Another Q&A - November 10th

This last week was great. Joni is on date for November 29th. We got transfer information. I am staying in Kalispell for the next 5 weeks. I think I will finish my mission here. My companion is getting transferred and will be training his last transfer and he will also be a facebook specialist for the zone he is going to. My new Zone Leader companion will be Elder Buntrock and we will be in a trio with Elder Wright and he will be a junior companion. I LOVE Elder Buntrock! Him and I gave a presentation on using Family History in Missionary Work in June or so. Do you remember that? So sick. I'm stoked. 

I messaged Mike but I haven't heard from him in Months. I've sent him 2 or 3 emails. We'll see. Patience I guess right? (:

Are all your clothes holding up?  

A) yes. I just need a new pair of grey suit pants because they have been ripped since March and they are VERY unfixable. 

Are you healthy?

Yes. Happy, healthy, and well.

Do you know if there will be a transfer call prior to Christmas?

Yes, my last transfer of the mission starts December 13th or so. This is week 1 of the transfer so transfers take place this Wednesday and Thursday. We will have 16 hours to drive like usual. 8 hours each day. Yayyy (:

Time does fly by. I don't know what to say. I will see you soon! That's weird to think about. I love this work! I love you! I'm proud of Jorvik. He's a good man. I'm excited for him to go on a mission. He will just love it.

Everything is going well

Quentin is coming along. No baptismal date but he's doing good. Joni is doing really good as well. 

The zone is doing super well. Elder Crane is back in San Jose- I have a box of some important things of his I need to send so he can have them. Elder Cordova is back in Utah and should be having surgery today or this week some time on his collar bone. My new shoes are really nice! I love them. Not really in need of anything. i might use some of my alotment to get a pair of suit pants for my grey suit. They have been out of commission for 6 or 7 months. I have a package to send home too. If I said it I DON'T WANT IT OPENED UNTIL I GET HOME!!!

Things are going well-getting fed hecka good and am getting fat still. That's okay though.

Mom.....remember who you are

Mom-are you happy? If you can not confidently answer this. I would like to ask why? You are a divine being from the most loving and happy, all knowing being in the universe. A heavenly father loves you, we have the gospel! We have nothing to worry about if we are true to the commandments, our covenants, and are progressing in life. (: 

I got the flu shot, don't have the flu though. I just have a cold and I passed it ever so kindly to Elder Zacchilli (: We are going to attack Elder Cordova with it next. Hahah kidding. We got your package and loved it! Elder Zacchilli opened it up it and was happy to see the candy and stuff. 

Quenten is doing great! He said he might not be at church, I didn't text him back and then an hour later he texted and was like, you know I think I'm going to come (: It was good to see him there again. He's awesome!

Elder Cordova is doing good. He has a dr appointment today at 1 to decide if he needs surgery on his collar bone. Usually they don't but the gap in the break is large enough that they might have to put a plate in. 

Elder Crane is doing good. Call him and text him every day. We had a really good conversation this morning for a little bit and a really good convo last night. He is doing well. He will be going home today or tomorrow back to California. He will be back to Montana in 6-8 weeks. He is thinking that in the December transfer he will be back. Which is good because that's my last transfer in the mission! I love Elder Crane. He's a champ. It is his birthday today-he turns 26.

Be happy

Things are going great! Life is good! I have 3 months from November 1st. 

I love you

Elder Packham

My week......WILD

Hello everybody!

My week was so crazy that I'm going to just send out this one email and then email you all individually after this. Buckle your seat belts, here we go!

My area: We are so close to getting Quentin on date! We feel very strongly that early November he will be baptized. That is exciting and we are happy for him :) We hope his friend Eric can baptize him as well-that would be amazing to see.

Here's where we get crazy! Just wait and see God's hand in everything...

We went out with one of our members this last week and one of the families we went to see was brother and sister miller. They are less active, Brother Miller has health problems, and there is no reason why sister Miller should not be at church. We had a great visit with them.

My companion and I spoke at stake conference on Saturday! Holy Moly! I have never spoke in front of so many people! I had prepared a 6 minute talk and so did my companion. During my talk my mouth got so dry, I felt like I needed a cup of water next to the pulpit like the apostles have in the conference center-it was bad. I sat down and asked my companion how long I spoke for, he said 14 minutes. :/ My companion and I together were supposed to speak for 15. Oops. #MissionaryProblems #ITalkTooMuch :) My companion spoke for 4 or 5 though and it was good. Right after we spoke the Stake President spoke and closed the meeting. We had a regional broadcast on Sunday which was phenomenal. Sister Esplin, Elder Scott, and Elder Bednar spoke to us and the other stakes in the region. I LOVE THEM! Lots of people complimented us on our talks, it was pretty rad.

Sunday night:

Got a phone call from K3-Kalispell 3rd ward elders Elder Crane and Cordova. Elder Crane said they were going to breakfast with some of our members so I razzed him hard about that. He wanted us to go to breakfast but I wasn't feelin it so I just told him we'd be fine. We were supposed to go to breakfast with YSA members Monday morning. It's a running tradition of 3 weeks now. 

Monday... (Yesterday)

Breakfast didn't work out this morning so we went straight to the library! (Part 1 of Gods influence)

I was putting in baptismal dates into the Zone Leader gmail account when President Mecham called. I took it and stepped out. He asked if we were at our apartment and I said no. He said, "You need to be at the hospital right now. Elder Crane and Elder Cordova were in a car accident and it's critical. Give them Blessings. Get there as soon as you can." So I said bye and we rushed over. This was incredible because if we would have gone to breakfast we would have been on the other side of town, but luckily we were just 4 blocks away from the hospital or so.

Let me preface this by saying I LOVE Elder Carl Crane and Elder Kiya'an Cordova. I have been Elder Crane's zone leader for his whole mission, minus 1 transfer. So 10.5 Months. The one missionary I love more than Elder Crane in this mission would be Elder Johnson, we were companions for 6 months though. Elder Cordova is a new missionary and we are really good friends, we have been since day 1.

We get to the hospital and Elder Crane has life threatening injuries. He had a tore aorta and needed medical attention ASAP. Elder Cordova just had a bruised lung, and a broken collar bone. 

What happened was they were driving and they needed to make a left hand turn. Looking left it was safe but Elder Crane didn't see one of the vehicles to his right because of a blind spot or something. They got T-boned. They were turning so they were going like 5 mph and the SUBURBAN that hit them was going like 55mph at least. They were driving a brand new jeep compass.

When they got to the scene Elder Cranes door opened instantly-they were able to pull him out right away (God's intervention, he had the more serious injuries) They couldn't get Elder Cordova out of the vehicle and it took 15 minutes of the firefighters using the jaws of life to get his door off to then get him out. (BLESSING-he didn't have as serious of injuries so this was good)

Back to the hospital: We get to Elder Cranes room and I just want to cry, I hold it together though. Gotta be strong. I told him I loved him and he went (with a broken voice) Love you too buddy. Heart wrenching. AHHHHHHH!!!! We gave Elder Crane a blessing, promising him a fast recover. Same with Elder Cordova. 

They initially let me and my companion both be in the ER. While we were there in Elder Cordovas room this man gets rolled into the other half of the room and they slide the curtain between them. Not 5 minutes later this women walks in. Guess Who?! SISTER MILLER!!! The less active couple! She goes, "It's not coincidence that we have seen you so much this weekend." I'm like, "You're right! It's not a coincidence, It's God." They said we could come by any time and they were also willing to feed us #Touchdown #Score

They flew elder Crane to spokane, he had surgery last night. Doctor was confused AGAIN because they didn't see a tore aorta but a stretched aorta (not as bad) and 6 broken ribs and a punctured lung. (Gods Intervention) Priesthood blessings work! It was so cool to see that all of these smart doctors confounded and confused because nothing to them made sense. But to us everything was working out how God wanted it too!

In the ER they would only let one visitor go back and sit with Elder Cordova. My companion, the 2 other missionaries, and the 2 members that were there said I should go back. So I did-I wanted to be the one to sit with him anyway (: We talked, we read scriptures, prayed together. It was a very faith building moment. He had a small piece of glass on his tongue... Yes I touched another mans tongue. Sacrifice! 

We stayed the whole day with Elder Cordova in the hospital. From 9am-9:45pm. Yes we broke curfew. We had a dinner appointment with our bishop for 1 hour then went back. We went to the hospital this morning from 7:45-11. Just sending y'all a quick email so you have an update. 

I saw the vehicle. They should both be dead. At least Elder Cordova should. It's a miracle. 

Last night Elder Cordova was in TONS of pain. We gave him another blessing. Elder Zacchilli gave this one this time though. It was me, my companion and the stake president-President Clark. Not 2 minutes after the blessing he had his 2 nurses and the doctor in the room. They readjusted him in his bed and he felt better! God answered almost immediately through other people. Amazing. 

I was on the phone with my last companion Elder Johnson last night. He called from Bozeman. President called him specifically and told him about Elder Crane. We were talking about it and reminiscing on all of the good times we had together with Carl D. (Elder Crane). We were talking when all of a sudden the phone buzzed and it said Kalispell 3. I was confused so I hung up with Elder Johnson and it was ELDER CRANE!!!! He called us from Spokane. He is doing good, I felt bad for making him laugh over the phone because I could tell it hurt to laugh. You could hear his family in the background and they were laughing at our conversation too. 

God is great. He is aware of us. It's funny how he works sometimes. 

Here's another thing. Elder Cordova's doctor worked along side our medical coordinator for 14 years. Our medical coordinator gave him a book of mormon back in the day. We go to dinner with our Bishop and Bishop invited a man in the ward who is a neurosurgeon because the mans family was out of town. The man bishop invited works with Elder Cordovas doctor as well! God prepares people in funny ways too. Well. Haven't eaten anything all day so I better grab a bite to eat soon. Gotta go back to the hospital too.

ps. Mom, message his mom back on facebook and tell them he's okay. I will send you pictures to send his momma right now. 

I love you all. 

Stay true to the faith.

-Elder Packham

Love you.

Hey mom,

I am doing really well. We have a lot going on. We have been moving into another members' house for the past week and so that has been a fun challenge in itself. We are finishing up the move today and tomorrow hopefully. I am looking forward to our interviews with President Mecham this transfer. As for my studies of the scriptures I am in Alma 18. I am marking all of the words of Christ and that has been fun. 3 things that I am focusing on right now is my prayers, Christ like attributes again, and there was one more but I can't seem to remember right now.

Our area is doing good, we do not attend 9 different sacrament meetings-Luckily, that would be insane! Only 9 hours :) This week we didn't go to 2 hours of church in lakeside because our investigator was not there. We only attended 7 hours which is the normal. Quinten is doing good, we are meeting with him tomorrow and hopefully he will be on date! 

We had Mission Leadership Council this last week. It was amazing! I love seeing all the missionaries there! It was a fun time to learn from the assistants and from President and Sister Mecham.

There is a lot of things I want to do when I get back! It would be cool to go to Texas and visit Alli for a few days before college. I can't wait to see all of you. Time is flying by so fast. I can't believe it's almost over :/ Missions are great. Y'all should save up for one. Do y'all have food storage yet. We sure are gettin' pretty close to the end of days ya know.

Continue to rely on our Saviors Atonement. Pray, Pray hard, Pray long and hard. You can't change what other people have done, the only thing you can change is you (: You can't blame yourself for other peoples' actions. In an extreme example, that's like me blaming myself for what Adolf Hitler did to millions of Jews and others. No, the answer is no. 

Satan wants you to think it is your fault. He wants you to think that other peoples' actions are your fault when they really aren't. You are doing the right thing though, you recognize that you are the parent and so a certain level of responsibility is on you. But go to him in prayer. God knows you, you are a precious daughter of the most forgiving loving man. He looks upon you all the time, he is proud of you. You HAVE come very far in this life, keep going though. Endure (: (True endurance is enduring happily) Find the good in all things, serve others, you will find God is very much apart of your life and your situation. 

From my favorite hymn in the book:

227: "For when the Lord is near, The dove of peace sings in my heart, the flow'rs of grace appear."- The Lord IS near and you WILL find peace (:

From my 2nd favorite hymn in the book:

221: "Dear to the heart of the Shepherd, Dear are the sheep of his fold; Dear is the love that he gives them, Dear-er than silver or gold." -God loves you. You are very near and dear to him and his heart. Remember.

I love you. Don't forget that. In the thick and thin of this trial, I want you to know with the most humility I can muster, that you have raised some fine children. You have done great!

Now go forward with faith.

Love, 

Your son. 

Miracles and God's Hand

First was one of our investigators which was Quentin Graham. We have been working with him as you know and we have been trying to help him receive his answer. We started off the lesson talking about some of the questions that he had and what has been on his mind. We also talked about if he had been reading and praying or not. We had a lesson planned for if he didn't read and if he did read. We were excited to hear that he did pray and read so we were able to teach the better of the 2 lessons in our opinion. We discussed our side of receiving an answer and what the Lord requires on our part. We also shared the video, "God's light is real". Anyway in our lesson we continued to testify and then we asked a few questions that made him pause. Then as we continued to talk he pulled out his scriptures and began flipping through the pages. we paused and waited and then asked what he was looking for. He said that a scripture had come into his mind and that he didn't want to miss the chance of looking it up. (we actually talked about 2 weeks ago, how the Lord prompts us with scriptures and we should look them up). He told us that it was 2 corinthians 13. Our first thoughts were, doesn't he mean 1 corinthians because that is where all of the good stuff is. Apparently we weren't on the same page as the spirit. He got there before we did and stopped. We finally caught up and he read it. It reads,"This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." This wasn't our third time coming over, it was our fifth, but we all took this as multiple times. Then to add to the power of the scripture Elder Zacchilli and I were testifying and there was also his good friend there Eric Hogan. We all paused shocked at the scripture that the Lord had given Quentin. There were 3 of us sharing our testimonies that these things were true. Then the first thing that Quenting said was... "I think I need to go to church." So we continued on and then he starts flipping his scriptures again and goes, "this is weird!" He gets to Leviticus 6. Elder Zacchilli and are were confused! Leviticus 6?! I have probably touched those pages once... Hahahah. He reads this scripture vs 2 and 3 and he intreprets it that We wouldn't have left our homes if we didn't know that this church was true. Incredible. 2 witnesses in our lesson. He prayed and thanked God for sending us and eric to him to find the true church!

The following 2 miracles were yesterday. It originally started with Quentin sleeping in so that he could not watch the sunday morning session of general conference. This was the one that we planned to go with him and were bummed that he missed it because we already had plans to watch the next session with joni (our other investigator). We got a hold of quentin and then asked him if he could watch the sunday afternoon session of general conference. Of course I now understand why the Lord had it happen that way. Elder David A. Bednar's talk was perfect! it was everything that every missionary was hoping and praying for their investigators to hear. So what we thought was a bust turned out to be a miracle. Then the second miracle was with Joni. We went to the Sunday afternoon session with her and she got to hear Elder Bednar's talk also. Not only that, there was an elderly couple that came a few minutes late into that session and ended up talking to her after the session. The brother invited Joan to come with them on a date night. She told them that she couldn't because her husband had passed away 3 months ago from cancer. Then the wife of the man embraced her and told her that her husband passed away from cancer too about 5 years ago so she knew exaclty Joni felt. Then Joni mentioned that her dog died the day before her husband from cancer also. Then the sister said that she had to put her dog down at the same time her husband passed away too because it had an incurable disease. Both Elder Zacchilli and I were shocked at what happened. It was awesome to see the Lord prepare someone for Joni 5 years earlier so that they could relate and build a bond that will one day help Joni enter into the waters of baptism... Not only that, but the couple is from St. George we later found out and was just up here for a week or two! Yep it was a good week.

Update - October 6th

Mom,

This last week was pretty good! Did a lot of traveling. I think we've clocked over 22 miles of just counting the long trips we have to make. We have to do another 8 hours tomorrow as well. We have to wake up at 3am to make it to our meeting on time. Good ol' Mission Leadership Council.

This last week we did a lot of spontaneous service and it was so much fun! Serving is the key to happiness. 

It was cool to see Carlos A. Godoy speak! I wish he would have gave his talk in English though. He's hilarious! He's such a funny guy and his English with the accent makes him so much funnier. He came to our mission in July. He's a good man.

Our zone is doing great! We have 7 on date for baptism but that should go up soon. We had 3 or 4 baptisms in our zone this last month which is pretty good for Kalispell. We are looking to have 3 baptisms in the month of November. Maybe one of those the last week of October if we can. 

I'm sorry you don't understand the facebook thing. It's because our mission strives for aboslute obedience. Some mission presidents jump right into the world of proselyting online and it does get abused by missionaries. Our mission did the exact opposite. In taking things slowly and slowly easing into better avenues to use online. For example, keeping your home facebook can be very distracting and make new missionaries even more home sick than they already are-seeing there friends and families posts all the time. I tell you this because we strive for obedience, some missionaries struggle, and we need to help them. I'm sorry I don't have my home facebook and can't have you as a friend. But I can assure you that we are seeing miracles and great things from our online efforts. We are constantly seeking more and better ways to utilize the wonderful tool that God has given us. Rest assured, we will always do what God will have us do. 

I love you. I'm seeing miracles. God is a part of our lives. 

As conference becomes available to us I encourage you to go back on the conference talks. Read them, highlight in them, watch them as you get ready for work. They are so great! I love conference! I got so much out of it and can't wait to go back on them.

Jessica is great! Joni is great! And Quentin is great! We are going to put Quentin on date tonight. The last lesson we had with him was just... Amazing. Miracle. Sister Perry is good too, she's sweet. We won't be teaching her friend for a while probably. Don't know yet. It was just something she mentioned. All things in there time I guess. We are going to meet with her this week and that should be good.