Week #50 May 22 2017

Hola Todos!

I am having a little bit of writer's block so bear with me. This week was pretty stinking amazing. We have a pretty tough mission overall here out east. What I mean to say is that in some areas, it is very difficult to find people to teach, some where they find maybe one new person to teach a week. Our mission president has put a standard of Excellence of 2 per week and for some it is difficult to achieve. The interesting thing is that that standard has been established as a promise from the Lord that we will be able to find that many each week. I have seen this to be true. Pretty much since I got it in my head that the Lord always fulfills His promises, I have not missed a week to reach this standard; many weeks exceeding it. An interesting thing though is that the same applies with our goal setting. One sister pointed out that if we really have the faith to reach our goals, then we should be getting many more investigators because one should never have a goal not to achieve, or rather 0, meaning 7 per week. That was a very interesting thought! Once we started doing that, we started really striving to keep our goals, and for the most part, we fulfilled them. It doesn't mean they aren't a stretch, but we strive to do all we can to make it happen. I guess what I am trying to say is that the Lord magnifies our efforts and our faith. This week we were able to help our good friend Manuel accept a baptismal date and come to church. It is amazing how much people are able to progress by exercising faith. Then, on Sunday evening, we found this young man Yordy who had met before with missionaries and come to church 3 times, but we don't have his record anywhere. Also, it was weird to find out that he really had not been taught about the doctrines behind the Restoration. We simply taught him what we know and bore our testimonies. He accepted a date as well as Baptism and was very excited to meet with us again. I am grateful for the Spirit because that is the only way anything happens out here.

A couple random thoughts that all the women in the world might appreciate. Women were the last creation during the periods of creation, and it is interesting to note that the most precious parts of the creation were saved for last. As well on this note, Women are the portal to creation. These were some thoughts that were said in priesthood meeting this week.

I love you all!

Sincerely,

Elder Haynie

Week #49 May 15 2017

Hola Todos!

This week was pretty great, though I am not sure what to write about being as that I said pretty much everything yesterday getting to talk to my parents. I suppose that is because the work goes on and doesn't stop. we welcomed some new people to our District this week as transfers were this past Wednesday. I and Elder Patience are both still here in Lancaster! Then on Friday we had a very long missionary meeting that was 2 hours away so we did not do a whole lot that day. It was pretty cool though in the meeting to feel the strong Spirit there. There was a moment that I received a very strong prompting and am grateful to know that our Father in Heaven communicates with His children. Sunday we had some very good meetings, though there was a little bit of a dispute on something, though I am not really sure what. Angry Hispanic women are not to be messed with, but I can say that repentance is for everybody! On a more serious note, Jose shared a really cool experience in Gospel Principles class. He shared how prayer really helped him be able have peace and give him strength. For some reason or other he really felt like he didn't want to come to church and I think he may have been a little upset with his spouse. he decided though to pray and ask for peace and strength. when he did, all of those bad feelings fled and he felt the strength to come. The Lord truly does answer our prayers when we ask in faith. I know the letter is short this week, but I got to forget myself and go to work!

I love you all and keep you in my prayers!

Sincerely,

Elder Haynie

Week #48 May 8 2017

Hola Todos!

This week was interesting and not a ton actually happened. It rained and I think Past Subjunctive started to really click. I learned how to say the question, "What would it mean if our message was true?" I learned why no one ever understood the question and that was because I have been saying it wrong the whole time and never knew! It makes way more sense, and since then, people have been able to take that question way better. Also this week, I finally got my box back from the sisters that I made to protect my scriptures. I convinced them to decorate it for me because they made fun of how it looked before so they decorated it. The cost, though free, was a moth without my box. Worth it? It looks pretty cool. As you may have noticed, this letter is pretty practical. That is because I try to make the letters fell how it is to be on a mission. Though we have many awesome experiences, sometimes there is simple and pure joy in the simple things in life. Transfers did not really affect us this time as we are both staying! I am excited because we are on fire right now and we will see some pretty amazing things this next transfer. 

Okay some actually uplifting stuff! We had a neat experience teaching the Plan of Salvation yesterday to a man who has some very deep questions. It is sometimes hard to teach him because he comes up with questions that distract from the main point of the message and don't allow for principles that need to be taught to be taught. For this reason, he has not progressed when missionaries have worked with him in the past. It has been interesting to watch how as we carefully answer his questions, and hold others for another time in order to keep the focus, he at the end is much more satisfied. For instance, he at the end of teaching said that he had always felt that God wanted to save all of his children and not just a few. Also, we had a regional broadcast on Sunday and were able to hear some speakers fro the General Authorities. I don't have the name super well, but The first counselor in the Primary General Presidency gave some wonderful insights to having our own light of Christ in our lives, versus borrowing the light from others. One of the Seventy that spoke referred to 8 different repentance stories in the Book of Mormon. It was not so much the topic, but the Spirit that bore witness to me that Repentance is real, for everybody and helps us to be happy. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is for all of us and I am so grateful for it.

All in all, I love you and your support. Let us all keep an eye out for God's hand in our lives this week as we go forth and serve!

Sincerely,

Elder Haynie​

Week #47 May 1 2016

Hola Todos!

This week was awesome! I heard that everything got rainy in Missouri, but here though we had some storms, it wasn't anything too bad. Also, drivers here are horrid! They do relatively well to avoid accidents, but it is a mess. Especially in the deep city. They also do this funny thing out here in the East. They have tons of parking/ no parking signs and for some reason people think that if they pull off just a bit and then turn on their hazard lights that they can park. Also, if they are about to do something they shouldn't, they raise their hand up and waive. This week though, was great! It started with Monday. We went to a family home evening after visiting Jose and Glenda. We were able to meet a new investigator who had come to church the previous day and had just moved from Puerto Rico. His family are all converts and are super solid. We had a wonderful lesson that just amazed me at how essential it is to feel God's love. When someone feels how loved they are by our Heavenly Father, there is no stopping the Spirit from guiding their thoughts and actions. Giovani is the same. He is ready for the gospel and is excited to learn. Friday was pretty great! Some other Elders had arranged for a tour of the church for some Juniors in high school. We were able to participate and it was a cool opportunity for people to see what we actually do and believe. I had the chance to share my testimony there and I was grateful for the power of the Spirit to carry the message across. Saturday was the Baptism! I love how things somehow always work out. Even when you are prepared, something goes amiss, but it always turns out alright. I had the opportunity to baptize Jose and got very wet myself because he is a pretty big man. He is like a gentle giant. The first try though his toe came up so we had to do it twice. The second time he went down, but coming up I basically hugged him as I hauled him out of the water. Despite all that, the look on his face and the smile in his eyes were enough for me. My companion Elder Patience baptized Glenda. She was good the first time and it was wonderful to be by Jose as he watched his loved wife go down as well. After the service, I had a meeting, then we were given pizza by a member, then we went to visit another to discuss some upcoming events and our day of course ended up not how we thought. We did make it to another appointment that day with a man who his wife is an inactive member. We were able to teach him and though he has been taught before, some very key parts were missing. We were able to share them with him and it started to make all the difference. It did get to the point where he had a lot of doubt and all I could do was bear my testimony. The Spirit was with me as I shared my feelings about the restoration, about the prophet Joseph Smith and about the Book of Mormon. It is interesting to note that whenever I get strong feelings from the Spirit, my language becomes clearer. My grammar no longer is a barrier and the words fill my mind as to what I need to say. Sunday came and we had a combined meeting with both sides of the branch. It is strange, we meet in two different groups, but are part of one branch. We had combined meetings and Jose and Glenda were able to be confirmed. I am just very grateful for the opportunity the Lord has given me to serve these people and help them find happiness in this life, and in the life to come. I love you all lots!

Sincerely,

Elder Haynie

Week #46 April 24 2017

Hola todos!

This week has been a little gloomy in weather, but very productive! We were able to meet with Jose and Glenda pretty much every day and help them feel prepared. we will be having the baptism this Saturday and it will be awesome! I am grateful for the help of the Lord. It is amazing to see how he can change lives. I think of the way the gospel in it's fullness have changed their lives and it amazes me. Jose's family who has been Catholic their whole life and always have taught to avoid the Mormon Missionaries, are investigating the church. Jose's dad in Puerto Rico has never met the missionaries, but is reading from the Book of Mormon and from what Jose has shared, his dad is pretty much convinced that it is right and they are excited for Jose. I think it is also interesting to tell how they were found by missionaries. In an event they were at, they were basically segregated. They had other people with them, but no one came up to them and said hi except the Mormon Missionaries. They talked for a bit and then the missionaries asked if they could get in contact with anyone there for missionaries to visit them. Everyone at the table said no, even Glenda, Jose's wife said no. Jose felt though, "why not?" and thus we are where we are. Glenda to us the other day just said "Sorry," with a shrug and a smile. She says it with a funny accent as well. A thought from this week is that the Book of Mormon really is the keystone. It doesn't matter what question someone places, that is the key. If they understand that it is true, the rest falls into place. Also, "The Book of Mormon, combined with the Spirit, is the most powerful resource in conversion." PMG 104. I love you all lots!

Sincerely,

Elder Haynie

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 #44 April 10 2017

Hola Todos!

This week was full of miracles! Finally the weather warmed up and it feels great today! A couple of thoughts on conference(didn't get it last week):

-Eternal Life refers to the unending joy that will be present.

-Sin is like a scab, it hurts us unless we let the Shepard give us His medicine.

-In our time of need, be rooted in God

-We are here to gather light 1. Light of the Church, 2. Light of the Gospel, 3. Light of Christ

-How do we draw the power of the the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives 1. Learn of Him and His doctrine, 2. Recognize the source of power in the Atonement, Jesus Christ. 3. It is our choice to have faith in him and follow Him, 4. Keep covenants made to God, 5. Reach up to Him in Faith

-Discipleship is a state of being

-Faith is a Catalyst

-Virtue is cleanliness and incites to action

-Knowledge is personal testimony

-Temperance is balance

-Patience is relying on the Lord, Be still and know that He is God

-Godliness is growing like unto God

-Brotherly kindness is a hallmark of all disciples

-Charity is pure Love of Christ

More notes and thoughts coming next week!

This week the real miracles came when we found a man who has a friend in the church. He has lots of interest to learn and it was awesome to see his friend make specific time to come and be with his friend as he learns. Also, we had the perfect fit of a member for our investigators Jose and Glenda. Hermano Arocho came with us and helped teach a really personal lesson on the purpose of life. His wife who has been sick recently received some medication that has enabled her to function. It also just so happens that she has the skill set to help the children of our investigators. I thought it was a miracle that she was healed basically in the exact week in which we needed her. They came to church with their two children who are autistic and young. It was a great experience. I feel like finally I am teaching people who want to learn. Another miracle was that we have this relatively new investigator that we have basically no information on. Yet, we were able to knock a door, and due to the inspiration of the Spirit, my companion was able to find out that it would again be possible to find this young man. The Lord prepares a way for all things to be accomplished. Yesterday, we went about doing visits, but we were not having much success. Then we walk up to this man, and I invite him to watch the Easter initiative video #PrinceofPeace. Turns out though that I was not planning at all to invite him to see it at all. I was going to give him a card to look it up, but apparently the Spirit said differently. After we watched the video, I was amazed at how much this man needed that video specifically for him. He after seeing the video was very anxious to meet with us and learn more. These were a few small miracles that have taught me that He really is watching out for us.

I love you all!

Sincerely,

Elder Haynie