Email: Investigators

Hello to everyone,

Well I sure hope everyone is doing well this week. From the multiple letters and packages I got it sounds like everyone is doing great. I was able to read a little thing on the Brigham city temple dedication on LDS.org yesterday. That is so awesome. I am so glad that it went so well. From the letters and emails it sounds like the thing on Saturday went very well. That is so great. I bet that Katelyn and Hannah and all the girls had a blast. I really would have loved to have been able to be there for that. It is just so amazing that we have a temple so close to Tremonton now. I am so grateful for the fact that a temple is only about 15 minutes away.

 

So I have to tell you the past few days I got absolutely spoiled. I got multiple letters and packages from you all. It was pretty amazing to literally see the love and support that you are sending my way. Dad thank you so much for the words of encouragement that you sent me. It helped so much. Thank you for the updates as well. Mom and sisters thank you for the package you sent me with fresh shirts and candy and stuff, and thank you so much Lindsay for the package you sent me. I wont go into to much detail about it because I don't know if she has given mom and dad theirs. So linds I will send you a letter with my reaction to it. That was so thoughtful and I am sure it took up a lot of time. That is such exciting news to hear that Rob and Linds sold their house. Believe me when I say that I have been praying so hard that things would work out well for you all. I am glad to hear that it sold so quickly and at such a good price. I hope all goes well in the coming weeks while you are trying to find a new house. So Staci and Tyler have there been any other new updates concerning the baby? That is so awesome that she is starting to kick and you can feel her. Katey and Han I love you both very much and I hope things are going well for you. When is the homecoming dance? Make sure you send me pictures of it. Oh yeah and how is my truck doing? Are you keeping her clean? I hope so I really miss my truck haha anyways if you would it would be awesome if you would send me a picture of it.

 

So this past week was great we were able to me a few new people. We had a really great lesson with a little girl named Kaylee. She lives in the Sacramento mission but we have been given special permission to teach her here even though she will be baptized there. It is pretty awesome and it will be a great experience for me to be able to develop better teaching skill. So the next update is with Alyssa. Things are going very well there. We were not able to have a lesson with her because her cousin had a baby ans she has been taking care of that, but she did come to church. This is the second week she has come too. This is huge because previously she has never come to church. We also caught her talking to one of the Young Woman's leaders in hall. She was telling her that she wants to get more involved and starting coming to more activities and stuff. That was so great to hear. I know that as she puts more faith in the gospel and applies herself more she will be blessed. So a little more about my companion as requested by my mom. No he does not have an accent at all. He actually gets asked that a lot and it is funny because he is constantly just like " No I don't". and no I am not in the Roseville 3rd ward. That is in a different zone. I am in the Van Maren ward in the Citrus Heights zone. I do know the Elder Ashby you were talking about. He is actually in my district. It is awesome I get to see him 3 or 4 times a week. He is an awesome guy and I look forward to getting to know him better.

 

Well I love you all so much and love hearing from you all. Keep the letters and packages coming. I hope you all have a great week.

 

Love Elder Payne

Email: New Companion

Hello everyone,

 

Well let me start out by telling you that this past week has been great. I got my new companion last Tuesday and luckily he is a pretty awesome guy. His name is Elder Halle and he is from Missouri. He has been out for a while like I predicted. He has been out a little over 20 months, So this is most likely his last area. In the few days that we have had together we have gotten a long great. We dont exactly have the same interests but we still get along well. He came into this area with a ton of enthusiasm to work in this ward. That was fantastic to. Elder Woolley had been here for quite a while so he wasnt to excited to be here anymore. One of the best things is he does not look down on me at all. It is really nice to feel like an equal.

 

So for the past week I have basically been taking over the area. I have to do this because Elder Halle is new coming in and he has to learn the area and because I have been here the longest I know the area and people better. Things have been going great and we have suddenly been seeing a bit of success. We all of sudden went from just a few investigators to around 5 or 6 promising investigators.

 

We were able to take Alyssa and her friend to a baptism on Saturday. We were able to have a very spiritual lesson before as well. It was amazing because we went into the lesson not really knowing what to teach her and we jsut went with the spirit. We taught her a lot about the blessing that we receive through baptism and mainly receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was so great and so amazing to see her beginning to progress. After that we went to the baptism of a little boy in the ward. We eat dinner there quite a bit so herr asked me to speak at his baptism. I got to speak on the Holy Ghost. It was jsut a simple 5 minute talk but I was grateful for the oppurtunity I had to speak. So after the baptism we invited Alyssa and her friend to come to church the following day and amazingky they agreed. So we were able to bring them to church.

 

We also had a member bring one of her friends and we picked her up as a new investigator. Her name is Riley and she is about 14 she is quite interested in learning more. So I told her that we were the people that could help her. We set up a lesson for this coming Sunday. So that is a bit of what has been going on. It is amazing how quickly we have fallen into work. Iam very grateful for it and cant wait to see how some of it unfold.

 

So it sounds like this past week has been a little hectic. I hope everyone is doing well though. Hannah I hope you got my card that I sent you. It was sent with much thought ans consideration. That was so kind of you all to throw a big party for Celestial. I cant even imagine how much that probably meant to her. I am so excited for the temple dedication coming up. I am not sure if it is going to be broadcast out here but I will check and try to find out. I hope you all have a good time at the dedication service. Dad that was awesome that both uncle wayne and Aunt Becky got animals and that elk was insane! I couldnt believe my eyes when I saw that thing. Dont worry it only makes me a little homesick. You should send me some sagebrush so I can smell it and feel like I am up hunting. haha I hope everything is going well for you at work. That is really exciting that Katleyn got asked to homecoming I remember my homecoming and it was one of the funnest dances that I went to.

 

I would really like to do the book of mormon testimony thing yes. So just type and brief testimony and send it to me. Make sure it will fit in the front cover though. It will definitely help. Testimonies are very powerful and can change people lives. One last thing can you send the last memory card I sent home back to me please. I want to be able to send this one back to you and I need that one to do so. WEll I love you all very much. I have been definitely been feeling your prayers. Keep them coming. I love you all very much and thanks for the support.

                                                                             

Love Elder Payne

 

Story Time by Uncle Hunter

Uncle Hunter sent his nephew Drake home this awesome story!

We just had to share!

Email: Prayer is such a blessing

Hello Family,
                 Well there has been a lot going on this past week. A lot of things changing and a lot of new things. So let me start with the least important and move up in importance. So first off I learned this past week that I like to eat both bell peppers and tomatoes. Now this may not come as that big of news to much but you all know how picky I am when it comes to food. Second, I got to teach my first lesson in  church on Sunday. It was kinda scary because I found out I had to teach it late Saturday night and didn't have much time to prepare for it. However i think it still turned out ok. The subject was Eternal marriage so something I didn't really know that much about but i still think i pulled it out. We also got a few more investigators this past week and so this coming week is going to be quite busy. So I saved the biggest news  for last. I found out just last night that I am going to be getting a new companion. Elder Woolley is being transferred somewhere and I am getting someone new. The Elders name is Elder Halle. I don't know too much about him. I do know that he has about 4 and a half months left. I got to talk to him just briefly  today and he sounds like a really nice guy. I will let you know more about him next week as I find out more myself. Pretty crazy that I am already on to my 2nd companion. I am a little nervous just not knowing what the other guy is like and whether or not we are going to get along. I am sure it will all turn out just fine though.
                 So it sounds like there has been a lot going on back at home too. I am so happy to here that things worked out well for Celestial. That is really great. I have been praying really hard for her that things would work out. I really hope that you all make her feel very welcome in our house. Where has she been sleeping? If you want just let her take my room. I would be more than happy to let her take mine. Just a little suggestion for the whole family and Celestial specifically. Sometimes we wonder why things are happening to us and why are these bad things constantly going on around me? Well I can tell you that everything happens for a reason. Our father in heaven will not make us endure more than we can endure. He is there to help us and if we allow him too, he will bare our burdens. Everything we go through has a purpose. Let the experiences we are having now turn into a lesson that we can use later in life. By doing that we are allowing ourselves to become better. Remember the "Good, better, Best" talk that was given a while ago. Well we have to become our best selves and by using these experiences we can do that.   I am so happy about the temple too. I really wish I could be there but it is better  that I be here than there. I am so happy for Linds and Rob as well. I sure hope all of the prayers that i have been sending up to heaven have been helping. I have started to learn just how important those earnest and sincere prayers are. Prayer is such a blessing and I know that it can help everyone one of us. I love you all so much,. Dont worry about the packages and letters too much, just as long as i am still getting your prayers. I love you all and I hope you all have a great week.
                                                                              Love Elder Payne

Email: 3 New Investigators!

Monday, September 3, 2012



Hello Family,
                How is everyone doing this week? I sure hope everything is going well. So I have officially been out on my mission for 3 whole months. How crazy is that? It seems like it has been a long time, but when I look back at all of the things I have learned and all of the things I have experienced I realize that it has been absolutely flying by. I would have to say one of the biggest things that I have learned in those three months is how much I have to rely on my Heavenly Father. If it were not for my Father in Heaven I would have quit long ago, but with his help I know I can do all things. One scripture that really helps to exemplify how I really feel about it and has become one of my favorite is Alma 26:11-12. Check it out I think you will really like it.
                       So this week we have once again been doing a lot of finding, and guess what? We are finally seeing some success. We picked up 3 new investigators in this last week alone. It was so fantastic. One is a man named Ben. He is in his late 20's or early 30's were not really sure. Hopefully he is over 30 or we will have to pass him off to the singles ward Elders.So the other 2 are a Mother and son. They are Pun Jabi. Which is like Indian.(There are a lot of Indians and Russian people here kinda strange) Anyways we have a lesson with them tonight and we are hoping that we can pick up the rest of the family as investigators as well. So be praying for them please. We have been doing a lot of work with Less active families as well. One came to church for the first time in like 3 months yesterday to. It was great. Another lady is trying to go to the temple so we are going to start teaching her the lessons soon. So hopefully things start to work out there. It is really weird transfers are in a week and Elder Woolley has a chance of leaving because he has already been here for 6 months. So that could be interesting getting a new companion. Other than that everything is going really well here. It is so much fun going out everyday and doing this work.
                      So mom to answer your question I did get your package and I loved the contents. There was a lot of random stuff but it was great. The cookies didnt last very long I think there are like 3 left. They are just to good. I also loved the banana bread as well. Elder Woolley doesnt like banana bread so I don't have to share that with him.I really loved that email from Big D. I am so happy that he got to have an experience like that. It must have been so great. I also sent a letter off for the family last Friday so hopefully it should be coming soon. Can you find out Whit's address down at college for me so I can write her. Thank you. Well I love you all so very much and thank you for the prayers and the blessings that you send my way they are definitely being felt I love you all!
                                                                  Love Elder Payne