MTC Pictures

Pictures from MTC sent home by Hunter (with his captions)

5/30/12-6/19/12

First time all in room-

My MTC companion, Elder Atkin-

My district-

Our classroom-

Studying hard-

View out our classroom window-

District-

Elder Christensen-

Sunday walk-

FOOD! (Packages from family)

All of our name tags-

Elder Miyasaki-

The temple-

All the same Mr. Mac suit-

Through the peep hole-

Blanket fort-

Blue Day-

Sunday before we leave-

Departing district and branch presidency-

Drake's hoop he sent Uncle Hunter

Brother Gardner (teacher)-

The "Map"-

Hannah's package-

(Hunter's little sister Hannah made these out of duct tape!)

Me and President Wann-

Last goodbyes-

Email: Soon Leaving the MTC

Saturday, June 16th

Hello hello hello everyone,
                              Well the time is drawing near. I am officially departing the MTC on Tuesday the 19th at 5 in the AM. SO far the MTC has been such a great experience for me. I have absolutely loved it. I was looking back through some of my journal entries from the past few weeks and I am pretty sure that every single one says that that day wsa more amazing then the last. It is beginning to be a similar theme that i have been writing about, but it is so trueevery day has new trials and new accomplishments and it is so amazing the feeling I get from being in here.I have been so blessed to be able to see the mighty change of heart and mind that has taken place in myself. I attribute every bit of that to this place. I saw the new missionaries come in this past Wednesday and I just couldnt help but think wow that was me just a few weeks ago. Now I feel so much more mature and enlightened then i did then. What is also crazy to think is that in just a few short days i will be out in the field proselyting and teaching real investigators. It is a scary thought but I know that through all of your support and love and the grace of the Lord I can accomplish anything.
                          I just want to thank you all for the letters of support that you have been sending me and if I havent written back I will be shortly. Things are just always so crazy and busy here that I barely have any down time to write letters back to you all. Also thank you all for all of the food and packages you have sent me. I am now known as the Elder with all of the food. I will be sending my memory card with all of the pictures in it showing you just how much food I really have.
                       Mom in response to your email yes I met a teacher here. I know her as Sister Fuller, but she knew Tyler and Staci both. That is awesome that she emailed you and told you that we met. It was really great getting to meet someone that was from my hometown. There have been a lot more familiar faces here as well. I have seen Mitch Casey recently. He came in this Wednesday with the new group. I have also gotten to see Elder Marsh quite a bit. I see Elder Christensen almost everyday and pretty much everyone else that is out from our town. My companion is constantly asking if my entire town jsut decided to go on a mission at the exact same time.
                         So i heard about Derek and his ankle. That is absolutely crazy! Tell him he better recover quick because they dont deal with excuses here. They will just take him out back and put him down if it starts bothering him. haha no just kidding tell him to get feeling better and I hope he is up and going in no time.
                         So just to let you know the hair cuts here look ridiculuos. One of the Elders here got one and it looked so dumb. They basically try to make it so no girl will ever want to come near you. SO i decided I would skip the hair cuts here and jsut get one out in the field. Tell Nicky that they need to get her in here so the missionaries will actually look presentable haha. So I hope that everyones summer is going well write me and let me know what is going on. I love you all and hope that all is well.
                                                                                   Love you all,
                                                                                                     Elder Payne

Email from an MTC worker

Friday, June 15th

Hi everyone,
  Staci got this message tonight from a friend that she and Ty went to High School with.  I thought it was so neat I had to share it with everyone. It was great to hear about Hunter from someone else's point of view.  He sounds great. He is very excited to get to Roseville and practice what he has been learning.  We will get his weekly email tomorrow and I'll forward it to all of you but this was so special to me I just couldn't wait to share:)  Love you all and thanks for your prayers in his behalf.  I know he feels them!!
Love,  Sheri

"I hope all is going well in your life. I work at the MTC and was going around helping in different classrooms tonight and realized we had a missionary from Tremonton! We talked and found connections. Part of my job is being taught as an investigator to give missionaries an opportunity to practice the things they learn. I was taught by Elder Payne and his district tonight. Elder Payne is such an amazing missionary and taught with great power! I wish I would've realized he was in the classroom next to mine a lot sooner, but he leaves on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Anyway, I wanted ya'll to know that he looks happy, has great teachers, and listens to the Spirit as he teaches! I was really impressed by the spiritual maturity and power he has.

Have a great day!"

Email: Travel Plans for Roseville, CA

Wednesday, June 13, 2012 (11:07am)

Hi mom so just wanted to let you know i got my travel plans! I leave Tuesday at like 5 in the morning. The flight doesnt leave SLC until like 8:30 or so. I love you all and just wanted to let you know what was going on. I love you all and look forward to hearing form you. I think my harmonicas could be in my junk drawer under my bed or up in the top of my closet. If you do find it please send the song book that was with it if it is there. Thank you all so much and I love you lots. My Pday is Saturday this week so look for my email then.

Email: Doing great in the MTC!

Friday, June 8, 2012 (10:52am)

Hello to my wonderful family!
         Everything is going great here at the MTC. I am loving the people and the experiences that are being presented to me. Don't worry I am recieving all of the packages that you have been sending me. In fact I am getting to be one of the most popular missionaries because of all the food that I have. I think that my District was a little upset at me because the other day there was a big stack of poackage call sheets so many of the missionaries were excited becasue there were so many. Turns out basically every one of them were for me I got 5 of about 7 packages that day. haha I felt kind of bad so I started giving a lot of the food away. I also have so much candy that I had to start a community box where anybody can put any candy they dont want and and take whatever they want to. I figured that it would be a good way to share throughout our District. Also in case you were worried that they werent feeding me or something and that is why you are senidng so much food, worry not because I am very well fed here. Lunch and Dinner here is always awesome and the best part  of it is that it is all you can eat all the time. I am trying to limit myself to just one entree a meal but it is difficult because most of the food here is really delicious. The best days definitely have to be Wednesday and Sunday for dinner. There is an all you can eat ice cream bar with multiple kinds of ice cream, homemade hot fudge marshmallow cream and caramel. I feel like I am going to explode after those meals. I can see how easily someone can come in  here and pack on about 15 pounds in a only a matter of weeks. I am trying to keep those pounds off by going to the gym everyday. There are a lot of activities that I can do here such as soccer, softball, running, basketball, volleyball, and foursquare. However I prefer to lift most days. We only are allowed about 50 minutes for gym time and I figure that I can utilize that time best in the weight room. If you could even call it that. It only has dumbbells up to 75 pounds with about 4 benches. I try and make the best with what I have. I also try and bike atleast 23 miles each day. So that when i get out in the field when i do start biking it wont absolutely kill me.
            I am truly loving the work that we are doing here. It is hard sitting in classrooms for 3-4 hours at a time, buit things I am taking out of it are invaluable. I am learning not only things about the Gospel but also many things about myself. This past Sunday was a fast Sunday. I decided that my fast was going to be on more fully understanding the role of the Atonement in my life and help me to better grasp what the Atonement means to me. That day I was blessed to hear abnout 3 talks on the Atonement and multiple testimonies from many other Elders. That was such a testimony builder for me. To have my prayers answered in such a cleart and concise fashion. It is amazing how fast one matures in here. I cant believe it was only a week ago that I was first coming in here. In that week I have grown more than probably any period in my life.I attribute that to the amazing spirit that is here at the MTC. I have to be honest though there have been times where I have felt very disheartened and low but it does not take long to rebound and be able to turn any bad experience into something positive and help me learn from it. I want you all to know how much I love the work that I am doing. As much as I miss you all there is no where else Iwould rather be right now.
            So I heard Hannahs callbacks went good. That is fantastic I know that she can go as far and be as great as she wants to as long she puts her mind to it and trusts in the Lord. Through the Lord you can do all things. Hannah I want to let you know how proud I am of you and your commitment to better yourself. I love you very much. Katie I want to let you know how beautiful you are. I am so proud of the beautiful young woman you are growing into. Make sure you are helping your little sister she looks up to you as an example. I love you all very much and I appreciate all of the love and support you are sending my way. I would not be able to be out here doing what i am doing if it were not for all of you and the prayers that you bless me with. I love you all so very much.
                                                                                             Love Elder Payne

First Email from the MTC!

Sunday, June 3, 2012 (9:05am)

Hello  Mom and Family
                        Well everything is going pretty well here so far. Just not really how i expected it to be. The schedule is extremely demanding and I dont think I have ever been so tired in my life. It is truly amazing how much can be packed into one day. I am learning a lot and experiencing some pretty amazing things. I am however having a little trouble understanding the doctrine that is being taught. I am working very hard and praying earnestly that things wil soon click. Me and my companion have been teaching "investigators" so far it has been going well only we didnt do so well on the second one we taught. Right now we are learning of the Doctrine of Christ and hwo it applies to the first lesons.  Oh yeah i forgot to put this in my letter but my companion reminds me a lot of Alex Perry. Well I dont have very much time just know that I love you all and I am praying for you all. Tell the family I love them and tell Hannah good luck with her play. I love you all so much take care.
                                                                                                                                   Love Elder Payne

If you signed up to receive email notifications on the right sidebar on this blog, will you please let me (Lindsay) know via Facebook if you received an email that I had posted? I'm wondering if the "Follow by Email" thing is working or not. Thanks!

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!