WEEK #22

Oi familia e amigos!

I hope you all had a wonderful week! This week for us has been
LEGEN....wait for it.... DARY! haha we have been working our tails
off. The area has so many less active families and we are working with
them to try to get them to come back to church. We had an investigator
named Kelley come to church yesterday. He is such an awesome guy I'm
excited to work with him. So far the wards here have really welcomed
us in, we have received a ton of referrals and stuff so it's keeping
us busy. We've been using the bikes a lot so we are outside most of
the day. It's been really hot lately but it's all good. We just make
sure to keep lots of water with us.

Well I don't really have any crazy stories this week but last P-day we
hung out with Joel (the kid we live with) and his best friend Garrett
(he also lives with us). We went to the BMX track in Bozeman and we
were trying to jump this pretty big tabletop jump. Garrett and I were
the only ones who could get all the way over the jump. So I was
getting pretty comfortable and cocky with the bike I guess, but I went
down the ramp faster than I normally would and jumped higher because I
was trying to clear the second jump as well... and I completely wiped
out haha. And of course I wasn't wearing a helmet or anything so it
hurt pretty good. I was seeing green dots for a solid 10 minutes and I
got a little cut on my head but oh well it was worth it! We had a
really fun day.

Elder Greenwall and I had to speak in Sacrament in first ward
yesterday about missionary work. I was a little nervous but it went
really well. It was a great way for us to introduce ourselves to the
members more and gain their trust.

I am really loving Belgrade, this area is so awesome and there is so
much potential here! Oh I guess i do kind of have a funny story, I got
peed on by a dog on Wednesday. it just ran up to us and we started
petting us but it lifted its leg when I was talking on the phone and
was peeing on my shoe so I kicked it and it ran away. There are so
many dogs in Montana. Seriously 99 percent of the people I've met have
dogs haha. I also heard that the population of Cows in Montana is like
3 times the population of humans? go figure! there are lots of cows
here.

Well this week has been pretty normal, we have had some great
discussions with families and investigators and less actives. You can
really see the difference this gospel can make in someones life. I'm
so grateful to be serving here in Montana. But still I can't wait for
Brazil. I know it will happen on the Lords time. But I have prayed and
fasted for it to come, but through that I think I've just gotten more
comfort and assurance that I'm in the right place right now.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I hope to hear from you soon!
Ate mais, tchau!

Com muito amor,
Elder Payne

Pictures!

District in Helena, Montana

Kyle's Favorite River in Lincoln, Montana

Kyle with the Caudill's (Hosts)

Last Meal in Lincoln at Moose Joose!

Couldn't Finish It!  It Was All Deep Fried...BLEH!

The Last Best Place?

WEEK #21

Hello everyone!

This week has been crazy! Belgrade is awesome. It is a lot bigger than
Lincoln and there is so much work to do! My companion is Elder
Greenwall, he's from Santaquin, UT. He's a great guy and a hard worker
so I"m excited to be with him here. We work well and teach well
together so things are looking good. There's even a McDonald's here!
yay!!! haha

This week we have been visiting a lot of the members and the bishops
and things like that, getting to know the area and we have met with a
few investigators. An investigator was baptized last Saturday so we
have been working with him and trying to teach his sister. He is such
an awesome guy and he gives us "homework" every time we meet with him.
He teaches us more than we teach him I think. It's amazing to see what
the gospel can do for people.

I don't have a ton of time today so I apologize. But Belgrade is
great. We cover two wards here so we should always have things to do.
The members here are absolutely amazing! The last missionaries that
were here didn't take advantage of the members and their referrals and
didn't have the members trust all the time, so hopefully Elder
Greenwall and I can change that so that we can have more success in
this area. Member trust is so important. Every member a missionary!!!
:)

I am seriously learning so much out on a mission. Some days I feel
like I'm pushed to my limits but at the end of the day I'm grateful
for the challenges that I've had. Plus we get to sleep at the end of
the day so that's my favorite part ;) just kidding. My companion has a
paper on our wall with a poem on it, and I think it's funny and so
true! It's called The Highs and Lows of a Mission. Here it is:

A mission is a strange experience
It is a trial and a test.
A mission throws at you the worst
Yet, teaches you the best.

I've never been so happy,
I've never been so depressed.
I've never felt so forsaken,
I've never felt so blessed.

I've never been so confused,
Things have never been so clear.
I've never felt my Heavenly Father so distant,
He's never been so near.

I've never been so discouraged,
I've never been so full of hope.
I feel I could go on for forever,
I think I've come to the end of my rope.

I've never had it quite so easy,
I've never had it quite so tough.
Things have never been so smooth,
Things have never been so rough.

I've never traveled through more valleys,
I've never ascended more peaks.
I've never met so many nice people.
I've never met so many freaks!

I've never had so many ups,
I've never had so many downs.
I've never worn so many smiles,
I've never had so many frowns.

I've never been so lonely,
I've never had so many friends.
BOY, I hope this is over soon,
GOSH, I hope this never ends!

I just wanted to share that, because that's pretty much how it is on a
mission! This is the hardest thing I've ever done but it's also the
best. I love it. We live with a member family. They are so awesome!
The lady we live with is a single mother but her youngest son lives
there with his best friend. They're both 18 and are are way cool so we
have a lot of fun with them!!! they own a piano business and have a
piano store right by their house so I've been in there playing the
pianos a lot haha. We are going hiking with them today so that should
be fun.

Well everyone, I love you all so very much and I'm grateful for each
and every one of you. I love this gospel and I know it's true. This
truly is the Lord's church and I'm so grateful to be a missionary. I
will be sure to write about how the work is going next week. Love you
much!

Ate mais,
Elder Payne

WEEK #20

Hellooooooo everybody!!!

This has been a great week for us in Lincoln. Things are going really
well. We had 4 investigators at church yesterday, and 3 of them got up
and bore their testimonies! It was soooo awesome! I couldn't believe
it. We had some bad news though, one of the families we have been
teaching moved unexpectedly. They didn't tell anyone they were leaving
and they abandoned all their stuff at their house so we thought they
were just on vacation or something, but they really are gone. It's
pretty sad but oh well.

We got the transfer calls this morning and..... I'm getting
transferred! I'm going to a new area called Belgrade, it's in the
Bozeman area. Bozeman is where the big college is so hopefully there
will be some pretty cool people there. I will be covering 2 wards
there, so I'm sure it will be a lot busier than Lincoln. I'm excited.
My companion is named Elder Greenwall, he is from Santaquin Utah.
That's all I really know about him. I haven't met him yet but I will
on Wednesday. He just came out last transfer so I have been out longer
than he has, but we are both new to the area so we won't have any idea
where we're going haha. Hopefully the other Elders took good care of
the Area Book so we know what we're doing.

I am really going to miss Lincoln! I have to admit, sometimes I
thought I was going to go crazy because we struggled to stay busy some
days and we felt kind of isolated there. But now that I'm leaving I
will definitely miss Lincoln, especially the awesome members and the
people we stayed with. They fed us all the time! I have put on like 5
lbs. since I've been in Montana. Nao muito bom.

I still haven't received my stupid Visa. I feel like I'm about to call
the consulate myself and say HEY GRAB MY PAPERWORK FROM THE PILE AND
PROCESS IT RIGHT NOW!!!!!!! haha. I've been waiting for so long!

Thank you everyone for the letters and all the support! I really miss
all of you back home and I'm so excited to see you when I get back. I
love serving the Lord though and I'm so grateful to be a missionary.

I have learned so many things already and I can't wait to learn more
about the gospel, about myself, and about life in general. Seeing the
troubles that people have really makes me appreciate my own life even
more. I am a strong believer in consistency, because I have seen the
success and miracles it brings when you work hard. Making small, smart
choices every day brings more success over time. I am definitely not
perfect and I know I'm not the best missionary, but I am trying to do
a little better each day. I want to make the Lord proud.

Well I love you all so much and I hope to hear from you soon. I'm
sorry this letter isn't too long we don't have much time there is lots
to do today to get ready for transfers. Have a wonderful week and work
hard!

Stay thirsty my friends.
Elder Payne

Alma 37:6-7

Pictures!

Up EARLY on P-Day! :)

Elder Payne's Closet

Just cleaned the truck