May 8 - Pembroke, North Carolina

Hello Family and Friends!!

This week has been quite a week!! It's been a weird week, but a good week at the same time! I cannot believe that today officially marks the beginning of my last transfer.....where has the time gone?!?!

Tuesday, we had our first transfer training meeting. This meeting is for all of the missionaries who are finishing up their first transfer on their mission. At the meeting, President James, Sister James, and the Assistants all gave us wonderful instructions and had us practice teaching a lot!! Thursday night, we went to meet with a man we had tracted into two or three weeks ago. When we got to his house for the appointment, not only were we able to teach him, but we were able to teach his wife and their two sons!! They all agreed to set June 17th as a goal for them to get baptized! We were also able to get the dad to say a kneeling prayer at the end of the lesson!!! It was great!! Saturday, we had a great lesson with one of our new investigators named Bradley. Bradley is the boyfriend of one of the Young Women in our ward. He wants to get baptized this summer, so we are super excited for that! On Sunday, we went over to the Oxendine's in the morning to get them out the door!! Which means......they came to sacrament meeting!!!! It was so great to have them there for all of church! They all said they really liked it too!!

On Saturday, Sister Angila Holmes (a member of our ward that I absolutely love...she goes by Mama Ang) showed us a new Mormon Message called  "The Music of the Gospel" which is about a Native American boy who learns how to "hear the music". Go and watch it now..... https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/mormon-messages-2017?lang=eng .....In the video, it talks about how the music of the gospel is our own personal testimony that is within our hearts. When we "hear the music" we are able to "dance" or act on our own and have a sincere desire to do the things we are asked  to do like reading our scriptures and going to church. We can all go through the motions, but unless we can really "hear the music" it means nothing. I learned that early on in my mission. I had to decide if I was just going to do missionary work because it was what I was supposed to do or if I was going to put my whole heart into it and do it because I knew it was what I wanted to do. When I finally made the decision to give my heart to the Lord and do what he wanted me to do, that was when I truly began to change on my mission!

On Friday night, Mama Ang took us to the Lumbee Spring Powwow. It was really neat to get to experience some of the Native American culture that is here in Pembroke. My favorite part was getting to watch the opening ceremony for the dances. Early that morning in my studies, I was reading Helaman 15:12-13 which says, "Yea, I say unto you, that in the latter times the promises of the Lord have been extended to our brethren, the Lamanites; and notwithstanding the many afflictions which they shall have, and notwithstanding they shall be driven to and fro upon the face of the earth, and be hunted, and shall be smitten and scattered abroad, having no place for refuge, the Lord shall be merciful unto them. And this is according to the prophecy, that they shall again be brought to the true knowledge, which is the knowledge of their Redeemer, and their great and true shepherd, and be numbered among his sheep." It was a neat experience to be reminded that I am here serving among some of the ancestors of these people and helping them to be brought back to the knowledge of their Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. It was a special experience for me!

I am so grateful for this opportunity I have to be helping all of our Heavenly Father's children come back to Him. There really is no other place I would rather be than here on my mission!! Thank you for everyone who has helped me to be where I am today!!

I love you all so much! I hope you have a great week!!

Love,

Sister Paynter

 

On Friday, before Sarah left to go back home to Charlotte, we went and bought a dozen bagels and handed them out with pass-along cards!! It was a lot of fun hahah!!