Dear Family,
How are you? I hope that you are enjoying the Christmas season. I am even though everyone claims to be really "busy" as they say and to come back after the new year. We press onward though. So neither Elder Erickson or I were transferred. We are both going to be in Elgin until February at least. We are going to President Johnson's for Christmas. I called him today and he says that we can make it there and that the boys will clear a parking space for us. He has skype, but i don't know his email address, but maybe you could find him on facebook or his wife or sin son, ythan. (Oh, and this sister in the branch is going to email you wanting the pork chop recipe. Her name is Sister Sylvia Stobbart and you could ask her as well). I bet that we could do on Christmas if you don't befriend him before that. It shouldn't take long from what Michelle says. I think that it would be best if we did it at about 9 am your time. This means that it's 5pm my time which would give us enough time to chat and get home safely. This means that Michelle, you need to get up earlier than usual, but just remember that your talking to your brother and it will be your last chance this year, so deal with it. We are planning on going to Edinburgh today for zone conference tomorrow and i will get your package there. Hopefully it has arrived. With the Christmas season and the inclement weather, post has been quite slow, but hopefully my package will get there on time. I sent it on the 5th and they said that it would be get there in time ( I confirmed that with them), then I saw the post man take it out to his van so it has been sent, it's just a matter of getting there. I tried to get each of you something Scottish looking and that's the only clue you're going to get.
It snowed again this past week and the weather from what we hear includes much more snow. Our driving is alright and the car works fine in it. It's not the best of course since it's a 2 wheel drive, 1.4 liter Vauxhaul Meriva (you should look it up on the Internet). We get stuck sometimes, but my driving in the snow has improved as I have learned from Elder Erickson. The road clearing here is rubbish though. The plows don't really scrape the roads. They have this rubber thing on the bottom that doesn't do anything. They grit the roads nicely and hope that will melt the snow. They only plow the main roads so all of the side roads are still covered in snow. So we try to the best of our ability to park in places we can get out of easily.
So in things that happened this week. We still struggle to see Martha Thomas and David Nain. We saw Sister Thomas once and the other times we set up to see here, she didn't come so we had lessons with her son, Chris. Brother Nain's daughter is feeling better and he says that we will be able to see him this week since he took the entire week off. Angus Waterson dropped us this week which was a big blow. We had arranged some nice lessons with him, but he says that he wants to stay with his own church. We plan on going by him on Wednesday to see if he has given any thought about learning again. We didn't have church again this week because of all the snow. The churches in Aberdeen didn't either, but Inverness did. Hopefully we can have it next week so we can have some sort of Christmas program. They were talking about doing a Sacrament meeting and then a munch and mingle afterwards while they put on the 1st presidency christmas devotional. So we shall see. I am looking forward to hearing from you and hope that everying works out for it. I wish you all the best and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (the library is closed next monday, so I don't know if I'll be able to email you).
Love,
Elder Buxton
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Loch Ness
Dear Family,
You might be wondering why I am emailing latter than usual. That's because today, Elder Erickson and I traveled to Loch Ness today. We took a train this morning to Inverness and then a bus to a town called Drumnadrochit where we got off and looked around. We spent some time in a gift shop and I found some stuff of the McMillan clan and then we walked around. Sorry I don't have any pictures to send home today; I left my camera in the car. So, tune in next week when you can see pictures of it. So we got back about an hour ago and went shopping and now I am emailing you. So that was a lot of fun, it was too bad though that we couldn't spend more time there to look around especially at Urquart Castle. Well this just means that one day I should go back and see more. It was a lot of fun to see something that's one everyone's minds as they bring up Scotland after kilts and bagpipes. No, I didn't see the Loch Ness monster. It alluded me this time.
In other things that happened. We had church on Sunday! It was sacrament meeting only. So Thursday somebody (nobody know who, not even President Johnson) plowed the car park and then Thursday night all of the snow melted and it continued to melt over Friday and Saturday. So this means that there currently isn't any snow in Elgin at the moment which is fabulous. Although I hear that more is coming =(. Anyways, we had church, but we went into the church on Friday to salt the car park and went inside to find that the heating wasn't working. So we went and told Brother Cumming (he's in the branch presidency) about it and he sent and email to some person over facilities and thankfully someone came out on Saturday to look at it and fixed the heating so now it's working fine. Because there was such a late notice about church, there wasn't really a program. So we sang many Christmas hymns and some people were invited to bear their testimonies. It was really good and I am sure the Spirit was there. It was so good to take the Sacrament once again.
So about Christmas. We are going to President Johnson's house, weather permitting. So about calling home, we have a few options. You can call me on my cell phone, which is (I don't know the country code) 07800614765. I can call you on President Johnson's phone if that's what he wants us to do, or if he has skype, I can skype you. However, we get our moves call on Tuesday to know if we are transferred or not, so that could change all plans altogether. We get moved on Friday if we are. So I'll really let you know what the plan will be. I really don't know how skype works, but if you need the Johnson's name, it is Gary and Julie Johnson. As far as Christmas goes in Scotland. It's not as decorated as it is in the states. They seem to hold back a bit. From what I hear people celebrate New Year's and New Year's Eve more. So that's what's up with that. I had some black pudding today. It wasn't that good. Bearable, but now really to my liking. Haggis is good though. We were going to have a Christmas party last Saturday, but due to the weather that proceeded it in the week, it got canceled. I don't know if they are going to hold another one.
We continue to teach the same people. We taught Sister Thomas and she seems to be doing well. Brother Waterson is still struggling. Like in week's past he still struggles witht the Word of Wisdom, but for some reason has been reading more and more out of the Book of Mormon. We hope that by including more of the branch that he will feel at home when he comes to church. We still haven't been able to meet with David Nain. He daughter has still been ill, but we set up an appointment with him for Thursday. We haven't really been teaching anyone new, but we hope to go out this week and find the Lord's elect.
I am glad that you noticed that my plaque isn't there. My favorite scripture is John 16:33. Pick a good picture because a lot of people will be looking at it.
I hope that everyone that is taking finals this week does well and have a safe journey home. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Love,
Elder Buxton
You might be wondering why I am emailing latter than usual. That's because today, Elder Erickson and I traveled to Loch Ness today. We took a train this morning to Inverness and then a bus to a town called Drumnadrochit where we got off and looked around. We spent some time in a gift shop and I found some stuff of the McMillan clan and then we walked around. Sorry I don't have any pictures to send home today; I left my camera in the car. So, tune in next week when you can see pictures of it. So we got back about an hour ago and went shopping and now I am emailing you. So that was a lot of fun, it was too bad though that we couldn't spend more time there to look around especially at Urquart Castle. Well this just means that one day I should go back and see more. It was a lot of fun to see something that's one everyone's minds as they bring up Scotland after kilts and bagpipes. No, I didn't see the Loch Ness monster. It alluded me this time.
In other things that happened. We had church on Sunday! It was sacrament meeting only. So Thursday somebody (nobody know who, not even President Johnson) plowed the car park and then Thursday night all of the snow melted and it continued to melt over Friday and Saturday. So this means that there currently isn't any snow in Elgin at the moment which is fabulous. Although I hear that more is coming =(. Anyways, we had church, but we went into the church on Friday to salt the car park and went inside to find that the heating wasn't working. So we went and told Brother Cumming (he's in the branch presidency) about it and he sent and email to some person over facilities and thankfully someone came out on Saturday to look at it and fixed the heating so now it's working fine. Because there was such a late notice about church, there wasn't really a program. So we sang many Christmas hymns and some people were invited to bear their testimonies. It was really good and I am sure the Spirit was there. It was so good to take the Sacrament once again.
So about Christmas. We are going to President Johnson's house, weather permitting. So about calling home, we have a few options. You can call me on my cell phone, which is (I don't know the country code) 07800614765. I can call you on President Johnson's phone if that's what he wants us to do, or if he has skype, I can skype you. However, we get our moves call on Tuesday to know if we are transferred or not, so that could change all plans altogether. We get moved on Friday if we are. So I'll really let you know what the plan will be. I really don't know how skype works, but if you need the Johnson's name, it is Gary and Julie Johnson. As far as Christmas goes in Scotland. It's not as decorated as it is in the states. They seem to hold back a bit. From what I hear people celebrate New Year's and New Year's Eve more. So that's what's up with that. I had some black pudding today. It wasn't that good. Bearable, but now really to my liking. Haggis is good though. We were going to have a Christmas party last Saturday, but due to the weather that proceeded it in the week, it got canceled. I don't know if they are going to hold another one.
We continue to teach the same people. We taught Sister Thomas and she seems to be doing well. Brother Waterson is still struggling. Like in week's past he still struggles witht the Word of Wisdom, but for some reason has been reading more and more out of the Book of Mormon. We hope that by including more of the branch that he will feel at home when he comes to church. We still haven't been able to meet with David Nain. He daughter has still been ill, but we set up an appointment with him for Thursday. We haven't really been teaching anyone new, but we hope to go out this week and find the Lord's elect.
I am glad that you noticed that my plaque isn't there. My favorite scripture is John 16:33. Pick a good picture because a lot of people will be looking at it.
I hope that everyone that is taking finals this week does well and have a safe journey home. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Love,
Elder Buxton
Monday, December 6, 2010
Winter Wonderland
Dear Family,
How are you doing? We are doing much better today because we have some really exciting news. So on Friday night we were having a lesson with Brother Thomas and we were thinking of ideas of how we can get his mom investigating once again. So we got this great idea. Since she really likes chocolate, we decided that we would be butter her up by getting some and giving it to her for a gift and hopefully getting into her home. So on Saturday we went to ASDA (Walmart) and got two large bars of milk chocolate and a box of chocolates to give to her. Later that day we went by at the arranged time and Brother Thomas came to the door and told her that we were there. She wouldn't come to the door because she had a headache. So we gave one chocolate bar to Brother Thomas and decided to come back to tomorrow. So we went back yesterday and went to the door. Brother Thomas again came to the door and told her that we were in. She said that she was busy. So Elder Erickson yelled, " We have gifts!" and then I yelled, "Chocolate!" She then replied, "Oh, come in. Come in." So we went in and she was very pleased to see us. The reason that she hadn't been meeting with us for this long time was because she picked up coffee again and was very ashamed of that. She was pleased to hear that we were willing to forgive her, but most importantly that God was willing to forgive her. We read with her from Alma 36 about Alma the Younger's conversion experience and related it to her. We said that if God forgave him for something as serious as going around destroying the church that he would be willing to forgive you for something minor like coffee. She was pleased to hear that and committed herself again to not drink any coffee. So we were so very happy to once again meet with her. Hopefully she will be baptized later this month. We are looking to the 19th if she feels that she can be ready then. If not hopefully on Boxing Day. What a great gift to her would be to be baptized and have her sins washed away!
In other things that happened. Brother Nain's daughter is feeling better and will once again allow us to come and teach him. Brother Waterson is doing fine. He still struggles with the Word of Wisdom and being baptized. He said that when he prayed that something told him yes and another thing told him no. So we hope that by reading Moroni 7 about how everything that invites to do good is from God. He has been taught almost everything and can be ready baptized on the 19th.
So to answer some question about Christmas. People do put up lights, but there are not very many. I feel that the snow and icicles have discouraged some people. I think another reason is that most people's homes are two story monopoly homes so that roof is quite high and you would need a tall ladder to get up there. That's just an observation. The validity of this statement is unknown. We do have our own Christmas tree. We bought one. It's 3 1/2 feet tall and pre-lit. It's fine for our purposes. There aren't any presents under it yet. We hope that will change soon. People celebrate Christmas quite similiarly to America. Except the meals I think will be different. They have this thing called Christmas Pudding (not like the pudding we have. It's more like a cake and often its soaked in Brandy and Sherry, but there are some without it) which i haven't had yet. It seems interesting. Oh that reminds me that I would like to give you a lesson now on some words that mean different things here. First if some invites to over for tea, it doesn't neccessarily mean that it's a tea party. More often than not, they mean dinner. Pudding refers to dessert. Trousers are pants (you probably know this). That's all that I can think of just now. So back to Christmas. I love Christmas. Another thing that they do hear is celebrate Boxing Day (December 26). It seems like it's just another day off, but it seems like it refers to the day after Christmas where everyone takes back the unwanted presents or the ones that were the wrong size. I don't really know. I let you know as time goes by. Speaking about calling home. We haven't really received any information about that. We know that we can. To the extent of how long or when, I don't know. I will probably call you in the morning (your morning). I don't know about Skype. I don't access to a camera. Aren't you content with just hearing my voice? Goodness. About transfers. There have been some rumors about that. Normally we would be moved on December 22 according to the six week cycle, but that's a little unfair. So I hear that this move will be one more week and we will be transfered the week after. So that's another mystery. We have been invited over to President Johnon's home for Christmas which is great. I hope to send off the gifts that I have gotten for you all. Hopefully it will arrive on time. We are teaching one knew person. His name is Michael Gormley. He is 35 and works at the Royal Air Force Base at Kinloss. he was interested in how there is a prophet on the earth. He is very open minded and willing to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. So that's what's been happening. There still is snow on the ground, although it has melted slightly. The car park at the Church is still covered so we didn't have church yesterday either. He hasn't been much of a hinder except when we get stuck, then it's a pain to push us out. I hope that everything is going well for everyone. Enjoy the snow and do well.
Love,
Elder Buxton
P.S. I got a revelation this morning as I was reading a talk by President Benson entitled, "Flooding the Earth with The Book of Mormon." He says that we need as members need to distribute it more so Malachi 3:8-10 came to mind with a slight twist which I would like to share with you:
How are you doing? We are doing much better today because we have some really exciting news. So on Friday night we were having a lesson with Brother Thomas and we were thinking of ideas of how we can get his mom investigating once again. So we got this great idea. Since she really likes chocolate, we decided that we would be butter her up by getting some and giving it to her for a gift and hopefully getting into her home. So on Saturday we went to ASDA (Walmart) and got two large bars of milk chocolate and a box of chocolates to give to her. Later that day we went by at the arranged time and Brother Thomas came to the door and told her that we were there. She wouldn't come to the door because she had a headache. So we gave one chocolate bar to Brother Thomas and decided to come back to tomorrow. So we went back yesterday and went to the door. Brother Thomas again came to the door and told her that we were in. She said that she was busy. So Elder Erickson yelled, " We have gifts!" and then I yelled, "Chocolate!" She then replied, "Oh, come in. Come in." So we went in and she was very pleased to see us. The reason that she hadn't been meeting with us for this long time was because she picked up coffee again and was very ashamed of that. She was pleased to hear that we were willing to forgive her, but most importantly that God was willing to forgive her. We read with her from Alma 36 about Alma the Younger's conversion experience and related it to her. We said that if God forgave him for something as serious as going around destroying the church that he would be willing to forgive you for something minor like coffee. She was pleased to hear that and committed herself again to not drink any coffee. So we were so very happy to once again meet with her. Hopefully she will be baptized later this month. We are looking to the 19th if she feels that she can be ready then. If not hopefully on Boxing Day. What a great gift to her would be to be baptized and have her sins washed away!
In other things that happened. Brother Nain's daughter is feeling better and will once again allow us to come and teach him. Brother Waterson is doing fine. He still struggles with the Word of Wisdom and being baptized. He said that when he prayed that something told him yes and another thing told him no. So we hope that by reading Moroni 7 about how everything that invites to do good is from God. He has been taught almost everything and can be ready baptized on the 19th.
So to answer some question about Christmas. People do put up lights, but there are not very many. I feel that the snow and icicles have discouraged some people. I think another reason is that most people's homes are two story monopoly homes so that roof is quite high and you would need a tall ladder to get up there. That's just an observation. The validity of this statement is unknown. We do have our own Christmas tree. We bought one. It's 3 1/2 feet tall and pre-lit. It's fine for our purposes. There aren't any presents under it yet. We hope that will change soon. People celebrate Christmas quite similiarly to America. Except the meals I think will be different. They have this thing called Christmas Pudding (not like the pudding we have. It's more like a cake and often its soaked in Brandy and Sherry, but there are some without it) which i haven't had yet. It seems interesting. Oh that reminds me that I would like to give you a lesson now on some words that mean different things here. First if some invites to over for tea, it doesn't neccessarily mean that it's a tea party. More often than not, they mean dinner. Pudding refers to dessert. Trousers are pants (you probably know this). That's all that I can think of just now. So back to Christmas. I love Christmas. Another thing that they do hear is celebrate Boxing Day (December 26). It seems like it's just another day off, but it seems like it refers to the day after Christmas where everyone takes back the unwanted presents or the ones that were the wrong size. I don't really know. I let you know as time goes by. Speaking about calling home. We haven't really received any information about that. We know that we can. To the extent of how long or when, I don't know. I will probably call you in the morning (your morning). I don't know about Skype. I don't access to a camera. Aren't you content with just hearing my voice? Goodness. About transfers. There have been some rumors about that. Normally we would be moved on December 22 according to the six week cycle, but that's a little unfair. So I hear that this move will be one more week and we will be transfered the week after. So that's another mystery. We have been invited over to President Johnon's home for Christmas which is great. I hope to send off the gifts that I have gotten for you all. Hopefully it will arrive on time. We are teaching one knew person. His name is Michael Gormley. He is 35 and works at the Royal Air Force Base at Kinloss. he was interested in how there is a prophet on the earth. He is very open minded and willing to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. So that's what's been happening. There still is snow on the ground, although it has melted slightly. The car park at the Church is still covered so we didn't have church yesterday either. He hasn't been much of a hinder except when we get stuck, then it's a pain to push us out. I hope that everything is going well for everyone. Enjoy the snow and do well.
Love,
Elder Buxton
P.S. I got a revelation this morning as I was reading a talk by President Benson entitled, "Flooding the Earth with The Book of Mormon." He says that we need as members need to distribute it more so Malachi 3:8-10 came to mind with a slight twist which I would like to share with you:
8 Will a man rob his neighbor? Yet ye have robbed them. But ye say: Wherein have we robbed thee? In withholding the Book of Mormon.
10 Bring ye all the copies into the world, that there may be my Spirit in their homes; and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.It shows to me the importance of the Book of Mormon. I would encourage you all to read it. Here is the link:
http://lds.org/ensign/2005/10/flooding-the-earth-with-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng
Monday, November 29, 2010
Snowy Scotland
Dear Family,
Guess what? As you could see from the pictures that I sent home, it snowed here in Scotland starting last Wednesday and it hasn't stopped since really. As of now we have about a foot of snow everywhere and the worst part is that we drive a car not really fit for the snow. In fact almost everyone's car isn't fit for the snow. Most people drive cars and there are very few trucks and SUVs. Plus, people aren't really used to snow in Elgin. Last year was the first time they really had several weeks of snow. Usually it doesn't. So it was a surprise to everyone that it snowed. So it has been interesting the past couple of days. We have been very limited as to where we can go and we are hoping though that we can use this weather to our advantage for example so people can have sympathy on us and let us in. It hasn't really worked so far, but we will really try it out this week. So to be blunt, this week has been quite hard as we continue to try and help those investigators that we have. We still haven't been able to meet with Sister Thomas, although we are hoping that we can have family home evening at a members house with them this evening. We haven't met with Brother Nain either. His daughter is till ill and he is busy comforting her along with his busy work schedule. We really hope that she gets better soon. They are going back to the hospital tomorrow and hopefully they will soon find out why she is so ill. Brother Waterson seems to be doing better. We still have difficulty having him quit drinking tea and smoking cigars, but I hope that he stops soon. On the other hand he seems to be reading much more and yesterday we gave him a baptismal calender and went through some qualifications to be baptized that are found on page 204 of PMG that you could look up, but I think we took a step in the right direction as he is now praying to know that he should be baptized on December 11. I just really hope that he is willing to act on the answer that he receives. The good thing about him though is that as soon as he promises that he will be baptized, he will go through with it. I just hope that he gets that spiritual witness and determination to be baptized.
We had a great meeting in Edinburgh on Thursday. We left on Wednesday to go to Aberdeen and it took us 2 1/2 hours to get there. Mind you it's only 60 miles away, but will all the snow that came down. We had to travel there very slowly. Then we got up at 4 on Thursday and left about 5:30 to go to Edinburgh. The roads were still bad until we got to about Dundee, then we got there on time, thankfully(the meeting started at 9). Then we had to travel back to Elgin afterwards. We left about 5 and got back at about a quarter to 10. It was a long day. Nonetheless, i enjoyed the meeting and we really start applying it this week and we are really going to be trying a lot harder. The things we talked about were the Book of Mormon, Prayer, and some other things. Nonetheless, these two elements are our very best tools in conversion along with the Spirit of course.
In other things that happened, on Tuesday we met with a man named Henry. He's in his 20s and to give some background, he studied theology and teaches religious education in the schools. So he was quite knowledgeable in all things religion wise, but it was still an amazing lesson where we taught the Plan of Salvation to him. It was amazing how many idea came into my head in how to explain different parts of it and we both felt like he understood it and is now aware of our views. I just hope that he earnestly about the Book of Mormon to know that is true. Yesterday we planned on going out to President Johson's for lunch. Oh yeah, because of all the snow, church was canceled (1st time ever in my life that has happened). Know President Johnson lives in the mountains near Glenlivet. So this would be like driving up to Mount Charleston in a mild snow storm when the roads weren't really plowed in a put-put car. We eventually decided not to go for fear that we would likely, very likely, get stuck somewhere. We were glad that we didn't go because it continue to snow yesterday.
So we continue to treck on and hope that through our efforts that we bring people closer to Christ. I hope that everyone is staying warm and now enjoying the Christmas Season. Oh and I did receive a Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday at Zone Conference. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, yorkshire puddings, veg, and apple pie. It was good and later we had McDonalds. Pretty good hugh? Hopefully i can find something good to send home to you. I hope everyting goes well for everyone and that Michelle and Matt have a wonderful time preparting for finals that are coming up quickly.
Love,
Elder Buxton
Guess what? As you could see from the pictures that I sent home, it snowed here in Scotland starting last Wednesday and it hasn't stopped since really. As of now we have about a foot of snow everywhere and the worst part is that we drive a car not really fit for the snow. In fact almost everyone's car isn't fit for the snow. Most people drive cars and there are very few trucks and SUVs. Plus, people aren't really used to snow in Elgin. Last year was the first time they really had several weeks of snow. Usually it doesn't. So it was a surprise to everyone that it snowed. So it has been interesting the past couple of days. We have been very limited as to where we can go and we are hoping though that we can use this weather to our advantage for example so people can have sympathy on us and let us in. It hasn't really worked so far, but we will really try it out this week. So to be blunt, this week has been quite hard as we continue to try and help those investigators that we have. We still haven't been able to meet with Sister Thomas, although we are hoping that we can have family home evening at a members house with them this evening. We haven't met with Brother Nain either. His daughter is till ill and he is busy comforting her along with his busy work schedule. We really hope that she gets better soon. They are going back to the hospital tomorrow and hopefully they will soon find out why she is so ill. Brother Waterson seems to be doing better. We still have difficulty having him quit drinking tea and smoking cigars, but I hope that he stops soon. On the other hand he seems to be reading much more and yesterday we gave him a baptismal calender and went through some qualifications to be baptized that are found on page 204 of PMG that you could look up, but I think we took a step in the right direction as he is now praying to know that he should be baptized on December 11. I just really hope that he is willing to act on the answer that he receives. The good thing about him though is that as soon as he promises that he will be baptized, he will go through with it. I just hope that he gets that spiritual witness and determination to be baptized.
We had a great meeting in Edinburgh on Thursday. We left on Wednesday to go to Aberdeen and it took us 2 1/2 hours to get there. Mind you it's only 60 miles away, but will all the snow that came down. We had to travel there very slowly. Then we got up at 4 on Thursday and left about 5:30 to go to Edinburgh. The roads were still bad until we got to about Dundee, then we got there on time, thankfully(the meeting started at 9). Then we had to travel back to Elgin afterwards. We left about 5 and got back at about a quarter to 10. It was a long day. Nonetheless, i enjoyed the meeting and we really start applying it this week and we are really going to be trying a lot harder. The things we talked about were the Book of Mormon, Prayer, and some other things. Nonetheless, these two elements are our very best tools in conversion along with the Spirit of course.
In other things that happened, on Tuesday we met with a man named Henry. He's in his 20s and to give some background, he studied theology and teaches religious education in the schools. So he was quite knowledgeable in all things religion wise, but it was still an amazing lesson where we taught the Plan of Salvation to him. It was amazing how many idea came into my head in how to explain different parts of it and we both felt like he understood it and is now aware of our views. I just hope that he earnestly about the Book of Mormon to know that is true. Yesterday we planned on going out to President Johson's for lunch. Oh yeah, because of all the snow, church was canceled (1st time ever in my life that has happened). Know President Johnson lives in the mountains near Glenlivet. So this would be like driving up to Mount Charleston in a mild snow storm when the roads weren't really plowed in a put-put car. We eventually decided not to go for fear that we would likely, very likely, get stuck somewhere. We were glad that we didn't go because it continue to snow yesterday.
So we continue to treck on and hope that through our efforts that we bring people closer to Christ. I hope that everyone is staying warm and now enjoying the Christmas Season. Oh and I did receive a Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday at Zone Conference. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, yorkshire puddings, veg, and apple pie. It was good and later we had McDonalds. Pretty good hugh? Hopefully i can find something good to send home to you. I hope everyting goes well for everyone and that Michelle and Matt have a wonderful time preparting for finals that are coming up quickly.
Love,
Elder Buxton
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| Lady Hill Monument in Elgin at night |
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| Lady Hill Monument |
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| Bridge on the way to Edinburgh |
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| Elgin at night |
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| Snow in Elgin |
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Getting Colder
Dear Family,
How are you doing? I am doing well. We had a zone conference in Dundee on Tuesday that we had to drive to. So we were supposed to be there at 8:30 in the morning. We were to drive from Elgin there in the morning. So we woke up at 4 to leave by 5 which we did. We printed off some directions from Google to take us the direct route to Dundee through the mountain basically instead of traveling from Aberdeen and then to Dundee. So we went off driving, got lost a couple of times which delayed. Combine that with some spin outs, all equates to being late. In fact we arrived at the chapel at 9:40. The conference started at 9, but we didn't miss much, just some videos they watched. Thankfully we were in time to receive some instruction before we went home at 4 in the afternoon. This time we went home via Aberdeen. To say the least, we arrived home safely and much faster than that morning. It was an adventure to say the least. I believe we were protected though as we were traveling, especially when we spun out a couple of times (ie. fast speed + ice on side of road + mountains + twisty roads = spin out). Also did I mention that I was driving? Well I was, so no need to fear, we're alright and so is the car. It was a good thing that no one was around. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be writing right now. On Thursday we have another zone conference this time in Edinburgh. We are driving Wednesday night to Aberdeen and then staying the night before driving there Thursday morning. This time we'll take the dual-carriage ways (4 lane highway, meaning fast) from Aberdeeen to Edinburgh so it shouldn't take us very long, unless we get lost in Edinburgh which would be a problem.
I'm sending home a picture from this months Ensign. Elder Erickson is in it on page 49 which this is picture is that I'm sending home. Isn't that neat that my companion is in the Ensign? It was taken of course when he was still in Ireland. It's from the recent stake conference in Dublin and there happened to be this guy who takes pictures for the Ensign and he had them line up and walk as if they were going to stake conference. I know it looks like all the Elders are chasing a sister missionary, but her companion got cut out. This pretty much make him famous. In fact he has even signed a few for the members. That's a fact. Maybe he'll sign your one day.
So in other news, we had a tough week. It seems that whenever we try to see our investigators, something comes up or they aren't in, or something else. So we were left to do some finding. The problem is that a lot of Elgin has been tracting already by Elder Stewart the 4 months that he was here. So I'm trying to figure out where the best places are to find. I think that we'll have to go to some of the the small towns and villages around Elgin and try them. Hopefully we'll find some people to teach out there. So to fill you in on some of our investigators. Brother Nain I think really likes us. He talks quite a bit to us on the phone when we call him, more than he did when we first met him. Brother Waterson is still struggling with the Word of Wisdom. We continue to try and convince him to throw it all away, but he never seems to do it. He continues to read from the Book of Mormon and he came to church on Sunday, which was marvelous. I felt that the speakers were really talking at him. I hope that he took their messages to heart and will make the necessary changes. We still haven't met with Sister Thomas. We have called a few times, but always seems to be busy. Her son still wants her to be baptized. Hopefully he can continue to help her along. We have started teaching some other now as well. They are Stuart, Scott, and Paulo. Hopefully they will read from the Book of Mormon and pray and find out that it is true.
This week we're really going to try and make contact with some less-actives to try and re-activate them and see if they know anyone that we can teach. We have identified some that we plan on going by and hopefully they will be kind enough to let us come in. So hopefully we can continue to further His work along.
So, what do you want for Christmas? The only things that I can think of for me would be the things that I have said already plus warm socks and maybe even candy corn and a butterfinger. That would be great. Thank you for being so supportive and I hope that you all have a nice thanksgiving. i hope we get fed something nice at zone conference. Maybe that's why there is one so that we can have a thanksgiving dinner. Well, maybe. I can hope. I love you all. It's getting colder and colder. This morning it was 2 degress C, but we haven't had any snow yet in Elgin. There supposed to be snow this week in the mountains and places where President Johnson lives and in Keith. Hopefully the roads will be cleared. And yes I have been to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. That's where Sam was endowed.
Love,
Elder Buxton
How are you doing? I am doing well. We had a zone conference in Dundee on Tuesday that we had to drive to. So we were supposed to be there at 8:30 in the morning. We were to drive from Elgin there in the morning. So we woke up at 4 to leave by 5 which we did. We printed off some directions from Google to take us the direct route to Dundee through the mountain basically instead of traveling from Aberdeen and then to Dundee. So we went off driving, got lost a couple of times which delayed. Combine that with some spin outs, all equates to being late. In fact we arrived at the chapel at 9:40. The conference started at 9, but we didn't miss much, just some videos they watched. Thankfully we were in time to receive some instruction before we went home at 4 in the afternoon. This time we went home via Aberdeen. To say the least, we arrived home safely and much faster than that morning. It was an adventure to say the least. I believe we were protected though as we were traveling, especially when we spun out a couple of times (ie. fast speed + ice on side of road + mountains + twisty roads = spin out). Also did I mention that I was driving? Well I was, so no need to fear, we're alright and so is the car. It was a good thing that no one was around. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be writing right now. On Thursday we have another zone conference this time in Edinburgh. We are driving Wednesday night to Aberdeen and then staying the night before driving there Thursday morning. This time we'll take the dual-carriage ways (4 lane highway, meaning fast) from Aberdeeen to Edinburgh so it shouldn't take us very long, unless we get lost in Edinburgh which would be a problem.
I'm sending home a picture from this months Ensign. Elder Erickson is in it on page 49 which this is picture is that I'm sending home. Isn't that neat that my companion is in the Ensign? It was taken of course when he was still in Ireland. It's from the recent stake conference in Dublin and there happened to be this guy who takes pictures for the Ensign and he had them line up and walk as if they were going to stake conference. I know it looks like all the Elders are chasing a sister missionary, but her companion got cut out. This pretty much make him famous. In fact he has even signed a few for the members. That's a fact. Maybe he'll sign your one day.
So in other news, we had a tough week. It seems that whenever we try to see our investigators, something comes up or they aren't in, or something else. So we were left to do some finding. The problem is that a lot of Elgin has been tracting already by Elder Stewart the 4 months that he was here. So I'm trying to figure out where the best places are to find. I think that we'll have to go to some of the the small towns and villages around Elgin and try them. Hopefully we'll find some people to teach out there. So to fill you in on some of our investigators. Brother Nain I think really likes us. He talks quite a bit to us on the phone when we call him, more than he did when we first met him. Brother Waterson is still struggling with the Word of Wisdom. We continue to try and convince him to throw it all away, but he never seems to do it. He continues to read from the Book of Mormon and he came to church on Sunday, which was marvelous. I felt that the speakers were really talking at him. I hope that he took their messages to heart and will make the necessary changes. We still haven't met with Sister Thomas. We have called a few times, but always seems to be busy. Her son still wants her to be baptized. Hopefully he can continue to help her along. We have started teaching some other now as well. They are Stuart, Scott, and Paulo. Hopefully they will read from the Book of Mormon and pray and find out that it is true.
This week we're really going to try and make contact with some less-actives to try and re-activate them and see if they know anyone that we can teach. We have identified some that we plan on going by and hopefully they will be kind enough to let us come in. So hopefully we can continue to further His work along.
So, what do you want for Christmas? The only things that I can think of for me would be the things that I have said already plus warm socks and maybe even candy corn and a butterfinger. That would be great. Thank you for being so supportive and I hope that you all have a nice thanksgiving. i hope we get fed something nice at zone conference. Maybe that's why there is one so that we can have a thanksgiving dinner. Well, maybe. I can hope. I love you all. It's getting colder and colder. This morning it was 2 degress C, but we haven't had any snow yet in Elgin. There supposed to be snow this week in the mountains and places where President Johnson lives and in Keith. Hopefully the roads will be cleared. And yes I have been to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. That's where Sam was endowed.
Love,
Elder Buxton
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| Elder Erikson, Jeff's companion. This picture is also on page 49 on the November 2010 Ensign |
Monday, November 15, 2010
New Companion
Dear Family,
How are you doing? I am doing well. My companion is Elder Erickson from Declo, Idaho. He is great. I am the senior companion which I am somewhat getting used to. It's sometimes a challenge to make decisions as to what to do, but I am working on gettng better. We still switch off everyday so that Elder Erickson can learn the area better. In fact, I don't know it completely well. I still turn to the map often to know how to get to places, but the more that I am here, the more familiar it will become. We will have a challenge tomorrow since we have a zone conference in Dundee and neither of us have ever been there with the exception of taking a train through there on the way to Aberdeen. No worries though since we will print off the directions and hopefully get there. It will be fun though. I hope that you enjoy the pictures I am sending home. We went to the driving range a couple of weeks ago to hit some balls. It was fun. There is also a picture of my district last moves. The tall one is Elder Bland, my former district leader. The one of me and another elder is of me and Elder Manning who is normally in Inverness. We were on exchanges on Tuesday and took a picture in our flat in Elgin. The others are of when we went to Duffus Castle again and a rainbow that was very vibrant, but the picture doesn't do it justice. There is one of Elder Manning and Elder Sindylek, my new district leader from the Czech Repbulic. His English is quite good as well. I believe that we will be in good hands with him. Oh and there were some higland cows next to the driving range. That's what those furry creatures are. Soon I plan on getting a picture with one to send home so that you can place that on the Christmas card. In way of Thanksgiving, that's a good question. We will see if anyone wants to feed us next Thursday. Otherwise, it'll probably be just a normal meal and we probably won't celebrate black friday, we have missionary work to do. It's colder here as well. Normall it's about 5 degrees C. We were at the Branch President house yesterday. He lives near Glen Levit and the temperature got down to freezing there. This morning there was frost on our car as well. Apparently, this winter will be bad. Last year it got down to -20 degrees C. So hopefully our car and my clothes will keep me warm.
So in way of investigators. They are doing well it seems. David Nain is progressing nicely and came to church on Sunday. We haven't been able to make contact with Sister Thomas though. She has had a bad ear ache, so we weren't able to teach her. Brother Waterson were working on helping him live the Word of Wisdom. He smokes a cigar every night and drinks tea. We have tried to convince him to throw it all away, but he seems to want to use up what he has and then live it. Hopefully he just puts in all in the rubbish bin.
On Sunday I had a marvelous experience. I was sitting in the back next to Brother Nain and I guess I was really discouraged since we hadn't had such a good week, then something hit me and I remembered the hymn, "Count your many blessings." Then I cheered up and realized. I'm in the true Church. We have an investitgator at church and I am in the midst of the Saints. What could I ask for more? Counting your blessings really cheers you up. Just like in President Monson's talk on gratititude how in the midst of the light from the latern, they could truly see how much they are blessed.
Oh and that reminds me. Elder Erickson is the Ensign for this month! If you look there's a picture of some missionaries in Dublin and he's the one that's quite tall and next to the one making a funny pose (that's Elder Beal who I met a BYU before I came). Well that's all for now folks. Tune in next week. I love you all and hope that you are all doing well.
Love,
Elder Buxton
How are you doing? I am doing well. My companion is Elder Erickson from Declo, Idaho. He is great. I am the senior companion which I am somewhat getting used to. It's sometimes a challenge to make decisions as to what to do, but I am working on gettng better. We still switch off everyday so that Elder Erickson can learn the area better. In fact, I don't know it completely well. I still turn to the map often to know how to get to places, but the more that I am here, the more familiar it will become. We will have a challenge tomorrow since we have a zone conference in Dundee and neither of us have ever been there with the exception of taking a train through there on the way to Aberdeen. No worries though since we will print off the directions and hopefully get there. It will be fun though. I hope that you enjoy the pictures I am sending home. We went to the driving range a couple of weeks ago to hit some balls. It was fun. There is also a picture of my district last moves. The tall one is Elder Bland, my former district leader. The one of me and another elder is of me and Elder Manning who is normally in Inverness. We were on exchanges on Tuesday and took a picture in our flat in Elgin. The others are of when we went to Duffus Castle again and a rainbow that was very vibrant, but the picture doesn't do it justice. There is one of Elder Manning and Elder Sindylek, my new district leader from the Czech Repbulic. His English is quite good as well. I believe that we will be in good hands with him. Oh and there were some higland cows next to the driving range. That's what those furry creatures are. Soon I plan on getting a picture with one to send home so that you can place that on the Christmas card. In way of Thanksgiving, that's a good question. We will see if anyone wants to feed us next Thursday. Otherwise, it'll probably be just a normal meal and we probably won't celebrate black friday, we have missionary work to do. It's colder here as well. Normall it's about 5 degrees C. We were at the Branch President house yesterday. He lives near Glen Levit and the temperature got down to freezing there. This morning there was frost on our car as well. Apparently, this winter will be bad. Last year it got down to -20 degrees C. So hopefully our car and my clothes will keep me warm.
So in way of investigators. They are doing well it seems. David Nain is progressing nicely and came to church on Sunday. We haven't been able to make contact with Sister Thomas though. She has had a bad ear ache, so we weren't able to teach her. Brother Waterson were working on helping him live the Word of Wisdom. He smokes a cigar every night and drinks tea. We have tried to convince him to throw it all away, but he seems to want to use up what he has and then live it. Hopefully he just puts in all in the rubbish bin.
On Sunday I had a marvelous experience. I was sitting in the back next to Brother Nain and I guess I was really discouraged since we hadn't had such a good week, then something hit me and I remembered the hymn, "Count your many blessings." Then I cheered up and realized. I'm in the true Church. We have an investitgator at church and I am in the midst of the Saints. What could I ask for more? Counting your blessings really cheers you up. Just like in President Monson's talk on gratititude how in the midst of the light from the latern, they could truly see how much they are blessed.
Oh and that reminds me. Elder Erickson is the Ensign for this month! If you look there's a picture of some missionaries in Dublin and he's the one that's quite tall and next to the one making a funny pose (that's Elder Beal who I met a BYU before I came). Well that's all for now folks. Tune in next week. I love you all and hope that you are all doing well.
Love,
Elder Buxton
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| A Highland Cow |
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| What a lovely pose! |
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| New Companion! |
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Transfers Again
Dear family,
Well, it's been six weeks once again which means transfers. I am actually staying in Elgin for another move, however, Elder Stewart was sent to Ireland for a six week special assignment to boost one to the areas there. So my new companion is . . . Elder Erickson! He and I were in the same district in the MTC so I know him quite well. He's not here in Elgin yet, but will be tomorrow. So transfers were quite funny this time. So yesterday, Elder Stewart and Elder Bland (normally in Inverness, but transferred to Dundee) left Elgin at 2 pm so they could make it to the Mission Home that night so that Elder Stewart could then travel to Ireland today. So Elder Manning and I spent the rest of Tuesday together. Then this morning he and I went to Aberdeen to pick up Elder Crockett (my zone leader in Paisley) and Elder Shindalack (I don't think this is how he spells his name), anyways. Elder Shindalack is my new district leader. He's from the Czech Republic. He's English is quite well as well. So he will be serving with Elder Manning in Inverness. Elder Crockett is going to Invergordon for a six week special assingnment to boost the branch there. He'll be serving with Elder Whitmer, also from the MTC district. So we all traveled back to Elgin and will be spending the night here. Then Elder Erickson and Elder Whitmer are traveling from Ireland over here and will be in Aberdeen this evening and will then drive to Elgin tomorrow morning. So that's that.
So less about that and more to meat of things. Oh and by the way, Elder Erickson is from Declo, Idaho. So on to what happened this last week and beyond. We had some good success. Sister Thomas, Brother Waterson, and Brother Nain are all progressing. Brother Nain and Brother Waterson both came to church and loved it. Sister Thomas had a small fight with Brother Thomas, her son, so she didn't come, but things are better now. She was going to be baptized next week, but now she has an ear infection and won't be able to be taught for a couple and days which means that her date is moved back now to the 27th. Hopefully she will get better and be able to learn more and be baptized then. Brother Waterson finally accepted a baptismal date for the 27th. He said they he wouldn't promise, but that he'll try. He says that a lot. Also Brother Nain has invite us over for dinner this evening so that we can meet this children finally. Hopefully they will be interested as well. That's really what's been happening for the most part or really just the big news. We're working hard to increase our teaching pool. Hopefully we can get the ward excited as well.
Now to respond to Michelle's questions. The leaves are turning colors and falling to the ground rapidly. There are evergreens that stay green all year round, thus the name. Yes, that would be a great graduation present as long as you take me with you so that I could show you around. I wish you well with everything and hope that everything goes well for your teaching tests and observation. Mom, that's really exciting that you're a ordinance worker now. I wish that one day I can work in the temple. The Spirit in the temple is amazing and I have really enjoyed reading the temple edition of the Ensign, but I really can't wait for the November Ensign so that I can really study up on Conference. Hopefully they come soon. It takes a little while for them to come to the UK, then we have to wait for the next missionary meeting for us to get them. Oh that reminds me, if you send a package for Christmas, send it to the mission home. I'll get it right before Christmas since we will have a zone conference before then. So don't worry. I wish you well in all that you do and I love you all.
Love,
Elder Buxton
Well, it's been six weeks once again which means transfers. I am actually staying in Elgin for another move, however, Elder Stewart was sent to Ireland for a six week special assignment to boost one to the areas there. So my new companion is . . . Elder Erickson! He and I were in the same district in the MTC so I know him quite well. He's not here in Elgin yet, but will be tomorrow. So transfers were quite funny this time. So yesterday, Elder Stewart and Elder Bland (normally in Inverness, but transferred to Dundee) left Elgin at 2 pm so they could make it to the Mission Home that night so that Elder Stewart could then travel to Ireland today. So Elder Manning and I spent the rest of Tuesday together. Then this morning he and I went to Aberdeen to pick up Elder Crockett (my zone leader in Paisley) and Elder Shindalack (I don't think this is how he spells his name), anyways. Elder Shindalack is my new district leader. He's from the Czech Republic. He's English is quite well as well. So he will be serving with Elder Manning in Inverness. Elder Crockett is going to Invergordon for a six week special assingnment to boost the branch there. He'll be serving with Elder Whitmer, also from the MTC district. So we all traveled back to Elgin and will be spending the night here. Then Elder Erickson and Elder Whitmer are traveling from Ireland over here and will be in Aberdeen this evening and will then drive to Elgin tomorrow morning. So that's that.
So less about that and more to meat of things. Oh and by the way, Elder Erickson is from Declo, Idaho. So on to what happened this last week and beyond. We had some good success. Sister Thomas, Brother Waterson, and Brother Nain are all progressing. Brother Nain and Brother Waterson both came to church and loved it. Sister Thomas had a small fight with Brother Thomas, her son, so she didn't come, but things are better now. She was going to be baptized next week, but now she has an ear infection and won't be able to be taught for a couple and days which means that her date is moved back now to the 27th. Hopefully she will get better and be able to learn more and be baptized then. Brother Waterson finally accepted a baptismal date for the 27th. He said they he wouldn't promise, but that he'll try. He says that a lot. Also Brother Nain has invite us over for dinner this evening so that we can meet this children finally. Hopefully they will be interested as well. That's really what's been happening for the most part or really just the big news. We're working hard to increase our teaching pool. Hopefully we can get the ward excited as well.
Now to respond to Michelle's questions. The leaves are turning colors and falling to the ground rapidly. There are evergreens that stay green all year round, thus the name. Yes, that would be a great graduation present as long as you take me with you so that I could show you around. I wish you well with everything and hope that everything goes well for your teaching tests and observation. Mom, that's really exciting that you're a ordinance worker now. I wish that one day I can work in the temple. The Spirit in the temple is amazing and I have really enjoyed reading the temple edition of the Ensign, but I really can't wait for the November Ensign so that I can really study up on Conference. Hopefully they come soon. It takes a little while for them to come to the UK, then we have to wait for the next missionary meeting for us to get them. Oh that reminds me, if you send a package for Christmas, send it to the mission home. I'll get it right before Christmas since we will have a zone conference before then. So don't worry. I wish you well in all that you do and I love you all.
Love,
Elder Buxton
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