February 6, 2012
Dear Family,
Woodburn is the best and we have some changes coming our way. After being with my boy Elder B for 3 transfers, he is being transferred to a bike area so we are thinking that it’s his time to serve his six months in English. We will see as we will find out in about an hour and a half and I’ll let you know when I find out. I’m grateful to have spent 3 transfers with Elder B and to have made a lifelong friend. We have truly had a good run together and I have learned so much from him. A lot has happened this week and the missionary work here in Woodburn is going great. Well his last week here we were able to get a lot of work done and taught a lot of people. Our family with a baptismal date is doing really well. I believe that they will be able to be baptized on the 26th of February. We are also teaching another new investigator named F that lives with a less active member that has recently been reactivated. Things are going great out here and we are constantly finding new people to teach and have the support of the members. I truly love this area and the people.
All the Elders that are getting transferred are really good friends of mine so whoever the Lord sends here I know that it will be someone I can learn from. My boy Elder W is getting transferred too so I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll get to serve with the Big man for at least a transfer but we will see.
You had a question about the wrestling match with Elder N from Arizona. Well we both gassed out after about 4 minutes of wrestling and it was pretty even. He had the weight but I had a little more conditioning ha-ha or better said I eat less tacos and burritos then he does. He’s going to BYUI too after the mission and we are planning on wrestling out there together in the wrestling program. I got a letter from my friend H H who I wrestled with at BYUI and he told me the program is really picking up. He said they are traveling to other colleges to wrestle like Colorado and Boise State. It sounds like Heath has taken the program to the next level as the Wrestling Coordinator.
This weekend was really fun as one of the members invited us to her house for a fiesta to eat tamales. There were a lot of members there and we had a good time chatting about life and missionary work. After eating we all sat down in the living room and sang songs as Hermano T jammed out on his Spanish guitar. It was a pretty cool experience and I’ll send you guys some videos so you can jam out too ha-ha. O yeah, I have an appointment with Doctor P this Tuesday at 7 in the morning so you know I’ll be there bright and early. I’ll let you know how it goes and thanks for being supportive. I fine and think I have everything I need in the mission. Well, like I said I’m loving life and every day I wake up grateful to be in the service of the Lord. It is such a wonderful gift to see people change their lives through exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and following his commandments.
Okay, for the question of the week! How has better understanding the principle of faith helped you be a more effective missionary?
That’s a great question and I don’t know where to start. Once I started exercising faith in Jesus Christ and depending on him more than I did upon myself, that’s when I began to learn. When I started setting goals through prayer and searching for answers that’s when my faith was strengthened. I have come to a knowledge that God lives, Jesus Christ is his son and that this is their work. Having this knowledge and testimony has given me the strength and faith necessary to complete with his will and do things more effectively. I used to wonder if what I was doing was right but now I know that I am doing everything I can to serve him as I exercise my faith. Faith is like a seed as Alma said and I have to nourish it every day. Then it becomes knowledge as we come to understand and recognize our answers. All I can say is that my mission has been a period of watering this seed in my heart and day by day it grows bigger as I am asked to do things that require my faith in the Savior. It’s an amazing feeling to say that I truly know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that all I have to do is follow him and do what he has asked of me. I have found that once I have lost my desire to complete with my own will and do what I want and instead do what the Savior wants, that’s where my faith is strong and how I have been able to use it to be a more effective missionary. I no longer care about what I want but only desire to serve the Lord and by doing that I have found true faith.
Well I love you guys and I hope you can make sense of what I just wrote as I just typed down what came from the heart. I love you guys and keep it real!!!!
Love,
Elder Payne
