December 26, 2016

Hey fam!

Well not much to update you on since we just talked yesterday but I
hope you enjoyed Christmas! I definitely did. It was great talking to
you all and I definitely was treated well by the members. Love you
guys I'll send a long one next week!

Our FaceTime conversation on Christmas was great!  Cam is doing well, as you can see!

December 19, 2016

Hey fam!

This week was a crazy week, tons of snow and wind and a lot of service. It started with us taking some shifts at Bass Pro Shops gift wrapping and man it was sooooo stressful. A lot of ladies would come up to me and expect perfection and worst of all to do it speedily and man I was sweating but the sister missionaries said I did fine so I'm going with it but it was a lot of fun too! 

We talked with a lot of really cool people and obviously we had to be really careful with proselyting so not too much inviting but it was good to get out in the community where missionaries never really go. I think it opened a lot of people's eyes that we are normal people--we just care a lot about what we share. And we dress like it's church every day hahaha but it was cool. 

We also had our booth on Main Street in Manchester and it was really cool. The days we did it were freezing so we were afraid that people wouldn't stop or that they wouldn't be there in the first place but it actually went really well and someone even became a new investigator from it. It has been a different feel this week because we have never done service like this before but also just not as much "proselyting" but it's been really successful and fun to see how our different talents were able to come together to make some cool things happen. 

We were able to teach P-- a few times this week and she's doing great, she and her family came to church and are really progressing. The ward is pretty excited about them all coming back to church and P-- getting baptized. Let's hope it all works out! Other than that we didn't teach that much this week. It was still good though, and the Christmas service and meetings will continue this next week but we think we will still have a good proselyting week because we have a few appointments set up. 

Sorry this email wasn't too long, but with face timing on Christmas I'm thinking like 5 pm my time. Things shouldn't change. But hopefully that works out for you guys. Excited to talk to you all! Have a good week!

P.S. We caroled at a retirement home. 

December 14, 2016

Well this week was a good week! It seemed to have gone pretty slow,

though, it was pretty cold here with a lot of wind haha and today we
got at least 5 or 6 inches! Which is fun, but driving is pretty crazy
here already so throwing snow in that mix makes it war.

So there is a family that we work with that has just come back to
activity, they are pretty new to the church even though they were
baptized years ago. They stopped going pretty quick after they were
baptized but now they want to come back, and they have a kid named
P--that we teach because she isn't baptized. It's been way fun
teaching a kid haha--she's 9 years old and is really smart, but I'm so
used to teaching older people that it's easy to forget how to teach
simply! So, it's been good for me. She loses focus pretty quick so
Eder Holt and I usually have to use her stuffed animals during the
lesson to keep her focused, or else we act out things. It's been
pretty funny during some lessons hahaha but we set a baptismal date
with her for January 7th. We have talked with the bishop to help
the Dad be able to baptize her-- it's still in the works but she will
be baptized either way and we are really excited. 

They are a funny family haha--it's fun to see people change as they 

grow closer to the
gospel, and they definitely have. The dad is reading the scriptures a
lot more, and P-- is now as well, the kids version of the Book of
Mormon. They try really hard to understand everything--it's fun
to see. So that was something that happened this week. We also met
with A-- and she's not doing very well, she just isn't keeping
commitments and it's been frustrating because she will come to all the
ward activities but not church.  It''s ok, she will come eventually, but
it has been slow progress.

So this week we still ran around like chickens with our heads cut off
trying to get this dang booth set up for the Light the World
initiative and we finally got permission from the city so we will be
doing it this weekend and next. It will be pretty cool, we have a lot
of stuff planned so next Monday I'll have pictures hopefully. Also we
are gift wrapping at Bass Pro Shops this week, too, and that will be
interesting because I am the absolute worst at wrapping (I know the
family can testify). But I'll figure it out as I go or else I'll be an
amazing supervisor and just try to talk to people too. It will be a
lot of fun.

Love you fam! Have a good week! It's finally looking like Christmas--
hopefully there is snow in Utah. I'll see you in a couple weeks!

Elder Webb

December 5, 2016

Wow, looks like a fun trip! Hey Cabo San Lucas is a good place, I spent
a few hours there on that fishing trip! Tell Grandma and Grandpa I
said Happy Anniversary. Tell Gary I said he needs to shave haha

Well this week was really bizarre, my companion and I have been trying
to get this booth idea set up for Main Street in Manchester to promote
this #lighttheworld initiative, and holy cow the city makes you go
through so much stuff to get it set up haha we have ran around so much
trying to get it ready. So much paper work, signatures, materials,
etc. The first stack of papers they made us go through ended up being
the wrong ones so we had to start over and we got sent to the public
works building and went through all of their paper work, and then told
us we had to go back to city hall to do it through them because of
certain steps we needed to take....my comp and I have been trying to
stay off soda and we were successful for a while until they sent us
back to city hall that last time. I went straight to a gas station and
bought a 44 oz mtn dew haha It was sooo needed. And it tasted amazing.
We were pretty frustrated but hey we have it all sorted out now and
are ready to go this next weekend!

We were able to proselyte a little bit this week though, and it was a
little slow but our ward here puts on a super cool event with
nativities set up all over the gym and we were able to get a few of
our investigators to come. A-- and M-- especially loved it. I'll
put some pictures on to show you what it was like. Some of the
nativities were incredible--like thousands of dollars from what we
heard. I think the highlight of the week though was meeting with J--
and talking with him. He is so cool! He bore a testimony to us pretty
much and just told us how grateful he was for us meeting with him and
stuff. He told us he is moving to Alabama for a month but while he's
there he wants to have Skype lessons and read from the Book of Mormon
with him and go through the lessons. It was really cool and totally
needed haha--this week was pretty slow--so we are glad we had a really
good highlight to it still.

Oh, by the way, transfer calls happened and I'm staying again with Elder
Holt. 3 transfers together haha it will be great. Two 6-month areas in a
row. I'm grateful for that because packing is the worst haha and I
love Bedford and Manchester. It will be interesting being in a city
for winter again. Driving in New England is the worst literally
everyone uses their horns basicallyas much as the brake pedal 
so when it comes to winter it gets even
crazier. But I'm really excited to see what happens with our
investigators this next transfer. Love you guys! 

Have a good week!

November 28, 2016

Well this week was cool, it was definitely slower but man, Thanksgiving

was crazy. So the assistants and Elder Holt and I had a contest to
see who could gain the most weight on Thanksgiving because we had 3
dinners lined up......I won--lol I gained 7 pounds! I ate a ton of food
holy cow I regretted it that night just being so full, but the next day
I was fine. It was a good day with a lot of good food.

We had a slower week proselyting just because most people were out of
town for the holiday and then Elder Holt got the stomach flu......man
there is just nothing worse than being sick as a missionary or when
your companion is sick. It's so boring! I did a lot of chores--holy cow
mom you would be sooo proud. But he's feeling a lot better luckily so
we will be able to proselyte this upcoming week. Our investigators are
doing ok though, and now they are coming back in town so we will be
able to meet with them.

Sorry that there isn't too much to update on but I do have some
pictures of the families we ate with. Have a good week!

November 21, 2016

Hey fam!

At the beginning of the week we picked up J-- as a new investigator,
the one with the brother who just passed away from his brain tumor.
He's such a champ, we taught him the plan of salvation and it went way
good. The pre-earth life made so much sense to him ha he definitely
expressed how much he liked it. J-- is about 25 years old and way
humble, I don't think I've taught a guy his age. It's interesting
because there is so much more in common teaching someone closer to
your age. I like it a lot haha. The best part of the lesson was he said
the closing prayer and dang it was so good. I feel like it's so easy
to get into the repetitious prayers but I feel like the best prayers
I've heard on my mission have come from converts or non-members. Not
that anyone is competing for the best prayer award haha but it pushed
me to try to have more of a conversation with God rather than just
share a list of what I'm grateful for and would like to be blessed
with.

We were able to meet with A-- too and had a couple good lessons with
her. We taught the word of wisdom and committed her to live it and she
said she would, so that is cool progression from her. We have tried to
follow up but she has been busy so we will meet tomorrow with her and
see how it's going.

We had a lot of administrative stuff this week, we had a zone
conference that we had to teach at and we also had stake conference.
We had a cool activity last night with one of the elders in our zone.
So to sum it up we have really tried to come up with ideas to get
creative for the holiday season. We have some cool ideas and have
already followed through with some of them! The Canterbury district
had a float in a parade and handed out Books of Mormon and pass along
cards. It was decorated like crazy with Christmas stuff and it went
really well! Also going back to the Elder's activity, he had a Zimbabwe
night. He lived in Zimbabwe until he was about 17 or 18 and talked
about what it was like and we ate their food and things like that.
It was way cool! Lots of ideas coming.

Well, sorry that this is short but I love you all! We have 2
appointments for dinner on Thanksgiving so we are well taken care of.
Have a good thanksgiving! My companion and I are having a contest to
see who can gain the most weight so if you want to join, feel free.

November 14, 2016

Wow, this week was another really crazy week. So last week we found 5
new investigators and this week we found 7.  For Mexico, it's probably
average numbers but for New England, it's rare--haha we were definitely
blessed this week!

So last week we went on exchanges, my comp found a young family while
street contacting and they said we could come over.  So, on Monday we
went and taught them and their names are J-- and J-- and they are
awesome--their kids are insane, but it's a fun time teaching them.
J-- was working, so we tried to help J-- get to church but he was
embarrassed that he didn't have dress clothes, so Elder Holt and I gave
him some pants and shirts and shoes and tie to wear, and he still
didn't come! We were pretty disappointed but it's ok, he will come next
week.

I have talked about our investigator, A--, and how we are teaching
her, and she has a daughter named M-- and she told us this week she
was interested in learning, too, so we are now teaching them both. They
are awesome, we can't get them to come to church to save our lives so
please pray that they will come haha they did come to a baptism though
this weekend, so that was cool. A-- likes the thought of baptism, it
just comes down to keeping commitments ha we know she can do it--it
will just take some time.

So another cool thing that happened this week--we planned to see a
former, and she was a single lady in her 40's, sounded pretty cool, so
we went over to her place and knocked on her door and these 2 big
black guys open the door and they were like "Uhhhhh, can we help you?"
And we told them we were looking for an E-- and they were like
"She doesn't live here but come in" and we were like......alright! So
we went in and they are both so cool. W-- and A--. They both
said they have been looking for a church to go to and become a part of
and their minds were just blown we came at the time that we did. It
was really cool to see the way the Lord placed them in our path.
During the lesson their girlfriends came in and were interested as
well, so we taught them too. You just never know what's behind the
door! 

I feel like I have worked so hard in this area to find people and help
it get back on its feet because it was pretty bad when I got here.
It had been pretty discouraging because not a whole lot has happened
but it's good to see things starting to turn around. I don't like to
ask people for help, or I think I can do things on my own, but it's been
really humbling the past 2 or 3 weeks to realize once again that I
can't do anything on my own, especially missionary work. Relying on the
Lord is when we will find success in all phases of our lives, and I
always have to be reminded of that one haha cause it's easy for me to
forget. I'm glad I go through struggles that help me remember Him and
my reliance on Him. 

Helaman 12:3 has been one of my favorite
scriptures to share lately. I'm not sure if I told you about J-- our
potential who's brother had the brain tumor and died. So the
question why do bad things happen to good people has been on my mind
lately to help someone without the full gospel answer a question like
that. It's easy for us to answer because of the plan of salvation
being in our lives for so long, but for someone who doesn't know, it's a
touchy process--but I am so grateful for the plan of salvation and the
chance I get to share it almost daily.

Love you, fam, have a good week!

November 7, 2016

Hey everyone!

This week was a waycool week! We saw a lot of miracles. 

We were able to find 5 new
investigators so I'll start with the first and go down: so A-- is
#1. We finished up our plans at around 8:15 on Tuesday night and so we
decided to just go street contacting And so when we hit the street and
went a certain direction I had a huge prompting to turn around, it
kind of freaked me out actually because I thought it was because we
were going to get mugged or something--lol I'm still the same when it
comes to getting freaked out easily but anyways we turned around and
walked for a little and then we ran into one of our potential
investigators and chatted for a little, and he had a friend with him
and we started chatting and he was going through a lot and said that
he really needed god so we talked with him for a while and taught him
about the Book of Mormon and church because he wanted to go and he was
just crying and crying. The little prompting we get sometimes feel
like they won't pan out, and to be honest I thought it was because we
were in danger like I said before but I think it was the language of
the Holy Ghost that put that in my head to turn me around to go find
A--. He is a way cool guy and we are excited to see how he turns
out.

So next one her name is T--. So I was on exchange with a new
missionary in my area and we went to visit some potentials and we went
and knocked on their door and said we could come back in 30-45 minutes
and so we went on our way back to the car to go contact some other
people and along the way we saw a lady on her porch and before we even
got to her she said "Ok you guys walk around every day dressed up like
that. What do you even do?" Good question! So we chatted and she ended
up telling us a lot about her life and the struggles she is going
through and one of them was same sex attraction. 

But as she continued
to talk, she told us that she knows the feelings she has are not ok and
which is why she's married and has 2 kids. She told us too that she
knows God didn't create us to be attracted to the same sex but it's
just a tendency she has to deal with and fight and not act on. We were
stunned because most people don't think that, but it was so cool to
see her recognize that before the full gospel has even been presented
to her. So we set up a return appointment and will meet with her soon.
Pretty cool experience. 

The next 3 investigators we found were the
potentials we stopped by before we met T--, the ones that told us
to come back in 45 min. So after we met with T--, we went over
there and they let us in and we shared a message and they had us bless
their food they were going to eat.....haha classic. And they are way
cool too. The wife just gave birth about 2 weeks ago, so they have a
good excuse for why they have been busy haha but yeah it was a good
week.

We have felt like we were so close to seeing good things and they are
really starting to come.  I know it won't ever be smooth sailing but
seeing the fruits of your labors even though it's not necessary is a
tender mercy for sure. New England is a fun place for missionary work,
it's really tough but there are always people that will accept the
gospel. Even in the Mormon capital Utah there are a lot of people. The
Provo mission is one of the highest baptizing missions in the entire
world so if that doesn't show it then I don't know what will-lol, so be
missionaries plz.

Thanks for everything you guys do for me and for the prayers. I love
you all! Have a good week!

October 31, 2016

Hey everybody!

Well, this week I promise I'll give more of an update than last week.
It's been way cold and rainy, it just brought back some good
memories from last winter....aka slipping on ice daily and not being
able to feel my face but also a lot of good memories haha.  I will
definitely miss the warm weather though. Even though the weather
wasn't the best we still had some cool things happen! Alright I don't
know how to explain this so bear with me cause it's going to sound
weird. But we found a new investigator at Buffalo Wild Wings. Let me
explain:

SO......because I'm a fast food veteran, and Buffalo Wild Wings is
only in like 2 places in the mission, we decided to go there for lunch
about a month ago. Our waiter was kinda curious about who we were and
what we did, so we chatted for a second and swapped numbers but we
couldn't get an appointment set up, so we tried setting something up.
He was working double shift the entire week so we asked him if he
would be working Thursday and if we could come in for lunch and he
said yes and to just request him as our waiter, so we did and he sat
down with us and we taught him the entire restoration. 

Every 5 or so minutes I would stop and say "Hey, do you need to 
go take care of anyone else right now, ya know like get them drinks?" 
And he would nod his head and then get up real quick, take care of 
business and then come back. It was absolutely bizarre but we just went 
with it. After we finished eating and talking, he walked out to the car with 
us and we gave him a Book of Mormon and our address to the church. We are
meeting with him tomorrow again! We are excited about him. He's a way
cool guy. Definitely won't be teaching in Buffalo Wild Wings again
though, it's WAY too loud haha but you gotta risk it to get the
biscuit sometimes.

We just finished a mini mission with one of the young men in the ward
and it was a cool experience. His name is Noah and he's a stud. When
we were knocking on doors we saw on our list a potential named José and
we stopped there and knocked and he came to the door smiling from ear
to ear. He said "hey you guys remembered me!" We chatted about him
meeting with missionaries in the past and his concerns now and he said
what's going on right now with his brother is causing him to struggle
with his faith. So we asked what was happening with his brother and he
said he has a brain tumor and is really struggling right now, and he
had a concern of why bad things happen to good people. Well......Mom,
you have a brain tumor! And so I talked about that and how I've asked
that same question to God. But I just bore testimony, as well, about how
what we share is more than just a comfort of knowing it's true, but
there is additional happiness that comes from living the gospel. 

So I told him how it's helped me and he was so shocked that I could relate
to him! Ha-- it was cool. He's a big basketball fan so we are taking the
last little bit of our p-day to play basketball with him and teach him
a lesson, and then we are meeting with him again tomorrow, as well. He
is WAY cool, no idea how he slipped out of the missionaries' hands when
he was found, but it's a blessing we found him again.

We once again had a couple days going up to Canterbury to help that
missionary that is struggling like I mentioned before. Oh by the way,
the new missionary that was just transferred to Canterbury is Elder
Ferrell! He's about 45 minutes away from me. It was pretty interesting
sitting in their living room chatting with Robby just like high
school. He's a good kid. Anyways, yeah, so we had to go up there and be
the Elder's companions while elder Ferrell and Elder Gasman went out to
teach. It was a long time sitting in that apartment but luckily they
had a putter and golf ball so I got pretty good at carpet putting.

It was a good week, no complaints for sure. I really like serving in
this area--it's way fun. Always something crazy happening here so it's
always exciting. My comp and I were talking and we both about fell out
of our chairs when we found out my comp has 4 transfers left and I
just have 6 after this one. It's crazy how fast time flies. There is
nothing like being a missionary. It's hard for sure but learning how
to fix my attitude has really helped me. I definitely owe that to some
of my companions and the Lord for helping me out, cause I'm not the
most patient person haha but attitude really is everything. When
you fix that, then missionary work is fun like it's meant to be!

Love you, fam--have a good week!

 A "mini-mission" with Elder Webb, Elder Holt and Noah Hughes

October 24, 2016

I can explain, but I have to be quick, so it's transfer
weekend and the Elders in Bedford have to help with it all and it's
always crazy, so we have to go help with the new missionaries that are
coming in right now and we are going to take them proselyting straight
from the airport soooooooo I thought I would have more email time but
it is coming to an end because I got that news so I promise I'll give
you a good update!

PS my eyes are doing ok now, I just don't sleep with my contacts in.
Also thanks for sending the package! Haven't gotten it yet but thanks
for when it comes! Also I bought a suit today. Brand new for 60 bucks,
just need to tailor the pants so maybe another 15 or 20 but pretty
good deal! 

Love you fam! Have a good week!

Elder Webb

October 17, 2016

Man this week was a crazy week! We were able to get in with A--
again luckily, and we had some really cool lessons. She's really a
smart lady and knows the Bible very well. We talked a lot about the
Book of Mormon and she had a lot of questions but we were able to
answer all of them and clear up her confusion soooo😅 ya.

We found a lot of success this week finding. We found a ton of
potentials but now it's just working on capitalizing to make them
investigators. Sooo we just need to continue what we are doing and
hopefully it will work out! It's always fun finding in New England
haha--people here are just a different breed, I swear. So funny. Also
this week we had a lot of assistance to our zone for certain things.
There is one missionary that just came in a week ago, like 2 weeks
before the transfer was over and he started having a lot of pain and
ended up with a pretty big infection.  So, like 2 days into the mission!
We have gone up and down from their area a lot this week ha I'm so
sick of being in cars. And my missionary music starts to really get
annoying after hearing it like 10 times all the way through! On those
drives though we have really been able to see the cool fall leaves.
It's crazy here in New England! Like sometimes I take it for granted
since I'm in it all the time but it's amazing! I'm sad it's my last
fall here! Maybe I'll come visit Lindsey and Dallin next fall cause I'll miss 
it, that's for sure.

Sorry for the short and boring email! I will have more to update you
on next week I promise! I have some pictures though. 

Oh, p.s. I went golfing today. It was amazing. I played better than I thought
I would, but I have realized how much I've lost, though. I'll get it back next
summer though. Hopefully lolol

October 10, 2016

Hey everybody!

This week was a crazy week. First off, I'm feeling worse than I was last week. I don't know what it is! I usually never am sick, but I guess this Fall in New England is coming with a vengeance on me. So during the day I'm usually good but then when the evening hits I'm coughing up a lung and a half and am really congested but I'm taking medicine for it, so hopefully it will get better. But I realized that working when you feel awful is such a dumb thing to do because it usually just makes it worse. That happened to me this week, I went out in a rainstorm and worked and ended up worse than before and was down after that so if any missionaries out there are reading this, don't be dumb! Haha it was a big mistake, but it's ok because we still saw a lot of miracles this week. 

We had a referral that came in and he requested a bible, so we went over and chatted with him. He's a construction worker.  We taught the restoration and he accepted a baptismal invite! It was kind of funny, when it was asked, he said it in a voice that was like "duh, of course" and we are meeting with him in a couple days again for another appointment. 

So, Elder Holt and I, about 2 weeks ago, went to go contact a potential investigator and that lady didn't live there anymore, but the lady that does live there said we could come back. She was a little hesitant so we waited a few more days and went back again and she wasn't there. So on Thursday or Friday all of our back-ups fell through, and we were just walking around talking to people and we had a prompting to go see that lady again. It was around 8 o'clock, so kinda late, and she let us in.  They are a family of 6--we taught the restoration and it was really cool! They are a crazy family, it reminded me of Utah ha they are a young family, and also because we don't see many families at all in the city! It was a tender mercy that's for sure. 

Afterwards we walked around and talked with people until one guy flew by us on a bike and we waved and he slammed on his brakes. I honestly thought it was about to go down because he came up to us kind of aggressively. But right when he got up to us he's like, "Missionaries, I am very familiar with your church. How are you guys tonight?" And we were a little shocked, but we chatted with him for a while and it turned out he grew up Mormon and joined the army and drifted away, but he felt a prompting to stop and talk to us. We chatted with him about coming back to church and meeting with us and he said he'd love to! It was way cool. 

We found quite a few potentials this week, as well, but none of them have panned out yet but that's ok--the ones we usually don't expect to work out usually work out. I just need more faith I guess! Lol 

I got to go on exchange with a new missionary this week and holy cow--he's such a greenie. It blew my mind to think I'm this far into my mission, I have about 10 months left! It seems like a lot of time but it's really not! It goes by so fast. I love being a missionary, it will be hard coming back to a world where everything I do every day won't have as meaningful of a purpose.  So it was an experience that really helped me appreciate what I'm doing right now. Love you guys! Have a good week! 

October 3, 2016

Hey everybody!

Well this week was an interesting week. We didn't do too much proselyting because of exchanges, zone meeting, and I was HARD core sick the past few days. It has sucked but I'm starting to get over it a little. But the little time we got to proselyte we were able to meet with our new investigator, A--. A-- is pretty cool, a few weeks ago we saw her while we were walking and she was loading up some furniture into a truck and we asked if we could help and then we started to chat a little. She asked us if we could meet with her and so we did last week and then twice this week and she accepted a baptismal invite. It was pretty cool! She wasn't able to come to conference or anything this weekend but we are meeting with her soon. 

It was super random, we were walking the streets at around 8 the other night, and ran into this lady. She was a little startled because she was playing Pokémon go and her face was glued to her phone, and she called us "Elders".........no one EVER calls us Elders. So I stopped directly in my tracks and said "WHAAAAT? How do you know to call us that?" And she said she grew up in Utah and went to Bingham high school...... and she was so pumped that we knew where that was. We talked with her for a minute and answered some of her questions about the church and are going to give her a call today. 

I don't know what it is but the streets of Manchester have become infested with skunks. When we don't have a lesson in the evening, we walk around to talk to people and for some reason lately we have been running into skunks every night. 

Love you all! General Conference was amazing. If you missed some of it, go and watch it or go and read the talks. They all were incredible! It was sad to see President Monson the way he was, but it testified to me that he was a true prophet, and I honestly couldn't tell you why because his talk was so short and wasn't mind blowing, but I just got that feeling over and over again.

Love you, bye!

Photos from the Paulson family in Cam's mission. 

Beautiful!!