WEEK #50

Opa!

Hey everyone,  I don't have a ton of time to write today, we have a lot to do today and we are going to start moving into our new house so things are kind of crazy today! 

But I hope you all had a great last week of February! I cant believe it is already MARCH!!! Time is flying by. But I can sum up the week in one word... RAIN!!! It rained so much this week so the work was a little slower than usual, it is super hard to work when we have heavy rain because of all the dirt roads and stuff! Plus the streets just turn into muddy rivers haha so its no fun. But it was pretty cold this week for a couple days, it would probably be really warm for everybody back in Utah but it was super cold for us! I actually had to use my sheet to sleep and I turned off my fan because I was cold! I think it was like 65 or 70 degrees F but it was cold for me. Its gonna be rough coming home next year to snow!

But we met some great people, we had a new investigator at church! Her name is Martina, she came to church with her son. Her son was already baptized in Paraguay and she likes going to church with him in Paraguay, but we met them in the street when we were walking one day and invited them to our ward her in Brazil since they live in Brazil. And they showed up! Its so great when that happens! haha. We are meeting with her tomorrow to get to know her better and we will see where she is at and whether or not she wants to be baptized.

This week we decided to work in another part of our area, its super far from our house and I had never been there before. But we decided to go there and it turned out to be an awesome experience! We met some great people and taught some lessons there. Also, we found a huge pond and waterfall so we are gonna return there again and fish at the pond next pday! 

Emily came to church on Sunday as well so that was an awesome experience for all of us! She is such a special girl and we were all really happy when she decided to come back to church. I'm so excited for the things that are happening here! The members are so awesome and I have fallen in love with Ponta Pora! Also I have fallen in love with Terere, the herbal drink that EVERYBODY drinks here! Its a huge part of the culture in this part of Brazil as well as Paraguay. Nothing better than drinking ice cold Terere after walking for hours!

Anyways I think that about sums up the week, I hope you all have a warm and safe week! Love you much!

2 Corinthians 12:9

Love,

Elder Kyle Payne

WEEK #48

Beleza gente!

Oh man I don't even know where to begin!!! This past week was super crazy, so many things happened haha. Hopefully I will be able to remember everything!

So first off, we got transfer calls last night. I will be staying here in 3rd ward in Ponta Porã, and I will be training a new missionary! Also I was called to be a District Leader here. I'm a little nervous because I cant speak Portuguese as well as I want to yet but I will get there eventually! But Ive heard a little bit about my new companion, his name is Elder Rocha and he is from Rio Grande do Sul (the most southern state in Brazil). That's all i know about him! haha he will arrive here in Wednesday so we will see! I'm excited for this next transfer, we have a lot of good things going on here as far as the work goes. I'm pretty sad though I will miss Elder Vecchio, he is going to Campo Grande. But we are getting another American in our ward named Elder Dodson, he arrived last transfer. In the city of Ponta Porã, there are 3 wards and 12 missionaries. There are 4 missionaries in each ward.

Sonaira still wants to be baptized, and she said that her mom will let her be baptized on her birthday which is the 3rd of March. So we are going to be working with her mom and Sonaira to prepare for that date. I'm excited! Hopefully everything will work out.

So it has gotten harder for me to speak in English and form sentences, when I speak in English I feel dumb because I feel like the things I am trying to say don't make sense haha. Also it is hard to explain things and tell stories in English! But I had tons of crazy experiences this week, I will try to explain them hopefully everything makes sense haha. 

So we have an investigator named Cecilio, we have been teaching him. On Wednesday we taught him and his wife a lesson, and they both said that they are sick and feeling unhappy, so we offered to give them a blessing. I gave one and Elder Vecchio gave one. The blessing was great and the spirit was there, when all of the sudden a crazy drunk guy came and started yelling random things about Jesus and sinners and stuff. Turns out he is a friend of Cecilo and is a heavy alcoholic, his name is Antonio. But he said we could come over to his house and teach him and his family. He lives with his sister. We asked when we could come over and he said right now! Come with me! So after the lesson with Cecilio we went to Antonio's house and taught him and his sister and her family. Antonio was really drunk but he said he truly wants to change his life because he wants to be happy again. But after that, we taught him another time and his family. Its just funny how we met him and started teaching him! He didn't come to church because he had to go to Paraguay, but he said he will come next week. 

On Wednesday night we had a Churrasco for Elder Vecchio, he reached his year mark on his mission. That was really fun and we had lots of meat and stuff. 

Thursday, I had probably the coolest experience of my entire mission! So we are teaching this woman named Suni, she is from Paraguay and doesn't speak Portuguese hardly at all. Her husband is a Brazilian and he is a member but Suni is not. Suni was really sick and asked for a blessing, and I had the opportunity to give her one. I was a little worried that she wouldn't be able to understand the blessing because she cant understand Portuguese very well. But I had a little prayer in my heart that she would be able to understand. But once I started giving her the blessing, I was speaking in Spanish! SPANISH! I don't really remember what I said, I probably didn't say everything right but she said she understood every word. I know without a doubt that the Spirit helped me give her a blessing so that she could understand and be comforted. The Gift of Tongues is real! It was a really cool experience and I will never forget it.

On Friday morning we got a microwave and a toaster! It felt like Christmas Morning! haha I'm so excited, now we can cook more things! Our house doesn't have any pans or anything, just one pot. So the other week I bought a frying pan that I will take with me throughout my mission here so that i can eat breakfast! haha. Later that day, I had a crazy experience, I got hit by a car! Its not as bad as it sounds, but it was legit! Me and Elder Vecchio were walking uphill on this road. Here in Brazil there are lots of speed bumps randomly in the roads to keep people from going too fast. But lots of people go around the speed bumps and just keep driving fast. Anyways, I was in front and Elder Vecchio was walking behind me. I was right by the speed bump, and some idiot in a car went around the speed bump and he hit my left arm and hip! It was funny though, I didn't fall down or anything, all I did was spin around in a 180 and I was looking at Elder Vecchio! Both of us just froze out of shock of what just happened haha but then we both started laughing! It was crazy though and we are both super lucky. All I have is a little bruise on my wrist!

Later Friday night we had a Rodizio at a restaurant with a member. It was a Pizza Rodizio and I ended up eating 15 slices of pizza... i about threw up haha. The pizza here is thinner than it is in the States but still i ate a ton that night! 

Last night we had another Churrasco at a members house while we were waiting for transfer calls. But we taught a lot of lessons this week and have lots of good things going on here in Ponta Porã! I think that pretty much sums up the week, it was definitely crazy but lots of fun at the same time! 

Anyways, I love you all so much, I hope you have a wonderful week! Fica firme!

Tchau,

Elder Kyle Payne

WEEK #47

Opa!

I hope you all had a wonderful week! This week was pretty good for me and Elder Vecchio, we worked hard. It was tough as well, we had to drop some of our investigators because they weren't progressing or keeping any commitments. We dropped the family that came to church the other week, because they wouldn't keep commitments and all they wanted was money. They were needing a little bit of money to get their little girls started in school, so they asked our Bishop for $50. But after that they didn't come to church, and every time we went to their house to teach them they just kept asking when they would get the money from the bishop. We explained that he needs to see them at church and he needs to see them showing their faith. But the next time we went there, the grandmother said that she needed $3500 for a down payment on a new house and she said that the Bishop promised her the money (which he didn't.) It was just a really complicated and frustrating situation for us, but its all good because we found some more investigators. We taught a lot of lessons this week and we had 5 investigators at church! It was awesome.a 

Sonaira is still wanting to be baptized, and earlier this week her mother said that she could be baptized if she wanted! So we got super excited and were planning her baptism for Saturday, but then her mom changed her mind and said she cant be baptized anymore. Go figure! We are still trying though.

We´ve also been teaching another girl named Erica, the only problem is her parents don't want her to be baptized until shes 18 either. But right now we are teaching another family, the wife and kids were at church and they really liked it so we are going to visit them this week as well.

There has been a lot happening here in the ward but we are just focusing on working and not worrying about the gossip. We have responsibility for our areas, so we are just going to work! Also transfers are next week, we will see what happens! I kind of have a feeling that I will stay here for another transfer but we will see. We are also moving into a new house next week which is like twice as big and is a lot better suited for 4 missionaries, so it will be good. 

But things are going really good here! The  people are awesome. The work is coming along, hopefully we will see some baptisms shortly. I love seeing the difference the gospel makes in peoples lives. I am so grateful to be part of this work! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love and miss you all very much.

Love,

Elder Kyle Payne

WEEK #45

Hey everyone!

I don't have a ton of time today so this letter will be a little short! Sorry!

But this week has been pretty good. We didn't have any baptisms, our family didn't come to church because they had to work and take care of kids. But they are still super interested and I know they will get baptized. 

Oh also BIG NEWS! We got our first male investigator! His name is Junior, he is 14 and hes waycool. He loves to play soccer so we will be playing soccer with him this evening. All of the people we have been teaching have practically been women and girls so it is really great to get a male investigator. We had some changes in the mission a while back, any investigator under 16 has to attend church 3 times before getting baptized. This is really hard for some people but its all good, it is just a little harder to baptize now. But hopefully he will come next Sunday to church! We got a lot of new investigators and taught a lot of lessons this week but we just need our investigators to keep commitments and come to church!

Oh also I had a pretty embarrassing moment this week... So in Portuguese there are two words that are really similar: Peito (chest) and Peido (fart). So we were in a lesson and I was explaining that when the Holy Ghost testifies to you what is true, most people describe the feeling as a warm feeling or a burning feeling in the chest. HOWEVER, I confused the word Peito with Peido, and so what I said was most people feel a burning feeling in their fart! Haha I didn't understand why they were laughing at first but then they told me and then i explained it right! It was super funny

Anyways, things are going really good, we will be working hard this week to try to set some baptismal dates! its about time we have some baptisms here! 

I love you all and I hope you have a great week. Falou!

Love,

Elder Kyle Payne

WEEK #43

Eai!

I hope you all had a great week! This week was really hot and wet, it has rained every day but it has also been super hot. It usually rains really hard in the afternoon for about an hour, then it is calm and HOT. Oh, did I mention this week was hot? Well it was! haha. Its good though, I much prefer the heat over the cold!

Anyways, I have pretty much fallen in love with Brazil. Elder Vecchio and I worked our butts off this week. We taught a bunch of lessons and made contacts with tons of people, so this next week will be really busy as well. We met an amazing family that we taught twice this week. They didn't come to church, but they have prayed and felt that our message is true and that they need to be baptized! The only problem is that our area is kind of far from the center where the church is, and they have 3 little daughters, so they would need to take the bus to the church which is like7 kilometers away. so right now we just need to find a way for them to get to church, I am sure one of the members can help us with that by giving them a ride.

Sonaira didn't get baptized this week, her mom wouldn't let her, but we are making progress! she knows its true. It is heartbreaking and frustrating when you see the difference the Gospel makes in someone's life, but they cant take that next step of being baptized. But hopefully we will have a baptism soon. Its been kind of frustrating this month, we have worked really hard and taught a lot of people, but it is just hard for them to attend church because it is pretty far and church starts at 8:15 in the morning. We will keep working though :)

My Portuguese is getting better each day but as always its still pretty hard. But I've been practicing every day and my companion has really helped me. He gives me lots of opportunities to talk and to start conversations with people so I am learning a lot faster. I'm grateful to him, for pushing me to put myself outside of my comfort zone so that I can learn.

Haha its kinda funny, missionaries kind of go through phases of homesickness I guess you could say. Me and Elder Vecchio are in the same "phase" right now haha. He has one more month than me on the mission so we are about in the same spot, but we really missed our family and friends this week! I have been on my knees a lot and I am so grateful for the comfort that comes through prayer. Heavenly Father is always mindful of us and he knows us perfectly. HE is always willing to help us, but WE are the ones who need to pray and talk to him. 

I am very grateful for the members here in Ponta Porã as well! They have been very good to us, inviting us to Churrascos and giving us rides when they see us out walking in the heat or the rain. Some of them are suuuuper funny too haha. Brazil and Argentina have a big rivalry in Soccer, so lots of people crack jokes about Argentina and the States, its funny though. The people here are amazing. The thing I love about Brazil is that pretty much everyone is willing to talk to you and be your friend! We meet somebody one time and immediately I feel like they are my friend. Everyone is willing to just relax and talk and drink Tereré with us so its awesome :)

Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful week! Thank you for all the love and support. I love you guys! Try to stay warm up there! ;)

Falou,

Elder Kyle Payne

WEEK #42

Tranquilo gente! 

This week has been really hot and rainy! New years was crazy, it has been a tiring week as well. We have made a lot of contacts but nobody has really been interested. There have also been a lot of drunk people so that is always fun to deal with. But transfers are today, I will be staying in Ponta Porã with Elder Vecchio. He will be the new District Leader so that's pretty sweet! Also, Elder Aguilera who lives with us will be training a new missionary this transfer and he's an American so that will be fun to live with another American! It has been pretty frustrating the past two weeks, a lot of people here, especially missionaries don't like American missionaries at all. American Elders have to be really careful about what we say about home, the United States, cars, food, culture, sports, anything, because no matter what we say, some Brazilian missionaries think we are just being prideful about America and that we don't like Brazil. It's pretty annoying haha. But this mission only has like 35 or 40 Americans so we are a big minority. It can get frustrating when there is a prejudice about Americans, we just have to look past the nationality and realize that we are all missionaries for the same church doing the same work! 

We still have a girl on date for baptism this Saturday, we are praying that everything will work out with Sonaira. Her mom still doesn't want her to be baptized but hopefully she will let her! Sonaira is only 14 so we have to have parent permission. We will see how things go.

But nothing too crazy has happened this week, I didn't eat anything weird haha. But we had some awesome food for the Holidays, the people here have been really generous to us. I haven't really gotten tired of Rice and Beans surprisingly. But I have been craving a real cheeseburger lately! Also milk. I miss drinking milk. But I love all the food and fresh fruit down here :)

Elder Vecchio and I happened upon some bikes, so I think we will be riding bikes in the mornings for exercise! We just have to find some place to buy new intertubes first. Oh also, we will be getting a microwave pretty soon here, that's a miracle! Haha I cant wait.

The language is coming along, I can understand a lot more now and I don't have a problem teaching, but it is still hard I still don't know a lot of words. But I will get there eventually! The hard thing is when we run into people from Paraguay and they speak Spanish. It throws me off way bad! But a lot of my dreams are in Portuguese, its weird.

Anyways, things are gong really well down here, the work is tough but good! We are going to work hard this week to find more investigators who are ready to be baptized! 

I love and miss you all! :)

Elder Kyle Payne

WEEK #40

Tranquilo Gente! 

First off, FELIZ NATAL EVERYONE!!!!

Haha so I can pretty much describe Brazil in one word.... LOCO!!!!! haha i love it though. This week has been really really crazy! So I was supposed to go to Campo Grande, but it got changed so right now I'm in Ponta Porã! It is sweet here. But we kept having problems with our bus tickets, so it was just really hectic and stressful. Things are not very organized here haha. But anyways, after 18 long hours on the bus, I finally made it here. When I got here, nobody was here to pick me up. I couldn't use anybodies cell phone, because everybody buys there phones from Paraguay because it is cheap, so to call out of state to the mission office is really expensive. So there I was by myself with all my bags without a phone and nobody to help me! haha It was alright though. On the bus, I sat next to a guy who played professional soccer in Sao Paulo, and he called his brother to come pick me up to take me to the church in Ponta Porã! Way sweet. I used a payphone to call the mission office and then a couple hours later some elders came and picked me up. It was pretty stressful but it all worked out and everything is good. Tudo Bem!

My companions name is Elder Vecchio, he is from Argentina! He is way cool. We are like exactly the same size, so its pretty funny because we are both pretty tall compared to the people here. He helps me out with the language a lot. He got super super sick at the beginning of the week before I got there and he was in the hospital! But he is better now. Right now we live with two other missionaries, one is from Brazil and the other is from Chile. But they all speak Portuguese well, so I am starting to learn a lot faster! I had to speak in Sacrament on Sunday, that was pretty cool. The ward is great here, the stake is strong in missionary work. Elder Vecchio just had a baptism and we hope to have a baptism this weekend. We taught a lot of lessons this week so it has been good. 

So Ponta Porã... is crazy! It is right by Paraguay, so it is pretty hectic. Apparently it is the most dangerous city in the mission. So we have to be really smart about what we do. But for the most part we are ok. 

My Portuguese is coming along, I have learned a TON this week. It is still hard to understand people though haha. But I just have to be patient with myself! It was kind of funny though, we had a Churrasco yesterday, and one of the members spoke a little bit of English. So he was talking to me in English, and he asked if I was thirsty and I said yes. He asked if I wanted water or orange juice and I said I wanted orange juice. Then he said, Do you like poop in your orange juice? I said no, that's gross. Then he said ok then here is some water. So I said well can I have some orange juice without poop? haha I thought he was joking with me but he was like you can have orange juice, but it has poop in it! It was really weird but I finally figured it out.... He was trying to say PULP instead of poop! haha I busted up laughing once it clicked! Then I explained it to him and everybody thought it was really funny. Then I got my orange juice with PULP :)

Anyways, everything is good here! I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!!!!! It is such a wonderful time of year, to remember the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love him and I'm so grateful for his sacrifice! I hope you all have a great Christmas week! I love and miss you all!!!

Atê mais,

Elder Kyle Payne

WEEK #39

Tranquilo família e amigos!

Well this week has been pretty crazy, we have gone on exchanges a ton. So I have been going with Elder Groff and Elder Moraes lately. My Portuguese has improved though so that's good. Its fun with Elder Groff, because he is trying to learn English and so we teach each other while we are walking and stuff. Anyways, so on Thursday Elder Moraes found out he is getting transferred to be an AP in the south, so we got a new roommate Elder John. He's from Idaho Falls and he's way cool! Then yesterday at church, President Reber came and spoke at our sacrament meeting and he came up to me afterwards and was like Elder Payne remind me where you´re going again? I was like uuuhhhhh what do you mean? And he was like oh that's right I haven't told you yet... Well, you're being transferred! Haha so me and Elder Kennington are going to the south! We are both going to Campo Grande. It is the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul and its a big city. Elder Watchman is there so I'm excited. I have heard lots of good things about Campo, they even have a Walmart so that is good news! I am kinda bummed though, I was looking forward to being with Elder John here and I will really miss the area. The ward here is awesome. The reason they're transferring us is because there is a group of missionaries going home this week and the mission isn't receiving any more, so they are taking some Elders out of areas that have more than one companionship to fill in. 

Anyways, tomorrow we have Conferencia Natal (Christmas Conference) in the Center, then after that I have to take a 12 hour bus ride to Campo Grande. I'm not looking forward to that at all. But Elder Mayolo and Kennington will be on the bus with me so that will be good. My new companion is a Brazilian, and I will live with the Zone Leaders there who are also both Brazilian! So I will be the only American in the house. I'm nervous but I am hoping I will learn Portuguse a lot faster that way. Presidente Reber told me he thinks I'm ready to have a Brazilian companion so I guess we will see how it goes!

Our baptism fell through this week, it is really frustrating. Her name is Dalila and she just isn't keeping commitments or anything. That's the hard part about Brazil. Tracting works here and the people are really open and friendly and you can talk to them about God and Jesus all day. But the hard part is getting them to read the book of Mormon and actually attend church. Everybody here is really relaxed and flies by the seat of their pants haha so it is tough. I like it though the culture is awesome.

Oh also, time here is just kind of whatever, nobody really cares about the time. It is taking some getting used to, because in Montana we planned out everything and were on time. But here people will be like oh yeah come tomorrow night for dinner! Which means dinner could be anywhere from 6-9 o clock. So sometimes we wait around forever but its way cool. Church doesn't always start or end on time either haha. 

I have lost some weight already, they use the Kilograms instead of pounds so I'm not sure how many pounds I am but I weighed 97 Kilograms the other day. I think its around 215 pounds. There just isn't a lot of food to eat its hard to explain! Like in Montana I just ate cereal and sandwiches and eggs and potatoes and stuff, but Cereal here is super expensive and they don't have normal milk in the gallons, they just have like evaporated milk and when you buy it its warm. so for breakfast i just have fruit or granola, and then for Almoço (lunch) we have a really big meal of rice and beans and meat at members houses. Its the biggest meal of the day. Then sometimes we have Jantar (dinner) or we just eat some bread. Also i drink tons of water and juice and coke. So here there is an herbal drink called Tereré, you put the herbs in a cup with water or juice and drink it through a filtered metal straw thing. Everybody drinks it here and just passes it around like peace pipe haha. It is an acquired taste but its really good!  

Oh man I love Brazil I just cant wait until i can speak the language fluently! I pray every day that it will improve and I am excited to keep learning Portuguese. The people here are amazing I am excited to be able to work down in Campo Grande. I hope you have a great week and stay warm!!! Love you all!!!

Atê mais,

Elder Kyle Payne

Hey everyone, 

So I just got a call from the Assistants, and I am actually not getting transferred to Campo Grande! Now I'm going to a place called Ponta Porã. It is literally right on the boarder of Paraguay, so tomorrow I have an 18 hour bus ride! Are you kidding me? 18 hours?! haha I'm not looking forward to that but I'm excited for the new area. I guess I will get to hang out with the Elders serving in Paraguay so that's pretty cool. My best friend Parker is in Paraguay maybe I will get to see him! Anyways, just letting you know where I will be next week! Ponta Porã!

Atê mais

Elder Payne

WEEK #35

MY VISA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I FINALLY GOT MY VISA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!

Oh man I got a call from the mission office saying I got my Visa and I will fly out next Monday on the 25th! I'm so freaking excited I can't wait!!!! It's going to be really tough though to leave Montana. This place has become a second home for me and I absolutely love the people here. Everything works out though I know I'm supposed to go to Brazil! It's pretty sweet though, Elder Rasmussen from my MTC district got his visa too so we will both be flying out together! It is going to be a reeealllly long flight I will be traveling for over 24 hours by plane and bus and stuff but it will be worth it. I will just take some zzzQuil on the plane so I can sleep! haha.

Well as for this past week in Helena, we have had some incredible experiences! As Zone leaders we've been on a lot of exchanges and stuff with other missionaries in the zone, so Elder Schramm from Helena 3rd ward came to Helena 5 with me for a few days. But anyways, it was crazy we met a man that already wants to be baptized! We were knocking on doors and we went to his house and introduced ourselves. His name is Tom, he's in his 60's. He said he knows who we are and invited us in, which doesn't happen very often. Turns out, his wife is a member and he is not, but he said he wanted to be baptized before Christmas! We didn't even ask him to be baptized he just told us! We were so excited. I called Elder Payne and told him right afterwards and we were both so excited. Anyways, we are teaching him tomorrow and we will set a baptismal date with him. He said he has been wanting to be baptized for a while now but he just wasn't sure, but now he is! Go figure, all of this happens the week before I leave to Brazil! haha

We have another investigator who is getting baptized on the 30th, but I'll be gone by then too :( Oh, but remember Doc who I taught in Lincoln? He's getting baptized this Saturday! It will be so great to finally see him be baptized. Also everyone from Lincoln will be coming down to Helena so it will be good to see everyone again. I'm so glad he's getting baptized, after all the hard work we put into teaching him and helping him! It's definitely rewarding to see the fruits of your labors every once in a while.

So I have a new companion, his name is Elder Burrows he's from Ogden Utah. He is so awesome! He was my zone leader in Bozeman. I am still with Elder Payne, we are in a threesome companionship for the week because I'm going to be leaving mid-transfer. So he is going to take my spot once I'm gone. But he's awesome we are going to tear it up this next week! I'm excited. I want to work really hard this week I don't want to have any regrets when I leave!

Montana has been an incredible experience and I am forever grateful for the people I've met here and for everything I've learned. I know I'm supposed to go to Brazil now, and I couldn't be more excited!!!!! I never thought things would work out this way that I would be in Montana this long, but I will always have a big soft spot in my heart for this place!!! I am definitely coming back after my mission.

The zone right now is on fire. We now have 25 investigators on date for baptism! That is incredible!!!! we are so excited things have picked up so much in the past few weeks and the missionaries here are doing so awesome.

Anyways, I love you all so much! thanks for all the love and support. The next time I email, I'll be in the promised land of Brazil!!!!! :) Have a great week!

Love you much,

Elder Kyle Payne

WEEK #33

Hello everyone!

Man this week has been crazy. I'm just getting settled into Helena and getting to know the ward better. Right now we have two investigators on date for our area so that's great! But last week the zone had I think 6 investigators on date for baptisms and now this week we have 14 investigators on date for the month of November! I'm so excited. We have some great missionaries in our zone who are doing great work. 

I'm really excited to be back in Helena again! Lincoln is in this zone, so I was hoping Elder Manufekai would be in Lincoln still but he got transferred :( H is District Leader though which is awesome! I will always be grateful to him for being my trainer and for everything I learned from him. He's a brother to me!

I am really short on time today we have a lot to do. But we've taught some solid lessons and our investigators are coming right along. We are doing the stop smoking program with one of our investigators to help them stop smoking. The program works without fail if the people follow each step! I've seen it work before so I know it can happen again.

Still haven't heard anything about my visa but I don't even know what to think about it anymore. I've spent almost a third of my mission here in Montana but I'm still really anxious to get to Brazil. Hopefully it comes soon. But I understand it's all where the Lord wants me to go.

My companion and I get along great, it is pretty confusing that his name is Elder Payne too. And we never hear the end of it from members and stuff! They always tease us about our names like double the pain, or which one of you is the bigger pain, two pains in the butt, everything haha. But it makes for a good conversation with new people. Our mission president just calls me Big Payne and him Little Payne. I'm not sure how I feel about being called big payne but I guess it works! haha

Anyways, I'm so glad to be a missionary for the Lord right now! I absolutely love the people I serve with and serve around. I meet so many amazing people and learn so much. I'm grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and I know it's true. I can't imagine my life without it. I love you all and I'm so grateful for each of you! Have a great week!

Love you much,

Elder Payne

WEEK #32

Hello everyone!

Wow this has been a crazy week! We have been teaching a lot of solid lessons and our investigators are progressing great. We had two come to church so that was really good. We are working with setting new baptismal dates with them, and setting dates for our other investigators. Today it is like a blizzard outside! It's so cold and there is snow everywhere. I hate it!

So we got iPads last week! They are sooooo helpful! They have are planners and area books on there, and all the gospel library and teaching pamphlets. It will help missionary work so much. They're so useful. The lord really is hastening his work by letting us have the opportunity to use technology like this! It really is amazing.

Well, I got a call from the Mission President on Saturday and he informed me that he is changing my calling. I'm getting transferred to Helena and I'm going to be Zone Leader there! I'm really excited to go back to Helena though, I know a lot of the members there and it will be great to see them again. I'll also be in the same stake as the Lincoln branch, so hopefully I'll get to see the people from Lincoln again. I'm a little nervous to be Zone Leader, there are a lot more responsibilities but I think it will be a great learning experience! Oh and get this... my new companion's name is Elder Payne! He's from Cali I think. So that will be really confusing when we answer the phone and stuff, everyone is going to think we are related haha. We'll see how it goes.

I'm so sad to leave Whitehall! I feel like just when you  get in a groove in an area and the work starts picking up, you get transferred! It's a little frustrating but oh well it's part of the mission experience. I will definitely miss the people here in Whitehall. Well, me and Elder Sumner haven't boxed this week at all so I don't have any more bruises. But I think my finger might be broken, I jammed it playing Volleyball like 4 weeks ago but my finger is still bruised and swollen so the medical director wants me to go get it checked out today. Hopefully it's just jammed.

The weather was nice all week until today! It was in the 60's earlier and bright and sunny. now it's cold and windy and snowy! Hopefully Helena is a little warmer haha. But i doubt it. I have also been trying a lot of different hot sauces, I even made a rating chart and have like 10 different sauces rated and organized haha. Yesterday we ate at a members house, and I tried Dave's Insanity sauce. It's basically pure habanero paste. My face caught on fire! My eyes and nose were running and it burned my lips for like 2 hours. I think I put too much on. That's about the craziest experience of the week.

There have been many good experiences as far as teaching goes. My own testimony has grown and I'm so grateful for the gospel and for all the blessings we receive from Heavenly Father! I know without a doubt this church is true and I'm so grateful to be a missionary. I am seriously so sad to leave Whitehall. I hate leaving areas. I have grown to love the people in each area and they have taught me so much and have seriously changed my life. I am so grateful for everyone I've met and for the experiences I've had thus far!

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe week! You are all in my thoughts and prayers. Love you!

Love,

Elder Payne

WEEK #31

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a great week! This week has been good for me and Elder Sumner. We had a goal to teach 20 lessons this week but we only taught 16. Oh well, we'll do better next week! Mike and Jan (the couple getting baptized) are going to have to push their date back for baptism. So it won't be this Saturday, I think it will be November 9. Hopefully I don't get transferred again. They are awesome. The reason we are pushing it back is because Mike got in a 4 wheeler accident in South Dakota and he can't see out of one of his eyes because it got hit by something, so he is there until he gets better. But once he comes home we will teach them the rest of the lessons and they can be baptized. Satan works super hard to keep people from getting baptized! It's crazy.

We've been teaching a suuuuuper nice lady named Dee, she is so awesome! She hasn't committed to baptism yet but she said she will think about it. She didn't say no though! I can tell she has felt the spirit. She has read the introduction in the Book of Mormon and the testimony of Joseph Smith and the Three Witnesses, and she said she believes it all. So now we are trying to get her to read 1 Nephi and pray about it. Seriously she is the sweetest lady I've ever met! She is in her 70's but has the energy of a teenager. Oh which reminds me, we've been meeting with her 16 year old granddaughter as well. Her name is Savannah, and she lives in Butte but she drives down to her grandmas house whenever we have an appointment. She said she really likes us and thinks missionaries are cool, so that's good! We play card games with Dee and Savannah then the conversation always moves to the gospel and missionary work. It's great. Savannah reminds me a lot of my sister Jennie! We haven't taught her a lesson yet, but we are planning on it this Thursday.

Other than that, we have been seeing a lot of less active families! We've almost reactivated a couple in the ward, so if they come one more week to church they will be considered active again. Reactivations are great, they're often harder to get than baptisms because people have specific reasons for not going back to church. But we've been working closely with them. Oh, and they have a daughter that is 10 years old and they want her to be baptized, so we are going to teach her this week as well :) I'm amazed at how Heavenly Father moves his gospel forward. I feel inadequate sometimes and I don't understand how we can teach people who know a lot more than us. But the spirit testifies to them and truly converts them. There is a funny saying, "If this gospel wasn't true, two 19 year old boys would have ruined it a long time ago!" haha that is so true.

So we've been doing tons of service! I've mucked horse stalls, tagged cows, and herded cattle this week, and all of them I've showed up in basketball shorts and a tshirt! haha I don't have any warmer clothes so good thing my family is sending me some. The members have been super nice though and have let me borrow jeans and cowboy boots and jackets and stuff. They're great.

Elder Sumner and I found boxing gloves at a thrift store, so we've been doing that every night haha just for fun! We just say we will go half speed but then it always gets competitive and we just start hitting harder haha. Then it somehow turns into kickboxing, so my left thigh has a hugh bruise on it now from Elder Sumner kicking the same spot every time! It's good fun though and nobody has gotten hurt... yet!

Oh also I have some exciting news, the Montana Billings Mission is getting iPad Minis!!! The first presidency of the twelve have selected this mission to be a pilot program for teaching with electronic devices. So the ipads will have our planners on them and also the lessons and scriptures, basically anything that the church publishes we will have access to. Which is suuuper helpful. I think it will help the work progress immensely. Not every missionary is getting one though, we had to get interviewed and only the ones who are obedient get one. But luckily i passed the interview haha so I'm going up to Bozeman tomorrow to get trained on it and get the ipad. Pretty sweet!

Anyways, this gospel is true! I love it! I hope you all are reading the scriptures and praying every day! We need to speak to our Heavenly Father every day! Prayer is such a huge blessing and we need to take advantage of it. I know God has a plan for each and every one of us. I know I'll get to Brazil when I need to be there! There is a reason I'm still in Montana, maybe it's because there are people in Whitehall that I need to be here for. Whatever the reason, I'm willing to serve wherever the lord wants me. I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love you and look forward to hearing from you.

Proverbs 3: 5-6

 

Love,

Elder Payne

 

 

 

WEEK #28

Hello everybody!

Another great week here in the Big Sky. I'm getting pretty settled in to my new area, and things are going great. We just had a baptism on Saturday, that was great. His name is Mike, he's been receiving discussions for about 3 years now but he finally decided to get baptized! :) We have another baptism next Saturday, her name is Dell and she's from Saipan and Guam. She's awesome! Her husband is a member but he has only been active since Dell has received lessons, so he is coming closer to the savior as well.

Part of my responsibility as a District Leader is watching out for all the missionaries in the District and making sure their needs are met and their areas are doing good. I also get to train newer missionaries and help them, so I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with another Elder in my district in Whitehall for a few days. It's a small town of about 1000, so it kind of reminded me of Lincoln, just more houses and less trailers haha. The work has been really slow there for a long time but we were able to set a  baptismal date with an older couple! They are so awesome, I'm so excited for them. There are so many good people here in Montana. Their names are Mike and Jan, and they love having the Elders come over. Jan called me this morning and invited us to come up for another lesson because she said they love the feeling their home has when we come, and they say they can feel God's spirit present. I'm so glad people can feel that and realize the difference in our church and that they realize what the Gospel can do for them! It really isn't the missionaries at all. It's the spirit talking to them. It is great that Whitehall now has two people on date for baptism, I'm really excited for the area and hopefully things pick up even more.

Kind of funny though, most towns in Montana are really spread out, so you have to drive a ways sometimes to go teach people. But the Elders in Whitehall got their truck taken away because they were way over their allotted miles. This happened right before I got there, so we walked in the freezing rain almost the whole time! I packed for Brazil and I only have a rain jacket, so I was dang cold. I really hope I get to Brazil before the snow comes. Everyone tells me "oh you're from Utah, you have no idea what winter is until you get to Montana!" So apparently I'm going to freeze. And my companion is from Arizona so he doesn't like the cold either! haha.

A member was going to take Elder Tayrien and I golfing today, but the weather is bad so we are going another time. But my guess is that the weather will be bad then too. So I probably will not get to go golfing! :(

We have zone conference on Wednesday with a couple of the other zones, so I'm really excited because I'll be able to see Elder Manufekai again and my last zone in Bozeman so that will be good. Tomorrow we have to drive to Butte for Leadership Council, so we will be discussing a lot of new changes  made to the mission and new rules. So that will be interesting. President Mecham is really making a lot of changes to help missionaries be more obedient. Some of the rules are frustrating but you just have to realize that it's all for a good purpose and to help us missionaries have the spirit with us.

Anyways, things are going great! I love you all very much and I hope to hear from you! Have a great week! :)

Com amor,

Elder Kyle Payne

WEEK #27

Hello everyone,


A lot has happened this week! My new companion is Elder Tayrien, he is
so awesome! He's from Queen Creek, Arizona, and we have so much in
common! Seriously he's like the funniest kid. This is going to be a
great transfer.

Dillon is a great little town, it's seems about half the size of
Belgrade. But we have a baptism coming up this Saturday, and we
committed a girl to Baptism for next Saturday after conference, so
hopefully she will stop smoking before then! They are awesome.

I have a bit to learn as a District Leader now, but I'm really looking
forward to working with the District. They are awesome. Right now I'm
in Bozeman though, we had to drive up to swap vehicles. We live clear
outside of town so they got us a truck instead of a car because of all
the dirt roads. So Bozeman is right by Belgrade, so after this we are
going shopping then stopping to visit everyone in Belgrade! I can't
wait to see everyone again even though I just left haha.

We live with some awesome members in Dillon, their name is the
Williams. They are so funny! Our house is pretty cool, it's part of
their garage that they turned into a little apartment, it's a sweet
setup. We have a fridge from like the 50s it's cool. Oh we also get
free milk from the neighbors, they have a ranch and a cow named Lucy,
so they give us free milk every week! It's so good! It's fresh and you
have to shake up the cream that sits on top. We call the milk Lucy
Juice.

I don't have a ton to report this week, I'm just getting settled in to
the new area. Things are going great though. I hit my 6 month mark on
Friday. I can't believe it's been that long! Time has gone by so fast
it's crazy. I am not looking forward to going home yet, even though I
miss everybody. Good thing I've got some time left :) Yesterday was my
Uncle Brian's memorial of when he passed away. I can't believe it's
been 10 years! I am so grateful for the example he set to me by
serving a mission. I am so glad I'm a missionary right now doing the
same work he did, except in Montana and soon Brazil! (Hopefully)

I love you all very much and you all better be reading your
scriptures! Haha. They are so important and we can learn so much from
them. Have a wonderful week and I hope to hear from you soon! Keep the
faith!

Com amor,
Elder Payne

Week #25

Hey everyone!

This week has been pretty crazy! We have had a lot of success the past couple weeks, things are really starting to pick up in Belgrade. The members here are AWESOME and they are a huge help to us. Good thing we're all on the same team :)

Kelly is still getting baptized this Saturday, we are so excited for him. He's setting a great example for his kids. We have a few other solid investigators as well, we will be teaching another guy within two weeks when he gets back from North Dakota. His wife is a member and they just got married, but he wants to get baptized so that they can be sealed in the Temple next year. Way cool. We will see how that turns out in a few weeks.

Transfers are next week, I can't believe it. Time is going by way too fast. It has been pretty rainy here, we've had some really cool lightning storms though.

We went on an awesome hike this morning. Montana is seriously so beautiful! I can't wait to come back and visit here after my mission.

I LOVE the people here. They're great. 

As usual, still no word on the Visa. There are still 3 of us from the MTC District still in Montana. One of them, Elder Jackson, is in my District right now so we see each other pretty often. So that's good.

Watchman said Brazil is just awesome and he said I will love it when i get down there. So we'll see! :) 

I can't really think of anything crazy that happened this week, it has been pretty routine I guess you could say. We have worked really hard.

We spoke in 2nd ward yesterday and it went really well, the members seem to trust us so that's good. We had 6 Less-active families come to church and 2 investigators. It's always great to see them walk in the door to the chapel :)

Anyways, things are going good here in Big Sky country. I hope you all have a great week! I love you very much. Keep the faith!

Elder Payne

Week #24

Hey everybody! 

This has been a pretty good week for Elder Greenwall and I, we see the Lord's hand every day. We have had some solid lessons with our investigators and things are going really well. We have been teaching an investigator named Kelly, he is doing awesome! He already accepted our invitation to be baptized so he is on track for next Saturday the 14th.

We had 3 other investigators come to church on Sunday, so that was awesome! We have been working hard with the ward to help the work move forward and help people feel welcome and missed. We are also working with a lot of Less-active families as well. Hopefully more will start coming to church again.

We met a lady named Kay, her daughter is a member but not very active, but we have been teaching them both lately and they are both doing great. They are reading the Book of Mormon. The only problem is that Kay is going out of town this whole week so we can't see her until next week. Oh well hopefully she will still progress when she gets back.

I can't believe it is already week 5 of the transfer! Time is going by too fast. I feel like there isn't enough time in the day to get everything done! My MTC companion (Elder Watchman) got his Visa and he left for Brazil yesterday, as well as Elder Bonaro from my MTC district and Sister Kimball. So half of us are still in the states! I can't believe it. Hopefully Visas start coming soon. The MTC district always has a pretty tight bond with each other because we spent a lot of time in the MTC together and became friends, and we came out at the same time so we all still keep in contact which is really cool. I email the missionaries in Brazil and learn more about what's going on down there, I can't wait to get there! it seems so cool.

But here in Montana, I'm seriously meeting the most amazing people. We do our best to help people in any way I can, but I feel like I'm the one being helped and uplifted. These people have touched my heart and I love so many people here. The members are awesome. So are the investigators. This week has been a little rough with some scary things happening at home and since I'm out of the loop I haven't really known what's going on, but I've received answers to my prayers as well as comfort. Heavenly Father really does watch out for us and takes care of us.

This week has also been pretty funny, apparently I have been sleep talking a lot lately, my companion tells me in the morning all the weird things I say, I guess I have been talking about graduating a lot? I don't remember a thing. Anyways, there are also a lot of crazy people that yell at us from their cars as they drive by, yelling things like "I love Jesus" or whatever. But one person yelled "Science and Satan!" at us from their car while we were riding bikes, and I just flipped around and started following them on my bike. I wanted to go talk to them because I was tired of getting yelled at by random people haha but anyways they finally pulled into a store and I walked up to the guy and said I'm sorry I think you tried to talk to me earlier but i didn't hear exactly what you said (I was kind of being a smart-alec) but the guy was really short and had long hair and was just like "uuuhh....ummmm.. yeah.... i was just kidding man... umm....." haha so I just told him we were LDS missionaries and asked if he believed in Science and Satan like he said, but he said no he was Catholic and I offered him a pamphlet but he said he didn't want it. We meet so many weird people.

Anyways, things are going good, the work is really starting to pick up here in Belgrade. It's awesome. I hope you all have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you later!

Love you much,

Elder Kyle Payne

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

WEEK #18

Hello everyone!

Well this week has been an adventure! Probably the most frustrating week of my mission. But I have learned a lot from it.

The Jones backed out of their Baptism. It is a really long story but basically they didn't want to live the Word of Wisdom because they all love their coffee and Sweet Tea. And their dad and brother was really discouraging them. It is heartbreaking because we worked so hard with them and got our hopes up but they didn't follow through. We will keep trying though. I just keep feeling bad because I'm not sure if I did something wrong, or if I could have done more. I sort of feel personally responsible, but it is a learning experience. We have had problems with our truck, the clamp connecting one of the hoses to the heat valve broke so our engine was overheating and spraying coolant everywhere. So that has been fun trying to fix, since the closest place to get it fixed is 60 miles away in Helena. It has been really hot here but that's alright.

We have been trying to find new investigators because we desperately need them! The problem is Lincoln is so tiny and it is our only area. We have tracted out the area multiple times, most people are tired of us trying to talk to them. And honestly I'm tired of trying to talk to them too haha! We had an interesting conversation with a guy on Wednesday. He was a referral from our branch president but they weren't interested at all. We talked to his wife at the door, she politely said no thank you and we were walking down the driveway and he stopped and yelled at us to come back. He then continued to tell us that we are a cult and that everything we believe is false. He kept telling us that he has multiple DVD's and programs that "prove" that Mormonism is false and that everything we believe is a lie to try to get money. We testified to him and he just shot us down and attacked us personally saying he has zero respect for all Mormons. I immediately got mad but I just bit my tongue haha. I didn't want to cause any more problems, but he kept bring up things and trying to dispute doctrine. I was more frustrated at how miss-informed he was. He was like "i know you guys pass around a tray every Sunday to collect money and you just keep all the money for the church!" he said it was a scam for money. Oh well, hopefully his heart will be softened.

We just got back from a 10+ mile hike today. We went with a potential investigator named Ryan. He took us up to a place called Heart Lake. It is one of the most beautiful lakes I've ever seen! The water is so blue and clear and it's in the middle of a thick green forest. But guess who's an idiot and forgot his camera? ME. haha. If i took a picture it probably could have been put on a calender or something.

My MTC companion said that he has 4 dots on his online Visa application, which means it has been processed and is ready for pickup. I checked mine and I only have 1 dot which means it has been received by the consulate. WOW!!! hopefully mine comes this week. I'm tired of being a Visa-waiter haha I just want to go to Brazil already. Transfers are on August 5, so I'm not sure if I'm staying in Lincoln for another 6 weeks or going. I've been here for 3 months now. I kind of have a feeling I'm getting transferred. Lincoln is a really small place so I'm surprised I haven't gone crazy yet! Maybe I have.... just kidding ;)

Well, being on a mission really does help me realize how truly blessed I am. We should never take the things we have for granted. The Lord has given us so much, it's up to us to make the most of what we have and to be happy. I never thought I'd say it, but I am so grateful for trials and challenges. Going through rough times and trials really do make us stronger. Everything happens for a reason, we just have to trust in The Lord to take care of us. He always will.

I hope you all have a great week and I hope to hear from you soon! Write me or email me, missionaries love getting mail :) Tchau!

Much love,

Elder Payne

WEEK #14

Oi minha familia e amigos!

I hope you all had a wonderful week! This week has been crazy awesome. I'll get right to it! :)

Well Transfers are this Wednesday, but my companion and I are both staying in Lincoln. I was hoping I would stay, I love the people there and we are doing good work. I'll tell you all about it.

So, a lot has happened with the Jones and with Roxy. I'll start with the Jones. So for the past couple of weeks they weren't really progressing anymore, they weren't reading the book of Mormon and they weren't keeping other commitments. But we just kept working with them and were patient. During one of our visits, we felt inspired to read the first chapter if 1 Nephi with them and help them understand and get their thoughts. They loved it, and Bro. Jones related the story to him a lot, because he moved his family from their home Texas to Montana. So he made that connection right off the bat, so he's like "hey I like this guy Lehi, he trusts the lord." haha pretty cool. Anyways, they committed to keep reading as a family and they did, they read all of chapter 1 and 2. When we showed up the next night and asked how their reading went, brother jones said "oh we read alright, and it's getting interesting! But man those older brothers of Nephi are stupid!" haha we laughed so hard! It was great. Then the next night they read all the way to chapter 4 and then came to a halt. They hit a roadblock! We went to go follow up with them and brother Jones said he couldn't read our book anymore, because he read the part in chapter 4 where Nephi slays Laban. He said he didn't believe that God would tell somebody to kill another person like that. We understood where he was coming from, and we explained why Nephi did it and everything. It was better for one wicked man to perish than a whole nation. But he just kept saying that god wouldn't do that, and he said well what if I stole something, does that mean you Mormons would come kill me? haha He wasn't being reasonable or mature about it at all, and we were both getting a little mad, but we kept our cool and followed the spirit. I told him that we could try to convince you all day, but the only way you can truly know for yourself is to pray about it and ask Heavenly Father. He said he wouldn't read anymore but he'll pray and ask. Oh man it was intense. Sister Jones, his wife, is such a saint. She believes everything we're saying and she said she will try to get her family to pray and see our point of view. She is pretty much ready for baptism, except for her word of wisdom issues. But I'm so grateful for her and the influence she has on her family!

Anyways, as for Roxy and her family, they have been coming to church for a solid month now, and we committed her son Logan to be baptized!!! He is such an awesome kid. He's 12 years old and he loves the missionaries. He has been taught everything, but we are going to teach him all the lessons again in preparation for his baptism on the 13th of July. He said he wants me to baptize him! I'm so excited. It will be my first baptism! He is really excited about receiving the priesthood and everything. His mom, Roxy, isn't quite as ready for baptism as we thought, she has word of wisdom issues and law of chastity issues. She isn't married but she's living with her boyfriend Frank, they've been together for a long time but just haven't gotten married. Logan's biological dad is supportive of his baptism as well, so we should be good to go! We're praying that everything runs smoothly and goes to plan so that he can be baptized on the 13th.

Well, the Lord truly has blessed Elder Manufekai and I this week. Last week was a rough one, we worked hard but didn't see the fruits of our labors, but it definitely paid off for us this week. We've been talking to a ton of people and have been super busy. I'm so grateful for all that has happened.

There is still no word on my visa, and I'm about to go crazy haha. I just want to get to Brazil so bad! It will come eventually. It's just hard because we have no idea when it will come. Oh well.

My challenge for you all this week is to just read the book of Mormon! It doesn't matter how long or how much you read. Before my mission, I didn't really like to read that much, and the book of Mormon seemed hard to understand and boring. But since I've gotten into the habit of reading every day, I realize how powerful and true it really is. I have learned so much from it and I'm so grateful for it. And it isn't boring at all! haha. The stories are so interesting and there is a lot to learn.

Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful week. The Lord truly loves each and every one of you and is always there for you. Until next week, I love you much! :)

Ate mais,

Elder Kyle Payne