"A Choice Land" (Ether 2:12) - July 3, 2021

Spiritual Thought

Prior to initiating the restoration of His Gospel it was necessary that circumstances be created which would enable such a restoration to take place.  As there was no nation which could serve as host to such an event it became necessary to form an entirely new government, one established by the hand of God and won through the blood of brave men.  The miraculous circumstances which led to the formation of this nation include the discovery of the new world by Christopher Columbus, the search for religious freedom undertaken by the pilgrims, and the various personal situations our founding fathers faced which led them to take such drastic actions.  The probability of success was so infinitesimal that the only logical explanation is that it was aided by the hand of God Himself.  How else could a small group of untrained frontiersmen defeat what was then the most powerful nation in the world, one who had very nearly conquered the entire world?  How else could such men write a document so pure as to earn the approval of our Savior unless the ink were guided by deity?  How else could such a struggling and floundering nation rise from the obscurity in which it began to now stand as the "shining city on a hill" unless such a course were charted by the Savior of the World?  Any explanation other than to accept the divinity of this land is simply illogical.

As we celebrate this independence day, may I ask each of you to look beyond the celebrations and festivity to see this day as yet another testament to the reality of our Savior and the truthfulness of His Gospel?  It is my prayer that, through it all, we will see the hand of the Master beckoning us to Him.  May each of us ponder in our mind what the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ means to us.  May we express our gratitude to the founders of this land for their courage and obedience to the promptings of the Spirit.  Through their actions such men were endangering themselves with a traitor's death through any one of a myriad of horrific methods.  In a certain sense, these men have done more to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the establishment of Zion than any of us will be asked to sacrifice.  However, they pressed on being constantly assured of the nobility of the task in which they were engaged.  Above all, as we celebrate the "shining city on a hill" may we draw our minds to the Light of the World.  He of whom it can be said is "a light which is endless, that can never be darkened" (Mosiah 16:9).  Of this I earnestly pray.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

Weekly Update

Hello everyone,

The events of this week truly have strengthened my testimony of the reality of the gift of tongues.  Over the course of this week I feel as though something has fallen into place in regards to the language.  I am in no way fluent.  However, I feel as though I am able to understand the overall meaning when someone speaks to me, a majority of the individual words spoken, and am able to form an increasing number of my own sentences.  Whom the Lord calls He truly does qualify.

I began reading the Book of Mormon in Malagasy this week.  My progress is extremely slow because I am stopping to look up the definition of each unfamiliar word.  I am confident that my pace will accelerate as I learn more of the language.

There have been multiple classes this week where there was absolutely zero English spoken.  I am excited to be able to speak in only Malagasy sometime soon.

Since facebook is playing a larger and larger role in missionary work, Bro. Maguet decided it would be a good idea to do a practice post before we are in the field.  Keep in mind that I did not have a facebook page until June 1, 2021.  I then started the MTC on June 2, 2021.  It took me 45 minutes to find the post button.  Hopefully my trainer knows more about facebook because I would not be very productive right now.

Elder Fergus and I are beginning to know enough of the language to make major mistakes.  I do not mean mistakes such as incorrect grammar or not knowing a certain word, but major faux pas that probably should not be repeated in a lesson.  For example, this week Elder Fergus and I were doing a roleplay practicing how to begin talking to someone in Malagasy.  Elder Fergus pretended to be an investigator so I could practice then Elder Fergus pretended to be an investigator for Bro. Mannewitz.  During Elder Fergus' roleplay I was listening to the conversation but not contributing.  At one point, Bro. Mannewitz asked what Elder Fergus did for work, to which Elder Fergus responded that he taught school.  Bro. Mannewitz asked whom he taught.  Elder Fergus wanted to say "ankizy" (ahn-keez) which means "children" or "kids" but forgot the word.  He tried to improvise and said "olona kely"  (oo-loo-nah   keh-lee) which literally means "little people" but is used the same way we would use "dwarfs".  Apparently Elder Fergus has started a school for Malagasy dwarfs.  Should be interesting to see!

The president of Madagascar is supposed to be giving a speech this week announcing which countries will be allowed back into Madagascar.  If there is any news related to the United States I will be sure to let all of you know.

This coming week is my sixth and final week of MTC training.  I have enjoyed this time and will remember it fondly.  I am, however, very excited to begin serving in the field.

I hope all of you have a great week,

Elder Payne

 

 

I will be competing on the Food Network's new missionary themed series: "Chopped: Called to Serve".  Please don't tell anyone but this is a pilot program before "Convert Bobby Flay" airs.  Be sure to tune in on September 21st to see my culinary skills in action.

Don't get me wrong, I love the MTC.  That being said, sometimes I stand at the window thinking about fond memories from when I could go outside.  The wind on my face.  The feel of grass under my feet.  The sun on my hands.  Actual real live people, it will be totally bizarre.  And I keep wondering, and wondering, and wondering, when will my life begin.

 There are a lot of things that will make my MTC experience unique and this is certainly one of them.  It was David's birthday on Thursday and he wanted everyone to go camping.  So last night the MTC was moved into a tent in the backyard.

A balloon landed in the arroyo behind my house.  I wanted to go tracting to it but didn't get a chance.

The animal on the wall is called a Desert Sheep.  These are truly one of the absolute most sought after animals in the world for hunters and New Mexico is the place to hunt them.  My dad managed to draw a once in a lifetime tag for this fall.  This will be the only major hunt I have not been involved with in eight years so we took a picture at Cabela's instead.

In Malagasy the word "Ny" is equivalent to "The" in English.  The only problem is that "ny" is used much more frequently than "the" is used in English which makes it very difficult to remember.  To help us remember, this is Elder Fergus' drawing of "Ny Mpiady Miteny Hoe Ny" (nee    pee-ah-dee    mee-tehn-ee  weh  nee)  or "The Knights Who Say Nee".  If you have not seen Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail, go watch it then come back and laugh at this.

Feeling very domestic.

Explaining the nuances of how to make the perfect Malagasy dish.

Since we can't have a typical district picture, Elder Fergus made a rubber duck for both of us and all three teachers.  You have to get creative sometimes.

This is Bro. Maguet.  Each duck is personalized to each person.  Bro. Maguet has the most unique hair of any of the teachers.  He also is constantly bringing people onions because his grandparents live on an onion farm (in Hatch, NM of all places).

This is Godrogodro (gooj-gooj-oo).  I mentioned this a few weeks ago but finally made it today.  The teachers describe it as nasty jello bread that crumbles.  It has to be chilled before being served so I haven't tried it yet.  Be sure to tune in next week to read my report.

Bro. Mannewitz.  His internet connection is by far the worst out of any of us so his duck is glitching.

Bro. Stepan.  For some reason Bro. Stepan has a construction vest in his closet.  He won't tell us why so Elder Fergus and I are sure there is an entertaining story behind it.  

Bro. Stepan explaining the words for "Turkey", "Duck", and "Eagle".  Turkey translates to "not smart bird", duck to "foreigner bird", and eagle to "strong bird".  All three of us drew one of these birds.  I drew the duck in the middle of the picture.