Week 100- Iganga, Uganda with Elder Bukasa

This is gonna be my last email as a missionary. What a wonderful experience my mission had been. I've really loved being able to serve here and I'm starting to feel sad now that it's coming to an end. I'll be finishing my last couple weeks here in Iganga and I'm really happy about that. I've been here for 6 months now and have really grown to love this area. One thing I love about this place is how rewarding it has been when we put our feet down and really work hard. It seems like the harder we work the more success we see, our input directs our output. I know Heavenly father appreciates our effort and has blessed us accordingly. I love the people here even though a lot of them have been really tough. I'll actually be sad to go and I'm sure ill miss this place one day. The members here have really humbled me with how much they are willing to sacrifice. I'll never forget them. More than some of my other areas I've been close with a lot of the members here and have seen their sacrifices first hand. It's made it easy to serve with people like that around you. I'm so thankful for the experience of serving a mission it's hard for me to put it into words. I can't even imagine who I would be and what my life would look like without what I know now. During my time here I've gained a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon, I love it and I know it's true. I also know the prophet Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet, that he saw God the father and His son Jesus Christ, and that today we are blessed with a living prophet that the Lord continues to direct us through. I know that Jesus Christ is my savior and my Redeemer. That he suffered for me in Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary so I can obtain forgiveness and be with my family forever. I love him dearly. I know these things are true, and serving a mission has helped them root deep in my heart and placed me on the path of discipleship, a path I'll continue on for the rest of my life. When I say that my mission has changed me and changed my life I really mean it, and would encourage every young man to also serve a mission with a hope that they get the same things out of it I have. I'm grateful for my wonderful family and all my friends and loved ones who have supported me and encouraged me through my time here. I can't wait to see you all! 

Week 99- Malaria

 

Week 98- Iganga, Uganda with Elder Bukasa

Monday, I had an interview with president Chatora. We talked a lot about discipleship and about how the end of my mission really doesn't have to be the end of anything. He encouraged me to continue to strive to become like the savior and live righteously. It was great. Tuesday was zone conference and I bore a departing testimony. We had an extremely spiritual lesson this week teaching brother John about the book of Mormon. He had lots of questions and really wanted to understand it. We left him to read 3 Nephi chapter 27 and when we met him later, he told us that when he read, he just absolutely knew it was true and really felt the spirit. It made me really happy to see someone get so much joy out of the book of Mormon because of how much I love it. Hopefully I'll get to see him be baptized before I leave. Two sisters we have been teaching, Olivia and Alice, came to church for the first time this Sunday and really enjoyed it. Last week we had two baptisms and this week William and Dorrine were confirmed. William especially is so so happy to be baptized and confirmed. It's been a long time coming for him, we've been teaching him for 6 months. On Sunday attendance was 110 people. When I first came here to Iganga 6 months ago it was in the 40's. It's been a blessing to see the ward here grow, and the members grow as well. 

  

Mission Release

THE CHURCH OF

JESUS CHRIST

OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

16 October 2019

Dear Family of Elder Payne,

Elder Dylan Edward Payne has completed an honorable mission and will depart for home on December 16^th, 2019. He has played an important part in the missionary team effort in the Uganda Kampala Mission and we shall miss him as he returns home. He has matured in the gospel and learned many good habits and has increased in wholesome attributes that will be valuable to him as he begins life after missionary service.

Elder Payne has served well in the Uganda Kampala Mission.  He has brought the Gospel message to many people in Uganda. Those precious converts will never forget him for bringing the blessings of the Gospel into their lives. Along with carrying a full proselyting load he was a faithful Junior Companion, Senior Companion, District Leader, and Zone Leader.  He has carried out the responsibilities of his assignments with diligence and devotion to the cause. 

Having thrust in his sickle with his might he has reaped an abundant harvest of souls on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ whose faithful servant he has been.  The Uganda Kampala Mission is indebted to Elder Payne for his service, loyalty, and devotion to the work of the Lord.  We anticipate the Lord will bless him throughout his life for the good work he has done in East Africa.

Warm regards,

President Walter Chatora

Uganda Kampala Mission

Week 97-Iganga, Uganda with Elder Bukasa

The first week of my last transfer is done. I’m feeling a little bit like time is slipping away. It's so funny because I never expected to feel that, I've always been so excited to come home. I’m still so excited to come home and see my people but I’m really happy being a missionary. I've discovered how much I love to serve others. 
This week was great. At our last zone conference Elder Palmer focused on the Book of Mormon with us. He encouraged us to use it more when we teach. Not to just teach about it but use it and show people that what we believe comes from scriptures, the written word of our God. This is something my companion and I have taken to heart, and this week we noticed something amazing as we used the Book of Mormon to teach. Even though a lot of the people don't understand English well and often cannot read well the spirit is able to teach them as we use the book of Mormon. It's been uplifting to witness the spirit teach people according to their own understanding through the book of Mormon. I've come to love the Book of Mormon deeply and am so grateful for it. 
Most of the week was just normal missionary work. We did have one day that was especially awesome though. We were walking and noticed a gentleman named Joseph we had tried to teach before but because of work he bounced us. We hadn't planned to see him, but we made a little bit of time and taught him a very simple summary of the restoration. He asked a lot of questions which we answered the best we could with the Book of Mormon. He really wanted to know what he could do to strengthen his relationship with God. He felt that his main concerns revolved around his career struggles but as we shared with him, he began to express that we were helping him resolve a deeper concern that he didn't know he really had, about who God was. It was a good first lesson and hopefully the beginning of more good lessons. As the lesson ended it started to rain like crazy. We really don't like the rain, especially this kind of rain and normally would be fine just waiting it out, but elder Bukasa and I both felt like we should go to our next appointment anyways. Well when we got there it looked like we'd been swimming but we were both happy and laughing. When we got there one of the sisters, we were going to teach asked us about how we could be so happy moving around in the rain like that. Haha, she thought we'd be miserable for the rest of the day because we were soaked.  We both laughed and told her it was because we were so happy to share with her something that is so special to us, the Book of Mormon. It turned out to be a great opportunity to teach about how the gospel of Jesus Christ can help us be happy no matter what the conditions of our life are. This group of ladies we just began teaching are awesome. Hopefully they'll come to church this next Sunday to see how we worship. 
This week we couldn’t teach our deaf investigators. It's been a whole week since I've done sign language and I feel like I forgot it all haha. My big goal before I leave is to help the ward be able to minister and communicate on their own with these deaf people so that they can be baptized. That's pretty much my week! 
Love, Dylan. 

Week 94 Iganga, Uganda with Elder Bukasa

Week 89 - Iganga, Uganda with Elder Bukasa

We are continuing to teach people in the deaf community. We have 12 people coming to church every week that we are teaching in sign language. President Chatora wants us to teach sign to members of the ward so that there are members who can minister to them before they are baptized otherwise they would be isolated after I am gone. We just started a new transfer this week and Bukasa and I will be staying in Iganga so we can continue teaching in sign language. I might even be here until the end of my mission. I really enjoyed interviews with President and Zone conference. I can tell how much President cares about us.
This week we had a great opportunity to serve the 3 sisters we baptized a while back. They had a giant hardwood tree in their yard, it is a tree that poisonous caterpillars breed in , so it needed to be removed. Our whole district worked on cutting it down with a little hatchet and a machete!!  It took the whole day to remove it, it was so much work. Everyone was spent, but it felt really good to get it done.
As I reflect back on my mission I've thought about what I've gained, and what advice I'd give a preparing missionary...Baylor that's you.
#1 Make personal prayer and scripture study a priority. These daily devotions have become as important to me as my physical workout. It sustains me daily and through the hard things as well.
I wish I would have taken this more seriously before my mission.
#2 A mission is a spiritual fast track. Set legitimate goals about what you want to get out of and give in your mission. Set goals about what kind of missionary you will be. And believe me -the more you give, the more you get from your service.
#3 Try to develop charity. A mission is about loving and serving the people around you. Learn to love people who are difficult or different.
When I live the gospel the best I can, when I try to be like our Savior Jesus Christ and act the way He would-I have the best days of my mission and get the most out of my service. I teach better. I love my mission! I have found that working my spirit is much like working my physical  muscles.  The harder you work at it the bigger your muscles get. Spiritual or physical.