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 #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

WEEK #7

Hello Everyone!

Well, I'm loving Montana! Things are so different up here. The members are awesome and are playing a huge role in helping us find investigators. That helps a lot. My companion and I do a TON of service, because the town we live in is small so there aren't a ton of opportunities to teach. But we have taught a few lessons. Really quick, Mrs. Jones, the one who got beat up last week, is doing better and is out of intensive care and is supposed to make a full recovery over time. I'm so glad things are okay. Hopefully we can teach the Jones family more. I'm praying that they will recognize that blessing and want to learn more. Anyways, this week we have been driving in fence posts for our neighbor and putting up barbed wire for like a half mile. Fun stuff! I'm gonna have some pretty sweet scars on my arms and hands haha. Our most progressing investigator named Doc, came to a baptism in Helena with us on Saturday and he said he really liked it. He comes to church every week and he recently gave up coffee and tea! That is so awesome. We are just trying to figure out what is holding him back at this point. We have taught him all the lessons and he knows it's true, it is just a huge decision and he doesn't want to regret it. He said he wants to be baptized once he finishes the Book of Mormon but who knows how long that will take. Our goal is to commit him this week. I know that if he has faith, the lord will help him overcome any obstacles and answer his questions.

 

My comp. and I got to teach Gospel Principles in church on Sunday. That was a cool experience! We had 2 investigators there and I know they felt the spirit. It was really strong. Doc bore his testimony of the scriptures and I almost cried haha! This guy has so much faith. Our other investigator was really interested, but I think she was kind of confused about some things, so we are trying to set up a date to go teach her. Today me and my comp. are in Helena with our district for some meetings and training. My district is really fun! The funniest thing all week was in sacrament meeting! A 7 year old boy named Taien Christensen was saying the closing prayer, and it was probably the funniest prayer I've ever heard! We were all trying so hard not to laugh but a lot of us were cracking up in the middle of it haha. He starts the prayer off normal and everything was fine, then he starts thanking Heavenly Father for just about everything that came to his mind. He says, "we're thankful for penguins and how cute they are, we're thankful that the dinosaurs are dead so they can't squish us, we're thankful for fish, etc." Then he continued the prayer normally and people were calming down, and all of the sudden he goes back and yells "we're thankful for chickens, so that people who don't like fish can eat chickens!" Haha I lost it! it was so funny

 

So, our district had a baptism for a 19 year old girl named Dani on Saturday. It was awesome to be a part of that. But the coolest experience I had this week was after the baptism, a sister in the Helena ward asked us for a blessing. She is going through some EXTREMELY difficult trials right now, and she asked our district leader and me for a blessing. I had the opportunity of giving the blessing to her. I was way nervous, I didn't want to mess it up because it meant a lot to her and I didn't even know her. I said a little prayer and asked Heavenly Father to help me. As I was giving her the blessing, my fear went away and I was completely overcome with the Spirit. I can't really explain it in words, but it was such an awesome opportunity. I felt like I knew exactly what she was going through and I knew what to say to bring her comfort. I know that the Spirit was helping her feel comfort and peace, and helping her feel Heavenly Father's love for her.

 

Well, missionary work is HARD. Haha I knew it would be, but it is different than I expected. I'm so tired, and I've only been in the field for a week and a half! Haha I better get used to being tired. I love it though! We have a lot of responsibility and pressure, it is really important that we are doing are best at all times because we need to set a good example for everyone. We represent our Savior Jesus Christ and we need to show that by acting as he would. I love helping others and I'm excited to share the Gospel.

 

What has been hard for me lately is learning to rely on the spirit and accepting that I can't do this on my own. All my life I have pretty much relied on myself to get things done, but I am learning really quickly that we need God's help. I want to leave you with my testimony of the power of Prayer. I KNOW that Heavenly Father answers prayers. It has never been so apparent to me as it has this week. Whenever I am having a hard time with something or need help with anything, I pray and ask Him for comfort and help and he has definitely given it to me. Heavenly Father really listens to us and helps us if we ask. He knows what we are going through and will always be there for us. My challenge for you this week is to pick something specific you're struggling with and ask Heavenly Father for help with a sincere heart. I promise you that no matter what it is you're having a hard time with, He will give you comfort and strength to be able to overcome anything.

 

I love you all! Have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Kyle Payne

 

p.s. I will send pictures tomorrow! :)