COPIAPO!!!! CAMBIOS!!!! ME VOY!!!!!

Well family..... The news.... The Assistants called us Saturday night for our Cambios. I am being transferred!!!! I am being transferred to a little Pueblito called Tierra Amarilla in Copíapo. It's south of Antofagasta. You can Google it if you would like haha. It's called ¨Yellow Land¨ for a reason haha very very dry and not a lot of green, but hey... that's all of Northern Chile for ya. haha Copíapo is a lot more hot than it is here in Arica... So yep, I'm gonna die... My new companion is named Elder Tanner Mangum... He is the #1 Recruit Quarterback in the Nation and is the Quarterback at BYU you can Google him too hahah..... He has 3 months in the mission and I'm going to be Senior Comp over him and I couldn't be more excited and pumped for this amazing opportunity to serve with him and the people in Tierra Amarilla. Him and his Papito (Trainer, Elder Keele) did a very good job the past 2 cambios there and are some investigators who have fechas for baptism. My Bus leaves at 4:30 today so I will be on the bus for about 18 hours and I arrive in Copíapo at 9 in the morning tomorrow.

One of the hardest things though is leaving a sector that you have grown to love. Here in Pukarani I have made some life long friends and learned and grown soooooo much spiritually and also characteristics that I will be using for the rest of my life, such as patience. My patience with some of the trials I have gone through has helped shape me to be a better man and will surely help me later on in my mission to become a better missionary and companion. I also learned some things what not to do and things that I can fix. Communication is a MAJOR part of the mission with companions. I lacked that and made a promise to myself to never just let my companion do what he wants knowing it's bad while I just do my thing. Saying in my mind, "it's his mission he´s ruining not mine".... I'm not a perfect missionary but realizing this about communication between a companionship will SURELY help me later in my mission and also further on in my life with my wife and kids. Communication is necessary. I'm a little sad I realized it a little too late to help right now with some people. But that's life for ya. 

It was very difficult saying goodbye to the members and our investigators yesterday knowing I might not see any of them ever again. There is an amazing love you obtain for the people you work with and I will miss the families here so much. Our fechas the Familia Moya are doing good. I believe and know they will be baptized some day soon even with the trials of the divorcement. We brought a family of 5 to church yesterday too. It's so sad how I just have to dump my investigators that I have worked so hard with to bring to church, but yesterday made me so happy bringing 5 investigators 4 inactives and 1 recent convert to church. Always leave the sector better than you found it and I believe I helped with that. I love Pukarani but am very excited for the next opportunities in my mission with Elder Mangum and the small Branch of 50 members in Tierra Amarilla. Love you all so much. The Lord blessed me with my hard work and patience for these past 3 months. Thank you for the prayers. Chileans don't celebrate Thanksgiving so it was just a normal Thursday but I ate some cookies thinking of all of you:) Love you all.

Con Mucho Amor

Elder Paxman