Moves Week

Dear Family,

How are you all doing? I bet you are dying to know where I am headed to. Well yesterday we got our moves call and I have been called to train again! So my companion Elder Graves is going to Paisley, Scotland near Glasgow to be a district leader there. It is interesting to be training again, but that's what the Lord is wanting me to do. So on Wednesday like last time, I will be waking up early in the morning to travel over Scotland by plane to pick up my next "son." So you can know send my Christmas package to Lisburn. I have been thinking of what else I would like and I was wondering if you could send me Bic Ultra Round Stic grip pens (I really like to write with these) and a black belt (in Karate! No, just kidding. A normal belt would do fine because mine is deteriorating with use). In other transfer news that you might appreciate, Elder Manwaring is being transferred to Inverness. This is a common occurrence for him to be in an area for only 6 weeks as it has happened 3 other times. Also, Elder Erickson who I served with in Elgin. He is in Ayr now is training as well.

In the news of this week, we experienced a bit of disappointment, but also some great blessings. On Tuesday I went to Dublin with the other district leaders and the zone leaders for a combined council. Normally once a month there is a district leader council in every zone and then a mission wide zone leader council, but once in awhile they have a combined one. It was quite neat as it was a video conference. The following is what President Griffiths says about it, "As of Monday night, the system wasn’t working so the technical people in Salt Lake worked on it and thought they had it properly configured before they went home. When we checked the system on Tuesday morning, it wasn’t working. We could get it to initialize and start up; but, it would take us off line in under five minutes and lose the connection to Dublin. At 9:30 when the meeting was to start, the connection was working so we all gathered in prayer to ask Heavenly Father to bless the system that it would work for the meeting. The connection went down during the prayer. There were a few elders who hadn’t yet arrived, so we decided to wait for them to start the meeting and hoped that when they arrived the connection would be working. Ten minutes later when they came and all were seated, the system reconnected and we started the meeting. The connection lasted through the opening and through Sister Griffiths’ presentation on hope. Within 5 seconds of her saying, “Amen”, the connection died again. Before we could start our next video, the system reconnected and stayed connected through the entire day. What we didn’t know, is that the technical person in Solihull had called Salt Lake City and had awakened a senior technician who was able to enter the system and identify the configuration problem quickly enough to allow the meeting to proceed with no further interruptions. The man in Solihull was Brother Craig White. The technician in Salt Lake City was Brother Carlos Alvarez. As far as I am concerned, they were the answer to our prayer that our meeting could proceed. We saw through this experience two of the topics of our Council Meeting: Hope and Faith. As we exercised those traits coupled with prayer, our meeting was able to go forward." So as you can see it was quite a miracle for it to happen. On the flip side, things actually weren't going well for me and the other district leaders as we woke up to find that we had ran out of hot water. So another and I ran to the gas station to buy more gas, but it was closed so we all took cold showers. Not fun. Then as we were driving to Dublin we got lost and were actually headed west, not south like we were supposed to. So eventually we turned around and headed down. Then we got lost in Dublin looking for the stake centre. Eventually we arrived. On the way home, we were traveling back on the motorway and it was bumper to bumper and the car in front of us stopped suddenly. We stopped in time to not hit them, but we were very close, but the car behind us rear-ended us. The damage to our car was minimal, but he had a bit more. We exchanged information and then went on our way. Nonetheless I was really strengthened by the meeting and have really been trying to implement into our area.

Like I said earlier we experienced a bit of disappointment. We were able to see Thomas McGovern on Wednesday and things had really changed with him and he was strongly hinting that he is looking forward to being baptized. The problem is that he goes back and forth to Strabane a lot to visit his parents. We are really hoping that he can stay more weekends to come to church here. Then on Thursday some great things happened as we were tracting this street in the middle of the afternoon and we were able to get in tracting to this man named Anthony. Over the years he has lost his faith in God because of his rough past, but he is interested in seeing if he is there and finding forgiveness for the things that he has done. Then later we were able to meet with this man named Sean and he was quite interested and we had a good lesson, but he didn't keep his return appointment on Saturday. Saturday was interesting. It started out as being really horrible and nobody was really there, but we were trying to find this street that wasn't on our map and we were asking people in the area and we asked this one man outside a bookie (a place where you can bet on sports) and he didn't know. So he went into the bookie and asked around and they said where it was. So to thank him, we gave him a pass along card and said that the website will help us find our purpose in life. He then said that that was what he was looking for in his life. So we got talking and set up an appointment and invited him to church. On Sunday morning we gave him a call and he was up and ready to go so he came to church and really, really enjoyed it. He said that he felt so calm and peaceful and at the end he didn't want to go. So we are extremely thankful for this experience. His name is Eddie and he is looking forward to being baptized on December 10. Also on Friday we were walking to Sean to make sure he would be good to for Saturday, but we accidentally turned up the wrong street without knowing. It was a great inconvenience, but while we were there, I decided to go by Jimmy and he was there. He was drinking and smoking and explained what had happened the last couple of months. It had really been going through a tough time, but at the end of it, he felt the need to come to church. So we arranged to go and walk with him there. Then on Sunday, he came and you could see in his eyes that that is where he needed to be.

In other news, last Monday we went and saw where the Titanic was built. The dry dock is still there amazingly after 100 years. They're building a new museum to commemorate the 100th year anniversary and it will be finished April next week. That was neat. Also another picture that i sent was we took a picture at 11:11 on November 11. Also on there is on some of the coins are pieces of a puzzle that makes a shield and I finally finished it. Lastly is a picture of a recent convert, Thomas Ryan and I after church.

Lastly, thanks for sending how the gospel has blessed you and I was wondering what Michelle and Matt want for Christmas and also what size t-shirts that they wear. Thanks for all that you do for me.

Love,

Elder Buxton

November

Dear family,

How are you all doing? We are doing fine here. Things are a little slow at the moment, but we feel confident that they will pick up. As moves approach next week, I would like everyone to send their letters to the mission home until I receive my moves call. In response to inquiries regarding my termination of service, let me explain something. Transfer cycles last six weeks except once a year for some reason, there is a five week moves normally in April or May. This next year, that moves will happen from March 21 - April 25, 2011. With this being the case, my mission would end on June 6. This is what I know and I what I have told you previously.

This past week, it has been a bit nippy. Sunday morning was quite cold as there was a bit of frost on the grass and the windshields of cars. The transition in the weather here was similar to what it was in Las Vegas. The past couple of days though it has been sunny, but since Day light savings time ended, the sun is now at a very steep angle in the sky. It has also been strange to adjust to the amount of darkness with it getting dark at around 5 or 5:30 now.

Like I said earlier, that things have gotten really slow now. We dropped Lily because she isn't willing to come to church even though she believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet, but the Relief Society is going to periodically visit her because she is widowed and needs some company. Rakesh is doing fine and is improving living the word of wisdom. Soon he wants to teach us how to make rice correctly and eventually to make a good curry. He is also working on getting his family to come to church, especially his wife. On Saturday we popped by this man named George who I have probably mentioned before. He was there and let us in. He was trying to let us know that he has been having mixed feelings and wanted to stay Catholic, but we promised him that through prayer that he can be forgiven of the things that he has done. We also invited him to church and he set an alarm to wake him up, but when we went by to pick him up, his phone was off and he didn't answer the door. We started teaching this couple named Norman and Sharon, but after our short first visit, they haven't kept an appointment. We were to see them on Saturday afternoon, but when we went by, he said that it wasn't a good time so we arranged to see him later. Then as we called about half an hour beforehand, he told us that he was on a bus to Newcastle which is near the border. Another good thing that happened though was that we did some gardening for a sister in the ward and then as we were leaving, her neighbor called us over and asked if we wanted a job to clean off the moss from his roof (don't worry it's only a single story home), so got his number and we will see him on Wednesday. We were glad that we were blessed with this opportunity and hope that it leads to bigger and better things.

So I have wondering what you would like for Christmas? I think that I should get this sorted before the likely snow comes.

Also, last Sunday, my left eye turned really red and since then I have been wearing my glasses. I took some pictures of it on Saturday, but it's not as bad as it was. It's getting better, so don't worry.

Also something interesting to note is that the MTV EMA awards were hosted here in Belfast and they built this very large stage in front of the city hall and we could hear the music all the way in our area. It must have been very loud.

Also I have wanted to ask you how the gospel has blessed our family. The reason I ask is so that i can testify to people how it has helped mine.

I love you all and hope the very best.

 

Love,

Elder Buxton

 

P.S. Also, thank you for the sports updates.

 

 

Happy Halloween!

Dear family,

How are you all doing? We are doing well here. Today is Halloween and we are still allowed to work today, but we can't go tracting or street contacting and we need to be in by 8 if not in an appointment. So there will be trick or treaters out and about tonight. I don't think it will be a lot of people because I didn't see many in Elgin last year. I heard that in Omagh (a town in Northern Ireland; they have a branch there), they had a trunk or treat as well. Here in the Cavehill Ward they had a youth dance and on Sunday we got all the leftovers. Yum! The past two nights there have been a lot of fireworks, especially the ones that go in the air. I suppose that it is legal to have those, but I think you need a license. There have been a lot of posters up in busses and at bus stops by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service saying to be careful or you might end up in jail or lose a finger or hand. I just hope that somebody will give us some candy. Actually we got some from Sister Griffiths on Friday. Today I should get my package. What happened was that the missionaries in Lisburn didn't think they would see me since the district arrive at different times to interviews, but they thought wrong, but thankfully the zone leaders gave it to the missionaries in Cavehill South and I am going to get it from them today. So thank you for sending that. It is a real blessing because my shoes are really seen their days. I'll take some pictures and show you next week. It's a good thing that i am getting these now because I think that sometime this month, snow will come and my current shoes don't do too well with rain. And I promise that will share with my companion what you have sent me.

As far as bomb scares go, they don't happen as often as they used to many years ago during the troubles, but sometimes, people have a hard time letting go.

As far as our week goes, we had some good experiences and some let downs as well. We found it difficult to meet with many of our investigators such as Eddie and Francis. We are bummed about that, but we are wondering about their interest level. On Wednesday we had some great opportunities as we tried some people in an area called New Mossley. Personally I felt that this would be the last time for these individuals, but we went by one lady named Elizabeth and she was there and we caught her right before she was to go into hospital to get an operation. When we first talked to her, she told us of the many struggles that she has had to endure especially this current on that she needed the operation for. This time we were able to set up an appointment for this week and then Elder Graves spoke to her about his source of strength has come from reading the Book of Mormon, so she accepted one and was really touched and tears were beginning to run down her cheeks. We just hope now that that has been a source of strength for her. Also in that area we set up an appointment with a lady named Joann for Sunday, but she unfortunately couldn't keep it. Also on Wednesday we celebrated a holiday with Rakesh called Duwali which is like Indian Christmas and people give gifts to one another. It's origins are in Indian mythology, but i can't really remember what they are. All I know is that it means the festival of lights. He also invited us the the Hindu temple for a Duwali feast on Sunday, we decided that it wasn't the best for us to go.

We had another good experience on Saturday. We were supposed to meet with this man named Carl at 2, but we called him and rescheduled for 5, but he wasn't there. So in the same apartment complex lived a man named George who I might have mentioned before. He was in and let us up to see him. We spoke to him about Alma the Younger's experience because he felt that with his experiences that he was going down stairs after he dies, but we showed him how that doesn't have to be the case. We then invited him to repent and be baptized and he accepted. We just hope now that he can make it.

So this transfer will end November 20, but the actual moves day is November 16 and the next one won't be until after Christmas. If you trying to plan when I will finish my mission, it will be June 6 or if you are wondering about Christmas, send the package after I let you know when the moves call comes.

I didn't do anything to celebrate Nevada Day.

I am sorry to hear about Grandpa and pray that he gets better soon. I know that he isn't the kind to wait around. He likes to get up and do things.

I hope that you all have a good week. Happy Nevada Day. Happy Halloween.

 

Love,

Elder Buxton

Good and Busy

Dear family,

How are you. We are staying busy here. The work is going forward, but we are meeting some roadblocks along the way in getting people to progress and come to church. One great thing is that we phoned this lady named Lily who I might have mention earlier and she said that she wanted to come to church with us. This was a shock to us because we wondered why. The other times that we taught her, she didn't want to come so that she wouldn't let her church and friends down. Nonetheless we were thankful that she came. We are working very slowly with her and trying to help her understand more. Time will tell if she will continue to come, but we are hopeful that she will continue to come. Now for the great miracle. On Saturday we spoke to this man named Peter who we were pretty sure was drunk, but we set up an appointment to see him. However we couldn't find his address. So while we were in the area, we decided to go by this other man that we hadn't seen in awhile. He wasn't there either. As we did this, it starting raining buckets of water so street contacting was out of the question so we decided to tract this street, which isn't the most productive thing to do at 2 in afternoon. As we were doing that, we weren't getting much, but we came to the last door and it was a block of flats so I rang the buzzers and in the last one, I spoke to a man about life's purpose and he said that he already knew his purpose in life. I then explained that truth had been restored lately that helps us know what it really is and then I asked if we could come up to teach him. He agreed and we had a great time talking about the Restoration. His name is Eddie and he is originally from Nigeria, but has been living in the UK for over 20 years. He really liked what we told him and agreed to be baptized when he knew that it was true. We are really looking forward to teaching him and getting him to come to church soon.

On Saturday, the elders in Cavehill South had a baptism of a lady named Edna who is from Portugal. She is a really nice lady. The amazing thing is that she had about 20 of her friends come as well . It was a lovely service and we have heard that a lot of her friends want to starting learning as well. So we really hope that we can get that moving along. Another great miracle happened earlier that week as we invited Rakesh to come along. At first he was unsure because he was thinking of going with his friend out of town, but wouldn't go if there was bad weather. As we discussed more about the restoration with him and about the importance of baptism, he said that he was going to call up his friend and say that he wasn't going to come and then go to the baptism and church. He came to the baptism and really enjoyed it and is now making plans to be baptized himself and now it seems that it is something that he wants to do.

The weather here has been quite dismal lately and has rained a lot, but we don't mind much as we just press on. I haven't gotten the package yet, but I think that I will get it on Friday when I have an interview with President Griffiths. It is amazing that of all the missions, mine was picked. Now you might know a bit more about the Scotland/Ireland Mission.

As far as Halloween goes, it really as it was last year. It's not as big here is at is in the states. The odd house has some decorations and not as many children go trick or treating. Hopefully we can get some appointments for that day so we aren't left tracting. And i haven't found candy corn here at all.

I am really glad that Brennan has gotten his mission call to serve the Lord. Send my regards.

I hope all is well.

Love,

Elder Buxton

P.S. I thought I would mention a story to end. Last Monday, Elder Graves and I decided to go to Pizza Hut so that I could get this coupon redeemed. It was one of those things where everyone wins something and it might be something like free pizza for a year. So as we were leaving our flat, we saw a silhouette in the window next to the door. Then we noticed that it was the police and he told us that there was a bomb scare and that we needed to evacuate. That was fine with us, but we then had to walk a bit more up the road to catch the bus we needed to get the Pizza Hut. We finally got there and my prized was just 20% off our bill. That was alright. Just another day in Belfast.

Mission News Report

Dear Family,

How are you all? We are dead on as they say here. We had some good experiences this week and also some let downs. Our biggest struggle is getting people to come to church. For the past two weeks we have had many people wanting to come on Saturday and then on Sunday they just don't show up. This past Saturday we had 4 people that said that they would come to church and one said maybe. This week we met with Thomas McGovern 3 times and on Saturday he said that he was interested in coming to a service (in fact he was saying that all week). So we thought great, this will be good for him. However that morning we called him and he said that he didn't want to come, but to have patience with him. Miraculously we then phoned this other man named Jamal who is from Somalia and he said he would come and he did, but I could tell that he was very bored during sacrament meeting. We set up an appointment with him that evening, but he didn't keep it. We honestly know how good it makes us feel to go to church and feel refreshed afterwards. So that is our real focus this week. The more investigators that we can get to church, the more people that will be baptized. Alright, that's my frustration out.

So enough of my venting and I'll move on to more glorious things. This is pretty amazing that on Sunday evening we went with a member to see Rakesh (who fed us again. yum) and we brought his laptop and watched President Monson's talk during priesthood with him and his wife in Hindi. It simply is amazing that there is technology to do this. That even though neither of us could speak any Hindi, that he is able to hear the words of a prophet in his own language. Also we were able to meet his wife for the first time and it seems that she is interested as well. She sat in and watched and listened to the whole thing (I was dozing a bit). Now we hope that together they can progress towards baptism and then the temple.

On Wednesday I went on exchanges with Elder Fakkel in his area. While I was doing that, Elder Manwaring and Elder Graves were tracting at one point and met a man named Hashala from India, except his English was really good and he had a Northern Irish accent. Anyways, he let them straight in and was really interested in learning the truth. He was so confused about what was said in the Bible and what was done in many churches. We really hope that he can understand true doctrine and be able to be baptized. Speaking of baptism though on Saturday I was able to perform my first baptismal interview with a lady named Edna that Elder Fakkel and Elder Manwaring are teaching. She is really prepared and ready to make this commitment and is scheduled to be baptized this Saturday.

On Friday Elder Graves and I went to Dublin for a new missionary meeting where we did role plays all day. It was really good, spiritual, and revelatory. It has really helped me evaluate where I am at and where I need to improve. However to get there was a bit of an adventure. We had to catch a train at 6:50 a.m. so we planned to catch a bus outside our flat at 6:08. We we were all ready to go, but we forgot something in our flat. So we ran there to get it and as a result missed that bus. So we waited for the next bus to come at 6:20 or something. We got it, but this then required us to run through City Centre to the train station. We made it there on time thankfully, but it must have been a sight to see two guys running in city centre in suites.

As far as Christmas is concerned, I really want some socks. Some are developing large holes in the heels and others have gone from dark blue to a purplish color.There was something else, but I can't think of what it was. It probably was just butterfingers.

So what I know about departing missionaries is that everyone arrives in the mission home by Tuesday morning where they get interviewed and can hang around Edinburgh. That night they have what's called "the last supper, " where Sister Griffiths makes them a good dinner which would be the last really on their missions. Then that night they have a question and answer session with the Griffiths where they can ask them any question. Then on Wednesday is when we are released from the mission. Those going straight home take a plane early in morning usually and the others wait for their parents. I am not sure if you can join us on Tuesday night or not. That's what I know so far.

Thank you for sending me my package and I hope that I can get it soon as my shoes are just barely hanging in there. I am glad to see that BYU and Centennial won and I hope that both have good post-season play.

As far as people saying that "Mormons aren't Christians," look on the newsroom website as well as mormon.org about it. Fortunately we don't get that very much. We try to use the church's full name as much as possible. The truth is that we differ in our beliefs of Jesus Christ with many other Christians and it does have to do with our view of the Godhead and our belief on continuing revelation. I also think it has to do with our conception of how we are saved (faith, works, or both). The truth is that we should kindly and confidently say that we are Christians and let them think what they want as long as we have done all we can to show that we are Christians. Many times we'll receive persecution, but I hope we can be like the Apostles in Act 5. "41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

 42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."

 

I love you all,

Elder Buxton

Whoa

Dear family,

How are you doing? We are doing really well as we had a really good week especially some great miracles on Saturday. We are really grateful for the blessings that Heavenly Father has given us. First though i must comment on the different reactions to last weeks weather in Las Vegas. Even though Michelle and my mom both experienced the same weather, Michelle hated it, and Mom quite enjoyed the cool weather. I must say that the weather that who've just experienced is normal here. How do I press on you might say? Just plan to expect it and move on. There's nothing that we can do to change the weather or the environment that we live in. We can only control our attitude. However I do miss expecting hot sunny days rather than cold and wet days.

So at the beginning of the week we realized that we needed some fresh meat. It didn't really seem that any of our investigators were going anywhere so needed to go and find start teaching some new people. So we went out and started having some success. We talked to people that sounded interested, but weren't keeping their appointments. On Thursday we went by this lady named Lily, but she is hard to teach and wasn't really understanding what we were saying and would go off on unrelated tangents. So that's not what we were really looking for, so we continued onward doing as much finding as possible. Then comes Saturday which if you looked at the plan the day before, it didn't seem that promising as we were only able to confirm 1 appointment. So I personally thought that it would be a usual day where some things happen, but most things don't and we are left to knock doors for a while. The one appointment that was confirmed was Lily which was alright and she still didn't seem like she went anywhere. We see her tomorrow so we shall see what happens. Then we had an appointment with a man named Trevor. So we go by and the man there was named Trevor, but wasn't the man that we talked to. I think that he just wanted to play a joke on his friend, so he sent us to him. Anyways also there was a lady that Elder Fakkel and I met many weeks ago as we were tracting her street, but she had friends over and were drinking and what not, so I let it go. However here she seemed to be interested and said that we made sense and her and her 10 year old son who was listening quite intently what us to come by another time at their home. So that was brilliant and good. Then we headed up to Glengormley to see this man named Lonzo who was to meet us at his aunt's house. We spoke to him Friday night what he was sitting in his van. So we went there and he wasn't there as he had to go somewhere, but amazingly we met a young man who Elder Ihalmo and I met about 12 weeks ago named Elijah. He was still interested and we invited him to church and his friend agreed to come as well. So then we went and got some a nice kebab which you should try when you come (I believe that they aren't FDA approved in the USA because they are made from a chunk of meat that is just left out). Anyways that was good because we wanted a proper one on nan bread rather than the usual pita bread. Oh, I forgot to mention that on the way back to Belfast, we met a guy named Scott who we started talking to at the stop and then on the bus. We gave a brief lesson about the Book of Mormon and at first he wasn't too interested, but then he later accepted a copy of the book and gave us his number for us to call him this week to set up a time. Anyways after dinner we did some tracting that really didn't get anywhere, but we were excited for this lesson we were to have with this man named Francis. We met him at a bus stop and he told us that recently he had started believing in God because he was looking up about UFOs. I know that is a bit out of the ordinary, but I'll take it. So we got there a bit early, but he was there and let us in. Two of his brothers were with him as well and we taught them the Restoration and they accepted it and the need to be baptized as part of following it as well. Their names are Thomas and Daniel. So we were really amazed at the day we had and really hope that with this "fresh meat" that we can get a lot of results from it.

Then on Sunday afternoon we went up to Glengormley again and we got off the bus and run into a lady that Elder Graves and I met one of his first days here. Her name is Elizabeth and we walked and talked with her back to her house. We gave her a book of Mormon and she accepted it because we promised her that it would help her deal with the challenges and anxiety that she would soon face and then we were able to set up a return appointment. We are honestly so very grateful for all of this that happened.

In response to Michelle's question concerning dating before going on a mission. I would say do it because sure it would be important to study the scriptures and Preach My Gospel, but dating helps you speak to people. Missionary work is almost impossible when we don't talk. So it will be very key to date, but I would say not to get attached to anyone. So say to them "Preaching" requires speaking and dating helps you speak and share things that are important to you.

So about things that I would like to do when you come. I would suggest that we go from Edinburgh up to Elgin and Inverness through the highlands and Loch Ness. Then I would like to go down to Ayr and come over to Ireland to Belfast and then finish by going to Galway and possibly a tour around Ireland (tour is optional).

I am also very happy that my shoes are in and really look forward to getting them. Thank you for sending those over to me. I love you all and really hope that we all become representatives of Christ at all times.

 

Love,

Elder Buxton

 

P.S. Michelle just be patient and live and enjoy the now. I know that as you pray for your students and seek revelation that you can help you and them learn and to grow.

Moves Week

Dear Family,

So I bet you are dying to know where I have been transferred to. The answer is . . . that I am staying in Belfast another 6 weeks with Elder Graves. So you can still mail at the same address. In other transfer news, Elder Manwaring who I served with in Galway is coming serve in Cavehill South with Elder Fakkel so we will be in the same unit again. Elder Barney who used to be in Cavehill South is moving to Omagh in Northern Ireland. That's about all that I know and all you need to really know. I don't really want to confuse you even further. Besides, you don't really know these people and won't really care where they are going. However, my trainer, Elder Baumann, is going home this week. So wished him a good life yesterday. I think he is planning on taking a holiday to America to visit past companions, hopefully when I am home.

Well enough about that as time goes on and I have been blessed to stay in Belfast. About our last week. I must say this it was one of the most busy weeks that i have had. Everyday we pretty much had appointments which was really nice. It made me somewhat stressful, but at least it was because we were busy and not stressed that nothing was happening. On Tuesday for instance, we had 6 appointments and really didn't have much time to go finding. Speaking of Tuesday we met with a man who runs an addiction recovery hostel not too far from our flat. Elder Graves and Elder Turner (our zone leader) met him on the street the previous Friday and he let us come and see him at the hostel. He showed us around and invited to come to a meeting they were having that Tuesday. Unfortunately he had to cancel because they were doing some tests, but we are welcome to come the next week. We are really pleased of this that we have gained the trust of someone and hopefully this will lead some of these humble people to want to learn more of the restored gospel. We were also able to see Rakesh this week and he was doing fine, but really needs a push to live the word of wisdom and we are running out of time because early next month he is planning on going to India for 6-8 weeks. He was supposed to come to conference, but was ill that morning. We popped by him yesterday for a brief moment, and again his health had dropped. He is seeing his doctor today and we really hope that he will start feeling better and that this won't lead to something more complicated. We were also able to meet with Thomas McGovern who's concerns seemed to have washed away. He has really been researching about Joseph Smith and the Church and has been pleased with what he has found. We gave him a copy of Our Heritage and after reading from some of that and watching conference at this parent's home in county Tyrone, he has a strong desire to read and know that the Book of Mormon is true. We had great hopes for him as we continue to meet with him and really hope that this Sunday that he will make it to Church and feel the Spirit that is there. On Saturday we had a great experience and a faith builder. We went up to Glengormley to try and visit some people. We tried by one and they weren't there. So as we were walking to the next, we talked to a man waiting for his bus and set up a return appointment to see him. He was really wondering about the big questions in life and who is true or if there was a truth at all. Then as we were walking to see the next person, we talked to this other man on the street who was interested in meeting with us as well so we set up an appointment with him as well. I must say that rarely does this happen, but I think that God can inspire us as to where we need to be a certain times and uses the knowledge that we have to do that. We planned to see certain people up there, but none of them where in. However, God knew where these individuals where going to be and drew upon our knowledge to lead us to them.

As far as conference goes, my favorite talk was by President Uchtdorf in the Saturday Morning session about the great paradox that compared to God we are nothing, but yet we are everything to him.

I am sad to hear about Grandpa and hope that he gets better soon. I am also glad that people are continuing to heed the prophet's call for more missionaries. I am glad to see that BYU won in a close won and hope that they win many more. I love you and hope that all is well.

 

Love,

Elder Buxton

 

P.S. Thanks for the update on the shoes. I really hope that it doesn't snow soon, but it is a good thing that I have this other pair. Also our weather is cooling down as well I might need to start wearing a sweater soon. I also hear that we will have another bad winter. Don't worry as I  have already gotten through one. I have heard that it was the worst in 100 years in Glasgow. Hopefully this won't be the worse than that.