Celebrating Thanksgiving and Visiting a Castle

Chance got to celebrate Thanksgiving in England with an American

family. This ensured that he did indeed get some

pumpkin pie for the holiday.

He also got to tour a castle. When one is in England, touring a castle or two should

be a must do activity.

The picture they took as they came out of the castle is breathtaking.

Here is part of what Chance wrote home about this week:

We also had an awesome Thanksgiving on Thursday! We had a member who is from The United States invite us over for Thanksgiving and it was so good and we got to play board games with them afterwards and got to know them some more and that was so awesome! We also had pie and that was amazing! We also gave the father a blessing afterwards because he wasn't feeling too well.

This week I want to share a part from The Living Christ that really stuck out to me. It is in the 6th-7th paragraph and it says:
"Even the voice of Jehovah, saying: 'I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father'"
I really love this because it is Jesus Christ speaking to us and my favorite part is when he says "I am your advocate with the Father" because he really is our advocate and he really does want us to return to God's presence. He is our older brother, our redeemer, the savior of mankind. He truly wants what is best for us and when we come before God at that judgement day, he will not be telling of our wrongdoings, but rather, will be expressing the good that we did. Because of his Great Atoning Sacrifice, we can have mercy present and he truly is our advocste with the Father, and he wants what is best for us. It is up to us to choose whether or not we will follow him, and learn more about him, and grow closer to him. My invitation to you this week, is to read through "The Living Christ". It is magnificent and if you want to come to know your savior more, that is s great place to start. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and my Redeemer. I know that he felt everything that I have felt and that he has felt everything you have felt as well. I know that you can come to know this for yourself, just look to him, pray to the father, ask him with real intent if he is there and if his son Jesus Christ really did atone for our sins, and I promise you that you will receive your answer that God loves you, and that Jesus Christ really did atone for our sins in Gethsemane.

I hope y'all have a great week! Keep me updated on what's going on in life for ya! 

Chance finds a piece of nature

Chance likes the fact that he is near the water now.

We don't have an ocean that is

close to where we live

so oceans are a treat 

to see.

Chance loves nature.

Mountains, animals, clouds. lakes, rivers, and oceans.

Nature is his happy place.

This week Chance and his companion were told by a lady they met that they 

could date her daughters.

Since missionaries don't date on their missions, 

they politely declined.

Chance also met another Elder who likes

trucks as much as he does, so it was a good week.

Here is what Chance wrote home in his email this week:

Doctrine & Covenants 122:8

"The son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" I absolutely love this because it points out that our Savior, Jesus Christ has descended below all of our pains, our problems, our trials and not just one of us, but all of us, he has descended low enough that he is able to lift every single one of us up. Think about it, he didn't just feel the pains of one person, he felt the pains of all the world. He suffered, bled, and died for all of us, giving us the chance to gain eternal life and to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. It's quite amazing!

So because he has descended below us all, he understands when we go through those hard times, through the trials, through the times when we feel that the "very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee". He truly understands all those things, he is there to help us. And because we have the Atonement of Jesus Christ, "all these things shall give thee experience and shall be for thy good." We can go through this life experiencing it, learning, and becoming better. When we make a mistake, it isn't the end, we can learn from it and become a little bit better and become more like the person we are meant to become.
The Savior truly does understand us and everything and that each one of us goes through. I know that he truly loves us, and when we are going through those dark times in our lives, that we are not alone and that he is with us every step of the way. If you do not know this for yourself, I invite you to come to know, to read the scriptures. To pray. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me, or the local church leaders or missionaries to come to know more about our Savior Jesus Christ.
I love y'all! Have a great week!

Chance Sees the Sea

Chance got to see the ocean!

And he is back in a hat.

I think his head was getting a bit lonely 

without one.

The hat will help

to protect his implants.

As a missionary, Chance is out 

and about outside a lot, so his implants

need some protection from the elements.

Chance has been getting a taste of 

the local cuisine as well.

The food is a hit with Chance.

There are some wonderful people out in Chance's 

mission that help the missionaries

and feed them every once in a while.

This is what Chance had to say in his monthly email this past week:

For Halloween, we went to another area in our district for exchanges with the elders and it was so much fun! We went finding along the ocean and met a lot of good people. I also found an American Shop and was in heaven! I didn't get too many things though because it was pretty expensive as you can imagine. We watched a Book of Mormon movie while there and it was awesome!

This past week I was reading through D&C 18 verses 43-44 which says:

"43 And now, after that you have received this, you must keep my commandments in all things;
44 And by your hands I will work a marvelous work among the children of men, unto the convincing of many of their sins, that they may come unto repentance, and that they man come unto the kingdom of my father."

I was reading through this and I found it has a really neat message that it shares. It shares that once we keep his commandments, that by Our hands, by our efforts, that God will further his work. Think about that, when we are obedient, we become God's instrument in the convincing of others of their sins and helping them come unto repentance that they may come unto the kingdom of God. We have that power, as we are more and more obedient, the more the Lord trusts us with bringing others to his fold. Imagine the joy that we can feel in bringing others unto Christ, even if we aren't full time missionaries, as we are obedient, the Lord will provide opportunities for us to share his gospel with others. We can be that person that is another's first good introduction to the gospel and we can help them toward meeting with the missionaries and repenting and getting closer to God. What an amazing opportunity we have to share of this joyous and happy gospel that we know with others. It may seem scary, but don't be, be natural about it, as Elder Uchtdorf said, "Share what is in your heart". As we do these things, we will feel the joy of bringing others to Jesus Christ and getting to know him more. I love you all so much! I hope that you all have had a great week! Don't be afraid to shoot me an email if you have questions or if you want to talk about anything. I am here for y'all! 

Chance Is Transferred To A New Town!

Chance has moved!

It is common on a mission to transfer every few months

and this past week, Chance transferred

to a city closer to the ocean.

Chance was really happy to see green fields full of animals again!

And he has some beautiful churches around his new home.

Chance had this to say in his email home this week:

Alright y'all! It's been a crazy week! Transfers were on Tuesday and we had to wake up early so we could get to our trains on time. My train came and I said goodbye to my old companion.

I met my new Companion in Norwich!

Y'all Norwich is so amazing! You walk like every 2 minutes and you see a church. There are so many churches here. It is incredible to see the history here in Norwich. The weather is tempered by the ocean so it isn't as crazy as it was in Nottingham sometimes.

Spititual thought:

16 Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.
17 Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.
18 I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me.
19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.
20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.
21 He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.
22 He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.

I love this chapter because first of all it is what is called the Psalm of Nephi and also because this chapter really helps us to see that Nephi is a normal guy too. He isn't some guy who was always perfect. Here we can see that Nephi, even though he was a great man, was brought down in sorrow because he was falling short and also that even though he was feeling down, he was praising his God and recognized all that the Lord did for him. He felt of God's love and recognized all the Lord had done for him in delivering and protecting him from his enemies. Nephi felt these things, and it is okay that we do too, but keep going, keep trying. He felt these things and felt down, he felt short, and thought that he wasn't doing enough.  I don't know about y'all but I took great comfort in that because he is a great man and he felt these things, and so when I feel these things, I know that Nephi felt the same sometimes as well.

My dear friends, pray to God, seek his power to be strengthened against temptation and ask for the strength to continue improving. It only takes one itty bitty step everyday. Sometimes even two steps forward and one step backwards. Just keep trying, keep looking to God and praying to him, and I promise you that he will guide you, and he will help you, you will feel his hand in your life and his power.
I love you all so much! Keep trying!

Chance Glimpses a Soccer Match

You know that Chance is having a good day when he gets to watch a 

bit of soccer.

While he was out eating with other missionaries,

he got see catch a glimpse of the

Liverpool vrs. Sheffield United game.

He also got  to visit Lord Byron's grave

And take pictures of a beautiful night sky. A sight that Chance loves.

This is a view of Sheffield at night.

Here is what Chance had to say this week in his weekly email home:

Hello Everybody! Hope this past week has been good for you all. I don't have too much time but I'll share a quick few things. 

We went on exchanges with our zone leaders and it was really good and we also got to see Liverpool play against Sheffield United while we had lunch! It was soo good go see a match! 

I want to share a scripture I read this week from the Book of Mormon:

"6 Nevertheless, I do not write anything upon plates save it be that I think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but because of the weakness which is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself."

I love this scripture because Nephi is an excellent man and follower of God and yet he made mistakes, he struggled with trying to do everything the best he could. We will all fall short, but that is why the grace and Atonement of Jesus Christ are so amazing. We will all make mistakes, and we will all feel that we are not enough, that we have fallen short, but the grace of Christ covers it all. What we don't accomplish because of our shortcomings and our weaknesses is covered by the grace of Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfilled the demands of justice so that we don't have to, he has instead turned around and given us a different requirement, to do our best. Now we all are sometimes hard on ourselves about if we are doing our best, I certainly am. And sometimes it feels that we are hardly doing anything, but one thing another missionary pointed out to me was a scripture along the lines of him who prayeth not in secret has his reward but him that prayeth in secret, God shall reward openly. God sees our efforts and sees the things that we do even if we don't see it ourselves. And he will reward us because of our diligence, work, and faith. I know I already suggested it, but if you haven't listened to it yet, listen to "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. It is so good. 

I love you all. I look forward to your emails that you send me. Remember that God loves you. 

Who Needs To Shower

Chance's shower apparently had technical difficulties this week.

Chance wrote home:

So this past week our shower has been broken and so we have been needing to take bath's. The problem is, they don't make the bath's for grown size men so it's been an adventure! One of the parts in the shower is broken, specifically the part that runs the hot water and so every time we run the hot water through the shower, the breaker turns off. 

It makes me laugh just a little to picture long

lengthy Chance trying to fold his body

into a tub that apparently was not made

for long people.

At least we know he is having some fun.

Missions are adventures, and the journey would not be complete

without some sort of apartment malfunction.

On my mission we had a washer at one of apartments that

turned one of our loads of clothes pink. 

We never found out why the load went a 

pink hue.

There was nothing in the load that was pink, red or any like color.

That load of laundry was an inside joke between me and my companion
for a long time.

The missionaries are actually very well taken care of out in the field.

It is just that when ever you venture out and live 

on your own as a young person, it is not unusual to have some 

sort of an apartment adventure. 

Chance sent home pictures that are very Chance-like.

Nature scenes and of course, some sort of critter he found.

And of course, a spider friend he found while out and about. 

Chance closed this week's email with a cowboy reference naturally.

 Our heavenly father really does love all of you and wants you all to experience joy! So seek him and you will experience that joy! 

Y'all are amazing! I love you all so much. Keep riding on, and when you get sore, remember that is part of life, but God will lift us and help us be strengthened. 

Have a great week y'all and let me know how y'all are doing! 

Chance is Eating

One thing we know for sure, is that Chance is indeed eating in England.

He keeps including pictures of his meals in his emails.

Chance also saw a windmill! I love windmills.

My mission in The Netherlands

had lots of windmills so I am 

glad that Chance got to see one

in the flesh.

A beautiful night time sky. It is just like Chance to 

be watching the skies.

He notices the beauty of the natural world 

around him. 

One of Chance's letters home in the past month included this:

This past week we had interviews with our mission president and it was awesome! While I was in my interview, I asked President Green if it was alright that I start learning British Sign Language because I've had a number of people that have tried signing BSL with me and he said that was alright so I've been learning BSL now, and we call it Deaf Hour! 

Catching Up on Elder Paxton in England

So this month has been a busy one for our family.  We did our annual camping trip where we really missed Chance, but we are all happy that he is where he is.

We'll have a great camping reunion two summers from now when Chance is home again. And then he can chop the wood for the fire as usual.

Chance has been seeing the sights of England and taking pictures.
Some pictures are better quality than others.

 Trees, clouds and green space.....this is the stuff of Chance's dreams

I think this picture speaks for itself.

Chance took LOTS of pictures of this particular spot so I think he really likes it. He is a nature lover in his core.


Here is a portion of what Chance had to say in is letter this past week:
It was very touching to read his thoughts about families.

Ever since I have been out on my mission, one of my main motivations and driving forces to do missionary work and desire to teach has been about the Family, particularly how I have been so blessed by my family and the wonderful blessing I have to be together with my family forever. It brings much comfort and peace to my soul to know that I will for sure see my family again after this life, as I strive to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and to be more like him. 

There is no family that is perfect, but we can all strive to do our part to make our families a little bit better. Do you find yourself being a little bit selfish to your siblings? Strive to be nicer and selfless. Do you find yourself possibly distancing yourself a little bit further away from your family? Evaluate if you have shared your testimony with your family recently and if you have spent some quality time with them. Have you noticed that perhaps you spend a little bit more time with friends then with family? Try to change that. Perhaps you don't listen to your parents as much as you should, they are there for your good, and they have been in your shoes before, they know a lot of what you are going through. Consider giving them a listen when they give you advice, and who knows, you may learn something new about your parents. There are many other different things small or big, that we could do to improve our family relationships. 

My family is not perfect, nor am I perfect, but I have a wonderful family and loving parents that care for and nurture each of their children, including myself. I have been blessed to be raised with the gospel and the wonderful knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. I have been blessed with a loving family who support me in everything. 

Now I understand that there may be others that may not be as fortunate as myself in having a loving and supportive family, or may not have had a strong gospel centered home or childhood, but I would encourage you to look at those things and figure out what you can do now to improve those things. Whether it is for now or for the future. Remember that God is always with you and that he loves you very dearly and that you are his child regardless of your circumstances. He loves you more than you can comprehend.

I know this email was kinda long but I wanted to share those thoughts with you. 

I love you all so much and I hope that your weeks have been good and that you are enjoying life!

Sunsets

So this is what Chance had to say about his week last week:

This past week has been a busy and good one! We've gotten a lot of contacts and I've been able to see a number of sunsets here, they're not like sunsets at home, but they are sunsets so I'll take what I can get. I'll include some pictures of those. 

We helped a member move his fridge and then he took us out to eat and he told us some awesome stories about missionaries before us that he had known and it was a blast. Lots of good laughs!

Our mission president and his wife, President and Sister Turvey, left this past Saturday because their mission was done. They are awesome and I'm going to miss them but my new mission president is going to be awesome. I've met him once and he seems like a really cool guy. I'm excited to meet him again this Wednesday! 

I would invite you all to go read Alma 32 this week and allow your minds and hearts to be open to how you can become more humble. 

I wish I could've written more about the people I am teaching, but I must go now. 

I love you all and y'all are the best! Have a fantastic 4th of July back at home y'all! I'll be there in spirit!

Not a sunset, but still a cool view

Root beer and Guitars

Chance has been experiencing some nice warm weather over there in England.

From a report I read, Britain was hotter than Jamaica one day!

Wow.

I did not see that coming.

Apparently neither did Chance.

He was quite surprised to experience such temperatures since everyone

has been telling him that England doesn't get that hot in the summer.

I don't think he minded the weather as much as he was surprised.

I wonder if Chance is using his dry and store unit more in England for his implants?
We are a pretty dry climate here so he hasn't had
a big struggle with humidity, but
he may be finding that in England,
he has to pay more attention to humidity levels.
I will have to ask him

Here is part of Chance's email home this week:

My mom sent me a package of root beer! In England, they don't have American sodas and their sodas aren't as good so I've been craving some root beer for a while and I finally got some! My companion and I both had one and we "cracked open a cold one with the boys" with this delicious root beer. It was so good! I was in Heaven. 

I Got a Guitar!!! I have finally purchased a guitar, it is an English guitar and it plays and looks amazing! 

At zone conference the main focus was personal conversion and it was super cool and eye opening. Personal conversion comes from the desire to change. It doesn't just come from having a testimony and knowing the gospel. It requires an effort and a constant desire to change and become better. I would invite you all to listen to the talk "Full conversion brings happiness" by Richard G. Scott in April 2002. Also consider asking yourselves these questions: 

Where do i need development?

What do I want out of life?

Where do I need to go?

How can I get there?

What is it that I need to improve?

As you reflect these questions, write down a plan of how you will improve and increase your own personal conversion.

I love you all and y'all are awesome! Have a fantastic week! Keep up the good work!

So Chance is Still in England

It has been a minute since I have given an update about Chance.

He is still in England.

He has experienced major rainstorms and 

he got to visit Cow and Calf.

You may be wondering what exactly Cow and Calf is.

It is an outlook that overlooks a gorgeous 

valley.

When new missionaries arrive in England they visit the site

and get their picture taken.

Then they visit again for another picture when they are getting

ready to return home.

Chance arrived in England, his mission president was in 

a meeting in another part of the country so he was

told that he would visit Cow and Calf a month

later when new missionaries came in.

Chance loved it.

Since he knew about the tradition, he was anticipating the moment when 

it would be his turn to visit.

He was not disappointed.

And here is Chance in his own words on how his week 

has been:

"This past week I've had some discouraging moments and it's been a bit rough trying to adjust to England and the missionary life outside of the MTC. However, my dad pointed something out to me that was really cool that often times we all forget, and that is this: Great things come to pass after the trial of our Faith. This is so true. Often times we might find ourselves in the middle of a storm trying to figure out why we are there and why we are doing what we are doing, but it is after the storm has passed that we truly see how that storm shaped us and how we were able to grow closer to our Savior, and that we are truly being refined by the Saviors refining fire. After those storms, those hard times are when we see the blessings that come from them. 

And lastly, I just wanted to give thanks to my Father and to my grandfathers and who ever else may have been somewhat of a fatherly figure in my Life. My dad has been an excellent example to me, he has shown me what a man should be and how he should act. I hope that I can be half as hardworking, loving, humble, and selfless as my dad when I grow up. 

Our Heavenly Father is our loving Father in Heaven. He truly genuinely cares and loves each one of us and knows us personally. He is our perfect father. As we draw closer to him, he takes joy in that and as we draw further from him and disobey his commandments, he wishes you to return back to his presence. He truly wants the best for all of us. If you are not as close to your Father in Heaven, draw closer to him and get to know him. I know that he is happy when we make the right choices."

I would invite you all to give thanks to your father's, and if you don't have a father, thank the men in your life that have lead you, guided you, and are the fatherly figures in your lives. Thank them for all that they do and never take them for granted, because they are truly a huge part of our lives. 

Horses and Rain

Chance is now in England. 

Ironically, he has been getting less rain than we have since he got there.

We have been having rainy day after rainy day.

Chance has been eating new foods and riding horses.

Okay, riding horses might be a stretch,

but Chance managed to get in his horse/cowboy fix

for at least one minute anyway. 

Here's an excerpt from a recent letter:

The thing with the horse. I was at the chapel this past week and we went into the gym just to do some language study and when we walked in, I noticed one of those stick horses that you put between your legs and I got it, and "rode" the horse around the gym. It was pretty epic if I do say so myself! And don't you worry, I have a picture of me riding the horse! (Dont worry I didn't actually break any rules, in the Missionary handbook, it says that you're not allowed to ride horses so I "rode a horse.")

Spiritual thought for the week. I was really studying the 2000 strippling warriors and their courage and the strength they had this past week to give Myself strength and courage as I am a missionary for the next two years in England. 

Alma 57: 21, 25-27

  21 Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them.

As we obey and seek to be the best we can at following Gods command, he will deliver us and will help us through our hard times in life. As we try to be the best we can be, and work as hard as we can work, being as obedient as we can be, having faith, God will be satisfied. 

  25 And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand and sixty, who had fainted because of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.

  26 And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe—that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power.

  27 Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually.

The stippling warriors were delivered from death and were delivered by the hand of God because of their faith, their obedience, and their desire to obey God and follow him. As we continue to do the same thing, God will preserve and will protect us as we go through hard times and struggle through life. He does not leave us comfortless. He is the light and the way and as we seek him, we will feel his peace and love and he will help buoy us up in our hardships and trials. 

I love you all and I hope you have a fantastic week!

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng

Link to The Book of Mormon that Chance referenced. 

Chance Has Arrived!

CHANCE HAS ARRIVED!

He is officially in England. I am a bit behind in writing, but Chance arrived in England 

 about two weeks ago.

Chance's first view of England, from the plane.

Ahh, he sent his mom flowers... ok, a picture of flowers...

A snippet of Chance

Chance arrived, but his luggage did not.  Chance had a few lay overs, and 

apparently, his luggage got left behind somewhere.

He had a layover in The Netherlands for about an hour which was wonderful

because he took pictures out of the plane window and I was

able to see the land where I served my mission. 

I still love that place and it's people.

Losing luggage while traveling can be a bit of a nightmare, and Chance

ended up having to borrow some of his companions pants for a service project.  I 

imagine those pants were a bit short on him since Chance is 

taller than his companion, but there was an upside in this drama for this momma.

One of my first thoughts after finding out that the luggage would be sent to the 

mission home when it arrived in England, so Chance would eventually

have access to his stuff, was that Chance did it!

Chance lost his luggage while traveling to another country, was able to talk to the 

airline and figure out what had happened and then figure out 

what to do.

This does my heart good because as a momma, you want your kids to be

able to be independent and figure things out.

And Chance was able to do this while understanding the accents of England.

I had to ask for directions in Boston once when we were lost, and the police officer's 

accent was so thick, that when I got back in the car, I told'the driver

I was mostly certain that I had heard everything right.

When you have a deaf child that you try to raise to be independent and able to go 

out into the world and be able to take care of business, 

this is a triumphant moment.

Chance has now received his luggage so he no longer has to wear

his companions pants when doing service projects.

Chance actually packed in such a way that he could live out of his carry on for about a week

just in case something like a loss of luggage happened.

He just didn't pack jeans for service projects in that carry on.

Here is a snippet from Chance's weekly emails home:

England is a different place y'all! It's not the same as America and Utah that's for sure. 
My first day which also happened to be my birthday was zone conference and it was good but I fell asleep so many times haha. 
Not too much has happened but we have been able to teach a Chinese college girl yesterday and she is so prepared for the gospel. I was able to translate the English into Chinese for her because we had an English member present. 

Spiritual thought of the week:
8 Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever.

I love this because it is focusing everything that we do on God and thanking God for everything that we have for the many blessings that we're so blessed to have.

Sorry it was kind of short but I love you all and will talk to you next week!

Quote of the week:
"I don't Rob banks, I mean, I can't."
This is a funny story, so we saw this guy that was on a wheel chair with a leg half Missing ahead of us coming towards us as we were walking and when he got close to us he started talking. He talked about a lot of weird things and we could hardly understand him because he only had one tooth. Well he started asking us about Donald Trump and then he started talking about robbing banks. Well he then said "I don't Rob banks, I mean, I can't." My mission companion and I had a good laugh about that and then questioned if he would if he could. 

Chance and His Critters

If you look really carefully, you can see that there is a spider camouflaged in this picture.

It is Chance's new buddy.


Chance found a new critter to enjoy in the MTC this week.

Yearning for critters seems to be a common thread in Chance's life at the MTC.

I am glad that he has the bounty of the earth to help supply him 

with critters to love.

I wonder what new critters he will find and bond to in England?

When I served a mission in The Netherlands, my 

critters of choice were the little quarter sized frogs. Just seeing one of those on the path

as I rode my bike across the countryside brought joy to my soul.

I wonder if Chance will find frogs in England?

Until he gets there and sees with his own eyes,

 I guess he'll settle for bonding with spiders at the MTC.

Here is an excerpt from Chance's weekly email home:

For clarification, this scripture he quotes comes from The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ, in the book of first Nephi chapter 17 verses 13-14.

1 Nephi 17:13-14

13 And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.

14 Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that I,the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem.

When we are having our hard times in life, and are wondering why we are going through our trials, remember that the Lord is with you. And he is alongside you preparing the way for you to overcome your hard times. Through our trials, we will come to learn of God, and learn of his mercy. For it is through our hard times, that we are able to see the true mercies of God and how his hand influences our lives. I promise that as you look to our Lord and Savior, and recognize how much he can help you and seek that help, that he will help you and will be there always. 

I love you all! Thanks for all of y'alls support! I will talk to you next week! 

Love, 

Elder Paxton