October 7, 2013

well hey!

i was SO HAPPY to see baby ray-gun!! i love my little guns! thank you thank you!

man, what a wonderful week! i just love ... being alive! this morning i read that i jumped for joy at the opportunity to come to earth and receive a body. i totally believe that! being alive is just so good!

did you watch conference? ah! it blew me away. i have always loved conference, but has it always been this good? i dont remember the talks ever being quite so bold and awesome! i thought they usually just saved the singeing of the eyebrows for priesthood session, but we got a little bit of it! i loved it! last night i felt like i was half way to heaven. i just feel so good! so stoked to do this work! i feel like prayers are waiting to be answered and i am responsible for the answer. i want to do whatever the lord needs me to do and be wherever he needs me to be and answer whatever prayer he needs me to answer. i am just so happy to be doing this work!

so remember anthony? he is the one with the cool word of wisdom lesson. this week we went to visit him and right away he sat us down and started telling us about some information he read online. it seemed valid and he did a bunch of research, and sadly it was swaying him to not believe in jesus as the savior of the world. it was really sad. we let him talk and allowed him to really say what was going on in his mind. i dont know how sister mayle was feeling, but i felt calm. i wasnt worried. it was sad that he was going though this and i am really disappointed that someone else would sway someone (and many others) to not believe, but i wasnt worried about anthony. luckily we had a member named brother merchant with us that day and he actually f\came across some anti the other day that he brought to us. he wasnt worried and he wa confident that it could be explained because he has a testimony. so i asked him to share his experience with anthony. he did and it was good, but anthony wasnt seeing how it applied to him. so i asked anthony- "right now, for you personally, is jesus christ your savior?" he looked right at me and said "yes" "why?" he responded-"because it feels right. i feel it" as he put his hand on his chest. i asked him how he felt when he was researching the things he was talking about. he said "confused and betrayed." we then helped him understand what the holy spirit was confirming to him. we used the scriptures and the holy spirit to know how we needed to talk and what we needed to say. by the end of the lesson, he was back on track and feeling secure again. it was so good to see him go from worry and feeling lost to feeling enlightened and relieved. that man is so great. he is going to do some wonderful things for himself and for his family. when it got to that point he started asking us if he could friend us on facebook just incase we left and he had another concern after we were gone. he said he feels comfortable coming to us because we dont freak out at him and make him feel bad for his questions. he told us that we always find a way to bring it back and help him find his way out of the woods. i was so happy! happy that it happened, and also happy for the compliment. dad, that is how you always helped me to feel. thank you so much! i blame you and the spirit for helping him to feel safe the way you always helped me to feel safe. thank you so much!

hey, did all of you listen to the talk about the 3 things you can do to be a member missionary? it was by elder nelson. if you did, then do the 3 things! if you didnt, then listen and then do them! i love you all! thank you so much for everything! i hope everyone is happy! i hope the baby is doing well and that erin is recovering! i love you!!

love, sister aunt wanay buxton!!

September 30, 2013

well hello hello!

thank you for the email. i love the pictures of my little lady! ah! i talk about her all the time and i havent even seen her. gosh those pictures of the family are cute. milo and logan are so big! they are kids! ah! i am happy that things are going well wuff da baby and all that. i am so glad milo is a happy big brother! so cute! can i just say, thank you for being wonderful grandparents? this week we went to a members house for dinner and they had their 3 grandkids over. they were like... 4, 6 and 8 or something. but the grandpa was so put off by the noise and the play. he is fun grandpa, but he just had such a demand for complete behavior and quietness. while we were eating, the 6 year old was sitting across from me. i watched him as he sat still while his eyes looked around the room an he sadly mumbled "its so clean in here..." hahahaha that poor kid felt so confined. it was pretty funny, really. i really am excited for conference. we get to watch it at the church this weekend. there is a lovely lady in the ward who even made invites for our investigators. i am so thankful to her. conference really is lovely, isnt it? when you really think about who is talking and what a miracle and a blessing it is that we can hear from them, it is just wonderful. ah! i love it.

the lady in salisbury really is great. oh man she just rocks!! she reminds me of you, mom. she grew up in dry soil but she still blossoms and makes everything around her beautiful. she is always the one to volunteer help. always looking to make someone else's life better. she told me this week that one of her favorite books is "the painted house" by john grisham. i told her you love that author and that i would let you know about that book. she said it is unlike his other books and that it is awesome.

ok 2 random things.

1. the other day (when s herrick was still around) s herrick watched me make myself some chocolate milk. i didnt know she was watching me. as i finished up she said "its a very delicate art, making chocolat milk." hahahha i thought it was great. it reminded me of the way you would always tell me that my food wasnt a work of art when i would take forever to put it on my plate. haha :)

2. the other day there were some guys that were looking at s mayle and i with their EYES! later that day i tried to explain the phrase "looking at you with his EYES" to s mayle. we laughed a little (mostly i laughed) and then i asked her if she knew what i was trying to say. she laughed and said "no, i have no idea what you are trying to say!"hahahaha oh man. i couldnt do it. maybe you could have though. either way, it was great. haha :)

 so yesterday i spoke in church. it was only the 2nd talk i have given outisde of youth talks. just in case you are wondering, yes i am still terrified of public speaking. oh it was bad. but. i got it over with an hopefully someone heard something they liked. my talk was on virtue. i tried to make the point that virtue is strength. there are 2 men in the ward that i talk cats with. they love their cats so much. during my talk i made the point that we need to have a default good thought to get negative ones out of our minds. i told them that i sometimes like to think about the day you surprised me with bert and ernie when i was about 5. i mentioned that brother cutter and brother pernaw may or may not have the same good default thoughts. the ward thought that was kinda funny, and so did i, but you kinda had to be there :)

but seriously, they love their cats. brother pernaw has an outdoor cage attached to their house and this last week he got 50 yards of chain ink fence, attached the top  and the bottom together to make a 50 yard length tube, and put it outside, connecting to his office in his house. that way the cats can go outside and run a little, but not get eaten my anything. hahahahahahaha oh it is so funny and so great. his wife thinks its a silly thing and when i told her i liked it she said in her hilarious sassy way "well then i will send you the blue prints." hahahaha oh i love those two people. they are grand. simply grand.

thank you very much family! i love you and i am sorry this wasnt too spiritual or anything. but i am happy and i am loving my mission so much! keep being righteous! if you think beig righteous isnt worth it, then read a couple of my favorite scriptures: mosiah 2:41  helaman 3:35 2 nephi 26:28  jacob 3:1,2   alma 28:14and while you are at it, find a way to make someone happy. oh! speaking of which, thank you everyone for granting me my birthday wish! whether your efforts went noticed or unnoticed, thank you! whether you wrote me or not, THANK YOU!! i love you all and i hope everyone is in tip top shape!

with much love, sister aunt wanay buxton!

September 23, 2013

bob and friends,

thank you thank you :) of course i enjoyed the email and such. i am happy that erin is finally going to pop! i hope everything goes... lively..

i wish i could take her a chocolate shake or something. i would watch the kids n stuff.

i am so happy for jade as well! what a lovely lady, giving her farewell and going off on a mission. i cant believe thats what i was getting ready to do this time last year. i even knew where i was going this time last year! there is so much mission, mtc, rm ing happening these days. its crazy that i am that age goup. sheesh. 

oh also, i am so glad you got to meet brendan ewell! he is a great guy. how do people always know you are my mom? not that there is anything wrong with that! (eh eh eh)

well this week was a lovely one. people are listening, miracles are happening, laughter is spilling, its great.

s mayle and i are so happy as people and as companions these days. we are doing great these days. 

this week we went up to salisbury, which is a place we havent been able to do much work in. in our records, there was a woman who had requested a bible from the church website 3 years ago, and when the elders went to deliver it, they noted that she was not interested anymore. well we decided to go :) salisbury is not tiny, but it is not heavily populated. i dont think there is a single restaurant out there. this house was out in the woods. as we were walking up the long driveway to the house, we noticed that there was a stack of furniture about 7 feet high that had been dumped on the front lawn. i didnt see any cars.. we almost turned around because it looked as though no one would be inside. well we went anyway. you never know, ya know. and i have already learned my lesson on assuming no one is home. the french doors on the front of the house were wide open. looking inside, it didnt seem like anyone was really living there. but we yelled "knock knock!" sure enough we heard a woman start talking and a dog started barking. a huge... mastiff mix? came bounding out the door and onto us. it was great fun :) luckily bhuda (spelling?) the dog knew we were instant best friends, so he just wanted hugs. the woman then came to the door. she had rubber gloves on and a medical mask it wasnt the woman we were looking for, but she was still nice. she explained that there was a family renting there. they trashed it, didnt pay rent and left. the damage was pretty extensive. it is costing them $25,000 to fix it. they had to rip out all the carpet and the stuff underneath the carpet and they bug bombed the house 4 times. all the furniture is unusable. and let me tell you, this was a beautiful house! colonial style, lots of windows, chandeliers, pretty wallpaper, all that stuff. so i dont know how this woman got in the situation, but she is just helping clean up because she felt bad for the actual owners. we immediately asked if we could help. she was surprised, but she readily accepted. we changed into our service clothes (thank goodness we had them in the trunk) and went to work for the rest of the afternoon. it was such a delight! we were able to help with what we could and it was a treat to talk with her. she comes from a pretty rough family, but she has somehow known from an early age to be honest and obey the laws of the land. i am just dazzled by that woman. she was so kind to us. she just couldnt get over the fact that we were helping her. she kept on saying that were were a "god send". (i love it when people say stuff like that!) by the end of our stay, we were able to share the message of the restoration with her and she happily accepted the book of mormon and said she would read it and pray about it. we get to go back and see her this wednesday. i am so happy to go back :) can i just tell you how great it is to work for the lord? i am so happy that he is guiding s mayle and i as we are out here. i know we need his help and i also know that everyone out here needs his divine help as well. it makes me so happy that she wants to read it because i know it will bring goodness into her life. she puts so much good into the world, it is time for her to receive some more good from her heavenly father. i love it when i get to see the way the lord cares about his people down here on the planet earth. it is such a blessing to be here, isnt it?

oh man, speaking of earth. the leaves are starting to change around here. it is lovely! i have been hearing about the fall out here since i first got my call. i am finally going to witness it! oh boy i am stoked :)

thank you for sending pictures of baby niece! i talk about her (and the rest of you beasts) all the time. i cant wait to see pictures of her, and of my bloody brothers as well! thank you thank you :)

i love you family!

love, sister aunt wanay x4 buxton :)

September 16, 2013

hello dear family!

  

thank you for everything, the positive words and encouragement are much appreciated. :) great job on the whole freezing a bunch of stuff thing. i am so glad you got to talk to steve westover. he is the one that always called me "lanican skywalker". we got to talk a little bit when i went to get my stake president interview. it sure was a joy. that guy is great. i hope he is happy these days.

so. the whole normal companionship thing rocks. s mayle talks way more, is much sillier, we get things done faster now, we are both happier, it is just great. 3 is just no good when it comes to missionaries.

so last monday, we were teaching a woman named kathy and a man named jeff. kathy has lots of questions about god and the gospel and all that. i have only seen jeff a few times, but he is sweet and sincere. half way though the lesson, jeff chimes in and starts teaching her! he bore his testimony about the book of mormon. he laid down the law and told her she has to read it every day so that god can answer her prayers. i didnt even know he had a testimony of the book of mormon. but he does! he told us about his prayers being answered after straying from the lord for years and that the book of mormon can change you and help you come out of a slump of a bad day. it was wonderful. the whole time he was talking, i kept thinking "why hasnt he told us all this? he wants to be a member! he really does!" so when there was a pause in the conversation, i stopped him and asked "when do you want to be baptized?" i dont think anyone had ever invited him to be baptized before. he thought for a minute and then decided that november 3rd was the day he wants to work towards. ah! it was grand. i really hope he remembers that lesson we had with him and that he really commits himself to this. i know he wants it and needs it. i know this will be huge for him, and i also know he has a lot of potential to influence a lot of other people around him. he is such a champ!

ok do you remember sister creed? she was the one that made sure i had a birthday party and cake and all that. well she did the same for sister mayle the next week for her birthday. on sunday we told her that s herrick was leaving us. she was so sad. she just kept on saying "no! no! please come over one more time! just one more time! no! when can you come over?! please!" oh it was adorable. i just knew she had something brewing in her mind. so we went over again the next night. we sat down for a few minutes and what do you know! she snuck away for a minute and came back with a lovely personalized cake with 21 candles on it. we sung to s herrick. and had a lovely time. hahahaha s creed just wanted to badly to make sure we all got a good birthday, even though s herricks isnt until february. hahahaha oh it was cute. you had better believe it was cute. oh my :)

on sunday we went to a quaker church meeting with our friends ginny and mark barker. it was a great time. they were all kind and friendly. their meeting was like testimony meeting, but with much more silence. it was interesting. at the end, we all held hands for a minute. then they passed the mic around for everyone to introduce themselves and share something if they wanted to. when it came to me i said my name and then i told them that something that has been on my mind recently is that when we truly trust the lord, that is when he can trust us, whether it is with information, opportunities, or even feelings. i left it at that. but really. that has been on my mind a lot recently. i think a lot of blessings and opportunities are available to us under the condition that we first trust the lord. why would he trust us with something we were going to misuse or neglect? when we really allow him to be our guides, and we truly trust his will, he then steps in and makes life great because he can trust us with his plans. but it is all up to us. he is trustworthy no matter what. are we trustworthy to him? i need to think about that idea a little more and then maybe someday i can write it out or say it in a more eloquent way. but for now, i hope you can understand what i am trying to explain. 

i gotta go. i love you lots! stay righteous!

love, sister buxton :)

September 9, 2013

well hello hello!

thank you for the emails and all that business. it sure means a lot that you still care about me, even though i am ya know... over here, not really doing anything for you :) eh eh eh...

man. too bad erin still hasnt had her baby. that little lady needs to make herself known outside of the belly. i so SO enjoyed the coon story!! i cant tell you how much i want one! they are so grand! and they sound so polite (in a way) and tame. adorable!!

ok. ok. that storm sounds great!! i wonder why there was such a good on in utah! i can imagine bum just the way you described. so funny! we recently got a pretty sweet storm. lots of thunder and a little bit of lights flickering. at 6:10 am, there was lightning right by our apartment. it was so close that we heard the thunder at the same time we saw the lightning. it was so bright and loud!! i think it was the loudest i have ever heard. it woke us all up at the same time. s mayle describes it as "it sounded like a full dresser being pushed down the stairs!" but seriously it was great. we could feel the walls shake. man! cant even describe it.
ah a good storm is just so grand.

this week i went to another mission leadership council. it was good to go to. our mission president is doing a great job. after the meeting with everyone, we had a sisters meeting. we talked about the sisters needs and problems we have seen and ways to help and all that stuff.

did i tell you about the man (brother bowe) in our ward who i was able to meet that walks around penacook with a little black dog on his shoulder? oh man it is great!! well. we had a wonderful lesson with him. he talked about fellow-shipping in the gospel and doing personal missionary work. he said "its my calling" RIGHT when he was done saying that, the first loud, nearby thunder made itself known. brother bowe immediately jumped up and got into attack position and then settled back down and started laughing. it scared him so bad! hahaha but it was so good! oh man it was great. but he let me take a picture with his black dog on my shoulder.

oh yeah, transfer news. s mayle and i are staying, s herrick is leaving, but unfortunately, not to brazil. she is going to be somewhere in the mission. i really love s herrick. she definitely has a sense of humor that is the most like mine out of any of my companions. well, maybe. but she is great. but lets be honest. i am stoked about not being in a trio. it is just.. ok. so yeah. that is our news. i will miss her. but i am excited to just love s mayle and be her companion. also i am excited to have a desk :)

so this week we were teaching anthony again. when we got there, we were planning on teaching him the plan of salvation. but before we even sat down he said- " i have some questions for you guys today" ..hold on to your butts.. it wasnt so bad though, he heard about the word of wisdom and he was concerned. he was saying it just isnt realistic for someone today to live that kind of lifestyle. but we went on to talk about it. we had never taught the word of wisdom as a companionship before, but we actually all worked in unity, we independently shared scriptures that supported each other and that helped him understand. at one point he said "well i am about to put my foot in my mouth about up to my knee...." he got all stuttery, then explained that when he gets excited about something, his mouth wants to swear, but that he didnt want to swear in front of us. we gave him a minute to gather himself and settle down. then he explained how AWESOME he thought the word of wisdom is and medical this and scientifically that! he was STOKED about it. hahahahahaha! oh it was great. he committed right there to try to live it. i shook his hand right there for two reasons- 1 i am proud of him. 2 i cant hug him. it was just the coolest! i have never seen such a drastic, immediate change. hahahaha it was a blast. before we left, he said he also found some stuff online about polygamy. so this weeks lesson should be good. hahaha :)

have i ever told you about gloria? she is one of the cutest and sweetest ladies you will ever know. s herrick and i met her on one of our very first days here. she is adorable. she is torn right now because she likes us a lot, she is praying about baptism, but she loves the church  that she has been attending. she is part of a 7th day adventist group. we are trying to help her see that we love everyone and we wont expect her to cut all ties and abandon them. so to help her see that, we went to church with her on saturday (of course is was on a saturday:)  ).  it was good stuff. i dont really know much of anything about them, except the whole 7th day thing. but they were so much fun. they all loved us, even with our little name tags. the sermon was great- they read from and discussed the bible. there was one point when he was talking about how the lord will never forget us, how he will gather us like a hen gathers her chicks, all that kind of stuff. he asked if we though the lord would not prepare us for the second coming. "of course he will!" was his answer to his own question. ah it was just so grand! it reminded me of the last paragraph in the introduction to the book of mormon that says when we gain a witness of the books divinity and all that, we will also know that the church of jesus christ of latter day saints is the lords kingdom once again established upon the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the messiah. aaah! so good! while we were listening to the sermon, i just wanted to teach them. i wanted to teach the preacher. not to prove him wrong or anything, but to show him how right he was and how the gospel that i have is exactly what he needs and how much he is going to love it! they had the equivalent of a pot luck linger longer and the preacher insisted that we went first. it was so cute! no wonder she feels so torn. but she came to church with us yesterday and loved it! she stayed for all 3 hours, didnt want to leave! plus there was lots of fellow-shipping with hardly any work on our (missionaries) part. it was grand. simply grand. i love that woman.

   

ooh! also, yesterday was s mayle's birthday. i made it as special as i could, even though there isnt a whole lot i could do. but i made sure to jump on her bed in the morning and stack the 3 cakes that we recieved this week and put them on her desk and all that good stuff. s herrick and i wished each other and lots of other people a "happy sister mayle's birthday" all day. s herrick told me that for s mayles birthday, i could hold her (s herrick's) hand at any time. what a great gift. hahahaha :)

well i have got to get going. i am excited for my first niece! great job erin! 

i love you all!!!

love, sister lani buxton