Hello to my wonderful Family,
I hope this email finds you all doing very well. From the emails that I have gotten it sounds like this past week was pretty crazy. Well ya know I wouldn't expect anything different from the last few weeks of summer in the Payne household. I am really glad that baby Sara is doing well. I have been thinking a lot about the recent additions to the Payne family and it is just such a miracle that we have two brand new little babies that are doing so well. The miracles seem to just keep coming. I am so grateful to the Lord for blessing me with such a wonderful and supportive family. I have been contemplating that a lot lately, just how truly blessed I am. The reason that it has come up and I have been thinking about it is because I have quite a few investigators that are really struggling right now with their families. One person is a girl who just recently had her two kids taken away from her. Her ex-husband came and took them away because her husband has some custody. The problem is that he took them all the way to Wyoming. She has been really distraught because of it. She started questioning everything that she has been taught and she is just in a really rough spot right now. We went over and talked a lot with her, mainly that we need to look at the eternal perspective of things. That when times get tough, that is the time that we need to really lean on the Lord for help. We seemed to help her feel at least a little bit better towards the end of the lesson. Now second the other family that is going through a rough time. It is the family that just recently had the mother and the Son baptized. They are just going through a really rough time as well. The husband is currently trying to quit smoking a he is having a really rough time of that as well. He is extremely stressed and as you can imagine it is not easy to quit smoking. He has been trying really hard to quit for a long time and it hasn't worked yet. So right now they are having a lot of financial hardship. I feel so bad because I wish there was more that I could do. We are just constantly reassuring them that the Lord is going to help them and just to have faith in him. So like i said I have been expressing a lot of thanks in my prayers to my Heavenly Father because of the wonderful family I have. Along with that i want to wish Mom a very Happy Birthday this week. Thank you so much for always being there for me. I am so blessed to have you. I know that i can always rely on you for help. Thank you again. Well I love you all very much. I apologize that this weeks email was sort of jumbled and crazy but that was sorta like my week. haha i love you all so very much. Also before I forget thank you very much for that package. It pretty much just came up out of the blue and definitely brightened my week, especially the Superman ring. i actually ended up wearing it to church on Sunday. It may just become my new Sunday ring. I love you all once again.
Love Elder Payne
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Monday, August 26, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Email: Baby Sara and Beautiful Hike
Hello Payne Family,
Holy Smokes only one week goes by and the whole world back home changes. First off I want to congratulate Linds and Rob with their new little baby Sara. That is so awesome that she is finally here. It seems like just yesterday that Drake was telling me over Skype that she was pregnant and now she is already here. I am really sad that i wasn't able to be there to meet her but i know i am where i should be.
So mom i did hear about Hailey getting baptized. That was such a miracle to hear that. It has definitely been a very long road for her and i am so sure that her getting baptized is going to help her so much. I did call President to find out if I could go down to it and for some reason he said no. I don't really understand why. Him telling me that was really upsetting. I mean someone that i had worked so much with and poured so much time and energy into and I am not allowed to go and witness it. I didn't really get it. It especially sucks because i talked to her and congratulated her on getting baptized and she told Elder McMurray and I that we had to be there. Now I have to tell her that we aren't going to be able to go really sucks. I am sure everything will work out fine though I just wish it had gone a little different.
So this past week was really quite slow. We were able to see a few miracles though. Unfortunately the week started out with both Elder McMurray and I getting sick. It really was a bummer because getting sick really sucks but even worse getting sick out here on your mission is even worse. We did our best to push through it though. On Tuesday we had this great service project. We along with the whole young men's quorum went to a less active guys house that we work with a lot. He had a whole lot of yard work that he needed to be taken care of, so everyone brought their weed whackers and went to town on all of the weeds. They had everything cleaned up and ready to go in a matter of about 45 minutes. It was really impressive. Then after we had sort of a impromptu lesson with all of the young men and even better our investigators that came and helped as well. The Bishop said some very powerful things about cleansing ourselves and preparing for missionary service. It was great because both I and Elder McMurray got to bear our testimonies of missionary service. That was a wonderful night. On Thursday we had a lesson with those same investigators and set baptismal dates with them. Oh by the way they are the son and husband of the lady we baptized a few weeks ago. Anyways they accepted the date of Sept 7 for baptism. We are so excited for them both and are working very closely with them to help them get there. So now comes the highlight of the week. So all of the youth in the ward have been planning on going and doing a big hike up a mountain near here called Mt. Lassen. We thought hey this would be a great opportunity to take our investigator to get to know the youth, so we got to go on an awesome hike. We hike from about 8,500 feet to about 10,500 feet elevation. It was a beautiful hike and very spiritual as well. We got to say a prayer on the top of the mountain and wow that was amazing. I am very grateful that i got to go on that hike and see all of that. It was definitely an experience I will never forget.
Well there is pretty much my week, it was definitely a great week but it was a very interesting one as well. I love you all very much and I hope your week goes great
Love Elder Payne
Holy Smokes only one week goes by and the whole world back home changes. First off I want to congratulate Linds and Rob with their new little baby Sara. That is so awesome that she is finally here. It seems like just yesterday that Drake was telling me over Skype that she was pregnant and now she is already here. I am really sad that i wasn't able to be there to meet her but i know i am where i should be.
So this past week was really quite slow. We were able to see a few miracles though. Unfortunately the week started out with both Elder McMurray and I getting sick. It really was a bummer because getting sick really sucks but even worse getting sick out here on your mission is even worse. We did our best to push through it though. On Tuesday we had this great service project. We along with the whole young men's quorum went to a less active guys house that we work with a lot. He had a whole lot of yard work that he needed to be taken care of, so everyone brought their weed whackers and went to town on all of the weeds. They had everything cleaned up and ready to go in a matter of about 45 minutes. It was really impressive. Then after we had sort of a impromptu lesson with all of the young men and even better our investigators that came and helped as well. The Bishop said some very powerful things about cleansing ourselves and preparing for missionary service. It was great because both I and Elder McMurray got to bear our testimonies of missionary service. That was a wonderful night. On Thursday we had a lesson with those same investigators and set baptismal dates with them. Oh by the way they are the son and husband of the lady we baptized a few weeks ago. Anyways they accepted the date of Sept 7 for baptism. We are so excited for them both and are working very closely with them to help them get there. So now comes the highlight of the week. So all of the youth in the ward have been planning on going and doing a big hike up a mountain near here called Mt. Lassen. We thought hey this would be a great opportunity to take our investigator to get to know the youth, so we got to go on an awesome hike. We hike from about 8,500 feet to about 10,500 feet elevation. It was a beautiful hike and very spiritual as well. We got to say a prayer on the top of the mountain and wow that was amazing. I am very grateful that i got to go on that hike and see all of that. It was definitely an experience I will never forget.
Well there is pretty much my week, it was definitely a great week but it was a very interesting one as well. I love you all very much and I hope your week goes great
Love Elder Payne
Monday, May 13, 2013
Email: No transfer and Pictures
Hi guys,
I'm sorry but this email is going to be very short. It is just basically to inform you that I am not being transferred. Elder Hyde and I am staying together for another 6 weeks. There are three of the Elders that are being transferred out. I am excited to get to know some new Elders and get to know new people.
It was so good to get to talk to you all Yesterday. You don't really know how much you miss someone until you get to talk to them again. I just want to thank you all for all that you have done for me. I truly have the best family in the world. i don't know what I would do without you all. So thanks again for being such a wonderful family. Hey dad I was just wondering if you could send me out my "toolbox" binder out to me. I would really love to have it. Well family you are all great and I promise that next weeks email will be much longer ha ha love you
Love Elder Payne
I hope you enjoy my pictures.
Brother Allan's mountain man stuff-
For Whitney-
A member called my Mom for Elder Payne's favorite cake and made her famous chocolate cake for him!
Birthday packages!
Mikayla was baptized on Elder Payne's birthday! Hunter was a witness.
Making goop with Mikayla-
Birthday celebrations for Hunter!
Letter from Drake! Drake loves to cut little pieces of paper, scribble on them, and put them in an envelope for his uncle. He also drew him a picture of himself and wrote his name! This all came in one envelope. :)
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Monday, December 24, 2012
Email: Skype Tomorrow!
Hello Family,
Well its a little crazy to think that in just a few short hours I get to talk to you all. I was reading your email and it sounds like there are going to be quite a few people there. So I am officially going to be skyping at 9 o'clock my time so 10 o'clock your time. I can probably Skype for about 2-3 hours. we are just at our Ward mission leaders house and there is nothing else going on for the rest of the day. They are giving us a full P-day. Today however is only a half P-day, so we have to be out doing stuff at 2. What is funny though is that they said they don't want us proselyting or doing anything like that, which brings up the question, What are we supposed to do? haha so I guess we will figure something out. I got the big package you sent me but I haven't gotten the little one that is supposed to be for today yet. I hope it shows up soon. Anyways I wont tell you too much about what has been going on so I can talk about it tomorrow. I love you all and cant wait to see and talk to you all tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh ya and aren't you glad the world didn't end this past week haha
Love Elder Payne
Monday, December 10, 2012
Email: Senior Companion
Well hello to all,
Well this has been an absolutely insane week filled with a lot of change. Just to start things off, Tuesday Elder Newcomb packed up everything and headed down south a little ways to what is called Antelope. He was sad to leave this area but I was definitely ready to see him go. It is kind of strange that now I am going to be senior companion all of the time. Especially with only having been in this area for 6 weeks, but I am up for the challenge. So Tuesday afternoon me and another Elder that is training headed down to Antelope to a meeting with President Weston. All of the trainers got together and President Weston gave us some instruction on everything that will be going on as far as training goes and what he expects of us. He told us that the elders that are 6 weeks out right now and the ones that are just getting here are the two most important groups to come out, because they are going to be the ones to train the brand new influx of missionaries this coming spring. So that was really neat to hear. So Wednesday morning was the day that we actually got paired up with our companions. My new companions name is Elder Holbrook. He is from Meridian, ID so I give him a hard time about being from Idaho all the time. haha He is 19 years old and graduated in 2012. He is really smart and knows his stuff really well. He has great greeney fire so he likes to work really hard. I really believe that we are going to be able to get some really great things done in this area.
So as far as the people in this area that we are currently teaching. Hailey is still doing really well. She has been going through a bit of a rough patch as far as transitioning from old ways and old friends and old habits to doing positive and good things. She is a strong girl though and I know she is going to do just fine. The couple with the twins, well that is kind of a sad spot right now. They have split up. It doesn't look like there is much hope for them to get back together either. It is so sad to see a family torn apart like that, but that just shows you how easy it is to walk away when you are not married. We are still teaching him and hopefully things will improve in his life. The man being baptized his name is Rodney. He is in his 50's. We are really excited for it because he has been taught for quite a while. There has been a huge change in his life and in his countenance over the past month and a half. So very exciting news Elder Holbrook and I found 3 new investigators this past week. One is a guy named Manny, the other two are a mother and daughter who are about 77 and 40 something. They seem really interested and I know that the things we teach them will bless their lives. They have both gone through many hard times with loss of family and many trials so I know that they will be comforted by what we have to say. This past Friday we had this really awesome program go on. It was called the Holy Night. It was a big program that was all just singing and musical parts praising Christ's birth. It was such an amazing experience to go and feel the spirit there. Just like you were saying mom, there is a special spirit in the air with music. Anyways what it was, was a big stake choir that sang for about 45 minutes. We were able to get about 4 investigators there, which was great. It was so neat to hear the choir and see the love that they were proclaiming through song. This coming week should be a busy one. We have a lot of people to visit and a lot to do.
For all of you that don't know my family sent me and awesome Christmas package, filled with all kinds of goodies and decorations of every sort. I love the Christmas season so it was fun to decorate the apartment up a bit. My pride and joy is the tree that they sent me. I personally think it looks fantastic and definitely gets me in the Christmas spirit. I also got to help a family in my ward decorate their tree it was a lot of fun and made me feel like I was back home decorating the tree their. Unfortunately the tree was a little tall for one of the guys to put the star on top so I helped him out by letting him sit on my shoulders and then climbing the ladder. haha oh what fun!
So that is about all I have for this week. Things are going great and I am loving it out here. I love you all and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
Love Elder Payne
Well this has been an absolutely insane week filled with a lot of change. Just to start things off, Tuesday Elder Newcomb packed up everything and headed down south a little ways to what is called Antelope. He was sad to leave this area but I was definitely ready to see him go. It is kind of strange that now I am going to be senior companion all of the time. Especially with only having been in this area for 6 weeks, but I am up for the challenge. So Tuesday afternoon me and another Elder that is training headed down to Antelope to a meeting with President Weston. All of the trainers got together and President Weston gave us some instruction on everything that will be going on as far as training goes and what he expects of us. He told us that the elders that are 6 weeks out right now and the ones that are just getting here are the two most important groups to come out, because they are going to be the ones to train the brand new influx of missionaries this coming spring. So that was really neat to hear. So Wednesday morning was the day that we actually got paired up with our companions. My new companions name is Elder Holbrook. He is from Meridian, ID so I give him a hard time about being from Idaho all the time. haha He is 19 years old and graduated in 2012. He is really smart and knows his stuff really well. He has great greeney fire so he likes to work really hard. I really believe that we are going to be able to get some really great things done in this area.
So as far as the people in this area that we are currently teaching. Hailey is still doing really well. She has been going through a bit of a rough patch as far as transitioning from old ways and old friends and old habits to doing positive and good things. She is a strong girl though and I know she is going to do just fine. The couple with the twins, well that is kind of a sad spot right now. They have split up. It doesn't look like there is much hope for them to get back together either. It is so sad to see a family torn apart like that, but that just shows you how easy it is to walk away when you are not married. We are still teaching him and hopefully things will improve in his life. The man being baptized his name is Rodney. He is in his 50's. We are really excited for it because he has been taught for quite a while. There has been a huge change in his life and in his countenance over the past month and a half. So very exciting news Elder Holbrook and I found 3 new investigators this past week. One is a guy named Manny, the other two are a mother and daughter who are about 77 and 40 something. They seem really interested and I know that the things we teach them will bless their lives. They have both gone through many hard times with loss of family and many trials so I know that they will be comforted by what we have to say. This past Friday we had this really awesome program go on. It was called the Holy Night. It was a big program that was all just singing and musical parts praising Christ's birth. It was such an amazing experience to go and feel the spirit there. Just like you were saying mom, there is a special spirit in the air with music. Anyways what it was, was a big stake choir that sang for about 45 minutes. We were able to get about 4 investigators there, which was great. It was so neat to hear the choir and see the love that they were proclaiming through song. This coming week should be a busy one. We have a lot of people to visit and a lot to do.
For all of you that don't know my family sent me and awesome Christmas package, filled with all kinds of goodies and decorations of every sort. I love the Christmas season so it was fun to decorate the apartment up a bit. My pride and joy is the tree that they sent me. I personally think it looks fantastic and definitely gets me in the Christmas spirit. I also got to help a family in my ward decorate their tree it was a lot of fun and made me feel like I was back home decorating the tree their. Unfortunately the tree was a little tall for one of the guys to put the star on top so I helped him out by letting him sit on my shoulders and then climbing the ladder. haha oh what fun!
So that is about all I have for this week. Things are going great and I am loving it out here. I love you all and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
Love Elder Payne
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
...And He's Off!
Right at this very moment, Hunter is on an airplane to California!
We were so excited to get to talk to him this morning. He called from the SLC airport at about 7:05am.
He sounded so great! Nervous, but excited to get out there!
For us, it was so wonderful to hear his voice!
We can't wait to hear from him in California!
I wonder what today holds for him?
I wonder what today holds for him?
We love you Elder Payne!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Called to Serve: Entering the MTC
Hunter entered the MTC and began his mission on Wednesday, May 30, 2012.
In the words of a friend, it was a day filled with
EXCRUCIATING JOY.
We are so unbelievably proud of him for his desire, his choice, and his willingness to serve the Lord as a full-time missionary. We have no doubt that he will have incredible success. We know that this is where he is supposed to be and that he was called to Roseville, California for a specific reason. We can't wait to see him learn and grow over the next 2 years. We will miss him more than words can express, but we are SO EXCITED for him and wouldn't want him anywhere else!
We love you so much Hunter!
Here are pictures from the day we took him to the MTC-
Hunter held up this sign as he passed Alex Munns and his family at the crossroads in Tremonton.
Alex was on his way to the MTC as well!
Hunter was greeted with this awesome message as we drove under the Forest St. exit overpass.
Lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. The guys telling him what to expect when he gets to the MTC.
Nervous, but excited!
Walking to the Provo Temple to take pictures and say goodbye...
It was a beautiful day outside.
Families on the left saying goodbye to their missionaries...
Dad stuffed Hunter's suit coat pockets with money when Hunter wasn't looking.
Time to say goodbye see you in 2 years.
Advice from Dad...
Driving into the MTC. Dad kept it light and said to the traffic guide, "Hi, we're looking for Wendy's?" haha!
Hunter saw his buddy Hayden Marsh directing traffic while we were driving in. They talked for just a second as we drove by. Hayden has been there for 6 weeks. Hunts was so excited to run into him!
Elder Payne's drop-off number. 24= 24 months! We all loved this!
And now we wait for our first letter....!!!
Stay tuned!
Set Apart as a Full-time Missionary
Hunter was set apart as a full-time missionary on May 29th at 8:00pm.
Those in attendance were his Mom & Dad, his siblings- Robert, Lindsay, Tyler, Staci, Katelyn, & Hannah, his nephew Drake, his cousin Whitney, his best friend Derek White, his Grandpa Rose, and his aunts and uncles- Becky, Wayne, and Scott & Christie.
President McMurdie talked with the family and then asked those in the room to say a few words to Hunter if they desired. The spirit was strong as our family sat in that circle and told Hunter of our love for him and bore testimony to him.
Then, President McMurdie laid his hands on Hunter's head and set him apart as a full-time missionary. He then gave him a beautiful blessing of advice, encouragement, and strength for his mission.
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