District Leader no more

Alright well a lot has gone on within the last week, and I have 10 minutes to write this before my time logs me off. first of all, thanks for the emails mom and dad! sounds like things are going pretty crazy over there. congrats on all those rental offers, mom! who's staying in my room? the house looks nice haha so thanks for the pics. Sorry i only had a little time to just skim through your email, and I can't print it off. Anyway, I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this but I was put into a district/zone with all the other St.  George spanish speakers, and I believe there are six of us. two of them have already left, and I'm envious haha. one of them in my district, Elder Church, is from Phoenix. I've met a ton of people from arizona and others who are going to the Tuscon mission. you might have them over for dinner someday, who knows! we got some new elders/sisters in our zone this week! they are some solid missionaries. it's crazy to think my MTC half way point is this week. the days are all mushed together now! oh my the way mom, I'll send my emails roughly the same time each monday, so you don't need to worry too much. you want something in spanish huh? el pescado es pesado con pecados. think about that for a minute. it doesn't make too much sense, but it sounds cool. I'm so happy for Andrew! that's amazing! I still haven't heard from him, so make sure he writes me. so Dallin leaves soon huh? when exactly? and Andrew Nolan? I'll be looking for them when they come. I saw Brandon Bryce the other day, which was cool. so yeah I am no longer the District Leader! after three weeks they switch us out. now it's elder Killian! he's cool, his parents own a popcorn business...Killian Korn. it's delicious, they sent us some! this week all the new mission presidents are here, which doesn't affect me. but it also means the quorum of the 12 and 1st presidency are here too! haven't seen any of them yet though. they're not really here for us though, so I'll be surprised if they speak to us...but that would be awesome! oh and I got a haircut this week! same as always...I look handsome! my companion, elder von kampen, is awesome. he struggles at spanish but loves teaching. he also hates birds...whenever we see one he says how he wants to shoot them or throw a rock at them. not sure why. well I'm at negative two minutes on the timer, so I'm in trouble! (not really) i'll have to send out some hand written letters later. thanks for all you guys do! I love this gospel and I love the people I will serve! Christ lives and we need to invite everyone to come unto him after we come unto him ourselves. love you all!

con amor,
Elder Payne :)

New Companion!

What's up yall! This past week has been pretty crazy! Elders Holmstead, Smith, and Sanderson all moved up to intermediate spanish this week, and now i'm companions with elder Von Kampen. He's a little different than elder holmstead, but it's a cool experience to have a different companion. he talks about how much he loves green tabasco sauce and when his family sent him some, he about cryed with happiness. he has some pretty crazy dreams too, but i'll tell you about that in a couple years. But i'll miss elder holmstead! I wish i could send pics, but alas...not at the mtc. Elder holmstead said you guys should turn those two dead palm trees into a giant slingshot. try it! I loved to hear about elder stat going to oregon! Elder payne!? we always joked about how we would be companions, and now we are! sort of..... well the food isn't too bad over here..we had kalua pork followed by orange chicken this week, which reminded me of home! that was awesome. its crazy how at 930 pm the sky is still light outside. it throws me off. oh and we saw Elder Reis (one of the elders from The District) this week! that was cool, he's famous. apparently those elders train the missionaries who are about to leave into the field. HAPPY FATHERS DAY! to dad! I still haven't heard from him since I've been here, and I'm concerned he's not getting my emails/letters. someone please follow up for me! you're my only hope! Well, this should be my last week as District Leader. It's been fun. The older district is leaving this week. I'm gonna miss them...theyre like older brothers for us, and now we have to be the example for the new elders coming in this week. well shoot, time is already short, so I'll have to end here. I'll be sending out some hand written letters soon, but I need some addresses! Mom can you send them to me in a Dear Elder so I can send them off sooner? (thanks for Danny's) thanks! love you all!

please send addresses for:
Grandma Payne
Grandpa Hoopes
Elder Devin Hatch
Andrew Spencer
Elder Nathan Wright
Elder Ethan McBride

con amor,
Elder Payne :)

p.s. Thanks for the general updates about the new EAC rental stuff! that's awesome mom! good luck! the fans look sweet too. Good luck with all those talks Keith haha that's awesome! thanks for the dear elders qp! the support you guys give me is tremendous!

Week 2! Grass stains on my new Sneakers

Hey y'all, I just thought I'd try writing one email instead of like 3 or 4 different ones. Make sure everyone gets this, especially dad. I'm not sure if that's his email, but I think it is. If so, hi dad! I wrote him a letter and sent it in the mail, so I really hope he got that too. Alright, well the MTC is pretty awesome! My district is pretty awesome too, I wish I could send you guys some pics, but alas.... Being district leader is pretty fun, I get to conduct district meeting and attend a ton of other meetings throughout the week. There aren't any major concern within the district that I need to worry about, so I have it really good for now. Plus I'm the one who gets the mail for everyone. They can't open letters until right before bed, so it's fun to watch their dying anticipation while I hold onto their letters. HAHA! hmm, well I got to play soccer on either wed or tue. Don't remember. You lose track of time here. Anyway, I got some nice grass stains on my new sneakers, which is awesome! Today (and last monday) we went to the temple, which is always super nice and peaceful! My companion is kind of bummed about not being able to run very much...he's a long distance runner and usually runs like 50 miles a week or something. Now he's limited to the track in the gym, which is kind of lame. He's probably moving up to advanced spanish sometime soon, and I'll definitely miss him, he's awesome! Oh thanks for those Ricola cough drops mom, I've been fighting a little cold this past week, and they came in handy! yum. Sounds like you had a crazy girls camp experience mom! That story about the girl having to go home was sad. I forgot you were doing that, so thanks for the update and pictures! I met a guy in the lunch room that's going to santa cruz bolivia, and I told him about how qp went there, and how I (and mom) went there too. I havne't met anyone going to Peru yet, so we'll see. But yeah, things are just going as normal here. I really love sundays at the mtc, especially the firesides and films afterward. Last night after the fireside, me and elder holmstead went to watch a recording of David A. Bednar's "The Character of Christ" talk. He gave it on Christmas Day 2011 at the MTC, and it is seriously the best talk I have ever heard. It was intensely spiritual and life changing. But yeah, this next week should be interesting. We're getting two new "investigators" that we'll be teaching, but I don't know who my companion will be if elder holmstead leaves. We'll figure it out though! Let me know about anything, even if it's completely random. It makes my day better! I hope you guys are doing great over there. I haven't really been homesick at all, no offense. I'm already getting tired of the MTC haha I just want to get out there! hmm, well I need to go do laundry soon. There's just too much to talk about! Just know that I love you guys and appreciate your prayers! I pray for you every night, so I hope heavenly father is helping you guys out more than me. Yo se que el evangelio de Jesucristo es verdadero! yo prometo, 100%

Con amor,
Elder Payne :)

p.s. Someone will make sure that dad got my letter. thank you! Also, the Dear Elder thing works pretty good. OH WAIT I need Danny Ogas's address, if someone can get it to me. I need to either email him or write him. Thanks again! Until next week!

The FIRST letter

Hola madre! Well it's a super busy place here at el CCM en Provo. I am doing pretty well here! My companion is elder Holmstead from Maryland, and he is really cool...he is easy to talk to and reminds me a lot of myself, so that's good! My district is really awesome...most of us are going to St. George, so I'll be seeing them a lot these next two years! Also, I am the District Leader! They said that I was the one that needed to be chosen, that I have something I need to give to the other 5 companionships in the district. It's busy and mentally frustrating at times, pero it is fun and I know this is where I need to be! I'm sleeping and eating well, and the only real problem I have right now is my spanish. I feel so behind, even though I won't compare myself to others. I can barely say a few easy sentences, simple prayers, and simple testimonies. I need some advice! I believe the gift of toungues is real, and perhaps it's too soon in my mission to verify that. Esta bien! Suggestions are nice! I'm not to worried about home, but I would like to be updated on things going on. Is andrew still there? Are you renting out the house yet? I could write a million more things, but I only have 30 minutes for email. So if you need anything, just ask! Also, I cannot send pictures here at the MTC, so I will have to upload a bunch in August I guess. Since I'm district leader, I'm the one who checks the mail each day for the district. I have only gotten one letter...from you! So thanks, but I would like to hear from others. It brightens my day and keeps me happy, because Satan tries as hard as he can to discourage me every single minute here, but I'm fighting him off! Yo que se la iglesia es verdadero! Thanks mom, I love you!

Con amor, Elder Payne :)

P.S. Dear Elder works pretty well, and it gives me a hard copy of letters that I can read at my convenience. I cannot print emails here, so if you want, you can use Dear Elder. Either way, I just want to keep in touch!