Well everyone Merry Christmas ya filthy

animals! HA!

Just kidding, I hope you all had an amazing Christmas no matter where you are and that you got to spend some time with your family and reflect on Christ this time of year. From his birth all the way to his atonement. As we think about the things he did for us we come to know more about him and love him more than we ever could.

This week there were plenty of hardships I have heard from the other missionaries experiencing in their families and I just want my spiritual focus of this letter to be on this life because we didn't have a lot going on this week with Christmas and everything. It was so great to see my family and talk to them on Christmas! I love them all very much! I thank them for their love and support and everyone that has given me love and encouragement through this time.

This life is such a big part of Heavenly Father's Plan for us. I'm going to make it a little personal so I hope none of you shed tears. The 4 months I have been in Ghana I have had plenty of hardships come my way and with all of them that have come I had a time where I honestly thought to myself, why do we have to live these lives? I thought if Heavenly Father knew that some of his children weren't going to make it back to his presence then why did he send us here, I also thought of how much stress life brings us...... I was going through a really rough time, probably one of the most challenging times in my life. During this time I had also received a confirmation through my many prayers that this life is for us to make choices, this life is so important to Heavenly Father. It's our chance to receive our spiritual body and show him that we truly want to follow him. I just want everyone of you to know that my testimony of the plan of salvation is so strong since I have come on my mission. There is life after this and we can be with our families forever! I know this to be very true! I love all you people and again Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Elder Paulson

P.S.  Here's a shout out and congrats to Shae Rasmussen and Harley Hurd for their mission calls!  

No pictures again, we had to send him a piece to his camera so he can download pictures and he hasn't received it yet! Really miss the pictures!

So incredible to see this smiling face again! 

Down, but not out!

Good Evening Friends and Fam,

So this has been another eventful week with the elections winding down and Christmas coming on, I'm excited to see how Christmas will be here in Ghana. Sorry if this letter is somehow short, today I'm sick and don't feel awesome and that's why my header is what it is haha.

Well this week we had three people set up for a baptism but they haven't been keeping commitments so we had to push it back. This new area is great, the members enjoy working with us and helping us. The ward is good, it's pretty big. The bishop is good to us, he's a police officer but to me he is some how small to be a police officer. There are good ward missionaries here that help us a lot!

I've been asking some of the members that were members when the temple was built about how the temple has impacted their life and some of their responses are that "they feel like they are in heaven when they are there", and also "it's an amazing blessing in their life" I'll try and get more detailed members responses next week.

This week went by somehow fast, so i guess that's good. Like I said I'm not feeling awesome so I don't really know what to say.

I know that at this Christmas season that as we focus on our Savior's birth and what Christmas is really about then we can see the true meaning of Christmas.   Being on a mission has made me think more about Christ this season. I love all you people with my whole heart and want to wish you a Merry Christmas.


Love Elder Paulson

Good Afternoon,

Hello Friends and Family,

This week has been a very good and happy week for me I could say, my spirit has been lifted and helped so much this week and I would first like to thank all of you for the prayers and fasting for me.

Well first off, if you don't know Ghana has had their elections this week and they have voted in a new president this year, they were pretty excited about it. It probably would have been worse if the other president won because most people don't like him. On a good note there wasn't really any riots, just a lot of happy dancing in the streets and fireworks. I'll send some pictures when i get the chance.

This week was good because it is somehow refreshing to get a new companion, new apartment, and new area. The members in this area are really awesome and love the missionaries. There is this one girl named Freda who is 18 and is preparing to serve a mission and is so awesome, she comes teaching with us and is amazing in the gospel and how much she knows. The area is awesome and they are preparing to have 3 baptisms on the 24th of this month which will be awesome to see!

I feel as though me and Elder Wiscombe are doing really well together as companions, he is from Brigham city Utah! A Utah boy!!!! He's awesome and really nice and he likes playing some bball and doing a bunch of fun stuff. He also had a rough time getting started on his mission so we will see what I can learn from him.

In this letter i would like to bear my testimony on the word "Agency" and how this word affects all of our lives. I have learned on my mission from the Ghanaian life style that agency is one of the biggest blessings in life. Even from the time before we came into this earth we made decisions, the biggest was to follow Jesus Christ's plan for us and to come to this earth and receive bodies and now we have decisions every day to either follow him or to go against him. You should read 2nd Nephi 2:27 if you have a chance. We have agency everyday whether to choose him or to choose away from him. I promise to you all (this is something i do everyday with investigators). that if you choose to always follow Christ and keep his commandments and to study the scriptures not just read them then he will never, EVER leave your side. Like my dad always says to me "Max, make good choices" Friends and family please make good choices and know that i love you all and that our Heavenly Father loves and knows each one of us personally. I leave my testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love you all, Elder Paulson

P.S sorry i dont have a device to send pictures but there will be pictures soon.

These pictures the mission secretary sent to me, she is really nice and knows how I love to see his smile.  First sunday in his new ward with his companion from Utah! 

Like Schy, I'm a Big Boy Now!


Good Afternoon from Ghana,


Well friends and family, I have finished my training and have been transferred from my "mission father" to be with Elder Wiscombe who is from Brigham City, Utah. My new area is called Ofankor. It's in the city which is noisy and doesn't smell the best either. ha. It was really actually hard to leave Kasoa. We have a Ward Missionary his name is Isaac and he loved us and when we told him both me and Elder Evans were leaving he cried and so did a lot of people actually. It was hard to leave the people i had grown so close to. The members there were awesome I am going to miss them. So i got here monday and monday was a regular proselyting day because of elections coming up they changed things around. Now I don't know if things are going to get nuts here in Ghana about this Election but its a pretty big thing. Tomorrow they will have there elections so if there are riots then we won't be going out at all even Thursday we are having a deep cleaning in all the apartment in the mission because Thursday is the day they find out who won the election and then things might get cra cra. Haha. So today isTuesday and we are having our P day. It was weird that I'm now just a normal missionary, no longer training and no longer a newbee. Wish I was still in Kasoa though. This area they ride bikes and I HATE riding bikes haha. They hurt my bum, haha but ill get skkkkiiiinnny real quick. We have a mall close by to us and today we went and got some pizza which I was real happy about. Also there is an American shop in our area that sells pizza and other American things so i might be enjoying that a little too much haha.


There's not much to write since i have been transferred but i love you guys.


Elder Paulson