Well here we are again. It has been a few months since we have posted on this blog. I feel so badly about it, but time has gone by so fast and before you know it another week, month and then months have gone by. I vow to do a better job as now Kendal, Matthews Dad, will be able to help and keep this well updated.
As you have seen, we received some pictures from Elder Haynie and posted a few of them. We have actually received quite a few over the last few months and will post more, but these are the most recent. Matthew looks great! Since he has been out he has gained a little weight and grown up, ALOT! He is no longer our "boy", he is a man! We believe that the picture of the four missionaries is Matthew's District. The other with just Matthew is of him and his current companion, Elder Reay. They all look great!
Matthew is doing really well. He is currently still serving in Abilene and is District Leader. He is doing such a great job and loves his mission. Over the last few months he has had a couple different companions and served in a couple different capacities. He has loved serving in Abilene and done such a great job. Abilene has also been a place that has been a bit trying for him. He found himself experiencing some struggles for a few days a little while ago, but as Matthew always does, he came thru it fine and even stronger than ever. Sometimes our trials makes us stronger people, and it has done just that. He is doing amazing!
Last week, Matthew and some of the other Elders, went to Odessa and were able to attend a couple days of training that came by way of the First Presidency. He said that there wasnt any changes in the lessons but other ways of teaching and so forth. He said it was an amazing time and had a wonderful time.
We are so proud of Matthew and the work that he is accomplishing. He is a wonderful missionary and loves the Gospel. Keep up the good work Matthew and we love you!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Another Message From Abilene!!!!
Well here it is a few days before Easter and we have just received another email from Matthew! He is doing very well and have much success in Abilene. The work is moving forward and at a good pace. Since Matthew has been there they have had 3 baptisms already and a couple more in the works. Good Job Elders!!!
Matthew seems to really like it in Abilene. Like usual, he speaks of loving his mission and loving seeing the Church grow and seeing peoples lives change as they accept the Gospel. True words spoken of a truely dedicated Missionary.
In the last email I sent to Matthew I had to actually scold him a little bit. Can you believe it???? 20 yrs old, on a mission, and his Mom still scolding him... Wow!
But, the emails get shorter and shorter all the time and no letters coming home. My last email was only 4 sentences or so. My husband keeps telling me he is staying focused on the work and to leave him alone but being the Mom that I am, I just want to know how he is doing and that he is ok. So..... we will see if he listens. Thank goodness Mother's Day is coming next month and then we get to talk to him! Woohoo!!!!!!
Thanks for all the support everyone has given Matthew. It is truly appreciated!!!
We love you Matthew!
Matthew seems to really like it in Abilene. Like usual, he speaks of loving his mission and loving seeing the Church grow and seeing peoples lives change as they accept the Gospel. True words spoken of a truely dedicated Missionary.
In the last email I sent to Matthew I had to actually scold him a little bit. Can you believe it???? 20 yrs old, on a mission, and his Mom still scolding him... Wow!
But, the emails get shorter and shorter all the time and no letters coming home. My last email was only 4 sentences or so. My husband keeps telling me he is staying focused on the work and to leave him alone but being the Mom that I am, I just want to know how he is doing and that he is ok. So..... we will see if he listens. Thank goodness Mother's Day is coming next month and then we get to talk to him! Woohoo!!!!!!
Thanks for all the support everyone has given Matthew. It is truly appreciated!!!
We love you Matthew!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Transferred to Abilene,Texas!
Hey everyone! Well here we are 2/25/10 and we have received yet another email from our favorite Missionary! It seems as though the farther Matthew gets into his mission the shorter the emails are!
As you can tell Matthew has been transferred to Abilene Texas. Evidently it is a city unlike all the little towns he has served the rest of his mission in. He is excited to serve with more missionaries. There are a total of 6 missionaries in this city. The area he and his new companion are in was a sister missionary area. Matthew's new companion is Elder Pitts and stands 6'4! Matthew says they get along great and cant wait to share the Gospel. The Lord must have great things waiting for him there as he was told by his Mission President " I am sending you there for a good reason." We cant wait to see the progress and experiences he will encounter.
We are so excited that he will have the opportunity to see more of Texas. He cant stop talking about how he loves his mission! We are so proud of Matthew and hope Abilene will be a great experience.
Good job Matthew and we love you!
As you can tell Matthew has been transferred to Abilene Texas. Evidently it is a city unlike all the little towns he has served the rest of his mission in. He is excited to serve with more missionaries. There are a total of 6 missionaries in this city. The area he and his new companion are in was a sister missionary area. Matthew's new companion is Elder Pitts and stands 6'4! Matthew says they get along great and cant wait to share the Gospel. The Lord must have great things waiting for him there as he was told by his Mission President " I am sending you there for a good reason." We cant wait to see the progress and experiences he will encounter.
We are so excited that he will have the opportunity to see more of Texas. He cant stop talking about how he loves his mission! We are so proud of Matthew and hope Abilene will be a great experience.
Good job Matthew and we love you!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Another Email from Matthew in Pecos, Texas!
Well we received another email from Matthew today. What a wonderful day it is when you receive an email home and your son proceeds to tell you how much he loves his mission! Kendal and I are so lucky, as every week we get to hear how wonderful things are and how Matthew loves his mission! Definitely one of the greatest blessings in life!
Right now Matthew is serving with Elder Hardy in Pecos. This next week brings transfers for the Texas Lubbock Mission so they are anxiously awaiting to hear what will happen. This will be Elder Hardys last transfer before he goes home.
This week in Matthews email he sent a copy of an email from President Robison, as they get an email each week, and in it, it speaks of Matthew and Elder Hardy and how they listened to the words of the President and Zone leaders and in doing so they were blessed to have some really good results come of their work. It is such a blessing that they are humble enough to listen to the counsel given and in turn be blessed to be able to bring people into the church. They will be baptizing Maria Morales and her husband on February 27, 2010 and when the children are of age they will be baptized too! Keep up the good work Matthew!!!!
The rest of his email tells of different experiences he is having and of the love for his family. Matthew has a couple of friends out on missions right now and one is about to come home. Chris Bailey is serving in Bucharest Romania and will be coming home 2 weeks from today!!! What a wonderful day it will be for Chirs and his family to reunite after 2 yrs. We so look forward to that day with Matthew.
We have received a few more pictures and will be posting them soon. Thank you to everyone who supports Matthew! We love you Matthew!
Right now Matthew is serving with Elder Hardy in Pecos. This next week brings transfers for the Texas Lubbock Mission so they are anxiously awaiting to hear what will happen. This will be Elder Hardys last transfer before he goes home.
This week in Matthews email he sent a copy of an email from President Robison, as they get an email each week, and in it, it speaks of Matthew and Elder Hardy and how they listened to the words of the President and Zone leaders and in doing so they were blessed to have some really good results come of their work. It is such a blessing that they are humble enough to listen to the counsel given and in turn be blessed to be able to bring people into the church. They will be baptizing Maria Morales and her husband on February 27, 2010 and when the children are of age they will be baptized too! Keep up the good work Matthew!!!!
The rest of his email tells of different experiences he is having and of the love for his family. Matthew has a couple of friends out on missions right now and one is about to come home. Chris Bailey is serving in Bucharest Romania and will be coming home 2 weeks from today!!! What a wonderful day it will be for Chirs and his family to reunite after 2 yrs. We so look forward to that day with Matthew.
We have received a few more pictures and will be posting them soon. Thank you to everyone who supports Matthew! We love you Matthew!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
New Years Resolution: To keep up Matthews blog MUCH BETTER!
Hi everyone!! I guess as everyone can tell, I failed at keeping up Matthews blog badly. It has been since July 9,2009 since there has been any posting and I feel like a failure as a Mom for allowing this to happen. My new year's resolution is to do much better at this and I will succeed!
So I guess I will start with an update as to everything that has happened since the last posting. Matthew is doing wonderful! (was there any doubt?) Since he left Clovis he has served in 2 other areas. He went to Brady, Texas and now is in Pecos Texas. He has yet to serve in a big city, they have all been little towns. He would really like to go to a bigger city but says he will gladly go where ever the Lord needs him. He served in Brady for quite a while and really grew to love the people there. There was a special family by the name of Fernandez who really took the missionaries under their wings and helped them and made sure that they had a good Thanksgiving and a good Christmas. We are so grateful for people like the Fernandez's!
Matthew has had 2 or 3 companions since he left Clovis and their names are Elder Lofgran, Elder Whipple, and now his companion is Elder Hardy. He has been very lucky to get such good Elders to serve with. Most of them have been missionaries that are just getting to go home, but he doesnt let that hold them back. The work goes on! We have receieved pictures throughout the last few months and some of them are with his companions, and we will be posting them soon.
Other things that have happened durig this time, is Matthew's Grandma Betty was married and sealed in the Portland Temple. What a wonderful woman! She has married a great man who loves her and takes great care of her. She deserves all the happiness in the world. Also, Matthews Grandpa Norm (mom's Dad) passed away in August. He had been very sick with Alzheimers and emphysema. We were able to call and speak to the Mission President and he allowed Matthew to call for a short time so that we might let him know. It was more of a blessing for me (Mom) to talk to him as he had some really good words of wisdom that I needed to hear. There is a moment in time when a Mother feels so blessed to know that her son has grown up to be a man and the things that we have tried to teach our kids actually worked. Grandpa Norm will forever be missed!
Matthew got to experience his first Thanksgiving and Christmas in the mission field. Now as you can imagine, I (mom) couldnt let my boy go without his favorite thing for Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie. What an experience it was to get a pumpkin pie to someone in Brady Texas! After much a do, I was lucky enough to find a very nice man who was in his ward to take a pie to Matthew and tell him that his Mom was thinking of him. The people of Brady are truly loving and good people.
Then there was Christmas! I MAY have over done it a tad bit! Knowing his Mother and Aunt Patty, there was no way he wasnt going to have a great Christmas! And that he did! Matthews bike he had when he got on his mission was one he bought from another Elder who was going home and finally gave out about 3 weeks before Christmas. So..... Matthew has a new bright shiny red bike. ( He is so spoiled!!!)
along with a number of other things, needless to say he had a great Christmas! He was able to spend dinner and part of the day with the Fernandez's. He said his most memorable time was when him and his companion got to sing a song with the family to some non members and investigators. He loved that!
As you can well imagine a number of other things have happened over this time but the most important is that Matthew loves his mission. He loves serving the Lord! That is our greatest blessing of all!
I promise I will do a much better job of keeping this blog updated. We get to hear from Matthew again tomorrow (pday)and then we will post again after that. We will also post a number of pictures and let you see how well he is doing.
We love you Mathhew!
So I guess I will start with an update as to everything that has happened since the last posting. Matthew is doing wonderful! (was there any doubt?) Since he left Clovis he has served in 2 other areas. He went to Brady, Texas and now is in Pecos Texas. He has yet to serve in a big city, they have all been little towns. He would really like to go to a bigger city but says he will gladly go where ever the Lord needs him. He served in Brady for quite a while and really grew to love the people there. There was a special family by the name of Fernandez who really took the missionaries under their wings and helped them and made sure that they had a good Thanksgiving and a good Christmas. We are so grateful for people like the Fernandez's!
Matthew has had 2 or 3 companions since he left Clovis and their names are Elder Lofgran, Elder Whipple, and now his companion is Elder Hardy. He has been very lucky to get such good Elders to serve with. Most of them have been missionaries that are just getting to go home, but he doesnt let that hold them back. The work goes on! We have receieved pictures throughout the last few months and some of them are with his companions, and we will be posting them soon.
Other things that have happened durig this time, is Matthew's Grandma Betty was married and sealed in the Portland Temple. What a wonderful woman! She has married a great man who loves her and takes great care of her. She deserves all the happiness in the world. Also, Matthews Grandpa Norm (mom's Dad) passed away in August. He had been very sick with Alzheimers and emphysema. We were able to call and speak to the Mission President and he allowed Matthew to call for a short time so that we might let him know. It was more of a blessing for me (Mom) to talk to him as he had some really good words of wisdom that I needed to hear. There is a moment in time when a Mother feels so blessed to know that her son has grown up to be a man and the things that we have tried to teach our kids actually worked. Grandpa Norm will forever be missed!
Matthew got to experience his first Thanksgiving and Christmas in the mission field. Now as you can imagine, I (mom) couldnt let my boy go without his favorite thing for Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie. What an experience it was to get a pumpkin pie to someone in Brady Texas! After much a do, I was lucky enough to find a very nice man who was in his ward to take a pie to Matthew and tell him that his Mom was thinking of him. The people of Brady are truly loving and good people.
Then there was Christmas! I MAY have over done it a tad bit! Knowing his Mother and Aunt Patty, there was no way he wasnt going to have a great Christmas! And that he did! Matthews bike he had when he got on his mission was one he bought from another Elder who was going home and finally gave out about 3 weeks before Christmas. So..... Matthew has a new bright shiny red bike. ( He is so spoiled!!!)
along with a number of other things, needless to say he had a great Christmas! He was able to spend dinner and part of the day with the Fernandez's. He said his most memorable time was when him and his companion got to sing a song with the family to some non members and investigators. He loved that!
As you can well imagine a number of other things have happened over this time but the most important is that Matthew loves his mission. He loves serving the Lord! That is our greatest blessing of all!
I promise I will do a much better job of keeping this blog updated. We get to hear from Matthew again tomorrow (pday)and then we will post again after that. We will also post a number of pictures and let you see how well he is doing.
We love you Mathhew!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Well Time Got Away From Me
It has been so long since we have updated this blog. I am feeling so bad about it. My goal is to do much better at this.
Elder Haynie is doing fabulous! He never ceases to amaze us. As you all know from the previous post, Matthew was serving in Clovis. He is still there! He loves Clovis and the people. His companion is still Elder Johnson. They get along great. They are doing so much work and hoping for many baptisms in the near future. They baptized a couple 2 weeks ago that got married on Friday and baptized on Saturday. We received pictures that I will post very soon. They were so proud to have this couple be faithful and in the Church. We cant wait to hear of many more baptisms to come!
On Matthews off time, he has taken up a few new hobbies. He now plays golf, and loves it! From the charges on the personal debit card, we find that he has gotten himself all set up with clothing and all. Of course they play only p-day! He also has taken up rubic's cube. He has gotten pretty good at it too! I think he can finish it in 3 minutes or less. Thats pretty good!
We are so proud of Matthew as he continues to go forward with the work. He is loving his mission and growing by leaps and bounds. We will be more diligent in posting here for all of you.
We love you Matthew!
Elder Haynie is doing fabulous! He never ceases to amaze us. As you all know from the previous post, Matthew was serving in Clovis. He is still there! He loves Clovis and the people. His companion is still Elder Johnson. They get along great. They are doing so much work and hoping for many baptisms in the near future. They baptized a couple 2 weeks ago that got married on Friday and baptized on Saturday. We received pictures that I will post very soon. They were so proud to have this couple be faithful and in the Church. We cant wait to hear of many more baptisms to come!
On Matthews off time, he has taken up a few new hobbies. He now plays golf, and loves it! From the charges on the personal debit card, we find that he has gotten himself all set up with clothing and all. Of course they play only p-day! He also has taken up rubic's cube. He has gotten pretty good at it too! I think he can finish it in 3 minutes or less. Thats pretty good!
We are so proud of Matthew as he continues to go forward with the work. He is loving his mission and growing by leaps and bounds. We will be more diligent in posting here for all of you.
We love you Matthew!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
It's June Already!
I cant believe how time seems to be going by so fast that it has been 2 weeks since I have put a post on here. I'm definitely slacking!!!!
Well things are great for Elder Haynie! He is still in Clovis New Mexico! He absolutely loves it there. He has a companion by the name of Elder Johnson and loves him. The work that they are doing is amazing. They work well as a team and room mates and it shows in the spirit that dwells in them. Matthew speaks of the amazing experiences that they have had and his love for the Mission. We have been lucky enough to receive some more photos and will be posting a few for all of you to see.
One of the wonderful things that Matthew speaks of is the reactivation of members. There is a girl by the name of Melissa that he sent home a picture of the 2 of them. Of course to our surprise we became a little "interested" as to why he would send this one, but after receiving an email from him this week, and all of us asking him " Who is Melissa????" he explained. Melissa is a girl who is from Utah who moved to Clovis a few years ago. Since then, she had fallen away from the Church and became inactive. In recent weeks, Elder Johnson and Elder Haynie have fellowshiped her and taught her and she is now moving home and has been going back to Church regularly. The excitement in the email from Matthew of Melissa being reactivated in the Church was powerful. His words were that it is just as amazing bringing a less active member back as it is to Baptize someone. We are so proud as his parents and family that he knows the importance of "ALL" the great work and is blessed for it.
We love hearing of all the things Matthew does and experiences, but he is a man of few words. I would love to have him spend endless hours on his p-day emailig me everything they have done this week so I can somehow experience it with him but that just doesn't happen! He has decided that playing golf and other things are more important than sitting at the computer!! So we take what we can get and are very happy to have that. He talks of learning games and playing basketball twice a week and golf and eating ( Alot) and all these things and I think to myself " If he keeps this up he will never come home!!!" But, I am assured that these things are all things he is allowed to do and that with as much fun he has he also knows and appreciates the hard work that goes with it. It has only been 3 months and he has changed so much in such a little amount of time. All good of course.
In the last couple of weeks we have had different things happen in our family that we have let Matthew know about. One of the most exciting things is that his older brother is graduating this month. Kendal has worked so hard to finish this part of school and is now graduating on June 11.2009. Matthew is so proud. Also, Tyler and Kalob are now out of school for the summer. Kalob will have to take it easy as he broke his ankle a couple of weeks ago playing church basketball. He is fine and on the mend. Also, Matthew's Grandma Betty is possibly getting married! We are so excited for her and Matthew sure wishes he can be here for that but, he knows he is where he needs to be and is also excited for her. Go Betty!!!!
Our lives seem to go by so fast from day to day. We all get caught up in all our jobs and responsibilities and before you know it 2 and 3 weeks have gone by and you dont even know it. I will work more diligently to post on this blog to keep all of you updated on Matthew's success. We love you Matthew! You're doing a great job!!!
Well things are great for Elder Haynie! He is still in Clovis New Mexico! He absolutely loves it there. He has a companion by the name of Elder Johnson and loves him. The work that they are doing is amazing. They work well as a team and room mates and it shows in the spirit that dwells in them. Matthew speaks of the amazing experiences that they have had and his love for the Mission. We have been lucky enough to receive some more photos and will be posting a few for all of you to see.
One of the wonderful things that Matthew speaks of is the reactivation of members. There is a girl by the name of Melissa that he sent home a picture of the 2 of them. Of course to our surprise we became a little "interested" as to why he would send this one, but after receiving an email from him this week, and all of us asking him " Who is Melissa????" he explained. Melissa is a girl who is from Utah who moved to Clovis a few years ago. Since then, she had fallen away from the Church and became inactive. In recent weeks, Elder Johnson and Elder Haynie have fellowshiped her and taught her and she is now moving home and has been going back to Church regularly. The excitement in the email from Matthew of Melissa being reactivated in the Church was powerful. His words were that it is just as amazing bringing a less active member back as it is to Baptize someone. We are so proud as his parents and family that he knows the importance of "ALL" the great work and is blessed for it.
We love hearing of all the things Matthew does and experiences, but he is a man of few words. I would love to have him spend endless hours on his p-day emailig me everything they have done this week so I can somehow experience it with him but that just doesn't happen! He has decided that playing golf and other things are more important than sitting at the computer!! So we take what we can get and are very happy to have that. He talks of learning games and playing basketball twice a week and golf and eating ( Alot) and all these things and I think to myself " If he keeps this up he will never come home!!!" But, I am assured that these things are all things he is allowed to do and that with as much fun he has he also knows and appreciates the hard work that goes with it. It has only been 3 months and he has changed so much in such a little amount of time. All good of course.
In the last couple of weeks we have had different things happen in our family that we have let Matthew know about. One of the most exciting things is that his older brother is graduating this month. Kendal has worked so hard to finish this part of school and is now graduating on June 11.2009. Matthew is so proud. Also, Tyler and Kalob are now out of school for the summer. Kalob will have to take it easy as he broke his ankle a couple of weeks ago playing church basketball. He is fine and on the mend. Also, Matthew's Grandma Betty is possibly getting married! We are so excited for her and Matthew sure wishes he can be here for that but, he knows he is where he needs to be and is also excited for her. Go Betty!!!!
Our lives seem to go by so fast from day to day. We all get caught up in all our jobs and responsibilities and before you know it 2 and 3 weeks have gone by and you dont even know it. I will work more diligently to post on this blog to keep all of you updated on Matthew's success. We love you Matthew! You're doing a great job!!!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
My How Time Flies!
Well here we are again. Another 12 days have passed and so much has happened.
Elder Haynie is doing so well. He absolutely loves his mission! Since the last posting of this blog, Matthew has had transfers and a call home. What a blessing.
First, transfers were on May 3, 2009. Matthew did not get transferred so he is still in Clovis. He is so happy to stay as he loves Clovis. He did get a new companion. Elder Johnson! I am sure this will be a great companionship! Matthew speaks highly of Elder Johnson and says they get along great. They have been very busy doing the work and teaching the Gospel.
Second, Matthew called home on Mothers Day! This was the best Mothers Day present I could have gotten. But, knowing Matthew, of course it was nail biting waiting to hear from him. Earlier in an email I had asked what time we would be hearing from him and he didnt know but probably in the afternoon. So Mothers Day approaches and we had not heard from him by the time we went to church. Of course every other Mother in the ward with Missionaries out heard from theirs!!!! So we waited patiently by the phone and finally at 730pm our time, he calls! What a long waited moment. He told us that they had forgotten it was Mothers Day the day before and made all sorts of appointments and this was the first chance he had to call. How could we be mad at that? we couldnt! So we had an hour to talk to him and find out all the things he has been doing and catching him up on a few things at home.
The amazing thing was it didnt seem like I was talking to my boy, he sounds like a very mature man! When he spoke he was so spiritual and wanted to tell us what he has learned and all the good things happening to him. It was simply amazing!!!!!!!
Even after the phone call Sunday, we still go an email on p-day (monday)! It didnt say much, but it was still nice to get a little something from him.
We as his family love him so much. We are so proud of him and try to let him know that every chance we get. Our lives are truly blessed having him out teaching the Gospel.
We love you Matthew!
Elder Haynie is doing so well. He absolutely loves his mission! Since the last posting of this blog, Matthew has had transfers and a call home. What a blessing.
First, transfers were on May 3, 2009. Matthew did not get transferred so he is still in Clovis. He is so happy to stay as he loves Clovis. He did get a new companion. Elder Johnson! I am sure this will be a great companionship! Matthew speaks highly of Elder Johnson and says they get along great. They have been very busy doing the work and teaching the Gospel.
Second, Matthew called home on Mothers Day! This was the best Mothers Day present I could have gotten. But, knowing Matthew, of course it was nail biting waiting to hear from him. Earlier in an email I had asked what time we would be hearing from him and he didnt know but probably in the afternoon. So Mothers Day approaches and we had not heard from him by the time we went to church. Of course every other Mother in the ward with Missionaries out heard from theirs!!!! So we waited patiently by the phone and finally at 730pm our time, he calls! What a long waited moment. He told us that they had forgotten it was Mothers Day the day before and made all sorts of appointments and this was the first chance he had to call. How could we be mad at that? we couldnt! So we had an hour to talk to him and find out all the things he has been doing and catching him up on a few things at home.
The amazing thing was it didnt seem like I was talking to my boy, he sounds like a very mature man! When he spoke he was so spiritual and wanted to tell us what he has learned and all the good things happening to him. It was simply amazing!!!!!!!
Even after the phone call Sunday, we still go an email on p-day (monday)! It didnt say much, but it was still nice to get a little something from him.
We as his family love him so much. We are so proud of him and try to let him know that every chance we get. Our lives are truly blessed having him out teaching the Gospel.
We love you Matthew!
Friday, May 1, 2009
April 25, 2009 A Day to Remember
I know it has been a couple of weeks since the last blog, but things have been crazy.
First of all, Elder Haynie has had his first Baptism! Right after he arrived in Clovis, he let us know of the first baptism of his companionship. Now Elder Haynie has had his first actual Baptism. On April 25, 2009 Matthew baptized Breanna Devu. What an amazing experience for him. His letter tells of how exciting and spiritual it is to Baptize. Of course, he says he will never forget this day. Good Job Matthew!!!!
Transfers are coming up May 3,2009. Although Matthew really wants to stay in his area, he is ready to go wherever the Lord calls him. He absolutely loves Clovis and hopes to stay awhile. Things are going well with him and Elder Curtis.
This last email on Monday April 27, 2009, Matthew talks of the "stats" of the mission this month. They are amazing!
Last month # of Baptisms: 20
This month # of Baptisms: 34
This months companionship with the most lessons taught : Elder Haynie and Elder Curtis
This weeks number of lessons taught in my companionship: 30
We are so proud. what an amazing month for these 2 young men. As Matthew puts it " these are only a few of the awesome things that go on in my mission".
What would a letter be like if Matthew didnt ask about all of us? He always makes sure he asks about his family and if everyone is ok. With his older brother Kendal not living at home, he tries to keep in contact with him every week. It means alot to his Dad and I as we want kendal to experience this with him. He also shows love and concern for his younger brothers.
Then there comes the "needs". The letter would not be complete if there wasnt something Matthew needed, never expected, just needed. We do our best to make sure he is fully supplied and prepared to do the Lords work!
We are so proud of Matthew. It seems like so long since we have seen him or talked to him. I am counting the days til Mothers Day so we can talk to him and give him our love.
Thank you to all who read this blog and stay updated. We love you Matthew!
First of all, Elder Haynie has had his first Baptism! Right after he arrived in Clovis, he let us know of the first baptism of his companionship. Now Elder Haynie has had his first actual Baptism. On April 25, 2009 Matthew baptized Breanna Devu. What an amazing experience for him. His letter tells of how exciting and spiritual it is to Baptize. Of course, he says he will never forget this day. Good Job Matthew!!!!
Transfers are coming up May 3,2009. Although Matthew really wants to stay in his area, he is ready to go wherever the Lord calls him. He absolutely loves Clovis and hopes to stay awhile. Things are going well with him and Elder Curtis.
This last email on Monday April 27, 2009, Matthew talks of the "stats" of the mission this month. They are amazing!
Last month # of Baptisms: 20
This month # of Baptisms: 34
This months companionship with the most lessons taught : Elder Haynie and Elder Curtis
This weeks number of lessons taught in my companionship: 30
We are so proud. what an amazing month for these 2 young men. As Matthew puts it " these are only a few of the awesome things that go on in my mission".
What would a letter be like if Matthew didnt ask about all of us? He always makes sure he asks about his family and if everyone is ok. With his older brother Kendal not living at home, he tries to keep in contact with him every week. It means alot to his Dad and I as we want kendal to experience this with him. He also shows love and concern for his younger brothers.
Then there comes the "needs". The letter would not be complete if there wasnt something Matthew needed, never expected, just needed. We do our best to make sure he is fully supplied and prepared to do the Lords work!
We are so proud of Matthew. It seems like so long since we have seen him or talked to him. I am counting the days til Mothers Day so we can talk to him and give him our love.
Thank you to all who read this blog and stay updated. We love you Matthew!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Snow in Clovis!!!
Here is a picture Elder Haynie sent of him at his first apartment. With snow in Clovis!!!
Texas Lubbock Mission Newsletter
This is the first newsletter of Elder Haynie's mission! Thought you would enjoy the reading!!! Very Photogenic!
1
1
A Priceless Picture
Here is a picture we just received. This is President Robison and his wife and of course, Elder Haynie. Priceless
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Another Day in Clovis!
Well it's been a week or more since we have written on Elder Haynie's progress. He is doing well. He writes of STILL loving his mission.
In the last email we sent to Matthew, we told him of the passing of Aunt Lorraine. Knowing he would have a moment of sadness, I never dreamed that such meaningful words would come from him. He states " The greatest message I have for everyone from my mission is The Plan of Salvation. After we have left our mortal bodies and enter into Spiritual Paradise, we will see Aunt Lorraine again. We all should not be too upset knowing one day we will see her again in a perfected body. We will all be together again." What an amazing statement from an amazing young man. We are all sad about her passing, but this definitely puts things into perspective.
On a lighter note, he is already half way into a transfer. He says there are 17 transfers in a mission and he is half way into one. This doesnt seem so good to me as 17 seems like a lot but he feels differently. He cant believe how fast it is going. In every letter he writes, he mentions how fast his mission is going. And enjoying every minute of it.
The work is coming along in Clovis. They are struggling right now for teaching appointments, but have alot of faith that it will all come together in due time. He doesnt seem to get discouraged, just says he has a lot of studying time. Of course the time will come when he is so busy he wont be able to see straight. Good times ahead!
Of course being his Mother, I worry about the "little" things like him having food and eating. This Mission President is a bit different. The Elders are not allowed to go to dinner appointments at members homes unless they have an investigater there. So, this put a small strain on the eating situation. Being as Matthew is so skinny anyways, I worry he wont get enough. So, I asked him about it and he sent me his daily menu which consists of:
A bowl of cereal in the morning
1 hot pocket and 2 pks of top ramen for lunch
1 burrito for a snack
A bowl of cereal and 2 pks of top ramen for dinner
Yuck!!!!! But he likes it. Just so you know, I have never seen Matthew eat a package of top ramen in my life! Gourmet meals for my Missionary!
Needless to say, I will still worry about the food situation.
Matthew loves getting mail. He asked us to thank everyone who has written and asked to keep the letters coming. We try to send him a couple letters a week and a care package as often as we can.
We are so looking forward to talking to Matthew on Mothers Day. It seems so long since we have heard his voice.
In closing, Matthew loves his family. Reading the words he expresses puts everything into perspective and tells us he is right where he needs to be!!!
We love you Matthew!
The work is coming along in Clovis. They are struggling right now for teaching appointments, but have alot of faith that it will all come together in due time. He doesnt seem to get discouraged, just says he has a lot of studying time. Of course the time will come when he is so busy he wont be able to see straight. Good times ahead!
Of course being his Mother, I worry about the "little" things like him having food and eating. This Mission President is a bit different. The Elders are not allowed to go to dinner appointments at members homes unless they have an investigater there. So, this put a small strain on the eating situation. Being as Matthew is so skinny anyways, I worry he wont get enough. So, I asked him about it and he sent me his daily menu which consists of:
A bowl of cereal in the morning
1 hot pocket and 2 pks of top ramen for lunch
1 burrito for a snack
A bowl of cereal and 2 pks of top ramen for dinner
Yuck!!!!! But he likes it. Just so you know, I have never seen Matthew eat a package of top ramen in my life! Gourmet meals for my Missionary!
Needless to say, I will still worry about the food situation.
Matthew loves getting mail. He asked us to thank everyone who has written and asked to keep the letters coming. We try to send him a couple letters a week and a care package as often as we can.
We are so looking forward to talking to Matthew on Mothers Day. It seems so long since we have heard his voice.
In closing, Matthew loves his family. Reading the words he expresses puts everything into perspective and tells us he is right where he needs to be!!!
We love you Matthew!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
A Sad Passing.
Aunt Lorraine has passed away. She was Elder Haynie's Great Aunt.
Lorraine was a member of the family that we, and Elder Haynie, got the chance to visit and get to know a little better when we went to Provo for the Family Reunion. She has been ailing in health and passed away April 9, 2009, one day before her 86th birthday.
She will be missed greatly and we will always remember the wonderful time we had visiting with her and getting to know her better.
She is loved!
Lorraine was a member of the family that we, and Elder Haynie, got the chance to visit and get to know a little better when we went to Provo for the Family Reunion. She has been ailing in health and passed away April 9, 2009, one day before her 86th birthday.
She will be missed greatly and we will always remember the wonderful time we had visiting with her and getting to know her better.
She is loved!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
