Hola its me again, Hna Payne!
My first shout out goes to Brittany Brooks! I got your letter today and am soooooooo excited. YOU ARE GOING ON A MISSION!!!!!!!!!! I was getting ice cream and I wanted to cry I was so happy. Brazil????? Cool. I wrote you a letter today. It wont get in the mail until next week tho. P.s. I didnt understand a whole lot about the post it note. Haha details please! When? Where? Why? And why soo awkward? Send me an email.. I get them faster! =)
Okay this week... what to say?? We had like 10 baptismal dates.. but 4 of them lost them. BOOOO! We still have six though for December 25th. But only one of these people came to church this last week. Her name is Gladys. She is like 50 and in a wheelchair. She really liked church. We will see what happens. I think she will be baptized but Im afraid she wont be able to get to church every week. We had a taxi this last week which is great, but we cant do that forever.
We are trying to work a lot with the inactive families. We had one mom in church again! That was great. Her husband isnt a member. She has such a sad life. Her husband controls EVERYTHING in her life and doesnt let her go anywhere. Im really not sure how she left with her 7 year old son without her husband saying anything. There are sooo many people that live this way... brain washed, with no way out.
We have a great ward mission leader. Wili. He wants to go with us to lots of our appointments. This man has no shame. Ha he is definitely his own person. He and his wife are giving us lunch this week. She is soooo cute, she hasnt been able to quite talking about it, and that is with EVERYONE. She went to an appointment with us this last week and she was telling this inactive family that she knows, that we are having lunch with them. She was worried about what drink to get us. Sprite or fanta? Oh I feel soo bad, this family has nothing! It was his birthday last week (which we didnt know until it was too late) and they didnt have money to buy a cake. And here they want to give us lunch. Wow. I pray that the Lord will bless them for their sacrifice. I know that he always does. Im pretty sure the members sacrifice more than we think when it comes to lunch for us. Lunch appointments always fall through at the end of the month because no one has money then.
It sounds like thanksgiving was good. Im glad that yall all had a good time. Here it was just another day. But we did have lunch... which the assistants(that arent in our ward or area) tried taking away from us. We were not too happy, but the daughter of the bishop said that we had it. We have lunch every Thursday with the Bishop si o si! The assitants arent my favorite people. We had a run in with them yesterday. The way that approach things is always sooo acusingly. And then I dont have confidence in what im saying, for one i cant speak spanish and two I dont do well in situations like that. We were just doing what our zone leaders said to do. But it makes me so mad that I cant have conversations with people and defend myself without having confidence in what im saying. I dont know if that makes sense. Sorry, I feel like all of my letters are always soo scattered. Anyways, Im trying to love! And I just decided that I need to have more confidence in myself. I decided im not going to be afraid to talk to anyone. And if I am, well they dont have to know that!
Dusty! I just got your email like 2 minutes ago. I didnt understand the translating part? I wrote in english... Its quite possible that it still didnt make sense.. I never reread what I write. Sorry.
Hillary! Loved the letter. I will write next week!
I was trying to send pics but i dont know how... Boo!
Okay well I think that is about all! I love and miss you all! Have a great week.
Love,
Hna Payne
Monday, November 29, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Hola!! Its me again, Hna Payne!
Im sittin here in good Ol´ Resistencia. Man, are things different! This week has been a little crazy as we are getting to know the area! As far as I can tell Im going to love it here... really i know I will love all of the places. We were told that the ward is pretty big... there really werent very many people this last Sunday because it was raining. When it rains no one does anything.. work, school, or church. The primary was supposed to have had their program this last week, but it is postponed due to the rain. Im excited for this next week to meet all of the ward. We gave our testimonies this last week. At first I thought we had to speak... I about died... but then it was just our testimonies. Ha I would have been nervous no matter what. Hey, we had two investigators in church. One is an eternal investigator... She has known the church for like 8 years. Her Boyfriend is a member, she wrote him the whole time on his mission and he has been back for only 4 months. They have also been dating for the past eight years. They are kind of weird. No idea what her intentions are.... hopefully we can find that out and get her baptized. The other investigator is our neighbor. We live outside of our ward by a couple of blocks.. so she really isnt in our ward. We really arent sure what ward or what elders. Ah we are taking her as a tender mercy, that we didnt have to leave church to go look for anyone. This week we will have others!
Hey, we are in the ward of President. Ha that made me nervous. But then we found out that he really isnt ever in this ward. We didnt want him seeing us with out people in church. I guess its a good thing that we have plans to have lots =)
Hna Runyon has about a year in the mission. She goes home in June. I dont remember your other questions about her. She helps me a lot with my spanish. Hna Marilaf did a lot too. The only difference is that Hna Runyon knows the rules of spanish and can tell me why something is the way that it is. Ha if someone were to ask me rules about English I really woudnt know how to answer that.. And yes Hna Marilaf was great. Why did you think we didnt get along? We wont be BFF but we really didnt have any problems. She is a great missionary and I learned a lot from her. But Im glad for a change. Then again, I usually like change.
So our first night in Resistencia, the Elders took us to our apt where the elders were still packing up their stuff. Ha they left us to clean their dirt! Gross. I think they found out that day that they were to leave and didnt have any time to clean. Im a little sad because my other apt had air conditioning where we sleep. This one has solo fans. Ha we are going to die! Im not complaining, just stating the obvious =) I think Elder Foster from the Seventy said that all the apts need air conditioning, especially for those from the US. I think that is coming next year. Man, I really dont remember humidity it Texas, probably because that was just the way that it was for me. I didnt know a difference. But it is soooo weird being cold from the air, but hot from the humidity at the same time. Weird. I didnt really sweat in Utah, but that is quickly changing here. Yum =)
Our first day working was a taddy bit overwhelming? The elders gave us a map and left. Their area, now our area is the down town heart of Resistencia. I dont know what area to compare it to. It is ALL city with apts mixed into the streets. I want to give you an idea, but I really dont have anything... Every house that we knocked at were people that worked there, not the actual owners. And these people live in other areas kind of far. We didnt know what to do. Contacts in the streets were hard too because these people also didnt live here. But then the following day was the best news ever! We found out that we also have the area of other Elders. The two sets of missionaries in these two areas work in the office so they only had nights to work. So really not much. They are both in another ward and we have their areas. The other area is more of the area of what I had before. Well, its not the country, but there are dirt roads! Yay. We felt a lot better after that.
I know I say this a lot. But I really HATE dogs. There arent as many here is Resistencia. That is a relief. Haha I still pray for protection everyday though! Ha if its important to me, its important to the Lord too! Even if its something as stupid as dogs =) But this last week Hna Runyon was talking to this man and his dog was standing by me. All of a sudden I saw his leg go up.... (he was about to pee on me!) All of a sudden I let out a loud yelp. I didnt know what else to do. The man and my compa thought I was crazy. But no the dog was about to pee on me! NEVER in my life. Im really not sure what that means.. I smell like a dog? I look like a dog? (I was determined not to be an ugly sister missionary, but that has past. But I didnt know that I looked that bad) Or possibly he was just trying to mark me as his territory. Im not too sure, but I really dont like any of those ideas.
Mom, I got your Christmas count down. Very cute. Thank you!
Dust I got your Lake Powell card! I could smell the red sand. All we had in Posadas was red dirt. Now its all white. Definitely different. Hey, TODAY is your birthday! Happy Birthday!!!!!!!
Chels! I got your dearelder! Thanks for all the updates!
Rach! Im still waiting on your letter!
Random P.s. Yesterday was a holiday and today is our pday.
Yall are on your way to Karan´s right now! Weird. Dad are you frying turkey? Eat lots for me. They dont have turkey here. Someone said they saw some in the market for 80 pesos! Needless to say that I wont be eating any!
Okay well I cant really think of anything else. The Gospel if true and nothing else matters. Everyday I am soo grateful for all of the blessings of this Gospel. I still cant believe the opportunity that I have to be a part of this wonderful work. How blessed we truely are! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I love yall. Have a great week, and give everyone my love.
Love,
Hna Payne
Im sittin here in good Ol´ Resistencia. Man, are things different! This week has been a little crazy as we are getting to know the area! As far as I can tell Im going to love it here... really i know I will love all of the places. We were told that the ward is pretty big... there really werent very many people this last Sunday because it was raining. When it rains no one does anything.. work, school, or church. The primary was supposed to have had their program this last week, but it is postponed due to the rain. Im excited for this next week to meet all of the ward. We gave our testimonies this last week. At first I thought we had to speak... I about died... but then it was just our testimonies. Ha I would have been nervous no matter what. Hey, we had two investigators in church. One is an eternal investigator... She has known the church for like 8 years. Her Boyfriend is a member, she wrote him the whole time on his mission and he has been back for only 4 months. They have also been dating for the past eight years. They are kind of weird. No idea what her intentions are.... hopefully we can find that out and get her baptized. The other investigator is our neighbor. We live outside of our ward by a couple of blocks.. so she really isnt in our ward. We really arent sure what ward or what elders. Ah we are taking her as a tender mercy, that we didnt have to leave church to go look for anyone. This week we will have others!
Hey, we are in the ward of President. Ha that made me nervous. But then we found out that he really isnt ever in this ward. We didnt want him seeing us with out people in church. I guess its a good thing that we have plans to have lots =)
Hna Runyon has about a year in the mission. She goes home in June. I dont remember your other questions about her. She helps me a lot with my spanish. Hna Marilaf did a lot too. The only difference is that Hna Runyon knows the rules of spanish and can tell me why something is the way that it is. Ha if someone were to ask me rules about English I really woudnt know how to answer that.. And yes Hna Marilaf was great. Why did you think we didnt get along? We wont be BFF but we really didnt have any problems. She is a great missionary and I learned a lot from her. But Im glad for a change. Then again, I usually like change.
So our first night in Resistencia, the Elders took us to our apt where the elders were still packing up their stuff. Ha they left us to clean their dirt! Gross. I think they found out that day that they were to leave and didnt have any time to clean. Im a little sad because my other apt had air conditioning where we sleep. This one has solo fans. Ha we are going to die! Im not complaining, just stating the obvious =) I think Elder Foster from the Seventy said that all the apts need air conditioning, especially for those from the US. I think that is coming next year. Man, I really dont remember humidity it Texas, probably because that was just the way that it was for me. I didnt know a difference. But it is soooo weird being cold from the air, but hot from the humidity at the same time. Weird. I didnt really sweat in Utah, but that is quickly changing here. Yum =)
Our first day working was a taddy bit overwhelming? The elders gave us a map and left. Their area, now our area is the down town heart of Resistencia. I dont know what area to compare it to. It is ALL city with apts mixed into the streets. I want to give you an idea, but I really dont have anything... Every house that we knocked at were people that worked there, not the actual owners. And these people live in other areas kind of far. We didnt know what to do. Contacts in the streets were hard too because these people also didnt live here. But then the following day was the best news ever! We found out that we also have the area of other Elders. The two sets of missionaries in these two areas work in the office so they only had nights to work. So really not much. They are both in another ward and we have their areas. The other area is more of the area of what I had before. Well, its not the country, but there are dirt roads! Yay. We felt a lot better after that.
I know I say this a lot. But I really HATE dogs. There arent as many here is Resistencia. That is a relief. Haha I still pray for protection everyday though! Ha if its important to me, its important to the Lord too! Even if its something as stupid as dogs =) But this last week Hna Runyon was talking to this man and his dog was standing by me. All of a sudden I saw his leg go up.... (he was about to pee on me!) All of a sudden I let out a loud yelp. I didnt know what else to do. The man and my compa thought I was crazy. But no the dog was about to pee on me! NEVER in my life. Im really not sure what that means.. I smell like a dog? I look like a dog? (I was determined not to be an ugly sister missionary, but that has past. But I didnt know that I looked that bad) Or possibly he was just trying to mark me as his territory. Im not too sure, but I really dont like any of those ideas.
Mom, I got your Christmas count down. Very cute. Thank you!
Dust I got your Lake Powell card! I could smell the red sand. All we had in Posadas was red dirt. Now its all white. Definitely different. Hey, TODAY is your birthday! Happy Birthday!!!!!!!
Chels! I got your dearelder! Thanks for all the updates!
Rach! Im still waiting on your letter!
Random P.s. Yesterday was a holiday and today is our pday.
Yall are on your way to Karan´s right now! Weird. Dad are you frying turkey? Eat lots for me. They dont have turkey here. Someone said they saw some in the market for 80 pesos! Needless to say that I wont be eating any!
Okay well I cant really think of anything else. The Gospel if true and nothing else matters. Everyday I am soo grateful for all of the blessings of this Gospel. I still cant believe the opportunity that I have to be a part of this wonderful work. How blessed we truely are! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I love yall. Have a great week, and give everyone my love.
Love,
Hna Payne
Monday, November 15, 2010
Hola familia! Its me again, Hna Payne!
I just got a phone call from the assistants.... Im being transferred!!!!!!!!!!! Im white washing an area in Resistencia. My companion is Hna Runyon. She is here in Posadas with me right now. We leave tomorrow. I cant tell my compa though. I dont know why its a secret. Ha she thinks she is the one leaving. I get to pack my bags tonight. I dont know why they called today... we always find out Tuesday nights. Im really excited though. I love Hna Runyon. She is from Orem. We are going to work hard!
Well this week I dont really feel like I have a lot to say. We had zone conference and it was wonderful. We only have them every three months now. I wish more. We learned a lot. We learned how to be more direct and forward. This is soooooo hard for me. But something I really want to change. Ha I have always hated 创BIG GIRL创 conversations, so this is really good for me. We walked away from this conference with a better clarity of knowing who we are and the authority that we have. We put into effect what we learned with the approximate lesson. We are working hard! Speaking of working hard we had two investigators in church with us this Sunday. We found them Saturday about 5 in the afternoon. All we really talked about was the importance of going to church and they agreed to go. They declined that we stop by in the morning so we could go with them. We figured it woudnt hurt, so we did anyways. To our surprise when we clapped at their house (which by the way I love where they live. It reminds me of Texas in the country, really green.) she came out in her Sunday clothes. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They really meant what they said! They were really coming! We got to church (I dont know if I said that church is now at 8) and both talks were about tithing, right after we told them they didnt have to pay anything! Go figure! But the approximate class couldnt have been better. The lesson was on Temples and families forever! Her husband died 16ish years ago. Her son that is 30ish suffered some mental something or other when his died died. Needless to say they both want to be a family forever! Who doesnt want this. If only everyone realized that they cant be an eternal family without the temple. When we talk to families about living together after they all act as if they know they can be!!! Well that is why I am here isnt it? Baptism is only the beginning!
I told you my spanish was getting better.. I might have lied. With this same family we were talking about mornings, and I might have mentioned that we as missionaries practice exorcism every morning. Yes, you read that correctly, exorcism. Her eyes got really big and was like what?? Every morning?? My comp shook her heard yes, every morning. Hahahahahahhahahahahahah OOPS! What I meant to say was EXERCISE! We exercise every morning! Exercise and exorcism are quite similar in spanish! I think that has been my biggest oops.. other than the one time that I confused the name of a baby with a napkin. Ha to me they sounded really similar. Hey, at least I havent said anything about monkeys and the priesthood. Raelene told me to stay away from that one =)
EW! Guess what I ate this week. Chicken throat and chicken heart, and who knows what other part of the chicken! Okay it really wasnt that bad, it was just the fact that I knew what it was. Next time I wont ask what I am eating. I was really confused at first because part looked like chicken, and the other looked like hamburger meat... but all connected. I asked my compa what it was and she just told me to eat it. Then someone else said chicken throat. I was quite proud of myself, I only gagged once!
The holidays are coming fast. I cant believe Next week is Thanksgiving. Are yall renting a car to get to Karan磗? The good old days of Thanksgiving with Karan. Those are fond childhood memories at the lake house. Be sure to eat some BlueBell ice cream for me. When I was printing off my mail this morning there was Christmas music playing. Crazy. Hey since I will be in Resistencia I will for sure be able to see the Becksteads!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!! I will be spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with Hna Runyon. Im really excited for this change! A lot of things have changed in three months! Its time for me to grow more. Ha I can see where 18 year olds get married and then 10-20 years down the road they want a divorce because they are SO different. Okay, maybe that was a horrible example, and you probably dont understand.. but my point is yay for a change. Its amazing what you can do when you have to. Ha im about to have to =) Bring it on!
Mom, I got my package last week. Thank you sooo much! I love the shirts! It is getting quite warm here. Im not close to dying yet.. that means much more heat and humidity to come.
Hey, Im proud of your memorizing. We are supposed to memorize a scripture everyday from the Book of Mormon. I just found this out. Im determined that its impossible in english, much less spanish. Boo! Ha i know I need to stop complaining about it and just do it. The Lord will help me if I give it my best shot. Levi, remember that time you tried to memorize a scripture everyday for a photographic memory?? How many did you memorize? Who was it that said this?
Michael! I got your letter. I am now waiting for a follow up letter.... one that sounds more like the Mike that I know!
Okay, well the next letter will be coming from Resistencia! yay! Have a great week. Thank you all for all that you do!
Love,
Hna Payne
xoxo
I just got a phone call from the assistants.... Im being transferred!!!!!!!!!!! Im white washing an area in Resistencia. My companion is Hna Runyon. She is here in Posadas with me right now. We leave tomorrow. I cant tell my compa though. I dont know why its a secret. Ha she thinks she is the one leaving. I get to pack my bags tonight. I dont know why they called today... we always find out Tuesday nights. Im really excited though. I love Hna Runyon. She is from Orem. We are going to work hard!
Well this week I dont really feel like I have a lot to say. We had zone conference and it was wonderful. We only have them every three months now. I wish more. We learned a lot. We learned how to be more direct and forward. This is soooooo hard for me. But something I really want to change. Ha I have always hated 创BIG GIRL创 conversations, so this is really good for me. We walked away from this conference with a better clarity of knowing who we are and the authority that we have. We put into effect what we learned with the approximate lesson. We are working hard! Speaking of working hard we had two investigators in church with us this Sunday. We found them Saturday about 5 in the afternoon. All we really talked about was the importance of going to church and they agreed to go. They declined that we stop by in the morning so we could go with them. We figured it woudnt hurt, so we did anyways. To our surprise when we clapped at their house (which by the way I love where they live. It reminds me of Texas in the country, really green.) she came out in her Sunday clothes. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They really meant what they said! They were really coming! We got to church (I dont know if I said that church is now at 8) and both talks were about tithing, right after we told them they didnt have to pay anything! Go figure! But the approximate class couldnt have been better. The lesson was on Temples and families forever! Her husband died 16ish years ago. Her son that is 30ish suffered some mental something or other when his died died. Needless to say they both want to be a family forever! Who doesnt want this. If only everyone realized that they cant be an eternal family without the temple. When we talk to families about living together after they all act as if they know they can be!!! Well that is why I am here isnt it? Baptism is only the beginning!
I told you my spanish was getting better.. I might have lied. With this same family we were talking about mornings, and I might have mentioned that we as missionaries practice exorcism every morning. Yes, you read that correctly, exorcism. Her eyes got really big and was like what?? Every morning?? My comp shook her heard yes, every morning. Hahahahahahhahahahahahah OOPS! What I meant to say was EXERCISE! We exercise every morning! Exercise and exorcism are quite similar in spanish! I think that has been my biggest oops.. other than the one time that I confused the name of a baby with a napkin. Ha to me they sounded really similar. Hey, at least I havent said anything about monkeys and the priesthood. Raelene told me to stay away from that one =)
EW! Guess what I ate this week. Chicken throat and chicken heart, and who knows what other part of the chicken! Okay it really wasnt that bad, it was just the fact that I knew what it was. Next time I wont ask what I am eating. I was really confused at first because part looked like chicken, and the other looked like hamburger meat... but all connected. I asked my compa what it was and she just told me to eat it. Then someone else said chicken throat. I was quite proud of myself, I only gagged once!
The holidays are coming fast. I cant believe Next week is Thanksgiving. Are yall renting a car to get to Karan磗? The good old days of Thanksgiving with Karan. Those are fond childhood memories at the lake house. Be sure to eat some BlueBell ice cream for me. When I was printing off my mail this morning there was Christmas music playing. Crazy. Hey since I will be in Resistencia I will for sure be able to see the Becksteads!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!! I will be spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with Hna Runyon. Im really excited for this change! A lot of things have changed in three months! Its time for me to grow more. Ha I can see where 18 year olds get married and then 10-20 years down the road they want a divorce because they are SO different. Okay, maybe that was a horrible example, and you probably dont understand.. but my point is yay for a change. Its amazing what you can do when you have to. Ha im about to have to =) Bring it on!
Mom, I got my package last week. Thank you sooo much! I love the shirts! It is getting quite warm here. Im not close to dying yet.. that means much more heat and humidity to come.
Hey, Im proud of your memorizing. We are supposed to memorize a scripture everyday from the Book of Mormon. I just found this out. Im determined that its impossible in english, much less spanish. Boo! Ha i know I need to stop complaining about it and just do it. The Lord will help me if I give it my best shot. Levi, remember that time you tried to memorize a scripture everyday for a photographic memory?? How many did you memorize? Who was it that said this?
Michael! I got your letter. I am now waiting for a follow up letter.... one that sounds more like the Mike that I know!
Okay, well the next letter will be coming from Resistencia! yay! Have a great week. Thank you all for all that you do!
Love,
Hna Payne
xoxo
Monday, November 8, 2010
Hola Familia! It´s me again, Hna Payne!
This week was a little tough. Again, no investigators in church. We left right after sacrament so we could go find someone to come with us. Again, no one. Oh well, next week right?????? Sometimes I wonder if I have the faith to do this work. Right now Im not so sure.I know that my faith can cause miracles because everything says so.. but I dont have a testimony of this. I dont know if that makes sense. I know, I know, ¨forget myself and go to work¨ ¨remember who you are, and who you arent¨´ my job is to only invite... I know all these things. Our mission has the theme of baptisms every week. Well we cant even get people to come to church. But ¨its possible, its possible´´ again I know this. But what things am I doing, or not doing that need to change? Obviously a lot. I have six months in the mission and I dont feel like I have done anything. Booooo! Haha sorry this sounds REALLY negative. Dont worry, all is good. I know that this experience is shaping the rest of my mission. I wouldn't appreciate the good if I didnt know any of the downs of the mission.
Okay, now on to a much brighter note. We had divisions this last week. Best thing ever! I love change. (I might need to be reminded of this love someday). I was with Hna Mena in her area. I have actually worked with her before, my first week in the field when my compa had trainings. She entered into the field the day that I was supposed to get to Argentina. She is from Chile! We woke up and went running! Best day ever! It had been soo long since I had been running. We didnt go far. Maybe a mile, I was afraid to ask her to go more... Maybe my next compa will like running. We also had music in the apt. First time in 6 months since I have listened to music!!!!!! Another reason that it was the best day ever. Drew are you using my ipod??? I like divisions because it gives the chance of learning things from someone else. I have three months with the same person. It was nice to see how Hna Mena does things. I hope we will have divisions more often! It was so nice not to be in a routine. Its amazing what you can do when you have to! Hna Mena didnt know what I could do.. I just had to do it =) The Lord helps his missionaries, that is for sure.
Hey, Mom!!!! Today is your birthday!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MOMMY! HAPPY BIRHTDAY TO YOU!!!!!!! Where are yall going to dinner?? What did you get?
We fasted this week! Of course! It is getting quite warm here. I wanted water sooooo bad. The bad news is that it isnt even hot yet. Ha I cant wait until December. Im going to die =)
Well I decided that if things in the mission dont work out and i want to quit.... I found that I have options here. We were down by the river quite a bit this week. Every time we see this man that is working construction. He is always really nice and says hi. Well this one day he is walking with us a short ways and some how says that he wants to live with me... or possibly asks... not really sure, I had no idea what was going on. My compa was quite defensive and kept telling him no. He told her that I was the one that had to make the decison. HAHA but I didnt say anything because I didnt know what they were talking about. Ha but she told him that I had a boyfriend or something to that effect.(Everybody has one of those here. Its just easier to say so that guys will leave you alone) And he asked if I was married. Ha she didnt no why I wasnt adding to the conversation. I figured something bad was goin down and I didnt want to say anything and ruin what had been said! HAHAHAHA but really who says things like that. Oh, I forgot one important detail, he is like 65 years old! He has kids older than me! Well, just a word of warning, if this week is terrible, I know that I can find a ¨¨suga daddy¨¨here! HAAHAHAHAHAH EW!
Mom, you keep talking about Leah Brennan. The first thing you mentioned about her is taht you bought a skirt for her.....? That is all I know. Is she planning on school? Living with yall? Finding an apt?? What happened to Alex?
I will see Elder Beckstead this week at Zone conference, and then transfers next week. He is in a different zone, but we only have these like every 2-3 months and I guess it is easier to have them come to us. Soo weird, he only has one transfer left. Im excited to see him. I really hope that I will get to see Jan when they come. As for things to send im not really sure. I will think about this. Just send jan a brisket or ribs and they will be happy to bring anything. Ha I know what you mean by not knowing. Just ask her. She is sooooo sweet. She wont care if you ask. Ask about the airlines and the restrictions and what she is planning on.
Today for pday we went and had lunch, and then played soccer. I actually really liked playing. Today was really the first time that I have ever played. Hopefully one of these pdays we will get to go to the falls. Maybe I will be transferred to this area one day. I think its only like 5 hours away from us.
Hey, my spanish is getting better. I had to call the mission doctor to ask them a question for my compa. He doesnt speak spanish and when he said hello. I couldt for the life of me give an intro in english. Ha this is what I say the most everyday. HAHA no but really my spanish is getting better. Its still slow, but everyday is better. I cant wait until I can communicate EVERYTHING! But hey, gotta live in the moment and be thankful for what I have!
Dad! IM soooo excited for your news! Its about time =) Keep me updated on this! And thanks for your letter!
Karan! You are sooo faithful at writing. I appreciate this soooo much. Sorry I am horrible at writing! I will try to be better!
Grandma and Grandpa thank you as well for your letters. Again, sorry that I am horrible at writing.
Drew, soo faithful at writing too. But I dont know if I can call you my brother anymore. Ha you know why!
Well fam! Thanks for everything! Have a great week. Love you and miss you lots!
Love, Hna Payne
This week was a little tough. Again, no investigators in church. We left right after sacrament so we could go find someone to come with us. Again, no one. Oh well, next week right?????? Sometimes I wonder if I have the faith to do this work. Right now Im not so sure.I know that my faith can cause miracles because everything says so.. but I dont have a testimony of this. I dont know if that makes sense. I know, I know, ¨forget myself and go to work¨ ¨remember who you are, and who you arent¨´ my job is to only invite... I know all these things. Our mission has the theme of baptisms every week. Well we cant even get people to come to church. But ¨its possible, its possible´´ again I know this. But what things am I doing, or not doing that need to change? Obviously a lot. I have six months in the mission and I dont feel like I have done anything. Booooo! Haha sorry this sounds REALLY negative. Dont worry, all is good. I know that this experience is shaping the rest of my mission. I wouldn't appreciate the good if I didnt know any of the downs of the mission.
Okay, now on to a much brighter note. We had divisions this last week. Best thing ever! I love change. (I might need to be reminded of this love someday). I was with Hna Mena in her area. I have actually worked with her before, my first week in the field when my compa had trainings. She entered into the field the day that I was supposed to get to Argentina. She is from Chile! We woke up and went running! Best day ever! It had been soo long since I had been running. We didnt go far. Maybe a mile, I was afraid to ask her to go more... Maybe my next compa will like running. We also had music in the apt. First time in 6 months since I have listened to music!!!!!! Another reason that it was the best day ever. Drew are you using my ipod??? I like divisions because it gives the chance of learning things from someone else. I have three months with the same person. It was nice to see how Hna Mena does things. I hope we will have divisions more often! It was so nice not to be in a routine. Its amazing what you can do when you have to! Hna Mena didnt know what I could do.. I just had to do it =) The Lord helps his missionaries, that is for sure.
Hey, Mom!!!! Today is your birthday!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MOMMY! HAPPY BIRHTDAY TO YOU!!!!!!! Where are yall going to dinner?? What did you get?
We fasted this week! Of course! It is getting quite warm here. I wanted water sooooo bad. The bad news is that it isnt even hot yet. Ha I cant wait until December. Im going to die =)
Well I decided that if things in the mission dont work out and i want to quit.... I found that I have options here. We were down by the river quite a bit this week. Every time we see this man that is working construction. He is always really nice and says hi. Well this one day he is walking with us a short ways and some how says that he wants to live with me... or possibly asks... not really sure, I had no idea what was going on. My compa was quite defensive and kept telling him no. He told her that I was the one that had to make the decison. HAHA but I didnt say anything because I didnt know what they were talking about. Ha but she told him that I had a boyfriend or something to that effect.(Everybody has one of those here. Its just easier to say so that guys will leave you alone) And he asked if I was married. Ha she didnt no why I wasnt adding to the conversation. I figured something bad was goin down and I didnt want to say anything and ruin what had been said! HAHAHAHA but really who says things like that. Oh, I forgot one important detail, he is like 65 years old! He has kids older than me! Well, just a word of warning, if this week is terrible, I know that I can find a ¨¨suga daddy¨¨here! HAAHAHAHAHAH EW!
Mom, you keep talking about Leah Brennan. The first thing you mentioned about her is taht you bought a skirt for her.....? That is all I know. Is she planning on school? Living with yall? Finding an apt?? What happened to Alex?
I will see Elder Beckstead this week at Zone conference, and then transfers next week. He is in a different zone, but we only have these like every 2-3 months and I guess it is easier to have them come to us. Soo weird, he only has one transfer left. Im excited to see him. I really hope that I will get to see Jan when they come. As for things to send im not really sure. I will think about this. Just send jan a brisket or ribs and they will be happy to bring anything. Ha I know what you mean by not knowing. Just ask her. She is sooooo sweet. She wont care if you ask. Ask about the airlines and the restrictions and what she is planning on.
Today for pday we went and had lunch, and then played soccer. I actually really liked playing. Today was really the first time that I have ever played. Hopefully one of these pdays we will get to go to the falls. Maybe I will be transferred to this area one day. I think its only like 5 hours away from us.
Hey, my spanish is getting better. I had to call the mission doctor to ask them a question for my compa. He doesnt speak spanish and when he said hello. I couldt for the life of me give an intro in english. Ha this is what I say the most everyday. HAHA no but really my spanish is getting better. Its still slow, but everyday is better. I cant wait until I can communicate EVERYTHING! But hey, gotta live in the moment and be thankful for what I have!
Dad! IM soooo excited for your news! Its about time =) Keep me updated on this! And thanks for your letter!
Karan! You are sooo faithful at writing. I appreciate this soooo much. Sorry I am horrible at writing! I will try to be better!
Grandma and Grandpa thank you as well for your letters. Again, sorry that I am horrible at writing.
Drew, soo faithful at writing too. But I dont know if I can call you my brother anymore. Ha you know why!
Well fam! Thanks for everything! Have a great week. Love you and miss you lots!
Love, Hna Payne
Monday, November 1, 2010
Hola Familia!!! It´s me again, Hna Payne!
About the falls! We dont have any plans as of right now to go. We haven´t met our goal for baptisms. Speaking of baptisms, we didnt have one this last week =( We kept trying to get a hold of Lurdes but every time she wasnt home, or just wouldnt answer the door. We talked to her dad at church and he said that she hadnt said anything about a baptism… which she told us that her parents said that it was her decision. (Her dad and sister are members, but not her mom). So then he said that they were going to talk as a family. The next day was Wednesday and we couldnt get a hold of anyone. I knew someone was home.. just ignoring the door, and the phone. It came to be like 6 that night and we didnt have an appointment with someone until 7:30. I was determined to sit outside of their house for an hour and a half. Luckily they finally answered the door! But to our disappointment she said she wanted more time… that she wanted to finish this year of school that ends in November and then. I was trying to understand the correlation in this… We tried talking about it (all of this was in her stairwell because they were supposedly about to leave) but of course we couldnt drag her to the waters of baptism, so we left… boooooooooo! My compa thinks that its because of her mom! She was going to be baptized like two years ago but her mom wouldnt let her because of her grades?? At least that is what I understand from one of the members.
So this week on Tuesday, the day before the census we were ¨knocking doors¨ and this man told us to come right in. We were really surprised at how easy it was. I dont remember what was said. We started asking him about his family, how many kids he had, work, religion and so on. Then we asked if we could start with a prayer. He was a little shocked but of course said yes. We gave a short explanation about the Restoration and then asked if we could close with a prayer. He finally admitted that originally he thought we were part of the census! Hahaha we got a good kick out of that! But hey we got another appointment for the next day when his wife would be home. It was there that the wife said that she knew me! She was the lady that helped, or didnt help me in the hospital! She kept telling me that is was IMPOSSIBLE to get the test that the doc wanted, for one week. What a small world. Out of all the people in the world! We gave the first lesson, and they are really interested! I cant wait to see what happens with this family. I can only pray that they are the reason that I threw up blood! =) Oh and I gained a stronger testimony that we are representatives of Jesus Christ at ALL times! You never know who you will run into again!
This week we were working out (one of our days outside) and I saw an old investigator, one that we hadnt seen in a long time. I asked my comp about it and she said she had forgotten about her! Well, it wasnt 10 minutes later that she comes charging with a walking stick, all the while yelling at us, when I say us, I mean ME. I had no idea what was going on except that she was pretty angry. She couldnt see my compa because she was on the ground and I was jumping rope. She finally got close and I had no clue what she was saying, or rather yelling. I was so nervous I couldnt say anything. I tried asking her if she knew who we were. All the while my comp just sat there not very close. I told the lady that I was learning spanish and that I didnt understand, that my compa did. I kept looking at Hna Marilaf to help me. She finally woke up and started to talk to the lady. The only thing that I understood from her was when she looked at my companion and said that I wasnt normal. The significance is that Im special!!! Hna Marilaf explained that I was normal and that I speak english! Ha and I thought my spanish was getting better! But really, who calls someone special when they are standing right there! And why do people think that I am my country? Hate America if you want, but not me! That day we talked to one of the members that is a Police man just so that we could tell her no worries, we talked to the police and they said it was a public place! Quite funny! We havent seen her again. Im guessing we havent seen the last of her. Tomorrow we will see! HA
Okay well Im going to try and upload some pics now! Thanks for everything! Love you lots!!
Love Hna Payne
About the falls! We dont have any plans as of right now to go. We haven´t met our goal for baptisms. Speaking of baptisms, we didnt have one this last week =( We kept trying to get a hold of Lurdes but every time she wasnt home, or just wouldnt answer the door. We talked to her dad at church and he said that she hadnt said anything about a baptism… which she told us that her parents said that it was her decision. (Her dad and sister are members, but not her mom). So then he said that they were going to talk as a family. The next day was Wednesday and we couldnt get a hold of anyone. I knew someone was home.. just ignoring the door, and the phone. It came to be like 6 that night and we didnt have an appointment with someone until 7:30. I was determined to sit outside of their house for an hour and a half. Luckily they finally answered the door! But to our disappointment she said she wanted more time… that she wanted to finish this year of school that ends in November and then. I was trying to understand the correlation in this… We tried talking about it (all of this was in her stairwell because they were supposedly about to leave) but of course we couldnt drag her to the waters of baptism, so we left… boooooooooo! My compa thinks that its because of her mom! She was going to be baptized like two years ago but her mom wouldnt let her because of her grades?? At least that is what I understand from one of the members.
So this week on Tuesday, the day before the census we were ¨knocking doors¨ and this man told us to come right in. We were really surprised at how easy it was. I dont remember what was said. We started asking him about his family, how many kids he had, work, religion and so on. Then we asked if we could start with a prayer. He was a little shocked but of course said yes. We gave a short explanation about the Restoration and then asked if we could close with a prayer. He finally admitted that originally he thought we were part of the census! Hahaha we got a good kick out of that! But hey we got another appointment for the next day when his wife would be home. It was there that the wife said that she knew me! She was the lady that helped, or didnt help me in the hospital! She kept telling me that is was IMPOSSIBLE to get the test that the doc wanted, for one week. What a small world. Out of all the people in the world! We gave the first lesson, and they are really interested! I cant wait to see what happens with this family. I can only pray that they are the reason that I threw up blood! =) Oh and I gained a stronger testimony that we are representatives of Jesus Christ at ALL times! You never know who you will run into again!
This week we were working out (one of our days outside) and I saw an old investigator, one that we hadnt seen in a long time. I asked my comp about it and she said she had forgotten about her! Well, it wasnt 10 minutes later that she comes charging with a walking stick, all the while yelling at us, when I say us, I mean ME. I had no idea what was going on except that she was pretty angry. She couldnt see my compa because she was on the ground and I was jumping rope. She finally got close and I had no clue what she was saying, or rather yelling. I was so nervous I couldnt say anything. I tried asking her if she knew who we were. All the while my comp just sat there not very close. I told the lady that I was learning spanish and that I didnt understand, that my compa did. I kept looking at Hna Marilaf to help me. She finally woke up and started to talk to the lady. The only thing that I understood from her was when she looked at my companion and said that I wasnt normal. The significance is that Im special!!! Hna Marilaf explained that I was normal and that I speak english! Ha and I thought my spanish was getting better! But really, who calls someone special when they are standing right there! And why do people think that I am my country? Hate America if you want, but not me! That day we talked to one of the members that is a Police man just so that we could tell her no worries, we talked to the police and they said it was a public place! Quite funny! We havent seen her again. Im guessing we havent seen the last of her. Tomorrow we will see! HA
Okay well Im going to try and upload some pics now! Thanks for everything! Love you lots!!
Love Hna Payne
Monday, October 25, 2010
Hola familia! It´s me again, Hna Payne.
I know I say this every week, but I still cant believe that another week has come and gone, AGAIN! This week I realized that I practically have 6 months in the mission.... WOW!!!!!! That means I will get my trunky papers in like 6 more... (my comp just got hers today). I feel done before I even get started. I dont know if any of this makes sense? I can only imagine how fast one year will go by. I need that extra 6 months that the elders get. Well, I guess its good to know that it will one day come to an end.. that just means that I have to give my best everyday now, so that there wont be any regrets when I get back. That being said, I have a new goal! I have said goodbye to english, yup, thats right, no more english... (writing doesnt count) But I only have a year and I cant talk to these people, like I need and want! That just means I just have to work really hard now, and that means no more english with my compa. My spanish continues to get better everyday! It still isnt good, but its amazing what I know for only being here 2 months... (ah, basically 3!) I am loving the work more and more everyday. I am loving Argentina and the people more and more everyday too. I feel like this last week was a turning point. Not really sure why, it just feels that way.
This week we have an inactive family come back to church! We visited them last week and promised them that the Lord would help them receive enough money in 6 days where they woudnt need to work on Sunday if they committed to coming. (They said that before they couldnt come because the dad had to work.) When we went back on Saturday to make sure they were coming. He told us how the Lord really does love and help his children when they put Him first. He told us about how he received a couple of things from people in the week that are a big bonus to his work, things that will make work easier, and where he can sell more. Wow! How cool is that! All I can say is that the Lord´s promises are sure when we put him first and do our part. Sometimes, okay, most of the time that takes great faith! But if we have that relationship with the Lord before the trials come, we have no reason to doubt.
This Wednesday is the census. No one can do ANYTHING!!! Everything is closed and no one can leave their apts. I think that we can because we arent from here... Our zone leader says we can leave.. but our bishop says that we cant, and that the police will be out and about to direct people back in their houses. Im not really sure whats going to happen though because we cant tract, and we dont have any appointments at this point.
Mom, you have asked if we workout in the mornings. I convinced my compa to go outside with me (we have to wake up like 15 minutes early so we can get out and have 30 minutes.. At first she said no because she would be losing like 2 hours of sleep every week. Then we talked about how we are basically married and we need to compromise. We compromised to 3 days in the apt and 3 days out. I cant do cardio inside because the apt under us beats on our floor. I cant say I blame them.. 6:30 is quite early! Will you send me a workout with the jump rope? I dont really know what to do with it for 30 minutes. I miss running! Maybe I will get a comp one day that likes to run. There arent many people that run here, or work out. They have a few gyms though.. they are quite small.
Sherri, I know you already know this, but your Drew boy comes home soooooo soon! Yay! I know you are soo excited! P.s can you please come to Argentina, my face needs you! =)
Sorry, not much time today... I cant really think of anything else that happened anyways. I dont have my list again, I grabbed the wrong paper =( Anyways, thanks for all that you do! Have a great week!
Love,
Hna Payne
I know I say this every week, but I still cant believe that another week has come and gone, AGAIN! This week I realized that I practically have 6 months in the mission.... WOW!!!!!! That means I will get my trunky papers in like 6 more... (my comp just got hers today). I feel done before I even get started. I dont know if any of this makes sense? I can only imagine how fast one year will go by. I need that extra 6 months that the elders get. Well, I guess its good to know that it will one day come to an end.. that just means that I have to give my best everyday now, so that there wont be any regrets when I get back. That being said, I have a new goal! I have said goodbye to english, yup, thats right, no more english... (writing doesnt count) But I only have a year and I cant talk to these people, like I need and want! That just means I just have to work really hard now, and that means no more english with my compa. My spanish continues to get better everyday! It still isnt good, but its amazing what I know for only being here 2 months... (ah, basically 3!) I am loving the work more and more everyday. I am loving Argentina and the people more and more everyday too. I feel like this last week was a turning point. Not really sure why, it just feels that way.
This week we have an inactive family come back to church! We visited them last week and promised them that the Lord would help them receive enough money in 6 days where they woudnt need to work on Sunday if they committed to coming. (They said that before they couldnt come because the dad had to work.) When we went back on Saturday to make sure they were coming. He told us how the Lord really does love and help his children when they put Him first. He told us about how he received a couple of things from people in the week that are a big bonus to his work, things that will make work easier, and where he can sell more. Wow! How cool is that! All I can say is that the Lord´s promises are sure when we put him first and do our part. Sometimes, okay, most of the time that takes great faith! But if we have that relationship with the Lord before the trials come, we have no reason to doubt.
This Wednesday is the census. No one can do ANYTHING!!! Everything is closed and no one can leave their apts. I think that we can because we arent from here... Our zone leader says we can leave.. but our bishop says that we cant, and that the police will be out and about to direct people back in their houses. Im not really sure whats going to happen though because we cant tract, and we dont have any appointments at this point.
Mom, you have asked if we workout in the mornings. I convinced my compa to go outside with me (we have to wake up like 15 minutes early so we can get out and have 30 minutes.. At first she said no because she would be losing like 2 hours of sleep every week. Then we talked about how we are basically married and we need to compromise. We compromised to 3 days in the apt and 3 days out. I cant do cardio inside because the apt under us beats on our floor. I cant say I blame them.. 6:30 is quite early! Will you send me a workout with the jump rope? I dont really know what to do with it for 30 minutes. I miss running! Maybe I will get a comp one day that likes to run. There arent many people that run here, or work out. They have a few gyms though.. they are quite small.
Sherri, I know you already know this, but your Drew boy comes home soooooo soon! Yay! I know you are soo excited! P.s can you please come to Argentina, my face needs you! =)
Sorry, not much time today... I cant really think of anything else that happened anyways. I dont have my list again, I grabbed the wrong paper =( Anyways, thanks for all that you do! Have a great week!
Love,
Hna Payne
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Hola! Its me again, Hna Payne!
I stress out every week wondering what I should write. My time at the computer goes sooooo fast, ha kind of like my week. In between writing yall and President (in spanish) my times flies. Too bad I cant just copy and paste this email to him. Then again he understands quite a lot of english... maybe I will give it a try one week and see what he says! Ha! My interview with him was fine. I understood most of what he said. When I didnt he would explain it another way or resorted to charades. Ha it came to him making actions when he asked me if I had an eating disorder. I didnt understand the terms when he asked so then he showed me by sticking his fingers in his mouth. Haha! Apparently one of the sisters in the mish had a problem and when my companion told him that I wasnt feeling that well and that I had thrown up. He had to ask. I guess it was the fatherly role coming out in him, kind of like you dad, ´´i just have to ask´´ about me taking your drugs. Haha. About my health. This last week I was a little sick again, but no blood at all. Im totally fine, please dont worry. And dad how dare you accuse me of ´´thinking´´ I would never think that you worry too much =) You just love me a lot!
So this week I got my first taste of what it was like to drop people. Sure, we have stopped going to people´s houses before. But this week was different. I really and truly loved these people. My heart! One family refuses to get married. Im absolutely love their 6 year old Mili. I just want to hold her and hug away her hurt.. Sometimes when I looked at her I would see an adult. Im not sure what goes on when we arent there... but I know that her dad if verbally abusive! I of course didnt understand the words, but my compa said that he was calling her words equal to retarded. What parent can call their child retarded? And then the way that he picks up his 2 year old, im always afraid he is going to rip her arm out of the socket.. I dont understand, he is soooo nice to us. He loves the missionaries! And then the second family is two cousins 13 and 17. They both got an answer that this gospel is true, but neither want to change their religion!!!!! Boooo! I also got my first little taste of what its like to be a parent. Here you know better, have learned by experience, or just flat out know better because you have seen otherwise, try to tell and protect your kids... but yet they still have their own agency and can choose what they want. Remind me to never be a parent.. it will hurt too much! That being said, we talked about eternal marriages in church yesterday and had a grand understanding! A lot of people would tell me that I dont know anything about life, and that I havent really lived life. And in a lot of ways, in which they mean them, they would be absolutely correct. Hum.. how to explain? I didnt have to live my life in a worldly way... Because I have parents that made the decision to marry in the temple, and to always put the Lord first. I look back to some of my friends that were raised in the church that dont live the standards today. In almost all cases it was because their parents werent ALWAYS very consistent with the standards of the church. I realize that everyone has their free agency, but for the most part I know that if parents were more consistent then their kids would be also. There is a scripture in Proverbs thats talks about raising your kids in the truth and they wont depart from it. (I know Im an awful paraphraser) And I am a product of that. Temple marriages and always putting the Lord fist is a protection for all families. How could I not want that for my future family. If you didnt understand that, I guess what I am trying to say, is Mom and Dad thank you for being the loving, and consistent parents that you are. Yall are truly a great example.
Yesterday was Mother´s day here in Argentina. Too bad I couldnt call you mom and wish you a happy mothers day. Only two more months tho! The ward had a fiesta where they had a mariachi band (i dont know how to say that.. they arent really a band) come and play for all the mothers. We didnt get to go of course, but we saw a video of everyone dancing..... haha sooo funny.
We had a really bad storm the other night! Oh how I love the rain, thunder, and lightning. Haha but this time we had a little white water flood in our room. Yes we live on the 2nd floor. Somehow with all the wind it came in our window... a fun little adventure. I can only imagine how all the little houses faired... the ones that have nothing. Im very grateful for our apt!
We have a baptism that is really going to happen! Its for the end of this month. Her name is Lurdes and her dad and sister are already members! She has had the lessons before according to our area book (she says she hasnt) but is finally ready for baptism. Yay!!!!! Hopefully we will have someone else! Everyone´s goal is at least two!
Drew! Im putting a letter in the mail this week! I wrote it today! Sorry im still awful at writing! Hey and you didnt answer my question. Who did Rachel marry?
Hillary!!! What about Michael?? The only reason I could see him being home is if something happened to his mom.. I know she has cancer really bad... Please write back asap even if its just to answer this question =)
Kels congrats on nursery. I cant believe I heard the words come out of your mouth that you are glad to be called into nursery.
Well, I guess I didnt hear them.. you get the point. I loved the pics. B isnt my baby anymore.. I dont know who this girl is that you keep sending my pictures of. Im glad that mom could come and play! She told me all about our Miss B that is VERY independent! P.s you are still in my prayers for Levi to find a job. I cant help but think that when it finally comes around its going to be a good one!
Okay well, again....... my time is up. I love and miss you all. Have a great week! Ya´ll are always in my prayers.
Love,
Hna Payne
xoxox
I stress out every week wondering what I should write. My time at the computer goes sooooo fast, ha kind of like my week. In between writing yall and President (in spanish) my times flies. Too bad I cant just copy and paste this email to him. Then again he understands quite a lot of english... maybe I will give it a try one week and see what he says! Ha! My interview with him was fine. I understood most of what he said. When I didnt he would explain it another way or resorted to charades. Ha it came to him making actions when he asked me if I had an eating disorder. I didnt understand the terms when he asked so then he showed me by sticking his fingers in his mouth. Haha! Apparently one of the sisters in the mish had a problem and when my companion told him that I wasnt feeling that well and that I had thrown up. He had to ask. I guess it was the fatherly role coming out in him, kind of like you dad, ´´i just have to ask´´ about me taking your drugs. Haha. About my health. This last week I was a little sick again, but no blood at all. Im totally fine, please dont worry. And dad how dare you accuse me of ´´thinking´´ I would never think that you worry too much =) You just love me a lot!
So this week I got my first taste of what it was like to drop people. Sure, we have stopped going to people´s houses before. But this week was different. I really and truly loved these people. My heart! One family refuses to get married. Im absolutely love their 6 year old Mili. I just want to hold her and hug away her hurt.. Sometimes when I looked at her I would see an adult. Im not sure what goes on when we arent there... but I know that her dad if verbally abusive! I of course didnt understand the words, but my compa said that he was calling her words equal to retarded. What parent can call their child retarded? And then the way that he picks up his 2 year old, im always afraid he is going to rip her arm out of the socket.. I dont understand, he is soooo nice to us. He loves the missionaries! And then the second family is two cousins 13 and 17. They both got an answer that this gospel is true, but neither want to change their religion!!!!! Boooo! I also got my first little taste of what its like to be a parent. Here you know better, have learned by experience, or just flat out know better because you have seen otherwise, try to tell and protect your kids... but yet they still have their own agency and can choose what they want. Remind me to never be a parent.. it will hurt too much! That being said, we talked about eternal marriages in church yesterday and had a grand understanding! A lot of people would tell me that I dont know anything about life, and that I havent really lived life. And in a lot of ways, in which they mean them, they would be absolutely correct. Hum.. how to explain? I didnt have to live my life in a worldly way... Because I have parents that made the decision to marry in the temple, and to always put the Lord first. I look back to some of my friends that were raised in the church that dont live the standards today. In almost all cases it was because their parents werent ALWAYS very consistent with the standards of the church. I realize that everyone has their free agency, but for the most part I know that if parents were more consistent then their kids would be also. There is a scripture in Proverbs thats talks about raising your kids in the truth and they wont depart from it. (I know Im an awful paraphraser) And I am a product of that. Temple marriages and always putting the Lord fist is a protection for all families. How could I not want that for my future family. If you didnt understand that, I guess what I am trying to say, is Mom and Dad thank you for being the loving, and consistent parents that you are. Yall are truly a great example.
Yesterday was Mother´s day here in Argentina. Too bad I couldnt call you mom and wish you a happy mothers day. Only two more months tho! The ward had a fiesta where they had a mariachi band (i dont know how to say that.. they arent really a band) come and play for all the mothers. We didnt get to go of course, but we saw a video of everyone dancing..... haha sooo funny.
We had a really bad storm the other night! Oh how I love the rain, thunder, and lightning. Haha but this time we had a little white water flood in our room. Yes we live on the 2nd floor. Somehow with all the wind it came in our window... a fun little adventure. I can only imagine how all the little houses faired... the ones that have nothing. Im very grateful for our apt!
We have a baptism that is really going to happen! Its for the end of this month. Her name is Lurdes and her dad and sister are already members! She has had the lessons before according to our area book (she says she hasnt) but is finally ready for baptism. Yay!!!!! Hopefully we will have someone else! Everyone´s goal is at least two!
Drew! Im putting a letter in the mail this week! I wrote it today! Sorry im still awful at writing! Hey and you didnt answer my question. Who did Rachel marry?
Hillary!!! What about Michael?? The only reason I could see him being home is if something happened to his mom.. I know she has cancer really bad... Please write back asap even if its just to answer this question =)
Kels congrats on nursery. I cant believe I heard the words come out of your mouth that you are glad to be called into nursery.
Well, I guess I didnt hear them.. you get the point. I loved the pics. B isnt my baby anymore.. I dont know who this girl is that you keep sending my pictures of. Im glad that mom could come and play! She told me all about our Miss B that is VERY independent! P.s you are still in my prayers for Levi to find a job. I cant help but think that when it finally comes around its going to be a good one!
Okay well, again....... my time is up. I love and miss you all. Have a great week! Ya´ll are always in my prayers.
Love,
Hna Payne
xoxox
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Hola, its me again, Hna Payne.
Life here is a good as it can be. Ha, I know how you read into all my words. All I have to do is change the good as it can be to pretty good and you know that it was a harder week. At least I think that is how we read into Drews letters. But really, life is great. So last week I told you that I didnt feel to great. Well after pday right as we were about to go out for work, I got a little sick. I knew that if I threw up I would feel a lot better. Well turns out that I was throwing up blood. Crazy, I know. I felt fine! We called Hna Del Castillo and she of course told us to go to the hospital (which is like the doctors). We went and they tried making me pay money (remember that it is free here) because Im white, and im from the United States, oh, and I cant speak spanish. But Hna Marilaf wasnt going to have that. Because she had been there, more than once, she knew that I didnt have to. Ha that started my experience at the hospital.... It started monday night and want over until the next night at like 7! So I finally get in to see a doctor and he just asks me some questions, then sent me in for a shot to help with the nausia (which I didnt have) and to protect my stomach. He wanted me to come back the next day and have a sonogram. All this time I felt fine. I didnt feel like I needed to go back the next day but Hna del Castillo thought differently (to your relief, I know). So we went back the next day getting there a little after 9. There we proceeded to get a number to wait in line for like 2 hours. Finally it was my turn! But then we found out we waited just for them to tell me that it was impossible for an exam for one week. Are you kidding me? I could have died in that time. She finally said that we could talk to the doctor that came in a 2. He wrote urgent on my paper so they would let me go that day. Then the person just sent us to another person who proceeded to tell me that I needed to be fasting. None of this was mentioned to me before. So then we went back to talk to the doctor and he said it wasnt necissary.So we went back to the lady that told me that they couldnt do it that day. She finally said okay and told us we needed to wait a little while longer so that my food could digest more. We waited like 2 hours before we asked her how much longer... she said she forgot about us. LIE! Im pretty sure she saw us and really didnt forget. Ha. Thats what I get for being American I guess :) FINALLY I got the sonogram where everything was great and perfect. All that for nothing. Okay, not for nothing, it was good to know that there really wasnt a problem. Im surprised, the hospital was really nice. Ha Hopefully that was my LAST experience in the hospital because I hear the other hospitals are just awful.
So I have the same comp. We have interviews with President this week. Ha it will be interesting to see how it goes, I dont exactly speak a spanish. Today we have been cleaning like crazy. We have been taking on little projects that turned into big ones. By the way I started this before I knew president was coming. And as a side note, that you wont ever believe. I got the cleanest american award from my companion. Yes you read that correctly. She said that I was like the first comp to clean the bathroom. Really¿ That is pretty pathetic!
Mom, I also love Alma 26:27. The scriptures are filled with so many beautiful promises! All we have to do it go forward with faith. Speaking of faith, Im still working on it. I fell like so much of faith goes along with following the spirit. And I feel that I struggle with knowing that its the Spirit. Man, this work is really easy in a sense of its all about talking to people, and serving people, and such. But it is soooo hard because there are soooo many variables that go into teaching, living worthely, following the Spirit, the list could go on and on. The list is never ending... always so much to work on and become better at. I have to take a deep breath and tell myself its all a process, otherwise i get overwhelmed with myself.
Drew!!!! Who did Rachel get married to? Chris or the other guy? If its Chris, how in the world do people get married without money¿ That is my question?
Hillary!!!! I need an answer this week because I am dying. OUR Michael doesnt get home until 2 months after im supposed to get home... or something like that. but i cant think of another michael.... write back asap on this one.
Sarah, I got your letter Thanks sooo much.
Okay well im out of time. i love yall and miss yall. have a great week.
Love,
Hna Payne
Life here is a good as it can be. Ha, I know how you read into all my words. All I have to do is change the good as it can be to pretty good and you know that it was a harder week. At least I think that is how we read into Drews letters. But really, life is great. So last week I told you that I didnt feel to great. Well after pday right as we were about to go out for work, I got a little sick. I knew that if I threw up I would feel a lot better. Well turns out that I was throwing up blood. Crazy, I know. I felt fine! We called Hna Del Castillo and she of course told us to go to the hospital (which is like the doctors). We went and they tried making me pay money (remember that it is free here) because Im white, and im from the United States, oh, and I cant speak spanish. But Hna Marilaf wasnt going to have that. Because she had been there, more than once, she knew that I didnt have to. Ha that started my experience at the hospital.... It started monday night and want over until the next night at like 7! So I finally get in to see a doctor and he just asks me some questions, then sent me in for a shot to help with the nausia (which I didnt have) and to protect my stomach. He wanted me to come back the next day and have a sonogram. All this time I felt fine. I didnt feel like I needed to go back the next day but Hna del Castillo thought differently (to your relief, I know). So we went back the next day getting there a little after 9. There we proceeded to get a number to wait in line for like 2 hours. Finally it was my turn! But then we found out we waited just for them to tell me that it was impossible for an exam for one week. Are you kidding me? I could have died in that time. She finally said that we could talk to the doctor that came in a 2. He wrote urgent on my paper so they would let me go that day. Then the person just sent us to another person who proceeded to tell me that I needed to be fasting. None of this was mentioned to me before. So then we went back to talk to the doctor and he said it wasnt necissary.So we went back to the lady that told me that they couldnt do it that day. She finally said okay and told us we needed to wait a little while longer so that my food could digest more. We waited like 2 hours before we asked her how much longer... she said she forgot about us. LIE! Im pretty sure she saw us and really didnt forget. Ha. Thats what I get for being American I guess :) FINALLY I got the sonogram where everything was great and perfect. All that for nothing. Okay, not for nothing, it was good to know that there really wasnt a problem. Im surprised, the hospital was really nice. Ha Hopefully that was my LAST experience in the hospital because I hear the other hospitals are just awful.
So I have the same comp. We have interviews with President this week. Ha it will be interesting to see how it goes, I dont exactly speak a spanish. Today we have been cleaning like crazy. We have been taking on little projects that turned into big ones. By the way I started this before I knew president was coming. And as a side note, that you wont ever believe. I got the cleanest american award from my companion. Yes you read that correctly. She said that I was like the first comp to clean the bathroom. Really¿ That is pretty pathetic!
Mom, I also love Alma 26:27. The scriptures are filled with so many beautiful promises! All we have to do it go forward with faith. Speaking of faith, Im still working on it. I fell like so much of faith goes along with following the spirit. And I feel that I struggle with knowing that its the Spirit. Man, this work is really easy in a sense of its all about talking to people, and serving people, and such. But it is soooo hard because there are soooo many variables that go into teaching, living worthely, following the Spirit, the list could go on and on. The list is never ending... always so much to work on and become better at. I have to take a deep breath and tell myself its all a process, otherwise i get overwhelmed with myself.
Drew!!!! Who did Rachel get married to? Chris or the other guy? If its Chris, how in the world do people get married without money¿ That is my question?
Hillary!!!! I need an answer this week because I am dying. OUR Michael doesnt get home until 2 months after im supposed to get home... or something like that. but i cant think of another michael.... write back asap on this one.
Sarah, I got your letter Thanks sooo much.
Okay well im out of time. i love yall and miss yall. have a great week.
Love,
Hna Payne
Monday, October 4, 2010
Hola Familia! It´s me again, Hna Payne!
Life here is as good as it can be! Okay, well we have´nt had any baptisms, so it can always be beeettter.. but you understand =) I cant believe that another week has come and gone again, and that I am sitting here writing yall again! Like ya´ll I stress about what to write every week! Sorry, I dont feel like I have much to say this week....
So I think that this was the first conference that I didnt fall asleep in, unlike all of you =) I love conference! I was sad to leave when it was all over. I think my favorites were Elder Eyring, Scott, and Uchtdorf... and others that I have forgotten! I always love Elder Eyrings! He set a great example for us when he gave the story about President Hinckley asking all to get out of debt if possilbe.. well that was his story, but the example was that when the Prophet speaks it is as if God is speaking and giving us council. Not even the apostles of the church are exempt.. (not that I ever thought they were) I need to pay more attention to the council given by God! The ¨´fences´´ are there to keep us to safe. This gospel isnt a gospel of ´´cants´´ but a gospel of all that we can do. All the council and commandments are to help us to be happy in this life, and return with our Heavenly Father again! Elder Eyring also talked about how we can have faith in the Lord because we know him. I loved that! We have no reason to doubt or fear when we really KNOW the Lord. He is always there and looking out for us. How easy it is to forget when things get a little rocky in life.
Drew, I also really liked Elder Scotts talk on faith and it being a principle of power. Faith is my Chirstlike attribute this week that im working on. The whole faith thing is really difficult for me. Kels I thought of you when he talked about patience and struggle... but then that is when the growth comes. I know that you are hating life with work, and you want to stay home with B. But I also know that the hand of the Lord is in all things! Maybe the Lord hasnt given you what you wanted yet because something even better is coming. And in the meanwhile you are being forced to turn more to the Lord and trust in him. Have faith, you know the Lord. Yall are in my prayers!
These last couple of days I have been a little sick. Im not really sure why. Something I ate? My stomach has been a little upset. Hopefully it will pass quickly. It hasnt been too bad, but enough that I dont feel the greatest. As a side note I think Im a little lactose intolerant? I know you are laughing. Im for real though. Ah I love milk and yogurt though! I have yogurt just about every morning for breakfast! Im not sure that I can live without it. Mom you asked a long time ago what we eat. ·Empanadas are really popular. They eat them like we eat pizza. Its like meat, or cheese, in a flaky tortilla or something... google it =) They also eat a lot of noodles and rice. I ate this soup the other day and found out from my comp after that it may or may not have had cow feet and other scary stuff in it. I thought it was good. Im glad that she told me after... gross! But its some soup that is pretty typical for Argentina. Locro is what its called. I have seen a few cauldrons (big enough for child to be cooked in) on the side of the road and im pretty sure that is what they are cooking. One day I hope to get a picture of it! Other than that I dont think I have had anything crazy... I cant really think what else to tell you about the food. We have lots of Sprite and Orange soda here. Oh, did I tell you I found a new love? Of course it has to do with Oreos! Its an Oreo alfajor!!!! The best thing in the whole wide world since Godiva cheesecake.They are even better in the freezer. Yuuummm I wish I could send you one.
Speaking of food. We went to an investigators house to get them for conference and they had made this pastry cake thing. They gave us piece while we were there and then proceeded to give us a whole other cake. This family told us before how they are struggliing with money every month, but especially this month because someone stole their money... something to do with someone taking advantage of the dad because he cant read. When he was younger he was shot in the head or something horrific involving his head and gun.. We dont really understand the whole story of what happened. But they have 3 little kids that are just darling. Mili is the oldest and is such a sweetheart! The youngest is 6 months old and they dont have enough money for diapers! And then they are giving us this whole cake and wouldnt take no for an answer. I know it had to have been their lunch for the next couple of days. And if thats not enough, they want us to have lunch with them this week. My comp said that they dont really have friends and that we are their family! What love to literally share ALL that you have. I just think of the story in the bible where a family was told to give the rest of their flour stuff for a servant of the Lord. It was all they had but they did it because they knew the Lord and trusted in him. In the end they had just enough for that day, and then the next day the same miracle, and so on. Okay, so that was awful paraphrasing and I obviously need to go back and read the story, but you get the idea. I know that the Lord will bless them because of their love and wanting to share with us. What a lesson that was for me.
Transfers are tomorrow. It is highly likely that Hna Marilaf will be leaving. I dont think it is usual to have more than two transfers with your trainer... then again I only have 1.5 We shall see what happens.
Drew, I got your letters. I had wondered what happened to you. Im glad that school is going well for you. I will try and get you a better letter this next week.
Grandma, I finally got your letter too! Thank you. Its good to hear what is going on in your life!
Dusty, Angel, Angie, and Chelsee, I have you a letter sitting in my apt.... the post office is still closed... I dont know why. I will try and get someone else to send them for me.
Mom, I got the pictures! Thank you sooo much. My favorite one is of you and dad with the hats on... sooo you! And Drew is way skinny! What ya doing man?
Okay, well Im out of time...... again! I hope yall have a great week. I love and miss yall.
Love Hna Payne
Life here is as good as it can be! Okay, well we have´nt had any baptisms, so it can always be beeettter.. but you understand =) I cant believe that another week has come and gone again, and that I am sitting here writing yall again! Like ya´ll I stress about what to write every week! Sorry, I dont feel like I have much to say this week....
So I think that this was the first conference that I didnt fall asleep in, unlike all of you =) I love conference! I was sad to leave when it was all over. I think my favorites were Elder Eyring, Scott, and Uchtdorf... and others that I have forgotten! I always love Elder Eyrings! He set a great example for us when he gave the story about President Hinckley asking all to get out of debt if possilbe.. well that was his story, but the example was that when the Prophet speaks it is as if God is speaking and giving us council. Not even the apostles of the church are exempt.. (not that I ever thought they were) I need to pay more attention to the council given by God! The ¨´fences´´ are there to keep us to safe. This gospel isnt a gospel of ´´cants´´ but a gospel of all that we can do. All the council and commandments are to help us to be happy in this life, and return with our Heavenly Father again! Elder Eyring also talked about how we can have faith in the Lord because we know him. I loved that! We have no reason to doubt or fear when we really KNOW the Lord. He is always there and looking out for us. How easy it is to forget when things get a little rocky in life.
Drew, I also really liked Elder Scotts talk on faith and it being a principle of power. Faith is my Chirstlike attribute this week that im working on. The whole faith thing is really difficult for me. Kels I thought of you when he talked about patience and struggle... but then that is when the growth comes. I know that you are hating life with work, and you want to stay home with B. But I also know that the hand of the Lord is in all things! Maybe the Lord hasnt given you what you wanted yet because something even better is coming. And in the meanwhile you are being forced to turn more to the Lord and trust in him. Have faith, you know the Lord. Yall are in my prayers!
These last couple of days I have been a little sick. Im not really sure why. Something I ate? My stomach has been a little upset. Hopefully it will pass quickly. It hasnt been too bad, but enough that I dont feel the greatest. As a side note I think Im a little lactose intolerant? I know you are laughing. Im for real though. Ah I love milk and yogurt though! I have yogurt just about every morning for breakfast! Im not sure that I can live without it. Mom you asked a long time ago what we eat. ·Empanadas are really popular. They eat them like we eat pizza. Its like meat, or cheese, in a flaky tortilla or something... google it =) They also eat a lot of noodles and rice. I ate this soup the other day and found out from my comp after that it may or may not have had cow feet and other scary stuff in it. I thought it was good. Im glad that she told me after... gross! But its some soup that is pretty typical for Argentina. Locro is what its called. I have seen a few cauldrons (big enough for child to be cooked in) on the side of the road and im pretty sure that is what they are cooking. One day I hope to get a picture of it! Other than that I dont think I have had anything crazy... I cant really think what else to tell you about the food. We have lots of Sprite and Orange soda here. Oh, did I tell you I found a new love? Of course it has to do with Oreos! Its an Oreo alfajor!!!! The best thing in the whole wide world since Godiva cheesecake.They are even better in the freezer. Yuuummm I wish I could send you one.
Speaking of food. We went to an investigators house to get them for conference and they had made this pastry cake thing. They gave us piece while we were there and then proceeded to give us a whole other cake. This family told us before how they are struggliing with money every month, but especially this month because someone stole their money... something to do with someone taking advantage of the dad because he cant read. When he was younger he was shot in the head or something horrific involving his head and gun.. We dont really understand the whole story of what happened. But they have 3 little kids that are just darling. Mili is the oldest and is such a sweetheart! The youngest is 6 months old and they dont have enough money for diapers! And then they are giving us this whole cake and wouldnt take no for an answer. I know it had to have been their lunch for the next couple of days. And if thats not enough, they want us to have lunch with them this week. My comp said that they dont really have friends and that we are their family! What love to literally share ALL that you have. I just think of the story in the bible where a family was told to give the rest of their flour stuff for a servant of the Lord. It was all they had but they did it because they knew the Lord and trusted in him. In the end they had just enough for that day, and then the next day the same miracle, and so on. Okay, so that was awful paraphrasing and I obviously need to go back and read the story, but you get the idea. I know that the Lord will bless them because of their love and wanting to share with us. What a lesson that was for me.
Transfers are tomorrow. It is highly likely that Hna Marilaf will be leaving. I dont think it is usual to have more than two transfers with your trainer... then again I only have 1.5 We shall see what happens.
Drew, I got your letters. I had wondered what happened to you. Im glad that school is going well for you. I will try and get you a better letter this next week.
Grandma, I finally got your letter too! Thank you. Its good to hear what is going on in your life!
Dusty, Angel, Angie, and Chelsee, I have you a letter sitting in my apt.... the post office is still closed... I dont know why. I will try and get someone else to send them for me.
Mom, I got the pictures! Thank you sooo much. My favorite one is of you and dad with the hats on... sooo you! And Drew is way skinny! What ya doing man?
Okay, well Im out of time...... again! I hope yall have a great week. I love and miss yall.
Love Hna Payne
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