Christmas visit video phone call

Elder Payne hasn't sent a letter for this week yet, but he was able to video chat with him for Christmas!

Jay is doing well and is very happy in Epinal France.  He is pretty comfortable with the language and only has difficulty when people speak too fast. He has also been learning phrases in other languages like Arabic and Swahili.  People are surprised when he can greet them in a different language than French.  It has opened up several discussion opportunities.  Recently on a train ride between Paris and Epinal, Jay and his companion met two very promising contacts.  There is plenty of time to visit and discuss the Gospel of Jesus Christ when you are on train rides so often.

The small branch of the church sometimes only has 7 people that attend on Sunday.  They have been working on finding less active members in the area and re-inviting them back to church.  He described looking for a member in a smaller town for several hours only to find out that they were not there any more.  But they did get to know the town very well.

Jay did receive his Christmas package while in Paris this week.  We originally sent it to him in early November (as instructed).  But Jay was transferred to Epinal to help train and his package to Amien got returned to New Mexico. We had to pay to ship it again, only this time to the Mission Office in Paris.  Jay was excited for the green chile and other local edible treats we sent.  He also was glad to receive a book about Temples that he can read on his free time (when ever he gets some).

It was very humbling to hear him bear his testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement in French.  We could see the devotion and humility as he spoke.

The blessings of serving a mission were surely evident today as we got to visit.

Curtis Payne