Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Pictures!
WEEK #10
Hey everyone!
I hope you all had a good Memorial Day weekend! I didn't get to email on my p-day yesterday because the library was closed. I was so busy though! A lot of people came to their cabins in Lincoln for the weekend, so we just went and talked to everyone in front of the Bars and Casinos haha. It's such a small town but there are like 8 bars and they all have casinos. So much has happened this past week, it flew by! Time on a mission is so weird. That's the only way I can describe it. The days are long and tiring, but the weeks fly by. I can't believe it's almost June!!!
Well, so we have some exciting news with the Jones family! We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and it was really hard to get through the lesson because they ask so many random questions about dumb things haha. Like Bro. Jones always quizzes me on how many species of animals were on the Ark and if I've read from the book of Mary in the Bible (I guess it was taken out? I don't know) He calls us every day to see how we're doing and asks us for help to paint his trailer, take stuff to the dump, dig out tree stumps, etc. Sometimes I think he's just using us haha. But he really likes us and he invites us over all the time. Anyways, after we talked about the Plan on Salvation and the different degrees of glory, all the kids were really excited to learn more. We used ice cream in our lesson, to help the kids understand. We said that in the Telestial Kingdom, we get one scoop of ice cream every day. In the Terestial Kingdom, we get a bucket of ice cream every day. And in the Celestial Kingdom, we get our own ice cream factory that we can go to whenever we want! haha. You can guess which one the Kids wanted. They liked the lesson and especially the Ice cream. I extended an invitation to the family to be baptized, and they said yes! Brother and sister jones thought our belief about different kingdoms was weird, and he didn't agree to baptism, but we'll get him eventually! haha. We also invited them to pray what we taught was true, and Matthew, the second youngest, came up to us the next day and said that after he prayed he felt like something hot went into his body and then went out, and he said he knows that God told him that it was true. How cool is that?! It was so awesome to hear him tell us his experience with the Holy Ghost. I had to hold back the tears. I'm so excited to teach him and his family more, hopefully they can be baptized before I go to Brazil.
Our other most progressing investigator is named Doc. I love him so much and want him to be baptized!!! He's just so stubborn haha. He's totally ready, he just doesn't realize it yet. We are working with the branch to help him as well. It's so frustrating because I know that he knows it's true. He just lacks confidence in his decision. We're working on it though, we just need to do our best and the Holy Ghost can continue to testifify to him.
Well, me and my companion have had a lot of fun this week, we are working our butts off! I've never been so busy in my life. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the people of Montana. I love the people here. I'm going to miss it when I go to Brazil! I have a feeling our Visas are going to come next week. I'm not sure, we'll see :)
I'm learning so much about life and about myself. This week I have thought a lot about eternal families and how blessed we are that we can be with each other forever! I have realized how important it is to spend time with loved ones when we have the chance. Time is something that there never seems to be enough of. I encourage you all to spend as much time as you can with family and friends and not to take them for granted. It's often easy to take things for granted, we don't even realize we are doing it. But my challenge for you this week is to show your love for your family or friends by serving them and letting them know that you love them. I think I've given this challenge before haha, but it's so simple and important. Spending a little extra effort and time to serve someone goes a really long way. I hope you all have a great week! I love you and pray for you every day..
Ate mais! Ti amo!
Love, Elder Kyle Payne
I hope you all had a good Memorial Day weekend! I didn't get to email on my p-day yesterday because the library was closed. I was so busy though! A lot of people came to their cabins in Lincoln for the weekend, so we just went and talked to everyone in front of the Bars and Casinos haha. It's such a small town but there are like 8 bars and they all have casinos. So much has happened this past week, it flew by! Time on a mission is so weird. That's the only way I can describe it. The days are long and tiring, but the weeks fly by. I can't believe it's almost June!!!
Well, so we have some exciting news with the Jones family! We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and it was really hard to get through the lesson because they ask so many random questions about dumb things haha. Like Bro. Jones always quizzes me on how many species of animals were on the Ark and if I've read from the book of Mary in the Bible (I guess it was taken out? I don't know) He calls us every day to see how we're doing and asks us for help to paint his trailer, take stuff to the dump, dig out tree stumps, etc. Sometimes I think he's just using us haha. But he really likes us and he invites us over all the time. Anyways, after we talked about the Plan on Salvation and the different degrees of glory, all the kids were really excited to learn more. We used ice cream in our lesson, to help the kids understand. We said that in the Telestial Kingdom, we get one scoop of ice cream every day. In the Terestial Kingdom, we get a bucket of ice cream every day. And in the Celestial Kingdom, we get our own ice cream factory that we can go to whenever we want! haha. You can guess which one the Kids wanted. They liked the lesson and especially the Ice cream. I extended an invitation to the family to be baptized, and they said yes! Brother and sister jones thought our belief about different kingdoms was weird, and he didn't agree to baptism, but we'll get him eventually! haha. We also invited them to pray what we taught was true, and Matthew, the second youngest, came up to us the next day and said that after he prayed he felt like something hot went into his body and then went out, and he said he knows that God told him that it was true. How cool is that?! It was so awesome to hear him tell us his experience with the Holy Ghost. I had to hold back the tears. I'm so excited to teach him and his family more, hopefully they can be baptized before I go to Brazil.
Our other most progressing investigator is named Doc. I love him so much and want him to be baptized!!! He's just so stubborn haha. He's totally ready, he just doesn't realize it yet. We are working with the branch to help him as well. It's so frustrating because I know that he knows it's true. He just lacks confidence in his decision. We're working on it though, we just need to do our best and the Holy Ghost can continue to testifify to him.
Well, me and my companion have had a lot of fun this week, we are working our butts off! I've never been so busy in my life. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the people of Montana. I love the people here. I'm going to miss it when I go to Brazil! I have a feeling our Visas are going to come next week. I'm not sure, we'll see :)
I'm learning so much about life and about myself. This week I have thought a lot about eternal families and how blessed we are that we can be with each other forever! I have realized how important it is to spend time with loved ones when we have the chance. Time is something that there never seems to be enough of. I encourage you all to spend as much time as you can with family and friends and not to take them for granted. It's often easy to take things for granted, we don't even realize we are doing it. But my challenge for you this week is to show your love for your family or friends by serving them and letting them know that you love them. I think I've given this challenge before haha, but it's so simple and important. Spending a little extra effort and time to serve someone goes a really long way. I hope you all have a great week! I love you and pray for you every day..
Ate mais! Ti amo!
Love, Elder Kyle Payne
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Pictures!
Monday, May 20, 2013
WEEK #9
Hi
Everyone!
Oh
my gosh so many things are happening! Haha life is so crazy. This has been a
really really busy week for us. My new companion is named Elder Manufekai, he's
from L.A. but he's Tongan. We get along great! We have lots of things in common
and we have tons of fun. I can't believe how tired I am haha! They weren't
kidding when they said a mission will wear you out! I'm worn out and i've only
been out 2 months! haha.
Well,
remember the Jones family I told you about? He's the guy who's sister got beat
up. Anyways, we made him a deal that if he came to church on Sunday, we would
help him build and paint his deck on the front of his house. And guess what,
they came to church yesterday! It's awesome, he said he loved it and is coming
back next week. The kids came last week and yesterday, so they've been twice.
Dakota is 16, Aaron is 14, Matthew is 12, and Lucas is 9. (they're all above
baptism age!!!) haha. At first, Mr. Jones was really skeptical and weary of us,
because he has had bad experiences with other churches in the past. But we kept
coming back to his house just to talk and help him with things, and he said
that really impressed him. He said he's never been to a church like that and he
said he likes how he feels. The kids are definitely ready for baptism, we just
have to teach them more. They still need to hear 3 more lessons. I really
hope I will still be here to see them be baptized. They are awesome and I
can't wait to teach them more. Michael (Mr Jones) and his wife smoke a lot, so
it will take more time for them to prepare for baptism. But he said that after
coming to church, he feels like The Lord wanted him to move to Montana, and he
feels like God sent us to him. It's so inspiring to hear that from him!
As
for our other investigators, things are going well, but they are progressing
slowly. Doc is taking his sweet time haha. He's an awesome guy. He is so ready
for baptism, he just doesn't know it. We are trying to help him realize that
God loves him and knows him specifically,. I know that the gospel will help him
so much! He just needs to take that leap of faith things will work out. Also,
this week I have learned that it is sooooo important to stop and listen to
investigators. That way the spirit can be present while they gather their
thoughts and give us an answer. We try to ask inspired questions, to get people
to think deep and realize that their father in Heaven loves them.
I
love the people here, I will be sad to leave. I'm so excited for Brazil and
our VISA's should be here soon, probably within the next two weeks. Life is so
good! We are staying busy and working our tails off. Oh and Mom, you'll be
proud to know that I've learned like 3 new hymns on the piano and a few
other songs! It's crazy how easy it is for me to learn songs while I'm on my
mission! I think the spirit helps me or something, because I have been able to
just listen to a song and pick it out by ear and then I'll have it within an
hour or so of practicing. It's awesome. hopefully there will be pianos in
Brazil haha.
There
have been lots of funny things that have happened but they wouldn't be funny in
an email haha. You just had to be there! I've had the Macarena stuck in my head
for like the last 3 days and I'm driving my companion crazy I think, because I
don't know the words, I just keep singing hamanumanamanammanamaena.....
hamnaanamnduanarena....hamanakanmanamarena.... HEEEEYYY MACARENA!!! Haha
Well
everyone, I love you all so much! I'm so grateful for each and every one of
you. Things are going great and I hope to hear from all of you! Eu ti amo!
Love,
Elder
Kyle Payne
Monday, May 13, 2013
Pictures!
WEEK #8
Hello all!
Well I will let you know what's been going on in good old Lincoln Montana! I have been on exchanges with my district leader all week. His name is Elder McLeod (pronounced Mcloud) He's so awesome. I have learned a lot from him and we have had so much fun this past week. We also had some crazy cool experiences! I'll start off on Wednesday. So we were driving from his home in Helena to Lincoln, and all of the sudden he pulls off the road and says we need to go up this little dirt road into the mountain. I was like alright this is crazy but let's do it. So we were driving and we ran into this 90 year old couple named the Macdonalds, who own a 4,000 acre dairy farm. We talked to them for over an hour and basically taught the first lesson, so that was a really neat experience. Then after that, we both felt like we should keep driving down the dirt road farther up the canyon. We had gone for about 20 minutes without seeing any signs or people, so we were thinking about turning around, but we both had a strong impression that we need to keep going. So we kept driving and sure enough about 5 minutes later we ran into a tiny town in the middle of nowhere called Marysville! It has a population of about 50 haha. But we started knocking doors and asking where we were, and we met a guy named Eddie. He is about 60 years old and has a big white beard and super leathery skin. He's awesome though. We taught him about the restoration and book of Mormon on his porch and he said he would love to read the book and come to church on Sunday! He is in the Helena area though, so hopefully he went on Sunday. It is crazy how the spirit can lead us to people like that. I would have never thought to turn on that dirt road, but Heavenly Father knew there were people who needed to hear our message that day.
Well, I'm losing track of time but I think I have
been out for 8 weeks. CRAZY! Time is flying by. I'm so glad I got to talk to my
mom and family yesterday for Mother's day. It was really good to see them.
Well, we just got our transfer calls and I am staying in Lincoln. My comp is
getting transferred. My new companion is Elder Manufekai, he's Polynesian! I
haven't met him yet but I'm excited. We will transfer on Wednesday this week.
Well I will let you know what's been going on in good old Lincoln Montana! I have been on exchanges with my district leader all week. His name is Elder McLeod (pronounced Mcloud) He's so awesome. I have learned a lot from him and we have had so much fun this past week. We also had some crazy cool experiences! I'll start off on Wednesday. So we were driving from his home in Helena to Lincoln, and all of the sudden he pulls off the road and says we need to go up this little dirt road into the mountain. I was like alright this is crazy but let's do it. So we were driving and we ran into this 90 year old couple named the Macdonalds, who own a 4,000 acre dairy farm. We talked to them for over an hour and basically taught the first lesson, so that was a really neat experience. Then after that, we both felt like we should keep driving down the dirt road farther up the canyon. We had gone for about 20 minutes without seeing any signs or people, so we were thinking about turning around, but we both had a strong impression that we need to keep going. So we kept driving and sure enough about 5 minutes later we ran into a tiny town in the middle of nowhere called Marysville! It has a population of about 50 haha. But we started knocking doors and asking where we were, and we met a guy named Eddie. He is about 60 years old and has a big white beard and super leathery skin. He's awesome though. We taught him about the restoration and book of Mormon on his porch and he said he would love to read the book and come to church on Sunday! He is in the Helena area though, so hopefully he went on Sunday. It is crazy how the spirit can lead us to people like that. I would have never thought to turn on that dirt road, but Heavenly Father knew there were people who needed to hear our message that day.
We have been working our butts off this past week! It has
been a really hard week but still really good. Funny story though, on Friday we
were splitting and hauling logs for Brother Caudill (the member we stay with).
I parked the four wheeler by the log pile and put the brake on, and we finished
unloading the logs we had into the pile. Elder McLeod said he wanted to drive,
so we got on and started heading back on the dusty road. It's habit for me to
put the brake on, and I forgot to tell him that I did. He forgot to check for
the brake, so it stayed on the entire time we were driving back! I kept asking
him if he was flooring it, because the engine was revving really high but we
were going slow. But we didn't even realize that we left the it on. All of
the sudden, brother Caudill starts chasing after us on his four wheeler
yelling "You're on fire you're on fire!" So we hop off and start
freaking out because the brakes had melted and caught on fire and the engine
was burning up and smoking! So we probably looked like idiots while we were
throwing dirt on the four wheeler and smacking it haha. I felt so
stupid! But we apologized and he wasn't mad.
A lot has happened this week, we met and taught a bunch of
new people, got a bike stuck in a tree (don't ask), caught a four wheeler on
fire, got kicked out of a crazy member's house, I got chased by a mother deer
because I kept trying to grab the baby deer (whitetail deer are
everywhere here), my comp. fell like 10 feet out of a hammock, lots of
things haha. But this has been the most rewarding week yet, I have felt
guidance from the spirit multiple times, and it is awesome! My testimony
is growing stronger every day. I spoke in Sacrament meeting yesterday
about Charity and Service. It was easy to relate those two things to Mother's
Day, so it went well. I'm so grateful for my mother and grandmothers! :)
Members are so important in missionary work. They have a
huge impact on a missionary's ability to succeed, because they help find people
and befriend them before we meet them. The Members find, The Missionaries
Teach, and The Spirit Converts. That is so true. My challenge for you all this
week is to invite a friend or less active member to spend time with you,
whether it be dinner, playing a game, anything. Share your testimony with them
and invite them to come to church or read the Book of Mormon. It may seem kind
of scary, but I promise that if you are bold and have faith, the Spirit will
help you share your message and they will feel it.
I love you all so much! Please pray really hard for my VISA
to come so I can go to Brazil too ;) haha just kidding. I know this gospel is
true and that the Spirit truly is there to give us direction and comfort. Until
next week!
Tchau!
Elder Kyle Payne
Monday, May 6, 2013
WEEK #7
Hello Everyone!
Well, I'm loving Montana! Things are so different up here. The members are awesome and are playing a huge role in helping us find investigators. That helps a lot. My companion and I do a TON of service, because the town we live in is small so there aren't a ton of opportunities to teach. But we have taught a few lessons. Really quick, Mrs. Jones, the one who got beat up last week, is doing better and is out of intensive care and is supposed to make a full recovery over time. I'm so glad things are okay. Hopefully we can teach the Jones family more. I'm praying that they will recognize that blessing and want to learn more. Anyways, this week we have been driving in fence posts for our neighbor and putting up barbed wire for like a half mile. Fun stuff! I'm gonna have some pretty sweet scars on my arms and hands haha. Our most progressing investigator named Doc, came to a baptism in Helena with us on Saturday and he said he really liked it. He comes to church every week and he recently gave up coffee and tea! That is so awesome. We are just trying to figure out what is holding him back at this point. We have taught him all the lessons and he knows it's true, it is just a huge decision and he doesn't want to regret it. He said he wants to be baptized once he finishes the Book of Mormon but who knows how long that will take. Our goal is to commit him this week. I know that if he has faith, the lord will help him overcome any obstacles and answer his questions.
My comp. and I got to teach Gospel Principles in church on Sunday. That was a cool experience! We had 2 investigators there and I know they felt the spirit. It was really strong. Doc bore his testimony of the scriptures and I almost cried haha! This guy has so much faith. Our other investigator was really interested, but I think she was kind of confused about some things, so we are trying to set up a date to go teach her. Today me and my comp. are in Helena with our district for some meetings and training. My district is really fun! The funniest thing all week was in sacrament meeting! A 7 year old boy named Taien Christensen was saying the closing prayer, and it was probably the funniest prayer I've ever heard! We were all trying so hard not to laugh but a lot of us were cracking up in the middle of it haha. He starts the prayer off normal and everything was fine, then he starts thanking Heavenly Father for just about everything that came to his mind. He says, "we're thankful for penguins and how cute they are, we're thankful that the dinosaurs are dead so they can't squish us, we're thankful for fish, etc." Then he continued the prayer normally and people were calming down, and all of the sudden he goes back and yells "we're thankful for chickens, so that people who don't like fish can eat chickens!" Haha I lost it! it was so funny
So, our district had a baptism for a 19 year old girl named Dani on Saturday. It was awesome to be a part of that. But the coolest experience I had this week was after the baptism, a sister in the Helena ward asked us for a blessing. She is going through some EXTREMELY difficult trials right now, and she asked our district leader and me for a blessing. I had the opportunity of giving the blessing to her. I was way nervous, I didn't want to mess it up because it meant a lot to her and I didn't even know her. I said a little prayer and asked Heavenly Father to help me. As I was giving her the blessing, my fear went away and I was completely overcome with the Spirit. I can't really explain it in words, but it was such an awesome opportunity. I felt like I knew exactly what she was going through and I knew what to say to bring her comfort. I know that the Spirit was helping her feel comfort and peace, and helping her feel Heavenly Father's love for her.
Well, missionary work is HARD. Haha I knew it would be, but it is different than I expected. I'm so tired, and I've only been in the field for a week and a half! Haha I better get used to being tired. I love it though! We have a lot of responsibility and pressure, it is really important that we are doing are best at all times because we need to set a good example for everyone. We represent our Savior Jesus Christ and we need to show that by acting as he would. I love helping others and I'm excited to share the Gospel.
What has been hard for me lately is learning to rely on the spirit and accepting that I can't do this on my own. All my life I have pretty much relied on myself to get things done, but I am learning really quickly that we need God's help. I want to leave you with my testimony of the power of Prayer. I KNOW that Heavenly Father answers prayers. It has never been so apparent to me as it has this week. Whenever I am having a hard time with something or need help with anything, I pray and ask Him for comfort and help and he has definitely given it to me. Heavenly Father really listens to us and helps us if we ask. He knows what we are going through and will always be there for us. My challenge for you this week is to pick something specific you're struggling with and ask Heavenly Father for help with a sincere heart. I promise you that no matter what it is you're having a hard time with, He will give you comfort and strength to be able to overcome anything.
I love you all! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Kyle Payne
p.s. I will send pictures tomorrow! :)
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