Tulancingo, Mexico- July 25
(This is the letter part...pictures are in the post below...)
 
Hey Mom!

Mom, thank you. Thanks for always praying and looking out for me! I can really see the many blessings that I have received for all your counsel that you have given me throughout my mission. I'm so grateful for all that you do for me! This week has been a good one! We have been working a lot with an investigator named Suzana, I don't remember if Ive told you much about her. She has had a lot of trials with one of her sons that for many years has had problems with alcohol and drugs. We have been trying hard to help her to stay happy and to strive to follow Christ. We have seen a lot of progress, she really has seen a change in her life. I'm grateful because the Lord has made me an instrument in His hands. I know I'm not always obedient, but I know that when I try, the Lord gives me strength to do what I alone could never do. I love this work!

I was just watching a video on lds.org that I really loved. https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2016-01-006-staying-spiritually-fit?category=youth-media&lang=eng Its true that in this life we need to be spiritually prepared. We cant expect to perform in the precise moment when we have not prepared and trained to perform. We cant expect that we will have all the answers to our trials in life if we don't study to know what may come. Im grateful and I give testimony of the power of the scriptures. They are a guide to each and every one of us. I know that God has given them to us to strengthen us and prepare us to be able to perform obediently in our daily trials. We should all learn to put in practice what the scriptures teach us and not just treat them as a temporal item of temporal value, but rather an spiritual item of eternal and temporal value. They have the power to change our lives and guide us through the struggles and difficulties we may face. My invitation is that we may all learn to choose the right now in our lives. We may be passing through easier times, but we should prepare ourselves for when the storms come. Like the Lord taught in Luke 16:10  "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." and as it states in the Hymn, Choose the Right, "Choose the right! There is peace in righteous doing. Choose the right! There's safety for the soul. Choose the right in all labors you're pursuing; Let God and heaven be your goal." I know this church is true and testify that now is the time that we must prepare to return to our fathers presence. I love this work!

Thanks Mom for everything, I love you tons!

Elder Paynter

p.s. I know I've gotten a little behind in my essay homework, I need to get it done, but honestly the hardest part has been responding the first question. Ive done a lot of thinking, and I hope I can come up with a good response.