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 #23

Hey everyone!!!!

This week has been pretty good. We had stake conference yesterday and we had Elder Ward of the Seventy come and speak. It was great. We've been really busy working with the Less Actives and trying to get new investigators. So far so good. We have a new investigator so that's really exciting. Hopefully he comes to church this Sunday.

We went on a hike this morning up by Big Sky Ski Resort, it was so beautiful. It's called Beehive Basin, it's this little pond clear up in the mountains by these huge rock cliffs, I'll send photos as well.

It was awesome. We went with Joel he's a lot of fun. Oh also, right at the beginning of the hike, we saw a dang moose and her calf!!!! It was way creepy, because we were walking up the trail and we hadn't been hiking for more than 2 minutes, when I looked down and I saw the two moose walking right across the trail where we had just walked over moments earlier. I can't imagine what would have happened if we ran right into the mother moose with her cub!  I'm glad we were a little ways away. I took pictures though. Also, about 5 minutes after that, we ran into another moose, like 50 yards from us! It wasn't full grown though but still it's pretty exciting. I guess that's what we get for hiking really early in the morning!

I can't believe It's almost September! time is flying by so fast. I just hope I get to Brazil soon so I don't have to endure the Montana winters! haha I packed for Brazil and I only have one long sleeve shirt! crazy

The work is still going forward, one thing my companion and I have been working on is exact obedience. We receive more blessings when we are exactly obedient and I know the work will pick up even more when we're doing our best to follow all the rules. It's really hard though, there are so many rules and sometimes you're just going along and you don't even realize you're breaking one! but oh well it's all a learning experience.

We've met a lot of new people this week so we will see how everything pans out. We helped a family move on Saturday and yesterday, they're moving to Missoula so we talked to the Elders over there to see if they can help unload the U-Haul and get to know them. This family was awesome, they'd be perfect Mormons, they just don't know it! haha.

Well everyone, I hope you all have a wonderful week. I don't have a ton of time today, we have a lot to do still and a lot of people to see tonight. But I love you all and I'm grateful for everything I've learned from each of you!

Much Love,

Elder Payne

WEEK #10

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a good Memorial Day weekend! I didn't get to email on my p-day yesterday because the library was closed. I was so busy though! A lot of people came to their cabins in Lincoln for the weekend, so we just went and talked to everyone in front of the Bars and Casinos haha. It's such a small town but there are like 8 bars and they all have casinos. So much has happened this past week, it flew by! Time on a mission is so weird. That's the only way I can describe it. The days are long and tiring, but the weeks fly by. I can't believe it's almost June!!!

Well, so we have some exciting news with the Jones family! We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and it was really hard to get through the lesson because they ask so many random questions about dumb things haha. Like Bro. Jones always quizzes me on how many species of animals were on the Ark and if I've read from the book of Mary in the Bible (I guess it was taken out? I don't know) He calls us every day to see how we're doing and asks us for help to paint his trailer, take stuff to the dump, dig out tree stumps, etc. Sometimes I think he's just using us haha. But he really likes us and he invites us over all the time. Anyways, after we talked about the Plan on Salvation and the different degrees of glory, all the kids were really excited to learn more. We used ice cream in our lesson, to help the kids understand. We said that in the Telestial Kingdom, we get one scoop of ice cream every day. In the Terestial Kingdom, we get a bucket of ice cream every day. And in the Celestial Kingdom, we get our own ice cream factory that we can go to whenever we want! haha. You can guess which one the Kids wanted. They liked the lesson and especially the Ice cream. I extended an invitation to the family to be baptized, and they said yes! Brother and sister jones thought our belief about different kingdoms was weird, and he didn't agree to baptism, but we'll get him eventually! haha. We also invited them to pray what we taught was true, and Matthew, the second youngest, came up to us the next day and said that after he prayed he felt like something hot went into his body and then went out, and he said he knows that God told him that it was true. How cool is that?! It was so awesome to hear him tell us his experience with the Holy Ghost. I had to hold back the tears. I'm so excited to teach him and his family more, hopefully they can be baptized before I go to Brazil.

Our other most progressing investigator is named Doc. I love him so much and want him to be baptized!!! He's just so stubborn haha. He's totally ready, he just doesn't realize it yet. We are working with the branch to help him as well. It's so frustrating because I know that he knows it's true. He just lacks confidence in his decision. We're working on it though, we just need to do our best and the Holy Ghost can continue to testifify to him.

Well, me and my companion have had a lot of fun this week, we are working our butts off! I've never been so busy in my life. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the people of Montana. I love the people here. I'm going to miss it when I go to Brazil! I have a feeling our Visas are going to come next week. I'm not sure, we'll see :)

I'm learning so much about life and about myself. This week I have thought a lot about eternal families and how blessed we are that we can be with each other forever! I have realized how important it is to spend time with loved ones when we have the chance. Time is something that there never seems to be enough of. I encourage you all to spend as much time as you can with family and friends and not to take them for granted. It's often easy to take things for granted, we don't even realize we are doing it. But my challenge for you this week is to show your love for your family or friends by serving them and letting them know that you love them. I think I've given this challenge before haha, but it's so simple and important. Spending a little extra effort and time to serve someone goes a really long way. I hope you all have a great week! I love you and pray for you every day..

Ate mais! Ti amo!

Love, Elder Kyle Payne

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 #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! :)