is a big time share company, There is also the possibility of the points thing according to my mom but i don't know exactly how this works. There are not a lot of extra charges for the club members the fitness club and stuff is free, the only thing it's not is the spa services as far as I can remember.
If you want a better idea of the club go to: http://www.raintreevacationclub.com/ its a great resort and I love it... unfortunately we can't afford traveling right now and we pretty much are in need of the money.
Thank you very much, we appreciate it a lot... God Bless You :)
February 2, 2010
(One of Elder Paul's best friends, Elder Jace Davis died while serving his mission in Romania on January 11, 2010. They had been friends since we moved to Logandale and were blessed to be able to spend a few weeks together in the MTC before Elder Paul left for Mexico. We called President Cox and told him about it and asked him to relay the message to Elder Paul because we didn't want him to read about it in an email.)
So President Cox called me Saturday night, and i froze. Usualy we dont talk to Pres much besidesin interviews, So when I anwered and He said Elder Paul.... I knew something was wrong. Well he explained to me very kindly about Jace. i was shocked. We had just Barely finished a baptism and I was just struck almost dumb. I could not speak, but was able to tell him i was ok. Well I went back with the recent convert and just tried to carry on. I couldn´t let myself think about it. So we went home, and very bad thoughts kept creeping into my mind. So i decided i would not relax enough to let them hit me. I worked my butt off. I cleaned, I packed, I scrubbed, i fixed everything in our house. i was about 3 in the morning when my body finaly gave out. I woke up the next morning, and just started going as hard as i could. We had 4 baptisms yesterday and there was a ton to prepare for. So i just went at things full throtle, passing with investigators and recent converts. When we were at church, I was talking to the bishop when i realized, I just couldnt do it, I know this is rude, but i walked away mid sentence, and went behind the church, and just cried. I cried and I cried. Well then I went back in and was doing a baptismal record for one of the people who was getting ready to be baptised, when it hit me AGAIN! I got realy teared up. I actually told him what was bothering me. He looked me in the eyes, and he testified to me. He told me he knew were my friend was, that i would see him again. He told me that this church, the only true church is the only way to KNOW that. It realy helped me alot. I was realy hurt, but that simple testimony, from this investigator of 3 weeks taught me more than he will ever know.
Well it has still been hard, and since i'm not too big on the whole crying thing, i was pretty warn out by the end of the day. But i am healing, and i am going to take something President Cox told me to heart. He said that I am now going to work twice as hard to get the work done for both of us here on earth that needs to be done.
Well so last night I got a call and found out it was my turn to get changed. That was realy crazy seeing as i have 7 months in Salamanca, and have hundreds of great friends there! Well I got changed to Irapuato. It is a city about 20 minutes from Salamanca, and I am still in the same zone. I am with a Elder named Narez, and he has just a few weeks in his mission. We are in a area, that has not usualy had alot of success. My comp was with someone, and had learned to break alot of rules. We talked alot today about what kind of Missionaries we wnat to be, and we decided it is time for us to Raise the Bar. We have set our goal for this month at 15 baptisms. The most ever in this area is 5 so, we are going to have to work, hard! I am going to try to work as two missionaries, and pray and hope the lord will do what i cant.
Well that is mostly everything. Please Keep the Davis family in your prayers, and know that you are all in mine! I love you all very much.
Elder Paul
P.S. Do you think we will be able to send that package this month?
January 28, 2010
(Emily had to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting and asked Adam to send something regarding her assigned topic.)
Hope this helps a little, sorry i didnt have much time!
“Line upon Line: Joshua 1:9,” NewEra, Jan 2010, 8
The encouragement the Lord gave to Joshua can strengthen us as well.
"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."
Strong
In the scriptures we find ways we receive strength:
• Be humble (see D&C 1:28).
• Put on the armor of God (see Ephesians 6:10–18).
• Pray for strength (see Moses 1:20).
• Strengthen each other (see D&C 108:7).
Good courage
“My earnest prayer is that you will have the courage required to refrain from judging others, the courage to be chaste and virtuous, and the courage to stand firm for truth and righteousness. As you do so, you will be ‘an example of the believers,’ and your life will be filled with love and peace and joy.”
President Thomas S. Monson, “May You Have Courage,” Ensign, May 2009, 127.
Be not afraid
The scriptures teach us some remedies for fear:
• Love: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18).
• Faith: “Be not afraid, only believe” (Mark 5:36).
• Preparation: “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear” (D&C 38:30).
The Lord thy God is with thee
“If we are patient in our afflictions, endure them well, and wait upon the Lord to learn the lessons of mortality, the Lord will be with us to strengthen us unto the end of our days.”
Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “‘Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure,’” Ensign, May 1998, 77.
Dismayed
The Hebrew word means to be beaten down or discouraged.
Moses Ordaining Joshua, by Darrell Thomas
Reading and studying the scriptures make us conscious of the many conditional promises made by the Lord to encourage obedience and righteous living. Israelite history is filled with examples of covenants, which constitute one of the central themes of the Old Testament—the promises of God made in exchange for the commitments of the prophets and the people.
The Lord made a covenant with Noah, and the rainbow became the token of that eternal covenant with all mankind. (See Gen. 9:13.) The covenant made with Abraham and his seed was sealed by the ceremony of circumcision as a sacrament. (See Gen. 17:10–11.) And the token or sign of the great covenant with all Israel made at Sinai was the Sabbath. (See Ex. 31:12–17.)
Several experiences in the life of Joshua are instructive to us today regarding the importance placed by the Lord on keeping commitments and on being committed to following the commandments and direction he has given.
Joshua is remembered as the one who, on the death of Moses, took command and completed the task of giving leadership to the tribes of Israel. Perhaps to comfort Joshua, who now had the responsibility for the children of Israel, who didn’t yet have a homeland, and perhaps to comfort that large body of people who had just lost their leader of more than forty years, the Lord spoke to Joshua and said:
“As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
“Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.” (Josh. 1:5–6.)
The Lord then continues to speak to Joshua by way of commandment:
“Only be thou strong and very courageous that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.” (Josh. 1:7.)
Then speaking about the law only to Moses, the Lord adds:
“Observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Josh. 1:8.)
Finally, we have this last reiteration by the Lord of what he had previously said, to comfort and to remind Joshua of the relationship between the blessings of heaven and obedience to divine law:
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Josh. 1:9.)
Joshua would need courage for what he had to do. He would need the Lord’s help at every step. Here is a commitment of the Lord to provide that help. With faith in the Lord, Joshua could now go forward, knowing that the Lord would direct him in the way he should go. Joshua knew that his obedience would bring success, and although he did not know exactly how he would succeed, he now had confidence in the result.
The record tells us that the tribes of Israel moved to the Jordan River and encamped for three days, preparing to cross at a point near the city of Jericho. At that time Joshua gave his people this interesting counsel. He said, “Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” (Josh. 3:5.)
He knew the victory that would surely come would depend upon their willingness to do the will of the Lord. Then the Lord said unto Joshua, “This day will begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.” (Josh. 3:7.)
Joshua now knew that the miracles of the Lord would continue, just as when Moses had been the leader of Israel. And so it was that when the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people touched the water of the Jordan, it dried up, “and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground.” (Josh. 3:17.)
Soon after, when Joshua was directed to destroy the city of Jericho that lay before them, the great walls of the city stood as an imposing and physically impossible barrier to Israel’s success—or at least so it seemed. Not knowing the means, but assured as to the end, Joshua carried out the instructions he had been given by a messenger of the Lord. His commitment was to complete obedience. His concern was to do precisely as he was instructed, that the promise of the Lord would be fulfilled. The instructions no doubt seemed strange, but his faith in the outcome urged him on. The result, of course, was another in a long series of miracles experienced by the Israelites as they were led over many years by Moses, by Joshua, and by many other prophets who were committed to follow the commandments and the directives of the Lord.
As Joshua and his people approached Jericho, the instructions of the Lord were followed precisely, and according to the scriptural account, “the waIl fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.” (Josh. 6:20.)
The record states that after Israel had rested from the wars with their enemies, Joshua, who was now very old, called all Israel together. In his farewell address he reminded them they had been victorious because God had fought for them, but if they now ceased to serve the Lord and keep his law they would be destroyed. He recalled how the Lord God of Israel had led Abraham throughout Canaan and had “multiplied his seed.” (Josh. 24:3.) He reminded them of how Jacob and his children had gone down into Egypt. He told of how the Lord had been with Moses and Aaron and had brought their fathers out of Egypt; how, in all of the battles and conquests, they had prevailed, adding this significant statement: “But not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.” (Josh. 24:12.) They had been led by the Lord to victory. The battles had not been won by swords and bows. He then admonished them: “Fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.” (Josh. 24:14.)
This great military and spiritual leader then urged a commitment, and made one himself and for his family: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve; … “but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15.)
Here was a great statement of full commitment of a man to God; of a prophet to the desires of the Lord; of Joshua the man to his God, who had many times previously blessed his obedience. He was telling the Israelites that regardless of how they decided, he would do what he knew was right. He was saying that his decision to serve the Lord was independent of whatever they decided; that their actions would not affect his; that his commitment to do the Lord’s will would not be altered by anything they or anyone else would do. Joshua was firmly in control of his actions and had his eyes fixed on the commandments of the Lord. He was committed to obedience.
Surely the Lord loves, more than anything else, an unwavering determination to obey his counsel. Surely the experiences of the great prophets of the Old Testament have been recorded to help us understand the importance of choosing the path of strict obedience. How pleased the Lord must have been when Abraham, after receiving direction to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, did as he was instructed, without question and without wavering. The record states that God said unto Abraham:
“Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” (Gen. 22:2.)
The next verse simply states:
“And Abraham rose up early in the morning … and took … Isaac his son … and went unto the place of which God had told him.” (Gen. 22:3.)
Years later, when Rebekah was asked if she would go with the servant of Abraham to become Isaac’s wife, and no doubt knowing that the servant’s mission had the blessing of the Lord, she simply said, “I will go.” (Gen. 24:58.)
A generation after that, when Jacob was instructed to return to the land of Canaan, which meant leaving all for which he had worked many years, he called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was and explained what the Lord had said. The reply of Rachel was simple and straightforward and indicative of her commitment: “Whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.” (Gen. 31:16.)
We have, then, examples from the scriptures of how we should consider and evaluate the commandments of the Lord. If we choose to react like Joshua, and Abraham, and Rebekah and Rachel, our response will be, simply, to go and do the thing that the Lord has commanded.
There is good reason to make our decision now to serve the Lord. On this Sunday morning, when the complications and temptations of life are somewhat removed, and when we have the time and more of an inclination to take an eternal perspective, we can more clearly evaluate what will bring us the greatest happiness in life. We should decide now, in the light of the morning, how we will act when the darkness of night and when the storms of temptation arrive.
I pray that we will have the strength to decide now to do what we ought to do. I pray that we will decide now to serve the Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
January 28, 2010
Hey i have a question for you dad. So i know that the schools down there get new computers every couple of years, and i reember being told at one time that most of those old computers end up getting put in storage, or sold cheeply for scraps. So i dont know if this would be possible, but i think it would be realy cool if we could find out! So here in most of the schools there are maybe 2 or three computers in the whole school. Most kids dont ever learn realy how to use computadoras, y it makes it harder for them to make it in life. Is there anyway to find out if we can do a service donation project to bring those down here? I am sure it would be a tax write off wouldnt it? So that would save the school district money as well? So i dont know could you shoot me back a few comments on this?
I love you tons,
Elder Paul
January 25, 2010
Cutting my own hair. We ran out of money to get hair cuts, so I borrowed clippers.
Eating the special cake for the day of the three kings! There are little toys hidden inside, and whoever gets the piece with the toy has to pay for tamales! (I Didnt get it)
Lala Vargas, he is going to be baptised this Friday.
My socks are getting ready to be retired. But dont worry they are nothing compared to most of the missionaries socks!
A baptism we had yesterday for Armando. His wife is getting baptised next sunday. They are the family with the Time share, and some of my best friends!
Armando and I getting ready to get wet!
A birthday cake we made for Marisol. I made and decorated it all! It is two layers, and has more choclate then you could imagine possible on a cake!
Giving Marisol her Birthday cake! She Is getting baptised next Sunday.
This is so you can see the middle layer of the cake it is choclate, with crushed up oreos!
Hope you liked the pictures. Im still trying to find my other memory card, but hopefuly this will do for now. I love you all, and hope you all feel free to send some picturs back!
Love
Elder paul
January 20, 2010
Here are some pictures that they have here of a vacation they took over there. I hope they help. We are going to see if we can find an internet site this next Monday. But if you could please put that on the market it would help them ALOT! I love you tons, and thank for all the help.
Elder Paul
P.S. I threw in a few pics of me and su´a at the end hope you like!
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