An Apartment Break-In

 Elder Paxton got to experience more snow while away in

England.

He also got to enjoy the sight of a charming English church.

Elder Paxton experienced a little break in across the pond!

His email home explains what happened:

This past week has been a good one! We have finished all of the filming for the video about my Deafness and we are now editing it! We still have a lot of work ahead of us in the editing but it is going to be so worth it!! 

We were able to meet with loads of members, start working on some musical pieces, and also work on and finish a video about how faith compares to bunnies in Mandarin and it is awesome! I have a lot of work ahead of me this week. We have a lot of lessons and a lot of videos that we are working on which I ain't gonna complain about because it keeps me busy and it keeps me going!

This past week we actually had an incident occur. We went shopping and came back to the flat and our window was open and we were all like, "uh oh." We went inside and there was nothing that had been taken and so we were curious as to what someone had broken into our flat for. Fast forward to that evening, the other Elders were making some deep fried Oreo's and they were joking about needing the fire extinguisher because it was getting smoky, so they looked at the wall where the fire extinguisher is supposed to be and it was gone! So we came to the conclusion that perhaps someone had a fire and needed an extinguisher real quick. Who knows haha. We ended up buying some locks for our windows so no one can get in now. 

This past week I learned a really valuable lesson. I learned the principle of doing our best then letting go. I had been talking to my older brother last week about some challenges I was facing and he reminded me to do my best and then let go of the rest. That really stood out to me. I was able to feel a burden lifted off my shoulders and the presence of the spirit more as I applied that teaching. 

There will be times when despite all that we do, things will not go how we want them to, or how we hoped they would. When we do all that we can, and sometimes fall a little short, or someone chooses contrary to that which is right, that is where the Savior's atonement comes in. After we do all that we can do, with a prayer in our hearts, the Savior takes care of the rest. We can do everything we can to help souls come unto Christ, to invite them to better themselves, and walk in righteousness, but in the end we are just an instrument in the hands of God, Jesus Christ is the one that does the work. This is his work, not ours. He is the one that changes the hearts of people, not us. 

My dear friends, do what you can do. Keep trying, keep giving it your best, and once you have done all you can do, give it over to the Savior. Completely. If we don't let it go, the Savior cannot take it, even if we hold on to one itty bitty piece. Do your best, then let Christ take care of the rest. 

I love you all! You are amazing!

Love, 

Elder Paxton

Gold Phone Booths

Many people have heard about the red phone booths in England.

But GOLD phone booths?

Elder Paxton (aka Chance)

has lived in a city where the phone booths are gold.

Elder Paxton has also spent a lot of extra time in various

stages of lock down due to COVID  19, so his

sight seeing options have been a bit curtailed at times.

He has however, still managed to take some pictures that give us 

and idea of where he lives and some of the sights around him.

It is sort of a custom for missionaries to take pictures of their name tags

in various locations on their missions.

Here is one that Elder Paxton took:

Chance also had this to say in the email he sent to us with the pictures:

Last week I also read a talk about China by President Oaks and it was so inspiring. As I listened it struck me that, my calling as a missionary to teach and help the Chinese people does not end when my mission is over. The Lord did not call me to teach, help, and connect with the Mandarin Chinese people only on my mission. This is a LIFETIME calling. The Lord has much in store for the Chinese people, and I'm meant to help with a little piece in helping the Chinese people learn more about God and Jesus Christ. I am grateful to the Lord with entrusting me with this calling. I hope that I may be a servant and instrument in the hands of the Lord throughout the remainder of my mission and life.

Now, for the spiritual thought.
The story of the Brother of Jared has really intrigued me these past couple of weeks of the faith and humily of these people. One part that I really liked was Ether 6:9 which says:

9 - "And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord."

They were in the middle of their travel to the promised land on the sea and they did continue to "thank and praise the Lord". This scripture goes right in line with President Nelson's video that he released on Gratitude.https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-nelson-gratitude-message It is so important to be grateful for the things that we have. He said that being grateful is one of the easiest ways to be happy and I agree! Continue to be grateful my dear friends no matter what you are going through. Remember to recognize the Lord for all the blessings you have received and give your thanks and praises. It will bless you forever. 

I love all of y'all so much! I hope you have a great week and a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Love,

Elder Paxton

 

What Has Chance Been Doing?

So you may be asking what it is that Chance has been doing on his mission in England this past while.

He has experienced another lock down due to COVID 19 and has been getting a good view of the inside of his flat.

He  lives with three other missionaries in the flat and though one traditionally does

a bit of sight seeing when living abroad, Chance or Elder Paxton as he is called on his mission

has not seen much of the country the last few weeks as only essential stores are open.

BUT, he is in good spirits and is working on a project that is close to his heart.

We are excited to see the finished project at home, and will be adding a bit of our

insights to Chance's story.

Elder Paxton talks about the project in his email home this week:

Hello Everyone!

This past week has been a good one! We've been pretty busy! To explain Miracle of Deafness, I am doing a video that is about my deafness and my story of how I went deaf. I am explaining a little in depth about some of the personal experiences and feelings that I have had. We have a lot of really good equipment and this video is going to turn out SO GOOD!!! I hope y'all are excited! In preparation for it, I would ask that y'all think of people that you could perhaps share this video with. 

We have been trying to set up more stuff with our members here so that we can help them learn more about how they can do missionary work. It has been so good and I have been able to get to know more of the members here in the ward. 

I don't have too much else to report on because we spent a lot of our time filming and working on the video that we are making. I hope y'all had a good week, let me know how it went! 

A thought that we have been sharing this past week with members is from the Book of Mormon in  Mosiah 2:17. It is a fairly common scripture that is shared in the church and it says:

"17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn ^awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the ^bservice of your ^cfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." 

The thought we shared with this scripture is that when we serve others we are in the service of our God and one of the biggest ways that we can serve others is by doing missionary work. Missionary work is simple! A lot of people think that missionary work is hard, but it really isn't! It just takes a simple conversation, or a simple smile, or even just having your Book of Mormon in the windshield of your car! God loves us and he loves his children. He wants them to learn the gospel too. Let us be the instruments in the Lord's hand to spread this gospel to others! 

I love y'all! I will send pictures later. 

Love, 

Elder Paxton

                                                                    

Miracles

 Elder Chance Paxton is still serving a mission in the great country of

England!

He has been living an unconventional mission, just like thousands of other 

missionaries serving around the world due to the 

COVID 19 virus.

Chance has gone into lock down again as cases of COVID have jumped 

in England.

But as Chance says in his email home this week,

He and the other missionaries in his flat, are battle proven in the lock down

situation now.

 

Carving Pumpkins!

Day Of Remembrance

Sunset in Hull

Chance's email home this week:

Hey Y'all! 

It has been a good week this week! We are now in part 2 of lock down here in England and it has been good! We know what we are doing and we have been battle tested. We've been through this before. We can still go outside so that is a huge bonus! Hallelujah! 

We have been doing music and then also been doing stuff on social media, I may also get some new apps and social media platforms to do missionary work! One thing we are also planning on doing is going to cemetery's and uploading pictures of gravestones to Family Search. I am actually really excited for that! I am going to start doing a little more family history and indexing so I'm super excited for that as well! 

We have a couple of new people who are interested in meeting with us and learning about the Gospel! One of them happens to be one of the Ladies we did service for this past week! Before the lock down hit, we were able to do service for two ladies and it was wonderful to get some manual labor in and they were very grateful and curious in what we do. Service really does do miracles! (Read Mormon Chapters 7-9 and Come Follow Me for more on miracles.) 

A scripture that I really liked from this past week was Mormon 8:35 which says:

"Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing." 

I actually find this scripture really comforting. The Book of Mormon was written by prophets who saw us, and knew about our circumstances today. The Book of Mormon is truly written for our day. It wasn't just written so we would have a cool record, no, they actually saw us and knew what challenges we would face and included in the Book of Mormon how we can overcome those challenges. This verse also allows me to self reflect and think about the things that I am doing. Are the actions that I make and the choices that I choose ones that would make the prophets of old proud and hopeful for our day? If they saw me, did they see a faithful follower that gave them happiness and hope?? My prayer is that the answer is yes. I invite you to think on those questions yourself. 

I hope that y'all have a great week and keep being Great!! 

With much Love, 

Dodge Trucks in England

 

People who are visiting England take pictures of various things to remind them of their trip.

Some people take pictures of cathedrals.

Others take pictures of the countryside.

Still others take pictures of the red phone booths.

Chance takes pictures of Dodge trucks.

Each person notices different things while visiting or living in a foreign country.

Chance gravitates to trucks.

Especially American trucks.

In his own words:

" I saw this awesome old Dodge truck here and It's right next to our flat! I would drive that truck over any of the Ferrari's I've seen here, you best believe it!"

Cowboy Chance is still alive and well even if he isn't wearing cowboy boots everyday at the moment.

One pair of his shoes is ripping out on the side now. 

Chance has given them a good workout over there in England.

Chance now lives in a flat with 3 other elders. He still has one companion, 

they just live with another set of missionaries.

He is really enjoying having 4 missionaries in the flat and they have a lot of fun together.

This is what Chance wrote home this past week:

 One of the Elders that I live with, he is from Mexico and last Tuesday was Mexico's national holiday so we celebrated it with him and he made all of the meals. I loved them! But they were also VERY spicy! So the running joke now is that whenever we eat spicy food, we make a sound like a train horn and we demonstrate with our hands the spiciness coming out of our ears. It's really funny. I've also been nicknamed the Milky Way in this flat because of how much Milk I drink, so whenever I drink Milk, one of the Elders looks at me and goes, it's the Milky way. It's been a blast with the other Elders here. 

Lastly, the past week Elder and Sister Rasband had a face2face event for the Young Adults and it was so good! They answered some questions and I felt the spirit so strongly. I would encourage and invite all of you to go listen to it, especially the Young Adults! One of my favorite things that I heard from it was when he said something along the lines of "The most studying and pondering you should do, should be of the latest words of the Prophets and Apostles." It makes so much sense because they are revealing and guiding us for our very day. They are living with us and are receiving Revelation from God on what we should do and how we should do things. The Prophets and Apostles are magnificent people. If you aren't sure if they are truly called by God, go read some of their talks and pay attention to your feelings. You will find that the Holy Ghost will confirm what you are reading is true and that those men are truly ordained of God. I love you all! Have a great week! 

Hats and Implants

 

This boy has been enjoying his time on the wall around the city. His hat may have changed a bit from the cowboy hat that he used to wear on a daily basis, but he still wears a hat most days.

He tells us that it is a different kind of heat where he is currently living than what we have here.

He likes to explore his new area.

During our last phone call, we started talking about when Chance first got his implants.

I was reminding him of little details like when he brought me the laundry from the dryer and told me

it was "done."

He was hearing the beep of the dryer for the first time after he got his implants.

He also put his little ear up to the fridge and dishwasher, and with eyes bulging , looked at me in amazement as if to say,  "DID YOU KNOW ALL OF THESE THINGS MAKE NOISE?"

We had a whole period where Chance became acquainted with our appliances.

We found these little gems while looking at the blog to find the post when Chance first had his implants first activated: 

What a cute kid!

And now look at him!

Speaking Mandarin in England while serving a mission.

AND getting acquainted with new appliances in England:

This is what Chance had to say about his week:

The weekend a week ago our boiler went out and so we had 5 days of cold showers and it was bone chilling at first but then it became bearable. Don't worry though, we were able to get it fixed, so we have warm water now. 

This Gospel is so true y'all. It has the power to change us into better people. The Gospel is the best medicine for anything going on in your life. It can heal you. Never take for granted the gospel, for we are a blessed people to know it and to be a part of Christ's true church on the Earth. 

Helaman 3:27-28

"Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name.

Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God."

God is a merciful God and he wants us to receive great blessings and happiness. The Gospel is the way he has set for us to acheive those things. Live the principles found in the gospel and look to Jesus Christ, and you will have the best life you could ever have. 

I love you all! 

Have a great week! 

With much Love,  

Elder Paxton

A Thumb in the Eye

It has been a while since the blog has been updated with Chance's activities in the great land of England.

First off, he is still there, though he moved to another city.

He has found some pretty fantastic things to explore in his new city like Roman ruins, castles, and a wall that goes around the city.

Chance enjoys walking along this wall and looking down into the city.

He got a picture of a sunset from the wall.......combining two of his favorite things.

He also saw a butterfly in his flat. And Chance loves his animals and insects.

It is always a good day when Chance gets to see any kind of critter.

Here is what Chance had to say about his week last week:

Last Tuesday we went and played basketball with the elders and sisters and towards the end of the playing I went to go lay up the ball into the basket and one of the other elders was defending me and his thumb actually went in my eye and so that was an interesting  experience. It's all okay though, I got a bruise on the bone above my eye but it's all good. 

I wanted to focus this week on one line from Alma 38:9 which says: 

"Behold, he is the life and the light of the world." 

(The full verse is below)

9 And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is ^ano other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the ^blight of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and ^crighteousness.

I love this because I have found in my life that he is my light and he is my life. I am still learning a lot of things. I am still trying to build my relationship with my Savior. I know  without a doubt that he is guiding me, placing me in situations to help me. I don't know who I would be without the Savior. I have seen his hand multiple times throughout my life. He is my older brother, he is my Savior, he is my strength. Through him, I can accomplish all things. 

I hope that each of you will develop your relationship with your Savior. He is there for you, and he wants to lead you home. He is the best and the only way back to our Father in Heaven and the greatest happiness you will ever know. Pray, study the scriptures, come to know the Savior in any way you possibly can. I know that if you do, you will find a great bond with your Savior. 

I love you all, I know the Savior loves you. More than I ever could. Seek him, Find him, and gain Joy with him. 

Love, 

Elder Paxton

Fish, Chips, Drawings, and Hats

A member of the ward that Chance is serving in delivered some fish and chips to the flat for Chance and his companion.

Chance was very excited about this and recorded it with a picture to keep forever and ever. 

Food is very important in the life of a young man. Especially a young man who is spending lots of time in his flat during a pandemic.

It is always good to see that he is eating well and that there are kind people helping him find the good foods of England.

Chance has been able to spend some more time outside the last little while and we love getting the updates and pictures of the things he sees and is able to explore. 

Chance and his companion have been doing some creative things while they have been in lock down in their flat. 

His companion enjoys drawing and even drew a picture of Chance. 

Chance has been playing the guitar and writing little fun songs about what he sees happening outside.

Chance and his companion also put together an incredible video about Jesus Christ while doing a puzzle in their flat. 

The awesome picture of Chance that his companion drew.
Notice the hat.......it may not quite be a cowboy hat, but Chance is still wearing a hat. 

Here is what Chance shared last week in his email:

We were attending our wards Sunday meeting online yesterday and our Bishop came on and said that it has been the sunniest spring on record here which is awesome because we have been able to go outside and really enjoy the sun. I'm actually getting a tan too which I never knew would be possible in England 

We had the opportunity to reach out to a lot of members again and we also got to play spike ball with our zone leaders! It was so fun!! It was so weird to interact with other people, I almost didn't know what to say or how to interact with them, its gonna be a process getting my people skills back haha

It's been a good week y'all! A little update, it's looking like we won't really be able to do a whole lot until July 4th at the earliest. We can meet people outside of our household up to 6 people now so we're gonna start seeing if we can meet some of the members in parks and whatnot. Its gonna be so nice to see a few people face to face. 

The spiritual thought that I wanted to share today comes from Alma 4:13-14. It says: 

  "13 Now this was a great cause for lamentations among the people, while others were abasing themselves, succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as imparting their substance to the poor and the needy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of afflictions, for Christ’s sake, who should come according to the spirit of prophecy;

14 Looking forward to that day, thus retaining a remission of their sins; being filled with great joy because of the resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and deliverance of Jesus Christ from the bands of death."

I love this scripture because it shows the righteous people being such a good example despite what was going on around them. I loved their example of reaching out to help and serve others. I especially love the line "thus retaining a remission of their sins; being filled with great joy". 

I wrote down in my scriptures that because they were serving others and giving of their substance, keeping their baptismal covenant by willing to bear one anothers burdens and to mourn with those that were mourning and comforting those that needed comforting, they were able to experience great joy, and not only from that but because of their continual repentance. They retained a remission of their sins. 

My dear friends and family, repentance is crucial in our progression and also in our current happiness. I want you to think back to a time when you had a burden of sin, and then I want you to think of how it felt when you sought forgiveness, and asked God to forgive you of your sins. Do you remember how that felt? Do you remember the freeing feeling of that burden? Do you remember the joy and happiness that you felt? 

That is the great blessing and miracle of repentance. It allows us to not only change, but to replace our burdens of sin with feelings of happiness and joy. It allows us to feel the greatest freedom we have ever felt. Perhaps you feel that burden of sin right now, seek forgiveness. It is never too late, nor are you ever out of the reach of the Savior's great atoning sacrifice. Take the steps necessary to feel of the true joy and happiness of Jesus Christ and his gospel. I have felt this feeling on my mission, and it is amazing to feel it all just go away. I know you can have that same feeling too. I love you all so much, keep doing what you're doing, keep trying to become a little better each day. Y'all are amazing. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you, including prayers! Have a great week! 

Chance Looses an Implant

Chance had a desperate few hours last week. He couldn't find one of the 

battery packs for his implants.

When he called home, he told us that he had looked everywhere and couldn't find it.

He and his companion had looked everywhere they could think of and had come up empty.

Since they are still spending most of their time in their flat due to COVID 19, it was hard to imagine

where an implant battery pack could have ended up since

it wasn't really going to that many places. 

Chance was starting to get a little nervous about its whereabouts 

and when he did finally find it, he sheepishly told us that

he had found it in one of his pant pockets that was in the laundry.

He may have had a panic moment with his implant battery pack, but on the positive side,

he and his companion are allowed out of the flat for about 3 hours a day now, 

so they have been able to do some exploring of their English hometown.

He has been sending home some nice pictures that give us a feel for his place of residence. 

Here is part of what Chance shared this week in his email home:

The only pictures I took this week were from our walks. We found this amazing Woodlands place that we can explore now and It has been just amazing. The last picture is a cemetery we visited on one of our walks. 

We also had a jeopardy game with the missionaries in our stake and it was so much fun! Elder Sprouse and I did so good and came up in first! It was a lot of question about the bible, book of Mormon, church history, and other miscellaneous things as well. 

We are now allowed to go for 3 hour walks each day and it has been a wonderful blessing! I have loved every minute I have had outside. It is so amazing!

This week I wanted to share a thought from Mosiah 24:14-15 

  14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

  15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

This is the Lord talking to Alma and his brethren in their afflictions. They have been through persecution by Amulon and his people. The first thing they did was call out upon the Lord and ask for his help. They didn't try to get themselves out, rather, they trusted in God and called upon him. I love this scripture because whatever our burdens are, however big for small they are, they can be made light. 

The Savior performed his great atoning sacrifice to not only cover our mistakes, sins, weaknesses, and shortcomings, he did it as a means to allow our burdens to be lightened from off our backs and our shoulders. The Savior has already felt all those burdens. We don't need to go through those burdens ourselves because we are not relying on the Savior, that would be defeating the whole purpose of Christ's Atonement. So allow the Savior to help you. Give everything over to him, and trust in him wholly. 

In so doing, we can be strengthened and submit cheerfully to the will of the Lord, and live joyful grand lives! This is my testimony, our burdens can and will be lifted because of the great enabling power of Christ's Atonement. 

I love you all! I hope you have a great week! Please let me know how you are doing and if there is anything I can do for you.

8 Weeks in the Flat

Chance has spent a LOT of time in his flat. I bet he knows every nook and granny of the place he calls home. 

He may be spending a lot of time in his flat, but he has been able to see some incredible things

on his daily walks judging from the pictures he takes.

The cathedral in front of the sun.

An artillery tower.

A really old boat dock stop.

Being out and seeing nature is really good for Chance's mental health.

He loves all things nature and being able to see animals.

He has always been this way.

I am sure that seeing the duck in the pond was a special treat for him.

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

大家好!

Hello everybody! Another week has come and gone, it seems to fly by like it did when we were outside now. Which is really weird. It has been 54 (7 weeks, 5 days) days since we have been inside. People keep asking me how I do this, and how I have not been going insane. It kind of surprises me too. I have gone a little insane, don't get me wrong, If I hadn't, then there would be something wrong with me haha. I think a lot of it has been that we've been able to continue to focus on others and their needs even though we are all inside. We have been working with a lot of members and this past week we have been able to communicate with a couple of people that could potentially be interested in the Gospel so we will see how that goes!
We haven't been able to teach a whole lot of nonmembers since we have been inside. Most of the people we were teaching returned back to China. However, we have been able to learn a lot of lessons while in Isolation. I have learned a lot about patience, humility, and other things while here. It has been amazing. As my mission president's wife, Sister Green told me last week, "You are getting a crashcourse of a whole lot of lessons that will set you up for the rest of your life." It's so true! We can all learn lessons that will help us when we come out of Quarantine.

I want to share a thought with you that I got from a BYU speech that Elder Bednar gave called, "In the Strength of the Lord." He said:

"There is no physical pain, no anguish of soul, no suffering of spirit, no infirmity or weakness that you or I ever experience during our mortal journey that the Savior did not experience first. You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, “No one understands. No one knows.” No human being, perhaps, knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before we ever did. And because He paid the ultimate price and bore that burden, He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy in so many phases of our life. He can reach out, touch, and succor—literally run to us—and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do through relying only upon our own power."

I love this. The Savior understands you and I perfectly, even in quarantine. This event is no surprise to him. He felt all of this before it even happened. In those times when you feel annoyed, angry, frustrated, sad, lonely, or anything else in this circumstance, know that the Savior understands. It doesn't just take remembering the Savior and his sacrifice that is going to help us, we have to act. We need to call upon the enabling power of Christ to cover all of our weaknesses, imprefections, and mistakes. We need to pray and say, I need help with this situation I am going through, please give me the strength to endure through it.
In this talk he talks a lot about how in times of hardships, instead of asking to be delivered FROM our trials, we need to ask to be delivered IN our trials.
I invite you to read through this talk. It has a lot of amazing insights and it helped me understand so much more about what the Atonement of Christ is. Here is the link for the talk.

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/david-a-bednar/strength-lord/

Pictures: We've been able to explore a lot of England on our walks everyday!