September 29, 2014

Hey mom,

     This week was yet another blur. We have some great investigators and they are all weeping that I am going home soon. I hope we can get them baptized and on the Lord's path. 

     Well the young man wasn't baptized yet, but we are still working with him. The young mother went again to church and she is loving it. We brought a recent convert newlywed couple to her house to give her some friends. 

We really feel such great love from all the members here and I couldn't think of a better place to end the mission. On friday at about three in the afternoon, it got really dark because of the big rain clouds and it seemed like nighttime. It rained really hard and didn't stop. We had to go home to iron our clothes to dry them and we decided we were going to make cookies to give to our investigators to show our love for them. So we made six plates of cookies, and took two to some members who are so great to us and help us out a lot and four to our investigators. We wrote each one a letter to let them know how great the gospel is and how excited we are for them to receive the blessings of the Lord. 

     Sunday came around and President Perrotti came to the ward with his wife to speak. Later on at night we went to a fireside in the stake and yes, president spoke again. It was really cool though. Its really too bad that this wonderful time is coming to an end. I am excited to start working towards school and my own family some day, but I will really really miss the people here in Brazil. 

     It was a great week, and I am sorry I didn't have too much time to write. I also found out yesterday that we won’t go the temple anymore because we have our multi-zone conference. We are all pretty bummed, but I will still go with the other missionaries who will be leaving home with me. So at least I will get my last visit in. I cant wait to go with you and dad at our ward temple night the week I get back. 

     I hope you are having a wonderful week. I sure love you and miss you and will write you and talk to you next week. Next week is the last one!!!!!!! I love you so much!

Elder Paynter

September 22, 2014

Hey Mumsy,

I really liked your letter this week. Sounds like you all had such a wonderful time and that you guys sure are making good use of the cabin now. I am glad. 

I still remember that temple dedication when I was younger. I think it was the Nauvoo re dedication or something. But it was marvelous. I really miss the temple and can’t wait to go soon! Our zone is assigned for a temple session on october 7th. So excited, it will be the second time I have been to the temple after leaving the MTC. 

Saturday was wonderful time. I could not believe anything it was just so wonderful. He had always dreamt of going to England, and when I was teaching him he talked about he had thought about doing an exchanged student thing to work there. Little did he know we he had a different work coming up for him there. It was pretty cool. Its pretty crazy to hear a Brazillian getting his call out of South America. So we were all shocked, and even more surprised when we saw that it was London. He is a really valiant person, and he will work really hard, I am sure. I am just so excited for him. 

Well this week was just weird for a lot of the time. For some reason it was a little rough in the sense of numbers and such. The other companionship in the house said the same thing and we had no clue why. 

It finally rained a little bit here which was good. But we still need a whole lot more. We have been spending tons of time in the sun, and I will come back looking like a thanksgiving turkey with a fried red face. But we have been praying a lot lately to have lots of investigators who will understand the gospel and who will be able to partake of all of its blessings. And we have found some great people, even though it was a little rough this week. Hopefully we will have a baptism of a young man who has been going to church for 8 weeks now. We have tried so hard to get the permission of his mother to start teaching him, yesterday we grabbed a high councilman and showed up at her house unexpected and we got her permission. Everything is set, tomorrow we will start giving him the lessons. 

Yesterday, some other friends from another ward came and visited and it was so good to see them. We weren’t expecting too many investigators to show up either but we were really blessed and a single mother of two actually came. She packed up her young ones and walked to church. It was so cool to see people that are committed and wanting to receive the Lords blessings. 
     This week was literally a blur, and cant believe that one more passed already. It still feels like I have a few more months here on the mission and I think it will be kinda sad when it hits me. What a great place, with wonderful people. I will miss them all so much.  This work is wonderful, I am so glad and blessed by my mission.

I love you Mumsy!

August 11, 2014

            This week was pretty good. We worked really hard, like always, and then on Thursday we had interviews with presidente. We had a former missionary visit with us and he spoke a lot of great things that I was really needing to hear. It was a really good time and I had a lot of things to ponder and reflect on.

            We had a baptism on Saturday and it went really well. We are excited for the kid, and we have some great people coming up. Unfortunately I think we might stop teaching Adrianna and Leandro if they don’t go to church this next week. They still need to get married in the future also, and we just don’t want to waste our time on people that aren’t going to progress.

            Anyway yesterday was father’s day here in Brazil and it was a tearjerker. It was really great to see Kaique and his mother, I sure have missed them but unfortunately I never ever have time to just relax and talk with them. I am just always running around during church.

            But I have felt so close to the Savior recently and it has been a marvelous time at the end of the mission.  I never thought it would be like how it is. So much yet so little has happened. I can’t believe that soon enough I will step back into the world and worry about those things. I would much rather just focus on others lives for a while longer. I love the gospel so much, I am so grateful for the opportunity to hold the priesthood and to be able to act in the name of the Lord. I love my Savior and I am so grateful for my family and for Him.

            Love you all have a great week.

Elder Paynter

Kaique wrote:

I just want to thank you for everything you've done, I'm so proud for have an eternal friend like you bro! Brazil, me and my family will miss you tons when you go away to your home. Love you bro, don't you ever forget that.

July 28, 2014

Just a little taste of my life. 

Getting up early to workout with my old comp, 

and a little taste of favela life! Been wild.

 

Hey Mom,

Can I just say our family is gorgeous I love you all so much. It sounds like you all had a really pleasant week.

My week was also pretty good. We left with a young man that is getting ready to go on the mission, and we were able to help some less actives get back to church and we will hopefully be baptizing a young kid from that family this Sunday. 

We went on splits with the first counselor from the bishopric here. His son went into the MTC two weeks ago. It was cool to see how close he was with his son, and how excited he was to tell him about him going on divisions with us. I just kept thinking about how great it is to have such loving parents like you and dad who are so encouraging. I love you both so much.

Carol is doing well, she is progressing but her 26 year old cousin had a brain tumor that they discovered last week, did emergent surgery and he ended up dying after being in a coma. She was pretty beaten, and didn’t make it to church this last week. Some of the YSA's went and visited her after church and I think it helped a lot. 

The work here is just flying by. We are running from appointment to appointment and we are loving it. Time is flying by and hopefully next week we will finally have a baptism happening. There are lots of missionaries from this ward that are out in the field right now, and you see just how much they love their kids, and they treat us all so well. It reminded me of you mom, you are so loving and I just can’t thank you enough for everything. I love you so much mumsy, I hope you have a great week.

Elder Paynter

Hey Dad,

That was just the best letter. I wish I could show you just how much I love you. I feel like it’s exactly what I needed to hear. This last week I was walking on the street and I just felt like you were with me. I am so happy for your support and so grateful to hear about your mission. It means a lot to me dad. Thank you so very much. You always were my hero dad, and now that I am getting to know you better you are even more of my hero. I hope and pray that I can grow spiritually to one day be like you. I love you so much. I think it’s going to be a lot of tears when I get to see you again, they will be the most grateful tears of my life. 

It sounds like you had a pretty fun week with everyone. Full of adventures and good company. I sure am glad to see that our wonderful family is together. That’s great to hear about Nelson. Is she LDS? I hope he is happy. Isn’t it neat how there are so many new temples going up? I can’t believe they will have one in Rio de Janeiro. That has to be one super expensive temple. 

I got some great news today! Kaique got his papers in, they are in Salt Lake now. He had a mini MTC with his stake yesterday and he is on cloud nine, so excited for his call. I am so happy for him. I think of all the crap that we go through and when I hear from Kaique, it reminds me of how it’s all so very worth it. 

We threw down a lot of work this week. It was a good week number wise dad, and I think that we will be getting some baptisms this Sunday, and hopefully the next. My comp is a pretty dry guy, but I am liking him a lot and opening him up. He is teaching me a lot also. It’s been stressful, but I feel so blessed to be out here and to be able to finish my mission here. I hop that’s what happens anyways. It sounds like Kaique will be coming to visit my ward this next Sunday, it’s been a little tough because he has a ton of callings in his ward. But so glad to see he is firm. I bought my new suit last p-day. So the money you put in left the account now. Thanks a lot, I am really happy to have it. 

Well dad, I can’t thank you enough for the email and all your love and support. Can’t wait to see you again. It’s passing by really fast. Have a great week. I love you!

Elder Paynter

 

July 21, 2014

Well I was going to send some pictures I took this week but the computer is throwing a fit so it will have to wait. We had a pretty good week and we were able to get a family reactivated. They hadn’t been to church in 8 years and we got them to come this Sunday. I was really really happy about it.

On Saturday we had a ward party, and we went to church in the morning to help set up. Bishop asked me to run some errands with him, so we went on a division and we had a great time together. We went to this place where all the local farmers bring their goods and sell them to the big supermarkets. It was pretty dang cool. He took me to where he grew up and we ate some food at a little fair they have every Saturday. It was a really good time and I was able to learn a lot from him and his example. He is a great bishop, he really transmits the love that he has for everyone. 

At night we had the ward activity and it was a fun time, we ate tons of food and they had a tiny little hillbilly dance which is traditional here, me and one of the elders from the house danced and it was really funny. We had a good time and the members all laughed at us. 

Carol is a 20 year old girl we have been teaching for a while, she has been going to church for a while too but we don’t know how to help her feel the spirit and let it testify to her. She has been pretty tough. Her cousin died from brain cancer yesterday and she was crying a lot at church. I felt pretty useless because I didn’t know how to help her but I am so glad we have the gospel to guide us and comfort us enough to know that it isn’t the end. I am so grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and the comfort it brings. I am so grateful that we can change who we were yesterday into a better person today because of His sacrifice. I am so grateful for the mission and the things I am learning and have learned. I love you mom. I hope you have a great week!!!

Elder Paynter