WEEK #49

Family and Friends,

This week was a good one! My new companion arrived on Tuesday and we are already like best friends! His personality is pretty much just like mine so we are laughing our butts off all the time. His name is Elder Rocha and hes from Rio Grande do Sul. He is 18 years old and is super ready to work! I can tell we are going to do some good work this transfer. 

We had 3 investigators at church, so that was good. Also, about 6 weeks ago when i was here with Elder Vecchio, we met a less active girl named Emily who had 16 years. She was baptized in Paraguay with her boyfriend, but her boyfriend was killed last year and after that she didn't attend church anymore. She lives here in Brazil but her boyfriend was from Paraguay so she went to church there. Anyways, she didn't seem that interested in coming back to church when we taught her the last time, but on Wednesday night she called us and said that she has been praying for help in her life and she knows that she needs to come back to church! She bore her testimony to us over the phone and she said that she knows everything is true she just has had a hard time the past few months. But we have visited her a few times this past week and she really has a desire to follow Christ again, and she is going to invite her friend to come over so we can teach her next time! At first when I met her i was a little sad that she didn't want to come back to church, but now she has opened up to us and we have been able to help her. I know that everything happens for a reason, we just have to trust in the Lords timing!

Also this week we went to a Thai restaurant, it was super good! It was nice to have some Rice and Curry instead of the normal rice! haha. 

So the mission has kind of changed its focus a little bit. Brazil has a really high baptizing rate but a really low retention rate! So now, we are instructed to focus on helping people achieve real growth. So we are still trying to get baptisms and everything, but we are also focusing a LOT more on Less Active members, recent converts, strengthening members in our wards, and also helping those who are preparing to serve missions. So we have been working the past few weeks with the less active families here, and so far we have seen a lot of success! We have had several families come to church with us and it has been great to become friends with the people here and see their willingness to come to Christ. I have met so many people here who have truly changed my life and I will always be grateful for what I have learned here!

So our new toaster and microwave have been the best thing in my life I swear! I have been trying to eat as much as i can, I don't want to lose anymore weight! Food here is really expensive, so its hard to eat Breakfast all the time. But we always have Lunch with members and if we are lucky we have dinner sometimes! I weighed myself the other day and I weighed 94 kilograms, which is about 207 pounds. Its crazy because when I left Montana I was at almost 225! So i have lost like 17 pounds or whatever. Crazy! 

Today we are going to the center to play soccer with our zone. Our zone has like 3 new Americans who just got there visas and its their first transfer in Brazil, so now there are 5 Americans in our zone. The new Americans are super stressed in learning the language, its just funny because I was in exactly the same boat like 3 months ago! Even now I am still learning a lot and  I have a long way to go with the language, but it has gotten a lot easier for me now and I can pretty much understand everybody now. But the language comes in due time. Here in Ponta Porã we are super close to Paraguay and so there are tons of people who speak Spanish, and also a lot of people who speak Guarani! Guarani is a native indian language from Paraguay and it is suuuuuuper hard to speak, but I'm learning a little bit  so i can talk to a few people :) It is really cool here to see the combined culture of Brazil and Paraguay!

Anyways, things are going great here! I love you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Kyle Payne

Ether 12:4

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 #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 #37 BRAZIL

Beleza!!!

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving! :)

I don´t even know where to begin! haha. Things are so crazy in Brazil! I love it already. We had a super long flight here I was way tired when I got here. But I´m just so happy to finally be in Brazil I don't even care haha

Well, the first thing I can say about Cuiabá is that it is suuuuuper hot!!! Like unbelievably hot. When we got off the plane it was like 105 degrees F. It was quite an adjustment coming from 2 degrees when we left Montana! And it is super humid here too. it seriously feels like a sauna. hopefully I´ll get used to it though :)

The food here is really really good, so far I have had rice and beans for every meal but we usually have some sort of meat as well. On Saturday I ate Coracão de Vaca (Cow heart) it was actually really good I liked it. but other than that the food is normal, just rice and beans all the time

The language is really hard!!! People speak so fast and its hard to understand but its all good. I am serving in Industríario which is part of Cuibá. My companion is Elder Kennington, he is way cool we get along great.  He helps me with my Portuguese a lot. he has a mission blog too, so I read it and I already knew who he was before he was my companion! Kinda funny.  We live with two other missionaries, Elder Moraes and Elder Groff, they are both from Brazil near Curitiba. They are so funny we are teaching them English. Elder Groff always says funny things like Hey be quiet you horse! or Elder Payne I am going to ticklish you on beneath your arms! haha 

We have a few progressing investigators right now so that is good, we have taught a few lessons but i don't know what anyone is saying most of the time, i just bear my testimony. i bore my testimony yesterday in sacrament meeting so hopefully the people could understand what I was saying haha. I had a few people come up and thank me for my testimony so I guess it made sense haha

We had a really cool experience this week. So on Friday we had to take the bus to Cuiabá to take care of some paperwork and stuff at the office, but on our way back our bus got a flat tire. it was hot and crowded and we had to wait for another bus. the bad thing is is that we didn't have money left on our card things to pay for another bus trip, so we needed to go get another card. we started walking and a guy stopped us on the street and asked about us, and we taught him the entire first lesson and gave him two pamphlets. he was way cool and he said he would go to church on Sunday.Then awhile after that we got on another bus and a stranger paid for me to get on which was awesome. the people are so nice here. But the Lord put us in the right place at the right time. He knew we needed to teach that guy on the street, even if it meant us having a flat tire and no money! He even took care of us to get back on another bus to get home. 

I love this work so much.

Anyways, I love you all so much and I´m grateful for you! have a great week

Love,

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

UPDATE!

Hey everyone,

So I have a little bit of news! Don't get too excited it's not my Visa haha. But anyways this morning while I was in the shower, the assistants to the President called and asked to speak to me, so elder
Tayrien yelled at me and said it's the assistants so i jumped out of the shower with shampoo in my hair and everything haha. He asked to speak to me in private so I thought it must be my visa! But nope... He
asked me how the exchange went with the Elders up in Whitehall, and i told him my thoughts and concerns. Then he asked me how I felt about moving up to Whitehall and being Elder Sumner's permanent companion up there, because it is the beginning of his mission and he needs to be set straight so that he will have a successful mission. I said I don't really know but if you guys need me up there I'm willing to do it. So he said that's what they're going to do. 

So now I'm getting transferred to Whitehall tomorrow after Zone conference and that will be my new area. I'm pretty frustrated, I don't want to leave Dillon and I love the people here, especially the people we live with. They're so cool. And Elder Tayrien is such an awesome companion I am kind of mad we are getting split up. But I will still be district leader, Whitehall is in the District so I'll see Elder Tayrien every week and everything and still have my normal responsibilities. But oh well I guess if this is what President Mecham needs me to do then I'll do it.

So Mom i will let you know my new address once I get it and let you know how things are going. Hopefully I'll get to use a truck up there! Wish me luck!

Love,
Elder Payne

p.s. I did get a letter from the travel office about my visa, I had to get my fingerprints done at the police station and fill out a third-party form for my police record. So I got that done and sent it back to Salt Lake, so hopefully my dang visa should get here pretty soon :)

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 #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 #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

WEEK #8

Hello all!

 

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

WEEK #6 MONTANA BABY!!

Hello everyone!

Well, I made it to Montana! I got picked up at the airport by my friend and old fellow ward member Elder Luke Olsen. It was really good to see him! We then went and ate at Golden Corral, which was awesome. We went to the mission home and then split up for our new areas. It was sad to leave my district but exciting at the same time. It is so beautiful up here! The mountains are gorgeous. I'm in a little town called Lincoln, it has about 900 people but the church is gaining a presence, we had 3 investigators come to church yesterday and I got to speak in Sacrament Meeting! We taught two lessons yesterday and today is our p-day but we did a bunch of yard work with the people we are staying with. I live with the Caudelle's, they are members me and my companion live in a little cottage up in the woods, it is so awesome. I am excited to get out and teach more! It is so good to be out of the MTC and into the real world! Haha. It was really hot when we got to MT and yesterday was perfect, like 70 degrees, but today it snowed. Go figure. Things are looking good though, we are doing a bunch of service tomorrow and on Wednesday we are teaching an investigator named Doc. I met him at church yesterday and he seems awesome, he's about 55 and single. He has a masters and professional degree in History, so he is really interested in all the Wars and things in the Book of Mormon. He believes it is a true book and everything he just has a lot of questions. It seems promising. I can't wait to teach him.

 

My companion's name is Elder Halversen s about 5'6" and weighs maybe 120, so I've got a good 90 pounds on him haha. He's a solid missionary though and I'm glad he's my trainer. He helps me out with the Language, his last comp. was also waiting on his VISA too.

 

We had a really cool experience yesterday. So one of our investigators didn't come to church and they didn't answer their phone, so after church when we were walking around town and visiting people, I had a really strong feeling that we should go talk to them. I didn't even know their names or anything, I just said hey Elder Halverson, who are those people that didn't come to church today? He said it was the Jone's. I told him i felt like we should go stop by. So we went to their house, and it turns out that Mr. Jones's sister was beaten by her son with a hammer the night before, and she is on life support and they don't know what will happen because her forehead is crushed. So scary. He was so sorry that he didn't come to church and he kept apologizing for being rude, but we talked with him for a good while about how everything will be alright and that we are here to help him with anything he needs. We gave him a DVD about Christ and bore our testimonies. It was a really cool experience, I'm hoping that he will watch the video with his family and come to church next Sunday I'm really glad we went over and talked to him because otherwise we would have had no idea what was going on. It is amazing to see the Lord's hand at work. I know that we were in the exact right place at the right time so that we could go talk to him and leave him with a spiritual message.

 

Today is my Dad's birthday! I really love my dad. I wish I had a birthday present haha but I guess this letter will have to do! Happy birthday dad I hope you have a great day. Hopefully you will at least get to go golfing or something :)

 

I'm so excited to serve! I'm not sure how long I'll be in Montana but I am going to work as hard as i can and make the most of it while I'm here. This is precious time and I want to make the Lord proud. I will send pictures when I figure out how to make this computer work, for some reason it won't read my SD card but I will figure it out.

 

My challenge for all of you this week is to look for ways to serve others around you and take every opportunity you can to help people, even in seemingly insignificant ways. Most of the blessings we receive from the Lord are through other people. You never know when something you do for someone is an answer to their prayers. I love you all so much and can't wait to hear from you. Thank you for all the love and support! Tchau!

 

Elder Kyle Payne

Kyle and his companion Elder Watchman

WEEK #1

Oi me familia e amigos!

AAHH where do I even begin?! This past week and a half has been absolutely crazy. The MTC is a really cool place! The spirit here is really strong and everyone here really works together to make it a pleasant place to be. I love it!

Well, right when I got dropped off here they took me in to get my name tags and a bunch of books then I headed straight to class! The teacher didn't speak any English to us. I met my companion there, his name is Elder Watchman. He's from Holladay, UT (Salt lake). He's awesome and we get along great. We have a lot in common! My district is awesome. The guys are hard working and fun to be around. We also have 4 sisters in our district. They are awesome as well! It's funny how sister missionaries can bring a totally different spirit and light into our district. Sometimes the elders get rowdy but they keep us in line :) I am having a ton of fun here and enjoying it a lot.

This week has been without a doubt the hardest week of my entire life. It has been an emotional roller coaster haha. We are seriously so busy! When we aren't in class we are studying or teaching. And when we aren't studying or teaching we are eating. My typical day consists of waking up, getting ready, eating, going to class, studying, eating, teaching, more studying, more class, eating, more studying, and either class or a devotional of some sort. We are all so tired all the time! Today is finally our P-Day, so we are doing laundry and cleaning our room, going to the temple and probably sleeping haha. It's weird being so close to home but being on my mission! I'm only like 20 min. away from everyone. But it's all good. I can't decide if this week has gone by fast or slow! Every day seems way long but the week kind of went by fast. Time here is weird. Also I'm already losing my nice tan haha because we are inside so much.

Well, on our third day here (Friday) i had to teach my very first investigator.... IN PORTUGUESE! Holy cow that was a train wreck. Basically all we could say was Oi, como vai? Tudo bem? (Hi, how are you? Everything's good?) We were able to use brief notes to teach the lesson but they weren't very helpful because we can't just read our script and leave. We needed to make it sincere and maintain eye contact so that the spirit was present. It was rough haha. The investigator is named Crispim, he is from Portugal. (He is a member of the church just acting for us). We taught him every day and now he is one of our teachers, so he gives us helpful feedback and helps us improve our teaching.

Portuguese is so hard! Haha. It definitely helps that I took a few years of Spanish, but that also messes me up because you pronounce things way differently in Portuguese. It's more like French, Spanish, and Italian combined. J's sound like the S in measure, R's sound like an H, if a word ends in "te" you say "chee". Also if there is an ao in a word you say it with the back of your tongue, sort of nasally. It's hard to explain but you'll hear me speak it in 2 years :) I can pray and hold a simple conversation in Portuguese now! I can also bear my testimony. Even though it is simple, the Spirit can still be there and touch people's hearts even if my words can't. That's what's awesome about teaching with the Spirit. All we have to do is do our best and study each day, and the Spirit will bear witness to the investigators. We just have to open our mouths, and the Lord will take care of the rest.

Well Mom i know you're worried about my knee, but I'm totally fine don't worry about it. I just hurt it the other day playing basketball and also jumping down from the top bunk to turn off the alarm in the morning. It was really weird my knee just popped and my whole leg was burning, so we went and got it checked out and they thought I might have torn my meniscus. I had to have crutches for a few days just in case so that if there was something torn it wouldn't get worse. The other elders in my district gave me a blessing and as a district we fasted for our Visas to come and to learn Portuguese and for my leg to be alright. And nothing ended up being torn and all is well! The doctor said i should take it easy and to not play sports for a few weeks.... Yeah that's not gonna happen haha! You know me. I can't just sit there and watch people having fun, i have to be involved. I played basketball yesterday with a little knee brace for support and after taking the pain medication and it did fine.

I can't thank you all enough for sending me letters and care packages! Grandma Cathy i did get the salsa and it was soooo delicious! Everyone in my district was like "dude can i have one more? one more? can i try some more?" haha. Thanks everyone for the cookies and candy and snacks. Especially your letters. It's crazy how much those letters and packages mean to me. They totally make my day. Whenever I have felt really discouraged throughout the day, my spirits are lifted when we go get the mail and i have letters waiting for me. It's awesome to know that I have my family and friends to support me.

Guys, being here at the MTC it has really hit me how much influence our actions and words affect others around us. If someone is negative they can really bring others down as well by how they treat them. It works the other way too. If we are all encouraging one another and being nice, we can uplift each other make each other feel better. Don't take for granted the people in your life. We are all so blessed to have each other to strengthen each other and become closer to our Heavenly Father. My challenge to all of you this week is to treat others as Christ would. Tell the people you care about that you love them, and do everything you can to serve them. You never know what they are going through or what kind of day they're having. I have had my all time Highs and my all time Lows here, but it is amazing how my attitude can change when someone in my district will say, hey, I love you and am here if you need anything. We can all make a difference in each other's lives by trying to be more Christ-like and treating one another as he would.

I will try to write more individual letters to you all today when i have time, and I'm sorry if i can't! I'll do my best. Please keep sending letters and packages, they help more than you know. I want to leave you with my testimony. I know without a doubt that this gospel is true. It is simple and powerful.It can bring more happiness and joy than we could ever imagine. All we have to do is be obedient and continually strive to improve, and the lord will bless us. I know that the Book of Mormon really is the word of god, and the principles and doctrine it contains are true. I know that families can be together forever and that we can all return to live with our families and with our Father in Heaven one day. I know that my brother Jesus died for me and atoned for my sins, so that I wouldn't have to. I love this gospel so much and I'm so excited to share what I know with the people of Brazil! I love you all so much and hope to hear from you soon.

Love,

Elder Payne

A LETTER!

Yippee!!  We got a letter!!

We  received a hand written letter today in the mail!  Kyle let us know he is "still alive" and "the MTC is an awesome place!"  The first day he got his name tag, put his stuff in his room, and went right to class.  He is definitely staying busy.  His companion is Elder Watchman, from Holladay, Utah.  He said they have a lot in common.

Kyle's P-Day is on Fridays, and he will email us a letter then.  I will then post it to the blog.  He didn't have one yesterday, so the first letter will be this coming Friday, March 29th.  We are excited he is doing well and enjoying the MTC and we look forward to his email letters on Fridays!