More news from the MTC and photos!

Dear Family,

To answer your quesions right off the bat, I definitely don't need another suitcase, even if I did, there are suitcases at the MTC store here for pretty cheap. I don't think I need anything else, I'm pretty well off as it is. All of the Elders I mentioned are in my room, 6 total sleeping in one room. We all have a bunkbed, I sleep on the top bunk over my companion Elder Hayes. Sleep is harsh here, for some reason no one I know get very good sleep. But that's besides the point.

The past week has been very interesting in class. We had a teacher that left us on Wednesday because she got married and her honeymoon is in Cancun. Then another teacher has just gotten assigned to a different department in the MTC. Our substitute teacher is going to Africa for some sort of important business. So all 3 of our teachers left us and right now we are being taught by a brand new teacher and the guy in charge of training the teachers. 

Elder Nakamura leaves the MTC on sunday, and since he and his companion are the Zone Leaders, they will have to assign 2 new ones. Which is kind of sad cause he was a really good ZL. Me and the guys in my room have discovered some terrifyingly hidden artifacts in our room. There is a nerf ball in our room that we have no idea where it came from. And we have found 2 creepy pictures of an Elder who was there before us hidden in random places. I found one behind my mirror and we don't know how many there are left to find.

I will send some so I will point out ho is who.

The picture with a lot of people is our entire Zone, which means everyone in that pic is going to a French speaking mission.

This is my district at the temple, we get to walk there every Sunday just to hang out and take pictures.

The 3 Sisters in the middle are Soeur Hurd, Soeur Bigg, Soeur Seely,  That is in our classroom BTW.

This picture is in our Classroom with Frere Ritchie, he is a teacher (2nd from the left standing up}.

Front to back:Elder Tanner is in front, then Elder Hayes, Then Elder Ehlers in the light gray shirt, next to him is Elder Smart, then Elder Lethco, and me, all the way in the back!

First Full Week in the MTC

Hello World!

Everything is going great in the MTC! Just normal days. I really do love it when you guys send me e-mails! It makes me feel loved! haha. I have discovered that the cookies and cream milk here at the MTC is pretty good, It`s like the middle ground between Chocolate Milk and regular milk. The New Mexican food here is kind of disappointing, at least they try. I find it funny how the MTC Zones are kind of like fraternity homes. We all know each other and we have little things that only our Zone does, like singing cantiques(french hymns) every night before bed. Our zone also has things called artifacts, which are objects that have a story behind them and have been passed down through the generations. They usually have a funny story attached. 

I really appreciate that you all are praying for me! I know that it's only been like a week and a half, but I would like to hear from some more people (e.g. cousins and friends). I've only been here about a week and it feels like several months. There is a saying in the MTC. The days feel like weeks, and the weeks feel like days. That couldn't be more true. My zone is the biggest with about 47 people either going to Paris, Lyon, or Tahiti, and one is going to Toronto. My district is 8 people. Me, Elder Hayes, Elder Smart, Elder Ehlers, Elder Lethco, Elder Tanner, Sister Seely, and Sister Biggs. One Elder talks in his sleep very clearly. Sometimes in french. The sisters are pretty weird sometimes, they will randomly giggle or even laugh hysterically at random things. Elder Smart is from London. We all get along really well and so far there aren`t any problems. Being district leader I get to pick up the mail every day twice a day. You won't believe how exciting it is to get mail or a package in the mail.

Well this is the end of this email and I will try my best to respnd to everyone who sends me an e-mail. Au-revoir! A bientot!

Sincerely,
Elder Payne

First P-day at the MTC

Dear Home,

Hey everyone! I miss you guys already! 

I'm 3 days into the mission and today is my first P-day! I think I'm going to like the MTC, it is fun  and a lot of hard work. I'm learning so much and I'm just about drowning in French. I have learned more about French in the last 3 days than I did in most of high school. My teachers only speak to us in french, sometimes English if we really don't understand something. 

My companion is a pretty cool Elder and we get along well. His name is Elder Hayes and he's from here in Bountiful. I've made friends pretty easily with the rest of my district.  Surprise! I'm the District Leader! Which basically means I have some chores while in the MTC. My district is 8 people, 6 Elders and 2 Sisters. Most of us going to Paris if not Lyons. The Gift of Tongues is real, I'm already starting to think in French. I have made a lot of new friends already and I think that that will help me a lot throughout my mission.

I think that Kim Warren was weird because I love the chocolate milk here, any chocolate milk to me is gold. I think the food here is awesome if you know what you want. Yesterday I had a sad imitation of a Navajo Taco. Oh, and Elder Nakamura (Annie Nakamura's brother) is my zone leader! He's really cool and is always willing to help, not to mention he let me use his 505 Green chile on the Navajo Taco and that made it 5 times better. 

One of the interesting things here are the rules. Some of the rules are pretty odd but make sense. One of the biggest rules here is rule Trente-trios (rule 33). Which means no flirting. Which is a lot harder to do than I thought. There is so much to learn here and I feel like going to the MTC is like trying to drink from a fire hose. But I love it.

6 weeks doesn't seem like much but to me right now it feels like a long time. I have a long ways to go. And BTW my P-days to write back are every Friday. But I can read my emails any time.

Sincerely Elder Payne

Jay is at the MTC!

Jay entered the MTC on May 12, 2017.

We received a quick letter several hours after we dropped him off

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Hey guys, I got the chance to do my first email today just to let you guys know that everything is going fine so far. I have met the people I will be learning french with. But it's going to take a couple of days to really get my bearings here. The teacher only speaks french to us and I really don't get much but I get by.

Love you guys and I will email you next monday. And I promise to write longer letters when I have more time.

Sincerely,
Elder Payne

Jay's Mission Call!!

Dear Elder Payne,

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the France Paris Mission!

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, April 12, 2017.  You will prepare to preach the gospel in the French language.

As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

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We are so excited to support Jay as he accepts his call to serve and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.