2014 Dec 22

Potlatch and Troy

Are two of the most small and widespread branches i have ever covered. We get 1800-1900 miles to cover it all!

I now have Elder John as my companion and he's pretty fun. I'm so glad that i've had awesome companions this entire time.

Aside from that though not much happened this week as everyone canceled on us at the door or on phone. this week however is sure to be much more fulsome.

===============

Ted Weeks

Sounds like u r doing good. Hope you have a Merry Christmas. And a great new year too. 

The weeks family

2014 Dec 15

WELP

I get comfortable, stop forgetting names, and stop getting lost and they send me out! Yeeeet again! I am now heading to Troy/ Potlatch, where i cover TWO branches. At least i'll be kept busy i am sure. 

I kinda already knew that me and my companion were going because last transfer the bishopric was told they were going to lose the elders and when they didn't im sure it was a shocker to them. So this time it was certaint hat we are both leaving. :P oh well.

My next companion is apparently Elder John. A round elder that is funny. Don't know much more then that.


AND we were able to put another person ondate right before we leave. GGUUUURRRRRRR AAAAHHHH! so frustrating.

2014 Sept 29

Oh my this time is dissipating....

like an apparition, like smoke on the wind.

yeeeah.

ON the plus side I am mastering the bike riding techniques! I did it with one hand while getting my water bottle out of my bag and drinking from it! :D(for those of you who don't know, usually my bike riding skills require a certain amount of....help, so basically this is a feat, almost like a dog learning how to use a skateboard and use it well.)

We also have been searching out and helping the members in the quest for more investigators! HUZZAH! IT's been oddly quiet so we have to find more we can do instead of just meeting with eternigators.(people who will meet with us but wont commit to change)

WE bike only in this area I might add since I think I haven't mentioned that before. we get rides to some places but mostly we are driving.

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It's hard finding people to teach.  I can say visualize them in all white going to the temple.  Believe it, live it.  We love you Elder Padilla... and yes, time is flying... Good job on the mad bike skillz Elder.

Love,
Dad

2014 Sep 22

heehee
there was a humorous thing on someone's window sill. Here it is.it's good for a laugh. the guy didn't like us much either but it was funny enough to come back and take a picture

CEEEELEEBRATE

Good times COME ON! :D

I am staying along with Elder Draper which is exciting because we both thought one of us was going but sure enough here I stand!*(or sit I mean I am typing and I don't want to bend over just to type on a keyboard)

Our investigator KK is finally on the path by starting on cutting down her coffee intake. I'm hoping she shoots for a week then two weeks without it, but apparently she is so dependent(or her body is anyways) that she gets migraines all the time without at least drinking half a cup of that stuff a day.

On the plus she had us over for dinner and because they live in a very sparce trailer and their lights were down me and elder draper had quite a good dinner...a romantic one even. XD I laughed and told elder Draper that this is the most romantic dinner he'll have for the next 8 months.

Edward Padilla	Sep 23 (6 days ago)
to Christopher

Elder Padilla,

You sound good. Sounds like you're having fun. I hope KK can overcome her addiction . I know she will as she grows in the gospel and has you as an example. 

Do you have to bike all over the place. Or do you have a car?

Alexandria's doing good, she goes into the mission field in 3 weeks from the MTC.  Her Spanish is improving and her testimony is growing.  I miss her but I am very proud of where she is as well.

Keep up the good work my nephew. The Lord has blessed you well.

2014 Sept 15

NOOOOOOOOOO

nooo noooo nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I can't believe it noooooooooo, my brother is leaviiiing! who will I talk to!? who will I send funny stories too? who will be there looking out for my room!? NOoooooooooooo. and to Utah!? where he will become a delightful weird little missionary? Nooooooooooo.

AAAAAHHH! I am excited and tensed, nooooo. I'm so happy but im just...aaaaaaah! nnnnuuuuh!

I can't believe thiiiiiis! :D

Anyways this past week ....I can barely even focus aaah!

We anyways...GAAH we had a great week and we had lots of fun. :DI can't even barely remember what we did, I know we taught Kat(KK's mother) about the good Samaritan and how we should do good to all, and we also went to a bbq with Bro. best, who is a less active member and that was wonderful. we have been good boys too and we fixed up our bikes a little and that's all that I can think about because someeeoooone has had a mission call now.

2014 Sept 8

hey there

how is life out there? I feel giddy talking to all of you today and I don't know why, just giddy and happy and ready to bounce off the walls. In a library however this is deeply discouraged so i'll make sure to make this one eeextra long.

SOOO a year ago or so a set of missionaries baptized three families and you know what families get to do after a year of being baptized? GO to the Temple! and we have been working with brother Schade and meeting him almost every week because he is just so delightful and awesome to talk with. A picture of him with his impossibly large moustache has been sent from before. Me and him along with his wife before she went to work at the Kootenai hospital. They are both wonderful, he is retired from the Navy if I remember correctly and he did some other stuff after that.

(speaking of years last year on November Donna was baptized. because I was there during her baptism and she is technically "my convert" I get to go to the temple with her. but sadly not with brother Schade who I have met with constantly these past three months and I just put that down to darn stupid rules and rigid conformity to whatever the mission president has been told and said. A bummer because I really want to see brother Schade get his endowments but because of buggering rules he said no. uuugh)

As we have been teaching we have finally reached the last new member discussion with Leo so...we are finally done there but we will still visit him and strengthen him until the members have befriended him. Which is a really important thing, I don't care about much else when members get involved what I really want is them to just be outward and say hello to people the don't recognize(which would make missionary work much easier because investigators are able to overlook there concerns and worries when they remember just how nice all the people were to them when they went with those two strange people with nametags.)

Anyways the rest of the week we spent trying to get more people into our investigator pool and because each time we go over to KK's she just kinda closes off the conversation because she's sick(which is easy to understand, I mean life happens.) so we haven't been able to explain the word of wisdom just yet so her baptismal date has been pushed back temporarily. I think we'll be able to do that Wednesday, but I'm not sure just yet.

Ehrm...hmmm aside from that not else is new. my bike is doing well, it's getting just a little chilly so now I pack a scarf along into my bag so when we ride home around 8:30 I can wrap it around my throat and stay a little warmer.

I'm washing all my bedding today so lots of time gets to be spent with a washing machine, yaaaay...pttthp. but heck it's not all bad.

=============================================================

Elder Padilla, here is a new Elder Padilla.... http://youtu.be/r1sGo9PV4XE 

He reports the Dec 17th to Provo.

2014 Sep 02

aaaand life could not be better

beeeettteeer! XD

I'm having a great time out heeere! Me and my companion are staying busy and i bought my last few things for a full winter ensemble(i threw away my old ones because they were cluttering space in republic and well here i am again with winter looming its ugly face forward.)

This last week i was sick but we did as much work as we could and staying busy as much as we could was quite rewarding. We have an investigator named KK who is trying to remodel parts of her trailer and yeeah she asked for an artist to draw cherry blossoms on the wall and i snickered because i'm no artist whatsoever. 

We are just having a great time outs here!

2014 Sep 1

From Sister Carter

 New Pic of the Elders in Idaho.

2014 Aug 26

So today I went to the temple, it was amazingly refreshing only problem is that it's been getting around 60 F to 50 F at night so there was one person snuffling and snorting through the whole thing. me. XP And of course you know what that means. I'm siiick!  yaaaay!BLAARGH.

Aside from that it's been growing slightly inevitably quiet around here(say hello to some of those snowbirds in phoenix because they might be an investigator from around here)As well as a mass exodus and incoming of people split on some of the "political issues" that go around Washington. -___- bleh, politics.

OH I invented a stylish game to help me pay attention in Zone conference(when president Mullen talks to three zones at once for around eight hours #toomanymeetings) I take a notepad in and grab three other elders and we start with an action hat the mission president does a lot(funny thing is our mission president does a lot of odd hand signals and we've named almost all of them now but also if he touched and readjusted his tie, brushing his glorious mane of hair back,etc. etc)each time he does that I write down two tick marks as points. after that we each choose three words we think will be said in the meeting constantly.(I had missionaries, obedient, and wonderful while my companion had Christ, Spirit, and observe as his three words.) This helps me concentrate and we all laugh at the end seeing one word that was aid perhaps once while another ridiculous choice got said thirty times(someone said spirit five times in one sentence and I wanted to punch elder Drapers shoulder so he'd stop grinning so big.)

Aside from that most everything else has been quieting down and we've been tracting and making member visits as much as we can to keep busy.

2014 Aug 18

I forgot to tell you all, I live in a shack in Post Falls 1st. :D it's actually a shack it is tin walled on the outside with a tin roof and was originally going to be a slaughterhouse but they cleaned it up, put carpet in and it's our house. It's one of the smallest places I've lived in but it's actually pretty comfortable. ^_^

I will send pictures of the whole affair later ok?

2014 July 14

and I have walked a thousand mooore. 

(or however it goes)

How is everybody out there in the big world today? I hope doing well.

Well this week was truly unique as I got to attend a funeral for a members friend. It was truly interesting to attend a funeral in a funeral home which is a fancy word for place where they have the funeral. A certain Rob Clark was the one who owned and ran it(a member of the church) and he was quite polite about it. A lot of the people there were nonmembers(with a few investigators thrown in as well.) We just kind of sat and enjoyed the stories they told(he died before I got there so in all honesty I didn't really know the guy. I was there to support our member and make sure he did well as he gave the eulogy for him)

After that we went with brother Schade to help prepare for a barbecue. as it turned out helping simply meant some chopping and cooking. He made a huge pot of goulash that is his own make and model that took ten years to perfect() a long time by anyone's standards.

We put an investigator back on date after teaching the law of chastity and that went quite well. I know that if we keep helping him out that he'll come fully to know the lord.

WELP good luck out there in the big world!

==================

Elizabeth Padilla <lizard68@hotmail.com> Rob Clark and his ex wife own that funeral home and are members of the church as well. They have 5 lovely children and one of their sons is on a mission as well. 😊

==================

Edward Padilla <padilla_ec@hotmail.com>

Elder Padilla,

We know Rob.  Tell him we said hi

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID

2014 Aug 18

I forgot to tell you all, I live in a shack in Post Falls 1st. :D it's actually a shack it is tin walled on the outside with a tin roof and was originally going to be a slaughterhouse but they cleaned it up, put carpet in and it's our house. It's one of the smallest places I've lived in but it's actually pretty comfortable. ^_^

I will send pictures of the whole affair later ok?

2014 Aug 20

Elder Draper -- Elder Padilla

==============
Benjamin Padilla
Awesome Chris.
==============

Melanie MontoyaLove you elder Padilla!!!

==============

Nate Padilla

I miss Tea. Hope all is well with him.
==============

Chris Padilla <chrispadillaaz@gmail.com>

He looks happy.  We miss him a lot too but know that he's growing tons right now.

2014 Aug 18

My week!

I was riding my bike down a road when all of a sudden I felt and heard a "puh puh puh" my tube was bulging through my tire, I began to pull off to the side to check it out when it went " BANG" and green slime covered the back of my shoes pants and front part of my bike! it was terribly funny afterwards but that slime smells terrible(I think they have fish oil or something in there that's an animal product, I was washing my hands off with dish soap and it still was barely coming out.)

So because of that I've been borrowing our ward mission leaders bike and that thing stinks...im all hunched over it and yeah I just don't like it much.

YEEPS!

after that not much else happened this week, we ate at members, lots of bugs are popping up right now before the winter blights them all so that's getting annoying. one shirt just had tiny little blood splatters from all the bugs I was ramming on my bike.

aside from that today is just the usual, shopping for some food, some deodorant, and a small bag of lemon drops to suck on periodically.

2014 Aug 11

:D I baptized LEO
YEEP! I baptized leo this Saturday! :D awesooome, it took a long time but it's worth it to see him smiling so much now.

Leo -- Elder Padilla -- Elder Draper

2014 Aug 4

OH NO!

I'm already to the sixth week again!? why is this moving back to fastforward in my mission!? D:

The time in the beginning of this transfer went a little slow because I realized I had hit my year mark and now the whole affair is on fastforward again!

We have Leo Britton on date for this coming Saturday so as we approach that I hope nothing happens again, because last time his friends offered him beer and he took it which was really disappointing.

As you are friends with others just remember that we are setting an example for all even if we can't see who we are affecting.

This past week was alright indeed though, Saturday was a heavy storm but it only lasted fifteen minutes.

Me and my companion, my companion relaxing

 

Brother schade and his wife and me,

and brother Sampson and me

===========================

angpadilla@gmail.com " As you are friends with others just remember that we are setting an example for all even if we can't see who we are affecting." Wonderful words of advice!! Thx T!

2014 Jul 28

hey hey hey

how's it going out there in the world?

We had a baptism in the ward of people who are soon going back down to there home in Arizona.

How exciting is that?

Well aside from that everything was normal this week. we helped the members we lived with create a rockwall one morning and that was kind of cool(not a legitimate rock wall you'll understand just rocks stacked on each other to make a perimeter around some trees and grass in a corner.) We spent maybe 45 minutes on that then went back to work out in the world.

====================

Francisco Padilla

Nice work Elder. What was the name of the person that got baptized? Were they part of non-active/less-active family?

Glad to hear things are going well. Keep u the good work.

2014 July 21

2014 Mar 24

MY week has been going superbly. today we plan on going on a wonderful hike up some hills and go have a nice time as a zone.

The past week we have begun to teach one of our investigators sons. he is really cool and so far we have taught him about the restoration and the background of the book of mormon. He does however keep saying that he's already been baptized so that rigmarole will happen sooner or later.

The rest of our investigators are doing well(Tim Graves,Pat farrell, Bruce will, and Bruce Herndon) we plan to make a bunch of calls tomorrow to set up for them throughout the week. The other people we keep trying to see throughout the week will hopefully be there, but these people we can meet without fail.

We have been doing well, but this last week was again CRAMMED with meetings. it was interviews and also stake conference which was an hour drive for us. yeah it's a good distance away...but worth it nonetheless(the conference was, the meeting was just a bunch of old hash, rehashed again)

I hope the rest of you are having a goodtime reading your scriptures. I just finished the new testament and im back in it again, combing over it once more.

2014 July 21

because it's para-para paradiiise. :D

Aaaah such a nice easy week. We taught people and met with all our pleasant investigators. Sure one fell off date and one has still not come to church yet but you know what? it was a wonderful week nonetheless. I took it slower as I peddled on my bike and just breathed in a little more and all was right with the world again.

:oD honk.

I have to say this about the scriptures in New Testament, the further back you get, the more you realize how much of the book of Mormon really parallels the scriptures and all their teachings. Odd because most of the book of Mormon happens before or after new testament and yet they are so in sync! I find it delightful to read in Enos but it's honestly the scantiest book in there and also very full at the same time.

P.S. I hope all of you are studying yourselves. It['s a good way to spend a little time and a good way to come together around a common part of the gospel.

P.S.S from good to great. :D

OK so here I am again and you can spread around this story, but we got up from the library computers for a second to use the restroom and as we were going there a gangster with a blue bandanna on his head, a swastika tattooed on the side of his head and had upside-down crosses tattooed on his chest stopped us and said "LDS right?"I go simply "yeah"

and here I quote the rest of the conversation, just him talking mind you. "Ah man I have the utmost respect for you guys, I've read the whole Book of Mormon and the discourses of Joseph Smith, I won't join, but I find it really uplifting. all these other churches profess to believe and follow the words of Christ but you guys really do it. and now you have this whole twelve step program thing you are just really going at it. I've seen videos from people who've studied it all the way from the beginning but you guys are just Deep. thanks though man I appreciate what you guys do for the community"

 :D Aaaaah, I love the humbled and those that like us a lot.

2014 June 30

:D I am going back into Idaho, next to Coeur D'Alene apparently! I am elated and kind of sad that i am leaving this area.

I'm sad because I've spent a fourth of my mission here, and you don't spend that long without either loving or despising the area and the people. And i loved it here, my landlords, my companions, our investigators, and our good members. I'll miss them all.

On the other side of the coin though, i'm excited because apparently the area i'm going to keeps busy CONSTANTLY and i haven't been in an area with that as such of yet. just very booney areas where i butcher sheep and swing mauls in order to chop up wood and try and have lessons.

I don't know how i'll adjust to having lessons every day. that don't cancel on us! O_O i think i'll enjoy it.

ALSO do you know what happens this July 17th? I hit my year mark. that's right a year out on the mission. Surprising in all honesty so yeah...I've made it this far! :D exciting, i look back and i think "huh it cant have been that long..." Then i pour threw my diary and go "0_0 yeeeaah it's been that long"

My address will be
8475 N.Chase Rd
Post Falls, ID 83854

2014 July 7

Well I am ecstatic to be heeere! I'm so happy that as I've been moved I've gotten more work to do, we meet with people five to eight times a day and that's so much better then getting your single lesson cancelled on you!

 We don't do much servicebut that's ok I won't miss it to much. ^_^

On the first day I road in an old I believe 69 mail jeep. it was so cool, and so small inside I sat on a wheel well, my feet propped up on the spare tire.We were being driven somewhere because my bike wasn't with me yet. once we got to the trailers we started teaching from the time brother schrade offered me a Beer(of Root. :P) all the way to when we closed down the day walking home at 8, which actually made me sore because we were so far away from home...

The next day I borrowed a bike and started riding it. We got around much faster yes, but I still despise bikes... We finished the route and met lots of people at that point(some who were kind others not so much) We again met many interesting people to the unforgettable and charming Kelly(who owns a hundred cats because he doesn't neuter any of them) to the delightful brother Sampson(the guy who drives us around the most.)

We'll skip to Saturday because my time on the computer is running low...

On Saturday we met with Colby and investigator who is pretty darn cool, and who fixed his buddies muffler with a beer can and Hose clamps. Regular MacGyver there. I then also figured out the house we are staying in was supposed to be a slaughterhouse. Oh how wonderful missionary housing can be. ^^;

On sunday we had a superb time with three investigators coming to church. We sat next to Leo who was on date but now is off it so we plan to get him back in line. :D I think this area is great though(aside from the biking :/)

Well i'll talk to ya'll later, send me questions and i'll answer them! :D

2014 Apr 14

Nothing new, except...We have Tim on date to be baptized! :3 Yaaay
I finally finished the book of Mormon and I'm starting it again.
ALSO I am doing great out here as usual. I am excited for mothers day especially as we call.

2014 Apr 7

General Conference

Wasn't it a great general conference? I enjoyed all ten hours of it! Every session was wonderful and full of the spirit. I took various notes but sadly forgot to bring them with me. I am staying in republic again for six weeks! we have quite a few people closer to baptism now. I hope to share with them what a wonderful time it was and how great the words were. Tim graves was taught about the importance of the priesthood me with a member. His one thing holding him back from being baptised is the one thing i tire of out here. "I've already been baptised so can't i just be mormon?" He comes to church, he believes the book of mormon is true, but that one thing is holding him back. So we talked about how the priesthood is that authority to bind in heaven and on earth, how it helps complete many different things and how the keys are what you need. His wife Joann is very interested and is wanting to be baptized because she is interested in eternal marriage, but we are going to keep working with them, slowly putting aside any worries they have. Bruce Wills is doing good, we helped him chop wood. I broke a post hole digger working with a member, but me and Braman were able to fix it(one handle is a little smaller now though, but it still works.) We are making their fence so they can try and sell there house. XD he broke a crowbar when we were working for another member too. We are destructive little hooligans.

Me and Braman with our working hats me and the tiniest car i've ever seen. It was SO tiny! The one with the forest in the back is the Hagels. Grand forks elders at Cascade Falls. The lady in pink with me on the right is the Wills family, he isn't a member she is. I got the Easter wig, mom sent me...:-)