Dear family,
Well I sure hope you all had as good of a week as me. Things out here are still going great. We have been seeing miracles and great things out here. Anyways so let me get into the week a little bit for you.
So last Sunday all of California was authorized by the first presidency to fast for rain. Everyone was very strongly encouraged to do that because we are witnessing one of the worst droughts in California's history. It went almost 60 days without any rain! All of this in the middle of what is supposed to be the wet season. A lot of the smaller communities were getting really scared because many of them were going to be out of water in approximately 60 days or so. So as you can see things were getting pretty bad. Then we fasted and prayed for what we needed. The weather forecast for the week on Sunday showed nothing just sun and a few clouds, then Monday what was the forecast...rain! And rain it did. It drizzled just a little the first part of the week then about Thursday it really opened up. It was amazing to see the miracle that was taking place. It pretty much rained from Thursday to Sunday evening. Everyone was just so ecstatic with what was taking place. Sunday was really fun because of all of the prayers and gratitude that everyone was giving to our Heavenly Father for the moisture that we were receiving. This past weeks fast and the rain we got will forever be a great testimony builder to me. It is amazing to see how much our Heavenly Father cares for all of his children. A lot of the parents out here were saying how much this meant for their kids and how that now their kids can see that prayer really does work.
Anyways so as far as working with people recently we are still really working on getting more people to teach and finding more new investigators. We were able to pick up one new investigator last night. We have been working with this lady named Sandina Rice. We usually just talk with her outside her house but then she started telling us how she wants us to come in and teach her son, Darius. He is 13 years old and a real good kid. She was telling us how that a lot of her kids have kind of chosen the wrong paths in life and that she
wants him to go down a better path. So we are going to do our best to help him.
We are still working with a lot of returning members. One of them is a guy named Cody. He is really cool, he likes guns and sports and stuff so Elder Harman and I have a lot of stuff to talk with him about. He has come to church for the last 2 weeks in a row. I will make sure and keep you updated.
Well I love you all so very much. It looks like everyone back home changing so much it is crazy. I don't know what to think about it all. Well you are all in my prayers.
Love Elder Payne
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Monday, February 10, 2014
Monday, November 25, 2013
Email: AMAZING week!
Hello to my great family,
Well let me just start out by telling you that we had an amazing week! I don't know what it is that all of you were praying for or what you did differently with your prayers but it definitely worked. So I'm sure you remember the family I told you about that the parents decided last Sunday that they wanted to get baptized Thursday. Well let me tell you what took place with them. So Monday we got a text from Tara the wife, know let me tell you why that was big news. Usually whenever she would text us it was to cancel things with us, but this time she was just confirming the baptism but just moving it to 7:30. Phew that was an exciting moment. Anyways Tuesday we were in a bit of contact with them just confirming a few plans with them. Then on Wednesday we were planning on going over to their house for their interview, well like I said whenever Tara texts us it is usually to cancel. Well that is what happened she said that is was their sons birthday party that night so we would have to reschedule for another time. Well we weren't just going to let a text stop us. Knowing that it was their oldest sons birthday we took that as a perfect opportunity to go over there with a gift. We bought him this little remote control car that was pretty cheap. Then we wrapped it up in a proselyting pamphlet and took it to him. We were able to go over a few things and plan the interview for the next day. So now we were coming down to the wire. We usually like to have the baptismal interviews done about 2 or 3 days before the baptism, this time we didn't have that luxury. So here comes Thursday. We had a missionary correlation meeting in the morning with our Ward Mission Leader and went over a few things with him concerning the baptism. We were all freaking out a bit because of how close the interview was to the baptism. So here comes 3 O'clock ( which was the time of the interview). We headed over to there house all ready for the interview. We show up and what do you know things were in our favor that day. We found them all home and ready for us. The interview went great and Will was super excited. The only curve ball that got thrown at us was the wife, Tara. She told us that she wasn't quite ready to get baptized yet. We respected that and didn't push it, knowing that she would definitely feel something at the baptism. Then came the baptism. It was a very small baptism because they had only invited 3 families. They wanted to keep it very small and sacred for their family. If they had opened it up to the whole ward it for sure would have filled up the chapel. Anyways the program went amazingly, the talks that were given were amazing and definitely invited the spirit so strong. Then the baptism took place. I had one of the most overwhelming feelings from the spirit as he was baptized. All baptisms are fantastic but this one was very special because of what it means to this family. The husband has terminal cancer and has been battling it for a long time now. Now because he was baptized, will get confirmed on Sunday, receive the priesthood the same day and then baptize his boys and hopefully his wife as well on the 6th of December. I am just overcome with joy for this family. They have so much love and support from the ward and all those around them and since this took place it will only increase. Oh also the mother/ wife was overheard saying she feels like she should have gotten baptized that night. Didn't I tell you that I knew she would feel something. Now the worse case scenario is that the husband will be able to baptize his whole family practically. What a special experience that will be. So that is what took place with them. It was by far one of the defining moments on my mission so far.
On Friday we drove about an hour south to a place called Chico. We had the opportunity to meet with Elder Stanley G. Ellis of the Seventy. We had a great discussion with him and with President Weston as well. After the main meeting, which included 3 zones, we met as a leadership council. So all of the zone leaders and district leader and trainers as well as a few select others. He talked with us a lot about being a leader and setting the example. Overall that was a great meeting as well.
So as you see it was a great week. There was a lot that kept us busy. I love you all very much and hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Have fun down in St. George!
I love you Love Elder Payne
Well let me just start out by telling you that we had an amazing week! I don't know what it is that all of you were praying for or what you did differently with your prayers but it definitely worked. So I'm sure you remember the family I told you about that the parents decided last Sunday that they wanted to get baptized Thursday. Well let me tell you what took place with them. So Monday we got a text from Tara the wife, know let me tell you why that was big news. Usually whenever she would text us it was to cancel things with us, but this time she was just confirming the baptism but just moving it to 7:30. Phew that was an exciting moment. Anyways Tuesday we were in a bit of contact with them just confirming a few plans with them. Then on Wednesday we were planning on going over to their house for their interview, well like I said whenever Tara texts us it is usually to cancel. Well that is what happened she said that is was their sons birthday party that night so we would have to reschedule for another time. Well we weren't just going to let a text stop us. Knowing that it was their oldest sons birthday we took that as a perfect opportunity to go over there with a gift. We bought him this little remote control car that was pretty cheap. Then we wrapped it up in a proselyting pamphlet and took it to him. We were able to go over a few things and plan the interview for the next day. So now we were coming down to the wire. We usually like to have the baptismal interviews done about 2 or 3 days before the baptism, this time we didn't have that luxury. So here comes Thursday. We had a missionary correlation meeting in the morning with our Ward Mission Leader and went over a few things with him concerning the baptism. We were all freaking out a bit because of how close the interview was to the baptism. So here comes 3 O'clock ( which was the time of the interview). We headed over to there house all ready for the interview. We show up and what do you know things were in our favor that day. We found them all home and ready for us. The interview went great and Will was super excited. The only curve ball that got thrown at us was the wife, Tara. She told us that she wasn't quite ready to get baptized yet. We respected that and didn't push it, knowing that she would definitely feel something at the baptism. Then came the baptism. It was a very small baptism because they had only invited 3 families. They wanted to keep it very small and sacred for their family. If they had opened it up to the whole ward it for sure would have filled up the chapel. Anyways the program went amazingly, the talks that were given were amazing and definitely invited the spirit so strong. Then the baptism took place. I had one of the most overwhelming feelings from the spirit as he was baptized. All baptisms are fantastic but this one was very special because of what it means to this family. The husband has terminal cancer and has been battling it for a long time now. Now because he was baptized, will get confirmed on Sunday, receive the priesthood the same day and then baptize his boys and hopefully his wife as well on the 6th of December. I am just overcome with joy for this family. They have so much love and support from the ward and all those around them and since this took place it will only increase. Oh also the mother/ wife was overheard saying she feels like she should have gotten baptized that night. Didn't I tell you that I knew she would feel something. Now the worse case scenario is that the husband will be able to baptize his whole family practically. What a special experience that will be. So that is what took place with them. It was by far one of the defining moments on my mission so far.
On Friday we drove about an hour south to a place called Chico. We had the opportunity to meet with Elder Stanley G. Ellis of the Seventy. We had a great discussion with him and with President Weston as well. After the main meeting, which included 3 zones, we met as a leadership council. So all of the zone leaders and district leader and trainers as well as a few select others. He talked with us a lot about being a leader and setting the example. Overall that was a great meeting as well.
So as you see it was a great week. There was a lot that kept us busy. I love you all very much and hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Have fun down in St. George!
I love you Love Elder Payne
1st Pic is of the baptism
2nd Pic are all Elders who claim me as either a father, grandfather, or great grandfather in the mission.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Email: Crazy, Busy Week!
Hello to my wonderful family,
So did I mention last week that this was going to be a busy week, why yes I believe I did. Well that definitely came to pass. Holy smokes let me tell you this past week has been insane! It has been so stressful and yet at the same time there have been so many amazing things that have happened.
Let us start at the beginning of the week. How about Tuesday? So Tuesday we had interviews with President Weston. They went really well. He didn't have to much to say to me in fact it only took like five minutes. I think a big part of it was that I told him in my last interview before this that I just want to be one of those missionaries that he doesn't have to worry about. That he knows that I am always doing what I am supposed to do and being diligent. We talked a little about me being a zone leader and how I was liking that. We talked about the work a little bit, so ya it went well. So after that the miracles really started to happen. We had a lesson with Nike one of our investigators in the singles branch and we committed her to quit smoking and then right after that we committed her to be baptized. She accepted both so we are currently working with her on that. Well then later that evening we had a lesson with Dean and Tracey, and before I go on I am just going to tell you that they could really use your prayers. Anyways so we have been working with them for a long time now. Especially with Dean because he is trying to quit smoking and it has been really hard for him and that is the only thing holding them back from being baptized. Well we committed him right then and there to quit smoking and for both of them to be baptized. I then asked him for his cigarettes, it was extremely hard for him but he gave them to us. So for all three people we are working towards the 3rd of August for baptism. After that we went on exchanges the Assistants to the President. Well let me tell you that was an interesting day. I was with one of the assistants who is known as one of those missionaries that likes to brown noes President. Anyways it was a pretty good day. Apart from him partially offending one of the members of our ward.
Well the rest of the week was pretty great but stressful none the less. On Friday we had to do a ton of reports so yes mom there are a few things different about being zone leader. I feel like I am adjusting pretty well to all of the new work load though. So then came the craziest day yet, Saturday. So in the morning we had to drive about an hour and a half South to a baptism in a place called Chico. Someone that Elder McMurray taught about a year ago was getting baptized and he asked McMurray to come baptize him. So that was an amazing thing getting to see someone that went through so much get baptized. Then later on , on Saturday we had another baptism, this one was for Mitch who was an investigator in our ward. It went so well, he was just absolutely glowing. I love seeing someone who is so prepared get to enter into the waters of baptism. That is something that I have really seen out here so far. That there really are people that are so ready to be baptized. I love being able to feel the spirit in those lessons. I know for a fact that the lord is mindful of his children, he knows what we need and he loves us all so much. I also know that repentance is such a real thing. Repentance is available for everyone, no matter what we have done as long as we come with that truly repentant heart the Lord will forgive us.
So Sunday Mitch received the Holy Ghost. One of the members of the Ward was able to give him that. He told us that he just felt so much of a difference now. Well like I said there was a ton of stress this week but it was so worth it. It is a great feeling at the end of the day when you are able to lay your head down on the pillow and know you put in a hard days work. Well I love you all so much. Good luck to all of you especially Hannah and Katelyn. I know that you have a ton of stuff going on and just know that I am praying for you all. I love you and hope you all have a great week.
Love Elder Payne
So did I mention last week that this was going to be a busy week, why yes I believe I did. Well that definitely came to pass. Holy smokes let me tell you this past week has been insane! It has been so stressful and yet at the same time there have been so many amazing things that have happened.
Let us start at the beginning of the week. How about Tuesday? So Tuesday we had interviews with President Weston. They went really well. He didn't have to much to say to me in fact it only took like five minutes. I think a big part of it was that I told him in my last interview before this that I just want to be one of those missionaries that he doesn't have to worry about. That he knows that I am always doing what I am supposed to do and being diligent. We talked a little about me being a zone leader and how I was liking that. We talked about the work a little bit, so ya it went well. So after that the miracles really started to happen. We had a lesson with Nike one of our investigators in the singles branch and we committed her to quit smoking and then right after that we committed her to be baptized. She accepted both so we are currently working with her on that. Well then later that evening we had a lesson with Dean and Tracey, and before I go on I am just going to tell you that they could really use your prayers. Anyways so we have been working with them for a long time now. Especially with Dean because he is trying to quit smoking and it has been really hard for him and that is the only thing holding them back from being baptized. Well we committed him right then and there to quit smoking and for both of them to be baptized. I then asked him for his cigarettes, it was extremely hard for him but he gave them to us. So for all three people we are working towards the 3rd of August for baptism. After that we went on exchanges the Assistants to the President. Well let me tell you that was an interesting day. I was with one of the assistants who is known as one of those missionaries that likes to brown noes President. Anyways it was a pretty good day. Apart from him partially offending one of the members of our ward.
Well the rest of the week was pretty great but stressful none the less. On Friday we had to do a ton of reports so yes mom there are a few things different about being zone leader. I feel like I am adjusting pretty well to all of the new work load though. So then came the craziest day yet, Saturday. So in the morning we had to drive about an hour and a half South to a baptism in a place called Chico. Someone that Elder McMurray taught about a year ago was getting baptized and he asked McMurray to come baptize him. So that was an amazing thing getting to see someone that went through so much get baptized. Then later on , on Saturday we had another baptism, this one was for Mitch who was an investigator in our ward. It went so well, he was just absolutely glowing. I love seeing someone who is so prepared get to enter into the waters of baptism. That is something that I have really seen out here so far. That there really are people that are so ready to be baptized. I love being able to feel the spirit in those lessons. I know for a fact that the lord is mindful of his children, he knows what we need and he loves us all so much. I also know that repentance is such a real thing. Repentance is available for everyone, no matter what we have done as long as we come with that truly repentant heart the Lord will forgive us.
So Sunday Mitch received the Holy Ghost. One of the members of the Ward was able to give him that. He told us that he just felt so much of a difference now. Well like I said there was a ton of stress this week but it was so worth it. It is a great feeling at the end of the day when you are able to lay your head down on the pillow and know you put in a hard days work. Well I love you all so much. Good luck to all of you especially Hannah and Katelyn. I know that you have a ton of stuff going on and just know that I am praying for you all. I love you and hope you all have a great week.
Love Elder Payne
Monday, April 29, 2013
Email: Baptism Dates Set!
Dear Family,
Wow, let me tell you this past week has absolutely flown by. I have barely had time to breath. ha ha We definitely kept ourselves busy the entire week, which of course is a blessing. So let me tell you a little about what happened with the Allan family. SO they are the less active family that we have been working a lot with lately. Last we they agreed to have their children start taking the lessons. This of course was absolutely amazing news and something I have been waiting for, for a long time. So we went over Tuesday and had the Restoration lesson with them. It went absolutely amazing! They both were just taking it all in and seemed to be understanding very well what we were teaching them. We committed them both to be baptized and they both accepted! They are scheduled to be baptized on May 18th. On of the most amazing parts and the most spirit filled parts of the lesson was at the end. We started talking about prayer and the importance of it. I invited them all to kneel down and have a prayer, right then I asked Bro. Allan to give us the closing prayer because he is the head of the household. I just bowed me head and didn't even give a chance not to accept. Anyways he gave a wonderful prayer and after he finished he said," I want to let you Elders know that, that is the first time that I have prayed out loud in front of anyone in 20-30 years!" Holy smokes, at that moment the spirit was so strong it was almost tangible. There has been such a huge change in that family that it is amazing. I am just so grateful that I am able to be apart of it. We had another lesson with them on Thursday and that went extremely well too. We covered the Plan of Salvation and it went very smoothly. They were also in church on Sunday. They are coming a long very well.
So the finalizing of Mikaylas adoption went very well. They told us it honestly only took about 5 to 10 minutes once they got in there. We had a joint Restoration/Plan of Salvation lesson with her just to go through and overview everything. She is a very smart girl so she has everything down. She is on track to get baptized on May 11th.
Also I know that you asked about Cece and what is going on with her, well unfortunately we have not been able to get a hold of her at all this past week. We have called and called and gone over there. We are a little nervous that something may have happened so we are going to keep working on her. Hopefully everything is fine, but you never know.
Lastly for the big updates of our investigators there is Marian. She is the older lady that lives in our apartment complex. She actually came to church yesterday. She is actually doing very well. We are hoping that we can set a baptismal date with her soon, but she does still have a little ways to go. She is making great progress though. So as you can see things are picking up nicely. we have a few other potential investigators that we are working with so I will keep you updated with them.
Also just a quick note I found out recently that the Lopez family from Lincoln is going to be getting sealed together in the temple soon! I really hope President will let me go.
It looks like everyone is keeping quite busy back home. That is great! I really loved all of the pictures that you send me so keep that up. Little Savannah is growing up so fast it is crazy. Wow and she is such a beautiful little baby. Hopefully things will slow down eventually. I am sure they wont too son because it is getting close to the end of the school year so that always means there is plenty of stuff to do.
As far as skyping goes, I will most likely be doing it after my church which will be about 5 your time. That is what will work out best for me. Just letting you know so you can get everything worked out. Well everyone I love you all very much and I have definitely been feeling your prayers this past week thank you for all that you do. I love you all so much.
Love Elder Payne
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)