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
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