New Suit!!!

Elder Paulson's house in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Cristin's Baptism!
Walking, walking, walking! Do you think I need new socks?

CONFERENCE, AMAZING!

October 4, 2010

Alrighty family...

Well I have to say that this has been an excellent week for us! The best being CONFERENCE!!!!! I have been waiting for conference since April! We got to watch all sessions, and I got to watch them in English. It was sweet, all of the Gringo missionaries together in our own room watching conference, loved it! and yes mother I took notes again!!! =) I don't know how I couldn't, every talk was amazing and they all touched on awesome points!!! We also had investigators at a few of the sessions, it was like throwing a spiritual hand grenade into their lives, they had no idea what to do!!!!!! =D one of them, Elmer, has a baptismal date for this weekend. He went to the priesthood session and all of the Sunday sessions, he's been progressing so fast! and he's really gaining a testimony of the church. That family we are teaching didn't come, I don't know why, I hope they are not flaking out on us....... there name is family Nuñez but we are going to go visit them tomorrow so we will see what's up.

Alright a weekly experience that I think you guys might enjoy. So we have been visiting this inactive family, they are really nice and always inviting us over to eat and recently one of the sisters moved back to Honduras from Quebec, Canada (yes, I told them that is where my dad served his mission). Anyway, they have been living there for about 8 or 9 years, and she has three kids 2 girls and a boy the oldest 18, then 12 then 8 or 9 i think? But i guess in Canada they give you a kiss on the cheek to say hello, as they do here in Honduras, so we're visiting this family and in rolls one of her daughters ,the 12 year old, but she looks like she 16 or 17, anyways she came in behind me and I stuck my hand out to shake hers, well she took my hand but then she also leaned in and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. Well we as missionaries can't do that, but it has never happened to me before and I just sat there stunned and BRIGHT BRIGHT RED!!!!! Then she went over to my comp to do the same but he stuck his hands out shouting "NO PUEDO NO PUEDO" I can't, I can't. I was still just sitting there not knowing what to do, but she ran off embarrassed. So after we left the house me and my comp just walked home laughing! So I thought that you guys would enjoy that.

Dad the rugby game sounded sweet I'm stoked we won! The guys look like they need a lot of practice though, just from those pics I could tell what they need! But they'll get it! The weather here really has gotten a lot better, we're getting in to that cooler season, it feels like the beach in California, really I love it. Mom I'm sorry about the money thing I wasn't going to use that money at all but our mission cards weren't working so I had to use the money from home to feed me and my comp for like 3 days.

Well I love you guys. That's all I got for now. I hope all is well, I hope to hear from a FEW more people next week...... thanks for every thing. TE AMO MUCHO.

Elder Paulson

Appreciation!!!

Sept. 27, 2010

Hola mi Familia,

I have to say that I loved all the letters I got this week, I also got three letters in the mail from Shae and Tina, Becca Brown, and Austin, tell them all thanks for me and I'll get a letter off to them as soon as I get a free minute. Mom....... jealous about the mountains and thanks for the pics, I will say Honduras is all just one BIG mountain but it's pretty ugly, not like our pretty Utah Rocky Mountains, when people ask me if I miss home I say yes, I miss home and I tell them I miss the mountains. Tell Max congrats on the football game and tell him to keep it up. Dad I'm stoked to hear about how the rugby team is doing those jerseys sound SICK!!!!! I'll need lots of pics and info about the game!!!! Miller & Kel dudeskies, don't go to the Cayman Islands, come here to Honduras!!!!! Roatan or Utila, I'm serious they are ten times better!!!!!! I have read all about them, they are amazing!!!

Well this has really been a good week for us in the work, we got transfers this week and.......... I'm staying where I'm at andddddd my comp is staying too, we were happy we really work well together and get along. We were able to put 3 baptismal dates in this last week, and this week we're putting another one with this family that we are teaching, we're super stoked, we invited them to come to church this week, and we were sitting there in the chapel waitng for them and they didn't come until the last minute, I was so HAPPY!!!!!!

I just wanted to share something I learned this week, my eyes really were opend up, we were at a members house, and she was telling us about some financial problems that they are having, I thought about all the people that have told me about their problems, with not having money or work and that they might lose their houses, and I felt the appreciation for what I have. I see how and where people live here, I have been in their homes and I have eaten at their tables(that's if they had a table), they have shared their struggles with me and what their families are going through at the moment. And i think about my home back in Utah where I have a washer and dryer, cable T.V., air conditioning, heat, hot water at the touch of my fingers, and many, many more things. The mission really has opened my eyes to this kinda stuff, every morning when I'm standing outside in the open air on our back patio in THE NUDE!!!!! about to pour freezing cold water all over my body to "take a shower" I think of all the times I would sit in the bathroom just letting the hot water run...... and all the times I wouldn't appreciate things like that. I think that I will never make that same mistake.

Well, that's all I have for this week. I love you all, thanks for being the awesome family you are. TE AMO MUCHO!!!

Love, Elder Paulson

Sept. 20, 2010

Familia

Alright so this has been a really crazy week for me, it all started out when I started not feeling good one night, then by Tuesday night it was obvious that I was sick, so when we got home that night I took my temperature and it was at about 101. I had muscle pains, joint pains, headache, and a cough. So I called the mission doctor and she told me to start drinking a lot of fluids and take Tylenol and that I had to stay inside and I couldn't leave to work.........I couldn't believe that I couldn't leave to work. I had left to work everyday for a whole year!!!! But I was obedient, the following day I was about the same and had to stay inside but at about 8 started feeling better, so in the morning I felt a lot better, and by the afternoon I was back to normal and was able to go out to work and I was happy. So by the time I was better it was Saturday and time for the baptism of Cristin so we went and got all that ready and got him there. His mom was able to come to the baptism. It was awesome to have her there too. She's been taking the lessons too. It turned out being an awesome experience!!!!

So that was about what my week was, really hectic!!! I got to confirm him on Sunday, it was my first time ever, kinda nervous but I got it done, President Flores has really got us focused in working with families and not with kids. I think it's realy good cause there are missionaries that baptize just to get baptisms. Hey, tell Max to get to work and start being a Spartan and being a leader for his team and tell them to step it up!!! I really miss pie there's no pie here, I would really like some pie.

I was thinking you could just find the songs on the internet then load them on to a thumb drive and send it if you want an idea of what kinda songs, just watch the other side of heaven and listen to the songs on that.

Well I love you all, your the best! Thanks mom for everything! Te amo mucho!

Love, Elder Paulson

Louis and Carmen get baptized!

Sept. 13, 2010

HOLA MI FAMILIA!!!!!

Alright first thing first..... BAPTISM!!!!!!!!! YAHOOOO.. hahahaha but really its awesome, Louis and his wife Carmen were baptized this Saturday the 11th of September. It was an amazing experience to see a new family enter the road to their salvation. They were really ready and they have such a strong testimony, this is the same guy I told you about that shot himself in the leg! Also we still have 2 other people with baptismal dates for this coming week! The work is going very well here for us in Honduras!

I'm sorry I grew up so fast...... hahaha sometimee I think how sweet it would be to go back to playing legos all day! hahaha but this is just part of it all I guess but there's plenty of new experiences and memories to be made so we just take what we get and make the best of it! Alright so maybe Tegus is not the ugliest city but it's up there for sure. If you really want me to I can tell you about all the things we live with like the huge tarantula I found outside my house one day and the scorpions that are all over the place and those camel spiders are here too.... ya there's a lot of that here. hahaha!

Alright about the clothes, yes I did find my sizes. It's pretty easy to when I have dropped down a couple of sizes. I bought 3 shirts 2 belts..... and a new suit.... but its not just any suit, there's a member here that owns a company that makes the suits for the Marriot here so she came to one of our meetings and she took my measurements and I got to pick out the fabric and everything and if I wanted it to fit a certan way and all that, its going to be sick I'll send you pics when I get it, which should be this Saturday. My other one is really big on me now, I feel like I'm swimming in it, and its kinda falling apart.

Well I said what I would like for chirstmas, but you guys do what you would like and I'll be happy one way or the other. YA so a little bummed about the whole you guys going to sushi......I haven't even seen a roll of sushi for a whole year, but it's all good no worries. I hope you all had fun. Alright so I'm sending pics this time but I need some pics too. Send some of those last family pics we took, I really want those.

Well that's all I have for now. I love you all, thanks for everything mom, you are the best. I got the best family in the world. Te amo mucho.

Your son, Elder Paulson

Funny Story!!!

Sept. 6, 2010

Alright familia!!!!

First mom I didn't mean to make you think that I felt bad about the whole money thing, but thank you for the money I'm really down on shirts right now, you and dad are the best!!!! and the G-parents too!!!! I couldn't ask for a better family!!! I love you all!! So I'm going to go buy some shirts today becuse I only have like 6 I think. And I'm looking for someone that can fix my pants because I'm getting the wholly holes in the crouch! Alright about the pictures, so I found out that they are not completely erased, I just got to figure out how to restore them. but they are still there, but I have been saving my pics on my thumb drive that I have, so no worries but it's getting kinda full!!! So if you guys could include one in the next package that would be awesome.

Well I'm not going to lie mom, this is one of the uglist cities in the world I'm sure!! hahahaha but I like it in some sort of a way.......? but yes it rains everyday all the time, it comes, it goes and then comes again!!. but it makes it cooler so im not complaining. Yes I have more then one pair of shoes, i just need to get them fixed and I'll be good. So don't worry about that. Yes I love those hero posters and I would love more. If there's one of David and Goliath that would be awesome! and if those little ones aren't too expensive that would be cool to give to some of the kids here. So I have been thinking about the Christmas package too and what I really want is that you can take the money that you would use to send all that and buy all that put it aside ( same for my birthday) so that when I get home we can go buy new clothes and all that good stuff that I will need when I get home. I just want a few little thing for Christmas, like if you could find hymns and church songs in Samoan or Tongan, and also one of those oil holders that looks like the horns they have in the temple those thing would be awesome!

Thanks for the football update and tell Lindsey congrats for me! So just want to tell you whats going on with the work, we have 3 investigators with a baptismal date 1 family (Louis & Carmen Gomez) they are super positive. Funny story, Louis works for a security guard company and carries a gun, well he came right from work on Sunday to church with all his stuff which includes his gun, well long story short he shot himself in the leg...... it was kinda scary at first but then it got funny because he didn't want to go to the hospital.... hahahaha . The other is Christan he's 13 but he's super smart and we have a ton of other people that are so close to a date.

Well that's all I got for the week . I love you all so much and thanks for everything!!!!! te amo mucho

Your son, Elder Paulson