"Can ye feel so now!" (Alma 5:26) - April 3, 2023

Spiritual Thought 

Of all the countless possibilities of how the Savior and Redeemer of us all could have chosen to show his infinite compassion could any be more breathtaking than what we witnessed this past weekend?  Think of what exactly has taken place from the eyes of one who, like the overwhelming majority of mankind, believes the well of heavenly direction and divine leadership went dry with the close of the Bible.  The prophet has spoken and, in our modern way, raised the warning voice in the wilderness.  The word and will of God has been revealed and, hopefully, received with gladness by true disciples.  Over the past two days we have witnessed something absolutely extraordinary, something the vast majority of this world believes is only a relic of the distant past.  The voice has thundered down from Sinai and we have been given irrefutable evidence that God speaks, not spake.  That he never sleeps nor slumbers, that he is unchanging from all eternity to all eternity and, most of all, that he is absolutely, unquestionably, unequivocally not dead.  The divine foundation and sacred organization of this church have been on public display, demonstrating to all who have eyes to see that an unchanging God has once again built his church upon "the foundation of prophets and apostles."  Any honest onlooker has realized they have seen the "one faith" placed before them and, as such, the path to the "one Lord '' must always lead by way of the "one baptism" offered therein.  All of these things and countless others are the blazing fiber of truth woven throughout the tapestry of this modern-day spectacle of divine compassion.  But the event itself is over.  The final prayer has been offered, the music silenced and the lights dimmed.  Today many of us, even as we savor the glowing embers of what we have felt, are looking at the next six months with a sense of melancholy.  Try as we might, whether through our own actions or simply the realities inherent to mortality the flame we have felt will sputter as it is doused in the water of a telestial world.

Some would say that sooner or later everything must come to an end.  I disagree with that statement.  To suggest everything must end would be diametrically opposed to all we profess in this restored Gospel.  It would fly in the face of the truth that God is our eternal, unchanging, Father whose only work from all eternity to all eternity is to bring to pass our own joy and exaltation.  It would contradict the reality that families can be sealed together for not only time but into the vast span of the eternities.  This is a Gospel of forever.  Goodbyes and conclusions are not our heritage nor are they our future.  We are spun from the cloth of eternity.  Through him there truly is no such thing as the end.  So it is with these semiannual opportunities.  It is true the event itself must reach its final moments.  However, conversion cannot be achieved while simply hearing the word of God.  It is a prize which must be won while in motion.  Thus, the choice is now ours.  The message and will of the Lord has been delivered.  Now what will we do?  Will those messages be studied and applied to the point they are not only remembered but become internalized in our souls forever?  In a month or a week or even in this moment would we be able to tell another what exactly the prophet of God counseled this past weekend?  Will we use the ten hours of guidance sent down from on high to navigate the waters of these next six months and arrive safely at another port of spiritual provisions?  My prayer is that this will be so.  My invitation is to return again and again to the messages delivered by the Lord’s anointed and feast upon them with feverish excitement.  As we do so we will be able to answer Alma’s question by saying “yes, we still today, tomorrow and forever feel so now.”  

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Weekly Update

Hello everyone,

Here we are again at the start of another new transfer.  I always have such a mix of emotions when a transfer ends but that is especially true for this one.  This is the beginning of my final transfer.  Six weeks from now I will be boarding a plane and returning home from my mission.  I am excited for all the opportunities that are waiting at the end of that plane ride (including seeing many of you again) but to say it is bittersweet to see my mission end is an understatement.  I’m excited for this final transfer and am looking forward to giving all the energy I have left.

The Lord is extremely kind and considerate.  He gave me an incredible situation for this final transfer.  I will be staying with Elder Razafimanantsoa which means he will be my last companion.  In missionary terminology he’s “killing” me.  This will make a total of four transfers, six months or a quarter of our missions as companions.  It will be a great way to end my service.  I’m excited to no longer need to be curious about who my companion will be next transfer or where I will be serving!  Our area is going to be a little bit strange.  Technically we are covering two different areas that are nowhere near each other.  One of those is 67ha, our area this past transfer.  The other is called Ambohipo.  It meets at the chapel where the mission office is for church on Sunday so it is very close.  It should be fun to try and keep the work moving in both places.  The strange part is that, even though we are companions, on the transfer board my picture is in the 67ha area and Elder Razafimanantsoa’s picture is in the Ambohipo area.  Maybe that means we don’t actually need a companion anymore?

We were supposed to have the baptism for a man named Solofo but some things came up during the week.  We will hopefully be able to do that this Sunday.  Some prayers for him and his family would be appreciated.  The strange part though is that Solofo asked another missionary, Elder Ranaivoson, to baptize him.  Elder Ranaivoson did Solofo’s baptismal interview but before that he had never spoken to Solofo or done anything at all that would have established a connection with Solofo.  The interview was even iver messenger so they've never seen each other in person.  A few days after the interview we asked Solofo who he wanted to have baptize him and expected him to choose either one of us or a member of the ward.  Instead he asked for “that one missionary who looks like the guy on Nove Gasy” (Elder Ranaivoson apparently looks very similar to an actor in Malagasy soap operas).  He didn’t even know Elder Ranaivoson’s name but I guess he really felt a bond with him.  It’s fine with me, one way or the other he'll be baptized soon.

Compared to the past few weeks this one was really pretty calm and boring.  Elders Galbraith and Ethington came to Antananarivo for visa work early in the week but then weren’t able to get tickets back to Antsirabe.  President Rakotoarivelo asked us to drive them down to Antsirabe on Thursday.  Other than that surprise trip we stayed in Antananarivo the entire week.  I felt a little weird not going anywhere but it was also a nice change in a way.  

I think that about sums up this week.  I hope you all remember who you are, brush twice a day and never forget to help your mom cleanup after dinner.

Elder Payne

This is called a crocodile tree.  As you can see, the entire trunk is covered in spikes or thorns.

We went to a national park close to Mahajanga called Ankarafantsika last p-day.  This is a crocodile.  It isn’t the best picture but if you zoom in on the water you can see its head.

The sunset in Mahajanga.

Somebody drove over their smartphone.  I know.  Elder Kunkle put it back together and now it’s working perfectly.  We’re going to give it as a gift to the next missionary who’s caught with a personal phone.

Elder Amrine came into my office for counseling this past week.  

Sometimes you have to Google strange things when Malagasies don’t understand what you’re asking them about.  I never thought I would open up Google and search for “butter knife.”

This is a lady named Edmine.  Elder Damy and I taught her while we were in Antsirabe but I wasn’t able to take a picture with her before I was transferred.  She works at the restaurant we ate at so I was able to do that.

In the office with Elder Razafimanantsoa.