September 16, 2013

Hey Dad,

      Well this area has been a lot of work but we have been having break throughs this week. Some words from your email stuck in my head, it’s so funny that even after talking with hundreds of people and all of them saying no, it can be the next person that says yes who changes it all. This week we started teaching an English class in our chapel and a member invited a random girl on the street to go, and after we got her address, taught her family, went back and the family invited two other people and they all accepted baptism on the 29th! It was such a miracle that all of the sudden we have seven baptisms marked and ready to go and ever since people have just been asking to pass by and things are really starting to roll on here. 

     I feel like I really am understanding so much more about faith now, we never complained about anything our time here we just kept working and we know that we will be able to accomplish our goal of 8 baptisms in the next three weeks before the transfer ends. It has just been miracles this week and plenty of good things happening. 

     We also had our stake conference, and the area president of Brasil and our mission president were there. It was pretty cool, and the family of investigators enjoyed it a lot. And it was a week of plenty of adventures also. On Friday the mission president’s wife called us and said that the area president’s wife might want to visit some of the houses of the missionaries. Uh oh, so we cleaned Friday night and Saturday morning and our house was super clean, but we had a lot of full garbage bags and the garbage truck doesn’t pass until today. Ha-ha so Elder Vianna threw the garbage on our roof so they wouldn’t see it if they came, and he threw one bad so it was visible, so I climbed a wall, in my church clothes, got up on the roof and arranged our garbage bags. Man it was so funny, and luckily the area president’s wife didn’t come at all. It was a missionary moment that I won’t forget, I felt a little like the Best Two Years when they find out that the president was coming to their house so they cleaned super-fast. Ha-ha it was really fun.
     Then Saturday, a family from my old area called me and said that they were close by in a super market. So we went there and talked with them, and then all of the sudden members from another area that Vianna passed in were there. So we were both super happy and it was so great to see them. When we were leaving they gave us a ride to our house and dropped off about a hundred dollars in groceries for us. I couldn’t even believe it, I was so happy and wanted to hug them all. I really miss them and for sure will choose to go back to that area before I leave the mish. 

     The week went really well Dad, but I am really stressing about the zone itself. We got a lot of dead missionaries who just say that the area is bad and don’t put up a fight. I have gotten tired of hearing it. I have realized that most missionaries here have just given the excuse instead of giving the resolution and the commitment to do better next week. Elder Vianna and I almost had it out yesterday with an elder. President shows the zone leaders the numbers of that each area got every week. They are color coded and for the most part every zone is doing well except for ours. Almost every number was red in our zone. I don’t quite know what to do to inspire them dad, but I am getting stressed out with what president is thinking? I know he sent me here to help out with the life here in the zone and I want to give him results. Better yet, I want to give the Lord the results that He deserves and I want to help these missionaries reach their potential. 

     Well Dad, enough of that, I really miss you. I have a picture of you and Alaynna together and I always look at it before I go to bed. I am here for a lot of reasons Dad. The mission is the best thing ever, but I really hope that I can fulfill my patriarchal blessing when it says that I have incredible parents and that if I "will bless their names throughout the eternities". Dad, I am so honored to be your son, and to have the opportunity to call you my father. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to be able to look at your picture every night and to think about all the things you have taught me. The Lord has blessed me so much with such wonderful parents like you, and I know that I have no excuses to not give my best. I hope that one day Dad, I can truly bless your name and be considered a Paynter just like you and Grandpa and Dean are. I miss you dearly, and love you so much. There are many fonts of inspiration for me to work here, but you are the font which inspires me most. I love you so much Dad, have such a great week. 

Elder Paynter