#6 Hey Family!!

This week has been a great week for me! I have less than two weeks in the MTC and I am getting nervous for the field! But more excited, We have been doing a lot of teaching lately. Every single day actually! Our teacher acts like our Progressive Investigator and we have to teach him everyday. He dropped us last night because he was bored while we were teaching. It was pretty funny but a great learning lesson. We learned that we need to involve him a lot more and to not be so boring. We need to tell him why he needs this in his life. It's pretty hard sometimes. But when you don't think about yourself it just comes to you. I had the most spiritual experience of the MTC last week when I contacted my teacher and he told that the spirit stabbed his heart, he told me that he felt that God was talking to him personally through me! I had never thought that anything like that could ever happen. It was something that helpled me so much and knowing that this is where I am suppose to be and those moments are what I want more of. I really do love this misson. I have been thinking a lot about the people in Argentina and the people Heavenly Father is preparing for me right now. It makes me kinda scared knowing that they are prepared for me, I just hope I am prepared for them. I have been studying a lot about prayer lately. Have you ever asked yourself why we pray? It may seem like an easy question. To talk with our father in Heaven. But think about all the people that have never prayed and have had good lives. It's something I need to study lots more on this week and find out exactly why we need to pray. I am so excited for General Conference this week, we have no classes on saturday so we just watch it all day. I am excited. I know that when the aposotles and the prophet our talking its God talking. I never have thought of it that way. So I'm stoked to listen with knowing that! I hope all is amazing back home and everyone is striving to be better. I know I am not even close to perfect but I know that we are't suppose to be yet. It's all a learning experience. I love you all!
 
 
I hope you all have a great week!
Love and miss you.
 
Elder Payton

Hello Everyone!

How are all of you? This week was so much fun, I taugh in spanish this week. It was so cool knowing that I can talk in a different language. haha a real language not the ones I used to make up. I had no idea how powerful the gift of tongues is. I still had problems but I said what I needed to. I did the whole story on Jospeh Smith is spanish and the first vision. It's awesome looking right into the investigators eye and sharing that story of our prophet Joseph Smith. The devotional for tonight I will sit right in the front of the bleachers so look for me if you watch. I love the devotionals. I love to sing. I found my favorite hymn in spanish it's called secreta oracion. It's so good. I'll sing a solo for you when i'm back. Every sunday we talk to our Branch Council and just tell him how our week goes. This week was the best experience with me. He told me as we sat down that he can look in my eye and say that I am going to be a great missionary and change peoples life. I don't know how he does it. Well I do. From the Lord. But knowing that he can see it makes me want to work harder and harder each day. I love being here. We have less than a month left in the MTC. It's gone by so fast. In class we talked about how as missionaries we shouldn't be scared going into bad neighbor hoods and such. The only thing we should be scared of is beind disobedient. I have learned so much that the little things in life that the lord expects of you are the most important. It's a test to everyone to see if they are willing to give things up to do the little the lord asks each day. Just the little rules that us as humans don't understand why. Heavenly Father knows why and that's all we need to know. We need to do all the little things, because that is what he wants us to do. He will bless us more than we can think. I am growing into the person I want to be for the rest of my life. This decision is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I know it is going to be the hardest but the most rewarding part of my life. The rest of my life will be determined on how I do on my mission. I know that to be true. If you put your full effort in everything will be good. I am starting my first progressive investigator this week. Teaching is the best part of the MTC I think. It puts you in situtaions and positions that you will be in during the field. I think about all you every single day and pray for you. I miss you all so much. I am hoping this week the devotional will be an apostle. Its bound to happen. It's been way to long since one has come. I hope it is. I went to the temple today for endownment. I love it. I think my favorite to do is sealings. Just becuase everytime I am in there I picture the kid running to their parents in my head and the smile on their faces makes me so happy knowing that we can all live together again. I am reading in jacob of how strong your family's need to be. I know by your decision to marry Pete, mom was the best decision. Pete was that example to me. Of someone who would do anything for their family. I am so grateful for that choice. It blessed me more than I ever thought. I read in Jacob chapter 3 I think of how the father is the example to the children. Pete was that for me. Even though he is a goon berry most the time He knows how to love, support, and lead by example. I love that. The friendships I am making here are eternal. This is the happiest place I have been, beside the temple. I love YOU all.
 
Oh so I guess in Argentina while I am there it's the copa america tournament.!!!!!! So sick huh? I can't wait

#4 Buenos Dias, Esta Dia es Bonita.

This week has been so much fun for me. We are half way done in the MTC. I've been gone a month. Longest I've ever been gone from home. But I do feel at home here. I CANNOT BELIEVE I SAW YOU AND ABBY ON SUNDAY!!! It was funny, so we were all crossing the street and I look over and see a black car and I was like to mi Compeñero if that license plate says 108 PEN on it or something like that It´s my family. So as the car was getting closer and I read 108 my heart jumped. I was so excited. I had no idea what to do though. I was nervous. But the joy I saw from Abby made everything feel so good. The smile on her face brought me peace and comfort. You both looked so happy and amazing. That wasn´t all Right after I saw you both Madeleine drove by. It was crazy. Then she drove by again. And she stopped by the fence. and We talked for a little bit. I had nothing to say. I was so happy and words woulnd´t come out of my mouth. All I could do was sit there and smile. It was such a blessing to see everyone. And to see the joy you all had. It made everything I am going through so worth it. I love this work. Thank you for sending me the ABC´s to missionary work it helps me so much. This week has been pretty crazy. To be honest I dont know what happens each day. The days seem somewhat of the same to me. Usually the same schedule everyday. But one day I do remember is the day Mi maestro Hermano B. was teaching us and he said. "The lord puts up walls in front of us, so we can reach them and get over them". That hit me hard. The times in our family that have been tough and things happen that we don't know why. It's becuase the lord is testing our faith. God doesn't give us trials that we can't overcome. That's what I have learned here in the MTC. You can overcome anything with the Lord by your side. It's such a blessing as members of the church to know that. I start teaching is espanol starting on monday. It's going to be hard and there are going to be times where i'm just going to be so down on myself. I know it. But Work is what get's us through it. If you do your part and WORK the lord will help you. Yesterday in our distrcit we all talked in spanish to one another for a good half hour. It was our first time doing it. It was powerful. Knowing that we can understand and have conversations in another language was so cool to me. I bore my testimony to my district of how I felt after that experience. I told them I felt power in that room and love. It was Awesome. I know how true this church is. Before I came here I knew but I didn't know everything. I can tell you the work that this church does is incredible. The truth of the Book Of Mormon. The love from our Heavenly Father. He Loves all his children. Then plan he has for each and every one of us. The sacrifice Jesu Cristo made for each individual person makes me so happy but sad knowing that I put him through pain. I know that he did that for us. I Know and testify that this is true. My mejor amigo Elder Klaasen and I usually every night go and do front flips on the grass before we go to bed. It is so fun. Funny Story. So you all know that I pee ALOT. everynight I have to go usually at 2-4 in the morning. It's the worst. but this one night, I wake up to go and I walk into the Bathroom and Elder Klaasen is in there to going to the bathroom. I am exhausted when I go in there. He told me I looked so funny with my onsie on and I had these slippers. After we both went we just laughed because we thought it was so funny. Sometimes you just laugh for no reason here because you don't know what is really funny anymore. I dont know if that was funny to you. haha but it was. I miss you all so much. I love you and hope you know that the lord is there for you. Call upon him with a sincere heart and he will help you. Have faith in him. Faith is hope in something you can't see but know is true.! that is so important.

I love you all!

Elder Payton.

#3 Hola!!

What a week! I dont know where to start. I know I say this everytime but I do love being here. It's such a blessing to have this opportunity to serve the lord and follow his example, and share that example with others who are waiting to recieve it. Our schedule is the same everyweek so im starting to get use to where I am suppose to be and what I am suppose to be doing. It's been a difficult week with our district. We had one elder who went home last week. It was the hardest thing to deal with. I look up to him so much. He is such a good example and such a great elder for doing what he had to do. The MTC is hard. Then this week two more Elders in our district leave for the Dominican Republic MTC. Our  district is soon going to be down to 5. It's not going to be the same. You grow to love the people in the MTC so quickly. I heard a story of an apostle who drove down to the MTC and said he saw angels protecting the boundaries. I thought that was the coolest thing I heard that day. It reminded me kindof of Harry Potter in a way. But good angels not the scary ones protecting Hogwarts. I am learning spanish pretty quickly. I will write you in spanish one of these times when I know exactly what I am saying. Today I went to the temple to do a sealing. I absolutely loved it. It was such an amazing feeling in that sealing room. I acted as a child to be sealed to his parents. Let me tell you I was shaking. The work that goes on in the temple is so sacred and special. I feel so blessed to have that chance. I love doing laundry. I love the smell of downy. haha. I sometimes just smell my G's after I wash them and soak in the scent. I'm craving chips and lots of them. and pretzels. So whoever reads this email feel free. I miss you all so much and am so grateful for the support I recieve from all of you. We taught the second lesson yesterday. The plan of salvation. It was the most comfortabale I had ever felt teaching. We taught a middle aged woman. I didn't know if we got her to cry or if she was just sick. But I know that the spirtit was helping my Compenero and I during that discussion. In our last devotional the speaker said. How do you know if it's the holy ghost or just you speaking. He told us to quit worrying about it. It seems so simple but that advice makes it so much better. Being around so many powerful testimonies and thoughts has helpled me throughout this experience. I am almost half wasy done in the MTC. It's been so much fun. I always wake up happy and ready to go. I saw Elder Saquibo. Im so proud of him. He is going to do so good. 3 Nephi chapter 11 is such a powerful chapter. We always ask our investigators to read that as a committment. After the read that and pray about it they will recieve an answer. I hope you all have a great week!!

I love you all so much!

Elder Payton.