Monday, July 26, 2010

Weekly Email

Dear Family,



I would just like all of you to know that I'm doing alright and coping with this loss well. I appreciate your support as I continue my mission for I believe that I can cope with it better here. I know that you are all distraught as I was, but after talking to you all on the phone, President Giffiths asked if I wanted and blessing and I agreed and asked my companion to say it. Afterwards, the beatitude, "Blessed are those that mourn for they shall be comforted," came to mind and I felt the Holy Ghost very strongly and was able to feel its comfort. We went from my Bishop's home to Patrick's where he fed us Haggis, which was actually very good. Then we read from Jesus The Christ Chapter 16 about the first twelve apostles and committed him to follow the counsel of church leaders. Then we did some wallpapering for a lady in the ward who was receiving her endowments at the temple. We're not entirely done with it, so will come back on Thursday. That night, my Bishop invited my companion and I to stay the night at his house. I know this is against mission rules, but President Giffiths allowed it. So that's where we stayed the night and it was great to feel the love of the Bishop and his family.


I would like to share just one other experience. On Thursday, I went on exchanges with the Zone Leader, Elder Covey, up in Irvine. We first went to a lunch appointment at a recent converts and then afterwards visited a less-active lady and her daughter. Then we went finding and passed out a lot of cards and found two new investigators. One, a mother as she was coming out of her house, and another man walking his dog. He seemed quite interested and we gave him a Book of Mormon. Later, we met with the ward mission leader and went on "Reach out" where we went on splits to visit less active members of the ward. Brother Hacket and I visited a bed-ridden man in a retirement home that was really glad to have some company and only asked that we give him the sacrament on Sunday. Then we went to the this lady that just had a hip replacement and the other thing stopping her from coming to church is her mobility and she is really anxious to build up enough strength to go to church. She asked for the sacrament as well. Then we came back and waited for Elder Covey and the ward mission leader. As they were waiting for us, they decided to go and see some neighbors and they were interested in the church as well. Then Elder Covey recieved a phone call in which a ward member and found a family that was interested as well. In all we found nine new investigators that day. It was a day of miracles.

I love you all and hope that you will all be comforted as well. I know that the church will strengthen you all and just rely on the Lord


Best Wishes and much Love,


Elder Buxton

Monday, July 19, 2010

One Month in the Field

Dear Family,


Things are going well. We're struggling to find new people to teach. We do at least an hour of finding each day. On Friday we were in this town called Cumnock tracting. We found this inactive lady that was baptized when she was 8, but sometime after that went inactive. She's originally from Whales and is now living in Scotland. We set up an appointment with her. We met another man that we scheduled for baptism and another appointment. Hopefully he keeps his appointments and commitments. If he finds what we teach is true, and quits smoking, then he can be baptized on August 7th. Patrick is still doing really well. We meet with him often and will soon teach him all of the lessons again. Unfortunately, his daughter was rushed to the hospital over the weekend. I don't know what the problem was, but it was very serious. He came to church anyways, but seemed really troubled. The Bishop announced in Priesthood that we are holding a fast for her which I am currently doing. Later on Sunday, two men went over and gave her a blessing. When they we're done, she quickly crawled under the partition to go and play with a new friend she had made. So as long as a he trusts in the Lord, he'll be fine. What a lesson each of us can learn. His fiance was there as well and witnessed the blessing, in the past she has not been interested at all, but she's cracking and this will help. Also while they were talking to her, she talked about the missionaries and mentioned only positive things. It would be great if she could be baptized on the same day as Patrick.

On Tuesday we had Zone development meeting in Irvine. We mainly talked about finding God's elect and really committed to preaching the gospel again including an hour of find each day. Later, Elder Baumann did a baptismal interview for two of the zone leader's investigators. They're Slovakian and a good family. They were baptized yesterday. Later we had a great lesson with Nelly and Lau, some former investigators that we picked up. We tried to get them interested and to get Lau a belief in God. Unfortunately they didn't keep any of their other appointments and we had to drop them. They seemed so promising, but I might not be their time. That night we attended the ward's auction to help raise money for the young men going to camp. On Wednesday we did some service at the Dicksons', an elderly couple that recently completed a mission at the temple in Preston. He wanted us to cut down this hedge in the back. We still need to go back and do that. Later we met with the McLennans' where we helped the father commit their children to invite someone to church or an activity within the next week. We'll follow up with that this week. They are a great family that will eventually let us teach a friend of theirs, Noreen. They are working really hard to talk to the gospel with her. It's amazing how they met her. Brother McLennan was constrained to go out and walk his dog and when he got out of his house, he met her and started talking to her especially on religion. This referral seems really promising. On Friday went over to Sister Walker's in Drongan. She really likes to feed us each week. The past two have been fish and chips. It was good, but we really need to go and get some good stuff from an actually chippie. On Saturday I went on exchanges with Elder Shenton who's from Laichaster, England (I'm not sure how to spell it). We did a lot of finding, but didn't really have much success. We had an appointment with an investigator, although she didn't show up. We learned later that one of her tires were punctured and couldn't come. She did however come to church. Later while we were in the city waiting for a bus, some members from Brigham City, Utah came up and talked to us. They wanted a picture with us to show their friends I guess that there are missionaries in Scotland. They were in Ayr for the day since one of their ancestors was originally from there. What a coincidence. That evening we went over to a less-active member's for dinner. He ordered pizza which was alright. We were a little exhausted and any food would be great. We committed him to come to church and he came. That was good. Yesterday was church which was really uplifting. The stake president came and spoke in sacrament meeting. Bishop Gilardi brought some sweeties from his bakery to give out afterward in order to allow the members to mingle with the stake president. He was however busy with interviews. He's a great man though. He told me that there is actually a member of the stake presidency from Las Vegas. Hopefully I'll be able to meet with him. After church we met with the Sharkys' for coordination meeting and dinner. It was really good. She fed us some chicken Parmesan. Later with met with Bishop in his home and the Deweys', another good family.

I hope everything is going well at home. It seems everyone is doing great. It's great news that Matt found a job. The weather is pretty typical it either rains or it doesn't. The temperature ranges from 12-20 degrees celcius. I would recommend that you advise Matt Doxey to go out with missionaries is he's so bored. They always like it when members go out teaching with them. Also I need his address to mail him. could you also give me the addresses of Trey including his mission address and all of the mission addresses of those recently called. The ward is still great and I believe that normally 60 people come to church. I love you all and keep supporting the missionaries.



Love,

Elder Buxton

Monday, July 12, 2010

First Actual Week in the Field

Dear Family,


The subject that i wrote for this letter home reminds me of a joke I heard. So a man was walking by and saw this man out in a field. He asked what he was doing out there. The man answered, "I need to be out standing in my field." Well I think that's how it went. No matter though. So this week has had its adventures. Yeah our flat is really nice and we have yet to cook a single dinner. The member feed us quite well. Sometimes they fed so well in lunch appointments that we're not hungry for dinner. So our flat is in prestwick. My address is 16 Shawfarm Gardens, but if you send a letter send it to the mission home since I don't know the postal code. There are two teams in Ayr. One covers the city of Ayr and the other (Elder Baumann and I) cover the outlying areas like Prestwick, Troon, Drongan, Coylton, and some others that i haven't been to yet. The county we live in is called Ayrshire, very original. It's great though. The ward i think has about 60 active members that come, although there were less yesterday since it's the summer. Elder Baumann is from the Frankfurt area and will be out 9 months on the 16th. That reminds me. Happy Birthday Mom! Have you gotten my postcard yet? In way of what i've done since Thursday. We've been meeting with the members. We were supposed to see the Bishop for dinner, but they're having renovations on the kitchen that weren't done yet. So we went over to this family that is great, the McLennans. They have been talking to this cross guard lady who seems really interested. They're planning on giving her a fruit basket today so we'll see how that goes. They also have another possible investigator named Allen. Although they haven't told us much about him. I don't know if you're aware of the world cup, but that day is when Germany lost to Spain and Elder Baumann was a little bummed with that. We're really glad though that it's over so more members can come out and teach with us and we can see more people since there's really nothing to watch anymore. On Friday we went with Sister Walker, an elderly lady who fed us lunch and then we taught her the restoration. Later we met with Patrick, the man who's getting married in August and then baptized a week later. He's the one with the calling and is rock solid. He's reading his scriptures and even Jesus The Christ. The reason it's been taking so long for him to be baptized is because he had been living with his partner and well you need to get married or separate and he didn't won't a lame wedding. So he's taking his time and is finally getting married next month. It's great. On Saturday we did a lot of finding. First we went street contacting in Prestwick, but no one really listened. We did however stop by this former investigator family that seemed really interested. The father is originally from Portugal, but from African descent and the wife is originally from Cape Verde in Africa and later moved to Portugal. We have an appointment with them tomorrow. Hopefully that goes well. Then after lunch at Stobb's, we went to Coylton and went tracting in the rain. It was a good thing that i brought my umbrella. Thanks mom for making me take that. We got two new investigators thankfully. I forgot to mention that on Friday and Saturday night we met with Alison, a recent convert who's doing very well and was just called into the Young Women's Presidency. She's really funny and we like to stop by her at about 8 or 8:30 since people don't like it when you knock on their doors at that time. About Kyle that I may have mention in my last letter. He unfortunately is gone on holiday for the next 2 weeks and won't be able to come to church. I may have also mention about Brother Oprey who is bedridden in the hospital, but has been talking to nurses. One seems quite interested and he gave her our number and told us where she lives. He is so great. He comes out next monday and will be working with the Bishop to set up a way for a member to be with us like every day of the week. One Sunday we went to P.E.C. and church. Bishop Gilardi was alright to understand really as long as he was talking about the gospel. He's a great man that's really devoted to missionary work. Later we went to the Sharky's who i believe are the ward missionaries. They fed us Lasagna, garlic bread, and some potato wedges (the ones that you get at KFC). Then we had a meeting that they gave us some names of people to go by. During the meal though they asked me what my favorite food was and told them it was your pork chops and even how to make it. She said that she'll make it the next time. However, I couldn't really remember how long to cook it, so could you just send me the entire recipe so I can give it to her. In way of other stuff that I would like. Could you please send me the other stuff i said along with my other scriptures and any other recipes that are easy to make. Today though on this preparation day, we went to irvine for a zone activity of BBQ, ultimate frisbee, and soccer. It was really fun to meet other people in my zone along with some that were in my MTC group. Later we have family home evening at the church that Patrick usually comes to. Anyways, I hope Michelle's leg gets better and Mom has a fantastic birthday. If you get the chance though tell Chris Bender that I know 2 guys going to that mission. An Elder Martin and an Elder Merrel. Also how are my friends doing? Does Corey hang out with them at all? Another thing that I've been informed of is that you need to deactivate my Facebook account. It's a mission rule. Make sure though that you only deactivate it and not delete it. Also you and other family members should link your accounts with my blog so people can stay updated. Anyways, I love you all and hope you continue to do well. This week will be great and I'm learning a lot.



Love,

Elder Buxton

Thursday, July 8, 2010

First Day in the Field

Dear Family,
Well I made it to Scotland Safely. We took a coach to Edinburgh and when we got there, we unloaded our luggage and headed to Arthur's Seat also known as Pratt's Hill where we could pray and commit to be honorable missionaries and such things like that. Then we went back to meet with the mission president and get some training for certain rules and financial things. I had a short interview from the mission president. We had some enchiladas for lunch and then we had training. Afterwords, we got our passport, health card, and driver's license to have them copy to keep on file. Since we cover 3 countries in our mission we keep our passports if we transfer to a different country. Then we found out who are companions are. My companion is name Elder Bauman from Germany. He speaks English well, they teach them English in school. So he sorta sounds like President Uctdorf. Our area is in Ayr (pronounced "Air"). It's south of Glasgow on the coast. We have a large area which means we have a car. Unfortunately it's been having some problems with leaking oil. So after that, we took some pictures with the mission president and his wife, as companion in front of the McKay Stone, and lastly all together outside the mission home. Then the assistants took us to the train station where we took a train to Glasgow, got off and went to a different station and took a train to Kilmarnock. There we unboarded and walked to the bus station where we took a bus to companions' flat where Elder Bauman had parked the car earlier that day. So we got in the car and headed for our flat, but then two elders also in Ayr had some confusion as to when the next bus would come. They were at an investigator's home teaching and were trying to leave, but couldn't until almost nine.  One thought there would be a bus that came at 9 to be home by 9:30, but there wasn't. Actually there was a bus that came at 9:30 to get them back by 10. So we had to pick them up and hurry over to their flat and just barely there by 9:30 so we had to spend the night there. Thankfully they had some extra beds to sleep on, even though they weren't that comfortable. It's was really cold and thankfully mom had me pack my blanket to sleep with. Then in the morning we headed for our flat and those 2 missionaries had to come with us to take a shower since theirs was broken. So we've had an interesting adventure to far. Our flat though is really nice and roomy. It's new and we each have double beds. Our kitchen is good sized and the fridge is bigger than i expected. It's like they stacked two mini fridges on top of each other. So we didn't really have much time for studying. After study though we went to see if we could get the car fixed. however there wasn't anyone there that could so we have to bring it in on Saturday morning and hopefully it will be done by noon. Then we went back to the flat for weekly planning. we didn't have time to complete that since we had an appointment at 1 with a recent convert. we left early so he could take me to Stobb's, a local bakery chain that the Bishop owns and all the missionaries can eat at for free. In way of food, Elder Bauman says he doesn't cook many meals since the members feed us regularly or they go to Stubb's. Then we went to the church to eat and wait for the recent convert to come. While we waited we went to the library to use the computer to send the ward counsel our progress report. After that, we called the recent convert and he had forgot so we set up an appointment for tomorrow at the same time. Afterwards we came here. Later today we have an appointment with an investigator. He's 12 and progressing toward baptism even though he doesn't have a date. the mother is less active and doesn't want him pushed into baptism and wants to see some change in him before he can be baptised. We're trying to lead him along though. Then for dinner Bishop Gilardi (I think that's how you spell his name) is taking us out for dinner. He's originally Italian and moved here and learned English. Apparently he's sometimes difficult to understand especially over the phone. No matter though, he's really a great member missionary and really pushes the ward. We'll try to see some other people today like this member who's in the hospital. We're not intending to give him a blessing, but he's actually been handing out pamphlets to the nurses and one seems really interested so we'll meet with him and hopefully set up an appointment with the nurse. He seems like and awesome man. Hopefully I can help out here. One other thing, there's a man getting baptised in August, after he gets married. He actually already has a calling as the Activities chairman and sits at ward council and things like that. That's great news. Also we don't do much tracting or street contacting, but try to work through the members to find people that way. It's far more fruitful if we can, even though it can be hard sometimes. No matter we need to trust in the Lord and hopefully he can lead us to those people. I love you all and hope you have a great rest of the week.

Love,
Elder Buxton

P.S. we took the scenic way to Edinburgh. Scotland is much better than England. There are far more hills and majestic scenes all over the place. Another thing, our flat isn't in Ayr, it's actually in Prestwick, which is nearby. Also, I would advise not sending me letters a week before transfers since it costs money to forward letters to Ireland. Continue to send letters to the mission office since there's no cost to forward them while I'm in Scotland. If i move to Ireland, I'll send you my new address that you can reach me at. Don't worry now, it's still alright to send letter to the mission home.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Elder Buxton's Address for the rest of his mission

Elder Jeffrey Buxton
Scotland Edinburgh Mission
51 Spylaw Road
Edinburgh
Scotland EH10 5BP
United Kingdom

Write Him!!! 

Last Night in the MTC

Dear Family,
It's kinda of a miracle, but Sister Clegg allowed each of the missionaries to email home before they left for their missions. First off i would like to thank you guys for praying for me to find people. When they dropped us off in our area we said a prayer and then saw this guy walking down the road so we went and talked to him. he stopped and started talking to us. we talked a little about joseph smith and the Book of Mormon and he seemed very interested so we gave him one along with some pamphlets. He also gave us his information that we could pass on to the missionaries in that area. The next two hours or so we talked to people. I was supprised that if someone was home, they actually opened the door, even though they would usually say they weren't interested. Nonetheless, we gave out 2 more copies of the Book of Mormon. One to a teenage boy that we committed to read it while he ate lunch and the other guy had just come back from "holiday" and we committed him to read 3 Nephi 11. We didn't get their information which was a bummer, but we did get the info of another lady who her daughter refered. In conclusion, it was amazing to say the least. On sunday it was fast sunday of course and since all but one of the missionaries are american, we sang the national anthem and america the beautiful during choir practice along with God save the queen and jerusalem. the song jerusalem has an interesting story that i'll write about while on my 4-5 hour bus ride to edinburgh. we leave at 6 a.m. which mean we wake up at 5 a.m. no matter though, we finally get into the field. i forgot to mention though that the chefs made a bbq feast for us on sunday. on monday we had our last milestone or "test" you could say. basically we just teach a mock investigator. it was by far the best one yet. we taught with the spirit and resolved his concerns and committed him to be baptized (they spell it baptised here, wierd i know). We went to the temple for the last time today. it was really spiritual. it's a bummer that there's no temple in my mission. I hope to change that (read alma 26:22 i believe the scripture to be). Also another thing, is that you should never condition missionaries that in the missions they are going they might have little success. the Lord doesn't set us up to fail as long as we believe. in fact tell missionaries that if they believe they can baptize thousands. especially give this advice to Trey and Matt. By the way, have you heard news of any mission calls lately, especially Scott? Another thing i would like to point out is that it's karma that michelle is now limping since she called me dinosaur back in the day. So have a fun time healing dinosore! We we get off the bus finally we then climb Pratt's hill and i believe president girffiths will talk to us. you can read about pratt's hill from the letter my mission president wrote. Otherwise, it's been great in the MTC, i'm sad to leave, but excited to finally be in Scotland. My next goal is to learn the language. continue to pray for the missionaries and go to the temple often. I love you guys and have great times.
 
Love,
Elder Buxton