Week #42 March 27 2017

Hola todos!

This week was long and eventful. On Monday I may have mentioned that we got to go to Skyzone after we had done emailing because one of the companionships had acquired 10 free tickets for an hour. (Missionaries find the weirdest stuff) So we went and had a fun time there, but sadly one of the Hermanas hurt her foot pretty bad. It was kind of ironic because she has just had problem after problem. She would almost be like another Job...Because of that, we really had adventures! So Tuesday comes around and she needs someone to take her to York and back as soon as possible for some odd reason. We then have to cancel district meeting but we still did Exchanges. I got to spend the day with Elder Fitzgerald. Here is an excerpt from my letter to president:

-First I need to report on the exchanges we had this week. I did not mean to save it to the end, but because of snow and a couple other things it just landed that way. First, on Tuesday I was able to spend the day with Elder Fitzgerald. He is a wonderful Elder with a bright testimony of the gospel. I was most impressed how loving he was towards the work. We were able to spend a lot of time talking and have a great exchange even though the day did not go as planned. I was impressed with his willingness to learn a few Spanish phrases and apply them to the work. I sometimes feel Spanish exchanges are not fair because the other Elder does not always have a whole lot to do, but both of these Elders really carried their role and were a great help.-

We then had exchanges with Elder Hopper

-Because of crunch for time we had the second exchange from Thursday evening to Friday. I was very impressed with Elder Hopper and can see the light of missionary work in his eyes. He knows the Book of Mormon is true and wants to share it with everybody he knows. I can tell that the mission has changed him and that he has felt the power of the atonement in his life. He made me want to be better. this doesn't mean that he was a dull companion, rather, he has learned how to feel in his skin to use his talents to serve the Lord. You have a fine set of Elders here.-

I am just going to skip to Sunday

-We had a super awesome miracle! We have been working with a golden investigator and his wife, Jose and Glenda, and he hasn't been able to come to church because they feel uncomfortable with their two severely autistic children. He came though! The reason she did not come apparently was because she did not have a dress to wear. He came and it scared me at first because he comes late which is okay because our meetings are reversed ish for some reason. We go into priesthood and an argument just about starts yup and I just think, OHhhhhh dear... There goes our hope! Turns out to be okay and we have a prayer and the Spirit settled in. At the end of the lesson we find out that hermano Arocho will be giving a talk and I just think... Ohhhhh dear, that is the man that has accidentally driven people away from the branch... It turns out that He gives one of the best talks on the Articles of Faith I have heard. At the end of the meeting I turn to Jose, and he just says to me, "I liked it a lot" (translated). Miracles come after the trial of faith!-

I used a lot from my letter to president because between that and the journal this is like the third or fourth time I am telling the story.

Other notes, one I realize I may have forgotten to tell my address and that is mostly because I was not sure if I would receive mail well there or not. My address is 833 Pleasure Rd. Apt E34

Lancaster, PA 17603.

I love you all lots!

Week #41 March 20 2017

This week was really interesting. Monday I got a haircut. Tuesday we got a foot and a half of snow. Because of that Tuesday we got stuck in pretty much all day and most of Wednesday as well. Basically until Friday nothing much happened at least that I can even remember. I mean we were out and about but the only thing I really remember is helping this lady who had a ton of snow blocking her car. Friday though, we got in with the Hope family and watched the Restoration with them. They loved it so we came back the next day to help answer some of their questions. Saturday was CRAZY! We get out early and find a man we had been trying to contact named Alvaro. We set an appointment for later which just added to our busy schedule. Comes down to it, we had a very miraculous day where things just happened that shouldn't have happened all on their own. It was great! We had another lesson with a Lady named Sylvia who is actually the friend of one of our less active members. We did not know that before the lesson. Oh, I almost forgot! Thursday we get a call as we are about to go and eat that we are late to a dinner appointment we were not told about. We hurry over there and turns out to be a family who has not been able to come to church because the man of the home has had to work on Sundays. Turns out that they can actually come! Also, as we are talking their daughter and her family are their waiting for her husband to pick her up. She leaves because her husband drives by and we ask if she is a member. Turns out she isn't. Then as we are speaking she comes back in because it actually wasn't her husband! We then are able to share a super awesome message that was very powerful, not because we were teaching better, but the Spirit was very strong. Sunday, we do a church swap with the Hope family and it was weird. It wasn't the actual church that made it weird, in fact it was very well organized and they did a wonderful job welcoming us. I felt overdressed as I was in a full suit and the Pastor didn't even where a tie. As the proceedings went on there were good things that were said, but something just felt missing. I felt like I was in a presentation for something rather than worshiping God. I was surprised at a number of things. First, it took them over half the time before they even started the sermon and they just didn't talk about much. They had very good fellowship one to another, but there was something missing. As the Sermon went on He proceeded to share a message using an assortment of scriptures focused on one at the very end of Mark. They kindly had a program to take notes with that followed along with the sermon. At the end I realized that nothing false was taught, rather I was severely disappointed because I felt like nothing was taught. I looked back and there was no doctrine taught. None. I found nothing false, but nothing true either. We later were able to go to our meetings in church and as we partook of the Sacrament there was a supreme difference. It was not because of things familiar, rather the Spirit was able to be present in the fullness. It was a wonderful experience overall. I am grateful for the opportunity we have to worship our God and that He has sent His Spirit to confirm the truth of all things.

I love you all!

Sincerely,

Elder Haynie

Week #40 March 13 2017

Hola Todos!

This week was pretty great! Monday I think I may have already told about, but it was a pretty great day. Tuesday we had Zone Training and we learned lots of great things there. Then I had the opportunity to go on Exchanges with the Zone Leaders. I went with Elder Blazzard and Elder Burtenshaw took my place here. We went back did a quick overview then headed out! We had some pretty great experiences and met some people. I decided that English people think differently than Hispanics. Like, it is a completely different type of missionary work! For some reason we always have miracles on exchanges. We found these two guys and taught them the Restoration and when we went to read from the scriptures one of them said, I have this really cool bible app on my phone that I really like because it reads to me. Come to find out it was the gospel Library app. I was amazed. While I was away, Elder Livingston had some pretty awesome miracles. All the people we had been trying to meet finally opened their doors and made appointments. I feel like the Lord was being very abundant in His blessings for us this week. Thursday we were able to eat steak from one of our investigators, the Hope family. We shared the video the Mediator, and then invited them to Stake Conference. Sunday was very uplifting. The Hope family was a little late to the meeting, but the Made it! They really enjoyed it. One of my personal favorites was that a 91 year-old recent convert was invited to share his testimony. He opens by saying of all my life I am the happiest I have ever been. He then proceeded to share his gratitude and belief in the Savior. Everybody was in tears. Another highlight was our final speaker Elder Dudley of the Seventy. He gave a wonderful talk about weeds and seeds. He told an experience he had as a Stake President when President Hinkley came as they were looking for a possible temple sight. Throughout the story, he really showed how prophets are truly inspired by God and empowered to do the work. Also, he used different instances of when President Hinkley Stomped on the weeds and when he would gather and then plant and nourish them. We should then symbolically stomp on the weeds of doubt and replace them with faith, stomp on pride and plant humility in the stead. It was a really great talk.

Well, I got to get going, but let it be known that God loves us and blesses His children. Also Romans 8 is wonderful but Spanish is a better translation. I love you all!

Sincerely,

Elder Haynie

Week #39 March 6 2017

Hola todos!

This week was pretty interesting! We had cold and chilly weather but it was fun. So the run down of the week went kinda like this. Monday- our solid lesson fell through though we did have a pretty fun lesson over at the Diaz house. We finished teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they all were very excited for the lesson Tuesday. The next day was cool because I directed my first district meeting. It went well and was pretty effective. Later we had another lesson with the Diaz family about the Word of Wisdom. Really there wasn't anything new for them. I just think, how do we learn it as a kid, but forget it so easily as we grow up?  Wednesday was a little bit of a trial of faith because pretty much all our set appointments fell through, though we did have a neat experience. We had just gotten done with a dinner appointment, then we are trying to visit as a back up to our teaching appointment and we found this lady named Jaime that talked to us for a bit. Turns out her husband is actually related to the family we had just had dinner with. That was a pretty awesome day by the end because even though everything fell through, the Lord had other plans. Thursday was great! A member fed us Empanadas...That says it all! I successfully, yet painfully ate 22 and broke the house record! Friday though was where the real miracle happened. We had this cool activity planned with the members to meet lots of people because of an activity that takes place every 1st Friday of the month. However, it was really cold and there weren't any people really out. Because of that we ended up back at a member's house. The miracle comes when we decide to go visit our investigator Jose on a day and time where he usually can't meet, at a time we hadn't planned on. It turns out he and his wife were home and had time. We shared the Plan of Salvation and it was amazing! I was so happy because they are very prepared! Saturday and Sunday were miracles because after long days and some walking, we finally were able to find new people to teach. All and all, this week was wonderful and miraculous. I love you  all and love to hear how you all are doing!

Sincerely,

Elder Haynie

This was just a random door up 10 feet in the air. Honey, make sure you lock the back door!

Week #45 April 17 2017

Hola Todos!

So the subject is what our key indicators were for this week which means we had a wonderful week based on who these people represent. I apologize in advance because I don't have my camera on me and I'm not sure if I have any on my companion's camera. But, this week was super awesome! We had a very spiritual Zone conference on Tuesday followed by a super awesome day where we picked up many new investigator for the week! That is where the 6 comes in. I don't know about other missions as much, but here our standard of excellence is to find 2 new investigators per week, and sometimes that is a difficult, but doable task. So we had a super miraculous day and were able to find some new people to teach. Then we concluded the day with some very late night interviews. I was the last to go and mine ended at 10:45, which in missionary time is super late...It was very uplifting though. That day we finally began teaching the man named Noel and his son. We ran into them last Sunday and shared with them the Easter initiative video. It fit his needs exactly and it was amazing to see how the prophets really do receive revelation. We had one of the most spiritual lessons where I felt like everything was directed by a higher hand. I am excited because we will see him again today. But the really cool thing happened on Friday. I am going to take a cut from my letter to president:

Teaching- We had a super awesome week! We had this lesson on Friday with our investigators Jose and Glenda. It went well, but the cool part was near the end of it. We were helping resolve their doubts about baptism, and Jose still felt like he wanted to be baptized, but not quite yet. We new about that, but then we decided to ask his wife more directly. She said she had no doubts really, so we invited her to be baptized on the 29 of April. She accepted! This really surprised me because She is a lot quieter and I did not expect her to say yes first. Then, on Sunday after all the meetings, Jose comes up to me and says, I talked with my wife and prayed and I want to be baptized as well the 29th! He told us he had gotten a confirmation during one of the classes. President, the Spirit is real, and absolutely a member of the Godhead. I think sometimes we forget that in this work we have God on our side, literally His presence can be with us. There are moments where I just ask how, because my mortal capacity to understand is so limited to comprehend how so much power can be present to create these profound changes in people.

I do need to be going soon, but I love you all! Happy Birthday Mother, Yeah that's right, my Mom is awesome!

Sincerely,

Elder Haynie

Week #38 February 27 2017Inline image 4Inline image 1Inline image 2Inline image 3Inline image 5 Elder Livingston next to the door! Hola Todos! This week was interesting with lots of things. Tuesday was normal, but at the same time different because we didn't have district meeting. Wednesday was weird because we did an overhaul of the area book and got everything organized which took a while. Then as we were about to leave, we get a call that threw off the rest of the day, but it was alright. Thursday was pretty normal, though I am having a hard time remembering much because the days are a little mushed. Friday we had Zone conference which took the day, but it was very uplifting. Saturday was exciting because we helped this lady move and found this cool guy named Rafael. Then we had a tornado warning and it rained really hard and hailed a little but it was great! Then our car freaked out. But, we did teach the gospel of Jesus Christ by using basketball. It worked pretty well! Sunday we had church and I had one of the best experiences ever. We had the opportunity to go to the nursing home and give the sacrament to one of the members named Hermano Arocho. It was a unique opportunity to remember Grandpa and to serve. Later my companion almost died! We were eating at our branch president's house and apparently the Pesto stuff on the noodles had nuts. He took one benedril, then chewed another. He was trying to avoid using his Epipin. (please excuse my spelling, Spanish has not helped.) He is alright though he was super tired. All in all, I think I have a new direction to work in the branch. Revelation is truly a real thing and I am grateful for good leaders. Sorry time is short, but I love you all! Sincerely, Elder Haynie

Elder Livingston next to the door!

Hola Todos!

This week was interesting with lots of things. Tuesday was normal, but at the same time different because we didn't have district meeting. Wednesday was weird because we did an overhaul of the area book and got everything organized which took a while. Then as we were about to leave, we get a call that threw off the rest of the day, but it was alright. Thursday was pretty normal, though I am having a hard time remembering much because the days are a little mushed. Friday we had Zone conference which took the day, but it was very uplifting. Saturday was exciting because we helped this lady move and found this cool guy named Rafael. Then we had a tornado warning and it rained really hard and hailed a little but it was great! Then our car freaked out. But, we did teach the gospel of Jesus Christ by using basketball. It worked pretty well! Sunday we had church and I had one of the best experiences ever. We had the opportunity to go to the nursing home and give the sacrament to one of the members named Hermano Arocho. It was a unique opportunity to remember Grandpa and to serve. Later my companion almost died! We were eating at our branch president's house and apparently the Pesto stuff on the noodles had nuts. He took one benedril, then chewed another. He was trying to avoid using his Epipin. (please excuse my spelling, Spanish has not helped.) He is alright though he was super tired. All in all, I think I have a new direction to work in the branch. Revelation is truly a real thing and I am grateful for good leaders. Sorry time is short, but I love you all!

Sincerely,

Elder Haynie

Week #37 February 20 2017

Hola Todos!

As you may have noticed by the subject, I am no longer in Frederick MD, but rather I am now in Lancaster PA! This week has been nuts! To start, I had to mave and say goodbye to everybody. Tuesday was crazy because we had a temple trip that we were helping Hector to go to which he was able to! Wednesday is where the real craziness starts. I leave Frederick and drive an hour to Columbia. After that, I meet my ride who takes me too Lancaster, another 2 hours away. We get there and I find out we are changing apartments in 2 days which was great because I was already packed. Lancaster is certainly different than Frederick. It is older and it is a bit more city like. It is only a little creepy at night when then storm doors that weren't shut all the way suddenly open and close as if there are ghosts everywhere. After arriving in Lancaster things got busy, but I will just highlight some of the more interesting points. First off, we are teaching this less active part member family and they live in the most ridiculous spot ever. So to get there, you have to go through the fifth or so tiny alley on the left. Then after that, climb the sketchy metal stairs on the outside of a building up 2 flights to the third floor level, then knock on the 3 foot Hobit door and that's it. The first time we went I just busted up laughing. i have no idea how they even found the place because I don't think there is a legitimate address for the place. We also had this lesson with another family and it was the funniest thing to here these little girls named Layla and Gladys tell us different bible stories. It reminded me a lot of those 'kid History' videos on youtube. The details weren't right, which sometimes made it super funny, but it was cool to see a love for the bible at a young age. Later, we came back to the return appointment, and Annette, grandma of Layla and Gladys, is super tired but we begin to have a quick lesson, but kind of get chased out as she was really mad at her daughter for bringing drunk people into their home. We did teach her how to pray which was good. Sunday was fun, though pretty weird. The Branch is a little different because we meet in 2 different places as the Susquahana river separates the 2 sides. We are on the Lancaster side. So we get there early and have a correlation meeting over phone, and then branch council over skype. We have our meetings which consisted of a nice total of about 15 people, including the 4 missionaries and the 3 kids. They are wonderful people here and I am excited to do work here. Elder Livingston is my new companion and he is awesome! He is from Houston, Texas and has been serving here almost as long as I have as he came out 6 weeks after I did. Cool thing, he actually was born in Baltimore, but moved when he was 3 months old to Texas. Funny thing too, we both were trained by Elder Skarda. Basically I am super stoked to serve here and it will be a fun ride!

Sincerely,

Elder Haynie