Email: Feeling the Savior Guiding Me

Dear everyone,
                         How is everyone doing back in freezing Utah? Are the computers even still working with how cold and snowy it is? haha  It sounds like there has been a lot going on back home, just like every week I guess. That was a really sweet story about Hannah. I really appreciate you sharing that with me it helps me to know and feel how blessed and loved I am. Hannah I hope you know that I love you as well. Also that is a huge bummer that the bears lost. It sounds like it was a real heart breaker. I'm sure they will bounce back though and turn out just fine. I am really glad that dad liked my card i definitely put a lot of thought into that one and gave it my own personal touch if you couldn't tell. When I saw it in the store I was just like man that is definitely right up dads alley. Oh yeah make sure you aren't wrecking that truck, haha I still really like that thing and I would like to return with it still in one piece, however that sounds just like dad though gotta push  it to the limit. So as far as Staci goes wow I cant believe there are only like 4 weeks left. That is insane! Don't fret too much Staci, you are going to be an excellent mother.
                              So a little bit about what has been going on out here in good ole' California. As I'm sure you know it has been a chilly 65 degrees out here. Some days it is so chilly I even have to think about putting on a jacket. Whew Life is tough! haha So this past week has been a great improvement from the week previous. It started out kind of slow, with not finding many people home and a few cancelled appointments but towards the end it definitely took off. So this past Wednesday was an amazing day. We had a lesson with Juanita and Mario where we went over the Plan of Salvation and their Book of Mormon reading and they were taking it in so well. Everyone about the Plan of Salvation just rang so well in their ears. She was a little worried that she wasn't really going to be able to know who her mother was in heaven so we shared Alma 34: 32-34 with her and she was absolutely amazed. Just simply that we are the same people on the other side of the veil as we are here, and if we do our best and live correctly we can live with our families forever. She was so happy to hear all of that, and wow the Spirit was so strong in that meeting. We also talked about both of their Book of Mormon reading so far and in a week and a half she had read 70 pages. I was absolutely shocked when she told us that, the reason being is that we have had such a hard time getting her to read. We set a goal with both of them to finish 2nd Nephi and then come to church. Well they both agreed and so hopefully they will be coming very soon.  So later that night we had a little scheduling conflict, we had to decide between dinner and a lesson with our recent converts or dinner and a lesson with one of our investigators, so we did what any missionary would do and went to both. So we had a lesson at 5:30 and dinner at 6:30 at our recent converts, where we taught them the Plan of Salvation. Then at 7:30 we walked about 4 houses down and had dinner about 10 minutes later. As you can all imagine I was quite stuffed because of course I don't want to be rude and not take very much at one house. So I ended up stuffing myself to the point I thought I was going to pop, no joke my belly had to have been as big as Staci's! Only the problem is, mine was only a food baby, not a real baby. We had a really good Restoration with our investigator. Everything went well and he is progressing slowly. The rest of the week was pretty slow, nothing to special ever. As soon as Saturday hit, however, things just exploded! We went on exchanges, elder Holbrook in the other area and me in mine, and we absolutely tore up the town. We were able to find 3 new investigators before noon. One through potentials, one through a referral, and one through just plain tracting. It was such an amazing morning and I could definitely see the lords hand in it. Two of the three that morning were people that we had tried multiple times as well but could never get an answer. Oh but wait there is more later on in the day I just really felt like we should go try this couple, who we had tried multiple times, but had never been home. Well guess what? We found them home, and they were extremely open to learning more. That day was such a blessing to be able to to really feel the Savior next to me guiding me and helping me a long. So that was pretty much our week. There were many miracles and many blessing pour out upon us here in which I am so very grateful.
                               I was able to read this scripture this past week and I just really want to share it with you all. It is Romans 5:19 "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."  I just loved how well this stated things. It constantly amazes me how powerful an example is. Just like this scripture states examples are so important. No matter who we are or where we come from people are always watching us, so be the example that our Heavenly Father would be proud of. Thank you all for all you do and all of the support you give me. I hope you all have a wonderful week. Love Elder Payne

Email: Work Progresses

Hello family, friends, and all you other people,
               Well I sure hope every ones week has gone well. It sounds like from moms email things are starting to get very busy with preparing for Staci's shower. Its crazy how close she is to being due. Time goes so fast, It seems like just yesterday that I was getting an email saying that Staci was pregnant and now she is very close. That's pretty exciting stuff. That's also so cool that Kate got asked to Prom. Was she excited? I don't think I have ever heard of the kid so hopefully he isn't a weirdo. ha ha Also I better not forget but Happy Birthday dad! In just a couple of days at least. I hope you get my card. I just want to thank you for the amazing example that you have been to me and always helping me to set the bar high for myself. I was having a little bit of a hard time this week just with stuff that has been going on and the phrase that you and Kurt Rees have told me multiple times kept popping in my head, "Don't worry about all of that other stuff going on out there, You are Superman!". So thank you for all of the encouragement and support that you have shown me. I hope you have a great birthday. Oh and also I cont believe that Calvin and Nancy have already finished their mission, that seemed like it went by pretty quickly.
                 So a little about what has been going on this week. It has been kind of a rough week. First off we had to drop one of our investigators, Rodney. He is someone that has been taught for a very long time. In my time here i have set 4 different baptismal dates with him and he has not kept one of them. He hasn't been keeping any of the commitments we give him and just is really stuck in his ways. So for the time being he has been dropped from our teaching pool. Also we had quite a few set appointments throughout the week and most of them fell through to we ended up having to just go out and do finding. We were able to find about 3 new investigators, so that was awesome. Probably the coolest one that we picked up was this big, huge black guy who is in the air force. We had helped his roommate move a few weeks ago and so we were just going over to see him again and see if he would be interested in hearing more about the gospel. Well we knocked on the door, it was pretty dark outside, and he opened it looking super wary like, "What are you guys doing here?" Well we told him who we are and that we had helped them move and he just opened right up to us and invited us in. It was pretty cool we got to talk to him a little bit about what he believed. We mentioned to him that we had noticed his standard works while we were helping them move and we were just curious how he got it. So now we are going to be having a lesson with him tomorrow which should be awesome. Unfortunately he might fall under the age range of the singles ward, so we would have to pass him off to other missionaries. We will just have to see how it goes though. Another interesting guy we met as well was a former investigator that we just dropped by and visited again. His name is Dale, and no dad it wasn't Dale Carter. He is a 7th day Adventist and is kinda strange, he was sorta the male equivalent of the crazy cat lady. He was a nice guy though and we were able to talk to him for a little while. He is pretty stuck in his ways though and we are having a hard time getting through to him. Well that has pretty much been the highlights of the week. Nothing else too crazy has happened. Sorry this email was kinda boring but this week we basically just did a lot of finding. Have a great week everyone and I love you all.

Love Elder Payne

Email: Most Wonderful Day on My Mission

Dear Family,
                  Well this past week has been crazy and extremely busy but amazing as well. This past Saturday I had probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I was able to step down into a baptismal font and assist someone in one of the most important saving ordinances that we can perform. I had the opportunity to baptize a young man named Tyler. His sister, Hailey, was able to do the same as well. That was the most wonderful day that I have had out on my mission so far, to not only witness it but to be able to participate in it.  It was such a beautiful and sacred experience. Then Sunday I was able to do one of the confirmations. I was able to confirm Hailey a member of the church and give her the gift of the Holy Ghost. That was extremely nerve racking. I was really quite nervous going into it, but right before the confirmations i said a little prayer for comfort and counsel and every little nerve and fear just washed away. Wow it just amazes me how much our Heavenly Father loves us. He wants to assist us, all we have to do is ask Him. Something kind of funny but kind of bad at the same time, I accidentally locked my knees during the blessing. So while i was speaking all of a sudden I started to get light headed. I just kind of figured it was the spirit effecting me really, really strong. haha Then I realized what I was doing and unlocked them. It definitely made giving the rest of the blessing much easier. So I guess on a less great note, Rodney dropped his baptismal date again. What is even worse is he has been attending a few other churches, so we are going to take a step back with him and reassess where he is at. However i do have more good news. We have started teaching a mother and daughter who are like 74 and 45 and they have been taking everything in very well. We should be able to set a baptismal date with them very soon. They both are just so happy all the time. I love teaching them because of the truths we are able to bring to them. The mother has suffered a lot of hardships in her life, so I know that the things we can teach her specifically concerning the Plan of Salvation can be such a comfort in her life. 
                       So we got our transfer calls yesterday and I am staying put. There wasn't too much change in my zone, a few guys that I am really close to are heading places. Like Elder McMurray is heading clear up to the top of the mission. It kinda sucks because me and him got to be pretty close. Oh also we found out recently that this coming transfer is only 5 weeks long, so that  means I come home a week earlier than previously planned. That's pretty crazy right? Also at the end of this coming transfer we are getting 31 new missionaries. That will be a huge bump in missionaries! I am very excited for all of the new guys coming out, they will give a huge boost to the work. 
                      Well I want to give a huge birthday shout out to Lindsay so HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  I hope you have a wonderful B-day and I really hope you get my card. Make sure and do something fun/relaxing for your birthday. Well I hope everything is going well for everyone back home. Things are great out here. I love you all and have a great week. 

Love Elder Payne

Email: Updates on Investigators/ Slow Week

Hello family,
                   Well I hope that things are starting to slow down for you all. It sounded like there has been a ton of stuff going on back home. Lots of craziness. sickness, and fun. I cant believe that both Staci and Drake went so long with a pretty serious illness without getting it checked out. I hope that you are all sort of on the mend.
                 Well things have been a little slow this past week. It has still been a little difficult to get in a talk to anyone because they are all still really busy with vacation stuff. Hopefully the coming weeks will be better now that everyone is kind of getting into more of a regular schedule. So this past week I actually havent been feeling the best. I have been feeling kind of dizzy and have had some headaches and kinda nauseous. I dont n=really know what it is but I am feeling much better lately. So we were not able to meet with Jerry and Jolene this week. He was kind of sick so we didnt go over. We are hoping we can meet with them some time this week. Rodney has been doing alright. We found out recently that he has been talking to some other people from other churches, like this Pastor guy at a church that his brother attends. We are still working with him, so hopefully things begin to improve there. Hailey and Tyler the two that are getting baptized are doing great. Everything is on track for this Saturday. We haave one more lesson with them on Tuesday and then  they have a baptismal interview on Thrusday. On Tuesday we will be teaching them the Word of Wisdom The law of Chastity, and The law of the Tithe. It shouldnt be too difficult because they are very smart kids and take everything in very well. I am so happy to see someone that I have been able to teach from start to almost finish preparing to get baptized. Those kids carry an amazing spirit about them and I can feel it everytime we are with them. The other Hailey is going through a bit of a rough patch. She is having to decide whether or not she should move in with her mom or stay with her dad. The only problem is her dads is not the safest envirnoment for a 14 year old girl. We have really been trying to get her to seek counsel from her Heavenly Father. It just makes me more and more grateful that i was able to grow up in a family that is so amazing and for that i thank you all.
                Lastly I sure hope you have all been keeping up with your Book of Mormon reading. I know that it has definitely been such a blessing being able to go through the Book of Mormon knowing that there are many others that are right there with me. So i encourage you all to continue on. It can and will bless your life. I love the Book of Mormon with all my Heart. I love you all and I hope you all have a great week.

Love Elder Payne