Monday, January 29, 2018

Another 6 weeks in Epinal!

Bonjour à tous,

Well that's another transfer behind me, and we are both staying in Épinal!

Which is kind of convenient because we planned some things for Wednesday not realizing that if one of us moved, that whole day would be taken up. But it all worked out. 

In other news, we are still meeting with some super cool people! Their names are Bobby and Salome. They are still really cool. We have a lot to teach them before baptism, but we will get there. This week I hope to invite them to baptism, but we will see what the Spirit says. Today we had a fun day, we went shopping, realized that the next bus doesn't come for another 2 hours to get back. And went instead to lunch at a nearby restaurant called Flunch. It was pretty good! The only problem is the place is kinda far away. So it took up some travel time. But we got back.

Our amis came to church again on Sunday! They came late though because they thought it started at 10am. It's alright because they are just so awesome. We have another meeting with them this Thursday. 

I actually had a really cool personal experience I wanted to share that relates to them. I have been thinking a lot about what they need and how to best teach them. And my thoughts have been totally occupied with how we can teach them. On Sunday night, me and Elder Anderson wanted to watch some of the training video, District 2 by the church. So we were watching that, and about halfway through, elder Anderson had to go to the bathroom. So for a couple of minutes, I was alone. As I was walking into the hallway I stopped suddenly, mid step. And I felt something, like a small voice telling me to pray. So I said a quick prayer just asking my Heavenly Father to bless them and also to help me because I didn't know what to do. And I had a thought run through my heart that I hadn't thought of. It told me that I have been thinking of people more as teaching challenges instead of people. And that that is what has been holding me back. I expressed my gratitude and felt a quick surge of peace and emotion that left as soon as it came. I knew at that moment that the Spirit had spoken to my heart. And I vowed to myself to try my best to never do that again. And so, I am now trying to view people differently. 

It is easy to focus too much on the teaching challenges of others when they do not do or say what you want them to. I am learning to do quite the opposite, focus on the person. I hope that through me showing my heart to them, they will progress and see God in their lives and come closer to Christ. 

Other than that, we have a rendez-vous tonight with a super nice old man and his daughter. We hope that they will be interested to hear more.

Well, have a good week, and I love you all (not just saying that).

Sincerely
Elder Payne 
France, Paris Mission

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Elder Payne - Home!

Elder Payne arrived home at 11:10pm March 28, 2019. Thanks everyone for your support and prayers!