Love and Service in Molalla!

June 25, 2012

Dear family and friends,

Things are going great and we had an awesome week! My new companion Elder Wright is the man and his Spanish is really improving every day. Well, a lot has happened and it’s good to hear that everything is going well out there for you guys. Last week went by so fast and time is flying by. It looks like the Benjamin’s wedding was pretty cool and everyone had a good time out there at the SLC temple. That will be me coming up pretty soon ha-ha! No, I’m just kidding as I've got my mind focused on the work and my hearts locked so I won’t be thinking to deeply about that stuff for a while. I still haven’t gotten my soccer stuff but I’m hoping it comes soon because we’ve got the mission soccer game coming up pretty soon and I want to be sporting my Chilean pride.

That’s cool that you guys had your Branch conference yesterday because we had our branch conference as well. It was a great sacrament meeting and the Presidente did a great job as he spoke to the people with the Spirit. There were a ton of leaders from the Stake and it was good to talk to them about the recent growth and things that are happening here in the Branch. There is so much work to do out here I love it. There is never a dull moment and we are always super busy. The key is working with the members and little by little we are helping them to strengthen their testimonies and invite their friends and families to church. We are seeing miracles daily but as I expressed to you last week, we are just in the phase of helping our investigators  understand why they need to make the commitment to be baptized. The amazing thing is they are all taking the commitment very seriously and are reading the Book of Mormon to know if it is true. There is no doubt in my mind that if someone reads that book and seeks with true intent, they will know that the Book of Mormon is true through the power of the Holy Ghost. It is truly an amazing feeling to further understand the promptings of the Holy Ghost and decide to follow them.

That is one thing I have learned so far on my mission is how to recognize the voice of the Holy Ghost. Every time I feel of his promptings, I follow then without second guessing because I know I need to do something. I’ll give you a little example of what I’m talking about. One day Elder W and I were driving to go visit a family that we have been teaching. As we were driving I got the impression to go visit another less active family. We turned around and when we got there we saw the lawn mower and weed whacker out on the front yard. We jumped out of the car and started to mow the lawn as the boy just had gotten everything out and was about to start. We cut it for him and then taught him the first lesson. It was a pretty cool experience and I know with time the family will come back to the Lord. We just need to show them more love and do some other random acts of service. Things are amazing in the mission and I’m loving life. We are still teaching almost everyone in the Branch and now the home teachers are getting fired up. Once we get them out doing their visits, I know that will help a ton with the growth of the Branch.

Last week I told you that I felt a little overwhelmed with training and leading the District, but I have been comforted in Christ and feel fully capable of being able to take on the challenges that will come with the Lords help. I read the prayer that Alma gives in Alma 31 and tried to offer up my own prayer to express to the Lord how I felt and how much I desire to help the people in my area and have a lasting impact with them and with my new companion. I know the Lord heard my prayer as he comforted me through the Spirit and gave me the strength that I needed. I know in the next two months, we are going to see some amazing things happen as I know the Lord answers prayers.

I’m pumped as my son Elder W is the man and he helps me out a ton. We are working as a true team and we are seeing the Lords hand in the work daily. One amazing tender mercy that I am grateful for is that Hermano G A is getting sealed in the Portland temple with his family el 7 de Julio. You guys remember Hermano G; he was baptized in Keizer a little bit after I got there some 16 months ago. He is going to the Portland temple in a little bit and his daughter  has been called to serve on a mission on temple square in Utah a couple days after they get sealed. I’m super excited to go to the temple with them and see this family change their lives as they make sacred covenants with the Lord in  the temple. I think about Alma chapter 26 and how merciful the Lord is with his children as we try to keep his commandments. It will definitely be an awesome experience and I am looking forward to it.

I love you guys and I’m grateful to be in the service of the Master. Now I know what is truly important in life and what I want in my future. I know what I must do to persevere hasta el fin (until the end) in order to live with my Heavenly Father and family after this life.

Love,

Elder Payne

Strawberry Fields Forever

June 18, 2012

Dear family,

Well things are going amazing out here and we are seeing a lot of success. The picking season has started and we just got back from the strawberry fields. That is some tough work and it took me about 2 hours to fill up 4 buckets, that’s only like 4 dollars or something like that. Anyway there are some people out here that can pick super fast it’s ridiculous. We went with our boy G and some members of the church. It was pretty sweet and we got to take a bucket home with us so I now have a ton of strawberries to put in my breakfast oatmeal right now, CHYEAH!!!! I just had to pick my own strawberries and they were free!  I go to the store to buy some and it costs like 3 bucks and that blows my mind!!!!!!! Anyway it was pretty fun and we will head out there again sometime as that’s a good place to find new investigators.

Last week was pretty sweet.  Elder W is the man and he already came pre-trained. He’s down to work super hard and has a great testimony. We don’t speak English at all since we both want to improve our Spanish. He’s a great guy and I’m glad that I have the opportunity to work with him. The missionary work is going great here and the branch is really helping out. We had 8 investigators at church yesterday and mostly all of them are ready to be baptized we just want to help them to receive testimonies and be able to understand the answer to their prayers through the Holy Ghost. There are always obstacles put I know that I just need to exercise more faith in the Savior Jesus Christ and he will help me to know what I must do to help these people.

 

We had the chance to go to a concert with some members and investigators on Friday. We went to the Portland Oregon Choir starring Jennifer Oaks Baker and it was sweet. I got to see a lot of my old companions from the mission too as they had all gone there to watch the concert with their investigators. It was pretty cool to sit back and enjoy the nice violin music provided by the Grammy nominated violinist.

We went to an Adult Center to do service on Friday and that was pretty fun. We served everybody roast beef and potatoes and “los ancianos” were pretty pumped about that. They were celebrating father’s day as well so they had a tie competition. Everyone was rocking ties and even the ladies. Elder W and I decided to enter into the contest for who had the classiest tie but we got beat out by an old lady in a wheel chair. I thought I was going to win because I had a nice tie clip and everything but it seems like they were playing favorites ha-ha, just like high school in there. No big deal because we had fun and everyone clapped for us because they thought our ties were cool ha-ha. Can you just imagine that, a room full of old people clapping for two elders because they were wearing nice ties? I’m not going to lie, I felt pretty cool even though I was one of the youngest guys there ha-ha.

Well this week has been awesome and to be honest a huge blur full of training meetings and activities, but all in all it was a great blessing. I’ve learned a ton from my new companion as he tries to iron my shirt every morning. He is a great example and I think I’m going to learn more from him than he will from me. I’m grateful for this opportunity to train and help out the district. I can’t do it by myself and I know that I’m going to have to rely on the Lord more and less in the arm of the flesh ( el brazo de la carne). I’m pumped and excited for this week and ready to share the gospel with all those that will listen. I love you guys and I hope you have a good week, keep me in your prayers!

Love,

Elder Payne

Training and Pumped Up!

June 12, 2012

Querido Familia,

 “I’M TRAINING” y estoy súper animado! I’m pumped because it’s my first time training and Elder W will probably be my last companion on the mission! I can tell already he is a hard worker and he’s got the fire. He is from Arizona and stands about 6'3 so he towers over everyone in the Branch including me ha-ha and we are going to have a great time together. I was pretty excited to get the phone call from the assistants asking me to train and I’m glad that the Lord trusts me and has given me this opportunity. I have always wanted to train and with Elder W’s fire, I know we are going to work super hard. Last week was great and Elder T went out strong without even thinking about what he is going to do when he gets home. We worked hard and he showed me a great example of how to be dedicated to the work until the end and I know I am going to follow his example and give it all I got and return with no regrets.

I’m so excited and happy to have the opportunity to serve with Elder W. He is a great kid with a strong testimony and he is ready to work hard. He got up this morning with me right on time at 5:50 AM and was ready to work out. I know he brings a fire with him and a great desire to serve the Lord. We are going to do our best to help the investigators we have to enter into the waters of baptism! We had 8 investigators at church again and the Branch is really growing. We are trying to set dates with the people that have been going to church and help them to gain testimonies of the restored gospel. The thing is that we are equally focusing on the members in the Branch as just a little while ago half of them were less active. There is a lot of work to do out here but I know that the Lord is blessing us. We are truly seeing the fruits of our labors as we have been working with the less active. Their friends and families are coming back to church and now we have many investigators to help. Baptism is always a big step for our investigators but as we help them to be converted to the gospel by reading in the Book of Mormon, I know they will have the desire to do the Lords will. I’m just so grateful to the Lord for the many blessings we are seeing here and I just hope that we can work effectively enough to help all those in need. The Gospel is true and it’s my desire to help all those strengthen their testimonies of the truthfulness of the restored gospel. I know that as a district, we are growing and out areas are improving. We are focusing more on our church attendance and the Elders are telling me that the attendance at church is growing. As we look at the true growth, we can see in sacrament meeting how many are committed to keeping the Sabbath day holy and renewing their covenants.

Things are going great and I had a great time with Elder T his last week in the mission field! I’m pretty excited about having my first greenie and I’ll explain a little bit about what happened yesterday. I wanted him to be able to remember his first day on the mission so I planned some cool stuff to do his first day out. G and J (G’s cousin) took Elder T and me to the transfer meeting. We rolled in style as J has a pretty sick Cadillac Escalade truck. I waited there anxiously for the arrival of the new missionaries in the room with the rest of the trainers. When President M called out my name and the name of my new companion Elder W, I couldn’t contain the excitement and gave him a big hug. I handed him a diaper that I got from J’s car (she’s got a baby) and told him he would need it with all the Mexican food he will be eating on his mission. He thought that was pretty funny but I told him it wasn’t a joke ja-ja. After the meeting, I said goodbye to all my boys that were heading home like Elders T, H, R and my Pops, Elder H. I’m going to miss my Pops Elder H  as he taught me so much. He was a great example of humility and love! I got a picture with my pops and all of his posterity (people that he trained)!

 The whole experience was cool but I still wanted to show my new companion what the Spanish mission in the OPM was all about so I took him to the center of all the action in WOODBURN! We went to the famous taco truck and I ordered him two tacos de tripa y de buche. I told him not to ask what it was until after he ate it all and he ate it like a champ. I then told him it was pork guts and cow stomach and he was still cool with it ha-ha. I ate the tacos with him and I really do like them. My son is ready to roll and already half Mexican at heart. Church was awesome and we had the amazing privilege of blessing the baby of D, one of our investigators. She is the sister of E C, una hermana who was baptized while I was in Woodburn. We are working with her and her 5 children and it was a great experience. It was pretty cool to stand in the circle and I can see that little baby on a mission one day. We are seeing a ton of miracles as the members are becoming more involved in the missionary work. We brought a family of investigators to church and some members invited them to eat over at their house after church. It was a fun night as we all ate together and the investigator family truly felt fellowshipped.

Instead of taking it little by little, I decided to immerse Elder W in the Hispanic culture. We were also going to go pick strawberries in the field that a member owns but we will save that for next week. Elder W speaks Spanish fairly well for his first day in the mission field  and yesterday we set the goal to speak only Spanish from here on out! He’s pumped to serve and has got a huge fire to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, he’ll be a great missionary. I’m excited for this time we have together and I will do my best to help him learn everything he needs to know before I leave. Well, I could go on and on because last week was so awesome and we are seeing so many miracles daily but I have got to go. I love you guys and I’m glad to hear that the Lord is blessing your lives there at home as well. I know this church is true and it’s our duty to share that truth with the world!!

Love,

Elder Payne

Tender Mercies and a Gold Star!

June 4, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was an awesome week and my boy Elder T is tearing it up. We had another great week and he’s giving it all he’s got as this is his last full week in the mission! We saw many miracles and I have a lot to talk about. Thanks for your awesome letter Dad it was really inspiring. I’m so glad to hear that my cousin M is going on his mission! I’m willing to give that kid everything I have if he needs it. He can have my suitcases, ties, I have a ton of shoes that are in good condition, books, and the only thing he won’t be able to use are my suits and shirts as they are pretty much done for. Just let me know what he needs and I’ve got his back!  I have sandals, a couple pairs of tennis shoes and basically everything a new missionary needs. I’ve collected a ton of things out here and I’m pretty sure he would like some of this stuff as it looks new. Basically, what I can give him is some shoes, ties, pants if he wears a 34-30, books, pens, etc. Just let me know cause I’m down to hook my primo up! I’m so excited that he’s going on a mission and I love to see the fire that new missionaries have.

My boy G is on fire and he bore his testimony yesterday in Church and made me tear up. His whole family got up and bore their testimonies as well as they have caught fire as well. He is having a huge impact on the Rama and his family that lives around here. Many of his less active cousins are coming back to church and it’s awesome to see how the faith of one person can help others around them. Church was amazing yesterday and the spirit was so strong during the testimony meeting! We had a lot of our investigators come to church and they told me that they felt something special while there. B was set apart as our new branch mission leader and he is going to tear things up. Back in the day B baptized 26 people in a week so we are hoping that he will be able to top his record here in Molalla! Chyeah! Anyway, we received another branch missionary which is a sister missionary  that just got back from her mission in New México. She is going to be able to help us out a ton as we usually don’t have that much time to find and teach over in Canby which is 15 minutes away from Molalla. She brought a friend to church with her yesterday that had been investigating the church some 4 years ago and was going to get baptized but then ran into some Anti-Mormon trash and stopped coming to church. We testified to her yesterday that this was the true gospel of Jesus Christ and that she could know for herself. We asked her to pray about it and as she did and she felt the spirit. She said she would give it another chance and we invited her to be baptized but we have not set a date yet. I know this is a tender mercy form the Lord and now she is ready to be baptized. Give her a couple of weeks and she will know that it is time! After church we had a birthday dinner for my boy M G who is coming back to church and trying to change his life and follow the Savior. He is a good kid and really wants to be better and we will help him out the best we can.

I still haven’t gotten the Chilean soccer jerseys but I’ll keep an eye out for them. That’s good to hear that H and B got home safely from Egypt! By the way, Happy Birthday to you, Mom and N, sorry I didn’t do anything for you guys but it’s hard to with so little time out here. I love you guys and hope that you all had great birthdays and I will make it up to you later.

Well, things are going great and the Lord is truly blessing this area and we are so privileged to just be here at this time. Many miracles are happening and many people are being prepared to be baptized and follow their Savior Jesus Christ. Next week I will be writing you and letting you know all that happened with transfers and who is my new companion. I’ve been told I’m going to get a greenie and train but who knows as it’s all up to the Lord and things can change. Whatever happens I am just pumped and excited as I know that the Lord will do what’s best for me at this point on my mission. I know that every companion and every area I have had until this moment has helped make me who I am. I am grateful for all the things I’ve learned so I openly welcome whoever the Lord has for me. I don’t have much time left, and like you said Dad, you have got to leave it all on the mat. That’s what my boy Elder T is doing and I will follow his great example and go out on fire!

Finally I got my first gold star on my mission which means that our apartment was pretty clean and everyone that has a nice apartment gets a gold star! They are highly prized here in the mission, CHYEAH!  Now that’s a good feeling, I put that star in my journal!

Love,

Elder Payne

Miracles in Canby and Molalla!

May 29, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

Oh man this week was great!!! We’re seeing so many blessings from the Lord and the missionary work is exploding here in Molalla! The members are on fire and we are truly seeing the changes that come through real conversion. My companion Elder T is a beast and he’s not going down easy. Elder T only has a few more days on his mission and is a great example to me as he isn’t getting trunky but getting even more exited. He didn’t even want to take a P-day and he just wanted to work and I’m down with that!!!!! Everything is going well and I’m so thankful for the things that I am learning through the spirit and my companion’s great example. The other day after we got done studying Spanish I began to eat a little lunch and he said something like, “What are you doing Buddy, there’s no time to eat, we’ve got to work! So since that day we haven’t taken lunch and we have just been blessed to have people give us food along the way, like the old days of missionary work without purse or script. It’s pretty cool because we don’t have to buy lunch now and if we end up not eating lunch, we can just fast ha-ha. I like his fire and he’s definitely helped me to step up my game. No lunch from now on, time to trust in the Lord and that He will provide los alimentos.

Things are going great and we are seeing a big change in the mission. I went to the OPM Leadership meeting last week and basically the entire meeting was about, Amino (excitement) faith and goals. The Assistants to the President were getting everyone pumped up and waking people up from their spiritual naps ha-ha. It was a sweet meeting and it was a cool sight to see President Morby dropping the hammer and getting everybody pumped up. CHYEAH! This week was amazing and we had the opportunity to see the Lords hand and many miracles! Sacrament meeting was great as we saw many investigators and less active members there!!!!! Many less actives that haven’t been to church for years were there and being fellowshipped by family and friends. We had 80 people in Sacrament meeting and that’s the most we have ever had and I know it is because of the Lords divine help. The members are on fire and so excited about the gospel as we are encouraging everyone to read in the Book of Mormon. We have to start setting some more baptismal dates and I know that they will come as we continue to strengthen the Saints. We are teaching many member referrals and I have seen that this is helping the members to become more focused on the gospel. This week we were blessed to teach many people and this week I taught the most people I have ever taught on my mission. This week we will try to teach 50 people as it’s not impossible with the Lords help. It’s like what Preach My Gospel says, “teach where you find, find where you teach”! My boy G is helping us out a ton as he gets ready for his mission and he is inviting people to be baptized and come to church, he’s such a G!

Thanks for the great letter and the details about my boys speaking in Sacrament meeting.  That really pumped me up as I am starting to come to grips with the fact that I have a very short time to share the best message in the world and I want to leave it all on the mat with no regrets. I haven’t gotten the soccer jerseys you sent yet, but I hope they get here today because we are having a Branch activity and we are playing soccer in the new home of one of the members. She bought a home and a large bit of farmland but she has to remodel the whole house and all the grass had to be cut since it was like 5 feet high.  Well los hermano’s cut the grass in her farmland into a futbol field and everyone’s getting excited to play some futbol.  We hope to have a good turn out!  

I could go on forever about how much I love this area and the people but I have work to do and need to get going.  Things are going great and I feel like the Spirit of the Lord is truly blessing this area as the members are exercising great faith. I love you guys so much and I am so glad to be out here on my mission. I know this church is true and that the Savior lives.

Thanks for your support and prayers!

Love,

Elder Payne

Loving Life in Molalla!

May 21, 2012

Dear Family,

Hey what’s going on everyone! Thanks for the great letter G, it got me pumped up! Sorry, but I don’t have too much time to write today as we have been pretty busy! We have a lesson in just a couple of minutes so I will try to knock out something real quick and let you guys know the scoop. Last week was great and we saw a ton of success and many blessings from the Lord. You know my boy B, the one who just started coming back to church. He was just called as the new branch mission leader, CHYEAH!!! That just makes me super happy and pumped to see how in the Lords kingdom, somebody can change their life as soon as they are willing too. Like it says in Lucas chapter 14 I think, the Lord is happy when we are ready to come back to him!!

Last week I got some sweet boots and a cowboy suit at a member’s garage sale. It is like a $500.00 Mexican cowboy suit and I got it for $5.00. I’m pumped as I’m ready to go and I’ve got my style on now. I haven’t gotten the birthday package from Heather yet but I did get a card in the mail from Alex with some dinero. I will thank her with a nice card once I get some time. We went to Winco with G and his mom today and I got the essentials, fruit, pickles, protein and cereal. G is like my brother and I’m so excited to see where he gets called to serve on his mission. I’m glad to hear that Heather and Ben are okay on their trip over in Egypt and Israel and are doing well. I hope they don’t get stuck in a riot over there.

Things are going great out here and the work is growing. We have been focusing on Sacrament meeting and yesterday went great. Now we are consistently getting about 60 people every week, up from 25 and we are working hard to reach our goal of 100 this transfer. We are seeing so many miracles as the less active members are coming back and getting callings and becoming more involved. I just realized that my companion goes home in a few weeks but he is working so hard we hardly talk about it. He is a good example to me and is truly helping me out to be a better missionary. We are still trying to reach our goal of baptizing 46 people more and I know the Lord will bless us with that desire as we try with all our might to find the Lords elect.

We had a Zone conference last week and I was asked to give a spiritual thought about excitement and truly loving the missionary work. For my spiritual thought I dressed up in my new Mexican cowboy clothes and I roll played as one of our investigators. Then some missionaries taught me a lesson without excitement and then they taught with excitement and there was a night and day difference between the first and second examples. When we share the gospel with excitement and a smile, more people want to listen and can see that the gospel truly means something to you. Like we say in our District, “If you can’t get excited about the Lord’s work, you might as well go home”.  Ensenar con Animo! Everybody loves that and laughs but it is so true, sometimes we get bogged down in all the little things and forget what a privilege it is to represent the Lord Jesus Christ and how important our message really is.  We got the missionaries pumped up and they are doing great work. McMinnville, one of the areas in our district is now teaching 20 lessons a week and doing a great job. Less hour’s tracting and more teaching lessons, now that’s what I like to see.

Well family, I have got to get going but I love you guys and I am loving being in the service of the Lord!!

Love,

Elder Payne

Happy Mother's Day!

May 14, 2012

Dear Family,

It was awesome getting to talk to you guys yesterday for Mother's day and it seems like everything is going great back at home.  I don't have to much time to write but I just wanted to tell you guys how much I love you.

Things are going great and I love this area. The missionary work is exploding and the members are working pretty hard. We are seeing more people in the Tuesday activities than we have ever seen and each week lots of the less actives are coming back! We have put all of our focus on church attendance and reaching our baptismal goals and as we center our prayers and work on these two things we are seeing miracles. We have had 70 plus in Sacrament meeting for four weeks in a row and our goal is for 100 in this transfer.

Last Sunday many of our investigators came to church and my companion and I had the opportunity to talk about our mothers. It was a great experience and I will never forget it. This week we have a Zone conference with the Spanish mission and I have been asked to give a spiritual thought about desire and excitement. I truly believe that one of the biggest parts to being an effective  missionary is showing your excitement to serve the Lord and urgency to get things done. I will try to give a good thought that will help the missionaries get pumped up about being in the service of the Lord.

Today for P-day we played the mission soccer game with the North vs. the South Zones and we won. We have most of the Latinos in the south Zone we also had the P family come so we kind of had the upper hand over los gabachos jajaj. I talked to my best friend Elder W and he told me that yesterday he talked to his parents and it’s a done deal, we are hitting up BYUI together after we get home.  He gets back in October and we will both plan on Winter Semester. His parents want to talk to you guys to get everything set up or something so we can be ready when we get back so I’ll be giving Elder W your cell number so we can ponernos de acuerdo.

I’m pretty pumped as every week in the mission is flying by and we are seeing miracles as we are leaving it all up to the Lord. I love it out here and I love the people! It sounds like my boys that are coming home from their missions are also having a great time and are ready to start things up when they get back. Life just goes way to fast and I’m just so glad we have the gospel.

 

I haven’t gotten any of the birthday packages from Heather or Alex yet and I don’t know if they got lost in the mail but who knows. I got your package and thanks for the beef jerky G! I love you guys and everything is going great. I love the Lord and I will pray for all of you as I know the Lord answers prayers. Chyeah!

 

Love,

Elder Payne

Pictures from Molalla and Canby Oregon!

Molalla, "La Tierra Prometida" The Promised Land!

Mayo 7, 2012

Dear Familia y Amigos,

Things are going great and this week was awesome. A ton of miracles happened and the Lord is answering our prayers. This Sunday the whole branch fasted for more unity and I could definitely feel the difference in church as there was a stronger presence of the spirit. There were a lot of people in church yesterday and we have set new goals to get the church attendance to 100 this transfer. I know we can do it through faith and hard work. The Lord has helped us out so much to this point and I know we are going to see some amazing miracles this transfer.

 

Thanks a lot for the letter, its sounds like everyone is doing great!!!!! As you know, the family is the most important unit that the Lord has given us. That is so awesome that my cousin Manuel is going on his mission, I love that kid!!!!!! Can you give me his address so I can hit him up and see how he is doing?

That makes me so happy that Alex graduated from the University of Utah with honors and I will definitely follow in her footsteps. She is a great example to me and the whole family. Thanks for the birthday package and I really liked the pen you sent. It lights up and I have been using it in a couple of lessons as a visual. I liked the beef jerky and mangos, protein bars and journal. The journal is pretty small but just what I need, thanks!!!!!! I got your package on Thursday and I was pretty pumped to open it up. About my birthday, it was awesome!!! All the members remembered and the R family gave me this sweet tie. At the Tuesday night activity where we study the scriptures, everyone sang happy birthday and I felt like a million bucks. The P family from Woodburn (my second family) called me and sang happy birthday to me over the phone ha-ha. All and all it was a great day and I will never forget it.

Well I’m super pumped as usual to be out here and everything is going great on the mission. Today I get to watch a Disney movie for the first time with the Zone because we reached out baptismal goal last month, CHYEAH!!!!!!! We are watching Tarzan and everyone in the district is super excited to watch the first non-church related movie on their missions! I’m not saying that church movies aren’t cool, just saying that this is something super new and we are ready to embrace it. G also told me that he added me on Facebook but you haven’t accepted the friend request, when you get some time could you accept that. I think that’s really cool how I will be able to maintain better contact with all the people that I love and have met on my mission.

Well, I don’t have too much time to write as I have got to write a couple other people but things are going great. I don’t know if I told you but we have a gym in our apartment complex so we are getting swollen every morning at 6am. It’s my goal to come back home like a rock and weighing 170lbs of pure muscle and tortillas, Chyeah!!!!!!! Right now I weigh 155 and I’m not too fat so I’m on my way, Chyeah. Well, I love you guys so much and I’m so glad to hear that everyone is doing well. I love the Lord and I love the mission!!!!!

 

Love,

Elder Payne

Happy Birthday in Molalla!

May 1, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s my birthday and I’m 21 years old and I’m pretty excited about that. My day has so far consisted of helping out my sick companion porque el tiene los chorros, Chyeah!!! He has been recovering from some bad carne asada that we ate a while ago ha-ha. I guess eating too much carne asada can take a toll on someone, even the Lords anointed. Well, yesterday my birthday dream was fulfilled as G and his mom took us to go eat at my favorite restaurant, “COSTCO”!!!!!!!!!!! CHYEAH. You know I got a piece of pizza and a very berry sundae. Right after we chowed down my companion started feeling pretty sick so we rolled back to the apartment and stayed there for the rest of the day. I spent the whole time cleaning the apartment, ordering things on my desk, so that’s why I didn’t right back yesterday! Then this morning he started feeling better through the healing power of the Priesthood and now we are rolling again.

I haven’t gotten anything in the mail yet but it’s all good, I’ll keep looking for the packages you sent me. Well I don’t have too much time to write this week because I have to respond to some other emails and thank people for the birthday wishes. You should send me a list next week of the people that wished me a happy birthday so I can be sure that people still remember that I’m still alive ha-ha. Just playing, but it would be cool to see that and write some people some hand written letters.

This week was so awesome I can’t explain it with words!!!!!! Every week is awesome and I’m just so glad to be in this area. Transfers came up and no one in the Spanish mission was transferred so next transfer we will see a ton of changes. Well I’m glad that no one in the district got switched out because we are like a brotherhood!!! For our district activity, instead of going bowling, playing basketball or something lame like that, we are going to the fields to pick fruit. Here in the branch one of the members told us that he would take us out with him to go picking strawberries and it’s time to show my boys how some of the Hispanics out here work. I heard picking strawberries is super hard and I want to have a competition to see who can pick the most fruit. I heard its super messy too so we might try to pick la Cherry or la Blueberry. It’s time to immerse ourselves in the Culture G. Some of the Hermanas have been teaching me how to wash dishes without using the dish washer. One of the Hermanas can wash like 50 dishes in less than a minute! I’m working my way up there and I’ll never use a dishwasher again, dishwashers are for the weak. Anyway, I am developing this talent so that my future wife will never have to wash the dishes.  But let’s be real, I don’t know how committed I am to this goal. We will see how good I get at it.

Yeah, I don’t need that ADD medicine anyway but it did help me to read more but I know with the help of the Lord I can reach my goal of reading the whole missionary library. I finished the Book of Mormon and now it’s time to get cracking on La Biblia! I’ll write mom a letter with some good testimonies about how moms rule, I’ll even make it a district meeting activity and I’ll send the Elder’s thoughts to her. Dang, I just thought of that but I think it will turn out pretty good! It will help us appreciate our Mom’s and help Mom with her talk on Mother’s Day too!

Well I have got to get going but I love you guys and I’m loving life. I see miracles daily and I’m sending home my latest journal soon because it’s about full. I love being out here and my companion is the man. I love the feeling of testifying of the truthfulness of the Gospel and knowing that what I’m saying is the truth and the way that Christ intends for us to come closer to him.

Love,

Elder Payne

Summer in Oregon!

April 23, 2012

 

Dear Family,

We have had another amazing week in the promised land of Molalla. Finally the summer has come and the weather is awesome. It’s like 84 degrees outside and I’m pretty pumped for this summer. I got some good news that will help me for the rest of my future to man up and trust in the Lord more. I stopped taking my ADD medicine as I went for a check up to see how it was affecting my heart and the Doctor told me I needed to stop immediately. I asked him if there was any other medicine or alternatives that I could use to help me focus better and he just told me to except the fact that it was going to be harder in life for me to concentrate. Almost all of the ADD medicines are stimulants and they seem to be messing my heart up so I stopped taking them. It’s all good because I prayed about it and I know with the Lords help he will help me to achieve my goals and do what I need to do in the future. I liked it because the Doctor I saw was a guy from Argentina and he spoke to me in Castellano. Anyway I thought it was a pretty cool experience and I was only on the medicine for like 2 months. It helped me out but it’s not worth jacking my heart up or getting a heart attack.

 
Well, other than that this week has been awesome!!!! The members are doing a great job of being missionaries and they are all inviting their friends and families to the activities. We went to the temple with a group of members and went to go see the new visitor’s center that they just built. That is a great missionary tool and the spirit was so strong there. I love this place as the members are so Christ-like and willing to help out in any way they can. One of the Hermanas bought a new house that needs a ton of remodeling done. All the Hermanos got together on Saturday and we replaced her roof. It was awesome as everyone had some experience working with construction or carpentry or you name it so it all came together pretty well. At first I was a little scared up on the roof there because I didn’t want to fall but after a little while I got the hang out it!!!!!

We had a great Sunday as well and the lord is truly blessing this area. It’s like a big family here and because the Branch is in the beginning stages of growth, everyone is willing to do extra work. We had the baptism of M R, G's brother, yesterday and it was awesome. A ton of people showed up and it was a great experience. Everything ran really smooth and after the baptism everyone went to the R’s house to eat Carne asada, my favorite!!!!!!! It was a great time for us to meet all of their family and friends and we were able to teach a lesson to some of the youth there about building their foundation upon the rock which is Jesus Christ, Heleman 5:12. After that lesson, I went outside to the backyard to talk to some of the adults that were platicando (chatting). I sat down next to this one guy that was the father of the kids we just shared a message with. We ended up talking about the church and how we could follow our savior Jesus Christ. In the middle of our conversation he stopped and said, hey I talked to you a long time ago in Megafoods in Woodburn didn’t I, pero en Castellano. I sat back for a minute and then realized that I had talked to him in Megafoods, our supermarket in my last area  like 3 months ago while I was serving with Elder B. I remembered that we had just started talking in the fruit aisle and then I invited him to learn more but he told me he lived in another town so I just gave him our card. Then 3 months later I was chilling with him in G's backyard talking to him about the gospel. I didn’t notice until then but the guy was G’s uncle and was pretty close with their family. I knew this wasn’t coincidence so I invited him to be baptized when he knew what we taught was true. He accepted the invitation and said we could come by later in the week to share a message about Jesus Christ. It was pretty interesting to see how the Lord works in mysterious ways and I’m just glad to be serving in a place not to far from Woodburn so I could have this experience ha-ha. I know that the Lord prepares people to hear the gospel and we will help this guy and his family the best we can to come unto Christ.

Well, I love being a missionary and it kind of stinks to think that it’s almost over. I don’t think about it to much to be honest so it’s all good. I know my birthday is coming up on May 1st and I don’t really need anything. I need another journal but I can buy that here at Deseret book. I need some more ink for my Bill Blass pens so if you could buy me some more that would be cool. I also need some more razors as I ran out of the Gillette Fusion Cadillac of all razors you got me. Other than that I’m all good, you can think of other things if you want but I think that’s all, thanks for asking!!!!!! Chyeah!!!! I really just want Carne Asada for my birthday and I have already dropped the hint about that to some of the Hermanas so I hope my wish comes true!

Well guys the missionary work is on fire here. We haven’t reached our goal of baptizing 50 people but through heavenly fathers blessings we have been able to have a baptismal service every week this month. Yesterday, little M R was baptized and it was a great experience for the whole family. A lot of investigators showed up and D, a mother of 5 boys was there. After the baptism, the kids ran up to me and asked if they could be baptized as well. I was pretty pumped about it and we will have to work with the mom a little bit more before we can baptize her kids. We are seeing miracles as people are inviting their friends and family to church and the church attendance is growing every week. I am so grateful for heavenly father answering our prayers and even though we weren’t able to baptize 50 this month, I know that it is still an achievable goal. We will continue with this goal and I know through a lot of hard work, prayer, fasting and faith in the Savior Jesus Christ, we will be able to bring those that have been prepared into the fold of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful to witness the many miracles that happen every day and more importantly to have gained a complete knowledge that Christ lives, that he is my Savior, that this is his work and I have been called to bring this message to others.

My companionship is going awesome. Elder T is a great missionary and I know he is a hard worker. He helps me when I need to get pumped when I get down and we have the exact same goals in mind, to invite others unto Christ through baptism. We aren’t perfect and I know I need to work on a lot of things but we are doing great.

I have a great Mission President and am  grateful for his example. We just had one of the best Zone conferences I have been to on my mission. We got so pumped up to work harder and get the area book into good shape. We learned about  the importance of a name from Heleman 5. That’s helped me to further think about who I represent and how it is a great privilege to wear the Lords nametag for 2 years!

Well I love you guys so much and I hope you have a great week. I love being a missionary and I’m so grateful to be here in Oregon serving the Master. I know this church is true and that Jose Smith fue un profeta. I’m grateful to be a Latter-day Saint! Chyeah!

Love,

Elder Payne

Mas Milagros en Molalla!

April 16, 2012

Dear Family and friends,

I am eternally grateful for all the wonderful blessings that are happening here in the little branch and area I have been called to serve in. Like last week, countless miracles have happened and again I will not have enough time to share them but I’m keeping them all in my journal so I won’t forget!! I’ll be sending that home soon as I am almost out of pages to write in it. I thought it would be my last journal of the mission but with all the amazing blessings and miracles that I am seeing I think I’m going to need a couple more. Thanks for all of your prayers and I know that the Lord is there listening to our countless suplicas. It’s also good to hear that the family is doing fine and well!! I want to write everyone a little but as you know on P-days, you don’t have that much time to rest.

I like how you’re listening to General Conferences in the car back and forth to work each day. That’s what we do out here as we ride in the car or study at home. I love General Conference and I wish we had them more often ha-ha. I’m so glad to hear about the success that you are having in the Cherokee Rama there. It makes me happy to know that the Lords work is the same everywhere you go and everyone has the same common goal, eternal life and returning to live with our Heavenly Father. Time is flying by super fast out here and my first transfer in Canby is almost over. We only have one district meeting left and we have all had a blast. The District is on fire as they all have had or will have a baptism in the month of April. The Lord is truly blessing the mission and the people of Oregon and it is the best time to be a missionary and servant in His vineyard. Well, I’ll give you the highlights of what happened this week so you kind of get the feel about what’s going on in the small town of Molalla. Let’s just say the Lord is helping us to reach our goals that we have set with faith!!!!!

One night we received a referral for a guy who has been less active for about 5 years but all of a sudden has felt the desire to come back to church. We went to go see him and he was really a sincere guy. B is the man and he used to be a Branch President in Washington back in the day! He is going to be a huge help to the Branch and helping it grow as he has a lot of friends that are interested in hearing about the gospel! He came to the activity we have every Tuesday night and was fellowshipped there. At the activity we had 30 people there and that’s the most we have ever had before. The members are catching on fire and are really missionary minded. The activity was awesome and all the Hermanos went crazy as we decided to play basketball but most of them had never played before. It was a pretty dangerous game as there were fouls left and right but the important thing is that Los hermanos had a great time.

Los Jovenes (The Youth) of the Church are catching fire as their mind set about doing missionary work has been changing too. We have had to convince these kids that being a missionary is awesome but they just told us that it was boring. At first they didn’t want to come out with us but after finally convincing a couple of them and getting them to check it out, they think it’s pretty cool. We are getting a lot of the youth pumped up about serving and its pretty sweet. I wish I had gone out more with the missionaries before my mission but I honestly thought the same thing they did. Once we get these kids out and seeing what the service of the Lord is all about, they will have a greater desire to prepare and eventually serve. G is a work horse and goes out with us almost every day. He studies with us sometimes in the morning and he will be way ahead when he enters the MTC soon.

We went to the temple this week and it was an awesome experience. The Portland Temple now has a visitor’s center there and I hear its 1 of only 15 in the world. You already know that we are trying to get everyone in the Branch to go to the temple so they can feel the spirit there in the house of the Lord. I also got a chance to see my best friend Elder Weyburn who is the Zone Leader in the North. We reminisced about old times on the coast while we served together. We talked about going to BYU Idaho and how it was where we needed to be. I’m thinking about going in after Christmas, I think that’s the winter semester but I’m not sure. I could come back home and go to Chile for a while, work and get everything together so I can rock out at school. Those are my thoughts right now but I will still have to give it some good thought and see what the Lord wants. Who knows, maybe I need to go right to school and get married and start my family and kids and complete my priesthood duty lo mas pronto posible. Ill pray about it, but up to this point that’s what I’m thinking.

This Sunday was amazing!!!!!! It was probably one of the best Sundays I have had on my mission but I’m not going to discriminate against the other Sundays because they have all been good but I’m just trying to express that it was an amazing Sabbath day. When we walked into the church for our early meetings, I saw my boy B just chillin on the coach in the foyer reading his scriptures. He was reading the scriptures and was suited up in a nice 3 piece (it might have been 2). Let’s just say B looked fresh and that he was ready for Church.  Sacrament meeting was awesome as we blessed the baby and kids of one of the less active members in the branch. It was awesome to stand in the circle with all my Hispanic brethren that hold the holy priesthood. G's younger brother blessed the sacrament for the first time and did an awesome job. We had many of our investigators come to church and the place was packed!!! I have never seen so many people in church since I got here and during sacrament one of the trays ran out of water. David (one of the deacons) later told me that he was shocked as that has never happened before. It was a great sacrament meeting and there were 75 people that showed up to church. The Lord has truly been blessing us with these miracles as when I got here we had 25 in church but yesterday we reached 75. Our goal to double the attendance in Sacrament meeting has been met by the Lord and actually tripled.  I know that through the faith of all in the Branch and the hard work a lot of new faces and old ones are coming back. Presidente E was super pumped as he said that 75 is the most they have ever had. It was great and everyone was super excited to see the fruits of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and hard work.

I really can see the Lords hand 100 percent in this part of his vineyard. Also another miracle happened as one of our investigators named T acted upon her faith and was baptized right after church! T lives with some members and made the decision to be baptized to follow her Savior. It was an awesome baptismal service and our mission President and Sister M also showed up. The relief society room was so packed that people had to stand outside in the hall. It was truly a beautiful sight to see Hermano G baptize T and I know that the Lord is truly blessing this family.

I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the amazing things that are happening and I know that all these things are only possible through the power of God. I think a lot about ether 12:14 as it talks about through the faith of his servants and his saints, miracles can come to pass. In the beginning of my mission I did not understand how my faith in Jesus Christ could help someone change as we all have free agency. Now I have come to understand that through faith, prayer, invitation, love, support, and work, we can help our brothers and sisters understand that this is the path they must take to return to their Heavenly Father. We are not taking away their agency but teaching them correct principles and then the spirit testifies to them that these things are true. I have also learned that in order to be baptized, it doesn’t take months or years of preparation but simply a desire to keep Gods commandments and follow Jesus Christ. I love the scripture in Alma 32:16 and I know it is true. I know God lives and through our faith in Jesus Christ we can accomplish miracles and do the Fathers will. I am grateful to be a missionary and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. I love you guys and thanks for your support and love. Keep on keepin on and I’ll talk to you next week.

Love,

Elder Payne

Milagros in Molalla!

April 9, 2012

Dear Family,
 

Wow family, I’m so pumped, I don’t think I have ever had a week more packed with spiritual experiences, opportunities to serve, miracles and seeing the Lords hand revealed. I know the Lord is answering our prayers as we are trying to work as hard as we can and we are seeing the fruits of our labor. I won’t be able to tell you about all the things that happened this week but I will try. Well you all know about the goals we set for the month of April, we want to double the church attendance and help 50 people enter the waters of baptism. Well the whole branch is pumped and ready to help us achieve our goals! First miracle, E G and her son I were baptized on Tuesday and it is an amazing story. I’ll give you a quick scoop as I have a lot to talk about. Elisa has been investigating the church for almost two years and every time she has gotten close to being baptized something bad always happened to her so she canceled the date. We stopped by the Branch Presidents house Monday night and she was there talking with the family. I had never taught her before but we asked her if we could share a spiritual thought. We shared a scripture and ended up talking about baptism. She explained to us that her life was rough and every time she got close to being baptized, something happened. We felt the impression to exercise our Priesthood and offered to give her a blessing. After the blessing she left as she had to go do something. Later that night we got a call from our Branch President saying that E came back to  his home and she wanted to get baptized the very next day. We gave her the interview and she was baptized Tuesday night with her 8 year old son and since her baptism she has never looked happier.

Another miracle is that I went on exchanges with one of the companionships in our district. We went to teach a girl that has been investigating the church for about a year but hasn’t been able to be baptized because her dad won’t give her permission (she is 12). We testified to her that if she prays before talking to her Dad and if she bares her testimony, he will give her permission. We left that appointment and later that night she called us telling us that her father finally gave her permission and she can be baptized. She was baptized on Saturday and the Elders in Mactown are pretty pumped. There are a lot more tender mercies that happened with this experience but I will have to tell you in the future. I know that the Lord is hearing our prayers and answering us through our faith in Jesus Christ. The District scripture for this transfer is Ether 12:14 “Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the change upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost” and I feel like this is coming to pass all around us.

Another amazing miracle that is happening is that Los Hermanos are pumped to come out with us. We had a member with us every day and almost all of our lessons are with a member present whether it’s with the youth of the Church like G, his brothers J or D, or Los Elderes de Israel. Los Hermanos are getting pumped up and they let us present our goals in Elders Quorum this Sunday. They are excited to come out with us as we explained to them that it will help us double the work we can do. Every Thursday and Friday night we have what’s called la noche misional. That’s where they meet with us and with Los Hermanos we do splits, Chyeah!! I know that all these amazing things are happening due to the Lords help and we are just his instruments. It’s like Alma says in Ch. 29, he is just grateful to be able to preach the gospel and so am I. By setting these big goals, we have been able to focus on our mission and we understand that we can’t waste any time. I know that it is my duty to share the gospel of the Lord and invite all to be baptized so they can follow the example of the Savior and be saved.

Now even though we have seen so many blessings this week, something tragic happened as well. There was the death of one of the members in the Branch. B S, she was only 14 years old and it was really tragic and sad. Everyone from the community came together to support the S family as it has been a hard thing for them at this time. She passed away on Wednesday and we were there to help out in any way we could. Having the knowledge of the atonement of Jesus Christ helps us to know that we will live after this life. We know that this life is just a time to prepare to meet God and learn from our choices and decisions. Yesterday they had the viewing and they had a Misa tambien because some of the families are Catholic. The family owns a huge business in town and has a huge barn where they held the viewing. About 500 family and friends showed up for the viewing from Washington, Mexico, California and locally. As we showed up to the viewing, we were asked to stand next to the casket while people walked by to make sure no one touched the body or threw holy water on her.

Her Tio G told me that she would have wanted the Elders to be right next to her and said that we meant a lot to her. At that time I was able to further understand the importance of my calling as a representative of Jesus Christ. We stood there for almost the whole night as people walked by to see her. Then today she was buried and it was done by the Catholic Priest. There were so many people there and it was good to see how many people were there to support the family. When the Priest was finished with his service we all gathered around the coffin with the people that were there and through the power of the Melchezidek Priesthood, we dedicated the grave that it would be a peaceful place and protected until the resurrection. It was a truly powerful experience as the Spirit testified to me again that this was real, that life will go on after death and the Savior will come again.

Well family, I’ve talked a lot but I haven’t even been able to explain half of the things that have happened this week. I have come to know that through true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, working hard, being willing to do whatever is necessary, miracles can happen. Please pray for the S family. I love you guys so much and I hope you have a good week. I know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ and if we want to follow him we must keep his commandments and live his gospel.

The atonement is real and can heal anything as our Savior has already paid the price. I’m grateful for the things I have learned this week as it has helped me to appreciate everyday and everything the Lord has blessed me with. Thanks for your prayers and know that I’m praying for you guys too.

 

Love,

 

Elder Payne

On Fire in Canby!

April 2, 2012

Dear Family,

I don’t think I’ll be able to explain to you guys in this letter about all the amazing experiences that I am having in this area but I’ll try to give you a good recap. I have been so busy in the mornings recording all of the miracles that are happening in my journal so I’ll probably be sending you a another journal pretty soon ha-ha. This week has been amazing and my boy Elder T and I were able to reach many of our goals. We are like one as we think the same and are willing to do anything to do the Lords will. We have set some pretty high goals for the month of April but we have faith that the Lord will help us to complete them and more than that we will have to work harder than ever. I’ll talk more about the goals, district and plan of action on how to achieve these things in my letter to President M but I know this is going to require some major trabajo (work).

General Conference was sweet and I learned so much. I received the prompting that I will need to write my testimony to a lot of my friends and family and really let them know how I feel about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and all that I desire is there happiness and salvation. I loved the message from Elder Holland as he is a G and also the talk by President Thomas S. Monson in the morning session on Sunday. Priesthood session was great and it’s time to get the members out to save the lost sheep. We are so pumped out here in my area to work with the members and get these people back, Chyeah!!!!!! This weekend we were running around everywhere as we wanted to watch the conference with all of our investigators and families that are progressing. Saturday morning we watched conference at the R house and made waffles for everyone before the session started. We basically invited all of the youth over to watch the first session and made them breakfast to get everyone excited about it. Our investigator T showed up and the G family. It was awesome to see the youth all gathered around to hear a prophets voice. We had a lot of people there and it was really fun. The second session we watched with the S family and there we tried to help the little kids to pay attention ha-ha. On Sunday we went around in the morning reminding people of conference before and that was pretty successful ha-ha. The last session on Sunday we had our investigator D show up with his brother to watch it at the Presidents house. We then talked about baptism and D’s little brother committed to being baptized too. The Branch President then went to the visitor’s center with them and we went to make some more visits! All in all it was a super good conference but I do have to admit I didn’t get too much out of a lot of talks as I was trying to make sure everyone else was listening and paying attention ha-ha.

You heard about my boy G and how he just decided to go on a mission last week? This kid is on fire!!!! He has come out with us every day this week and went to all 5 sessions of conference with us. He has helped us out a ton and he is definitely going to be a big contributor to changing the missionary work here and getting a lot of his less active relatives to come back to the fold. He is the man and I’m glad he is so willing to help us out.

Well district meetings are going awesome and everyone is coming out of their shells. Like I said, my goal for the District is that everyone is just pumped and excited to be a missionary and through that conviction they will be able to share their testimonies and feelings with more sincerity letting the Holy Ghost work through them. One of my boys Elder A had the training and practice assignment about how we can teach even though there are distractions during lessons. To prove his point and help us to improve, we went to the gym in the church and while I tried to teach a principle, one of the missionaries had to hit a piñata in the background while wearing a blind fold. Now that’s what I’m talking about, let’s think outside the box, Chyeah. Things are going great and I’ll send the rest of what’s going on here in my letter to the President! I know this church is true and I will testify of the truthfulness of the restoration until the day I die, and then afterward as well.

Love,

Elder Payne

Dear President M,

Well this week has been amazing and we have seen miracles due to our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and our willingness to find the elect. My boy Elder T and I were able to reach many of our goals. We are like one as we think the same way  and we are willing to do anything to do the Lords will. We have set some very high goals for the month of April but we have faith that the Lord will help us to complete them.

We also understand and know that we will have to work harder than ever. It is our goal this transfer to double the church attendance of the branch by reactivating all the less active members. We have also set the goal this month to baptize 50 people!!!! I know that this is a pretty high goal but I KNOW, that we can do it. The Lord has been preparing this area for some great things and there is no reason why we cannot reach this goal.

We have already set 6 baptismal dates in the last three days with part member families and people that the Lord has put in our path!! I know this is a big goal but with all goals it requires greater faith, more planning, and more hard work. We are completely willing to do whatever it takes to find 25 new investigators this week and invite them to be baptized on the 29th of April. We have 6 that have committed already and I know that they will make it and be baptized. We have 2 Sundays to find these people and get them to go to church. We have expressed these desires to our Heavenly Father and have received inspiration and revelation on how we can reach these goals. We have decided that our P-days should be spent with the members, less actives and investigators so we can further develop relationships with them. We will take them to the temple or do wholesome recreational activities so they can feel the fire we have for growing the Branch!

We know that it is nearly impossible to teach 50 lessons a week just with two missionaries so we have set apart two nights a week with the branch where we will go on splits with the members so we can double our work. We know that service is super important and that instead of just doing it by ourselves we should involve the youth. We have already seen the fruits of working with the youth and members to get them pumped up and excited about the gospel. From setting these high goals this month I have come to realize that the only true way to baptize more or reach higher goals is to use all the assets that we have around us and work smarter. Two missionaries can be powerful but if they do not use their ward or branch, they won’t be able to achieve the full potential that they can in the area. That is what I have realized at this time in my mission and now it is time to get crackin.

We have been telling all the members about our goals to double the church attendance and baptize 50 people. They are responding with great enthusiasm and have a greater desire to help us achieve our goals; they thank us for working hard and want to know what they can do to help out. I think we have started something exciting here and know it’s just time to carry it out. We will pray and fast to have the guidance of the Lord but I am certain that there will be some major grow in this Branch this month and the Lord has and will bless the Saints. Well President M, this is my goal and my vision, the District is doing great and everyone is 100% obedient and willing to serve the Lord. I love being a missionary, keep us in your prayers and I just hope and pray that we can achieve these goals we have set!

Love,

Elder Payne