October 21, 2013

Hey dad,
            I just want to thank you so much for the email. As mine is the high point for you, I hope you know that this is the best part of the week for me. It is so uplifting to read your emails and to know how you and the family are doing even when it hasn't been the best of weeks. I am so proud of Ashley and it’s so good to hear that she has reached all of her dreams in life. I am so very proud of our wonderful family dad. Thanks so much for taking time to write an email every week to me. I am sure it hasn't been the easiest thing to find time for, but you and mom have always managed to do it. 
It’s crazy to think that I have almost a year knocked down already, I still feel like I haven’t accomplished anything and have so much left to do. Its really mixed emotions with it all but I hope that one day I can feel a little more on top of the game than I do right now. I am just so glad that I am given so many chances to learn more with everything. And right now, I am learning a whole lot. The mission president gave us a book from the church called "Principles of Leadership" and it is just incredible. I have been able to learn about a lot of things and would love to apply them here in my life, but it seems like that’s the real trick. If we could all apply things as fast as we hear about them, the world would be Zion already. 
Well dad, this week was pretty good, stressful, and all of the above. I am so much happier with the missionaries here in our zone. Things have changed so much with that and I am so grateful. Our progress in our area is coming along, but we are still working with the same people. It seems like there is never enough time to do it all. We have been trying really hard with two families, one we are just waiting on the marriage papers and the other we are just trying to get them to let us in a little more and give us more time to teach. But happily, they are all going to church and are interested in the gospel, I wish I could just click a button and make everyone see the blessings and the happiness that the gospel brings. 
Today, we had a big party with the zone. We had a big bbq and played basketball and water balloon volleyball, which just turned, into a water fight. It was a lot of fun and everyone left drenched but it felt so good with the hot sun. Yes, today I got burnt. It feels like a hot summer day like at home and this past Sunday I just kept thinking about a nice dive in the ol' swimming hole.
Ha-ha we have some really fun people in our zone from the south, and one of them lived my dreams. I discovered this week that he has hunted alligators before. You can only imagine the size of my eyes when he said it.  
Well dad, this transfer has been a lot more relaxing and I am learning a lot more. I sure have started to miss you a lot though, and I can’t tell if it’s the train or just the fact that I have been out here for a year now, but dad I am so grateful for all you do for me. I hope you can feel the big hug I am sending to you right now. I love you dad, and I am so so grateful for you. Please have such a safe week and transfers are every six weeks, so according to way I looked at it, the 21st of October will be when I get back but a lot of times they cut down a transfer or two and we end up coming home a week or so earlier. If I were you just take the week of the 21st off and then we will get our party on!
 I love you so much dad! Have a great safe week
Love

Elder Paynter 

Hey mom,
           I am so glad to hear that grandma came home and is doing better. She has been in my prayers for a while now along with the rest of family as usual but I have been giving the extra kick along with Levi.
I am just so proud of Ashley and how much she has grown and the success that she has had. They are such a wonderful little family. This week was wonderful and great in all. 
           Just a quick little story and then I will copy and paste a little of what I sent dad. 
Last week we gave a member a blessing to help her get more work to pay the bills and such, and this week on Tuesday night when we got to the English class she told us that ever since the blessing she has been having so many more opportunities to work. She truly is such a strong and faithful person. We were also going to church this week hoping and praying that we would have some more investigators who would actually come this week, and when we got there, we had so many walk in surprise investigators and along with the others showing up, even the ones we thought would never come, came. It was such a great blessing from the lord.
          One of our investigators last week got the manual of the teachings of Lorenzo Snow. This week when we got back to him, he said that he read it all in the week and loved it but had a lot of questions and invited more family to come. He is just a young 18 year old, but speaks fluent English and it was just really great to see the gospel working in the lives of these people! It has been such a great week. I love you so much mom, I am so sorry that this isn't the longest email but we got to run to an appointment. I love you so much!
Love 

Elder Sunsy

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