Payne Ice Show 2013

With the arrival of our new 'ice rink' the boys came up with a little ice show.  It's actually just videos and pics of them sliding on the ice, but they did spend a lot of time preparing for the show.  Links to videos and pics are below.

Chris

Video 1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaVWEXL39Zg&feature=youtu.be
Video 2:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyasabXO4RU&feature=youtu.be
Pics:  https://plus.google.com/photos/107778429244085527843/albums/5837903190636231841?authkey=COHzpP-skdOS1gE

Mini Skating Rink

     Some people spend a lot of time and money making the perfect skating rink.  Buying the right equipment, making sure everything is level, and measuring things to their exact specifications.  If you're not one of those people, which I am not, you can just let a couple of warm days, followed by a couple of very cold days, create a nice little rink on its own.  With the kids shoveling/sweeping the snow off the ice they have created a rather nice mini rink.

Chris

Student of the Month and Spelling Bee

Levi was recently named 'Student of the Month' at his school.  Below is the write-up from the schools website.

On Friday Samuel will be participating in the schools spelling bee.  He was one of three kids in his class that made it to the school round.

We are very proud of both of them.

Chris

Student of the Month

Congratulations to Levi Payne, WRAMS 6th grade, Team C, Student of the Month.  Levi is a hardworking  student who puts forth much effort.  He has an outstanding work ethic and completes his assignments with  accuracy and pride.  He is very helpful, courteous and respectful to both his classmates and staff.  Levi enjoys being a 6th grader at WRAMS.  He likes being with students from throughout the district and  has made new friends.  He is excited to have opportunities to use technology.  Levi likes switching classrooms  and learning from many teachers.  Language arts is his favorite subject because of spelling. Levi is the son of Cari and Chris Payne.  He has three brothers:  Samuel age 9, Josiah age 7, and  Nathanael age 5.  He has a dog named Major.  He enjoys drawing, sports and word searches.  His favorite team is the Packers! Congratulations, Levi, for being a January Student of the Month!

Walking the dog on a cold winter day

     We are in the middle of winter and in central Wisconsin that means it's getting cold.  Even though it's cold it doesn't keep us from doing things outside.  One of those is taking Major on his daily walk.  It's amazing how quickly a dog can get into a routine. (He must be a first born)  Everyday when I come home from work Major is already waiting for me to go on our walk.  When we first got him we had temps in the 80's.  This week the highs are in the teens.  As you can see from the pictures that means getting very bundled up.  I did have to laugh though when I saw a guy grilling dinner on his BBQ grill.  Northern people are a different breed, grilling when it's in the teens wouldn't happen everywhere.

Chris

Christmas Concerts

Below are links to 3 videos from recent Christmas concerts at church and school.

Silent Night
Away in a Manger
School Concert

Chris

Christmas Letter-2012

Merry Christmas from the Payne's!

     2012 was a year of many firsts for our family.  

          -During Spring Break we took our first family trip to Green Bay for a Lambeau Field tour, Packers Hall of Fame visit, and 2 nights at a water park.  All 3 were a great experience for all of us.  

          -This year Samuel and Josiah played their first year of soccer and Levi played his first year of football.  This meant that we spent a lot of time watching and cheering on the sidelines.  

          -For the first time Cari received some answers, and a name (POTS), to the persistent head pain she has experienced for many years.  Although there are still days with pain she is glad that she now has a name for her condition.  Here is an overview of POTS.

          -This Summer Chris, Levi, and Samuel went to Packers training camp for the first time.  It was a great way to see the players up close without having to attend a freezing cold game during a Wisconsin winter.

          -For the first time we added a four-legged member to our family and yes, it is another boy. :)  Major joined the family this Summer.  He is a beagle/rat-terrier mix and has been a great addition to our family.

          -Chris took his first international trip in October.  He traveled to Moldova with 3 other men to help with a church building project and to teach and preach.  Click here for a detailed blog post, and here for a photo album of the trip.

     We pray that you have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

The Payne's

Moldova 2012

This blog posting is a summary of my experience in Moldova.  You can find pictures from the trip on my Facebook page in the album titled ‘Moldova’, or from our ‘Team Moldova’ page (https://www.facebook.com/TeamMoldova?ref=ts&fref=ts).   I would like to thank the church in Straseni and the Darrin’s for their hospitality.  It was very much appreciated and the team values the new friendships that were made.

After 18 months of preparation the team from Wisconsin has returned from Moldova.  From October 11-20 we had the opportunity to help a church in Straseni with the expansion of their church building.  We also had opportunities to preach and teach multiple times during the trip.  The time we spent in Moldova gave us opportunities to make new friendships and see what God is doing in this country in Eastern Europe.

                The trip started on Thursday morning in Madison, Wisconsin.  After connections in Chicago, Frankfurt, and Munich (which included running through the airport), we arrived in Chisinau, Moldova on Friday afternoon.  After checking into our hotel Troy Darrin, the missionary we worked with, drove us to the church in Straseni where we would be working.  After meeting the pastor and going out dinner we were able to go to bed after being up for about 30 hours.  Needless to say we were very tired.

                Saturday, our first work day, was a very wet and dirty day.  We started the day, like we did every day, with a great breakfast.  We were also able to meet the workers from the crew that we would be assisting.  They were really a great group of guys.  Over the week we formed some great relationships and were able to pick up on a few Romanian words.  The day was spent making cement and sending it up to the roof.  The new cement is going to be the floor for the second story of the building.  Around noon Paul and I went to Nagresti to speak at a youth gathering.  The gathering consisted of 70-90 youth.  The youth started the gathering by competing in a variety show that included what they had recently learned from the book of Jonah.  Paul and I were on a panel of judges that were rating each category.  It was a really fun time.  After the variety show I had the opportunity to speak to the youth about God’s love.

                Sunday started out by worshiping with the church in Straseni.  After a great time of worship through music, Randy and Paul both had opportunities to preach.  After church we had lunch.  Lunch on this day, and every day , was great.  The women of the church fed us very well and we enjoyed a many new foods.  After lunch we went to a local orphanage where we were able to talk to some of the kids and give them bananas as a snack.  It was amazing how a banana could bring a smile to a child’s face.  In the late afternoon we went back to Negresti for an evening church service.  The church in Negresti is a recent church plant.  On Sunday night we went back to Chisinau and spent about an hour at the city’s anniversary celebration.

                Monday through Wednesday we continued making and pouring more cement.  On Monday night Paul met with local church leaders to talk about strategic planning.  The group consisted of about twelve men.  What amazed me was the age of the leaders.  Of the twelve men present, ten of them were under the age of 40.  It was great to see the church with so many young leaders.  On Tuesday Paul facilitated a teaching with pastors from local villages.  Since the rest of us (Bill, Randy, and Chris) didn’t have any responsibilities that night we went back to the hotel early.  Wednesday night was a shorted work day because we needed to leave early to get to the church in Balti, which was about 90 minutes away.  The drive to Balti gave us the chance to see the beautiful Moldovan landscape.  During the church service in Balti Paul gave a greeting from our church, and Randy preached and lead in a couple of songs.

                Thursday was our last full work day.  By that time we were able to see progress.  The floor was poured, the old roof was down, re-bar was up, and cinder blocks were going up.  Over a two day period we manually moved over 8 tons of cinder blocks.  Thursday night was our last night to have fellowship with the congregation in Straseni.  Randy lead in a few songs and I had the opportunity to preach.  At the end of the service each team member had the chance to share their experiences from the past week.  It was a time for us to thank the congregation for allowing us to help them with their project.  After the service we went to ‘Pizza Bob’s for dinner.

                Friday was a half-day of work.  After lunch we headed to Chisinau to see the sights and visit one of the markets.  Our final meal in Moldova was at a Thai restaurant where we ate in huts.  Who would have thought that we would have had pizza and Thai food while in Moldova?

                Here are my final thoughts and things I learned while on the trip.  

-This was the first time I had even been away from my wife and kids for 10 days.  After 10 days away I saw that I was taking my family for granted over the years, and being away from them for so long really open my eyes to this.

-Many times we wonder how God can use us, especially in areas that are not our strengths.  My example of that is in the area of construction.  Those that know me know that I am not a construction guy.  Before I left for the trip I was anxious about how I was going to be used in a construction project.  After one day though I found a job that fit me very well.

-Although we spoke different languages (English and Romanian) the Body of Christ speaks a common language.  It was incredible to see how God was using Moldovans and Americans to reach the people of Straseni.

-Hard work feels good, especially when you’re working with a great group of guys.  Of the three other guys on the trip I only knew one of them very well prior to the trip.  During our week together we shared a lot of laughs, food, and prayer together.

-A small group can get more work done than expected.  When the foreman saw the size of our crew he was skeptical about how much work we could get done.  By the end of the week we had exceeded his expectations.  This was only possible through a combined effort of the American team and the Moldovan crew. 

My hope is that this trip is just the start of a relationship between the churches in Wisconsin and the church in Straseni and others in Moldova.

Pace,

Chris

PS:  Sus!