July 26, 2010

Hola!

Well mom I know that I didn't send an email last week......and I'm very sorry, there was a problem with the internet and it was just making me very mad!!!! But now I'm writting you so don't worry. But I didn't get an email from you I just got dads email today and that was it and that letter you forwarded me from chance.

So this week we had a pretty good week we have seen a lot of progression with our investigators. The Family Flores is still doing better, but we are worried about baptising the mom because she works on Sundays and so that means she wouldn't be able to go to church, so then she would not be fulfilling her baptismal covenant. But we are going to see what we can do, we're going to talk with her verly clearly about this. We put a baptismal date also this last week with one of our investigators his name is juan Bonilla and he accepted, so we are going to be working with him a lot but its kinda hard to work with him becuase his whole family are die hard Catholics so there's really no help from there. Now this investigator I'm going to tell you about has a problem I thought I would never find here in catholic country Honduras..... she doesn't believe in Jesus Christ..... her name is Kenya. She belongs to a religion called Bahii or somthing like that, but ya they don't believe in Christ so all we are teaching is Christ, Christ, Christ and more Christ and it's working she's coming to church and she wants to have the lessons. So were really working hard with her!.

Well this week I had quite a cool spiritual experience with the Book of Mormon. Presidante Flores challanged us in June to read the Book of Mormon in three months and I have been rockin.... I'm just getting done with 3rd Nephi. but i was reading in Helaman15:12-13,16 and while i was reading these three verses i had a very strong confirmation from the spirit of the importance of my calling to Central America to serve among the descendants of the Lamanites and to complete the promise of the Lord to them. The reason that was such a amazing experience for me was because I was having some doubts about if this is really where I'm supposed to be, because you guys know that I wanted to go to Samoa or Tonga, but after this experience I know I'm supposed to be here.

Well since I didn't get any questions from you guys that's all I really got for this week then. I love you guys thanks for every thing. I hope to hear from more of you guys next week........?????

Love, Elder Paulson

July 19, 2010

The internet was down in the town where Elder Paulson is serving and so he could not write to us this day. First week we had not received a letter from him. I called the mission office just to make sure that he was okay, no Dengue fever or anything illness that might have been keeping him from sending that much anticipated letter. Not really expecting anything but a email back telling me that everything was just fine, I received a phone call from the mission office elder telling me that he has spoken to Elder Paulson and he was just fine and that I should get out and do something to get my mind off him. Funny!!! Oh well, so I have the reputation of being a mother who worries, pretty sure I am not the first nor will I be the last! Made me feel better to know that he was fine!

Not sure about the birds on Elder Paulson's shoulder, but he loves the creatures of Honduras so I had to share them! This is the family that he has been working with, Roberto, Patricia, Gabriela, Dago, and I am not sure about the smallest child's name.

July 12, 2010

Well hello to another change,

So this will be the first letter you will be getting from my 7th change in the mission!!! It feels like time has gone by so fast, and I feel that I only have so short of a time to be a part of this work! Well I got my new comp last week, I'm still in the same place. My new comp is Elder Eslava from..... Peru, this will be my second companion from Peru.I have already learned a lot from him he is an amazing teacher and I think that we are going to be really good friends.

So this last week we didn't have any baptisms, we put a couple dates, but we will see how they go. We're still having problems with that family that we baptized the week before, the mother in law is causing a lot of problems, she didn't want them to get married..... and it's just a big mess. We are going to have to go fix another problem they are having! But i know that if they just focus in on the things of the gospel they wouldn't be having these problems.

So we have had some big changes in the world wide mission organization, every 6 weeks we would have zone conferences and also interviews with the President, but now everything is happening every three months! That's a long time, they are really putting a lot more confidence in the missionaries now! It's alot more honor system. There's been a BIG!!! problem here in Honduras with Dengue fever ( I think that's how you spell it) it's carried around by the mosquitos, and people are dying from it. We now sleep with mosquito nets that the mission gave us and there's been a lot of stuff going on in the church to prevent it, and in the mission. but I'm not worried, I know the Lord will protect us, and if we just follow the rules of how to stay safe will be fine.

Thanks mom for sharing that with me, I have always considered you my friend and I don't know what our relationship would be like without that part of it. I'm super bummed that you didn't get my letter, it was an awesome letter but I'll write another one like it, I think I saved a copy of it. Well a few crazy things I have eaten..... cow stomach, chicken feet, this little fruit called nanci ( they call it the cherry's evil twin),they make homemade pork rindes here but I like them. It's mostly just rice and beans with fried platanos.

Right now I'm reading this talk that my comp has called the "The Atonment of Jesus Christ" it's amazing. I have learned so much from it, it was written by and Elder Skousen I think, I'm sure you could find it on the internet, but you guys should really read it.

Well I did get garments but shirts no, but I need your guys help, I need to pay for that family that got married and it's like 30 bucks or something like that do you think you guys could help me. Also mom I have seen those hero pictures, if you could find some and send them to me that would be awesome, the walls of our house are pretty bare, and if you could send a another picture of Jesus Christ like what you sent for christmas that would be awesome, but mom I'm grateful always for what you guys do for me, I love you all and hope all is well.

Love your son, Elder Paulson

P.S. to Max

Hey Bro, hows it going? I just wanted to write you and say... WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!!!!???? Dude you have to play football! It's obivous you are not going to wrestle, but you have to play football, you have so much potential! You could be amazing if you keep going and working your butt off in football, you could be better then me!!! But think about that!

July 5, 2010

mi familia

First answer: Yes I got my package! hahaha and it was awsome! I loved everything you sent, all that Chinese candy and the spam and sushi and the Reeses. I have to say mom, you did very well on hiding that mp4 player, I didn't even know where it was, I opened those speakers and I said " why did she send me these if she didn't send anything to listen to?" hahaha! But everything was very cool and I loved it all. Yes that Johnny Lingo movie was the same one I had, but it's okay and I was stoked for the Other Side of Heaven but it doesn't have and Spanish settings, but it's okay. I loved it all and I'm more than grateful for you doing all that for me. That mp4 player works just fine. I loved it. I had to share my dingdongs with the district but it was alright.

So word on the work. well we didn't get the "whole" family baptized this week. We did get them married but the mom and one of the kids don't have the attendance at church they need but the dad (Roberto) and his daughter (Gabriela) did get baptized. The mom (Patricia) and the son (Dago) have a date for the 24th of July!!!! hahahaha! The mom was at the baptism of her husband and her daughter and after she came up to us and said she wanted to be baptized with them and she was all bummed out, and the son (who is 8) came up to me and asked when could he be baptized, it was an awesome experience! So they are really fighting for this date, and the cool thing is the dad will be able to baptize them. They got married on Friday. We also are teaching her sister and her boyfriend so we might have to be doing another wedding but I'm not complaining, it's worth it to baptize them.

That was really awesome what Jenny said about Uncle Reed, those things are really true, he really did live like that and we are all better people if we follow his example like that.

Well my comp left for home today so I'll be getting a new one on Wednesday, I don't know who it is but I'll let you know next week. Well I love you all. Thanks for everything. Thanks mom again for all. Té amo mucho!!!

Love your son, Elder Paulson

Birthday package finally arrives! Yeah, only 7 weeks to get there!
Dressed for rain, not the whimpy Utah rain!
No words to explain this photo!

June 28, 2010

Hello to another week!

Alright, first I'm sorry I didn't write yesterday, we had to go to the office and go to emigration to take out my identification and go through all that fun stuff! So, ya that's why i didn't write yesterday.

So this last week was a good week, that family is still progressing, they still haven't been married. We are still waiting on some papers that we need, but we are hoping and praying for this week. Plans are we are going to marry them this week and then baptize them on Sunday, because the sister works everyday of the week so we're hoping for a miracle on that. We have been finding alot of new people this week to teach, which I have been excited for! This month the mission baptized 112 people and this month completes a year for Pres. Flores and from this time last year to now the mission has baptized 1127 people,1127 children of God! Who were lost and have now found their way back home again! Like what Pres. Flores shared with us I feel the same when Ammon rejoices in the Lord ( Alma 26). I have really been focusing on my obedience to the rules of the mission and can truely say that I have felt the spirit of the Lord in work more now!

This week we haven't had that much rain, it rained a lot on Friday to the point of rivers in the streets and the rivers rising to touch the bridges, but that's nothing new here. It has been really humid but I'm kinda just getting used to it ow, there's nothing I really can do to change it so I just live with it. Well that's it for now, I'm out of time I only had a 1/2 hour today because it's not our day to write. Love you all, I'll write more next week.

Thanks for everything mom, I hope you like the pics, love you!!!!

Love your son, Elder Paulson

This letter was address to Elder Paulson's father at the passing of his brother Reed Norton Paulson on June 16, 2010, he will be greatly missed in our lives!

June 21, 2010

Buenas Tardes mi Padre,

Say hello to another Monday, and a Monday I kinda wasn't looking forward to knowing the news that was waiting for me. First I hope your doing alright dad, this is not something that someone looks forward to hearing when he is so far from home. I have been thinking alot about you guys this week. I got a call from President Flores on Friday afternoon, I had no idea what he could be calling me for, but when he told me it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm going to miss my Uncle Reed, I don't have very many uncles.....I guess I'm down to one now. And I'm kinda bummed out that I didn't take those last few chances to go sailing with him... I'm going to miss that.

In this past few days I have found comfort in the words of Pres. Hinkley, he wrote a poem about death, you might have read it before but I would like to share it with you. It goes something like this....

"What is this thing that men call death,
This quiet passing in the night?
´Tis not end, but genesis

Of better worlds and greater light.

O God, touch thou my aching heart,

and calm my troubled, haunting fears.
Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure,
Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change
With recompense for vict'ry won.
The gift of him who loved all men,
The Son of God, the Holy One".

I hope that this brings the same comfort it has brought to me.

Well other things from this week, that family has a baptismal date for next week and they are getting married this week. As for paying for stuff, we might get most of it for free, a member has connections so we are going to see what we can do, and it's not that we need a marriage license, it's other things, Honduras is weird!!! Also this week we found two new families to teach. So I was pretty stoked for that. We have been contacting a lot. We have interviews tomorrow with the Presidante, I'm looking forward to those.

I have been keeping it a goal to write in my journal every night. Before I hardly wrote in it at all!! But I'm getting better. Also I have been working on studying Spanish a lot more!!!!! You know how well I pick things up like that. I wanted to ask you when was the last time you saw your scriptures from your mission, or read your French scriptures. You should get those out and read them.

Don't worry I hear about the Honduran soccer team everyday, they lost today too! hahahaha! We get to play sometimes on p-days but I don't really like it that much!

Well dad, I'm out of time. I love you, thanks for everything dad!

Love your son,
Elder Paulson

June 14, 2010

Hey Mom-

Well, just for your sake I'll tell you I got my package, hahahaha! I'm not going to lie it didn't really feel like my birthday at all, I kinda forgot, hahahaha! We didn't really do anything, it's kinda hard when no one knows hahaha, But I'm glad you guys got to do something fun for you and that you didn't really have to worry about my birthday for a change. I hope you got that letter I sent a while ago, that was a Mother's Day/Birthday letter but I'll be sending another one off sooner or later.

I will send pictures of the house next week, the house itself isn't all that but the tree are awesome! and I'll try to get pictures of the town,I don't carry my camera around with me that much but I'll see what I can do. So we have found an awesome progressing family that has been progressing super fast. This week we are marrying them ( 90% of the population of Hondurans don't get married they just live together) and then they have a baptismal date for the next! So I have been super stoked for this. I have been praying to find awesome families to teach! So say some extra strong prayers for them! plz

I know that your teaching the girls things that they need to know. I wish we had someone to teach the girls here like you, they really need that. Honduras is not really the best place to find a good influence! So just keep doin what your doin with them and they will thank you for it! I noticed that Max was using my tie but I guess that's alright. Tell him to keep his chin up in middle school and to not let those stupid 9th graders push him around! Don't worry you will do fine singing in the funeral but I'll still say a prayer for you!

Well mom, I don't have much time today sorry ¡Te amo mucho y gracias para todos!

I love you!

Love your son, Elder Paulson