Oct. 21, 2014 Click it or ticket!

Well this last week has been fun. Not a very much happened. Elder Woolsey is doing great. He is making a lot of progress. He is still getting used to everything and he doesn't really talk much. But that is OK. It is just a reminder that the Lord doesn't call the person who is qualified, he qualifies the person called. He uses the weak to confound the wise. That to me is a testament of the truthfulness of the gospel. That two young men or women are called to invite others to come unto Christ. If the Lord wanted to he could have raised up his own perfect missionary force. I am sure that they would do a great job. But he calls us imperfect teenagers to share the truth, share how the gospel has changed us, and how it fulfills our desires. We are called to be who we are, to let our light shine, and let our personalities shine aswell. I can't tell you how many times we get, "Wait your the Elders? Your not old. How old are you? 16?" It is super funny. We go in their home to teach them and they are always amazed. It is super cool and I am glad to be apart of it.

Our investigators are making progress. Anthony is ready and finally said he will come to church! Eli is doing good and hopefully we will set a baptismal date this next week. Scott is Scott. We might be passing him off to a different ward depending on how things go. We were unable to meet with the new family we were planning on starting teaching this last week. We are going by tonight and will let you know how things go.

So this morning while we were on our way to the Family History Center to email...... We got pulled over........ No, I am not joking. We got pulled over. Luckily we were not speeding or anything like that. However this last week the Mini van, the Swagger Wagon, had to get taken to the shop to get fixed. As a replacement vehicle for the week they gave the Elders that give us a ride, a Ford Fusion. Well there are not enough seat belts in the Ford Fusion. So we had 4 Elders Squished on the back seat, and a California Highway Patrol officer saw us. All four of us ended up getting tickets for not wearing our seat belts. It sucks. Luckily we get the Swagger Wagon back tomorrow, so it should not happen again. Don't worry Mom.

Well we should end on a good note. I really liked this and thought I would share it. This is how I feel about the gospel.

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The dye has been cast! I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made; I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tainted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my gate is fast, and my goal is Heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear! I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up of the cause of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach all I know, and work till He stops me. And when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear.   - Henry B. Eyring

Elder Paget

P.S. I am always curious of what you think about what is happening here in San Marcos. Feel free to send comments, questions, ect.... my way. 

Oct. 14, 2014 Faith Virus

So we had a Crazy week. Lets start with last Monday. We got a referral for guy named Jim a few weeks ago. We have called him a few times but he has been busy with work and unable to meet with us. Finally he was available to meet with us. He decided he wanted to meet us at a restaurant. To make a long story short. We had our appointment set for 8:00 pm. We stood out side of the restaurant for 45 minutes until he showed up. Then when we sat down,Elder Tyger and I asked him what he expected of us. He said he wanted to know why we were not praying to Allah because most of the people in the world were doing it. We told him it was because we had faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement. He then said, Faith?!? You must be infected with the faith virus. Anyway he went on to tell us that there is no evidence to prove there is a God, Book of Mormon, and so on and so forth. He then told us that he was going to cure us of our faith virus and prove to us that we were wrong. It was getting late and we told him that we had to go. He asked us when we could meet up next. I told him, "Well our purpose as missionaries, Is to invite others to come unto Christ. You have no intentions of coming to Christ. So unfortunately we will not be able to meet with you again. He then freaked out and basically told us that we are brain washed. We then just got up and left. It was crazy. I am glad Elder Woolsey my brand new companion was not there for it. I still think it is funny it even happened.

 

Tuesday, before the transfer meeting we all went to the Movie Theature to see Meet the Mormons before the public could see it. I never thought I would go to the Movies on my mission. President Kendrick said we were probably the only mission in the world that was able to do it. Since we saw the movie early, we had to get special permission from the movie company that made it. Then they had to ask Elder Jeffery R Holland to grant us approval to watch it.Cool right?!? The movie was very good.

 

After the Movie we had transfer meeting and I got my son. Haha That is just what we call our companions we train. His name is Elder Woolsey. He is from Spanish Fork, Utah and is a bull rider. He is really cool. Everything has been going great our first week together. He seems to be making a good transition into missionary life.

 

Then on Saturday, William and Linda got BAPTIZED! It was really cool to see the changes they have made. They both have spent time in prison and actually got married in there. They are kind of rough looking, but they have soft hearts and are willing to do everything, and anything the Lord asks of them. It was really funny when Elder Tyger went to baptise William. William is a big guy and Elder Tyger is about my size. When he went to baptize him it took him 3 times to get him completely under the water. It was really funny and everyone was trying not to laugh. I was really happy though, It was Elder Tygers first person he baptized and was supper happy about it as well. It was a good learning experience for him. After the Baptism, to our surprise, a member decided to get L&L's Hawaiian BBQ for everyone. It was amazing! It was Almost as good as the baptism.

 

Things are going really well. It could not be better. We have been setting up a ton of return appointments with people we meet on the street. And some Elders in the next ward over are going to hand over a family, for us to start teaching, that wants to be baptized! It is just a testiment when you work hard and do what the Lord asks of you, he will bless you. I am glad I am infected with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and his Atonement. I am also glad I am helping other catch it as well. I don't know what I would do, or where I would be, without it. I know this church is True!

 

Elder Paget

 

Sorry I forgot my camera this week. I will send pictures of the baptism next week.

 

 

Disco Training

This week has been good.  William and Linda are going to get baptized on October 11. We met with them a few times this last week to prepare them for the covenants they will make. I am super excited.

 Also I have been called to be a trainer. So tomorrow I am going to get a brand new missionary. It is kind of scary but I am ready for it. I will be training him in the Discovery Hills ward. So I will basically be training him how to Disco. If only I knew how. The new missionary will have quite the start. He will have 2 baptisms in his first week. I hope it doesn't go to his head. I guess it is kind of like me repaying the favor for my trainer did for me. By setting us up to set 2 new baptismal dates the first night in the mission field. It was incredible! I hope I can just work hard, but also show him you can have fun while serving the Lord. Because if you are not enjoying yourself you are wasting your time. It is called the best two years for a reason. Right? So wish me luck. I will need it.

Conference was amazing! I really enjoyed President Uchtdorf talk he gave in Priesthood session. He is one of my favorites to listen to.

Everyone else that we are working with is making slow progress. We are hoping that we will have some more baptisms lined up soon.

Elder Paget

Sept. 29, 2014 The Three Discos

Things are crazy busy right now. I don't know where to begin. It has had its ups and downs.

 We will start with the bad news we had to drop three investigators. It is always tough to do. By far the hardest thing you have to do on the mission. Because they are not the ones telling us to not come over anymore. It is us telling them we can't come over any more, because they are not keeping their commitments to read, pray, go to church, or be baptized. It is hard.

The Good news is that we picked up three new investigators. We started to teach a part member family that recently moved into the ward. We had original though we were going to pick up one new investigator but ended up being two. Then we the other investigator that we picked up invited us over to his house for dinner Wednesday night. We got a text out of the blue from some of his member friends and told us he wanted us to come and start teaching him over dinner. :)

Things are rolling right now. We are having a hard time trying to schedule all the lessons we are teaching. It is an awesome problem to have. 

William and Linda are still on track for their baptism on Oct 11. They have shown that they are really committed. This last week end they were going to see some family in Orange county. But decided not to because they went they would not have enough gas to make it to church the next day. They are awesome!

Sorry it is short. 

Love Elder Paget

Sept. 22, 2014 Counsel With the Lord

So things are going great now. We finally had William and Linda come to church and they are still on date for their baptism on October 11. We are super excited about it. When I first got here things were completely dead but now things have turned around. I don't really know what to say this week.

We have been working with a few other people. Sita has been slowly progressing. She has been looking at a lot of anti Mormon stuff and we have been helping her through it. It is definitely a work in progress. Luckily we have a lot of great members here to help us out.

Things have really started to turn around after we started to have the members pray for our investigators by name. Prayer is one of the most important things we do everyday. Prayer is not for us to ask for a million dollars and a mansion in the woods. It is for us to align our will with Gods. To come to the realization that God know what is best. We can ask him through strength to help us get through our trials. But we can't ask them to take them away from us. If he did there would be no point to this life. There would be no test.  

As Spencer W. Kimball said, "If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith. If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls. Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our selfish desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood."

We must have an Eternal perspective and know our trials are for our benefit. Knowing that God can't take our trials away from us, but can help us through them, we learn how we should pray. To align our will with God's. Come what many and love it. We need to make the most of our experiences that we have. There is a reason why we have to go through what we do. There is some lesson we need to learn. Some lessons unfortunately take longer than others. But ultimately they are to bring us closer to God and get us on the path to return to him. When life is to hard to stand, kneel.

Over the last few weeks I have found the best advice that anyone can give. It is found in Alma 37:37. This is where Alma is getting to the end of his days and is bearing his last and final testimony to his son Helaman. He says.

 37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

This is the point of prayer. To counsel with the Lord. I think this is the best advice anyone can give, because how can you go wrong if you counsel with the Lord about all the decisions you make? You can't. Through this counseling we receive the strength we need to help us through our trials and help us to know what our Heavenly Father would have us do. This Church is True! I love being a missionary! Nothing could be better!

Elder Paget

Sept. 15, 2014 Throwing Down the Hammer

Things are going much better. I was a little frustrated last week. Everything was slowly picking up. So what did we decide to do? We decided we needed to throw the hammer down and be more bold that what we have been.  One of the reasons I can be bold with people is that I have developed a love for everyone I come in contact with. I can see them all dressed in white. I can see them all getting baptized, going to the temple, or becoming active in the church once again. I think this is why it is hard for me do see people reject the Gospel. Not because they are rejecting me, because I honestly don't care what people think about me anymore, but it is because by rejecting us, they are rejecting Jesus Christ. This is what causes me to be sad.

 

I can relate with Nephi as he bears his last testimony in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 33. He shares what causes him grief and what he is willing to do about it because of the love he has for his people. 

 

1 And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.
2 But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught.
3 But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry.
4 And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life eternal.
5 And it speaketh harshly against sin, according to the plainness of the truth; wherefore, no man will be angry at the words which I have written save he shall be of the spirit of the devil.
6 I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.
7 I have charity for my people, and great faith in Christ that I shall meet many souls spotless at his judgment-seat.

Becasue of the Love I have for the people here in San Marcos, I am willing to be bold to persuad them to believe. To help them realize the great goodness and mercy that our Heavenly Father has shown us.
We have seen lots of miracles as a result. This last week we picked up a new investigator, set 3 new baptismal dates, and help resolve a lot of concerns that have been holding our investigators back. William and Linda will be getting baptized on October 11, and our new investigator named Shelton will be baptized on October 18. However Shelton will be handed of to the YSA Elders. Sita decided that she would finally come to church.
Coolest thing that happened this week: When we stopped by a less active, part member family. We just stopped by to introduce ourselves and see if there was another time we could stop by to get to know them better. They said that they were fine. That they were taking a break from church and that they didn't want us to come over. I asked them why they decided to take a break and found out that they don't really believe in organized religion. So what did we do? Threw the Hammer down! I told them that, that was stupid. To make a long story short fter explaining to them about how Christ organized his church, the plan of salvation, and resolving their concerns about being affended. We set up a return appointment and are going to be teaching them on a regular basis! It was awesome to see such a quick turn around.
Elder Paget

By the way, another cool thing we did this last week is that we went Ice Skating as a zone. It was fun. Only in California could you go ice skating in Hawaiian Shirts. This is me with Elder Williams in the other Hawaiin shirt, and Elder Bunker our district leader. He is my Farmington Brother even though he went to Davis.

Sept. 8, 2014 Sunny San Marcos

Things are starting to pick up for us. One of the problems we have been having is that we have had a lot of flaky investigators. They set up an appointment then, the day of or a few hours, before our lesson they cancel or are simply not home. It has been a little frustrating. Do they not know we are trying to save their souls? Do they not know that the gospel of Jesus Christ will bring them true happines? Do they not know that Elder Tyger and I are the only ones in the area to get them there? If only everyone understood how great of a blessing the Gospel is. Then I am sure they would be doing everything in their power to meet with us. They are held back from the truth simply because they don't know where to find it. I am glad to be out there sharing it. The Church is True. Jesus Christ Lives.

 

ELder Paget

Sept. 2, 2014B-day

Once upon the last week, in a land far away. Full of fruits, nuts, Democrats and all manner of Cali fornication. Where the sun never ceases to shine. There were two missionaries, with one goal in mind. To FIND, TEACH, and BAPTIZE. Scouring the landscape painted with a blazing orange sun set, speckled in palm trees. Spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. This epic, action packed, real life, experience is happening in an area near you.

 

Alright So this week was good. Sorry there was no email last week. I ran out of time. This week was a lot better then the last. After spending most of last week at the Er and doctors appointments. I thought I had appendicitis. Luckily I didn't. SO it could only go up right? Thankfully it did.

 

This last week we were able talk to Sita and start teaching her again. She knows the Book of Mormon is True, but doesn't think Joseph Smith was a prophet. We are helping her through that. The good news is that she said that she would be willing to do anything that was required to join Christ's Church. It is only a matter of time before she enters the waters of baptism.

 

We started teaching a couple last week named William and Linda. Their Friends introduced them to the gospel and they came and found us. A few weeks ago Elder Tyger and his previous companion were walking up the long drive way to our apartment. William and Linda pulled up and asked them to come by and teach them. Of course this never happens, so their first reaction was that they just wanted to bash with us. So they didn't stop by. Then I got transferred here and decided that we should stop by any way. Who knows, I thought, they could be golden investigators. So we have been stopping by over the last few weeks and no one was home. Then we finally met them, and they have no intentions of arguing about our beliefs. We have taught them the plan of salvation, and have been trying to set up another appointment. However they are not getting along and don't want us to come over when they are arguing.

 

Other than that.... I had a fun Birthday yesterday. Thanks for everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday. It was great. We had a cool miracle yesterday. We split the ward with Sister Missionaries and they have almost all of the active members on their side. So we don't really get to know any of them. Yesterday we had a awesome family move into our side. They are recent converts and absolutely love missionaries.

 

Elder Paget

August 27, 2014

HI

I have had people asking where his email is this week.

He did not have time to write a weekly email this week so he just said to tell everyone hello!

He has been in the ER this past week with appendicitis like problems- but it is not his appendix. They did lots of blood tests and a CT scan, etc.... But could not find anything. He went back the next day for more tests but will not find out the result of those until Sept. 3- so please keep him in your prayers.

thanks

 

Stephanie
spaget601@aol.com

Aug. 18, 2014 Eye of the Tyger

This week we have seen the ups and the downs. We have have been making lots of progress, but are not able to keep anything going for to long. If only there was consistency in missionary work.

 

Last week we picked up three new investigators. However Sita and Craig decided to drop us and we are going to hand of Dominique to the YSA sisters. Sita and Craig sent us a tezt that said that they didn't think that in our last lesson with President Kendrick that we answered their questions. What more could you want then to have our Mission President come to  answer your questions. There were a few questions about the Plan of Salvation that we told them we would answer in the next lesson. I guess they simply could not wait and need all the info in one sitting. They were also scared that we invited them to be baptized and said they had no intentions of joining our church.

 

SO we are back at square one.

 

We are Rising up, back on the street. We're doing our time, taking chances. Went the distance now we're back on our feet. Just two men and their will to survive. So many times it happens too fast. We trade our passion for glory. Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past. We must fight just to keep them alive. It's the eye of the TYGER, it's the thrill of the fight. Risin' up to the challenge of our rivals. And as the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night. And we are watchin' them, all with the eye of the TYGER. 

 

We are doing our best and have a few appointments set up with potentials this next week. So we should have some new investigators to tell you about next week.

 

By the way, I realized after 5 weeks of being companions with Elder Tyger that he looks and acts like Elder Calhoun off the Best Two Years. It is funny how similar they are. So if you want to get a glimpse of what is like to be companions with Elder Tyger watch the movie. Let me know what you think.

 

Elder Paget

August 11, 2014 A Turn for the better...

Things are going great right now. We have had quite the turn around from the last few weeks that I have been here. We had been struggling to know where we should go, and what we should do. Now we are having a hard time managing all the appointments we have set. It is a great problem to have.

 

This week we were able to pick up 3 new investigators! We picked up a couple named Sita and Craig. They were a referral from the Spanish Sister in the area. The have been reading the Book of Mormon for the last 6 years and believe it to be the word of God. They ask a lot of questions and it was hard to stay focused on our first lesson we had, last monday. In fact the first time we meet with them we really were not able to teach an entire lesson. Even though they have lots of questions, it shows that they have been prepared and are searching for the truth. We met with them again on Thursday and taught them the Restoration with President Kendrick. We invited them to be baptized but they unsure about it. We have another appointment with them tomorrow and hope to set a date then.

 

Also on Thursday we contacted a young Lady named Dominique. We asked her if we could stop by and share a short message about Jesus Christ. She said yes and told us to come back to her house the next day. We stop by at the time she had told us and taught the Restoration. We testified about the power the Atonement has to cleanse us all of the mistakes we make, then invited her to be baptized. She accepted and set a baptismal date for August 30. It was incredible! To find and teach someone so fast. The only downside to it is that we will have to hand her off to the YSA Sisters. It doesn't matter though. We are all on the same team. We are all on the Lords side.

 

Again things are going good, and can't wait to see the amazing miracles that will happen this week! I Love being a missionary!

 

Elder Paget

August 4, 2014 Stuck in First Gear

Everthing is going well here in San Marcos. Just another week of Finding. We have been finding a lot of people who have showed interest and have even set a few return appointments. However they are either busy or just want to bash.

 

We had an awesome contact on Tuesday night. We didn't really know where to go or what to do. Then Elder Tyger was prompted to stop by a former investigator in a trailer park. When we got there, their next door neighbor was out side taking out her trash cans. We asked her if she needed any help. She said no the walked away. Then while we were locking up our bikes she came back and said that she did need help pulling weeds. We got talking and taught her the entire restoration, gave her a Book of Mormon, and set up a return appointment to teach her more and pull weeds. We went back on Saturday. When we arrived she said that she did a lot of research about the mormon church. She decided to google it, and ask her pastor about it. To make a long story short. She said that she only believed in the one true and thought that we worshipped Joseph Smith. I was pretty frustrated at this point. I was hoping and praying that we would be able to pick up a new investigator and set a baptismal date. Insteade we were bashing with a lady who had now idea what she was talking about. We gave her a long talk about getting information from the first sources. I was so made I even told her that her pastor was only in it for the buisness. Probably not the best thing to say.

 

Elder Paget

July 28, 2014 Second Week in San Marcos

Well things are getting better now that I am getting a little more accustomed to my new area. We are finally getting more potential investigators and hope to start teaching them soon. It is a Beast of a challenge to get things going again in this area, but I am ready and willing to get it back on track. Sorry these computers here really don't like me and are constantly trying to kick me off. Sorry it is short I will let you know of the details next week!

 

Elder Paget

July 21, 2014 Discovering the Hills

This last week has been a little challenging. It is always rough beening transfered. Saying goodbye and meeting new people are definately not my strengths. I now have been transfered to the City of San Marcos, and am serving in the Discovery Hills ward. My new companions name is Elder T. He is from Hyrum, Utah. We spilt a ward with a pair of Sister missionaries. Our side of the ward is challenging. We have a  very large hispanic population. Which makes things hard. We have been discovering the hills to just try to find people who speak english. It is going to be a challenge over the next little while, but I am ready to FIND, TEACH, and BAPTISE!

 

Elder Paget

July 14, 2014 Pink Wash

Well I don't even know where to begin. This week has been absolutely crazy! So much has happened in such little time. This week Elder Metcalfe and I went to the temple, got pulled over by the police, and had to say goodbye to all the people we have come to love in Murrieta.

The Temple was amazing! It always is. We went on Tuesday morning down to the San Diego Temple. The greatest thing about the Temple is the peace, and comfort from the spirit there. My favorite thing about the Temple is sitting in the Celestial Room. I love to sit there and ponder questions that I have. I have always left the temple with my questions answered every time. Never once has the Lord failed me. I only wish we could go more. After my mission I want to set a goal of going at least every other week to the temple and maybe I can even be a temple worker.

The next day after our wonderful trip were getting ready for Zone Training meeting. We had to pick up two other sets of missionaries and take them there. Then got a call around 9 am from the Zone Leaders. They told us that the Sister missionaries in the Winchester Ward needed to have their car jump started. So we had one hour to pick up and drop off two sets of Elders, some how find jumper cables, jump start the sisters car, and arrive at our meeting on time. Need less to say that desperate times call for desperate measures. So let me just say I was doing everything in my power to be on time. We had just picked up the first set of missionaries and were on our way to get some jumper cables from the Rodriguez family, when we were pulled over by a Murrieta Police motorcycle cop. I had quite a few thoughts going around in my mind at that point. I was thinking crap I can't believe this is really happening. I am going to lose my driving privilege. I am going to get a ticket. But surprisingly I felt calm as I pushed out those thoughts with praying to our Heavenly Father to help us in our time of need. 

The police officer walked up to me and told me he had pulled me over for speeding. He said I was going 48 mph in a 35 mph zone. He asked for my drivers license. As I handed him my license, I noticed him take a look at my name badge. He said, "Hold on one moment, every state licenses are different. I just need a little while to find the expiration date." As he said that, he reached to his side and turned on his radio to call in my license. He then paused for a few dreadful seconds. Turned off the radio, handed my my license and said, "Just slow down." He then walked back to his motorcycle and drove away.

I was completely shocked. I though for sure I would get a ticket. There was absolutely no reason why I should not have gotten one. I was going almost 15 mph over. I didn't say anything to to convince not to give me a ticket. There are only two things I can think of reasons why he didn't give me a ticket. 1. It was the the first couple days of the month. He didn't necessarily have to get his quota just yet. Or 2. The Lord answered our prays and provided a way for us to get to our meeting on time. It was definitely the our Heavenly Father watching out for us. I don't think the officer was a member, and I don't know what he was told by the spirit. But I will always remember the day my pray was answered in my time of need, and that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING can stop this work from progressing.

We learned this week that Elder Metcalfe and I will both be leaving this transfer. We are getting Pink Washed. Which means sisters will be coming in and taking our place. It was really sad to say goodbye to all the people that I have come to love over the 7 1/2 months I have served in Murrieta. I am going to miss each and everyone of them very much. I was hard to say goodbye to Autumn who we have been working with for the last month or so trying to get her Mom's permission to get baptized. It was hard not to say goodbye to Christine and give her encouragement not to give up. As she is going through some really hard times. It was sad to say the Fittons despite, the crazy times we have had there. It will be hard to get a new companion. Elder Metcalfe has been great. However, I am looking forward to my new area, new companion, and new adventures.

Elder Paget 

July 7, 2014 It is True

We had a pretty good week. We had a good Fourth of July even though no one was home. The protests on the Border Patrol Office sure made things interesting. I have never seen so many news crews in my life.

But most importantly, we finally picked up a new investigator! It has been probably 6 or more weeks that we have been trying to find people to teach. I am glad it is all over. His name is Gabriel. I told you last week on how we met him and gave priesthood blessings to him and his family. We started teaching him this last week. We taught him the Restoration, in one of the coolest lessons I have ever had. It was incredible. As we were teaching him about Joseph Smith and his experience. We told him that we would like to share it in Joseph Smiths own words. After we shared it we would have a brief pause and we told him to break the pause by telling us how he felt. Elder Metcalfe gave the first vision, and we pause just as we said we would do. Then we sat there in silence for what seemed to be an hour, but really was only five minutes. Then he said, " It is true! You know the whole time something, just kept telling me "What they are saying is true!" They words came into my mind. It is true. It is True!" We explained to him that it was the Holy Ghost telling him it was true. Then we invited him to be baptized on August 3. He accepted and then said, pointing to his 2 year old daughter, " How old do you have to be to be baptized?" We told him you have to be eight years old. He said, " I want my whole family to be baptized! Can we do it at the same time?" We told him that his kids older than eight could be baptized at the same time. We told him as missionaries we teach people and prepare them for baptism and that we would like to start teaching his whole family the next time we came. He agreed and we set an appointment for 6 pm tonight. Unfortunately he just barely cancelled but we will meet with them soon. Can't wait!

Elder Paget

June 30, 2014 Potentials Galore

This has been a great week. We are working as hard as week can. I am working as hard as I have ever worked on the mission so far. We are making sure to talk to everyone. This week our focus was to see how many potential investigators we can get in on week. We talked to about 175 people and we found 15 potential investigators. That means for about every 12 people we talked to, we found someone who was willing for us to come back and teach them. It is really cool. It is so amazing to see so many people show interest. In a good week would usually find 2-3 potential investigators. It is a miracle found so many. Now we just have to start teaching all of them. We have had quite a few miracles this last week.

First we ran in to a guy by the name of Gabriel last week. We were asking him if he needed any help with anything. He said no, but that he could use a prayer. He said he needed healing and wanted to have me pray also for his kids protection. So I prayed with him. Then asked him If we could give him a card with our number so he could call us in case him or his family needed anything. I handed him a pass along card with the picture of Jesus when he appeared to the people in America. As I gave him it I explained what was happening in the picture and briefly told him about the Book of Mormon and gave him one.  He though it was really interesting. We set up a return appointment for Wednesday to teach him more. We called hp on Tuesday to see if we were still on for our lesson. He said that he got shingles and his kids had chicken pox and told us not to come over. Elder Metcalfe and I have already both had the chicken pox and told him it was not a big deal for us to come over. He said it we should reschedule anyway, and that he just needed prayers. We told him about blessings and that we had the power and authority to act in Jesus's name. He then changed his mind and allowed us to come the next day. When we were there we taught him and his family about blessings and doing it in the way that the savior did it with oil. He though it was really cool. HE had read in the bible about it but had never heard or seen anyone doing it that way. We gave his kids blessings and then it was Gabriel's turn to get his. The spirit was really strong and everyone recognized its presents there. We then were able to set up a new return appointment to come back the following Wednesday to teach him and his family. I can't wait. It was great to be able to be in a position to help those who stand in need. I know this church is true and love being a missionary!

I will let you know of the other miracles next week.

Elder Paget

June 23- ONE YEAR DOWN! A lifetime to go!

Well I don't have a lot of time this week. There is never enough time. It is going by so fast. I can't believe that I have been serving for a year now. It is crazy. It definitely doesn't feel like it. It feels like one never ending summer. I love being a missionary. It is absolutely the greatest thing I have ever done. I have learned and grown so much. Spiritually and hopefully physically as well. I have had a blast. It is a lot of hard work, but totally worth it. One of the most asked questions you get on a mission is, why did you decide to serve? It is funny because a lot of missionaries say that they had a spiritual experience, or something told them that they needed to go and do. However I never had any of that. I never had an experience like that. I just always knew that I needed to serve a mission. It was never a doubt in my mind. I knew that it is what the Lord expected of me, and it was one way I could try to repay the Savior. For being able to be cleansed of all the sins and stupid mistakes I have made, making it possible to be with family for eternity. He has change my life immensely. And what better thing can you do than to help him change others? Now I have a year down, and a Lifetime to go being his disciple, and doing as he would do. Missions are only for two years. Sure you will return , but you can never retire, being a missionary lasts forever.

Everything is going well. Elder Me and I are working as hard as week can. We talked to over 226 people this last week. It was insane and we are seeing a lot of miracles come from it. We have picked up a lot of potential investigators, and even a few return appointments. I will let you know next week how it goes.

Elder Paget

June 16- Rum French Toast. Wait......not again!

Well I don't know what to write about this week. There has not been anything that has been new or very exciting happen. We talked to a lot of people this week and made a return appointment. But it is for the spanish sisters. It is tough, all of the investigators that we find are for different wards. All of the investigators that we are teaching, except Autumn, should be taught by other missionaries. However our ward members want us to teach them instead of the missionaries that are supposed to. They recognize that we are really good teachers,and we love that, but it puts us in an awkward position. We can continue to teach them but we can't ever help them progress and be baptized. Elder Metcalfe and I decided that we were going to fix the problem and make everything right. Now the only problem was we didn't want to offend any of the members by suddenly switching missionaries on their friends and family. We decided to bring it up to the bishop at ward council and seek his advice on how we can hand off our investigators smoothly and not get any one mad. He told us that he wants us to continue to teach them and not hand them off. So we are back a square one STILL trying to find people that WE can teach and baptize. 

Actually a funny thing happened a week or so ago. I really don't know what the deal is with my companions and rum. Somehow they just gravitate toward each other. Elder Metcalfe really wanted to make some french toast. So one day he decided to go through our kitchen to see if we had all the ingredients for his special recipe. He found bread, eggs, cinnamon and sugar, the essentials. As he finished his search, he said that they only thing he now needed was rum extract. "Rum Extract?" I responded. Then I went on and told him of my experience of Elder Wilkinson eating the rum cake. He said that it was funny, and he then told me about how his dad put real rum in their french toast. "Of course," he explained, "that when you cook it, the alcohol cooks out." Now fast forward to a few nights later when we are sitting at dinner with some members in our ward and the topic came up again. They members just so happened to have the rum extract that Elder Metcalfe was looking for. The next morning, Elder Metcalfe proudly made his fathers famous french toast. He didn't want any so he just made some for me. There is the first red flag. I took one bit, and all of the sudden I tasted alcohol. I said to my self that is funny, this doesn't have any alcohol in it. Then I asked how much of the rum extract Elder Metcalfe had used. He said that used a few drops, but he had finished the rest of the bottle that was at least 1/3 of  the way full. Not to mention the french toast was not cooked all the way. I ate four slices of french toast and could not eat any more. So Elder Metcalfe decided he would finish off the rest. He said "Wow, this tastes just as good as when my dad had made it with real rum. It is like you can taste the alcohol and everything." To make a long story short I decided I would look at the bottle and to our surprise rum extract is 35% alcohol. I was surprised. The good thing is that nothing happened to either one of us. No one got "drunk" or couldn't ride our bikes, but I just thought it was funny. I didn't think that another rum story would come up. Who knows what will happen next?

Elder Paget

June 9- Murrieta with Metcalfe

A lot has happened in the last week or so. First it was time to say goodbye to Elder R as he came to the end of his faithful 2 year service. It is always hard when you get a new companion, but this was probably the toughest one yet. You end up becoming great friends and know how to work with each other. Then at the end of the transfer you go in your separate directions. It was hard not to get trunky because he was preparing to go home to the place where I call home also. It was especially tough because we both lived in the same area, went to the same high school, know the same people, and the list goes on. It would have been a lot easier if Elder R had lived some where else in the USA or even in a different county in Utah. It probably would not have affected me. It definitely got me to think a lot about home, but more importantly it got me thinking of who I want to be when I come home. Will I be changed? Or will I be the same person with the same problems? Will I make every minute count while I am serving or will slack off? I has been hard, but It has had a great impact on me now that I have been out almost 1 year. I am now striving to be that changed missionary, when I return home, being able to say I gave it my all.

Second, I got a new companion his name is Elder Me he is from Middleburg, Florida. It was actually quite funny. I totally called that he would be my companion. He was serving here in Murrieta in a different ward, when we got our transfer calls. Him and his companion were being both taken out of the area, so sisters could serve in their ward. When I heard this I immediately told Elder Russell that he was going to be in zone transferred and become my companion. When we were at the transfer meeting, President Kendrick called my name and said, " Elder Paget your new companion is going to be Elder Me." I immediatley yelled, "Called it!" Anyway he is a great missionary, who is not afraid to work hard and give it all that he has got.

We picked up a new investigator this week. Her name is C. She is related to a member in our ward that was recently baptized. She doesn't live in our ward boundaries but her relative wants us to teach her. We have taught her the Plan of Salvation, and Gospel of Jesus Christ. Right now she is interested in learning more, and is not ready to become a member..... just yet. The member said we could teach her on the conditions that we would not invite her to be baptized. It is super hard not to especially when that is what all the lessons are about, and our purpose is to FIND, TEACH, and BAPTIZE. So what did we do? Well lets just say we that we softly invited her to be baptized. We asked her, "When you know these things are true will you be baptized?" She said she would definitely think about it. She is making a lot of progress and look forward to meeting with her on Wednesday. 

A is still making progress. Her Mom has not given her permission yet to be baptized. But we know she will do it soon. Please keep praying for her.

Elder Paget

June 2- Service, Service, Service

This last week has been pretty good. We just keep going forward. It has gone by super fast. There is so much that we have had to do in Elder R's last week as a missionary. We have worked super hard and got the most contacts our area has had in over a year! I have been trying to help Elder R go out with a bang and end his mission off right.It is sad that he is ending his mission and not going to be my companion any more, but I am excited that I will be staying here in Murrieta for another 6 more weeks. We are making a lot of slow progress that needs to keep going.

We didn't have a lot of lessons this week but we did a lot of service and built friendships and relationships with members and non members. We helped a lady load up a truck with her stuff to move to Longmont, Colorado on Friday. It was really hard to fit all of her stuff in. It was really hot and humid, and did I mention her house totally smelled like pot? I guess now I know why she is moving to Colorado. Anyway, on Saturday we helped a less active family clear off there hill side of weeds and debris. They said that what would have taken them 3 weeks took us a little under 3 hours. Need less to say that they absolutely love us. Their son, who is also a less active member, builds all the cars for Rockstar energy drink that are at the car shows. So on Saturday they took us to Outback steak house for lunch then gave us the tour of his shop. It was awesome. They hooked us up with some Rockstar t-shirts and a pair of Dragon Sun glasses that are probably worth $100. We are going back this Saturday to help them out some more, and possibly helping them build one of their next cars. Should be fun.

A is doing great. We were unable to teach her but we did some service for her Mom. I had to use my handyman skills that I picked up from working with my Grandpa Salmon. To fix some curtains that were way to high. We had to lower them about a foot so that the curtains would completely block out all the sun. Also the Robinson, our ward misson leaders, family bought A a new quad and had all the Laurels, and us sign it. She loves it and now can't wait to start reading the Doctrine and Covenants.

Other than that we are still teaching M and her family. They are making progress and we will see them tomorrow night. 

Elder Paget

May 27- Busy Week

We have been pretty busy over the last week. We have been trying to prepare for a baptism, zone conference, and went by a bunch of people on a list that our bishop wanted us to visit. Unfortunately we didn't have our baptism, however we had a great time at zone conference and talked to a lot of people.

This last Sunday Autumn was supposed to be baptized. However her Mom would not give her permission. It was very sad to see someone so happy, and so excited because she was going to be baptized, then become disappointed because she was unable to. Even though her Mom will not let her get baptized she is very involved with the church and all of our activities. She has been going to mutual, and is planing on going to girls camp and Mormon Prom.

Shant is scheduled to be baptized this next Sunday but after his trip to Mexico he has dropped off the radar and we have been unable to get a hold of him. We are planning on handing him off to another set of Elders.

The next week after that Marley is supposed to be baptized but that also has been put on hold. Her and her family are trying to find out a better date for her baptism, so everyone can be there. 

So all three baptismal dates that we had have now dropped. We are now trying to find new investigators and set some new baptismal dates. Wish us luck.

Elder Paget

The Fire is 100% contained!

....FINALLY!

Thanks again for all your prayers and concern.

Tuesday Fire Update- May 20

It appears the last remaining fire is proving to be somewhat difficult to fully contain. Reports as of mid-day today were that it is 93% contained

We will keep you posted until its 100%. Thanks again for your concern and prayers.

Monday Fire Update- May 19

The last remaining large fire in our mission is 89% contained. The authorities suspected it would be 100% contained yesterday but its proving to be a little more difficult. However all our missionaries are back in their apartments and have returned to their normal routines.

Thanks again for your prayers on our behalf.

May 19- Fire

This last week has been pretty crazy. From fires close by raining ashes on us, to the spiritual wild fires burning inside our investigators.

First the actual fire. It is sad to hear about and see so many wild fires going on at the same time. First the Mission was on fire spiritually by all the baptisms that everyone was having, now the Mission is literally on fire. It is crazy that all the fires that are burning in Southern California are in our mission boundaries. I think there was 10 or more different wild fires started in the last week. Most of them reported have been caused by an arson. Even though the closest fire to us was about 20 minutes away, we still got tons of smoke and ashes falling from the sky. On Friday night, while we were out and about there was lots of people telling us that we needed to get inside to stay away from the smoke and debris. We had work to do, souls to save, a car, and only a few hours left. So we decided that we would stay out for the rest of the night, but that if it was as bad as it was on Saturday that we would stay inside. Because we would not have the car anymore and would have to bike in the polluted air. Luckily it was pretty much cleared up by the next morning and we continued on.

Now the wild fires burning with our investigators. A is still doing great. She has finished the Book of Mormon for the second time. WOW! She is preparing herself to be baptized this next Sunday. However her Mom is not supporting her. Yesterday she text us that she would be a little late for church and asked if we could save her a seat. We told her that her friend B would save her a seat. She showed up and told us that she had been taking her stripes, and then quickly sat down because Sacrament was starting. I didn't realize what she was saying. It didn't make sense to me. Then in the middle of sacrament she ran out, crying. We didn't know what was happening. Sister Robinson one of her Young Women leaders and her friend B went out to see what was the matter. About 10 minutes later they all came back in and sat down. Sister Robinson passed a note to us explaining what was wrong. She said that A had been yelled at by her Mother all morning. Telling her that she is ruining the family and that she wouldn't let her get baptized. A was really disappointed and started to break down from all of it at church. She really wants to get baptized and is worried that her Mom won't let her do it. So we are going over tonight to smooth things over and get her Moms approval. So please pray for her that she will still be baptized.

S is taking the lessons again. Now he is set to be baptized on June 1.

We picked up a new investigator this last week named M. She is 9 years old and is in a part member family. She has not been baptized yet. We started teaching her and the rest of her less active family this last week. She is set to be baptized on June 8.

Elder Paget

Sunday Fire Update- May 18

All evacuations have been lifted. All missionaries are now allowed back in their apartments.

The last major remaining fire was reported to be 85% contained as of this morning. Likely its 100% now, but we won't know officially until tomorrow.

Thanks again for your concern and prayers,

The Carlsbad Mission

Fire Update- May 17

The last major fire in our mission is now 70% contained. Although not all evacuation orders have been lifted. All our missionaries are back in their apartments except for one companionship and we think its likely they will be able to return later this evening.

We will keep you updated until the last major fire is deemed 100% contained by local authorities.

Thanks for your support and faithfulness.

The California Carlsbad Mission

Update on California Carlsbad Mission Safety Friday Afternoon 5/16/2014

Dear Parents,

 

All missionaries are safe. On Wednesday night we had 13 companionships stay at member homes as their apartment complexes were in evacuation zones. Thursday night only 2 companionships stayed at member homes.  We may not be at an end for evacuations, but we will keep the missionaries safe.  Heavenly Father is aware of each of them.

 

None of our missionaries were ever in danger nor were their apartment complexes in imminent danger. All evacuated missionaries, except one companionship, were able to retrieve their personal belongings before being evacuated. Evacuation orders for the missionary apartments in some areas were lifted as of this morning, but other areas may still be evacuated. 

 

Most of the fires in our mission are beginning to be contained.  Twenty fire chiefs are working together with officials from Cal Fire and other agencies to coordinate the firefighting effort. Eleven helicopters, two air tankers and some bulldozers have come in to help, along with experienced crews of firefighters from various areas in California and other states.  This is a highly coordinated fire-fighting effort, with massive support.

 

We began sending out mass emails to you all on Wednesday but soon learned that some were not receiving them. We now think our technical issues have been resolved and we will continue to keep you updated via email.

 

If you have question please respond to this email or call the mission office at  (this number contains an option to contact us for emergencies 24/7)

 

Thanks for the tremendous support you offer your children as they faithfully serve.

 

Sincerely,

 

President Kendrick

May 16- California Carlsbad Missionaries are Safe

Your missionaries are safe.  The 9 fires burning in the area of the mission boundaries are being vigorously attacked by fire crews both local and pouring in from other areas.  We join with others in the community offering prayers for the safety of those prosecuting the fires.

Thirteen companionships spent the night in member homes to avoid the heavy smoke that is in some areas.  None of the missionaries were harmed and all were able to collect what they needed for their overnight stay.  They may or may not spend more than one night away from their apartments.  The Mission President is watching over the missionaries carefully.

 

Best regards,

 

Sister Michaele Burris

President’s Secretary

May 15, 2014 Update on the Fires in Carlsbad

President Kendrick is carefully monitoring the progress of the fire crews.  He has determined that two companionships still need to remain housed with members tonight as a precautionary measure.  All the missionaries are safe. 

 

Evacuations in San Diego are by ZIP codes; if one corner of a ZIP code is evacuated, the entire ZIP code is evacuated. The missionaries that were evacuated were never in danger and their apartment buildings are secure.  Many evacuations are due to a closure of a portion of the access road to the apartment.

 

May 5. Please Pray to Help Us Find a Family

Things have been going great this week. We didn't get very many lessons but things look like they are starting to pick up. Unfortunately all of our set lessons fell through. But it gave us some time to do extra contacting and find a few service opportunities. We have been seeing a lot of cool miracles lately and we hope they keep on coming.

Last week we got a referral to teach a 16 year old girl named A. We were able to teach her a little bit of the Restoration, but then had to leave because her Mom didn't want us there. We were unable to meet with her this last week for a lesson. But she was able to come to church. She loved it! She also finished the Book of Mormon in a month and is already starting to read it again. She is on Fire! You could not ask for a better investigator. Today we are cutting out P-day short to teach her the rest of the Restoration lesson with her friend Thomas, that gave her the Book of Mormon. We are supper excited!

S has been going back and forth lately. He knows that the Church would bless his life in many ways. However, he doesn't think he has received his answer to his prayers or if he can live up to our standards. Then he came to a ward BBQ that we had at our church, and got to meet and talk to more members. Now he is fired up and has regained the motivation to change and become better. He was unable to make it to church for the second straight week but will try to make it to the next one.

We also had a less active member named Veasna come to church. It is the first time she has been in a really long time. We have been meeting with her for a while now and set a goal with her and her daughters to go to the temple as a family. This has given her the motivation to come back to church. I was actually surprised that she came. We always stop by on Saturday or give her a call to remind her about church. She usually always responds that she is not feeling well or that she is busy. However this last week we stopped by and she told us that she would need a ride and that we should call her right before church. So we did and she came. It was incredible, the Bishopric and ward members were shocked. So we are planning to throw them for a whirl when she hopefully comes next week.

We have been also making a lot of progress with another less active member name J. He has been meeting with Jehovah's Witnesses lately and has kind of made his own cross between the two religions, that Elder Russell and I have now named Jeremiah's Witnesses. He has told us that if we can prove to him that Jehovah is Jesus, that he will come to church every week from that time on. We have been showing him lots of scriptures and is slowly being convince but is still not there yet. 

Elder R have a goal this week to find a family that we can start teaching. So we would like to ask all of you to pray that we can achieve our goal. We also have a goal to contact at least 20 people a day. After Elder Ballard promised us that if we contact 20 people in a day we would double the number of baptisms. To help us reach our goal we have decided we are going to start tracting to help us to find those who are ready. We would really appreciate all your prayers to help us in our efforts.

Elder Paget

April 28, Miracle Referral

Well once again another week has come and gone. This week has had it ups and downs, but overall it has been good.

 

S was supposed to baptized yesterday, but he is not quite ready yet. It all started of last Monday when he didn't show up for his baptismal interview. We wondered why he would not be able to make it. He had been on fire recently and seem all for it. Luckily we were able to set up a lesson for Thursday and see what was up. We asked him a few questions and found out that he didn't feel that he had received and answer to his prayers yet. Which is ok. He had been going really fast, and it is good to take a step back and slow down to find out for himself the gospel is true, and not take our word for it. He still wants to get baptized. I feel that he will get his answer soon and he will be baptized in the next few weeks.

 

We had a cool miracle happen this week. We got a call from the Cole Canyon Elders saying that they had a referral for us. Her name is A and she is 16. We were able to stop by on Saturday and found out that her friend had given her a Book of Mormon and that she is half way through. She also said that she knows it's true and is thinking about getting baptized. We started to teach the restoration, but we were unable to finish. But we will pick up it back up sometime this week. IT was an awesome miracle. A golden investigator that came out of no where. It came right when we needed it. will let you know what happens.

 

Elder Paget

More of Murrieta

Well this has been a great week. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time to write about it. But here is a quick update.

I didn't end up getting Transferred like I thought I would. I will have lots more time in Murrieta.So now I will be here for at least 2 or more transfers. Elder R is going home at the end of this transfer and it is very unlikely that they would have both of us leave at the same time. Usually only one missionary leaves so the other missionary can help the next Elder learn the area. So I will most likely stay here to help the next Elder learn the area and ward members when Elder R leaves.

We had a great mission conference! Elder Ballard, along with Elder Maynes, and Elder Saban of the seventy came a spoke to us. It was awesome. The main message they had was that if you want to baptise more people you have to talk to more people. It was incredible to be instructed by them and to feel of the great spirit that they have.

S is still going to be baptized on Sunday and we are making the final preparations for his baptism. He is so excited and we are too. He has his baptismal interview tonight. B on the on the other hand is not. He lives in the Cal Oaks ward so we had to hand him off to the Elders in that ward. Hopefully he will be baptized soon.

Sorry again it is so short.

Elder Paget

The Torn Pants

We had another good week here in Murrieta. We made some progress, just another week when no one has been home. However we have seen some miracles none the less. Some things that happend this week, we set a new baptismal date,Shant was out of town but came to church, and we lost the our cell phone.Yes we actually lost it.

 

First of all we set a new baptismal date with a 16 year old named Brody. We started teaching him about a month ago when Dominic invited him to come to church. Before church we stopped by Dominic's house to wake him up and Brody was there waiting to go to church. So we taught him the restoration, gave him a Book of Mormon, then proceeded to church. He loved it however he disappeared for a while and we were unable to continue to meet with him. This last Friday our ward had a BBQ. We realized about an hour before the BBQ that we had forgot to invite Dominic and his family to come. We decided to make a quick stop by and invite them. When we went over Brody and Dominic were hanging out in the garage. We invited both of them to come eat, and play kick ball with us. They said they would come and then we left to clean off the picnic tables at the pavilion behind the church. Soon the party started and D and B showed up. They both told us how grateful they were that we invited them. Then D told us of the conversation he and Brody had after we left. He said that B mentioned how good he felt at church and while we were around and wondered why. D told him about the spirit and how it confirms truth. Then he went on and told Brody he needed to get baptized. B agreed and they headed off to the BBQ. Elder Rl and I were both in shock. We didn't expect it. Anyway we then asked him when he would like to get baptized he said, " I am available next Saturday." D then said "No you will need another week to learn everything." As much as we wanted to have a one week baptism we agreed and set a baptismal date for April 27.

 

S is still doing well. He was out of town in Mexico City this last week, but was still able to make it to church. He is still excited to be baptized on April 27. It should be a busy day. Brother B the ward missionary who introduced us to S is working on finding him an apartment in our ward boundaries. Yes he doesn't live in our ward boundaries, or our mission boundaries. Not yet anyway. Brother Bowman doesn't want anyone else to teach his friend. What can we do?

 

So we lost our phone on Saturday. We spent the morning driving around trying to find people on a list that Bishop Pulispher gave us. We decided to take a break for lunch and we got a call to pick up the Elders in the Cole Canyon ward because they were stranded at the Stake Center. We picked them up and took them to where they live. When we were there we got mail. In the mail Elder Russell got a gift card to go to Little Caesars so we decided to go there for lunch. We went inside to get the pizza, and the gift card didn't work. So Elder R had to pay using his credit card. I told him he should call the number on the back of the giftcard to see if there was anything on it. Thats when we noticed we didn't have our phone. We knew that we had just had it when we had got a call from the Cole Canyon Elders, but it was missing. In that time we had not gotten out of the car at all only to go into Little Caesars. We checked the car and found nothing, so we decided to go back in and check. We looked around and didn't see it. Elder R started to get mad becuase he put all the blame on himself. He said it was all his fault that we lost the phone. He had it in the car and said that he must of lost it in Little Caesars and someone stole it. There was nothing at that point that we could do so we went back to our apartment. The Murrieta Hills Elders live with us in the same apartment complex, so we went by and asked them to call/text our phone, and wait so see if someone would respond. No one did so we went to eat lunch in our apartment. When we got in there Elder R took his pants by the pocket and tore them down the seem. He said it wasn't the first time that he had lost something because to the small pockets his pants had. I was is shock I didn't know what to do. Shortly after Elder R changed into some other pants we got a knock at the door. It was the Murrieta Hills Elders. They said that the Cole Canyon Elders that we gave a ride home took our phone, and that they still had it. I just started to laugh because Elder R had tore his pants over it.

 

Any way we are going to have a mission conference this Saturday with M. Russell Ballard. We are soo excited and can't wait to hear what he has to say. I will let you know what happens.

 

Love Elder Paget

What I learned from Conference- April 7th

 This last week was great. We finally picked up a solid new investigator, set a baptismal date, and watched conference. You can't really get better than that in one week. We have been very blessed over the last week.

 

So last I told you of the crazy miracle we had on Sunday. Another person show up at church. It is the 3rd time this year it has happened. It is pretty incredible how new investigators have just showed up to church, right when we need them. His name is S, he is Armenian. Brother B a ward missionary invited him to come to church after meeting him at Denny's. He is awesome. We got the chance to meet with him a few times this week. We had our first lesson with him on Wednesday when we taught him the Restoration and invited him to be baptized. He accepted and will be preparing himself to be baptized on April 27. We then taught him again on Friday the first part of the Plan of Salvation, he loved every second of it. At the end of the lesson we invited him to watch the Sunday morning session of conference with us at the Stake Center. He asked us if it was a coincidence that they were speaking right as he started to investigate the church. Before we could answer his question. He responded, "I think not." He was so excited to hear from the prophet. On Sunday he watched the first session with us. He thought it was amazing and very inspiring. He stuck around and ate lunch with us at the Stake Center that some members had provided. As we ate we taught him the last half of the Plan of Salvation. S decided to stay and watch the afternoon session with us as well. He only made it through about the first hour when he had to leave. It was probably a little to much for him. It takes a lot of patience and conditioning to be able to watch conference. However it was incredible that he has wanted to learn so much and to participate as much as he can. He is going to be heading of vacation to Mexico City to see his brother this next week, but says he will do everything in his power to make it to church on Sunday. He is incredible.

 

General Conference was amazing. I have truly gained a testimony, and appreciation for it. I love to learn and be inspired by our modern day Prophet and Apostles. I have learned so much over the last weekend. I learned so much that it would be impossible to write it all down however, I wanted to share in a brief summary what I have learned from this last Conference.I have taken bits and pieces from talks that have stood out to me and put them together.

 

I have come to know, that we learned and trained in the premortal life, to deal with the opposition that comes in proportion to the spread and strength of the Gospel. We now need to develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to replace our fears that we have. We learn that we can not fear man more than God. We gain our knowledge of Eternal value through prayer, pondering, and scripture study. Obedience becomes an emblem of our faith. As we gratefully, Rely and pull together with our Master, we are able to stand up courageously for what we believe in. We become Heroes to those around us, as we share the message of the Restoration with others and lift each others burdens. Ensuring that we don't sleep through the Restoration. We fulfill our duties and keep our covenants. Knowing that we are a "choice" generation. We choose to have technology empower us and not enslave us. When using technology we use the best filter, our personal testimony, to stay away from the filth of the world. We make the choice to allow the Atonement and Gospel of Jesus Christ to change us permanently. Our desires become God's desires. What we desire will become what we are, and what you receive in the eternities. We seek to lay up treasures in heaven, rather than the things of the world. We do all we can in our power to find truth. As we do, we learn that Jesus Christ was not mearly a carpenters son, but the Savior and Redeemer of the World. We better understand the priesthood, or the power and authority to act in his name. When we pray we prepare to talk with Heavenly Father. We act as he would have done and don't wait for a second chance to be kind. We research our family history, and learn about our ancestors conversion stories. We study Preach My Gospel to better understand Heavenly Fathers Plan for us. Ultimately we become True to the Faith.

 

Love Elder Paget

End of the First Quarter- April 1st

We had a pretty good week. It is then end of the first quarter of the year. As a mission we had a goal of 85 baptisms by March 31. I am pleased to announce that we exceeded our goal and ended up with 110 Baptisms! :) It is awesome. We have a goal of 100 baptisms for the next quarter that we are now working towards. We are still continuing to try to find new investigators. It has been really hard this last week because it has been spring break here. Which means no one has been home. But we will keep pressing on and keep moving forward. We will see if things pick up soon. There is still one more week of spring break that we have to endure.

We had crazy miracle on Sunday. Another person show up at church. It is the 3rd time this year it has happened. It is pretty incredible how new investigators have just showed up to church, right when we need them. His name is S and Brother B a ward missionary invited him to come to church after meeting him at Denny's. He is awesome and we have an appointment to teaching on tomorrow.

We finally dropped M after teaching him for 6 months. It is sad because he knows the church is true but he is unwilling to make the changes necessary to be baptized. To be able to join Christ's true church. So we won't be teaching him from now on, but will still stop by to teach is younger siblings who were recently baptized. So I am sorry we probably won't have very more interesting stories from the F home or have my companions continue to get drunk off of rum cake.

Elder Paget

The Power to Choose- March 24

Things are going well here in Murrieta. We have really been focused on finding new people to teach. All the people we have been teaching recently have stopped progressing and are not keeping our commitments. It is really sad to see someone to stop when they are so close to realizing for themselves the Truth of our message.

As a missionary we will not force anyone to make the right decisions or turn their life around for the better. Everyone we teach has their own God given free agency, and we can't take that from them. Over the last week I have felt just a small portion of what God must feel like when we and those around us make the decision to turn away from him. However sad it may seem, we know that their choice or agency is one of the most important gifts God has given to us and to them. It is pretty remarkable to know of the love and confidence that our Heavenly Father has in us, to make the right decisions so we can return once agian to him. Even though God knows that by giving us this power to choose not all of his children would make it back to live in his presence.

We have always had the power to choose. In the premortal life we had to choose between God's plan and Lucifer's plan. As a result 1/3 of the hosts of heaven revolted and were cast out of heaven. It must have been devastating for Heavenly Father. However, knowing that 2/3 of his children still had the chance to become like him, he was willing to make the sacrifice of 1/3 of his children, so that we could have this opportunity to progress and choose for ourselves, right from wrong. He wants what is best for us, and will not force us to come back to him. We have to make that choice for ourselves. He has provided a wonderful opportunity to learn and to grow here on Earth. We must take advantage of it and make the right decisions in the here and now, so that the happily ever after in the future is a reality.

 

Over this last week I went of exchanges with Elder J in his area. We had a great time and took me tracting for the first time on my mission. Well he kind off forced me into it. I told Elder W that I had never gone tracting before and that I never planned on ever going. He told our district leader Elder J about it before he was transferred. Elder J then took advantage of the exchange and took me tracting for thirty minutes. Just to make sure I would get the opportunity to do it.

 

M has not been progressing and has been watching anti-mormon videos on youtube lately, so he probably will not be getting baptized on April 13.

 

C J is still going strong and her husband A is slowly progressing.

 

We picked up a part member family that we have been teaching, named the S. Hopefully they continue to learn and to have future lessons with us.

 

Love Elder Paget